₦airaland Forum

omenka: Nigeria is indeed in a big mess!!! I saw one of those attorney generals @ a club last nyt acting like a taut with two policemen standing guard. It's a damn shame! I looked @ him and was like, heck, can't believe this was thesame man that caused the country sooo much problenm! Lord have mercy. Indeed, these men are irrideemable perverts!

N32b pension fraud: More outrage over ‘light sentence’
Posted by: Our Reporter on January 31, 2013 in News 11 Comments

THERE was more outrage yesterday over the “light sentence” given a former deputy director of the Police Pension office who pleaded guilty to fraud.
The House of Representatives insisted that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Justice Minister, should “as a metter of urgency” appeal the six-year jail sentence and the option of N750,000 fine given Mr. John Yakubu Yusufu by Justice Abubakar Talba, who admitted to being part of those who stole N32billion pension cash.
The Anti-Corruption Network (ACN), in collaboration with the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and the Association of Unemployed Youths of Nigeria (AUYN), organised a protest march to the Supreme Court and the office of the Justice Minister in Abuja. The National Association of Ondo State students also faulted the judgment.
The House of Representatives resolved to amend Section 309 of the Penal Code and Criminal Code to reflect the realities of today.
[size=14pt]The decision of the lawmakers followed the adoption of a motion under a matter of urgent public importance by the Minority Whip, Samson Osagie (ACN, Edo), who said as responsive lawmakers, the House could not afford to be silent on such a sensitive issue.[/size]

Jerry Manwe (PDP, Taraba) said by the judgment, what the court has done is to encourage public office holders to steal public funds and keep some aside for settlement of fines by the courts.
“My appeal is that the National Assembly should look into the law and amend it so that people don’t come into public offices, steal with impunity and get away with it,” he said.
Udo Ibeji (PDP, Abia) argued that the legislature should be blamed for the ridiculous penalties, Kamil Akinlabi (ACN, Oyo) said the lawmakers have no constitutional powers to review a court judgment.
Minority Leader Femi Gbajabiamila (ACN, Lagos) blamed the judge.
He said the judge was provided with options in the judgment but decided to go with the most controversial alternative.
“The provisions of the law give the adjudicating officer the option of fine, that is to use his discretion and it is left to him to use it reasonably. Why should that discretion be abused to that level.
“To exonerate the judiciary is wrong, the blame should be placed squarely on the judge and not the National Assembly. I believe that those that crafted the laws never in their wildest imagination contemplated that someone can steal that much,” he said.
On whether the lawmakers have the powers to review a court judgment, Gbajabiamila cited Section 88 of the constitution, saying the National Assembly is empowered to deliberate on any matter that borders on good governance.
“This s not a review of the judgment, what we are doing is looking at the judgment with a view of tidying up the law”.

omiobo: That guy is right! When you outgrown the clothes you used to wear,you change them. Change is all we need.

jidejoseph: But falane is a big lawyer he can chalenged the judgement and people like dino melaye and gbenga aruleba should bring the case on air with the inspector general of police efcc icpc

Black Peni5: First of all I'm not a right thinking Nigerian cos all right thinking Nigerians are the thieves...
Secondly, these problems precede PDP as it existed before democracy
Thirdly, I may have supported ACN but everyday I pay toll along Lekki, I hate ACN the more.

seanet01: Look at this Ediot.
Where is the obsession in the post?
More like some of you don't actually have functional brains.

Black Peni5: Is this news?

Its like telling me I'm a nigerian male.

omiobo: where do we go from here?

oyb: open season on the drinkard

no more hiding place for the dundee in chief

cameron, fashola, obj . . .beaf go tire

Powerful Nigerians have hijack criminal justice – Falana
on FEBRUARY 2, 2013 · in SPECIAL REPORT
5:00 am

By Ishola Balogun
To so many people, the conviction of Mr John Yakubu Yusufu for two years with the option of a paltry sum of N750,000 is more of a tasteless joke than a bitter reality.

While Yusufu diverted N23 billion Police Pension Fund, Adepoju Jamiu, 23, living in Ondo who was accused of stealing a China Blackberry phone worth N17, 000 was not so lucky as the Ikare Magistrate Court sentenced him to three years imprisonment without an option of fine.

Like Yusufu, Jamiu also pleaded guilty to the charge. Just last year, somebody stole a bush meat in Edo state and he was sentenced to three years imprisonment. But how can we compare that with the pension thief who stole billions and denied pensioners from their benefits and yet got his freedom after paying a paltry sum from his wallet.



Recall that the former Governor of Edo State, Lucky Igbinedion who was found guilty by a Federal High Court in Enugu of embezzling N2.9 billion, got his freedom after paying a fine of N3.5million. Although he was made to refund about 500 million and forfeited three of his properties to the government.

Similarly, the former Managing Director of Oceanic Bank got a six-month jail term having been found guilty of fraud. She was also made to forfeit over N150 billion in assets and cash.

As a result of the biting public outcry on the judgement, Saturday Vanguard sought the opinion of all classes of people on the issue.

For those who have studied the trend and how lawyers manipulate the technicalities of the law, they are not stunned by the development. To them, it only proved further that the much talked about fight against corruption by this administration is only a fluke and a mockery of the judiciary system.

Front line lawyer and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana said the development did not come to him as a surprise because it followed the pattern of previous sentences on most of the big scam in the country.

According to him, “This development follows the particular pattern of treating the rich with kid gloves while other people are being railroaded to jail. In previous cases, it has always been light sentences for the rich, like the case of former Governor Lucky Igbinedion who was asked to pay a fine of N3million; Cecelia Ibru was asked to forfeit to the government hundreds of millions of naira.”

On the penal code which the House of Representatives has vowed to change, the human rights lawyer said the Senate would have reduced the punishment for the offence essentially to guarantee a safe landing for the offenders.

“All the senate has done essentially is to produce a safe landing for the offender which is a problem.” Querying the rationale behind new law, he stated that there is no need for a new law on criminal justice.

“There was a judgment of Lagos High Court which has said that while the death penalty may be said to be guaranteed or recognised by the constitution, the manner of execution of any human being either by hanging or electrocution or by any other means, you cannot execute the judgement because it offends the right to dignity of the person because if you put a rope on his neck, it is barbaric and unconstitutional and it is illegal.

So, also the 2011 law on terrorism which is stringent to include life imprisonment. So, we don’t need new laws to deal with terrorism,” he stated.

The former governor of Edo State, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, however expressed shock when he heard about the judgement. “I was shocked when I heard the judgement. Somebody first threw a joke to me saying it pays to be a thief.

He said the person who stole the police pension fund will not go to jail but he only got a N750,000 fine. I was shocked.

“The next morning, it was confirmed when newspapers published the story. I felt so concerned that I had to call a friend who is a lawyer. But the lawyer told me the offence to which the man was charged has a maximum of two years imprisonment.”

The former governor maintained that some aspects of our laws as they relate to the penal system must be looked into adding that there was need to create special court for corruption charges. “In any case, I think the judge would have insisted that the man goes to prison. I think something is wrong with our laws and it is bad that we make a mockery of our judicial system.

“There are so many technicalities that make everything laughable. Other people are watching and it is in the same society that somebody was discussing a death penalty for kidnappers.

Somebody who kidnaps can have a death sentence while somebody who stole billions of naira or facilitated the theft of money belonging to pensioners who couldn’t send their children to school because they are not getting their pension as and when due can get two-year jail term with an option of fine of N750,000? It doesn’t make sense.

We must look at our laws again and make necessary amendments. We should also create special courts for corruption charges. Again, the judicial procedures must be changed to make it more simplified.”

Commenting on the judgment, Falana blamed the court stressing that it implies that the court displayed solidarity in this case.

He maintained that a few Nigerians have hijacked the criminal justice system in the country. “The powerful rich in Nigeria have hijacked criminal justice in Nigeria with connivance of the bar and the bench. So, it is important for Nigerians not to isolate a few of these cases, but they have to be examined holistically.”

On the new charge against Yusufu, Falana said the commission will do better this time in seeing that justice is done adding that the punishment for the new offence which is failure to declare assets attracts five years imprisonment.

Abia State Attorney-General, Barrister Kalu Umeh, explained that the judge must have related the offence under the law which the man was charged. “Why it is generating so much outcry is because so much has been talked about the amount involved.

But one can say it is abysmal and it does not reflect the seriousness of the offence but I think it was as a result of not having good penal system.

“However, I will say that everybody knows that there is a need for us to fight corruption and if people are found guilty of this kind of offence and let go with this kind of judgment, then that does not show that we have proper penal system.

Something is wrong with the system. I understand that he was asked to forfeit some of his property but apart from property forfeiture, there is the need to set example as a deterrence to others.”

He stated that the judge may be absolved of blame in the sense that he interpreted the law the way it is. “If the judge is found to be right meaning that he rightly interpreted the law, what we need to do is to go back to the drawing board to amend those things that are wrong.”

On the option of fine, he added that it all depends on the facts before the judge adding that the prosecution has the right of appeal as a remedy to the situation if unsatisfied.

“Justice is not only for the few, it is for the society. The money the man diverted is public money and that is why we have this outcry. It is also a challenge to our lawmakers to go back to the table in a bid to strengthen our penal system so that anybody found guilty of corruption will be appropriately dealt with.”

Wendyslim: why will you insult him becos he is sharing his opinion abi we no get freedom of speech again? Anyway demolishing 3000 schools out of 4000 is not a good idea cos to bring dem back it requires a lot of money and at the same time will leave so many people jobless.

passion007: Would you send your kid to one of those 3000 dilapidated school buildings? No? So let the man do his job. Not many Governors in Nigeria see education as a priority.

KnowAll: [size=16pt]It is refreshing to know that despite d comprehenisble failure of this Goverment at the federal level, "Ode Chuckwu" as some of our learned friend has labelled Jonathan still enjoys a relative considerable support. Can these supporters not feel the pains, agony and anger many Nigerian's are feeling OR is it just about blindly supporting my tribe's man, wheather he is performing or not

I cannot fathom why any human born of a woman would want another 4 years of this abysmal failure, a goverment floating at the whims of d wind, a clueless goverment, do we really like suffering and smiling , I don't get. Do u people know that "Winston Churchill" the hero of the Battle of Britain lost d elections of 1946, despite his huge pedigree.

My people wake-up and smell d coffee. This Goverment are a spontaeneious Goverment, they act on the whim, no wonder why Jo-boy had to visit Police College Ikeja once the story broke, as if he was not aware of the rot he is enmeshed in, I think Nigerian's have a right to make a choice by voting d other way come 2015. This goverment has failed to deliver.[/size]

KnowAll: Kudo's to the Governor, can someone remind me how long this man has been on d saddle. If I am not mistaken it should be less than 3 years, for him to conceive, build and commission this fly-over within the short time he has been in office is commendable if anything else, he surely started quick well of the block, don't relent in your effort Mr Governor.

Shame on all those year 7 Governors who cannot point to one single project in all that time. (I will not mention names, they know themselves)

olaife80: SIA is realy working.. Four of it to be completed before the end of this yr... Also Ogun state airport is now on process.. Just watch out.. God bless Ogun state! God bless Nigeria.

Demdem: Crap. zero sense post. why dont u attend to the issue at stake here.

Willy7: I dont know the relationship btwn tribune and pdp or their rift wit tinubu,but once i saw the topic,the next thing that came to my mind was pdp propaganda machines at work.The whole article smell of lies.Try another scheme,this obviously didnt work.

ACN Moves to Reconcile Buhari, ANPP

31 Jan 2013


Onyebuchi Ezigbo

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) is to broker truce between the national leader of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in order to facilitate the ongoing merger negotiations by opposition parties.

Buhari, a two-time presidential candidate of the ANPP, and the party had parted under unsavoury circumstances, a situation that has created a crisis of confidence between him and the party and is threatening the efforts by major opposition parties to merge ahead of the 2015 general election.

THISDAY gathered that the leadership of ACN, which met for hours during the party's National Executive Committee (NEC) yesterday in Abuja, decided to reconcile Buhari and the ANPP leadership to facilitate the merger bid.

ACN’s troubleshooting is coming on the heels of a warning letter from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) threatening to withdraw the certificate of registration of ANPP for altering its constitution without proper notice to the commission.

At yesterday’s NEC meeting of the ACN, the party leaders assessed the progress made on the merger and difficulties facing its actualisation.

Among issues on the agenda of the meeting included an appraisal of the party's role in the talks as well as considering ways of dealing with identified obstacles.

According to a source, the reconciliatory effort was necessary due to the anger caused by Buhari’s statement that the first phase of the merger talks would be between CPC and ACN.
Although Buhari tried to explain that his stand did not mean that ANPP would not be participating in the merger, leaders of ANPP immediately expressed their displeasure over the statement.

A top leader of ACN told THISDAY that the party considered the matter as capable of endangering the overall interest and goal of the merger.

According to the source, “ACN is taking steps to reconcile Buhari and the current leadership of ANPP over some past misgivings and to ensure that both agree to a roundtable discussion to sort out any difference.”

Buhari's stand on the merger had elicited reactions from leaders of the ANPP, who saw his statement as a slight and against the initial thinking that the opposition coalition will be without any precondition.

At the ACN NEC meeting, the merger contact committee chairman, Chief Tom Ikimi, briefed the leadership on some of the milestones already reached.

Before the NEC meeting, THISDAY gathered that the party's contact committee had also met on Tuesday to prepare an interim report on its activities, which was presented to the national leadership.

The report tried to detail proposals on likely positions to be adopted by ACN in negotiating with other parties in the merger talks.

THISDAY learnt from one of the merger committee members that the report covered extensive grounds regarding the logo of the proposed party, name and leadership structure.

He also said the party’s merger committee had gone far in articulating ways to overcome obstacles that might crop up with the registration of the new party.

Meanwhile, INEC has written the leadership of ANPP threatening to withdraw its registration certificate for not obeying the law on changing party constitution.
ANPP was said to have altered its constitution since 2010 but failed to notify the commission as stipulated by the Nigerian constitution.

In a letter signed by the Acting Secretary of the Commission, Alhaji Mustapha Kuta, and addressed to the ANPP National Chairman, Dr. Ogbonaya Onu, INEC asked the party to show cause why it should remain to function as a political party having flouted section 222b of the 1999 Constitution.

Section 222(b) of the constitution provides that any political association or political party which alters its constitution must notify INEC within 30 days after such alteration.
INEC alleged that ANPP failed to do so and the consequence as provided for in the constitution, is for the party to cease to remain as a political party.

However, a source at ANPP claimed that INEC witnessed the party's motion to alter its constitution during its convention in 2011 and as such was privy to the alteration.
The party source said although the party was yet to formally receive the INEC letter, it feels the there is no problem with its constitution.

mapet: 1. Your statement comes to me that you're not too smart; add to that intellectually lazy
2. Pulishing their names will achieve what that in itself will only dignify some of you and your ilks babeless conjectures. Anybody can concut and conjure names together (At least there was once Michael Jackson in INEC's list of voters once)
3. There is no denying the fact that their stipends was 10k. Their-in lies their strength of Character. First off, they were still under tutlage and mentoring; but much more the values they have recieved (Knowledge in key areas, acquired skills, exposures to top technology tools to enhance their trades as seen in Cuba, Germany and India, Start off grants and ready assistance and market for their product) far outweighs the 10k. It's only people with blurred vision that talks like you're doing. when they were out hopeless and jobless, 10k was not the issue.
4. Aregbesola is within his legitimate right to desire, pursue and run for another term in office. What logical thing can he used to show if not his achievements in the first term.

Tolexander: cos i dont take any news from any politician until i make a clear and concrete verification.

banki: \



PDP BEAT ACN SILLY IN ONDO...... how when and where, Does pdp have a senatorial sit in ondo, do they have house of rep sits in ondo, is the governor from the pdp how many pdp members are in the state house of assembly.

ba7man: Its too small jooor....If i was a PDP contractor, I would have made enough money to finance a Gubernitorial election from dis project alone.

Reacting through its Publicity Secretary, Mr Dauda Kolawole, ACN said the Lalubu-Ibara-Totoro Flyover project referred to in Ogun State is only 400 metres in length as against the 640-metre one being constructed in Oyo State, adding that the construction of roads, streetlight, landscaping and other ancillary facilities made the two projects different.

“We are awe-struck that a political party could advertise its naivety this shamelessly. What the PDP ought to have done was to demand the details of the two bridge constructions in both states and the details would have shocked it and avert this shameless plunge that it has made.

Deep Sight: That sum is pretty low.

Although we must acknowledge its a 3rd world country with limited resources. But that sum is still pretty low for the proper maintenance of proper police colleges nationwide.

Sincere 9gerian: I've been noting the arrogance in many of your comments. I just bookmarked this particular comment. God willing, I'll reproduce it when the PDP BOT chairmanship position is finally determined/elected.

yenukunme: Pathetic story...but for someone readin dis and ιη a similar state... SUICIDE IS NEVER AN OPTION!... When there is life...it means there is still a thin line of hope!

He said Mr Balogan had mental health problems and had been moved to a "safe cell" as he had been classed as a suicide risk.