₦airaland Forum

While the deposits hitting the current accounts of bank customers are being debited for stamp duty, the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission has placed an embargo on the fund as a result of a court case, EVEREST AMAEFULE writes
For the three tiers of government looking for ways to shore their revenue base, the fund accruing from the recently re-energised stamp duty is still far from their reach.

This is because the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission has placed an embargo on the fund lodged in a Single Treasury Account with the Central Bank of Nigeria known as the Stamp Duties Account.

Going by the projection of the Nigerian Postal Services and the CBN, the account may have attracted about N833bn in the first four months of the year.

The Federal Government had projected that the deduction of N50 on every banking deposit into a current account with a value of N1,000 and above would give the nation as much as N2.5tn per annum. This translates to N206.33bn a month and N833.33bn for the first four months of the year.

Although the implementation started in January through the issuance of a memo by the CBN, sources at the RMAFC said the revenue agency had placed an embargo on funds accruing from the duty.

This is because of a court case that was instituted against the CBN and 23 banks by one of the companies allegedly appointed by NIPOST to act as its agent for the collection of the stamp duty for transactions in the banks and other financial institutions.

The company, Kasmal International Services Limited, owned by Senator Buruji Kashamu, had gone to court to compel the banks to remit about N6tn to NIPOST for the stamp duties they are supposed to have collected between 2004 and 2013.

The banks had allegedly failed to deduct stamp duties on electronic transactions because the Stamp Duty Act of 2004 had not made any provision for the deduction of stamp duty on electronic transactions but on transactions where stamps are supposed to be affixed.

However, Kasmal International Services Limited contends that the banks are supposed to collect the duty on behalf of NIPOST. The company also claims that it is entitled to 20 per cent of the fund in accordance with the agency agreement it allegedly signed with the postal agency.

It is on the strength of the subsisting court case that the RMAFC has restricted access to the stamp duty account, which is supposed to be swept into the Federation Account for sharing among the three tiers of government.

This development, investigation showed, would not only affect the fortunes of the three tiers of government, which are currently starved of funds to carry on with basic functions of governance, but also the operations of NIPOST, which has been expecting relief with the implementation of the duty.

One of the things that may be affected at NIPOST is the new salary structure, which has since been submitted to the government. The government’s nod on this may have to linger. Several proposed renewal programmes of the postal system may also stay in the pipeline.

The Special Assistant to the Minister of Communications on Media, Mr. Victor Oluwadamilare, declined to comment on the development. Similarly, the Public Relations Manager of NIPOST, Mr. Taiye Olaniyi, declined to speak on the subject.

Attempts to speak with Acting Postmaster General of Federation, Mr. Richard Balami, on the restriction of access to the fund proved abortive. A text message sent to his mobile phone had yet to be replied as of press time.

It is not only access to the stamp duty account that has been stalled by the court case instituted by Kasmal. In April, the Senate called for a public hearing into the controversy surrounding the sour relationship between NIPOST and the firm. The upper legislative chamber found out that it could not do much because of the court case.

The work of the technical committee set up to clear the grey areas on the implementation of the stamp duty has also been stalled as a result of the court case. Part of the work of the committee is to determine what percentage of the duty should go to NIPOST as the cost of collection.

Membership of the committee chaired by RMAFC is drawn from the CBN, NIPOST and Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.

The committee is also expected to examine some transactions that have been exempted from stamp duty in order to ensure that they don’t become an albatross to the implementation of the policy. It is also expected to monitor the accruals into the stamp duty account.

Since the CBN took the decision to coerce banks to start deducting stamp duty in January this year, the duty has been enmeshed in one controversy or the other. There was the resistance of bank customers who said it was unjust to coerce them to pay dated duty that they get no benefit whatsoever from.

There has also been controversy over the role of the different government agencies and agents in the collection of the stamp duty as well as what accrues to who. These issues have not been resolved.
The appointment of agents for the collection of the stamp duty has also not gone without its controversy.

Apart from the ongoing dispute on the status of Kasmal International Services Limited in relations to the stamp duty, the appointment of agents for the collection of stamp duty in other sectors of the economy has also attracted negative publicity.
In March, the commencement of the process for the appointment of 20 new agents caused a spat between the Minister of Communications, Mr. Adebayo Shittu, and the former Acting Postmaster General of the Federation, Mr. Enoch Ogun.

While Shittu said the process for the appointment of the agents should be suspended until the issues surrounding Kasmal was sorted out, Ogun said he received no such directive and also claimed that the appointment of agents was a routine duty handled by a standing committee charged with the responsibility.
The controversy claimed the job of Ogun, who was shown the way out of the postal system even though he had been asked to head the organisation until a substantive PMG was appointed.

As the controversy surrounding the attempt by the government to shore up its revenue base through the interpretation of the Stamp Duty Act of 2004 deepens, one thing that has remained constant since January is the alert informing bank customers of the deduction of N50 on deposits from their accounts. What becomes of the monies will be determined in the days ahead.

While the controversy that greeted the attack on the convoy of Edo State Deputy Pius Odubu penultimate Sunday when he went on campaign in Auchi, Etsako West Local Council Area, another aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Godwin Obaseki and his supporters yesterday escaped death when armed men reportedly opened fire on them at Sobe, Owan West Local Council Area of Edo State while on campaign.

The Guardian gathered yesterday that the incident happened at 5.30 pm and that some youths from the area were said to have pursued the suspected thugs and they were arrested with guns and sent to the police.

A member of the team confirmed the incident.
The state Commissioner for Arts and Culture, Mcdonald Obasuke who confirmed the incident said he saw the man who went inside a vehicle and brought out a gun, which he shot at the venue where Obaseki was about addressing APC delegates.

Obaseki expressed shock, saying he had to cancel the event because of the shooting. “ I called off the meeting with the delegates because I had to be whisked off by my security men. No one was hurt though. I cannot be intimidated, whoever did this has failed because we will continue our campaign”
Obasuke had said “while we were still expecting delegates, Obaseki was already inside with the party leaders when this boy who pretended he was with us went inside the car and brought out a gun and fired at our direction.

“ We were lucky to dodge the bullet so we immediately mobilised our boys and pursued them because it seems they came to disrupt the event. We caught them and handed them over to the police. It was really shocking but we thank God no body was hurt

Food scarcity is imminent across the nation, following a drastic reduction in food production as a result of insecurity in different parts of Nigeria. Apart from the impact of the activities of the Boko Haram in the North East, which have displaced thousands of agrarian communities, farming activities have also come under threat in the middle belt and southern regions owing to the menace of Fulani herdsmen. In recent weeks, the armed herdsmen who are now found in almost every community in the South -East, South- South and South- West geo-political zones have clashed with farmers, a situation that has resulted in the death of several persons in the hands of suspected Fulani herdsmen.

As a corollary, various groups in Southern Nigeria such as the Ohaneze Ndigbo, Movement for Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Odua People’s Congress (OPC) have issued ultimatums, demanding the exit of the herdsmen from their lands.

This has reduced the movement of cattle and foodstuff to markets in the southern part of the country, as the Hausa/ Fulani traders have become apprehensive that they might be attacked by the aggrieved people of Southern Nigeria. Our correspondents gathered that while many farmers in the South had abandoned their farmlands for security reasons, traders from the North have cut down on the quantity of cattle, rice, beans and vegetables they move down to the South for sale. The result has been an unprecedented increase in prices of these staple foods in the market.

Few cows, fewer tomatoes
“Usually, 200 Peugeot J5 model buses leave the Kaduna Central Market with baskets of tomatoes to Kogi, Edo and Delta states everyday during the peak season between December to March,” Malam Idris Sherrif, the National chairman of Vegetable Farmers Association of Nigeria, told one of our correspondents. In the same vein, 400 Tangle lorries and about 500 Peugeot J5 Models go to Lagos alone, Sherrif said. “Mile 12 Market alone used to absorb 80 trailers of tomatoes, apart from other vegetables like onions, chillies and hot pepper every day.’’

However, in the last few years, the volume of sales, even within the North, has dwindled and the cost of vegetables has increased, Malam Idris has lamented. “Right now, the situation is worse because this is not the season for tomatoes,” he said.

Before now, a basket of tomatoes costs just N3,000 during the dry season, but the same quantity now sells for between N10,000 to N20,000, depending on the supply. “In the South, the price increase will be more because the number of lorries that convey the commodities to the region has reduced drastically because of the recent threats that northerners face, owing to the order given by some groups that herdsmen should leave their areas,’’ Sheriff said.

According to him, most of the dealers were afraid of going down to the South because of the threat of the Oodua Peoples Congress and the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign States of Biafra who were peeved by the recent attack in Ukpabi- Nimbo, Uzo Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State. A prominent cattle dealer at Zango Cattle Market, Alhaji Muhammad Abubakar, said that cattle dealers are wary of going to the South in recent times. “The recent threat by southerners that our people should leave their area has made even the few who used to go there to be apprehensive. Some traders are still plying their trades but majority have adopted a wait-and-see attitude,” he said.

Nasarawa State
In Nasarawa State, farmers have complained about the disruption of farming activities by the herdsnen and raised the alarm over the heavy presence of nomads and cows and destruction of crops on farmland in some parts of the state. Chairman of United Farmers Association in Kadarko in Keana Local Government Area in the state, complained that attacks and mischief by Fulani cattle on farms was slowing down farming activities in the area. “We are afraid of going to farm freely because there are many Fulani people grazing around our farms with guns and destroying crops.

I am calling on government to do something urgently about this to enable us go to farm without any fear of being attacked,” he said. National President of Middle Belt Youth Development Organisation, Chris Aba, who spoke to Sunday Telegraph in Lafia, expressed concern that food shortage was imminent in the region if attacks on farmers by suspected Fulani herdsmen were not stopped. Aba took a swipe at the Federal Government’s idea to create ranches for Fulani herdsmen, arguing that any person or group of persons in Africa or Nigeria that does not inherit any land should be treated as a foreigner.

Benue State
In Benue State, referred to as the Food Basket of the Nation, farmers and residents have expressed apprehension over imminent famine and starvation if urgent measures were not taken by both the federal and state governments to end the intractable attacks on farmers by suspected Fulani herdsmen..

Vice Chairman, All Farmers Association of Nigeria, (AFAN), controlling Benue and North East, Mr. Terfa Yalu, stated that 80 per cent of the Benue population depends largely on agriculture, which is mostly done at a subsistence level, and noted that if urgent measures are not initiated with a view to ending the feud, the country will be confronted with serious food scarcity. “I am foreseeing a situation in Benue State where famine and starvation are likely to strike due to the incessant attacks on farmers. You can see that the farmers who are producing the food and even exporting to other countries are being massacred like animals by the Fulani insurgents and when these farmers are not there, then it means there will be hunger in the land”.

“Let me tell you, Benue State is widely known as the food basket of the nation and when the farmers are killed or their crops destroyed, it will definitely give rise to famine, hunger and starvation”, Yalu predicted.

The AFAN helmsman, who said the Fulani attacks was a deliberate ploy to destabilise the present administration at all levels by those who do not mean well for it, said it was capable of frustrating foreign investors from doing businesses in the country. He commended steps taken by the President Mohammadu Buhari administration so far to end the imbroglio. He said it was unfortunate that many women and children who are of school age have greatly been affected in the attacks, and expressed concern that the attacks have come when the country was nursing the bruises it sustained from the deepening economic down turn.

South-East
A combination of factors is at work to unleash unprecedented famine on the people of South-East geo-political zone. One of the factors is the late and irregular rain fall this season followed by a reduction in the volume of foodstuff transported from the northern parts of the country to the area.

The shortage was due to widespread communal clashes between farmers and Fulani herdsmen across the country. The greatest factor, especially as it affects the zone, is the abandonment of farms by farmers in agricultural areas of Enugu State for fear of attacks by Fulani herdsmen. Although kidnapping, rape, armed robbery and killing of farmers are some of the vices the Fulanis were accused of perpetrating in the zone over the years, these vices seem to have quadrupled this year.

The worst being the killing of farmers and rape of their women by suspected Fulani herdsmen. For instance, a community leader from Ukpabi-Nimbo and former Chairman of Uzo-Uwani local government area, Chief Danniel Okweli, told our reporter that the Fulani people have killed up to six of their farmers in the last four years.

“For two decades now, we have been living in fear. Our people are now hungry because we can’t go to farm again. If their cattle destroy our farm and you complain, they will tell you it is not their cattle. But when you kill their cattle, they will kill human beings.
They value their cattle more than human life,” he lamented. Similarly, the member representing Nsukka East Constituency in Enugu State House of Assembly, Chinedu Nwamba, said: “These days, from my research, many people no longer go to farm. This is a very dangerous trend that is about happening to the Igbos because nobody is free to go to farm again. So in due time, we are going to face hunger because of incessant attacks by the Fulani herdsmen on our people.

“And the major cause is that they are allowed to move from one place to another. If they are being restricted from moving from one place to another they will not see anybody to rob, they won’t see people to kidnap, they won’t see people to destroy their crops, they won’t see crops to destroy. So people are no longer going to farm in Enugu state for fear of cattle rearers.”

Nwamba told our correspondent that he is currently working on “A Bill For A Law to make provisions for the Control of Nomadic Cattle Rearing in Enugu State and Other Matters Related thereto: The Enugu State Control of Nomadic Cattle Rearing Law, 2016”. Uzo-Uwani is one of the foremost agricultural local government areas of the state. With farmers in many communities of the council abandoning their farms this year, there is no doubt that it will seriously lead to decline in agricultural output this year.

But the problem is not restricted to Uzo-Uwani. In fact, at various times, other local government areas in the state have allegedly had their own fair share of violent attacks and rape of their women in their farm, making them to abandon their farms for fear of being killed. Prominent among the local governments where the clash has become pronounced is Awgu, another area where 90 per cent of residents are predominantly farmers. Just last month, 78 youths and men of Ugwuleshi community in the local government were arrested by the military for allegedly waging ‘war’ against Fulani herdsmen.

The Traditional Prime Minister of the community, Chief Stephen Onuoha, who spoke to our correspondent on telephone, said that military men numbering over 50 and armed-to-teeth invaded his community and started arresting everybody they saw.

“On the whole, over 78 persons, mainly young men, were arrested and taken to Abia State. As a matter of fact, from 2010 till date, Fulani herders have been troubling us. We have made appeals to their leaders and we have written to various institutions of government, which include the police, Directorate of State Security, Awgu Council Chairman, Enugu State House of Assembly, Enugu State Government, Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, and member representing our people in the Federal House of Representatives, Hon. Tobi Okechukwu, complaining about the manner the Fulani herdsmen move their cattle to the farm and destroy our crops after farming.

“We had so many reconciliation meetings, yet, every season, they destroy our crops. We don’t have any other business than farming and our lives depend on it. However, in 2014, one of our brothers went to the farm, the Fulani herdsmen killed him not only that, they severed his body, put him in a sack and dropped him inside the river. This matter was reported at the Divisional Police Station in Awgu, but nothing happened,” he said.

Delta State
In Delta State, several agrarian communities are now apprehensive of what this year’s farming season holds for them in view of the activities of the Fulani herdsmen. Last year, clashes between farmers and the herdsmen were rampant and in some cases, resulted in fatalities. The incessant conflict between herdsmen and their host communities hit its climax on January 5, 2015, when some armed Fulani herdsmen reportedly kidnapped the paramount ruler of Ubulu- Uku in Aniocha South Local Government Area of the state.

The monarch, HRM Akaeze Edward Ofulue III, was subsequently murdered by his captors and his body dumped in the bush. The corpse was discovered 15 days later. But even the outcry that followed that gruesome incident did not prevent the herdsmen from wrecking more havoc in other communities in the state. In fact, the apparent inaction of the government and its security agencies may have emboldened these herdsmen as they simply moved on to other communities in the state. In September last year, three persons were killed when some Fulani herdsmen attacked farmers in Amoji , Onicha-Ukwuani, Ndokwa West Local Government Area of Delta State. The conflict was ignited when the herdsmen allowed their cattle to stray into the community’s farmlands, destroying a lot of crops in the process.

A group of eight young men had earlier been massacred by a band of Fulani herdsmen at Ogume, Ndokwa-West LGA while a 30-year old palm wine tapper was also killed by the herdsmen in Ofagbe, Isoko North Local Government Area of Delta State.

There are herdsmen in almost every community across the three senatorial districts of the state and everywhere they go, their story has been that of forceful occupation of community lands, de-
struction of farm crops and violence against any host community who dares challenge their effrontery.
These incidents have forced the various communities to issue eviction notices to the herdsmen. But rather than leave these communities, the herdsmen merely retreated deeper into the forests where they graze their cattle.

While occupying the farms, these herdsmen also help themselves with the farm produce, leaving the farmers with nothing but hunger and sorrow. In Onicha-Ukwuani for instance, the herdsmen took over the farmlands in Amoji, Ibabu and Ugiliamai communities for the most part of last year and farmers could not venture into their farms for fear of being killed. One of the farmers, Ojebo Olise, told Sunday Telegraph that he lost all his corn and yams to the herdsmen because there was no way to get to the farm without encountering the armed herdsmen.

“They took over our farms around the month of July and that was about the time we were just waiting for the fresh corn to mature. They occupied the whole place and despite our cry to the Local council and state government authorities, they remained inside the bush waiting to kill whoever would come to challenge them. “The result is that we lost out in terms of the harvest from last year’s farming season.

Imagine planting your yams and not being able to weed the grass and attend to the crops. At the end of the day, we lost everything,” he said. Olise told Sunday Telegraph that at the moment, the situation has not changed significantly because even though the communities have again asked the Fulani herdsmen to leave, there were still reports that they were being sighted in some remote forests.

“Many of our people are still not confident going back to their farms because of the presence of these herdsmen. We want the Delta State Government to step into the matter by ordering these herdsmen to leave our farmlands. We are predominantly farmers who depend on our farm produce for the sustenance of our families. If herdsmen are allowed to take over our lands by force, how do we produce food for our families and have some surplus to sell to earn some income?

We want the state government to look into this matter and avoid violent conflicts with these herdsmen. We want our people to return fully to their farms without having fears that they might be attacked by herdsmen,” he said. Just last week, the people of Obiaruku community, Ukwuani Local Government Area, Delta State asked the Fulani herdsmen in their community to leave with immediate effect. The eviction order was announced at a town- hall meeting after eight people were allegedly kidnapped by the herdsmen.

It was resolved that the herdsmen must leave so that the farmers in the community could return to their farmlands. Like in other parts of the state and by extension the South South geo-political zone, the presence of the herdsmen was hindering normal farming activities and have become a threat to security and public peace.

The General Manager, Climate Service, Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Mr. Joseph Alozie, said the extended dry season and excessive heat being experienced this time in the country was expected, saying however that it is not forever.

He said that the changes is responsible for the hot weather, heat, dry conditions and dusty environment, adding that the long dry season is about coming to an end as the rainy season sets in. According to him, the hot weather is the result of the changes in the atmosphere. He pointed that though weather was excessively hot this year and the dry season a bit long, “You will start to think of serious negative if it is followed by very low rainfall, but only agriculturist will say what they are expecting this year.

The Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the ruling party, APC, Timi Frank, has blamed the internal wrangling within the party on the party’s Chairman; Chief John Oyegun who Frank accused of gross incompetence. Speaking in a recent interview, the APC spokesperson also alleged that Oyegun’s inability to bring the APC family together and resolve a number of critical issues within the ruling party is destroying the ruling party. “The APC I belong to today, sorry to say, has made Nigerians to start thinking twice: ‘Is this a party we can trust?

A party that cannot allow a process to take place! So, it’s a very sad one,” he added. He also alleged that it is because he came from the PDP that is why the leadership of his party has refused to allow him speak for the party in acting capacity. On the crisis rocking his party, Frank, however, called for a true reconciliation committee that will ensure a united party. He said: “I believe for some of us that came from the PDP, we’ve not been treated fairly. Tell me, if this party (APC) has been treating us well, why would they refuse to let me speak?
I still repeat: Is it because I came from PDP to join the party? Today, they have turned some of us to be like outcasts within the party.

“And that is why when my chairman made that statement about the Senate President that the party does not mind if the PDP takes over the position and so on. Shortly afterwards, because of some pressures, he came back to fine-tune his statement by saying that the party still wants to hold the position. But he never denied making the statement.

How can you allow your number three citizen go through what he is going through – no matter what? It’s because the party is not mediating between the executive and the legislature. “The party has every power, to go to the president, to appeal to the president, to make it clear that this issue is not just about Bukola Saraki. This is beyond Saraki.

It could be anybody. Anybody could be in his shoes. As a party, we’ve not been able to take a position that will please Nigerians. What is happening to Saraki is not just Saraki but it’s something that is making Nigerians to look at APC as a party having issues.

Our chairman came out to demonstrate that statement. “I don’t want us to have a scenario whereby we have power today and in the next four years we’re not in the office. We worked hard to bring this change and we must defend this change. This is because we have a president that has the goodwill to deliver the change agenda. But how you can do that lies on the party?” Speaking further Frank said: Frank said: “We have two factions of the party at the National Assembly, especially in the Senate – the Ahmed Lawan group and the Saraki group. As a party, till today, we’ve not been able to summon those two factions and say ‘come what are the issues? Let’s harmonise these issues. Let’s stop this infighting.’
Till today, the party has not found itself to be seen as a party that can unite the family.”

A middle aged woman, Amina Kabir, is currently standing trial before the Jibiya upper sharia court, Katsina, for getting married to two men, contrary to sharia law of the state.

When the case came up, the prosecutor told the court that the embattled woman married her first husband in 1994, while she got married to her second husband five months ago.

He told the court further that her first husband, Kabir Mohammed, lives in Jibiya, while her second husband, Shamsu Saulawa lives in Katsina township.

“My Lord, anytime, she wants to sleep with one of them, she will tell the other that she will be travelling to either Jibiya or Katsina.”

However, the prosecutor told the court that nemesis caught up with the housewife when she quarrelled with one of her friends, Hindatu, over debt. The friend, in a fit of anger, spilled the beans.

‘Her first husband who witnessed the quarrel thought that Hindatu wanted to paint his wife black and thus he decided to sue her for defaming Amina.

The courtroom which was filled to capacity, heard from Hindatu on interrogation telling the court that her friend was indeed married to two men and she was a witness to both marriage ceremonies.
She told the court that she is willing to present all her witnesses.

The presiding judge, Alhaji Kabir Hamisu Bello, adjourned the case till May 9,2016 for further hearing.

A young lady, Medina Faith Billy, is not a happy woman at the moment after men of the police force meted out what she sees as a great injustice to her and other tenants in the house they lived in.

According to Billy, the police, numbering about 30, with some thugs also known as 'Area Boys', stormed their house without prior notice nor orders from a court of law, to start throwing their property outside, purporting the order came from an High Court.

But the problem with the forceful eviction, according to Billy, was that the police came to the wrong house as the house they should have gone to was not their own.

After throwing them out, it was discovered that the police had gone to the wrong house but instead of apologizing and allowing them to take back their things, the police officers refused to open the gate and insisted that they must pay some certain amount of money before they are allowed to move their things back.

This is what Billy wrote on her Facebook wall where she is seeking justice:
"There is no law in this country anymore. Some men came from the Lagos High Court to our house to evacuate all our things without a day's quit notice, not even a month's notice.

I was telling them to call the landlord » but they insisted that the order was from the High Court of Lagos. The policemen that came were up to 30 and the agbero that came with them were up to 40.

I was explaining to them they came to the wrong house because we have two 21s in our street but they didn't listen. They were throwing all my property like ball, damaging my AC and other things.

I said to myself where is the law in this country because police that were meant to support and protect the citizens of this country, were the same police pointing guns at their citizens just because they have guns.

After throwing all our property outside, they locked gate. They later realised that they had come to the wrong house. They locked the gate and asked us to pay them money to take the property back to our apartment."

By CHIZOBA IKENWA and EMMAUEL ADEYEMI, Lokoja
KOGI State Police Command now has in its custody, one of the sus­pected herdsmen who participated in the recent massacre of more than 48 persons in Nimbo community, Uzo- Uwani local government area of Enugu state.

Saturday Sun gathered that the suspect simply identified as Mohammed Zure was initially arrested by the police because of his connection with some suspected kidnappers in the state.

According to a reliable source in the state command, Mohammed was granted bail after the prime suspect in the kidnap case for which he was nabbed was arrested. “He was granted bail and because he needed someone to take him on bail, the investigating officer decided to switch on his phone. Out of curiosity, he decided to go through the content of the phone. It was in the process that he discovered horrible video clips of a murder scene.

“Everything changed immediately and he was taken back to the interrogation room. He later confessed that he was the one who took the video while they were slaughtering one of the victims during the Enugu killings. In the video, you could hear him shouting and saying in Hausa ‘I have killed you now. You think that you can kill Fulani herdsmen and go free’. He personally took the picture to show his family members that he was actually successful and participated in the killings”, the police source stated.

According to the source, Mohammed confessed that they were more than 100 Fulani herdsmen who came for the attack. “He confessed that they were more than 100 and were selected from differ­ent states especially from Taraba , Kogi, Benue, Nasarrawa , Kastina , Niger and Kaduna states. He claimed that the people of Nimbo had killed so many of their people in the past and government did not do anything about it. He claimed that they also reported severally to Nimbo elders but they refused to investigate, that was why they decided to retaliate.”

Mohammed, it was further gathered, told the police that the Fulani are so united that whatever affects an individual is their problem. “He alleged that their people in Nimbo shared Kolanut to all cattle rearers across the country. What it signifies is that there is going to be an attack and everyone should send representatives to support them. He alleged that this is their custom and has been existing. He was nominated to join them because he was born and raised in Enugu by his father who is also a herdsman. Two days before the attack, they all gathered in a community in Kogi and perfected how they would execute the attack.”

Meanwhile, Saturday Sun learnt that police has commenced massive hunt for the fleeing herdsmen who are believed to have relocated from Enugu.
The attack on Nimbo community by suspected Fulani herdsmen may have come and gone but the damages will surely remain for ages. Families, friends and well wishers continue to mourn their deceased ones while the community has remained largely deserted following the incidence in the early hours of Monday 25th April, 2016.

One of Saturday Sun’s reporters had last week paid a visit to some families that lost their beloved ones in the attack. Mr. Dennis Eze, a brother to late Mr. Maxwell Eze who died in the attack has this to say.

“We are still in shock. We never know this attack would still happen because there was information prior to the attack and the security agencies were alerted one week before the attack yet they couldn’t do anything to stop it”, Mr. Dennis said. Explaining how the attack happened, he said “We had a meeting on Sunday evening where we discussed how to protect our community from the attack if it happens. It was around 3am on Monday that a warning bell was rung and woke everybody up and we never knew it was the Fulani herdsmen that rang the bell only for us to come out and behold there were armed men in their large numbers and they started shooting sporadically at us.

What saved some of us is that we have dispersed settlements in our community. Before some of us could come out, we heard gunshots and ran for our lives instead of going to the village square. Only those who are close to the village square were killed. My own house is far from my brother’s own. Some also managed to escape.”

Another eyewitness who identified himself as Ifeanyi Onyeabor said the Fulani herdsmen came to the community through Ameke village around 12am on Monday and laid ambush to attack by 3am. “We believe they came into our village around 12am and laid ambush to attack us by 3am. The information we had was that they will attack Uzouwani but no community was mentioned. We even thought it would be Abbi community because of the crisis they are having with Fulani herdsmen”, Ifeanyi said.

On security lapses that paved the way for the attack, Ifeanyi said the security agencies did nothing to avert the attack despite the fact that they were given a first class information about their hideout. “Our informant spotted where the Fulani herdsmen camped in between Ameke village and Eshi river and we reported to the police. All they could do was to be patrolling along Nsukka – Adani road without making any effort to chase them away from their camp”, he revealed.

When Saturday Sun asked the name of the informant and how he got the information, Ifeanyi said “A man from Opanda whose name was never mentioned said he came in contact with his Fulani friend who warned him to leave Uzouwani with his family and run for his life saying they had recruited over five hundred armed men from Niger and Nasarawa states to attack Uzouwani on Monday. The man said he asked the Fulani man the target but the Fulani man could not tell him. He only said the attack would not happen at Opanda. Before then, they had relocated their cattle to Benue”

“Another man who spotted them at their camp at Ameke was in his farm when he saw them. He wanted to run but they told him not to run because they were not after him. They told him they were going to another community for revenge and not their community. The man came back and raised the alarm and the security agencies were alerted immediately through the Caretaker Committee chairman of Uzouwani LGA, Hon. Cornel Onwubuya”, he explained further.

Mr. Ifeanyi Onyeabor claimed he had no idea what the Fulani herdsmen avenged but another source who would not want to be mentioned has a good information. The source said his Fulani friend came to him and showed him a picture of a Fulani man who was butchered at Uzouwani and they claimed it was Nimbo people that killed him because they also discovered a grave in Nimbo where two Fulani men were buried upside-down.

“He came to my house at Opanda one week before the attack and showed me the pictures. He came with two pictures, one has the image of a man that was sliced like bread and the other has an image of a man whose belly was sliced open and his intestines were removed. He told me that they discovered a grave in Nimbo where two of their people were buried upside-down and they attributed the other two killings to Nimbo people. He told me that they will attack Uzouwani but he never mentioned Nimbo”, the source revealed.

The Enugu massacre has indeed generated heated debates across the country while some Nigerians in diaspora have staged protests in London to condemn the incident and demand government action. The incident has equally led to the redeployment of the commissioner of police in Enugu state, while President Muhammadu Buhari has given a firm order to security agencies to deal decisively with the herdsmen menace.

When contacted on the development, Spokesman of the Kogi state police command, ASP Willy Eya confirmed the arrest of the suspect by the men of the command. “The suspect, Mohammed Zure was arrested and he confessed to have participated in the Enugu crime but he has been taken to the Force Headquarters in Abuja yesterday (Thursday) while further investigation is on-going”, the PPRO added in response to Saturday Sun’s enquiry yesterday.

Adebayo, who said he put the head in a
polythene bag, added that the victim was killed by his gang members and the head dumped by the roadside because he came to visit his girlfriend in their territory.

Bisi Oladele, Ibadan

A staff of Wema Bank, Mrs. Abosede Oyelakin, on Thursday gave an account of how some staff of the bank allegedly defrauded both the bank and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) of over N340 million in the mutilated currency scam.

Oyelakin is the first prosecution witness in the ongoing case against some CBN staff and employees of some commercial banks.

While giving account of the gathering and taking of mutilated currency to the Ibadan branch of the apex bank at a Federal High Court, Ibadan, on Thursday, Oyelakin said co-staff Ademola Oni and Esther Afolabi were involved in the process that saw the banks recorded a shortage of over N340 million in the mutilated currency deals between 2010 and 2013.

Oyelakin, who is the Team Leader, Inspection Department, at the Southwest Regional Office of Wema Bank, Ibadan, gave details of how the accused persons allegedly replaced several packs of mutilated N1,000 notes with N10, N20, N50 and lower denominations to gain over N340 million.

The transactions were carried out with 173 boxes which were supposed to contain N1.7 billion but which fell short of over N340 million.

The boxes were safely delivered to the CBN until a petition stirred up the investigation that revealed the alleged multiple deals involving staff of CBN and the commercial banks.

During investigation, Oyelakin said about 95 per cent of the currency wraps were not signed whereas minimum of three signatures were needed on each of them.

She revealed that other bank records including the Volt Movement Register were used to trace those involved in the alleged scam.

Three CBN staff – Kolawole Babalola, Olaniran Muniru Adeola and Togun Kayode Philip – and three Wema Bank staff are standing trial on a 20-count charge of conspiring to defraud banks in the mutilated currency scam.

Ademola Oni, Esther Afolabi and Ademola Ebenezer Adewale are the Wema Bank staff involved in the case.

Excuzeme:
WRONG, dude!

Its NOT her "quick thinking" that saved her.
It is the SELFLESS ATTITUDE of the Citizens and bystanders that saved her!

Let me explain:
*Would you think she could have survived if "neighbours" did not encourage her to jump?
*Did you think she would have survived if they did not gather blankets to catch her jump?
*Do you think she would not have crashed landed/died if someone did not have the sense to put CUSHIONS under the Blanket (due to her heavy weight)?

Now, if this happened in Nigeria, l can assure you two things would have taken place:

1) Most of us will be too busy "video-recording" how someone was about to jump to her death, with three children, so we can sell the video and use it to MAKE MONEY ON OUR BLOGS!

2.) Others would have been planing on how to rob whatever was on her, after she had jumped to her death! or have you not seen "my people" robbing accident victims, instead of helping them with first aid of transport to a hospital?


Our Society is so "morally decadent" that we need a MORAL REVOLUTION..... even more violent than the ones those Criminal-Senators of ours deserved!

By Chidi Nkwopara

OWERRI - The All Progressives Congress, APC, caucus in Imo State House of Assembly, has summarily removed the member for Onuimo state constituency, Mr. Chinedu Offor, as the Deputy Majority Leader of the House.

Announcing the change during plenary, the Speaker, Chief Acho Ihim, also said that the member representing Obowo constituency, Mr. Kennedy Ibe, is the new Deputy Majority Leader.

Meanwhile, a six-man panel headed by the Deputy Speaker, Chief Ugonna Ozuruigbo, has been set up to investigate the activities of the three lawmakers recently suspended by the Assembly.

The other members of the probe panel includes Marcel Odumze, Arthur Egwim, Mrs. Uche Ejiogu and Emma Orie.

The Speaker, who announced this during plenary, lambasted protesters that barricaded the Assembly gate last Thursday, demanding immediate recall of the three suspended lawmakers.

While warning that the leadership of the House would not tolerate a repeat performance of an act, the Speaker however commended the member for Ngor Okpala state constituency, Obinna Egu, for accepting his suspension with maturity.

Vanguard recalls that the other lawmakers that were suspended with Egu, included Mrs. Ngozi Obiefule and Lawrence Duruji.

lalasticlala

In her bid to draw public attention to the
nightmare, the 30-year-old woman, identified as
Mrs Precious Enyioko, dangled her baby through
the window as smoke billows from two floors
below. This drew the attention of onlookers, who
screamed and waved their hands as she held out
her terrified one-year-old infant whose legs were
kicking furiously before dropping her to the
crowd. But this was after Airmen per

From Tony John, Port Harcourt

A group of Niger D Delta a agitators, u under t he aegis of Concerned Militant Leaders (CML), has said it would declare war on Fulani herdsmen after two weeks, if they fail to leave the South-East and South-South states.

The group made the statement yesterday, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, following recent attacks and killings of innocent people, particularly in the South- East.

Spokesperson of the group, simply known as General Ben, demanded that Federal Government should within the 14 days deadline, tell Nigerians who the Fulani herdsmen are, otherwise, the spate of kidnapping and killing of the “so-called herdsmen,” would be unprecedented.

Ben said the group had waited patiently to see Federal Government’s reaction to the gruesome murder of innocent Nigerians, with emphasis on the recent attack on a community in Enugu State, expressing disappointment that government had not demonstrated genuine commitment to checkmate activities of the herdsmen.

He declared: “After two weeks, starting from today, Tuesday, May 3, we are going to search for Fulani herdsmen. Since Federal Government cannot tell us who they are up till now, we are going to look for them.

The CML spokesperson described the attacks as provocative and challenging, threatening that they would take their pound of flesh at the appropriate time.

“The Fulani herdsmen have indirectly challenged us, asking us what can we do. But, we promise them that we will not allow them to go without taking revenge. It is an insult and we will give them back,” he vowed.

Keji who was said to be a popular politician and land speculator in Ita Oshi area of the state capital immediately rushed the wife to Akin Olugbade hospital where the woman gave up the ghost yesterday morning.

Dubai-based Emirates Vacation Club (EVC) has allegedly scammed about 2,000 Nigerians through dubious investment. The victims, it was learnt, invested several thousands of US dollars in 99 years time-sharing private residency accommodation at a 45-storey Emirates Grand Hotel (EGH) on Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai.

According to reports of three meetings held in separate locations in Nigeria by the victims towards seeking redress on the matter, Nigerians and other nationals were lured into investing in EVC on arrival at Dubai Airport. As a product of their meetings, a Focal Persons Committee (FPC) has been set up with the mandate to pursue legal and diplomatic means to recover all funds invested by Nigerians in EVC/ EGH.

The FPC has also been mandated to write the Federal Government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Assembly, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Inspector General of Police/ Interpol and United Arab Emirates Embassy in Nigeria.

Nigerian investors held three separate meetings, under the auspices of FPC in Enugu on March 28, Abuja on April 2 and in Lagos on April 3 to strategise on how to recoup their investments from EVC/EGH.

Some others, who lodged in hotels operated by the Emirates Group such as Emirates Towers had their personal details accessed by EVC, through which the staff of EVC subsequently made telephone calls to the lodgers’ rooms and invited them for discussions at the office of EVC located in the EGH, Dubai, the reports said.

The affected Nigerians alleged that when EVC found out that many Nigerians had invested so much, it moved into Nigeria and incorporated Global EVC with certificate number RC 1005770 issued on January 24, 2012. Meanwhile, the National Coordinator of the group and FPC Chairman, Mr. Donald Nwandu, said the EVC opened an office on 9, Bourdillon Road, Ikoji, Lagos, after discovering that many Nigerians were interested in the investment. In addition, EVC also operated openly at the remodelled domestic wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja and malls in Lekki area, he said.

He said: “Nigerians, who invested with EVC Global in Nigeria, paid money into bank accounts opened with Zenith and GTB. It was discovered that about 10,000 people have, so far, paid money for just 32 apartments that EVC and EVC Global leased from Emirates Grand Hotel.”

Efforts to get the EVC to respond to the allegations proved abortive, as several emails sent to them for more than two weeks were not responded to at the time of filing this report.Also, another member of the group, Mr. Emmanuel Ejime, said some members had been frustrated by EVC by arbitrarily increasing the annual maintenance fee from the contract sum of $350 to between $600 and $700.

Doyin Okupe, a former Senior Special Assistant to former president Goodluck Jonathan, has urged state governors to downsize their workforce in view of the current cash crunch.

Okupe wrote on his Facebook page yesterday: “An immediate 20-30% cut down in staff strength is imperative, with provision of say, upfront payment of 3 years salaries for affected members of staff.”

According to him, all state governments in the country have over-bloated civil service.

He suggested that downsizing be continued in states at an annual rate of about 10 percent for about five years, saying this would create space for a controlled employment of “new youthful and better trained civil servants.”

Yahya Sarki

A man, Mammman Dankarami in Goru village of Arewa local government area of Kebbi State has slaughtered his three children .

The three male children were said to be aged between 5 months to 3 years.

The sole administrator of Arewa local government Area, Alhaji Muhammadu Dan Kaku where the incident occurred made this known to journalists yesterday in Birnin Kebbi.

He said after killing the children, the man jumped into an open well with the aim of committing suicide, but was saved by local government officials and the police.

“After slaughtering his own three children, he jumped into a well to also kill himself, but he was saved by the local government officials and the police,” he said.

The sole administrator added that the man was taken to Jega psychiatric hospital because residents in the area said he had a recurring mental illness.

When contacted on the matter, the state police public relations officer, Nafiu Abubakar confirmed the incident.

Saintp:
Don't mind them. People decieving People. Anyway they know the kind of people that they can decieve. Landlord dey find accommodation. mtsheww

Six months after President Muhammadu Buhari
swore in his ministers, most of them have still
not settled down in Abuja and are groaning
because the N4 million approved by the president
as their yearly accommodation allowance have
not been able to rent any meaningful house in
Abuja, THISDAY has learnt.

The N4 million, THISDAY findings reviewed, can
only rent flats and not homes, and giving the
need for security, those flats which have many
other tenants in the building, are not secure or fit
for purpose.