₦airaland Forum

7 dead, 10 injured, churches razed as soldiers, sect members clash in Borno

At least seven persons were feared killed when soldiers and members of an Islamic sect in Biu Local Government Area of Borno State clash yesterday.

Ten persons also sustained serious injuries during the incident while two churches belonging Living Faith Church and Wisdom Chapel were razed.

The mayhem reportedly started on Friday evening when some gunmen, believed to be members of Boko Haram shot dead one soldier attached to the Biu army unit at Tashar Gandu area of the town.
The deployment of some soldiers into the town to maintain law and order, last month, it was gathered, did not go down well with some people who confronted the soldiers which later led to the clash.

Mallam Kankaki Shani, the driver of the Deputy Speaker of the Borno State House of Assembly, Honourable Danlami Kubo was identified among those killed. Shani was said to have been hit by stray bullet on his way to Gombe State International Airport to convey his boss who had just returned from Saudi Arabia for this year’s lesser Hajj.

The Caretaker Chairman of the council, Alhaji Adamu Yusuf, who was in Abuja to attend the three days funeral prayer for the late Ambassador Saidu Pindar Biu, expressed worry over the incident and urged his people to lay down their arms assuring government would do everything possible to bring the situation under control.

He said he was just informed that the clash has left seven people dead and many seriously injured, stressing that his administration would offer medical assistance to the victims.

Confirming the incident to newsmen, the Joint Task Force spokesman in the state, Lt. Col. Hassan Mohammed, said, “Yes there was a clash between military and some youths in Biu following the shooting of one soldier by suspected members of the Boko Haram sect, where two civilians were killed including the driver of the Deputy Speaker to the Borno state House of Assembly, Hon. Danlami Kubo while three others sustained injuries”.

Hassan said that the situation has now being brought under control, and urged members of the public not to panic, but to go about their normal businesses, adding that security agencies are working round the clock to restore law and order in the troubled state.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/09/7-dead-10-injured-churches-razed-as-soldiers-sect-members-clash-in-borno/

UN Says Not Informed Of Arrests In Nigerian Bombing

ABUJA — The UN has not been officially informed of arrests over last week's attack on its headquarters in Nigeria, an official said Thursday, after the country's authorities claimed two suspects were held.
"Let me tell you that the UN has not been informed officially of any arrest of any form," UN resident coordinator Daouda Toure told journalists. "We demand that there is no impunity."
Nigeria's secret police said Wednesday that an Al-Qaeda-linked suspect who recently returned from Somalia masterminded last week's attack in Abuja that killed at least 23 people.
It also said he worked in concert with two other suspects, identified as key figures of the Boko Haram extremist sect, who were arrested on August 21, days before the UN bombing.
Nigerian authorities said they were being held at a military facility, while the Al-Qaeda-linked suspect, Mamman Nur, was being sought.
Friday's attack was one of the bloodiest targeting the UN and saw the suicide bomber make his way past two gates before slamming his car into the entrance of the building.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jyzYV8QXV5_p2za13kQhjzH9mzUg?docId=CNG.1d6667c8a37d4092d1b473c7c0d61cf7.8c1

Human Right Watch Faults Efcc Competence On Corruption

Nigeria's anti-corruption agency 'falling far short

LAGOS — Nigeria's main anti-corruption agency has been hobbled by incompetence, internal graft allegations and suspicions of political interference, according to a report by Human Rights Watch released Thursday.
The report examining the work of the country's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) paints a bleak picture when it comes to prosecuting high-profile politicians in one of the world's most graft-ridden nations.
It says the commission has only managed four convictions of nationally prominent political figures since it was established in December 2002, and those convicted have faced little or no prison time.
"Other senior political figures who have been widely implicated in corruption have not been prosecuted," the report says.
"Despite its promise, the EFCC has fallen far short of its potential and eight years after its inception is left with a battered reputation and an uncertain record of accomplishment."
The US-based rights group also points out that the commission faces enormous obstacles in carrying out its work in Nigeria, where corruption is deeply rooted and part of everyday life in all levels of society.
"At a fundamental level, Nigeria?s political system continues to reward rather than punish corruption," it says of Africa's most populous nation and the continent's largest oil producer.
It restates the claim by former EFCC chairman Nuhu Ribadu that more than $380 billion was lost to graft and mismanagement from independence in 1960 to the end of military rule in 1999.
Eric Guttschuss, the rights group's Nigeria researcher, cited the case of prominent ruling party figure Bode George while addressing journalists at the launch of the report in Lagos.
George, who was also chairman of the Nigerian Ports Authority, was the only one of the four nationally prominent EFCC convictions to be obtained at trial, receiving a sentence of two-and-a-half years in prison. The other EFCC convictions came through plea bargains.
But when he emerged from prison earlier this year, some of the country's top politicians welcomed him back.
"The positive example of his conviction was diminished however when he was treated to a rapturous reception by key ruling party figures, including ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo, who ironically established the EFCC," he said.
The report makes reference to graft allegations against the EFCC under the current chairwoman, Farida Waziri, as well as the widespread perception that she has been ineffective.
It says it could find no concrete evidence of corruption, but calls for President Goodluck Jonathan's administration to examine Waziri's performance.
Reacting to the report, EFCC spokesman Femi Babafemi said its finding that the commission has secured only four convictions of high-profile political figures was too narrow.
He argued that certain convictions of business people as well as heads of state agencies should also qualify as high-profile, pointing in particular to Oceanic Bank ex-chief Cecilia Ibru.
Ibru, from one of the country's most prominent families, was sentenced to six months in prison last year and ordered to forfeit funds and assets worth some 1.2 billion dollars.
Babafemi declined to comment in detail on the internal graft allegations, saying they were rumours with no proof.
"Some of these allegations are made by people who are either being investigated by the commission or made by people who have one grievance or another against the commission," he told AFP.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iHSnolxGbGRXidwdDXp6JtrylEbA?docId=CNG.edd3a2c9cc172d2eb2d659a707d64ded.541

Nigerian suspect to be tried for terrorism

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Prosecutors say a Nigerian suspect will be tried at South Africa's High Court in January for terrorism and attempting to harm Nigeria's president in deadly car bombings last year.
Henry Okah was arrested after the deadly Oct. 1 bombings in Nigeria's capital that killed 12 people during independence celebrations.
Prosecution spokesman Mthunzi Mhaga said Okah was presented Wednesday with a five-count indictment charging he orchestrated the attacks from exile in South Africa.
The 46-year-old Okah has denied involvement in the attacks. The explosions were claimed by a militant group in Nigeria's oil-rich delta region that Okah says he sympathizes with but does not lead.
Lawyer Rudi Krause said his client has been in solitary confinement since February, when authorities said they found eight cell phones in his cell.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gG3z0cBhK8BR4EwUnFRzloI6Ktcw?docId=6406723c9ce349fe99ff9b8efacf0a64

nlMediator:
I'm really amazed at the extent of your opposition to this anointing oil stuff. Jesus did not condemn it even when it was brought to His attention. James mentioned and recommended it. You dismiss all that. But you're willing to endorse other things that do not have nearly as much support in the Scriptures. I think your concern is that the anointing oil is abused. But that's not sufficient ground to be cool towards it. After all, the same can be said of a number of other practices in the Church that we approve or practice.

I think you should read carefully what Joagbaje was trying to explain. and besides you need to undertand that using an oil to anoint is different from using the anointing oil as it was previously used in the old testament. The Anointing oil was made up of different spices which we cannot find now, Notice James was not referring to an Anointing oil but just an ordinary oil to anoint the sick, so get the difference.

Joagbaje:
There were two kinds of oil. The one for the anointing , and the one for medicinal use. The anointing oil was only used by ,priests to anoint men into office. No other person handles it. No other person should use it.

Exodus 30:31-32
31 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, This shall be an holy anointing oil unto me throughout your generations. 32 Upon man's flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make any other like it, after the composition of it: it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you.

But the use of balm and oil for sick persons was a medicinal use. Which the Jews began to practice later. Its on thatground that jesus deciples use it and james mentioned it. So what the churches practice today is not the same thing with the holy oil.

But there's a principle behind it which stands. An anointed man can anoint anything. A man of God can anoint sand ,water, spittle, handkerchief etc and by this transfer power into them for a situation. So on that ground ,he can as well anoint a bottle of oil. But the content if the bottle is not significant . Either it's oil o or water.

Thanks for this response, You have hit the Nail on the head. but where exactly did Jesus' disciples used that in the scripture?

‘Suspension was targetted at frustrating CPC petition’

The Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) yesterday said the suspension of the Court of Appeal President Isa Ayo Salami by the National Judicial Council (NJC), was a calculated attempt to frustrate its (CPC) presidential petition.
The party, in a statement said: “What is unquestionably discernible in this entire saga is that it was not Justice Salami that is the target but the CPC Presidential Petition which his court is adjudicating on! The hush-hush manner in which this spectacle of the In fra dig is being executed gives the impression that a timeline is being strictly adhered to.”
It asked why the NJC is not allowing the normal constitutional provision of making recommendation to the President to prevail? : “Why did the NJC refuse to be served the summons in the suit filed against it by Justice Salami?  Why did the NJC choose to still discuss a matter that is already pending in a High Court? Why did NJC suspend Justice Salami, thereby effectively removing him from his office contrary to the provision of the Constitution?
According to the statement signed by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Rotimi Fashakin: “The next hearing in the Motion for Judgment filed by CPC is August 29. Is NJC trying to work to ensure that a more malleable judicial officer is in the saddle before that date? This lends credence to the widely held notion that this decision was taken with a purpose to frustrate the CPC Presidential petition and render it time-barred.
“Without any scintilla of doubt, the greatest tragedy that can befall the Nigerian nation is when the Judiciary, as the bastion in the defence of the rights of the oppressed, becomes noxiously compromised and made prostrate.                                               
The Party went on: “The Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) is horrified by the meeting of the National Judicial Council (NJC) of Thursday, 18th August, 2011, wherein Justice Isa Ayo Salami, President Court of Appeal (PCA) was suspended and ordered to hand over to the next in seniority. In a manner reminiscent of a witless regurgitation of prepared script, the NJC carried out a hatchet job that careful watchers had anticipated for quite a while. It is still mind-boggling that the same NJC that admitted the intervention of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice  Aloysius Katsina-Alu, in the Sokoto governorship petition appeal suit, which was clearly outside his judicial powers; went ahead to pronounce a ‘guilty as charged’ sentence on Justice Salami for daring to challenge the impunity of his boss. In a 23-member body where the CJN accounts for the appointment of 20 members (including himself), it is hardly conceivable that the same body can ever apprehend the CJN for any malfeasance!
“Indeed the preponderant view within the polity is that this ignoble decision has opened a new vista in Nigeria ’s season of anomie. The 3rd Schedule I (21b) of the constitution states that the NJC shall: “Recommend to the President the removal from office of the Judicial Officers specified in Sub Paragraph (a) of this Paragraph and to exercise disciplinary control over such officers. “
“Thereafter, Rule of Law gives way to the Ruse of Law; anarchy and unimaginable disequilibrium subsist. As a party, we still believe that the Nigerian Nation can be saved from this web of orchestrated, selfish and needless crisis of confidence on the judicial arm of Government.”

http://www.nigerianews24.com/articles/%E2%80%98suspension-was-targetted-at-frustrating-cpc-petition%E2%80%99

Nigeria attacks kill 10, spark protest

JOS, Nigeria — Ten people were killed in two separate overnight attacks outside the volatile Nigerian city of Jos, a local official said, leading angry residents to block roads leading to the area on Monday.
Local council chairman Emmanuel Lomang alleged that four identity cards and a cap belonging to soldiers were found at the scene of the killings, fueling rumours that troops may have been involved.
Both the military and police declined immediate comment.
"Seven people were killed at Heipang while three were killed at Foron," near Jos, the restive capital of Plateau State, Lomang told AFP.
He said both incidents happened around 12:30 am when the attackers opened fire on their victims after storming the two villages.
Angry residents have blocked roads leading to the area, an AFP reporter saw.
Jos and the surrounding region has been hit by waves of clashes between Christian and Muslim ethnic groups that have left hundreds dead in recent years.
The region lies in Nigeria's so-called Middle Belt between the mainly Muslim north and predominately Christian south of Africa's most populous nation.
Last week, at least two people were hacked to death while four others were seriously wounded in a village near Jos.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g2hAfuP1c93Evb92rzgAWRbObVRg?docId=CNG.2676121f83532a605fead5c9c6c1ed38.1e1

Does Jonathan Have the guts the prosecute his master? what a big joke that will be

'Prosecute Obasanjo And Others Involved In Nigeria's Privatization Scandal,' Falana Urges Federal Government

Civil rights attorney, Femi Falana, has called on the Nigerian government to immediately commence the prosecution of former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, his deputy and cronies involved in the criminal disposal of national assets.

He was speaking to SaharaReporters yesterday at the conclusion of the hearing of the ad hoc Senate committee which is probing the privatisation and commercialization of government businesses since 1999.

Giving the example of the Delta Steel Company in Aladja Delta State, Falana said that the company was built with $3.2 billion by the Nigerian government, roughly translating to N480 billion, but was sold to a company believed to be fronting for Obasanjo for N7.5 billion ($120 million).

He further called for the retrieval of the 128 nationally owned companies "privatized" by the Obasanjo regime to the federal government of Nigeria.

In his testimony, Mallam Nasir El Rufai, a former Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), told the committee that Obasanjo and then Vice President Atiku Abubakar, contacted him several times when he was DG to try to influence the sale of government companies to their cronies.

President Jonathan continues to say he will battle corruption, but his critics point at revelations such as those at the Senate hearing as evidence that he is insincere.

http://saharareporters.com/news-page/prosecute-obasanjo-and-others-involved-nigerias-privatization-scandal-falana-urges-federal

Gbawe:
I doubt this can happen. Little known to most folks is that Ibori has British citizenship also. For all intents and purposes , Ibori is being tried for money laundering crimes against his own Country (the UK) and not only for crimes a Nigerian Governor has committed against the UK.

Hmmm lets see how the drama unfolds.

Gbawe:
When his lesser co-conspirators have bagged stiff sentences what should one expect , other than around 10 years, for the mastermind who made everything possible?

If the claim that Jonathan is making arrangements for Ibori to be brought to Nigeria to serve his jail term then 10years may just be a joke in Nigeria

10-year jail term likely for Ibori

Former Governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori, currently standing trial in a London court for money laundering, stealing and sundry offences, may get nothing less than 10-year jail term, going by his previous criminal record and the enormity of the charges against him, National Mirror has reliably learnt.

An informed source, who is a Queens Counsel, a senior member of the English Bar, exclusively told National Mirror last night that no amount of protests would change the tide in favour of Ibori, whose criminal records have been established both in England and in Nigeria. “There is nothing absolute in life, especially in law, but going by the enormity of the charges against him, there is no point telling you now that he won’t go to jail. I can place my 37 years of practice at the bar on the line that he will go to jail for a long time.

You see, his tricks of claiming illness and political persecution will not work in the law courts in Britain’’ The revelation came just as it was learnt that the Presidency is favourably disposed to keeping Ibori behind bars throughout Jonathan’s tenure. The next hearing comes up next month for Ibori, who is being kept at the Wandsworth Prison, in South-West London.

The UK source explained that current trend in the international politics which is against leaders who divert funds and confine their people to penury will actually work against Ibori especially when the law frowns at the practice and the fact that Ibori’s associates have already been convicted for being accomplices. ‘’The evidence to nail him is clear. His wife is there; his solicitor and girl friend and another family member cannot go to jail in isolation. Their convictions mean he has to go too. It is simple.” Ibori is at the moment in confinement for charges of corruption, money laundering and stealing of public funds.

He is also battling about 70 criminal charges in a British court noted for its uprightness and firmness in enforcing the criminal penal code. His wife, Theresa is presently serving a five-year jail term in a British prison while his lawyer Bhadresh Gohil, was also handed a seven-year jail term by the Southwalk Crown Court on March this year. He was first charged on April 16, 2011 at the City of Westminster’s magistrate court where he was slammed with 25 counts of fraud, money laundering and conspiracy. He is to appear before the court again on September 5.

Sources said Ibori, fondly called Ogidigborigbo, by his friends and supporters, is said to have lost the protection of the Federal Government, which has insisted that the law should take its full course, in a move by President Goodluck Jonathan to project himself and his government to the international community as believers in due process. The former governor regarded as an ex-convict even in Nigeria in certain quarters is at the moment not enjoying any respite from government unlike the influence he enjoyed during the tenure of President Umar Yar ‘Ádua. Ibori reportedly has a long list of convictions and criminal activities dating back to his early days in Britain where he along with his wife, then his girlfriend, known as Theresa Nakanda, allegedly operated a modern day ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ criminal team.

The duo allegedly went on fraud and criminal activities that eventually resulted in various convictions in 1991 and 1992. His wife, now Theresa Nkoyo-Ibori, was first convicted in London in 1990, according to UK court’s documents. Ibori was twice convicted for stealing and dishonest acts by UK courts in 1991 and 1992. In his first trial, the then girlfriend (now wife), Theresa Nakanda, was convicted along with Ibori on January 25, 1991 at the Isleworth Crown Court in London. In that trial, Nakanda, who gave her date of birth as January 5, 1968, was convicted on two counts and was fined 300 and 450 pounds. James Ibori, who, according to court documents, gave his 28, 2005 by a certain, Mallam Awwal Yusuf, who testified against Ibori in court.

As the governor, Ibori was said to have diverted over 300m pounds into his personal accounts. Because of the immunity that he enjoyed as a governor and his perceived closeness to the late President Yar’Adua, he was seen to be untouchable until the early morning of Wednesday, December 12, 2007, when the Mallam Nuhu Ribadu-led EFCC trailed him to the Kwara State Governor‘s Lodge in Abuja where he was reportedly taking refuge and was arrested. Ibori, before then had been on the run from the London Metropolitan Police where he was declared wanted for corruption and money laundering activities. Efforts by the London Met to prosecute him had been stalled by perceived non-cooperation of the Federal Government, leading to insinuations that he was enjoying government‘ s protection.

The case however suffered a setback when the Court of Appeal sitting in Kaduna transferred it to Asaba, Delta State, where it said the alleged offences were committed. This irked some elders from the state led by a former Minister of Information, Chief Edwin Clark. They alleged that there were fears that the Federal Government was not serious in prosecuting Ibori. Clark, who spoke with newsmen in Abuja on the matter, deplored the way the government was going about the Ibori case, which was then pending at the Federal High Court, Asaba. He had said, “Every attempt is being made by various organisations or members of the Federal Government to thwart the trial of Ibori from taking its normal cause The petition, which was dated March 8, was addressed to the commission‘ s chairman, Mrs. Farida Waziri.

They demanded the commission to find out whether it was right to use the state government‘s shares to obtain N44bn private loan from a bank. According to them, there was evidence that shares worth N528.010m in Oceanic Bank belonging to Delta State Government was used to guarantee over N44bn granted Ascot Offshore Nigeria Limited by Intercontinental Bank plc. It was this fresh petition that made the antigraft agency to declare Ibori wanted. Chief Kayode Ajulo, lawyer to Clark said that what was necessary for Ibori to provide answers to salient questions on whether he actually used Oceanic Bank shares belonging to the state government as collateral to Intercontinental Bank for the benefit of Ascot Offshore Nig. Limited, his private company and if he also authorised the sale of the shares to liquidate the loan to Intercontinental Bank.

A reliable source, who spoke from Abuja yesterday, disclosed that the Presidency was monitoring the Ibori case closely and “judging by his involvement in the activities of recent years, and the unbecoming roles he played, we will not be eager to have him released to Nigeria.”

http://nationalmirroronline.net/news/18371.html

Greenpro:
Is Niger among the Petroleum Exporting countries?

I think that is a good current affairs question to ask Presido Jona

Naija I Hail Thee

Nigeria to Import Fuel from Niger Republic

Government of Niger Republic would begin exportation of refined petroleum products to Nigeria by the end of this year, the country’s leader, President Mahamadou Issoufou, has said.

Speaking Tuesday at the State House, Abuja, Issoufou explained that the planned export of products to Nigeria would be aimed at bringing succour to residents of Northern Nigeria, whom he said would be getting supplies of the products from Zinder Refinery in Niger Republic.
The Nigerien president was in the country to hold bilateral discussions with President Goodluck Jonathan on matters of common security especially trans-border crimes, which have negatively impacted on the sub-region.

Speaking earlier, President Jonathan told the Nigerien leader that Nigeria was prepared to cooperate with her neighbours to tighten security and to check crime and terrorism.
He said: “Terrorism and trans-border crimes pose a serious security threat to all our countries. So, we will strengthen border patrols and other areas of cooperation with our neighbours to ensure the safety of our citizens.”
On food security, Jonathan said Nigeria had plans to exploit its gas resources to further agricultural activities through production of power and fertiliser that would best suit the soil of the sub region.

Jonathan assured Issoufou that Niger Republic would be readmitted into the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) at the community’s next summit.He also said the readmission of the country had become imperative in the light of the “full democracy” that had been restored in Niger Republic.

He warned against reported attempts at unconstitutional change of government, which he said would not be tolerated.
Jonathan assured his Nigerien counterpart that he would work with the country in the areas of power, agriculture, rail transport and water supply and re-invigoration of the Nigeria- Niger Joint Commission.

Responding, Issoufou said he was equally worried by the proliferation of small arms in the region and expressed fears of security challenge.
He said he was looking forward to agreements between Nigeria and Niger on how to achieve results in the listed areas of cooperation and called for immediate joint patrols between both countries.

He expressed gratitude to Nigeria over her role in the restoration of democratic rule in his country and assured Jonathan of Niger’s cooperation in the attainment of the joint goal of common security.

http://www.thisdayonline.com/

hakunajay:
Na wa oh! Baba Iyabo again!

No Wonder he said GEJ cannot tackle Corruption because he is the corruption himself,

When will Corruption be a thing of the past in Nigeria? GEJ is FIGHTING CORRUPTION and yet we still see all these trash daily

R-e-v-e-a-l-e-d: How Uduaghan Paid Obasanjo And Tribunal Judges Over N3 billion To Buy Election [Photocopies Of Cheques Available]

Two cheques, issued in June 2010 and June 2011, provide incontrovertible evidence about how the embattled governor of Delta state, Emmanuel Uduaghan, buys favours and pays off supporters with state funds.

The cheques, which were issued from the Oceanic Bank accounts operated by the Delta State government, show that the state government made illegal payments to the former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, whom it had retained to influence tribunal judgments during difficult political times.

The first cheque was initially issued to Obasanjo Farms on June 15, 2010, from a Delta State account with number 0051-301-000008 for Seven Hundred and Seventy eight million, six hundred thousand Naira (N778, 600,000).

However, in a high noon manoeuvre three days later, on June 18, 2010, the money was transferred to a Manager at Wema Bank Plc, to the Obasanjo Farms account number 1261153353017 with Sort Code 035171263.

As SaharaReporters revealed in a previous report, that account was one of the various secret bank accounts maintained by Obasanjo in Wema Bank.

The last cheque, which had been identified as the monies used to bribe election petition tribunal judges that recently proclaimed Dr. Uduaghan the winner of the highly rigged January 6, 2011 re-run election, also emanated from Oceanic Bank where Uduaghan’s current Commissioner of Finance, Bernard Okumagba,once served as a “financial planner” in the mid 1990ss.

The cheque, for N2.5 billion, was addressed to “Manager Oceanic Bank Call Account” and was reportedly cashed and moved away in bullion vans to a location from which judges, consultants and lawyers were paid in cold, hard cash.

That mind-boggling amount of N2.5 billion was taken out of the “Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC)” account of the Delta State government in Oceanic Bank with Account Number “0051-301-000059”.

After the monies were cashed, they were reportedly given to actors in the election tribunal that included three judges. Other beneficiaries were Chief Obasanjo, Mr. “Fix-It” Anthony Anenih, and Jonathan’s Chief of Staff, Mike Oghiadomhe.

It would be recalled that the final judgment of the re-run election tribunal was read by Tribunal Chairperson Justice Uzoamaka Ogwurike on July 25 2011.  The judge had given the impression that the tribunal was doing a thorough job and planned to annul the election when, in fact, she was negotiating a higher pay-off amount, put at N350 million, for herself separate from other members who had accepted their bribe early in the work of the tribunal.

SaharaReporters contacted the Delta State Commissioner of Finance to ask about the transactions by calling his mobile phone number, but he sent us a text message saying he was busy at a meeting.  After we disclosed we were calling from New York, he never called back as promised.

http://saharareporters.com/news-page/r-e-v-e-l-e-d-how-uduaghan-paid-obasanjo-and-tribunal-judges-over-n3-billion-buy-election-

Revolution imminent in Nigeria –Braithwaite

Why is Nigeria not developed?
The centre is over-burdened. The resultant effect is that the bulk of the people of this country are not liberated. The energies of the people of this country are trapped . Devolve power to the zones and you will liberate the human, natural and material resources. Human resources are the most potent and valuable resources in any nation, in terms of education, opportunities.

I am not talking about a lot of universities mushrooming all over the place, producing half-baked graduates. Every Tom Dick and Harry is setting up universities but that is not the answer. Until we devolve power to the various zones, there can be no development in this country.

For Nigeria to be developed, there are three factors that should be put into consideration. One, the constitution must be surgically handled for immediate national development. There is the issue of corruption. About a year ago, I put up an advertorial, corruption is king. It must be dethroned before you can move forward. Corruption is systemic. It is all over the place. The legislative, executive, even the judiciary.

They (the government) don’t want to convene a national conference because you have National Assembly. Then we are going to get to a situation where governance in Nigeria will become difficult. The National Assembly as presently constituted cannot reform itself. The cost of running the National Assembly in this country is high. The young ones are not motivated. Many have gone out of the country. The ones that remain here are working under extreme hardship. Because of the backward kind of government.

The constitution that protects corrupt public office holders should be a source of worry to everybody. The public office holders can get away with anything, even murder. They steal the country blind and the constitution protects them.

Elections came, but were those elections free and fair? We are declaring ourselves a democratic country. No. Nigeria’s democracy is far from being a democracy. That we hold periodic elections does not make us a democracy. Are Nigerians really free in their own country? Are they participating in the development of their country? Even the accolades these international do-gooders give you; they give you all that for what they intend to take away from this country in terms of resources.

Boko Haram is a protest
I see Boko Haram as a protest. People are very irresponsible to come out and generalize that some big men in the North are sponsoring them. That is an irresponsible statement. If the government or the security agencies are saying that, they don’t realize that kind of declaration is a self-indictment on the part of the government and the security agencies. If they know the sponsors, why don’t they name the sponsors for the public to know? Again, we have a near irresponsible government agency, just putting out lies and unsubstantiated claims.

We have to put this matter in a proper context. Boko Haram must have been targeting the government , and I pray it does not become indiscriminate. So far from the report, the people that are being targeted are government people. And I see that as merely symbolic.
But for goodness sake, let us recognize Boko Haram for what it stands for. I don’t know any member of Boko Haram. But it is deep-seated oppression like injustice and corruption that necessitated these actions.

We have to sit together and find out what is troubling this country. It is Boko Haram today; it may be another protesting organization tomorrow. These things do not just begin spontaneously. They evolve.

National Assembly cannot amend the constitution
Before we give them (National Assembly) an agenda, we have said that the cost of governance, the cost of maintaining them is disproportionate. They do not merit it. We can use what we spend on them for infrastructural development in this country. We have said it for the umpteenth time that we are not running a federal system. What we are running for the moment is a unitary system. Let me say it again, power must be devolved to the zones.

There is inconsistency in policies and due process is not given pre-eminence in everything we do in this country. Today, it is one policy. Next year it is another policy. For democracy to yield what you call dividends, there must be transparency, and there must be accountability by everybody. None of these is in place in this country. I don’t see this National Assembly being able to amend the constitution.

Nigeria is a failed state
The fact that a few people are benefiting from the contraption called the Nigerian nation does not make it a stable state. Nigeria is definitely a failed state. Nigeria will continue to be a failed state until that revolution. Revolution needs not be bloody. You have seen revolution in Egypt. In Tunisia, I am not talking about Libya. The revolution started just by mere resistance. Just by mere resistance. And people demanded that they wanted a nation where there is freedom. Not many people will believe that Egypt, ancient as it is, “modern” as it is; there is no freedom. People took to the streets. Mubarak government with the support of the international community when the protests started did not take them serious. In a matter of months, the government was brought down, without violence.

The Nigeria situation has reached the point where we have to consider putting aside all the charade that we institute through shamble of elections. As long as corruption remains the king, we have to set up an interim administration, involving people with credible credentials to take a hard look at the fundamentals of nation building. If we continue to deceive ourselves, I will not be surprised that even the four years term of this new government would not even be realized.

There must be revolution in Nigeria in spite of ethnic differences
The more reason why there should be a revolution is because of the diversity; to take account of all the diversities and fashion a nation where everybody will be happy to be part of. This is fundamental. In fact, these diversities constitute more of the strength of this nation.

I will never agree to a situation when we will say let everybody go its own way, no. We can be together yet exercise autonomy, under the same national bond. In Canada for instance, there are different ethnic groups under the nationhood of Canada. Even the United States of America(USA), although they speak one language, they are very different in their various cultures.
The Igbos, Hausa, Yorubas, Ijaws, Nupes and others are brothers and sisters, but we must not allow this different culture to constitute disagreement. What will constitute disagreement as I have told you is corruption and corruption stands across the entire ethnic divides. Destroy corruption and you have a harmonious Nigeria; various ethnic nationalities living harmoniously and developing the country. Because each zone will use its resources in a competitive manner. Competition is good among zones. We would have produced indigenous engineers of world-class standards and we will attract Nigerians and we will attract Nigerians from Diaspora.

I did say during one of my campaigns that no part of this country is barren. No part of this country is a desert. But we have concentrated only on oil, because oil facilitates corruption. Every Tom, Dick and Harry is anoil and gas magnate. They neglect agriculture.
The entire northern zone is an agricultural fertile zone. From plateau area, you could generate one billion naira per day from dairy products. Do you know how much we spend importing dairy products to this country? And you can produce that from the plateau area.
It is not the ethnic diversity. It is corruption. Destroy corruption; give people freedom in their zones and you will have a great nation.

The removal of petroleum subsidy
The removal of subsidy could create greater hardship and burden for the people, because corruption is king. Prior to the removal of subsidy, dethrone king corruption first, and then have a judiciary that will punish crime without fear or favour. Set up people’s court. Deal with fat rats. The only problem is that those that will put these in place will not be disposed in dethroning King Corruption, because they are the princes. Then we are back to square one.

The way to fight corruption in the country
Very simple. You said you have set up anti-corruption agencies. The implementation has always been dubious. For instance, you have to put peoples’ court in place. Peoples Court will dispense justice expeditiously. Those in charge of enforcing the anti-corruption law are totally incapable of doing that. You have to have Peoples’ court. You have to clean up the Police Force. The security agencies. The security agencies must be thoroughly cleansed up. Once you do that, the fear of God will return to these people.

People like myself who are calling for a revolution; we are trying to save the country from greater convulsion. Catastrophic convulsion. That is what we are trying to do. But the matter will soon be out of our hands.


http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/politics/2011/aug/01/politics-01-08-2011-001.html

Minimum wage: You’re fraudulent, Buhari blasts govs

Presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), has slammed state governors for foot-dragging on the payment of the N18,00 national minimum wage despite participating in the processes leading to the agreement. Gen. Buhari said the governors’ action was fraudulent.

Speaking through his spokesman, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, Buhari said “given the state of the elite today, given the state of the economy and given what the market is saying, the 18,000 naira we are talking about, is not a living wage.” By the time you buy a bag of rice from the 18,000 naira today, I don’t know how much that is left.”

Buhari noted that the amount was a take-home pay that could not even take the workers home, adding that “it is part of the contradictions of the present arrangement.”

Buhari said: “You went to negotiations, you agree, you signed an agreement and a law was issued based on the agreement before the elections. Now, after the elections, you start to renege and begin to sing different tunes.”

Speaking further, Buhari said that confirm the impression some people have that a politician is a man who shakes your hand before the election and shakes your confidence after the election.
“There is no basis to agree before the elections, after which the law was signed, and now begin to tell different stories after you have taken what you wanted. That amounts to 419, obtaining under false pretence.

“As it is, we believe that the payment of minimum wage is possible if all the loopholes are blocked.
“The Central Bank Nigeria (CBN) governor did come out to say that look, the National Assembly alone takes 25 percent of overhead in our budget. But when you go deep to what happens in the executive, you will discover that what you are shouting about in the National Assembly, is a tip of the iceberg. It is a small thing compared to what is being done at the executive level.”
“There are serious kinds of frivolous contracts being awarded. We have seen the way our natural resources are being wasted and we have seen the crazy emolument being earned by National Assembly officials.

It is because of the greed of a few that we cannot meet the need of the majority,” Buhari stated.
Buhari also said that the minimum wage cannot be paid as long as public officials, those in government, want to sustain this unjust arrangement of a criminal disparage between what those who are in government are earning, and what the workers and other segments of the society benefit from the system.

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/aug/01/national-01-08-2011-01.html

OMG

What is really happening in Nigeria? People are already used to this mess that there's no pressure from the masses on the FG to do something urgently.

Islamists steal police arms in northern Nigeria raid

KANO, Nigeria — Gunmen suspected of being members of an Islamist sect raided a police station overnight in the northern Nigerian state of Bauchi, stealing weapons, police said Wednesday.
Police did not state how many weapons were seized from the station in the town of Toro, 100 kilometres (60 miles) from the state capital Bauchi.
"Weapons were taken during the attack. We are working on an inventory so we don't have details," state police spokesman Mohammed Barau told AFP.
Barau said police suspected the attackers were members of Boko Haram.
He said no one was killed or injured in the raid.
Toro residents said the gunmen, who outnumbered the policemen on duty, opened fire at the station and emptied it of its weapons.
"When they realised they were outnumbered by the attackers who had superior fire power the policemen on duty abandoned the police station and scampered to safety while the attackers, shouting 'Allahu Akbar' went into the police station and emptied the armoury," Yahaya Husseini said.
Another resident Shehu Abdullahi, who was also at the police station soon after the attackers left, said: "All the weapons in the police station were taken away by the attackers and the only two left were the ones carried by the two policemen on duty".
The attack came hours after Bauchi police raided a Boko Haram hideout in an area of the city where it arrested and injured some of the suspected members in a shootout, Barau said.
Bauchi state governor Isa Yuguda a week ago apologized to Boko Haram for his role in any rights abuse the sect members suffered during a military crackdown on the group's armed uprising in 2009.
Boko Haram is based in northeastern Borno state but has also been active in Bauchi state.
It staged a prison raid in September last year, freeing more than 700 inmates, and recently said it was behind bomb attacks on an open air beer garden at a military barracks on May 29 when President Goodluck Jonathan was sworn in.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hIIsmgd-4oj0H9iDJk1ldhp1E02g?docId=CNG.b304a01c7b5fffdb6aca33343b22da18.5a1

erniewhez:
As far as I am concerned, Nigerians are too "comfortable" to have a revolution. We love half bread!

You are right but you never can tell what a man can do when all his patience has been exhausted

Revolution imminent in Nigeria —Bacama

Secretary of the Northern Traditional Rulers Council, Homun Asap Zadok, who is also the Hamman Bachama, has warned of a possibility of a revolution in Nigeria due to what he described as institutional decay.
Zadok spoke yesterday at the Kaduna NUJ Chairman’s Round-Table on "Post-election Violence: The way forward," at the Arewa House, Kaduna.

The ceremony also featured a former Kaduna state Governor, Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, who manipulated politicians for the recent post-election violence in parts of the north.

According to Zadok, current developments in the Arab world may be replicated in the country saying that Nigerians and the leaders should not rule it out.

"Unless we get out of the culture of rubbishing the integrity of institutions, we will not get it right," he said, warning that that, "a revolution is a possibility in the country and people should not pretend about that.

"If people in the Arab world with all their comfort can protest against their leaders of late, Nigerians should watch out.

"Institutions determine the direction of government and not the politicians and leaders. Unless we grow out of rubbishing the integrity of institutions, we will not get it right.

"Election violence is also encouraged by laying too much emphasis on capacity building and not confidence-building.

"There is an institutional decay that calls for national emergency. If not why should it be the responsibility of a state help an INEC officials for accommodation or to distribute INEC material when you have all his needs budgeted for in Abuja."

He said that it was also regrettable that religion has always been used a launch pad for violent crises."

For Makarfi, Nigerians went into the April general elections with what he called divisive minds rather than unity and that politician failed to anchor their campaigns on issues but instead went into the race preaching disunity among the people.

"That was a clear recipe for the post-election violence," Makarfi said adding that,

"We went into the elections telling Nigerians that the election will be the best in the country but you find out that in some places elections were delayed after the actual polls had taken place.

"The conduct of politicians left a lot to be desired. Majority of politicians bragged even before the elections because they are in power that the outcome of the elections must take a particular form. That was highly irresponsible.

"Also, we went into the elections telling Nigerians that the election will be the best in the country. It was but you find out that election results were dragged for too long and this will make people to have bad feelings.

"Security agents should have analyzed, if they did, I do not know but they should have and make it available to the chief executives of the states in order to take pro-active measures."

The kaduna NUJ Chairman, Alhaji Yusuf Idris, said that it was unacceptable that Nigerians could be so cruel to one another in a "century when other countries of the world and even smaller African countries are fast developing.

"Is there a breakage of contract between leaders and the led? Is there lack of confidence on the leaders or on our social institutions by the followership?

"Do we as people, have common desire to see the success of the Nigerian nation beyond our own desires?" .

http://champion.com.ng/displaycontent.asp?pid=9838

Osama10:



If our security forces can't handle boko boko, what happens if foreign invasion happens?

That is the point, Nigerians are no longer safe even with our security agencies around

So this Boko Haram people are growing by the day and our security agencies are watching abi?

Boko Haram Kills Local Govt Caretaker Chairman for Jere LGA and 7 Others In Borno

Nigeria's deadly Islamist sect, Jama'atu Ahlussunnah lidda'awati wal Jihad, also known as "Boko Haram" has shot and killed 7 persons in Umarari area of Maiduguri late Saturday. Also today the sect killed , Mustafa Baale a prominent leader of the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP) in the state.
SaharaReporters learns that Alhaji Baale, a former member of the Borno state legislative assembly was the caretaker chairman of Jere local government area before he was killed.
The latest killings underscores the growing powers of the sect to kill politicians and state officials at will after successfully suicide-bombing the National police headquarters in Abuja a few weeks ago.
Nigerian security forces are completely incapable of matching the deadly force and precision with which the group has exercised its killing prowess despite repeated public bravado by the police and army.

The audacious outing of the group have forced major public officials to apologize to it last week. First the former governor of Gombe state, Danjuma Goje, publicly apologized to the sect mid-June last week the governor of Bauchi state, Isah Yuguda, called on the group to forgive him for the human rights abuses perpetrated against the group under his watch. prior to their public apologies the group spokesperson, Abu Zaid had stated that they were going to hunt down the governors in the state where the group suffered serious security clampdown in 2010.
Boko Haram is fast taking over the 19 northern states according to intelligence sources. They have operational sub-headquarters in Maiduguri, Bauchi, Suleija, Gombe and the federal capital territory, Abuja.


http://www.saharareporters.com/news-page/boko-haram-kills-local-govt-caretaker-chairman-jere-lga-and-7-others-borno

David Cameron warned of Nigerian terror threat as al-Qaeda chooses its next HQ

Spy chiefs have warned David Cameron that al-Qaeda is determined to make Nigeria a base for plotting terror attacks on the West.

Radical Islamic groups in the West African nation are dramatically stepping up their campaign, security sources said.

Boko Haram – whose name means “Western education is sinful” – wants Sharia law in the mostly Muslim, oil-rich country, where half of people live in poverty.

The group boasts its jihadists are ready to make the country ungovernable and bombings by “the Nigerian Taliban” have already killed hundreds.

One British official said: “There are dozens of flights every day from Lagos to London. We either help stop the terrorists here, or we will be dealing with them on the streets of Britain.”

The UK has said it will increase aid but Catholic agency CAFOD said: “What they need is sustained commitment to peace, democracy and good government. They need foreign companies to create jobs, not take resources.”



http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/07/03/david-cameron-warned-of-nigerian-terror-threat-as-al-qaeda-chooses-its-next-hq-115875-23243365/

El-Rufai: Buhari condemns arrest

ABUJA – THE Presidential Candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, in the last presidential election, General Muhammadu Buhari has described the arrest of former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai as a flagrant violation of his rights.

The former head of state who also called for El-Rufai’s immediate release, said, “It only shows that there are more
people in our country who know how to win by hook and crook than those who know how to make proper use of their victory.”

In a statement by his spokesperson, Yinka Odumakin, Buhari noted that rather than what he termed unjust incarceration of the former Minister, the government should instead proceed to prefer whatever charges they have against him in court if he has committed any offence known to the laws of the land.

According to the statement, General Buhari, who condemned what he described as a brazen act of intimidation, harassment and flagrant violation of citizens right in a democratic atmosphere, said ‘’that hounding innocent citizens to detention, in less than a month in office while failing to rise to the security challenges facing the nation shows a regime that does not understand what its priorities should be.’’

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/07/el-rufai-buhari-condemns-arrest/