₦airaland Forum

The Nigerian government and the Nigerian Army have dismissed allegations by a retired military general that security forces are conniving with deadly attackers across Nigeria, saying such calls are inflammatory and should be disregarded.

Theophilus Danjuma, a former chief of army staff, said on Saturday that Nigerians are being killed at an alarming rate but the armed forces could not curb the bloodshed because they are also involved in it.

“The armed forces are not neutral,” Mr. Danjuma said at the maiden convocation of the Taraba State University in Jalingo, the state capital, on Saturday afternoon. “They collude with the armed bandits to kill people, kill Nigerians.”

The former defence minister said the time is now for Nigerians to rise up and defend themselves from the killings.
Deadly killings have been recorded in several states across Nigeria since January 2018 alone, but the government has appeared helpless at identifying and bringing culprits to book.

Hundreds have been killed in attacks on villages in Benue, Kogi, Adamawa, Zamfara, Kaduna and Mr. Danjuma’s home state of Taraba since January.

The 2018 attacks began in Benue, where about 100 people were murdered across two local government areas on January 1.

Mr. Danjuma said unchecked violence is shifting Nigeria towards Somalia, a country that has been in a state of war since 19991. The East African country is widely seen as a failed state due to the failure of the central government to have any serious control beyond the capital, Mogadishu.

A call to anarchy — Defence Minister

“This is highly uncalled for and is invitation to anarchy and should be disregarded by well-meaning Nigerians,” Tukur Gusau, a spokesperson for the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, said in a statement Saturday night.

“The efforts of the Nigerian military towards restoration of peace, security and order in Nigeria are evidently clear and Nigerians continue to show appreciation for changing the security environment from what it was before,” Mr. Gusau said, describing the statement he was condemning as having been made by an elder statesman, without mentioning Mr. Danjuma by name.

“The armed forces is well organised and highly professional in discharging its constitutional mandate.

“Therefore, if anyone has evidence of wrongdoing or dereliction of duty against our troops (the person) should please bring forward such evidence through the channel for necessary action,” Mr. Gusau, a colonel, added.

He said the military will “not be distracted” by comments like the one that came from Mr. Danjuma.

Comments uncharitable, unfortunate — Nigerian Army

The Nigerian Army also issued a separate statement on Sunday morning, describing Mr. Danjuma’s claims as unfair and sad coming at a time of intense military efforts to address the crisis.

“The public is notified that Nigerian Army personnel have had to pay the supreme price for ensuring the sustenance of security in Taraba State.

“For instance, a gallant non-commission officer of the Nigerian Army was beheaded on 16 March 2018 in Takum Taraba State by criminal elements,” Army spokesperson, Texas Chukwu, said in a statement.

Mr. Chukwu, a brigadier general, said security agencies are facing political attacks because they refused to be partisan in their operation, especially in Taraba State.

“It is noteworthy to state that at the inception” of ‘Exercise Ayem Akpatuma’ or ‘Cat Race’ in Tiv, “the Taraba State Government did not cooperate with the Nigerian Army due to the Army’s stance to remain absolutely neutral in the herdsmen-farmers crisis,” Mr. Chukwu said.

“The Nigerian Army will continue to remain as such.”

Emmanuel Bello, a spokesperson to Governor Darius Ishaku, rejected the Army’s claims, saying allegations are strange.
“We don’t understand the charge that we do not want to cooperate with the military,” Mr. Bello said in a text message to PREMIUM TIMES Sunday morning. “How have we not cooperated? This grave charge has to be explained first before we even begin to know how best to respond.”

The spokesperson said the governor works with all security agencies in the state to curb deadly attacks that had left hundred dead within its borders so far this year.

“Meanwhile, we are ready to work with all the security agencies for the safety of our people,” he said. The governor “is always ready to work with all stakeholders in the promotion of peace as the chief security officer of the state he works with all agencies.”

The statements by the Defence Ministry and the Army echoed what Defence Headquarters told PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday night in response to Mr. Danjuma’s statement.

An Emerging Pattern

Mr. Danjuma is not the first former military chief with powerful political root to condemn the Buhari administration.
Since January, two former Nigerian leaders of military background have condemned Mr. Buhari for not doing enough to curb the killings.

In January, former President Olusegun Obasanjo openly called on Mr. Buhari to “dismount” from power by 2019.
.
Ibrahim Babangida, military ruler from 1985 to 1993, said Mr. Buhari has failed to protect Nigerians and should shelve the idea of returning to office after his first term. He advocated for the emergence of a younger leader to lead Nigeria and make it competitive in a modern world.

When Mr. Babangida’s statement was released, security agencies went after his spokesperson, Kassim Afegbua, but later released him when they couldn’t establish a case of mischief against him.

It is not immediately clear if the Buhari administration had plans to take stiff actions over Mr. Danjuma’s comments, which analysts say pack a heavy punch because the retired lieutenant general hardly makes pronouncements.

“And whenever he speaks, he does so from a position of knowledge,” says political analyst Liborous Oshoma.

Mr Oshoma said as a former military chief, powerful businessman and the head of presidential committee on rehabilitation of Boko Haram victims, Mr Danjuma must have explored the back channels to get the president to take actions on the killings.

“He probably got frustrated after all his efforts to get the president to act failed,” Mr Oshoma said.

said the president demonstrated little sign of being in charge of the crisis or having the capacity to curb it.

“Before now, the villagers have accused security agents of connivance with the attackers against their communities,” he said.

Mr Oshoma, a Lagos-based lawyer, said Mr Buhari’s failure to deal with the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, would only convince other powerful voices like Mr Danjuma to call him out.

“Following the January 1 killings in Benue, the I-G said it was a communal clash, but the president didn’t sanction him,” the analyst said.

“Again, the president ordered the I-G to go to the state, but the man brazenly ignored the order.
“Two months later, he came out to admit that he didn’t know that his appointee had disobeyed him.

“Then the presidency announced to the world that the I-G had been summoned and queried, but the man came out to say no one queried him and if anyone has evidence to the contrary, they should produce such,” Mr. Oshoma said.

“The president had initially committed a major security blunder by failing to ask the I-G for updates on such a serious national security matter until he was told about it two months later in Makurdi.

“Yet he couldn’t fire a policeman that exposed him to such national embarrassment,” he said. “So you could see the frustration of Mr. Danjuma and others who are concerned about the bloodshed.”

Mr. Danjuma is not the first leader to pointedly accuse the military of knowing about the attacks. Governor Samuel Ortom has repeatedly said the federal government, especially the security forces, knew where the attackers were hiding and their movements, but deliberately looked the other way.

Security agencies denied this allegation, but the killings have continued in the affected states despite the deployment of soldiers there.

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

Onijagidijagan:
Bokoharram was founded by GEJ and Igbos to fight against APC and Nigeria

..so there are Igbos supplying Bokoharram with ammunitions and Igbo females marrying them

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday at the State House in Abuja received the freed Dapchi schoolgirls and expressed readiness to accept an unconditional surrender of arms by Boko Haram members.

The president also said his government was ready to rehabilitate and integrate such repentant insurgents into the larger society.

“While further efforts are being made to secure the release of every abducted citizen in Nigeria, government is ever ready to accept the unconditional laying down of arms by any member of the Boko Haram group who shows strong commitment in that regard. We are ready to rehabilitate and integrate such repentant members into the larger society,” he said.

The president emphasised that security chiefs had been warned in clear terms that any lapse on their parts would be viewed seriously.

He said he had also tasked all security agencies to work to ensure that the nation does not witness any reoccurrence of abduction of school children.

He said they had since been directed to put in place further measures around all schools vulnerable to attacks to ensure the safety of pupils/students as well as teachers and school workers.

Reiterating his administration’s commitment to the fight against terrorism and insurgency, Buhari urged all Nigerians to join in this task.

The president, who said the country had suffered enough hostility, appealed to all to embrace peace for the overall development of the nation.

Buhari also warned those who have chosen to make political fortune out of citizens’ misfortune, saying government would not tolerate any attempt by any person or group to trivialize or politicize security issues for politically motivated ends.

“Accordingly, security agencies would not hesitate to decisively deal with such unscrupulous characters,” Buhari vowed.

He said: “I am delighted to formally announce to Nigerians this (yesterday) morning and our international friends and partners that one hundred and seven (107) Dapchi students previously abducted have been unconditionally released by their abductors. This cheery and hearty development signifies our commitment to the security and wellbeing of all Nigerians.
We are never in doubt about our focus and direction since the assumption of the administration.

“Security, anti-corruption and revamping of our economy are the main focus of our government. You will recall that on the 14th of this month, l paid a visit to Yobe State during which l sympathised with parents, families, government and people of Yobe State for the tragic abduction of the students in Dapchi. I made a solemn pledge on my word of honour that this administration would do everything possible to ensure the unconditional release of the girls. I further tasked all appropriate security agencies to safely bring back the girls.”

He said the government reached out to its contacts at home and abroad. “We embarked on back channel shuttles with a clear view to bring to an end the tragedy.”

He explained that the government entered into negotiations solely to make sure that no single girl was hurt, noting that this strategy paid off as the girls were released without any incident.

Buhari reassured the rescued students that they would freely live and pursue their dreams in Nigeria of peace and order without fear of violence or molestation.

He said as parents of the Dapchi girls rejoiced because of the reunion with their children, he appealed to the Chibok community never to lose hope or despair, saying his administration was determined as never before to bring back the remaining Chibok daughters.

“And this, we must accomplish. And that will be soon by God’s grace,” the president assured.

Speaking on behalf of her colleagues, 14-year-old Fatima Bashir, a JSS 3 student, thanked Buhari for saving their lives and bringing them out alive.

The governor of Yobe State, Ibrahim Geidam, was conspicuously absent at Buhari’s meeting with the girls.

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

President Muhammadu Buhari is currently meeting with the freed 105 Dapchi schoolgirls at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Our correspondent reports that the governor of Yobe State, Ibrahim Geidam, is conspicuously absent at the meeting.

The girls were, on February 19, kidnapped from the Government Girls Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State, by Boko Haram terrorists.

They were released in the wee hours of Wednesday, this week, by their abductors.

The Federal Government had claimed that no ransom was paid for the release of the girls.

The meeting, which started at 12:10pm, is taking place at the State House Press Gallery.

Service chiefs and senior government officials are in attendance.

Senator Buhari Abba Ibrahim from Yobe State and his wife, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs as well as parents, guardians and school administrators are also present.

Details later...

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

The Secretary General of the Yoruba Council of Elders, Dr. Kunle Olajide, has said the North is a big problem and a great obstacle to the development of Nigeria.

Olajide said this in reaction to the statement credited to the Chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum and a former Inspector General of Police, Alhaji Ibrahim Coomassie, who said that Nigeria could not survive without the North.

Olajide spoke in Osogbo on Thursday at the first memorial lecture of Nathaniel Abimbola organised by the Osun State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists.

Abimbola, who was a reporter with the Osun State Broadcasting Corporation, died in an accident along the Ife-Ibadan Expressway last year.

Olajide, who was the chairman on the occasion, said the North was home to the Boko Haram which was costing the Nigerian government billions of naira, religious crisis, killer herdsmen as well as numerous negative indices of quality of life.

He said, “The newspapers reported the Arewa Consultative Forum as saying that Nigeria cannot survive without the North. Whatever was meant by that statement credited to the ACF chairman remains to be understood.

“However, I congratulate him for accepting that the North as it is today represents all that is wrong with Nigeria. The North-East is ravaged by insurgency costing the country billions of dollars annually. The North-West is home to religious crisis, the North-Central is ravaged by herdsmen of northern extraction. Collectively the North is home to all negative indices of the quality of life. Infant mortality rate is highest in the North.

“Illiteracy rate is highest in the North and the number of out-of-school children is highest in the North. The poverty index in the North is high while the twin evil bedeviling the North is feudalism and religious fatalism. It will not be out of place to say the North has in fact been dragging Nigeria down since independence. All sorts of mischievous phrases were coined by the very tiny political / military elite of the North to give undue advantage to the North.”

The YCE scribe said the North staged-managed the military coup which removed President Shehu Shagari from power on December 31, 1983. He said the northern oligarch feared that there could be revolution in the country and they allegedly planned the coup with the military in order to ensure that power remained in the North.

Olajide stated that the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo spent greater part of his political career and his resources struggling to liberate the talakawas of the North from their elite but feudalism and religious fatalism frustrated his efforts.

He said the Yoruba people were not only insisting on the restructuring of the political architecture in the country, they were also insisting on the wholesale reform of this elite-centered system of government.

The Yoruba elder said the unfair wages and remuneration of the political leadership in the executive and the legislature must be reviewed downwards. Likewise, he said the outrageous pension benefits and severance allowances of political office holders must be scrapped and the entire political system must not be made financially lucrative to ward off political contractors and charlatans.

He said if these were done, only the service-minded people would begin to show interest to take over the political leadership of the country.

“Let me assure Alhaji Coomassie that much as we want a fair and egalitarian Nigerian society, it is not at all costs. The rest of Nigeria will survive, flourish and join the league of first world countries within two decades if the North exits. If it desires to leave Nigeria, join me in saying goodbye to the exiting North, I wish them a safe journey into the desert,” he added.

A member of the House of Representatives from Osun State, Prof. Mojeed Alabi, who delivered the lecture, said corruption was not the main problem of Nigeria but the constitution which he said was faulty.

The lawmaker said corruption was just a manifestation of the fundamentally faulty constitution which had raised regional suspicion.

Alabi added that Nigeria needed to convoke a Sovereign National Conference to determine its existence and how to go about it.

He explained that the word sovereign would not stop the executive, the legislature and judiciary from carrying out their functions.

Alabi said, “In essence, my colleagues in government have nothing to fear by the convocation of a Sovereign National Conference. That is the way to go if Nigeria must be returned to the path of sanity and greatness in our march to political stability, social harmony and economic prosperity.”

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday accused ‘powerful individuals ‘of orchestrating the lingering conflicts between farmers and herders in parts of northern Nigeria.
The president made this comment during a visit to Zamfara State in continuation of his tour of states affected by violence and bloodshed.

In his speech, he stressed the need to review the old arrangement that provided for both cattle ranches and grazing routes.

This is as he directed security agencies to improve their strategies of intelligence gathering, surveillance and accuracy in deployments, to ensure that criminal activities are brought to an end across the country.

Accompanied by Zamfara State governor, Abdul’aziz Yari, during an interactive meeting with political leaders, traditional rulers, elders and victims of criminal attacks in the state, President Buhari, in a statement by his special adviser on media, Femi Adesina, assured all security agencies of improved conditions that would facilitate the arrest of criminals that steal, maim and kill innocent Nigerians.

“As far as I am concerned, our security agencies have recorded some successes, but they need to do much more. They are not to oppress anyone, but they have to gather and send intelligence and warnings when something is about to happen,’’ he said.

The president commended the security agencies for eliminating a dreadful criminal, ‘Buhari General’, who had for many years initiated killings and destruction of properties.

“Before ‘Buharin-daji’ who calls himself a general, there was a criminal who killed many people and he was killed; ‘Buharin–daji’ has followed him and others like them should also follow,’’ he added.

President Buhari urged the security agencies and communities to always work in collaboration, noting that the threats to life and property of Nigerians would be significantly reduced with improved relations among community leaders, citizens and the security agencies.

“I have come here to commiserate with you over the loss of lives and properties. We will continue to do our best to improve the security situation. However, those committing atrocities live with you. Some of these people are not reported because you don’t trust the security outfits, instead you report back to the criminals. We should give priority to security,’’ he said.

The president warned that the ongoing war against corruption would be reinvigorated and sustained until public officers, who abuse their positions, face the wrath of the law.

Buhari told the elders and traditional rulers that properties confiscated by security outfits from some suspected corrupt public officials would be sold after the completion of court procedures.

He urged Nigerians to take advantage of the ongoing reforms in the agricultural sector, pointing that the era of depending on oil will one day come to an end.

On herdsmen attacks, the president said there was a need to revisit and review the old grazing area arrangement that guaranteed harmonious relationship between farmers and herdsmen, where differences were amicably resolved through the law.

On his part, Governor Yari, who is also the chairman of Nigerian Governors’ Forum, said the state government had deployed resources that were initially designated for development into fighting criminal activities.

The governor, who commended the security outfits for working hard to safeguard the state, pleaded with the federal government to improve the funding of operations, increase the number of security men working in the state and reimburse the state for monies spent on some federal government projects, like roads, which he said was a major priority in fighting criminals.

The secretary to the Zamfara State government, Prof Abdullahi Shinkafi, identified the three major criminal challenges facing the state as cattle rustling, armed banditry and kidnap-for-ransom.

Listing eight major flashpoints, Prof Shinkafi disclosed that 1,321 persons had been killed and 1,881 people injured from various attacks since 2011, with about N14 billion spent on fighting the menace.

The traditional rulers, elders and leaders of the affected communities also pleaded with the government to ensure immediate security intervention in order to save lives.

PMB To Receive Released Dapchi Girls Today
…Says Leah Sharibu will not be abandoned
President Muhammadu Buhari will today receive the released girls of Government Science and Technical college Dapchi,Yobe, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

LEADERSHIP Friday recalls that of the 110 Dapchi schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram insurgents about a month ago, 104 of them were freed on Wednesday.

Minister of information, Lai Mohammed, had said the girls were unconditionally released around 3am through back-channel efforts with the help of some friends of the country.

‘’For the release to work, the government had a clear understanding that violence and confrontation would not be the way out as it could endanger the lives of the girls, hence a non-violent approach was the preferred option,” the minister said.

Meanwhile, the president has restated his commitment to the release of the only Dapchi schoolgirl still in captivity, Leah Sharibu.

In a statement by his senior special assistant on media, Garba Shehu, President Buhari said his administration would not relent on efforts to bring Miss Sharibu safely back home to her parents as it had done for the other girls.

It was reported that Leah Sharibu was held back by the terrorists after she refused to convert from Christianity to Islam.

According to him , President Buhari is fully conscious of his duty under the constitution to protect all Nigerians, irrespective of faith, ethnic background or geopolitical location and would not shirk this responsibility.

“The president is equally mindful of the fact that true followers of Islam all over the world respect the injunction that there is no compulsion in religion. To this effect, no one or group can impose its religion on another.

“His heart goes out to the isolated parents who must watch others rejoice while their own daughter is still away. The lone Dapchi girl, Leah, will not be abandoned.

“President Buhari assures the Sharibu family that he will continue to do all he can to ensure that they also have cause to rejoice with their daughter soon,” he added.

The Greatest Lie I've Heard In My Whole Life Was Buhari Telling 15m Zombies That He Took A Bank Loan To Secure APC's Presidential Ticket.

Wife of the president, Aisha Buhari, has officially commissioned Cedar Crest Hospital where surgeons first operated on her son Yusuf in the wake of a motorbike crash in Abuja.
She praised the 90-bed hospital sited in Abuja’s Apo District for saving her son’s life after the crash.

Buhari emphasized the importance of keeping health care delivery ready for emergencies as had befallen her son, citing controversial comments she had made about poor state of facilities at the State House Clinic.
The comments were to keep hospitals ready in the event that “something happened to anyone,” she said.

“And it happened to my son. He almost lost his life, but this hospital saved him,” said Buhari, accompanied by the wife of the vice president
“Even after he was flown abroad for further medical attention, they [hospitals and surgeons abroad] did not do anything for him. They asked where the accident happened, where the surgery took place, I said Nigeria. They said excellent."

“I believe in making Nigeria a better place. I don’t believe in spending our resources abroad. We have all it takes to have a hospital like this.”
A team of orthopaedic and neurosurgeons at Cedar Crest had first worked on Yusuf before he was flown abroad for further treatment.

The hospital, from its first location at Garki II, had its partners install and use facilities for years before its commissioning to “change the landscape of health in Nigeria,” said Cedar Crest managing director Dr Felix Ogedegbe.

It started out as an orthoapedics clinic in 2008, but added on more specialties when it “became obvious that we had to expand our scope of practice into a full-fledged private multi-specialty hospital.” It also operates a 20-bed hospital in Lagos and recent started work in Port Harcourt.

With patients coming in from Niger, Ghana and Cameroon, the hospital aims to reverse medical tourism and give access to “specialized services without the need to travel abroad and to have a platform where Nigerians abroad can come home to practice modern medicine,” said Ogedegbe.

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

There was panic at the premises of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Thursday, when a large number of Fulani, believed to be displaced by Anti-Open Grazing law in Benue State stormed the court to register their discontent with the delay in delivery of judgement on the matter.

Their arrival at the court premises as early as 8:00a.m. caused panic among court workers and other passers-by who were surprised to see such multitude of herdsmen.

Led by the National President and Secretary General of the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Bello Bodejo and Saleh Alhassan respectively, the herdsmen said they were in court to demand expedite hearing of the case.

Bodejo said they approached the court last year with a request that it halt the implementation of the Anti-Open Grazing law being implemented by Benue State but that they were yet to get positive response.

Bodejo’s words, “We were forced to approach the court so we could get justice but it is being delayed for unknown reason. We were asked to come to court today (Thursday) for hearing but we were informed that the assigned Judge has shifted the case to May 23rd for unknown reasons.

“There is need for the court to take quick decision on the matter so that our heritage would not go into extinction. Our wives and children are being killed every day by militia armed by Benue State Government.

“They arrest our cattle and take them to their choice location. Later, they demand that we bail each of the cattle with N3, 000 or they would be auctioned.

“We have appealed to them that the anti-open grazing law was against us and need to be changed but they have turned deaf ears. We have equally suggested the creation of cattle colony which is a better option.”

He said he was unhappy that Nigerians are quick to condemn the actions of the Fulani herdsmen without taking into consideration, the wickedness being done to Fulani.

“These people that gathered here in the court are people that lost their fortunes to the activities of the Benue state government. They have been displaced and their source of livelihood taken away from them. That was why they converged here to draw the attention of the world,” he said.

Meanwhile, Counsel to Miyetti Allah, Abdulhamid Mohammed, confirmed that the case has been shifted to May 23 for hearing.

He was optimistic that the case would be given accelerated hearing when it eventually starts.

Lai Mohammed, minister of information, has described as “erroneous and extremely dishonourable”, the claims by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that the abduction and release of Dapchi schoolgirls were stage-managed.

In a statement on Thursday, Mohammed said the PDP should have congratulated the federal government and Nigerians on the release of the girls or kept quiet.

Members of the Boko Haram insurgents returned 104 of the 110 abducted students a month after they were kidnapped from Government Girls’ Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe state.

Following their return, the PDP claimed the abduction was designed “to hoodwink Nigerians and orchestrate a great rescue and security prowess of a conquering general”.

But Mohammed said it would have taken a conspiracy of global proportion to have stage-managed the adoption and release of the girls.

He said the federal government stopped responding to statements from PDP because it has failed to learn the ropes of being an opposition party, “even when we have advised them to take a crash course on the role of the opposition in a democracy”.

“In its over three years in opposition, the PDP has again shown it does not understand the role of the opposition in a democracy. How then can the PDP convince Nigerians that it has learnt its lessons and that it is ready to rule the country again?” Mohammed asked.

“We broke our own rules this time because the PDP over-reached itself and scored an own goal at a time it could simply have congratulated the government and people of Nigeria on the release of the girls or just keep quiet.

“As we have said many times since the abduction of the Dapchi schoolgirls, no government is exempted from its own share of tragedies.

“What makes the difference is the way such tragedies are managed. Whereas it took the PDP all of 18 days to even acknowledge the abduction of the Chibok girls in 2014, the APC Federal Government acted promptly and responsively when the Dapchi schoolgirls were abducted 19 Feb. 2018, hence their quick release.

“Nigerians must say ‘never again’ to this primitive and soulless party."

A Federal High Court on Wednesday struck out a suit brought before it against President Muhammadu Buhari and the Attorney-General of the Federation over the arrest and detention of some federal judges in 2016.

Also joined in the suit, which was filed by an Abakaliki, Ebonyi State based Lawyer, Onu John, are the State Security Service (DSS), Inspector-General of Police, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the National Judicial Council (NJC).

The houses of some judges of the Supreme Court, Appeal Court and High Court in various parts of the country were raided by the SSS in 2016 while the officials were subsequently arrested and charged to court.

In protest, Mr. Onwe filed a suit at Abakaliki Federal High Court in February 2017.

President Buhari, IGP, SSS, Police, EFCC and NJC, who were joined in the suit all responded by filling their affidavits and counter-affidavits.

Mr. Onwe in the suit said the invasion of the judges homes and their subsequent arrest and detention was a violation of the constitution of the Federal Repubic of Nigeria.

Mr. Onwe claimed the action against the judges had made his job insecure as a lawyer and ”has also dwindled legal services in the country”.

But delivering judgment on the suit, the presiding judge, Akintola Aluko, said Mr. Onwe has no locus standi to institute the suit against the president and the agencies as according to the court, ”he was not the one arrested”.

The court noted that the lawyer had not convinced the court how the arrest and detention of the judges ”has put his job in jeopardy”.

The court however commended Mr. Onwe for his interest in the matter but cautioned that ”there must be adherence to the rule of law in such a suit”.


Reacting, Mr. Onwe said he will appeal the ruling.

“We will be obtaining the court proceedings and after studying it, we will take further action. Not that we derive anything tangentially from it but the record must be put straight. This will actually be determined by the appelette court whether we have the locus standi,” he said after the judgement.

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has told of how the Department of State Services (DSS) led the team of negotiators to demand for the release of the abducted students of Government Girls Science and Technical College (GGSTC) by terror group Boko Haram.

Director, Defence information, Brigadier-General John Agim, made this known in an interview while reacting to the role played by the military in the release of the girls by the terrorists early Wednesday morning.

Agim, who refused to go into details on the military contribution to the release of the girls, said in a text message that “The girls were released through negotiations led by the Department of State Services (DSS).”

Controversy had trailed the alleged withdrawal of soldiers deployed at Dapchi town a few days before the abduction, with the military claiming to have handed over the security of the town to the Police.

The Yobe State government had alleged that the sudden withdrawal of soldiers from the town was responsible for the attack and abduction of the girls.

But Army authorities through Colonel Onyema Nwachukwu, Deputy Director, Public Relations, Theatre Command Operation Lafiya Dole, refuted the allegation, describing it as “not only unfortunate, but also very far from the truth.”

Nwachukwu had in the statement said “In carrying out its mandate to counter terrorism and insurgency in north eastern Nigeria, Operation Lafiya Dole has been alive to its responsibilities vis-à-vis the fight against Boko Haram insurgents. Several communities and Local Governments that were hitherto under siege of the insurgents have been liberated and the insurgents pushed out. While troops continue to trail and decimate the remnants of the insurgents in the hinterlands, the security of the liberated communities and towns fall in the hands of the sister security agencies.”

However, in a swift reaction, Yobe State Police Commissioner Sumonu Abdulmaliki issued a statement saying the claim of a handover was “untrue, unfounded and misleading.”

He maintained that “there was no time that the military informed the police of their withdrawal, consulted or handed over their locations in Dapchi town to the police.”

Personal Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Social Media, Lauretta Onochie, on Wednesday, attacked former president Goodluck Jonathan over his denial of withdrawing N153 billion ahead of the 2015 presidential elections.

DAILY POST recalls that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had, on Monday, alleged that N100 billion and $289 million in cash were released a few weeks to the 2015 elections.

Jonathan’s former aide on new media, Reno Omokri, however, denied the allegation, challenging Osinbajo to provide proof.

In a post on her Facebook page, Onochie said Osinbajo was not lying when he made the claim because President Buhari had warned his team against lying to Nigerians.

Onochie, who described Osinbajo as ‘a man of honour and integrity’, said he had no reason to lie against former president Jonathan who, she said, has apparently ran out of luck.

She wrote, “Who is lying? Definitely not our Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

“I think ex-President Jonathan has run out of good luck. Government is no longer run on propaganda, assumptions, cheek-in-tongue and political correctness.

“Facts. That’s how we roll. That’s what Nigerians want. President Muhammadu Buhari always reminds us never to lie to his people. By his people, he means Nigerians.

“VP Osinbanjo, a man of honour and integrity in his own rights and standing, has no reason to lie against the man who holds the record of presiding over the biggest national heist in world history.

“President Jonathan needs to sober up, think back to 2015. If he can’t remember, I’ll help him.

“He was facing humiliation at the polls; he thought money could buy him more votes; not his money, but our money.

“He asked the then NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki, to become a bank and a clearing house. The smokescreen was security, to buy arms. But it was for buying more votes.

“Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was alarmed when Col. Dasuki approached her for the funds. She did a memo to President Goodluck Jonathan on the issue.

“President Jonathan gave approval to Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to play ball with Col. Dasuki. Elections were postponed. The money was distributed and recipients hid them in cupboards. Jonathan lost the election!

“Here’s Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala exonerating herself with evidence that she acted according to the instruction originated and approved by ex. President Goodluck Jonathan. So who is lying?”

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

Benue Governor, Samuel Ortom, has said he lacks the powers to reverse or make adjustments to the state’s Anti-Open Grazing law.

Benue’s open grazing prohibition law, which was enacted in May 2017, became operational in November.

Ortom explained that the law, which was made collectively by the people of the state, is for the interest of farmers and herders alike.

The governor said this shortly after meeting with the state and zonal leadership of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), in Makurdi, the state capital, yesterday.

Ortom, however, assured that the alw would be implemented with human face.

“MACBAN has requested for more time to enable them adjust and conform with the provisions of the law but, I promised them that the law would be implemented with human face and that is being done.

“However, while the law is being implemented, discussions between MACBAN and Benue State Government would continue, with a view to fashioning out ways of ensuring peace between farmers and herdsmen in the state.” the governor assured.

He also explained that the main objective of the meeting was the arrest and confiscation of some cattle which breached the ranching law. Ortom disclosed that the state government has agreed to release the cattle to their owners, after payment of fines; as stipulated by the law.

MACBAN North Central Chairman, Alhaji Danladi Chiroma, said his group is ready to abide by the provisions of the law and cooperate with the government to expose criminal elements responsible for the current crisis in the state.

Meanwhile, thousands of the internally displaced persons in Benue, who are currently taking refuge at the eight Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps across the state, cannot return home because their villages are still prone to attacks by invading Fulani herdsmen.

Health workers have also confirmed 120 births and 15 deaths in all the IDP camps in the state since Fulani herdsmen invaded Benue in January.



These came to the fore on Monday, when Ortom commenced a tour of some of the camps in Guma Local Government Area.



Daily Sun observed that several communities along Daudu/ Gbajimba axis including Ukpiam, Umenger and Kaseyo, among others are still deserted, weeks after the Ayem Akpatuma commenced in the state .

Ortom disclosed this to newsmen after visiting the camps in Abagena, RCM Primary School, Daudu, United Nations High Commission for Refugees and Immigrant Persons (UNHCR) shelter, Daudu and the Gbajimba IDP camp.

He lamented that there are over 170,000 displaced persons in the state at the moment and that over 50 communities have been attacked across Logo, Guma, Makurdi, Agatu and Okpokwu local government areas of the state and that IDPs daily throng the camps to swell the already bloated number.

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

tosyne2much:
Fulani herdsmen opened fire on soldiers? This country becoming too unsafe to live in

The Vice – President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has disclosed that the cardinal objective of the Buhari led administration was to diversify the economy and move away from over dependence on oil as our foreign exchange earner.

Osinbajo spoke on Tuesday in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital at the 4th Investors’ Forum of the State with the theme “Consolidating the gains accelerating Growth”.

According to the vice president, the current administration has come to realisation thataw with the instability of the oil market, diversification is the option out of the woods.

Osinbajo assured that the federal government would continue to give the necessary support to every State in order to reach its full economic potential saying the current administration is support of economic initiatives.government.

He added that the federal government has so far supported State governments to the tune of 1.1 trillion naira for them to settle financial obligations.

Osinbajo disclosed tOur Ultimate goal is to diversify the economy – Vice President

The Vice – President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has disclosed that the main goal of the federal government was to diversify the economy from over dependent on oil.

Osinbajo spoke in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital at the 4th Investors’ Forum of the State with the theme “Consolidating the gains accelerating Growth”.

He said the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration saw that with the crashing of the oil market diversification is the way.

Osinbajo assured that the federal government would continue to give the necessary support to every State in order to reach its full economic potentials, saying Buhari led administration is the most support federal government.

He added that the federal government has so far supported State governments to the tune of 1.1 trillion naira for them to settle financial obligations.

Osinbajo disclosed that the Lagos / Ibadan, Lagos / Abeokuta, Sagamu, Benin-Ore expressways were part of the roads the federal government has earmarked for construction, saying engineers are being mobilised.

He however called on the Ogun State government to form a collaboration with Lagos State as well as Benin Republic, saying the cooperation could bring about sub – regional summit for economic advancement.

Former Mexican President and a keynote Speaker, Mr. Felipe Calderon said for any economy to grow, it must first address the issue of corruption, saying a country where there is corruption has no future.

He however disclosed that Mexico overcame its recession in 2009 by investing in infrastructural development and opening up of the country’s economic potentials.

Calderon however cautioned the global community to be mindful of their environment while trying to improve their economies, urging that the protection of the climate is everybody’s duty.

He urged Nigeria to wake up to modern day realities by investing more in infrastructure and technology.

Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun, in her address, said the country’s economy returned to growth in February, 2017, after five consecutive quarters of negative growth.

On efforts made so far by the federal government to reinvigorate the economy, Adosun, noted several economic and fiscal policies, which included rebuilding fiscal buffer, enhancing Forex reserve, improving the ease of doing business and focusing on import substitution, had been undertaken by the present administration.

She also said the Federal Government focused on stronger recovery trajectory, with agriculture currently doing 26.2 percent, manufacturing, 9.0 percent and services, 53.4 percent.

The Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, in his address, stressed that agriculture is the best way the country must go in order to prepare for the growing population of the country.

Earlier in his address, the Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun said his administration remained committed to infrastructural investments as a catalyst for economic growth and transformation, saying through concerted efforts, the State has become reference point among comity of States.

He said the state was rated the second most viable state in the federation in terms of fiscal sustainability in the 2017 budget report, insisting that plans of the government was to be the most viable in the next 10 years.

He assured investors in the State that his administration would ensure and provide an enabling environment for their businesses to continue to grow and thrive.

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

In a departure from the mantra of the administration, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo Monday in Abuja admitted that the federal government is yet to deal effectively with the menace of corruption in the country.

Speaking at the 7th Presidential Quarterly Business Forum for private sector stakeholders at the State House conference centre, he said the administration has been unable to deal decisively with corruption because it is endemic and has fought back on all fronts.

He also criticised the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, alleging that while it spent a paltry N14 billion on agriculture in 2014, N15 billion on transportation, and only N153 billion on infrastructure in three years, it shared N150 billion two weeks to the 2015 elections.

Osinbajo faulted the perceived taciturn nature of Nigerians on the adverse effects of corruption on the nation’s economy, saying the absence of unanimity on the impact of corruption was dragging the country backwards and advocated a change of mindset.

He said: “I must ask again what was wrong with the Nigerian economy and what do we need to do to correct the flaws. There are several issues which many of you have already articulated, but I want to talk about what I think is the biggest problem which, for some reason, we hardly talk about when discussing our national economy.

“That is grand corruption in the public finance space. Sometimes the way we talk about the Nigerian economy it does appear as if it is the economy of say, Norway or somewhere, where all things are equal.

“Even when we refer to what has taken place in our economy, we almost sound as if this is in every sense a very normal business environment, a very normal public finance environment. But that is not the case.

“I do not think that any consideration about our economic development can be properly and honestly done without fully analysing corruption, especially grand corruption in the public finance space.

“You see that despite the record high levels of oil prices, very little was invested in infrastructure and a record level of leakages were recorded in the past few years.
“That is the fundamental issue in our economy. Corruption affects everything. It affects even judgment as to what sort of infrastructure to put in place or whether infrastructure will ever be completed.

“It is so fundamental that we can’t even think of our economy without thinking of what to do about it.
“Sometimes when we talk about our economy, we talk about the fact that we have relied on a single commodity and that is one of the reasons we are where we are.
“Yes, that’s quite true but the fact is that proceeds from that single commodity were regularly hijacked consistently by a few. That is really the problem.

“If we had spent the proceeds from that single commodity the way we ought to, we won’t be where we are today.
“Most of the proceeds went to rent seekers in the industry. For example, I’m sure many of us are familiar with the so-called Strategic Alliance Contract between Atlantic Energy Drilling Concept Limited and NPDC. The promoters of the company made away with close to $3 billion, almost a tenth of our reserves.

“There is no way if someone made away with a tenth of your reserves that you will not have a major economic shock. And if we don’t deal with it, if we don’t talk about it, how will we be able to discuss our economy in an honest way with a view to ensuring that these things do not happen again?
“In one single transaction, a few weeks to the 2015 elections, the sums of N100 billion and $295 million were just frittered away by a few.

“When you consider that in 2014, as the Minister of Finance has said, oil prices averaged $110 a barrel but only N99 billion was spent on the power, works and housing sectors.
“Yet, when we talk about the economy we talk as if these are normal by every standard.
“Nobody should talk about the economy when you have this kind of huge leakages and huge corruption. Corruption completely makes nonsense of even what you are allocating to capital projects.

“We saw from the presentation of the Minister of Finance that N14 billion was spent on agriculture in 2014, transportation got N15 billion, while infrastructure in three years got N153 billion, and yet in two weeks before the elections, N150 billion was shared.

“So if your total infrastructure spending is N153 billion and you can share N150 billion, that is completely incredible. That sort of thing doesn’t happen anywhere else in the world. So, when we are talking about the economy, we must simply understand that, that is the problem.”

On what the current administration has done with the little resources available to it, the vice-president said: “Today, with less revenue, we have increased capital funding by 400 per cent as the finance minister has said, in power, works and housing, and in defence, transportation, agriculture.
“If we want to do an analysis in Nigeria, it is either fraudulent or ignorant if we do not bring money that belongs to corruption to the masses. This is what distinguishes, in my own respectful view, this administration from the other.

“I can say that with what I have seen if you have a president who is not corrupt, 50 per cent of your financial problems are over. This is what I have seen and I can demonstrate it with facts and figures.
“If the president is corrupt, the entire financial system will be compromised and that is what we have seen with the figures we have just been presented.

“And that is something that is absolutely important that we must take into account. So, I am not saying that corruption under this administration has been completely dealt with, no certainly not.
“Where corruption has become systematic such as we have in our country today, you cannot deal with it in one full fell swoop, it is not possible. In any event, you still have a lot of corruption fighting back.
“The system fights back and it’s both an internal and external fight back and you have to be steadfast and strategic to win the battle.

“There’s no way that you would have a system such as ours that has consistently thrived on corruption and the proceeds of corruption that will give up and say, guys, the problem has been solved.
“It is a system that has fed on corruption and it affects all aspects of governance, so trying to deal with it is certainly not a walk in the park.

“But I want to say that the task has already begun and that task is being done consistently and I believe that going forward in the next few years, no matter how we are criticised, if we stick to policies, especially controlling excesses and corruption in public finances, this country will make the kind of progress that it deserves to make with all the resources at our disposal.
“If we stick to the policy of ensuring that as far as public finance is concerned there is no impunity and that we hold people to account, I’m absolutely confident that this country will make the kind of progress we deserve to make as a nation.”

In attendance at the event were the Ministers of Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu; Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udoma; Finance, Kemi Adeosun; Industry, Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah; and the Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters, Dipo Dipeolu.

In their remarks, the private sector participants spoke on a host of issues including the ongoing construction on Apapa-Wharf Road, contractors that have abandoned work on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the need to revive railways for ease of transporting goods from ports, and the need to stop multiple checks at airports leading to delay in movements.

They also spoke on the need for the federal government to take an interest in education in order to stop ill-trained people from manning critical sectors of the economy, as well as the need to revive the Eastern ports comprising those in Onitsha, Warri, Port Harcourt and Calabar.

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

Cromcruach91:
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