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President Muhammadu Buhari has once again longed for the absolute prosecutorial powers he wielded when he led a military junta in Nigeria in the 1980s.

As the president clocks 77 on Tuesday, he granted a brief interview to state-run television, NTA, telling the station that he was unhappy about democracy’s ‘slow’ method of justice.

“When I came in uniform, I collected those who were leading, took them to Kirikiri (Maximum Security Prison) and told them they were guilty until they could prove themselves innocent,” Mr Buhari said, lamenting that he had “learned the hard way” that he could not do that in a democracy.

“I put based on almost all the geopolitical zones committees to investigate them. Those that were found to have lived beyond their means, the balance was taken and were given to the states.

“But I myself was arrested, detained and they were given back what they have stolen.

“So under this system which is supposed to be more accountable, but it is too slow for my liking, but I have to follow it,” Mr Buhari said.

Several Nigerians were jailed under Mr Buhari’s draconian decrees two and four during his military regime. Many journalists were jailed under a decree that prohibited journalists from writing articles that were factual but “insulting” to public officials.

Some politicians who were targeted and summarily detained spent years in jail despite failure of military tribunals to find them guilty of corruption; while some laws were applied retroactively to execute drugs smuggling suspects.

Mr Buhari had previously decried democratic checks and balances as unnecessarily cumbersome, but which he had no choice but to respect in order not to jeopardise the country’s nascent democracy.



Buhari’s History

Mr Buhari took part in a military coup that overthrew the democratically elected presidency of Shehu Shagari in December 1983, remaining in office until 1985 when he was himself overthrown in yet another coup led by one of his military allies, Ibrahim Babangida.


Mr Buhari was initially confined to a house arrest following his ouster, but he was later released with full military retirement benefits. He took an appointment in the brutal military regime of Sani Abacha between mid and late 1990s.

When Nigeria returned to democracy in 1999, Mr Buhari began seeking a return to office as a democrat, running unsuccessfully for president in 2003, 2007 and 2011.

In 2015, however, after entering into multiple alliances with other political structures outside his core northern base, Mr Buhari won the presidential election, becoming the first to upset an incumbent president through the ballot in Nigeria’s history.

Mr Buhari won the election on the back of a campaign that promised a liberal and democratic governance to all Nigerians. He described himself as a democratic convert and promised to eschew all authoritarian inclinations that had defined his career.

But upon assuming office, Mr Buhari began taking anti-democratic actions that drew widespread criticism. During a televised media chat in late December 2015, the president openly justified disobedience to court order that granted bail to Sambo Dasuki, a former national security adviser accused of corruption, saying Mr Dasuki’s offences were too grave for him to be entitled to bail.

Mr Dasuki’s perpetual detention in defiance of court orders has been a key highlight of a raft of controversies which Mr Buhari’s anti-corruption campaign has generated. .

In recent weeks, the president has faced criticism for allowing the State Security Service to run amok under him. The SSS, a secret police charged with gathering domestic intelligence for national security, has refused to release Omoyele Sowore and other activists despite multiple court orders granting them bail.

President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the N10.59 trillion 2020 appropriation bill into law.

The president signed the budget document into law on Tuesday in the presence of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Ahmad Lawan, the senate president, Femi Gbajabiamila, speaker of the house of representatives, amongst other principal officers.

The budget was increased by N260 billion from N10.33 trillion as contained in the proposal submitted by Buhari on October 8.

This is the fastest time since Nigeria returned to democracy in 1999 that the budget would submitted, passed and signed before the budget year commences.

Recurrent expenditure took the lion’s share of N4.84 trillion while capital expenditure and statutory transfers got N2.46 trillion and N560.47 billion respectively.

Nigeria’s debt — which currently stands at N25.7 trillion — will be serviced by N2.72 trillion during the year.

The sum of N1.5 billion was allocated for “federal government intervention in Zamfara, Katsina and Borno” while N20 billion was earmarked for “special intervention fund” and another N25 billion for the Nigerian navy’s “Falcon Eye” project aimed at tackling piracy and other criminal activities in waterways.

Some of the key highlights of the budget are N46 billion for presidency; N110 billion for National Judicial Council; N111.7 billion for Universal Basic Education; N128 billion for national assembly; N40 billion for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC); N38 billion for North East Development Commission; and N80 billion for Niger Delta Development Commission.

Also, N75 billion was allocated for the fight against Boko Haram and other operations of the armed forces; N65 billion for amnesty programme; N350 billion (recurrent) earmarked for special intervention programme; N20 billion for contributions to international organisations; and N22.7 billion for immunisation.

With the budget signing, Nigeria is now on the January-December budget cycle.

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Much of the talk surrounding Real Sociedad and Barcelona's 2-2 draw at the Reale Arena was not about the result, nor the performance, but instead the potential late penalty on Gerard Pique that wasn't awarded.The Catalan side were furious that the VAR was not consulted, with Diego Llorente - the player accused of fouling Pique - being involved in a similar incident with Sergio Busquets earlier in the game that saw La Real awarded a spot-kick.In fact, it was revealed that Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu will write a letter to the president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Luis Rubiales, to complain about the decision not to point for a penalty.However, Real Sociedad have published some images on social media that show Pique grabbing Llorente before going down, whilst also pointing to other controversial decisions that have gone against them in this fixture in the past."If others prefer to stick with the other images, we will select the ones that most clearly show the reality," they wrote on Twitter in relation to the coming together between Pique and Llorente, accompanied by images of Saturday's incident and controversial decisions in the past.

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Nigeria’s government is reviving old habits from its authoritarian past to stifle criticism.Evoking memories of Nigeria’s three decades of military rule, the repression risks undoing progress Africa’s top oil producer has made since the restoration of multiparty democracy in 1999. Governance and other reforms have helped more than double average annual foreign investment since then -- a pace President Muhammadu Buhari needs to sustain to help reduce the world’s largest number of people living in extreme poverty.

Known for disregarding human rights and introducing protectionist economic policies during his dictatorship from 1983 to 1985, Buhari won a popular vote in 2015 claiming to be a “converted democrat,” and was reelected in February. That assertion has been eroded by crackdowns on civil-society organizations, increasing arrests of journalists and planned laws to regulate social media.

The measures affect “the international community’s perception of our appreciation for democracy and the rule of law,” said Michael Famoroti, a partner at Lagos-based Stears Business. “Investors are less keen on venturing into regions that are considered to be within the grip of erratic strongmen.”

In his five years in office, Buhari has disobeyed at least 40 court orders, according to human-rights advocacy group Amnesty International. He’s also been accused of being too quick to resort to security crackdowns when faced with dissent.

Adversarial Media
Those inclinations clash with Nigeria’s traditionally adversarial media, which has responded with more criticism of the government. The Lagos-based Punch newspaper declared on Dec. 11 it will no longer address Buhari as president, but by his military rank of major-general in recognition of the martial tendencies of his government.

Last week, Omoyele Sowore, a prominent critic of Buhari, was detained by intelligence agents, 24 hours after the secret police belatedly submitted to a court order to release him on bail. The publisher and former presidential candidate was first arrested in August, after calling for revolution, and charged with various crimes including treason.

There’ve been at least 61 cases of attacks or harassment of journalists in Nigeria this year, more than any year since 1985, according to a report published by the Lagos-based Premium Times newspaper last month. The authorities have failed to investigate the “indiscriminate arrest, detention and prosecution of journalists,” Amnesty International said in a report in October.

Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney and Amnesty International have leapt to Sowore’s defence, while the U.S. government said it’s “deeply concerned” about the consequences for the rule of law and media freedom in Nigeria. The presidency has described Sowore as an agitator committed to “fomenting mass civil unrest and the elected administration’s overthrow.”

Contract Risk
The detention of Sowore, despite a bail order, “doesn’t send a favorable signal to investors concerned about contract risk,” said Adedayo Ademuwagun, an analyst at Lagos-based Songhai Advisory LLP. “The more the government demonstrates that it doesn’t respect its own laws and legal institutions, the less faith investors will have in the system.”

In addition to the attacks on journalists, lawmakers are promoting new legislation opponents say will target detractors of Buhari’s government.

Two bills -- one designed to regulate “internet falsehoods,” the other to rein in “hate speech” -- are being scrutinized by the Senate. Under the former, individuals found guilty of creating or transmitting “false” information online face fines of up to 300,000 naira ($824) or three years in prison. An early version of the latter sought life imprisonment for anyone convicted of stirring up ethnic hatred and the death penalty if the offense causes loss of life.

“If these bills become law, we will see the political class and the security services move rapidly to use them to stifle dissent,” said Cheta Nwanze, head of research at Lagos-based SBM Intelligence. Legislation already on the statute books has been used to justify a recent raid on a leading newspaper as well as the imprisonment of journalists.

Such concerns are unfounded, according to Mohammed Sani Musa, the senator sponsoring the so-called “social media bill.” The law “is not an attempt to stifle free speech,” but a means of tackling “fake news,” which has led to deadly outbreaks of violence. While the government “is not against free speech,” leaving social media unregulated “could result in more lawlessness, violence and deaths,” the presidency said.

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Kabir Marafa, a former senator, has alleged that some governors are plotting to replace Adams Oshiomhole, national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) with AbdulAziz Yari, former governor of Zamfara state.

Speaking with journalists in Zamfara, Marafa alleged that the governors nursing this idea are out to take control of the structures of the ruling party.

However, the former lawmaker refused to disclose the identities of the governors but said those opposed to the leadership of the national chairman are indirectly targetting President Muhammadu Buhari with the aim to make the president and his supporters politically irrelevant before the 2023 general election.

“The fight is not against Oshiomole, it is actually against the president himself. It is only that they don’t have the guts to say it now, but they will when the time is ripe,” Marafa said.

“It is evident that the plot to unseat Comrade Adams Oshiomole by a gang of President Buhari’s adversaries has thickened. This plot is merely aimed at hijacking the party structures and handing it over to Yari – who till now is the arrowhead of all the people that harbour a lot of bitterness against the president.

“The Governors in concert with their cronies, within and outside the party, are doing everything possible to hijack the party structures to ensure that the president and his sympathisers are edged out of power equation in 2023.”

Marafa asked the president to be wary of Yari, citing instances in the past where he (Yari) “acted against Buhari”.

“Yari and his co-travellers’ stock in trade is treachery and backstabbing. The earlier the president and his men realizes it and act accordingly, the better for them and the party itself,” he said.

“Remember 2003 when the president and his party the ANPP lost the general election? While the president and his men where nursing the wound of loosing the election, one of the ANPP Governors now a major pillar of Yaris support and collaborator, was sighted on national television cutting PDP Victory cake in the Villa! That is how all of them are.

“All these machinations are geared toward hijacking the party or bouncing back to relevance and once that is done, the party’s future is doomed. President Buhari should buckle up to save the party from falling into the hands of his adversaries in his own best interest, interest of the party, and that of the nation in general.

“The party is built on justice, equity and fairness and that will surely be eluded if the likes of Yari are allowed to succeed. Make no mistake sir, those asking for Oshiomhole’s head today, are actually looking for your jugular.”

The clash between Marafa and Yari made the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to take control of Zamfara, which was a stronghold of the APC.

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The Community Court of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Wednesday held that the arrest and detention of leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, by the Nigerian government was not unlawful and arbitrary.

In its judgment, the court consequently dismissed the suit by Kanu alleging torture, assault, inhuman treatment and the violation of his property rights by the Federal Republic of Nigeria for lacking in merit.

Delivering judgment in the suit, Hon Justice Dupe Atoki who read the judgment of the court also held that Nnamdi Kanu’s arrest and detention were not unlawful and arbitrary as claimed by the plaintiff.

The three member panel of the court equally dismissed the request of Kanu for monetary compensation to the tune of $800 million US Dollars.

While the court acknowledged that the plaintiff had the locus standi (legal capacity) to approach the court for the alleged violation of his human rights, it adjudged that without a mandate, he lacked the legal personality to represent the IPOB before the court.

On the issue of proper parties before the court, the names of the second and third defendants (Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, and Director-General, State Security Service) who are not signatories to the ECOWAS Revised Treaty, were struck out of the suit as improper parties, leaving the 1st defendant, the Federal Republic of Nigeria as the sole defendant in the case.

In the suit no ECW/CCJ/APP/06/16 filed before the court on March 3, 2016 by his counsel, Mr. Ifeanyi Ejiofor, the plaintiff claimed that his rights to life, personal integrity, privacy, fair trial, freedom of movement, freedom of expression, personal liberty, freedom of association, private property, right to existence and right to self-determination were violated following his arrest and detention by agents of the defendant state.

The plaintiff also alleged that he was a victim of arbitrary arrest, detention, torture, inhuman and degrading treatment while in detention and that his personal belongings were confiscated by the defendant through its agent.

Mr. Kanu, who is also the Director of Radio Biafra, registered under the regulatory laws of the United Kingdom and the United Nations, demanded monetary compensation in the sum of $800 million US dollars.

But counsel to the government of Nigeria, Mr. Abdullahi Abubakar, averred in his defence that the country was obliged to enforce the rule of law as stipulated in its Constitution, Treaties and Protocol which included defending the sovereignty of an undivided Nigeria.

The counsel added that the activities of IPOB were secessionist in nature as it instigated a separationist agenda among the people of the country’s South-East and South-South using its Biafra Radio.

Mr. Abubakar further averred that the acts of the plaintiff were intended to garner support for war against the defendant and carve out a geo-political area to be declared “Republic of Biafra.” Consequently, he said the defendant initiated an investigation into the allegations against the plaintiff which led to his arrest and discovery of illegal firearms and radio transmitters in his possession, items that posed security risk to the country.

The defendant also submitted that the plaintiff was investigated while in detention for offences of criminal conspiracy, managing and belonging to an illegal society and that though granted bail whose conditions he could not meet, he was detained on fresh charges of treasonable felony instituted at the Federal High Court against the plaintiff.

Counsel to the defendant avowed that although the plaintiff and some members of IPOB had severally threatened the peace of the nation with their demands, the defendant gave no orders to its agencies to kill members of IPOB nor did any such killings occur but that the defendant had remained committed to upholding the rule of law while recognizing and protecting the fundamental rights of its citizens and all groups including the IPOB.

The defendant, therefore, urged the court to dismiss the case.

Also on the panel were Justices Edward Amoako Asante and Keikura Bangura.

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The US had been cracking down on cyber scammers recently, over 80 Nigerians had been arrested in the USA for internet fraud and other online crimes during the fourth quarter of 2019.

After the arrests, more charges were pressed on some of the suspects and one of them is not just a scammer. Abaeze Atuche is a hacker and he had done something that no hacker had ever attempted to do before.

Atuche hacked the US government and gave all members of his family and 15 of his friends’ permanent American citizenship. As we speak the American government is in a process of deporting all 33 people who got their citizenship as a result of Atuche’s hack.

No details as to how he pulled it off yet but insiders say his skills are unbelievable. “The US government online network is impregnable but this guy proved it otherwise. If he was not arrested I don’t think there was ever going to be an investigation on how his family members got their citizenship”.

Abaeze Atuche is only 29 and the hacking started five years ago when he was only 24-years-old. He entered the US using a fake American passport in 2013 and never left. By 2016 his big family and 15 of his Nigerian friends were permanent US citizens.

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DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - Federal agents seized a jet Tuesday from a man charged in an international fraud scheme.

Only Channel 2 investigative reporter Aaron Diamant was at Peachtree DeKalb Airport as the federal agents processed the plane for evidence.

Diamant learned the seizure is just the latest in a growing list of local cases.

“For the most part, people don’t even understand. They don’t know what’s happening in Atlanta, Georgia,” Dept. of Homeland Security Special Agent Thor Whitmore said. “We’re looking at it as kind of a turn back to the 1980s.”

Investigators said the plane belongs to a Nigerian national charged in a multimillion-dollar international fraud scheme.

Diamant watched on Tuesday as agents collected evidence from the plane and a K-9 team swept the plane for drugs and other contraband.

New figures we received from the Department of Homeland Security show in 2019, the Atlanta field office spun up more than 1,100 cases and made 779 arrests. So far, it has led to 254 indictments and 241 convictions.

While seizing a jet is rare, this year, local agents seized more than five tons of drugs, 200 guns and more than $4.3 million in cash.

“This is all day, every day. I mean, this is the fruits of our labor, and this is the successes of a great team effort by our state, local and federal partners coming together to hit the bad guys where it hurts, in their pocket,” HSI Acting Special Agent in Charge Robert Hammer said.

Agents won’t say specifically how they connected the plane to the man now facing fraud charges.

“When we see a certain type of aircraft get sold, it raises our suspicions,” Whitmore said.

As federal agents went through the plane, the accused was in court Tuesday for an initial appearance.

A removal hearing will also be held to send him back to New York, where the charges he faces were originally filed.

Source: https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/dekalb-county/feds-seize-nigerian-man-s-jet-tied-to-multimillion-dollar-fraud-scheme/1017380751

Omoyele Sowore, convener of #RevolutionNow has been detained by the Department of State Security (DSS) barely 24 hrs after being released from their custody.

DSS officers stormed the Abuja Division of the court on Friday morning to rearrest Sowore and his co-defendant, Olawale Bakare.


It would be recalled that Sowore was released on Thursday after Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu, of the Federal High Court, Abuja, the judge handling his treasonable felony trial, said that her November 6 order must be complied with.

At the resume sitting, the prosecutor Hassan Liman informed the trial judge, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu that the order granted by the court was obeyed and the defendants released.

But trouble started when Mr Sowore and his counsel, Mr Falana tried to leave the court room after the sitting on Friday

He was accost by the operatives of the DSS,who tried to forcefully take him out of the court room.

Mr Falana however smuggled him out of the court premises but was given chase by the DSS.

The Department of State services (DSS) on Friday attempted to rearrest convener of #RevolutionNow protest, Omoyele Sowore and his co-defendant Olawale Bakare at the federal high court in Abuja.

On Thursday, the court ordered the DSS to release Sowore within 24 hours. He was later released in the evening of the same day.At the resume sitting on Friday, the prosecutor Hassan Liman informed the trial judge, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu that the order granted by the court was obeyed and the defendants released.

Counsel to the defendant Femi Falana acknowledged that Mr Sowore was released to him Thursday.The court therefore adjourned to 11,12, and 13th of February 2020, in the instance of the prosecutor, to enable him serve his witnesses statement to the defendant counsel.

But trouble started when Mr Sowore and his counsel tried to leave the court room after the sitting.He was accost by the operatives of the DSS,who tried to forcefully take him out of the court room.

Mr Sowore refused to leave the court room as his lawyer and the of the DSS are currently in a meeting.

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Ibadan Kano highspeed railway (through the major expansive states) to get $5bn funding,and the #Lagos_Calabar_highspeed_coastal_railway to connect 10 states in the SouthSouth and SouthEast, gets $3.4bn as well from the $29bn loan. Both at unbelievably 2.7% low interest rate.


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On Thursday, the Federal High Court in Lagos , Orji Kalu,sentenced a serving senator and former governor of Abia State to 12 years in prison after convicting him of N7.65 billion fraud.

Justice Mohammed Idris pronounced Mr Kalu guilty of the charge in a trial that lasted for 12 years.Mr Kalu was tried alongside his company, Slok Nigeria Limited, and Udeh Udeogu, who was Director of Finance and Accounts at the Abia State Government House during Mr Kalu’s tenure as governor.

The rise

Born on April 21, 1960, the year Nigeria became independent, Mr Kalu was elected governor of Abia State in the 4th republic.He served two terms as governor of Abia State from May 29, 1999, to May 29, 2007, under the umbrella of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).Prior to his election, he served as the chairman of the Borno Water Board and the chairman of the Cooperative and Commerce Bank Limited.

Mr Kalu is the chairman of the Daily Sun, a Nigerian daily print newspaper published in Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria. The newspaper was incorporated on March 29, 2001, and began production as a weekly on January 18, 2003, and as a daily on June 16, 2003, while he was serving as governor.
He also doubles as the chairman of the New Telegraph which targets domestic and foreign readers in major urban centres throughout the country and covers political, social, and cultural issues.

These two newspapers emanated from SLOK Holding, a conglomerate that consists of a number of companies, including the Ojialex Furniture Company, SLOK Nigeria Limited, SLOK United Kingdom Limited, Adamawa Publishers Limited, SLOK Vegetable Oil, Aba, SLOK Paper Factory, Aba, SLOK United States Incorporated, SLOK Ghana, Togo, Cotonou, Guinea, South Africa, Liberia, Botswana, SLOK Korea, Supreme Oil Limited, SLOK Airlines, and First International Bank Limited.

The Trial

On July 11, 2007, Mr Kalu was arrested by EFCC on charges of corruption while serving as the governor of Abia State.He was later released on bail, and accused the Olusegun Obasanjo regime of persecuting him during and after his tenure in office, an accusation mentioned by former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria John Campbell in his book, “Nigeria: Dancing on the Brink.

He faced prosecution alongside a former Director of Finance and Accounts at the Abia State Government House during Mr Kalu’s tenure, Ude Udeogo, and Mr Kalu’s company, Slok Nigeria Limited.Though he left office in 2007, in October 2016, EFCC renewed its prosecution and preferred 34 count charges against Mr Kalu. But he and Mr Udeogo pleaded not guilty to the charges and were granted bail.

The EFCC ultimately reactivated Mr Kalu’s case last year, filing amended graft charges of up to N7.7 billion against him. In November 2018, a judge frowned at Mr Kalu’s foreign travel without the permission of the court and the EFCC.

Senatorial Bid

The fact that he was standing corruption trial did not deter the former Abia governor from returning to Nigeria and successfully contesting a senatorial election.He had in 2015 lost his bid to be elected senator. But he returned in 2019.He won the Abia North senatorial election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in February 2019.

Mr Kalu won with 30,580 votes while the closest opposition candidate from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mao Ohuabunwa, recorded 21,940 votes.He later emerged as the Senate Chief whip.

Mr Kalu is a staunch supporter of President Muhammadu Buhari. He once said the president is a close friend and father, who deserves all the support to make Nigeria better.

The Fall

After 12 years of standing trial, he was eventually sentenced to 12 years in prison on Thursday.

In one of the counts against him, the EFCC alleged that Mr Kalu “did procure Slok Nigeria Limited – a company solely owned by you and members of your family – to retain in its account, domiciled with the then Inland Bank Plc, Apapa branch, Lagos, an aggregate sum of N7,197,871,208.7 on your behalf.

The prosecution claimed that the N7.1 billion “formed part of the funds illegally derived from the treasury of the Abia State Government and which was converted into several bank drafts before they were paid into the said company’s account.

The prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, said the ex-governor violated Section 17(c) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004, and was liable to be punished under Section 16 of the same Act.

Apart from the N7.1bn, which he was accused of laundering, the ex-governor and the other defendants were also accused of receiving a total of N460 million allegedly stolen from the Abia State Government treasury between July and December 2002.

The prosecutor said they breached Section 427 of the Criminal Code Act, Cap 77, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 1990. During the trial, the prosecution called 19 witnesses while the defendants testified on behalf of themselves.

Mr Kalu was found guilty of all the 39-count charge filed against him by the EFCC. Mr Kalu, on Thursday. reportedly smiled at reporters and said, ‘2023, here we come’ as he was led out of the courtroom by Correctional Services officials after his sentencing.

He later reportedly said: Where are you taking us to now? Please don’t handcuff me. I will follow you.

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The State Security Service (SSS) on Thursday night released Omoyele Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters.

Mr Sowore was arrested on August 3 for planning a series of protests to demand good governance.

Mr Sowore first met his bail on November 6, one month ago, but he was not released. A federal judge, on Thursday morning, gave 24 hours for Mr Sowore to be released.

Mr Sowore’s lawyer, Femi Falana, while confirming the development to PREMIUM TIMES, said the SSS also paid N100,000 fine to Mr Sowore as ordered by the judge.

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