₦airaland Forum

Instead of pity or help the dying, Nigerians living around the DANA airplane crash site were looting from the dead and dying

This reminds me of the 2005 Bellview airline crash in Lisa Ogun State where villages looted the dead and even cannibalized dead bodies for ritual purposes.
These are the same Nigerians who condemn every action of the government




http://dailytimes.com.ng/article/thieves-wreckage#.T8xUZ3geOJY.twitter

Thieves at the wreckage
Before the police arrived the scene of the Dana Air crash, looters were on a spree
Article | June 4, 2012 - 4:30am | By Gbenro Adeoye

Sunday's crash of the Dana Airline aircraft on the Abuja-Lagos route has once again exposed the country's shoddy response service, as eye witnesses claimed that it took over 45 minutes before the first rescue team, the police, arrived.

In that time, scores of looters had ravaged the crash site, picking off the personal effects of the victims. All occupants of the plane, made up of 153 passengers and six crew members, died in the crash.

"People picked phones and things like that before when the fire was still not much," said an eyewitness, who did not want his published.

The looters eventually gave way as the police arrived the scene, after struggling through the hundreds of onlookers that had appeared at the scene.

shymmex: Beaf FSU

Stop hiding under FSU to post your ethnocentric threads.. You're a tribalist, and we know that already..

Do I look/sound like beaf? What is tribalist about this post when I, as an Igbo, have indicted my own people? Are you gone bunkers?

And of course 90% of the terrorist acts in Nigeria are committed by the Hausa Fulani and Kanuri. The rest 10% by Niger Delta (mainly Ijaw militants)

Of the remaining 40% of crime, 20% are committed by the Hausa Fulani. The rest are by Edo/Delta, Calabar (AKS and CRS peoples)and Kwara/Kogi/Benue and Plateau peoples

Unfortunately, the Hausa/Fulani contribute 0% of the good stuff in the country.

60% of the crimes committed by Nigerians inside and outside are done by my own brothers, Igbos, and Yorubas (in this latter case both males and females) in equal measure.
Fortunately, 80% of the good attributes exhibited by Nigerians inside and outside of the country are possessed by these same two populations

http://odili.net/news/source/2012/may/31/830.html

The Punch

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Suspected drug trafficker excretes 58 wraps of cocaine

by Chukwudi Akasike

A suspected drug trafficker, Mrs. Sekinatu Adaba, has allegedly excreted 58 wraps of substance suspected to be cocaine.


NDLEA boss, Ahmadu Giade

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Abada, who allegedly excreted the substance under the close watch of officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, was arrested at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Rivers State.

The NDLEA Commander, Port Harcourt International Airport, Mr. Olutekunbi Davies, said the 54-year-old widow was arrested on May 23, 2012, as she was trying to board a Lufthansa Airline on her way to London via Frankfurt.

Davies explained that Adaba was immediately taken to the Military Hospital where an X-ray scanner proved that she had ingested 839 grammes of cocaine.

He said that 58 wraps of the substance were excreted by the suspected drug trafficker within three days of her arrest.

Davies said, "On May 23, 2012, at about 8:30pm, a female drug suspect, Mrs. Adaba Onitemi Sekinatu '54,' was arrested while attempting to board a Lufthansa Airline on her way to London via Frankfurt.

"She was taken to the Military Hospital in Port Harcourt where the X-ray scanner used on her proved positive for ingestion of substance suspected to be cocaine. She has since excreted 58 wraps weighing 839 grammes."

Davies explained that the X-ray scanning machine installed by the NDLEA at the Port Harcourt International Airport was removed as a result of the ongoing construction work at the airport.

He, however, warned that the removal of the machine from the airport would not stop his men from spotting and arresting drug peddlers that wanted to use the airport to smuggle hard drugs to other countries.

Davies said that the machine would be installed after the completion of the ongoing renovation work at the airport.

He said the suspect would soon be prosecuted while the exhibits would be presented in court to demonstrate her culpability.

Though the suspect refused to speak with journalists, an NDLEA official said Adaba claimed that this was her first time of dealing in the illicit business.

Adaba had told officials of the agency that she was lured into drug trafficking by a friend at a party in Lagos after she lost her husband.

Another version


http://odili.net/news/source/2012/may/31/611.html

Mother of 6 nabbed with N10m worth of cocaine at P/H airport

Written by Bolaji Ogundele, Port Harcourt
Thursday, May 31, 2012

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a mother of six, identified as Mrs Adaba Onitemi, who ingested 839 grams of substance believed to be cocaine, valued at about N10 million, at the Port Harcourt International Airport.



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Mrs Onitemi, 54 and a widow was arrested while attempting to board a London-bound Lufthansa Airline, following suspicion by operatives of the NDLEA at the Airport about 8:30p.m on May 23.

NDLEA Commander, Port Harcourt International Airport, Olutekunbi Davies, who disclosed this to journalists on Wednesday, said the suspect was taken to the military hospital in the state capital where she was found to have ingested the substance.

"On May 23 , 2012, at about 8:30p.m, a female drug suspect, Mrs Adaba Sekinatu Onitemi, 54, was arrested while attempting to board a Lufthansa Airline on her way to London via Frankfurt.

"She was taken to Military Hospital Port Harcourt where the X-ray scanner used on her proved positive for ingestion of substances suspected to be cocaine. She has since then excreted 58 wraps weighing 839grammes," Davies said.

The NDLEA commander disclosed that the substance would be valued about N10million, pointing out that no fewer than three drug suspects had been arrested in similar circumstances at the airport in the last two years.

Speaking further, Davies explained that the agency had pulled out its detecting machines at the airport due to ongoing renovation work at the airport, saying the situation had posed some challenges in tracking drug peddlers, but noted that its operatives were well trained to rise to any given occasion.

Davies further disclosed that suspected drug peddlers now concealed such illicit items in processed food cans to avoid being detected, which was why the agency was using sniffer dogs, saying, "the present chairman of the NDLEA has zero tolerance for compromise and any of our men found wanting will be shown the way out."

Although, the suspect maintained a studied silence when newsmen attempted to get her comments, an operative of the NDLEA, who claimed had chatted with her, told newsmen that 54-year old Mrs Onitemi was a mother of six and that she lost her husband in 1999.

una still dey argue here. The man na okoro and he will arrest all Yoruba criminals in the UK

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/

Isn't the look of this website cute?

Nigeria: Can North survive without the South (1)?
On May 22, 2012 · In Special Report
11:00 pm
Email2

BY CLIFFORD NDUJIHE, Deputy Political Editor
PIQUED by recurring acoustic remarks, especially from pro-South and southern leaders that northerners were lazy and the North had been sustained over the years by the South, northern leaders penultimate week said they could stand on their own if Nigeria broke up.

For close to two decades, there has been an intense clamour, predominantly by southerners, for restructuring of the polity into true federalism and devolution of more powers to the federating units. Protagonists of this clamour have argued that convening a Sovereign National Conference (SNC) for the ethnic nationalities of the country to dialogue and reach agreements on burning national issues was the surest way to restructure the country and halt Nigeria’s worsening socio-economic and political decay.

Young men milking a cow at Njoboliyo village at Yola South Local Government Area of Adamawa. NAN Photo.

However, antagonists of SNC said it was a recipe for breaking up Nigeria and countered that with democracy in place, the National Assembly could and has the power to amend the nation’s code-book to spur the much needed development in the country.

Of late, the clamour assumed a higher gear following agitation by some northern leaders that the 13 per cent derivation accruing to oil producing areas should be reviewed to free more funds for the development of the North.

Fire of controversy

A host of northern groups and leaders including Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Malam Lamido Sanusi; Niger State Governor and Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum (NGF), Dr Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu; the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and Dr. Junaid Mohammed decried the huge revenues going to the oil producing states located in the three zones of Southern Nigeria, especially South-South.

Some of them attributed the Boko Haram insurgency ravaging many northern cities, particularly North-East geo-political zone, to poverty arising from disproportionate revenue allocation to the North.

The northern demand drew the ire of some Niger Deltans, who demanded true federalism and 50 per derivation as was practiced in the First Republic. The government extended the 13 per cent derivation to cover other minerals as all states of the country have mineral resources that could be explored and exploited.

Remarkably, northern states have more mineral deposits than their southern counterparts (see table) but these resources have been grossly under-exploited or totally unexplored. Non-exploration of these resources have been partly attributed to easy and bulk money from Niger Delta oil resources (see table of revenue generation since 1970).

By projection, Nigeria currently has a proven crude oil reserves of about 37.2 billion barrels which at the current rate of exploitation (2.5mbpd) may be exhausted in the next 40 years unless new deposits are discovered. And 54 years of extensive oil exploitation has devastated the environment of the oil producing areas and hampered primary socio-economic and cultural activities of the inhabitants. In the last 20 years, about 2,000 persons have been killed in pipeline-related explosions and accidents in the region.

Indeed, a World Bank report warns that 40 per cent of habitable terrain in the Niger Delta area would disappear in 20 years if strong-willed re-mediation was not carried out. And the Federal Government admitted that 40,000 oil spills had occurred in the past 54 years of oil exploration.

A United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report, last August, criticised how the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) deals with the environmental damage it has caused in the Niger Delta, especially in Ogoniland. UNEP said Ogoniland needed the world’s largest ever oil clean-up, which would cost an initial $1billion or N160 billion and could take 30 years.

The scenario has left a touchy question on the lips of many observers: If now that oil revenue is available the devastated areas cannot be cleaned, is it when the revenues cease that the task will be embarked upon?

A chieftain of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Management Consultant, Chief Cliff Mbagwu, has described the 13 per cent derivation as meager and urged a raise to address the environmental challenges and needs of the oil-bearing areas.

“Derivation should be looked into. Much as I don’t believe in 50 per cent derivation, 13 per cent is too small. I think 25 per cent is ideal to enable all parts of the country to have funds to develop and the oil producing states to have enough funds to take care of the environmental problems of oil production. This is a federation; we need to be our brother’s keeper. Those who are saying that 13 percent is too high are not being realistic. They are entitled to their opinion but I think such comments are essentially driven by empathy deficit and warped thinking,” he said.

North: Parasitic arm of the country

The North has been at the receiving end of nauseating attacks from the South, especially the Niger Delta as the nation’s weakest economic link and parasitic arm. The region is accused of harbouring huge unproductive population and large track of landmass that is adding little or nothing to the distributable revenue pool of the country.

Aside being the least productive part of the country (revenue wise), critics said the region had managed to control political power for close to 40 years of the nation’s 52 years existence as an independent country to the detriment of the areas sustaining the country economically. Some southern groups at various times have dared the North to allow restructuring of the country to devolve more political and economical power to the federating units as was practiced at independence before the military unitarised Nigeria.

We are not gaining anything from Nigeria — Northern leaders

Countering, Northern leaders, penultimate Wednesday, berated their southern counterparts, saying they were not gaining anything special from the present arrangement of the country and could therefore stand on their own if the country eventually breaks up.

The Northern leaders, who met under the auspices of the Arewa Elders Forum, said that even though they could afford to survive in a divided Nigeria, they had resolved not to be the cause of the breakup of the country.

One of the leaders of the new group and former Special Adviser to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo on Food Security, Prof .Ango Abdullahi, told the Hausa service of the British Broadcasting Corporation that the North had always been on its own and would continue to survive without oil resources from the South.

Abdullahi, who was reacting to calls from southern leaders for the convocation of a Sovereign National Conference, said that some people were hiding under the agitation to show to the world that they were tired of staying in a united Nigeria.

“We have resolved that we are not going to be the cause of Nigeria breaking up; but if others decided that the country should be divided, and they insisted that Nigeria should break up, we won’t say no because we realized there is nothing we are getting from the current arrangement that other sections of the country are not getting,” he said.

Asked if the North could stand on its own if the country breaks up, the former Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria said that the North had always been on its own because “the poor in the North has always been on his own. He feeds himself from what he cultivates in the farms and feeds Nigeria up till tomorrow. It is possible if all Northerners would return to what their forefathers did through agriculture with which proceeds they built the North and Nigeria as a whole,” Abdullahi said.

Indeed, some northerners had always insisted that in the late 50s and early 60s, Nigeria’s oil industry was developed with funds provided by the North via proceeds from agriculture, especially groundnuts.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/05/nigeria-can-north-survive-without-the-south/


Nigeria: Can North survive without the South (2)?

Special Report Friday, May 25, 2012

By CLIFFORD NDUJIHE

Continues from Wednesday

HOWEVER, Southern leaders have picked holes in the Northern leaders' claim that the North built the country through agriculture.


Yams being arranged for sale at Muda Lawal Market in Bauchi. NAN Photo

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According to them, as early as 1910, the two southern regions - East and West had always generated more revenues than the North, a major reason they said influenced the British amalgamation of Southern and Northern protectorates.

In an article, Structural Constraints to Socio-economic Development in Nigeria, published on November 11, 2007, Kayode Oladele said the increasing pressure to amalgamate Northern and Southern Nigeria in 1914 appeared to have been motivated by two socio-economic factors – to relieve the British treasury of financial burden, and surpluses derived from Southern Nigeria could be used to subsidize the North.

In furtherance of these, he said Mr. L. Harcourt, the then Secretary of State for the colonies, while addressing the British Parliament in June 1910 said: "In Southern Nigeria, the revenue has increased by £867,000 and the expenditure by £661,000 and there is for the current year (1910) an estimated surplus of £120,000...

Northern Nigeria has up to now been and still is a subsidized protectorate, but whereas in 1906, the Grant-in-Aid...was £315,000, in this current year, after providing for such interest, the Grant-in-Aid asked for is only £156,000 or less than half, and with the amalgamation ......

Grants in aid

I hope that we may be able to set a short term to these Grants-in-Aid and at the same time relieve the Treasury from its liabilities and the protectorate from Treasury control (House of Commons Debates, 29 June, 1910, Vol. 18 Cols 1036-.

In his book Nigeria: The Tribes, The Nation or the Race? F.A.O. Schwarz showed how much each of the then three regions (East, West and North) got from the federal distribution pool between 1959 and 1962.

According to the book, while the former Eastern Region generated more revenues, it received the less from the distribution pool compared to Western and Northern regions. Then, revenue allocation was based on 50 per cent derivation, per capita distribution, population and balanced development among the regions.

For instance, in 1959-60 fiscal year, the North generated 5,396 million Pounds and got 12,124 million Pounds (69.2 per cent) from the Distribution Pool; West generated 4,273 million Pounds and received 15,417 million Pounds (78.3 per cent) while the East generated 5,341 million Pounds and got 9, 413 million Pounds (63.8 per cent).

In 1960-61, the North's IGR nose-dived to 3,885 million Pounds but it got an increased allocation -13,775 million Pounds (78 per cent). Within the year, the West generated 4,294 million Pounds and received 16,250 million Pounds (79.1 per cent) while the Eastern Region's IGR was 6,189 million Pounds and it was allocated 10,629 million Pounds (63.2 per cent).

Also, in 1961-62, the IGR/Allocation in millions of Pounds were: North, 6,333/15,504 (71 per cent); West, 6,031/16,307 (63.2 per cent); and East 7,274/13,390 (64.8 per cent. The East started getting a raise following improved oil exploration.

By 1963 after the creation of Mid-Western Region and increased revenue from crude oil, Schwarz said the money distributed came from two sources: 30 per cent of all import duties (other than the few mentioned in the table, which are transferred in their entirety to the regions, and the duty on beer, spirits, and wine, which was kept by the Federal Government) goes into a Distributable Pool Account.

So did 30 per cent of the royalties and rents received from mining enterprises, including oil wells. Then the money in the Distributable Pool was transferred to the regions in the ratio of 40 to the North, 31 to the East, 18 to the West, and six to the Mid-West.

Contribution of crude-oil and gas to Nigeria's total export

The North's contribution to the Distributable Pool of the Federation paled into insignificance from 1970 when crude oil became the chief revenue earner of the country. Throughout the decade of the 1960, the contribution of proceeds from crude-oil to total Federal Government revenue was of limited importance.

However, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Statistical Bulletin, Golden Jubilee Edition, December 2008, Nigeria earned N166 million from crude-oil in 1970 representing 26.1 percent of the total revenue. This jumped to N12.353 billion (81.1 percent) out of annual total of N15.233 billion in 1980.

By 1990 the contribution of oil earnings to total Federal Government revenue stood at N71.887 billion (73.2 percent) of total revenue.

In 2000, proceeds from crude-oil and gas contributed N1.591 trillion out of a total of N1.906 trillion representing 83.5 percent.

And the contribution of crude-oil and gas earning to total federal government revenue in percentage continued to hovered around 80 per cent except in 2007 and 2009 when it fell to 78 percent as a result fall in production and export resulting from political tension in the oil producing areas. In 2008, the figure was N6.530 trillion (82.9 percent) out of a total federally collected revenue of N7.868 trillion.

Amounts received by the three Regions of Nigeria from the Federation (in Pounds)

S/N ITEM Region 1959-60 1960-61 1961-62

1 Import Duty (Tobacco)

North 516,347 515,731 479,600

West 1,142,413 1,068,845 1,002,010

East 1,564,862 1,429,868 1,243,070

2 Import Duty

(Gasoline)

N. 759,878 679,385 759,850

W. 1,350,459 1,179,871 1,988,350

E. 772,917 880,344 982,800

3 Import Duty

(Diesel Oil)

N. 496,659 655,597 858,600

W. 402,759 611,270 802,950

E. 410,562 525,785 667,800

4 Export Duties

(Produce, Hides, Skins)

N. 4,451,466 4,078,298 3,354,800

W. 8,447,011 7,488,591 5,658,710

E. 2,684,841 2,457,199 1,883,600

5 Excise Duty

(Tobacco)

N. 1,449,433 1,522,640 1,881,890

W. 1,619,285 1,708,743 2,116,470

E. 500,601 388,956 479,600

6 Mining Royalties

& Rents

N. 414,255 529,454 689,720

W. 79,247 114,919 1,326,200

E. 415,717 492,476 2,951,350

7 Distributable Pool

(Mining)

N. 282,983 982,960

W. 169,983 589,780

E. 219,180 761,790

8 Distributable Pool

(General Imports)

N. 3,654,671 4,993,662 5,431,580

W. 2,192,802 2,999,060 3,259,950

E. 2,183,370 3,868,119 4,209,470

9 Total Rounded off

N. 12,124,000 13,775,000 15,504,000

W. 15,417,000 16,250,000 16,307,000

E. 9,413,000 10,629,000 13,390,000

10 Sub-totals Regional Revenue (Federal + Internally Generated)

N. 17,520,000 17,660,000 21,837,000

W. 19,690,000 20,544,000 22,338,000

E. 14,754,000 16,818,000 20,664,000

Source: Adapted from Table 11.1 of Book by F.A.O. Schwarz (Nigeria: The Tribes, The Nation or the Race? MIT Press, 1965; page 206).

Distribution of solid minerals in Nigeria

State Mineral

Abuja (FCT) Marble and tantalite;

Abia Gold, salt, limestone, lead/zinc, oil and gas

Adamawa Kaolin, bentonite, gypsum magnesite, barites, bauxite

Akwa Ibom Clay, limestone, lead/zinc, uranimum (traces) salt, lignite (traces), oil and gas

Anambra Lead/zinc, clay, limestone, iron, lignite, salt glass-sand, phosphate, gypsum, oil and gas

Bauchi Amethyst (violet), gypsum, lead/zinc, uranium

Bayelsa Clay, gypsum, hignite and manganese, lead / zinc (traces), oil and gas

Benue Lead/zinc, limestone, iron-ore, coal, clay, marble, bauxite, salt, barites, gemstone, gypsum, oil, gas;

Borno Diatomite, clay, limestone, oil and gas (partially investigated) gypsium, Kaolin, bentonite;

Cross River Limestone, uranium, manganese, lignite, lead/ zinc, salt, oil and gas(Bakassi is gone, CRS has lost its oil and gas status)

Delta Marble, glass-sand, clay, gypsum, lignite, iron-ore kaolin, oil and gas

Ebonyi Lead/zinc, gold, salt

Edo Marble, clay, limestone, iron-ore, gypsum, glass- sand, gold, dolomite, phosphate, bitumen, oil,gas

Ekiti Kaoline, feldspar, taticum, granite, syenites

Enugu Coal, limestone, lead/zinc;

Gombe Gemstone, gypsum

Imo Lead/zinc, limestone, lignite, phosphate, marcasite, gypsum, salt, oil and gas

Jigawa Barities

Kaduna Sapphire, kaolin, gold, clay, serpentinite, asbestos, amethyst, kyanite, graphite and sillimanite, mica, aqua marine, ruby, rock crystal, topaz, flouspar, tourmaline,gemstone, tantalite

Kano Pyrochlore, cassiterites, copper, glass-sand, gemstone, lead/zinc, tantalite;

Katsina Kaolin, marble and salt

Kebbi Tantalite, limestone and bitumen

Kwara Gold marble, iron-ore, cassiterite, columbite feldspar and mica

Lagos Glass-sand, clay, bitumen, sand tar, oil and gas

Nasarawa Beryl (omerald), acquamarine and bellodor, dolomite/marble, sapphire, tourmaline, quartz, amethyst (garnet) topaz, zircon, tantalite, cassiterite, columbite, limonite, galena, iron- ore, baryles, feldspar, limestone, mica, cooking coal, tale, clay, salt and chalcopyrite

Niger Gold, talc, lead/Zinc and iron-ore

Ogun Phosphate and clay feldspar

Ondo Bitumen, kaolin, gemstone, gypsum, feldspar, granite, clay, glass-sand, dimension stones, coal, bauxite, oil and gas

Osun Gold, talc, tourmaline, columbite, granite

Oyo Kaolin, marble, clay, silimanite, talc, gold, cassiterite, aquamarine, dolomite, gemstone, tantalite

Plateau Emerald, tin, marble , granite, tantalite/columbite, lead/zinc, barites, iron-ore, kaoline, cassiterite, phrochlore, clay, coal, wolram, salt, bismuth, fluoride, molybdenite, gemstone and bauxite

Rivers Glass-sand, clay, marble, lignite, oil and gas

Sokoto Kaoline, gold, limestone, phosphate, gypsum, silica-sand , clay, laterite, potash, flaks, granite and salt

Taraba Kaoline, lead/zinc

Yobe Diatomite and soda ash

Zamfara Gold

Source: Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals. Abuja (cited in Tell, July 11, 2005) and Multi-disciplinary Journal of Research Development Volume 9 No. 2 December, 2007

http://odili.net/news/source/2012/may/25/365.html

Can we now conveniently conclude that Babangida has betrayed the religious trust of Aregbesola?

Aregbesola calls for Ministry of Northern Affairs
May 11, 2012 by Olusola Fabiyi
Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola

Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola on Thursday called for the establishment of a Ministry of Northern Affairs, saying it could be a solution to the security challenges in the North.

According to him, the ministry should be saddled with the responsibility of tackling widespread unemployment and poverty in the area.

Aregbesola made the call while delivering a speech at symposium on ‘Islam and Peaceful Co-existence in Contemporary Multi-Religious State’ in Abuja on Thursday.

He said, “I’m advocating a Federal Ministry of Northern Affairs that will address issues of unemployment, poverty and women affairs (in the North).

“The Human Development Index from the North is frightening. It is so low and has been so for the past 20 to 30 years.

“One even wonders why it has not influenced specific action from government. If we are really talking about eliminating this scourge as a nation, then we must pay special attention to that horrible situation.

“The current conflict is just one possible consequence of the continued neglect of the problem in the North.

“Addressing poverty is not reducible to giving them handouts alone but empowering people in a way that their creative energy will be channelled towards wealth creation and self-sustenance.

“Employment must mean full and equal opportunities for all, irrespective of sex. There is no way a society will make women unproductive and be sane or economically viable. This is what is happening in the North.

“I want to prick the conscience of this nation to awake to reality that whatever it will take to address the situation in the North must be faithfully done.

“It must not be viewed as a sectional thing. It is a section that has a great potential to contribute to our national development. “

Aregbesola added that Islam was against keeping women idle, adding that in Muslim countries like Morocco, Iran, Egypt and Algeria, women work.

He said the example of these countries was in contrast to what exists in the North where he said economic disempowerment of women “means that about or less than one-third of the adult males sustain that society”.

The governor also said the problems being encountered in the country were created by the Federal Government, saying, “it (FG) must be involved in their resolution”.



Insecurity: We don’t need Ministry of Northern Affairs – Aliyu
On May 22, 2012 · In News
2:20 am
Email2

By GBENGA OLARINOYE

OSOGBO – Chairman of Northern States Governors’ Forum and Niger State Governor, Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu, yesterday, declared that the North did not require any special ministry to take care of insecurity in the North.

Fielding questions after delivering the fifth Alhaji Abdullateef Olufemi Okunnu annual lecture, entitled, “Breaking the Myth of Peace in Nigeria: What Next” organised by Nigeria Association of Muslim Law Students of Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, Ile-Ife, Gov. Aliyu said creating Ministry of Northern Affairs would not solve the problem of the North.

He said: ”If the government was to create special ministry each time there was problem in any part of the regions in the country, at the long run it would not achieve any desired results.

“If people are making a point because Ministry of Niger Delta was created because of the militancy in the Niger-Delta region, I don’t think we need any special ministry for the North. All we need do is that we should articulate our position so that each government should know what to do to alleviate poverty of their people.”

Aliyu, who described insecurity in the country as terrible, noted that economic deprivation had made some Nigerians to be terrorising the country.

The governor said: “Where there is good government, there will be fewer problems and where there is bad government there will be many problems. Our leaders in Nigeria have a role to play in fighting corruption if truly we want to fight against terrorism and insecurity in the country.”

Aliyu who identified corruption as the bane of Nigeria development, argued that “except corruption is fought in the country there may not be progress and development in the country. The rule of law also needs to be promoted, so also speedy dispensation of justice because our judicial system also affect our development.”

“To achieve sustainable peace and any meaningful progress as a nation, we must deliberately fight corruption in all its ramifications; otherwise our nation is due to failure. Corruption is the harbinger to poverty, social dislocations, and generally erodes the value system of any society with attendant consequences for peace and stability.”

The Governor who blamed the judiciary for the worsen state of the nation’s security situation said “the bottom line in our search for sustainable peace in the nation is contingent upon the functionality and effectiveness of the judicial system.”

While expressing worry on the delay in dispensation of justice, Governor Aiyu said “a situation whereby a terrorist suspect ends up in the Magistrate court raises more question and answer” arguing that “the nation’s judicial system does not help the security situation in the country.”

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/05/insecurity-we-dont-need-ministry-of-northern-affairs-aliyu/

hotshot_peter: CPC and ACN have been having discussions. As it turns out they are planning to depose PDP from the Presidency come 2015 by bringing out one candidate each from their party. These two candidates will run for President and Vice. They have suggested that they will pair them like this: Buhari and Tinubu, Ribadu and Fashola. The former will be President while the latter will be Vice. As in Buhari for President while Tinubu will run as his Vice. Someone just suggested Buhari and Fashola, what do you think?

All muslim tickets in present day Nigeria? Are you on cheap drug?

hotshot_peter: CPC and ACN have been having discussions. As it turns out they are planning to depose PDP from the Presidency come 2015 by bringing out one candidate each from their party. These two candidates will run for President and Vice. They have suggested that they will pair them like this: Buhari and Tinubu, Ribadu and Fashola. The former will be President while the latter will be Vice. As in Buhari for President while Tinubu will run as his Vice. Someone just suggested Buhari and Fashola, what do you think?

Did this not happen during the last election period? Did they manage to work together? I dey laugh oh!!

Now we are supposed to believe that there is Yoruba Boko Haram, Igbo Boko Haram, South South Boko Haram. Yet, none of this southern Boko Harams are bombing in the south. What is the North up to? Do they want it to appear as though everyone is involved in the terrorism?

Do you believe the North can use southern infidels to bomb out lives and property in the North, including lives of muslims? I doubt it.

Until we see southerners bombing places in the south, this northern conspiracy theory is a no-brainer.

Kano State Police Command on Monday arrested a Muslim convert,

Is this koko of the matter

5000 Naira per 4 hrs = $8.33 per hr x 40 hrs per week (assuming this is the case) = $333 per week
$333.33 x 4 = $1333.33 per month = Naira 199,998 (x150 exchange rate)

So roughly these casual doctors will earn 200K Naira per month. Seems like peanut compared to what equivalent people earn in banks and oil companies. Perhaps they earn the same as new Ph.D holders at universities in Nigeria.

What about their dedication to duty? Most casual workers usually have no emotional attachment to their duties since their names are written in pencil (can be wiped out easily) rather than in ink.

How can a medical doctor work without leave, gratuity and other extra-salary perks?

They will just be lazying about so they can clock 80 hrs per week and make double that amount.

Oya we those Saraki boy boy like Oyb? Come here come defend ya massa

http://www.nationaldailyngr.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4328%3Aexposed-ex-gov-saraki-shady-deals&catid=310%3Acurrent-edition&Itemid=542

Exposed: Ex-Gov Saraki shady deals

Monday, 21 May 2012 12:33
OLUTAYO OLUBI
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Fraudulent transactions with defunct Intercontinental Bank

THE surprise that greeted the invitation of former governor of Kwara State and the representative of Kwara Central Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Dr. Bukola Saraki for interrogation over a multi-billion naira loan by officers of the Special Fraud Unit (SFU) of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), apex of Police investigation, may not have fully dissipated, but what may linger for a lifetime is the outcome of the on-going investigation which is tilting dangerously against the savvy Kwara politician.

Emerging details showed that between January and December 2009, Mr. Mathew Obahor, Managing Director (MD), Joy Petroleum Nigeria Limited, now late, was sick and on admission at the Lagos State Teaching Hospital. He later died on 8th December 2009.
Before his sudden demise Mathew Obahor who had functioned as a Personal Assistant (PA) to the embattled Saraki, was the owner of Joy Petroleum Nigeria Limited which is parent to the following companies: Skyview Properties Limited owned by Mrs. Toyin Saraki and Mr. Toyin Pinhero; Carlisle Properties owned by Mrs. Toyin Saraki (nee Ojora); Dicetrade; and Linkers owned by ToyinPinhero, Kolade Babafemi and Tokunbo Agoro. He was also the sole signatory to the company's accounts.

It was again established that between 2008 and 2010, these companies borrowed huge sums of money running into billions of naira to do sundry businesses, including trading in shares. It was also discovered that Dr. Bukola Saraki who within the period was the governor of Kwara State was reported to be the chief promoter of all the companies.

Investigation revealed that there were questionable mutual transactions and transfer of hundreds of millions of naira among these companies. The total indebtedness of the companies as at September 2009 was N11, 985,269,988.99 billion. Under questionable circumstances and apparently with the influence of Saraki, the companies were collectively granted a waiver of N9.76billion and concession to pay N2.3million. It was gathered that the present Governor of Kwara State, Alhaji Abdulfatai Ahmed who was then Commissioner for Finance, also caused transfer of funds from his own personal account to Skyview, Carlisle Properties and Joy Petroleum.

Unraveling
On the demise of Mr. Mathew Obahor on 8th December 2009, the Board of Directors at an emergency meeting on 29th January 2011 appointed Paul Obahor, the new Managing Director and sole signatory to all the company's accounts including the Intercontinental Bank accounts; nos: 0134115000050197, 0134001000230974, both with main house branch, Ikeja; and 0029001000013760, Ilorin.

While other banks obliged the request, Intercontinental refused and even severe all communications with the company, this untoward conduct arouse suspicion that some unwholesome activities might be taking place with the accounts.

When Paul Obahor pressed too hard, the office of the company located at 30, Saka Tinubu Street, Victoria Island was allegedly invaded by aides of Saraki, led by Abdul Adama, a Personal Assistant (PA) to Saraki. The invading men seized the premises of the company and locked out the workers. The workers were not allowed to gain access to their office, neither were they permitted to remove ant company document. It is pertinent to note that the corporate building and premises belongs to Saraki, who must have given it to the company for use.

Abdul Adama was to latter approach Paul Obahor and hand over to him a list of files of Joy Petroleum Nigeria Limited excluding that of the Intercontinental Bank Plc that contains all correspondences regarding loans taken by the company and documents of properties purchased among which is No. 40 Gerald Road and another on Proben Street, Ikoyi, Lagos.

The inability of Paul Obahor to access the company's accounts with Intercontinental bank forced him to petition the IGP.

The case the Police was asked to investigate was the unlawful withholding of accounts from Joy Petroleum Limited by the management of Intercontinental Bank Plc (in spite of repeated requests by the company), reported to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) by the petitioner; Managing Director (MD), Joy Petroleum Nigeria Limited, Mr. Paul Obahor and referred to the Commissioner of Police Special Fraud Unit Lagos for investigation.

Police investigation
On request by the Police, Intercontinental Bank made available the statement of accounts which it had earlier refused to avail the company alongside some scanty number of documents regarding all loans taken by the company.

National Daily investigation uncovered the fact the statement of accounts presented to the Police were manipulated. The Police also discovered that there were evidence that credit and debit transactions transpired during the time that the former MD of Joy Petroleum was hospitalized and incapacitated, that is February 2009 to December 8, 2009, when he eventually died. It was also clear that even after the death of Mathew Obahor, some transactions still took place when there was no other authorizing signatory to the accounts apart from late Obahor.

It was equally gathered that the management of Access Bank Plc, that took over Intercontinental Bank Plc was also suspicious of the loan concession and waivers granted to Saraki through these companies.

It was based on these revelations that the SFU decided to invite Saraki, for questioning last April 20.

But the sitting senator initially refused to show up. A mild drama thus ensued with the Police almost issuing a warrant of arrest.

The Police disclosed in the heat of the invitation for interrogation episode that a warrant was in place for the immediate arrest of the senator who was believed to have gone into hiding after a Federal High Court in Abuja cleared the way for his arrest.

The Police, according to findings, were acting on instructions from the Police headquarters after Justice Gladys Olotu of the Abuja High Court denied granting injunction against the arrest of the former governor, being prosecuted by the police concerning "conspiracy, forgery and stealing the sum of N21 billion belonging to Joy Petroleum Limited, a company which subsidiary and another N11 billion loan obtained from the now defunct Intercontinental Bank.

The media aide to the embattled former governor, Akintoba Fatigun, had informed then that the former Kwara state Governor had obtained an interim injunction from the court, stopping the Police from infringing on his right pending the determination of the court on the case.

"As a law-abiding citizen, Senator Saraki has decided to seek legal redress to put a stop to what appears an orchestrated frenzy calculated at smearing his name, assaulting his dignity and intimidating his person," Fatigun had said in a statement.

He said that police ought to stay further action pending the determination of a suit he filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja. Saraki, denied allegation that he deliberately shunned invitations extended to him by the Special Fraud Unit of the Nigeria Police Force, stressing that he decided to take the case to court following plans by the police to tarnish his public image.

The denial
Saraki denied links with Joy Petroleum even though it was widely known that the company belonged to one of his aides, Mathew Obahor and despite also the news that a former Chief Executive of the Intercontinental bank was also arrested over the same issue.

In a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media and Advocacy, Mr. Bamikole Omishore, Senator Saraki, who is the immediate past governor of Kwara State, said that he was cleared of the same allegations by the appropriate authorities before he was allowed to join the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primaries to contest the last presidential election.

The statement stated that Senator Saraki had business interests in Linkers, Skyview and Dicetrade, but that the senator disengaged from running of the companies and retained his interests in them when he became governor of Kwara State in 2003.

The statement also noted that during that period, when major banks in the country were offering margin share loans to individuals and companies, the companies approached Intercontinental Bank for a facility to buy shares in blue-chip companies.

In another reaction in Ilorin, Fatigun stated thus; "We are aware that there is a petition that was submitted by the brother to Senator Saraki's former Personal Assistant, Matthew Obahor, of blessed memory to the special anti-fraud unit of the Nigeria police over a company called Joy Petroleum.

"We want to categorically state that Senator Saraki is not and was never a shareholder of any Joy Petroleum company; the company was that of his formal Personal Assistant, the late Matthew Obahor.

"Unlike it is being insinuated that Matthew was assassinated under questionable circumstances, we want to state categorically that Matthew was a diagnosed diabetic who was flown to different parts of the world by Senator Saraki for treatment but later gave up his battle to diabetes after 10 years of battling the disease. He died in 2010 through diabetic coma in a hospital. Records are available which can support this."

The statement continues: "We are also aware that this matter as related to loans with Intercontinental Bank was thoroughly investigated and thrashed out by all appropriate authorities years back after receiving all manner of investigation. It should be recalled that it reoccurred during Senator Saraki's presidential bid and again thrashed out and we are once again surprised it is resurfacing.

"The attempt to link this baseless petition to Senator Saraki is purely a blackmail and character assassination; it is surprising that we are coming back to this again in 2012 which is a distraction and the timing is very questionable.
"Senator Saraki continues to reassure his constituents and country that he will play his legislative role even at this crucial time of our polity."
While he continued with the denials, the Police said that their investigation uncovered the fact that the former Governor constantly sought people to invest in the company.
Spokesperson of the SFU, Ngozi Isintume, said the agency decided to go all out after Saraki since it has been discovered that there is no injunction restraining the police. She also said the SFU did not earlier declared him wanted since they thought that he would honour the invitation extended to him.
Saraki had sought, through three Senior Advocates of Nigeria, that the court restrains the special anti-fraud unit of the Nigeria police from investigating and interrogating him over his alleged involvement in the scam. He eventually turned himself in on May 3rd.
Milverton Road drama.

Another drama ensued on the day he turned himself in for interrogation at the Police Special Fraud Unit (SFU), Milverton Road, Ikoyi, Lagos. At this point, he was also not allowed to speak to journalists. During his hours of interrogation, journalists had thronged the office of the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the unit, NgoziIsintume, a superintendent of police (SP) to await the ex-governor.

However, things turned the other way round when Saraki was about to leave and the personal assistant to the Commissioner of Police SFU, Mr. Tunde Ogunsakin, came down to lock the same office the journalists were in. The officer locked up the waiting journalists inside the one-room office denying them access to a departing Saraki.

Saraki, who spent about two hours at the office of Tunde Ogunsakin, received a 'privileged' treatment from the police after they opened the gates for him, allowed him to drive into the premises, park very close to the entrance of Mr. Ogunsakin's office, from where he quickly disappeared into the building.
The police officer who locked up the journalists said “he did what he did to save his job”.
One of the journalists, grappled at the door with the officer before he was shoved away and the door slammed shut, the key quickly turning in the lock; the journalists left with barely elbow room inside the office of the Police Public Relations Officer.
The door remained locked until Mr. Saraki was chauffeured away from the police premises.
Afterwards, Mr. Ogunsakin told the police officer to apologize to the journalists.
“We are still conducting our investigations and whenever we need him (Mr. Saraki), we'll call him again,” Mr. Ogunsakin told journalists.
At exactly 11:00a.m, Mr. Saraki, quietly drove into the Sunday Adewusi House of the SFU Dressed in striped Agbada native attire, with a cap to match, and a pair of leather sandals; came in a convoy of three black vehicles, a black Mercedes Benz SUV (GL 450 4matic) with Abuja number CH 165 RBC, and waited inside.

After a few minutes, his aides gave him a 'coast-is-clear' signal before he alighted, and without uttering a word, hurriedly walked up the one storey building housing the SFU's commissioner's office.

Alabi angle
The SFU had earlier in Lagos arrested former Managing Director of Intercontinental Bank, Mahmoud Alabi, for fraud related to a questionable loan write-off.

Alabi's arrest followed a petition submitted to the unit by the brother of a whistle-blower who was allegedly killed for revealing shady dealings involving former Kwara State Governor Bukola Saraki.

Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Sanusi Lamido, had appointed Alabi to run Intercontinental Bank at the beginning of the CBN's banking reform in 2009. The reform began with the CBN sacking several commercial bank chief executives deemed to be linked to corruption.

However, the appointment of Alabi raised serious concerns at the time. He had served as the MD of Songa Farms owned by the Saraki family.
In a 2010 petition, the former Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Erastus Akingbola, wrote a nine-page petition to President Goodluck Jonathan stating that Alabi had improperly written off N8billion in loans to companies with links to Saraki. He gave the companies' names as Linkers, Dicetrade, Skyview Properties and Joy Petroleum.

Police sources informed that Alabi wrote off billions of naira in unserviced loans linked to Saraki. In addition, Alabi decided to release four houses in Lagos and another two in Abuja that the Sarakis had been used as collateral to secure the huge loans.

The SFU disclosed that top officials in the banking industry were invited to help with information that would lead to the recovery of a N16 billion loan allegedly written off by Alabi.

A police source at the SFU revealed that the suspect had written off a loan of N9 billion. The source noted that Alabi and some yet-to-be identified accomplices may have collected the loan and written it off as against the Central Bank of Nigeria's (CBN) directives.

He said that the suspect allegedly granted another N7 billion loan without collateral. The police officer said: "We believe the loan was equally given to themselves (Alabi and his accomplices.)"

He said the police were investigating why Alabi and other suspects wrote off the loan amounting to N9 billion and also why they should grant a loan of N7 billion without collateral, contrary to CBN's regulation and the normal practice in the banking industry.

According to him, an investigation will actually reveal if the loans were granted to the suspects and his friends or were really granted to some other persons.

This is an old story. The poor boy has long been executed. Now, if you guys will let his poor soul rest in peace.

Why does anyone bother with OW11 (real name Mr. Briggs) ? As you an see, he is an Ijaw, so not much is expected from him. He is not worth disturbing yourself over. PH is Igbo-owned (Ikwerres are Igbo, true and true) and will remain so. Ow11 can go jump into one of those creeks he is used to fishing from. Ewu PH.