₦airaland Forum

Counsel to Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indeginous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Mr Bruce Fien, said yesterday that the continued detention of the IPOB leader remained illegal, because it violated international law.

Fien, however, said he had gathered additional information from yesterday’s proceedings to be added to his petition already before the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Speaking with Arise News, Kanu’s expatriate counsel, who said the 11th hour change of the charges preferred against him, without allowing him to respond, was unconstitutional, also took a swipe at the decision to bar journalists from the proceedings, saying it was a violation of their constitutional rights.

Condemning Kanu’s abduction from Kenya without trial, he said, “There are irregularities here. I am coming from the United States, there’s no way that government could change the charge at the 11th hour without having an opportunity to respond to the new allegations.

“Before I arrived in Abuja, I traveled to Geneva, Switzerland, where there is a working group on arbitrary detention as part of the UN Human Rights Council, and based upon what transpired today, I have additional information that I will present to them, seeking an adjudication that the detention of Nnamdi Kanu is illegal under international law.”

He further stated that, “The Nigerian Constitution also has free speech provisions in section 39. I think what happened today is a violation of section 39.”

On the decision to bar journalists from covering the proceedings, he said it was a breach of their constitutional rights.

“The media has a right to observe. Moreover, under international law and in the United States, there is a constitutional right for journalists to attend, because it creates a kind of pressure putting a searchlight against corruption or intimidation and things of that sort, not only just the press out there every ordinary citizen has the right as long as there’s room to sit in a courtroom,” he said.

Reiterating his condemnation of Kanu’s abduction from Kenya by security agents without trial, he said the situation was against international law.

“That makes the detention illegal, in part, aside from other violations, but surely under any kind of due process, it’s totally illegal to kidnap someone take them without any hearing.

“They said that they had acted in collusion with the Interpol, what they haven’t said is that there was any hearing that enabled Nnamdi Kanu to dispute and you have to bring it before a judge before you are kidnapped not afterwards. The law is very clear on that score.

“He was not given any hearing before they took him there, indeed four of the seven counts that are now lodged against him. They weren’t even launched until after he had departed Kenya and was in Nigeria,” he said.

BrainSanitizer:
I disagree with you.
I believe they really care about the masses.
If you doubt me, ask and hear all the wonderful things his darling Daddy has been doing for the masses

helinues:
The truth is an honest person can't win presidential election in Nigeria.

Politics generally is just too dirty

NATIONAL President, Ijaw National Congress, INC, Prof Benjamin Okaba, has said the proposed Bill to delete Section 162, sub section 2 of the 1999 Constitution, which deals with derivation principle by 59 northern Members of House of Representatives, was an invitation to chaos.

The Ijaw leader in a statement, urging the sponsors “to allow the sleeping dog lie, said: “The leadership of the pan-Ijaw group, the Ijaw National Congress (worldwide) has received with utter consternation and disbelief a story circulating in the social media, of a purported bill sponsored by 59 members of the House of Representatives, who are of northern extraction with an intent to delete section 162 sub section 2 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended). “

“The section under reference which has to do with the management of the Federation Account, particularly subsection 2 states inter alia:

‘The President upon the receipt of advice from the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission, shall table before the National Assembly proposals for revenue allocation from the Federation Account, and in determining the formula, the National Assembly shall take into account, the allocation principles especially those of population, equality of states, internal revenue generation, land mass, terrain as well as population density;

‘Provided that the principle of derivation shall be constantly reflected in any approved formula as being not less than thirteen per cent of the revenue accruing to the Federation Account from any natural resources.’

“What could have been the motivation for these 59 northern lawmakers to contemplate sponsoring this obnoxious bill other than the fact that it provides for derivation principle… as being not less than 13 per cent?

” It is unfortunate that some honourable men of our Green Chamber are taking delight in fanning the embers of chaos, national disintegration and the total collapse of the Nigerian state.

“We are not sure if these persons have measured in any manner the eventual consequences of their intended action on both the economic and political space of Nigeria.

“We can assure these apostles of discord and chaos that in this their planned voodoo game, the oil-producing Ijaw nation and other oil-producing and resource-endowed ethnic nationalities in the Niger Delta region shall laugh last.

“We challenge them to stop at nothing to ensure that the section 162 subsection 2 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) is deleted without hesitation.

“It is unfortunate that as lawmakers representing various constituencies from the northern regions, rather than being conversant with political history and constitutional practice since independence, these lawmakers are embarking on a voyage which pathway is too thorny for them to navigate.

“Have they forgotten so soon the provisions of the 1963 Republican Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on revenue sharing at a time the nation’s wealth depended mainly on groundnut pyramids, cotton, hide or skin, etc; the resources their forbears relied upon to build the northern economy?

” We wish to reproduce hereunder the provisions of section 139 of the 1963 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for purposes of clarity and unbiased elucidation.

‘139. (1) Where under any Act of Parliament duty is levied in respect of the export from Nigeria of produce, hides or skins there, shall be paid by the Federation to each Region in respect of each quarter a sum equal to the appropriate percentage of the proceeds of that duty for that quarter.

‘(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) of this section–

‘1.(a) the proceeds for a quarter of a duty levied on a commodity shall be the amount remaining from such of the receipts from that duty as relate to exports of that commodity during that quarter after any drawbacks, refunds or other repayments relating to those receipts have been made or allowed for;

‘2.(b) the appropriate percentage of the proceeds for a quarter of a duty levied on a commodity shall, in relation to any Region, be whichever of the following percentages is prescribed by Parliament in that behalf, that is to say, either- (i) the percentage of those proceeds that is attributable to exports of that commodity that were derived from that Region; (ii) the percentage of those proceeds that is attributable to exports of that commodity that were purchased in that region.’

“The import of Section 139(1)and (2) is that 100 per cent of the proceeds from the produce, hide or skin were paid to the producing regions after allowable expenses.

“Similarly, section 140 of the 1963 Constitution provided for fifty per cent of the proceeds from mining royalties and rents to be paid to the producing regions . We reproduce the relevant subsections hereunder for elucidation.

‘140. (1) There shall be paid by the Federation to each Region a sum equal to fifty per cent of –

‘1.(a) the proceeds of any royalty received by the Federation in respect of any minerals extracted in that Region; and

‘2.(b) any mining rents derived by the Federation during that year from within that Region.

‘(2) The Federation shall credit to the Distributable Pool Account a sum equal to thirty per cent.

‘1.(a) the proceeds of any royalty received by the Federation in respect of minerals extracted in any Region; and

‘2.(b) any mining rents derived by the Federation from within any Region.

‘3.(3) For the purposes of this section the proceeds of a royalty shall be the amount remaining from the receipts of that royalty after any refunds or other repayments relating to those receipts have been deducted therefrom or allowed for.’

“From the foregoing, it amounts to a display of bigotry for anybody to challenge the allocation of a paltry 13 per cent for the derivation principle to mineral producing states.

“Whereas, the Nigerian state had at a time given a whopping 100 per cent of proceeds from exports to the producing regions and only 50 per cent to other mineral producing states, we have maintained our repeated demand for the progressive increase of derivation percentage at least to what our forebears had practised in the past.

“We have continued to condone this arbitrary allocation of 13 per cent to mineral producing states in the spirit of brotherhood and national interest over the years. Therefore, to attempt to insult our sensibilities by sponsoring such an obnoxious and insensate bill is to say the least an invitation to chaos.

“Let us state in very clear terms that the feeding bottle mentality that has continued to rein our states, in which creativity and resourcefulness have been abandoned on the expectation of FAAC day in Abuja must stop. “Before the sponsored Bill is passed into law, the Ijaw nation shall take steps to protect and defend our oil and gas resources.

“If we must live together as one, we must strive to do those things that unite us and shun the ones that divide us; . rather than needlessly stoking the fire of discord, which is what the purported bill being sponsored by the 59 Honourable members, is all about.

“The 59 ‘honourable’ northern brothers should allow sleeping dogs lie.” he said.

Muhammad Nami, executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), says the agency is proposing road infrastructure tax in Nigeria to make the informal sector contribute to building a modern society.

The informal sector has business activities that operate outside of government regulation and are largely unregistered. They include commercial bus drivers, artisans such as dressmakers, hairdressers, vulcanisers etc., mainly those in the low socio-economic strata, with low skills and poor education.

In a statement signed by Johannes Wojuola, media aide to the FIRS chairman, Nami disclosed this on Thursday while receiving a delegation of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) led by Chris Isiguzo, the National President, in his office, in Abuja.

According to the statement, Nami said the proposed road infrastructure tax to be administered by FIRS would provide the government with adequate funding for road construction, rehabilitation, and maintenance.

The statement added that the scheme would also provide the needed security for roads in the country.

“The only way to make the informal sector contribute to building a modern society is by making them pay when they use the roads,” Nami said.

“That is why we are proposing that government should consider introducing Road Infrastructure Tax in Nigeria.

“In many jurisdictions, road users pay for the use of road infrastructure as such it shouldn’t be seen as an additional burden on our citizens because it has the potential of making life better for all of us.”

Speaking further, Nami stated that the economy presently relies heavily on non-oil revenues to discharge its statutory responsibility of paying salaries and providing social amenities to the citizenry.

“Without the tax that you pay, governments at all levels would not be able to fulfil their mandate to the electorates. Tax money also helps to ensure the roads you travel are safe and always in good condition,” he added.

Nami also stated that despite sharp practices by some companies who were in the habit of evading taxes, by shifting their capital and profits to tax havens, as well as low revenue from Petroleum Profit Tax, due to the shortfall in crude oil production among other factors, the FIRS has been putting forward critical reforms that have been yielding positive impact on the Service’s operations.

“Adopting technology in tax administration is crucial in improving domestic revenue mobilisation in view of dwindling oil prices in order to avoid falling into a debt crisis. It is against this backdrop that the TaxPro-Max became the channel for filing Naira-denominated tax returns effectively from 7th June 2021,” Nami said.

“The TaxPro-Max enables seamless registration, filing of returns, payment of taxes and automatic credit of withholding tax as well as other credits to the Taxpayer’s accounts, among other features. The technology also provides a single-view to Taxpayers for all transactions with the Service.”

Despite ongoing pending legal tussle on value-added tax (VAT) collection, Nami added FIRS had created ten VAT regional coordination offices across the country to drive revenue collection.

He said the FIRS collected N4.2 trillion between January and September 2021 as VAT following the “successful facilitation of ISO 27001:2013 Certification of the FIRS’ Exchange of Information Centre and the achievement of 114.66 percent of the VAT collection target in the first half of the year”.

While congratulating Isiguzo for his recent reelection as the national president, he urged NUJ members to be constructive and “should always confirm or verify sources and accuracy of information”.

Earlier, the NUJ national president said the visit of the union was part of his resolve to engage critical institutions as a stakeholder in charting a way forward for the country’s collective good.

Isiguzo described FIRS as a vital institution in the country, which “requires all the support when the country is security-challenged, adversely affected by Covid-19 and faced with FOREX crisis as well as political intrigues from different parts of the nation”.

TheCrusader14:
I already unfriend 1 accursed individual who has sworn that nothing can made him withdraw his support for demonic Buhari. This is someone that we're most likely going to be to 3 days out of 7 but we've not seen in over 4 months now.

MadamVanessa:
After fainting she sure need good dick to get back to her old self again.. and i believe this dude is going to shag her as she want it.

Nonpartisan1:
Even in the law court the Rapist hunchback will not keep his tool in the box.

DogmaNation:
I go keep dis picture,use am they torment haters

Aganju849:
Dey deceive yourself

Person wey lean like lion wey no see meat chop for three months

Mrkumareze:
Gra gra hardly solve problem, I learnt this long ago..

Mrkumareze:
Wow, all the cloud for Nnamdi Kanu. Buhari has made this guy Hero...

Chukwuemeka Ezeife, a former Governor of Anambra State has arrived at the Abuja Federal High Court for Nnamdi Kanu, pro-Biafra agitator’s trial.

Ezeife is in court to witness the trial of the pro-Biafra agitator.

The former governor was accompanied by Kanu’s lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor.

Nnamdi Kanu trial: Former Anambra gov, Ezeife, barred from entering court premises

Stankovic22:
Lol... Laugh no gree me... E dey happen steady for oshodi... If police no settle them go arrest their bike.

Mad people too full lagos

Stankovic22:
Hahhahaha... Na for ikeja I take enter police man bike to oshodi... Omo as we reach oshodi Na so agbero arrest the police man and seize him bike... As we dey look another police man wey carry passengers drop again, another set of agbero arrest am and seize his bike say make them come office.

Funny enough police checkpoint dey close... Laugh almost faint me

Security agents have barricaded the Federal High Court Abuja, ahead of scheduled re-arraingment of the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu.

Kanu is expected to take a fresh plea before trial Justice Binta Nyako, on an amended seven-count charge bordering on incitement, treasonable felony and terrorism.

Security agents drawn from the Department of State Service, the Nigerian Police Force, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps and the Nigerian Army, as early as 4am, blocked all roads leading to the high court premises which is adjacent the Federal Ministry of Justice Headquarters.

Journalists and lawyers are currently denied entry into the court premises.

Though staff members of the court were initially barred by the heavily armed security operatives, they were subsequently cleared to enter their offices after they protested.

Stern looking DSS operatives had specifically threatened to deal with any journalist recording or taking pictures of the unfolding drama.

Cameramen from major television stations in the country, including those from the British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC, were ordered to shut down and face it on an uncompleted building opposite the court premises.

FG had in the mended charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/383/2015, which was signed by a team of government lawyers led by the Director, Public Prosecution of the Federation, Mr. M. B. Abubakar, alleged that Kanu had in furtherance of an act of terrorism, issued a deadly threat that anyone that flouted his sit-at-home order should write his or her will.

FG alleged that as a result of Kanu’s directive, banks, schools, markets, shopping malls, fuel stations were not opened for businesses, with vehicular movements grounded in the South East region of the country.

It said the action amounted to an offence contrary to and punishable under 1(2) (b) of the Terrorism Prevention Amendment Act, 2013.

FG alleged that Kanu had “on or about the 28th April, 2015 in London, United Kingdom did in a broadcast on Radio Biafra monitored in Enugu, Enugu state and other parts of Nigeria within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, referred to Major General Muhammadu Buhari, GCON, President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as a paedophile, a terrorist, an idiot and an embodiment of evil, knowing same to be false and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 375 of the Criminal Code Act, Cap C. 38 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004”.

He was alleged to have committed treasonable felony, an offence punishable under Section 41(C) of the Criminal Code Act, CAP C38 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria

He was alleged to had between 2018 and 2021, through Radio Biafra, professed to be a member of IPOB, a proscribed organization in Nigeria, and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 16 of the Terrorism Prevention Amendment Act, 2013.

In count five of the charge, FG alleged that Kanu had on April 22, 2021, in London, United Kingdom, on Radio Biafra monitored in Enugu and other parts of Nigeria, did an act of terrorism “in that you incite the other members (followers) of the Indegenious People of Biafra (IPOB), a proscribed organization in Nigeria, to look for security personnel, their family members through a Radio Biafra on 102.1FM monitored through the IPOB Community Radio, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 1 (2) (h) of the Terrorism Prevention Amendment Act, 2013.

Attached in support of the amended charge dated October 14, included a seven-paragraphed affidavit of completion of investigation deposed to by one Loveme Odubo, a prosecutor in the Federal Ministry of Justice.

FG equally lined up five witnesses to testify in the matter, among whom are officials of the Department of State Service, DSS, and one Ronald S. who was identified as the manager of a Hotel in Lagos.

FG had on July 26, failed to produce the embattled IPOB leader in court despite heavy security that was also mounted around the court’s vicinity.

Both the IPOB and apex Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohaneze Ndigbo, had earlier urged FG to ensure Kanu’s presence in court today.

Kyase:
This game even make my phone off no gree ON for 24 minutes