What FBI Probe Of DCP Abba Kyari Means For Buhari Government – Former US Ambassador, Campbell
A former United States of America’s Ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell, has stated that the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s probe of suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, and the ongoing probe by the Nigeria Police Force showed some hope of police reforms under the Muhammadu Buhari's administration.
Campbell, who is now the Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow For Africa Policy Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, Washington D.C., wrote his reaction to the FBI’s probe of Kyari in relation to the police officer’s cozy relationship with serial internet fraudster, Ramon Abbas, also known as Hushpuppi.
The former ambassador to Nigeria between 2004 and 2007, stated in an article published by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), that the probe of Kyari also showed a “hopeful sign” of police reforms which Nigerians had clamoured for and which were one of the key demands of last year’s EndSARS protests.
Campbell said, “The charismatic head of the Intelligence Response team of the Nigeria Police Service, Abba Kyari, has been suspended pending the investigation of allegations by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that he was in cahoots with Ramon Abbas, better known as “Hushpuppi“ a Nigerian “Yahoo boy,” a popular Nigerian term for cyber criminals, involved in money laundering and fraud.
“Abbas allegedly paid Kyari N8 million (about $20,000) to arrest and jail a rogue member of Abbas’ criminal group; those allegations are currently being investigated by the Nigerian police. A U.S. district court issued a warrant for Kyari’s arrest, but American authorities have not requested his extradition, though much of the Nigerian media expects that they will do so.
“Whatever Nigeria’s reputation, that of the police is poor, both at home and abroad. Among Nigerians, the police are a byword for corruption—grand and petty—and harassment, especially of the poor. Anti-police sentiment boiled over late last year in protests against the notoriously brutal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS)—for which Kyari formerly served as the officer-in-charge—collectively known as #EndSARS.
“The Buhari administration has promised police reform, of which there has been little evidence. However, the investigation of Abba Kyari could be a hopeful sign. It should be noted that Abba Kyari of the National Police is not to be confused with Abba Kyari, Chief of Staff to President Buhari until his death last year from COVID-19.”
The saying “hell hath no fury like a scorned woman” came true after a woman locked up her husband, sister and maid inside a house before setting it on fire.
iHarare has established that Zion Christian Church (ZCC) leader, Bishop Nehemiah Mutendi’s niece, Princess Mutendi torched the house in which her pregnant young sister Fiona was. This happened after Princess had discovered that Fiona was having an affair with her husband.
The accused Princess Mutendi and Fiona are reportedly daughters of Levite Mutendi who happens to be Bishop Nehemiah’s brother.
Details leading to the love affair between Princess’ husband Alex Marange and her younger sister say it all began when Princess’ husband relocated her to South Africa whilst he remained behind in Zimbabwe.
While his wife was settling in South Africa, Alex is alleged to have started a love affair with his wife’s younger sister Fiona.
However, all hell broke loose after Princess discovered the love affair between her husband and sister.
After finding out about the affair, Princess returned to Zimbabwe.
On the day in question, she arrived at their house in Avondale West, Harare without notifying her husband or sister of her arrival.
Without confronting anyone, she allegedly destroyed the Honda Fit vehicle that was parked outside the house before locking the doors to the house and setting it on fire.
Princess husband, Fiona, and a maid were allegedly inside the house when she set the house on fire.
The trio survived death by a whisker after neighbors intervened and helped them escape the inferno.
Princess was arrested and detained at Chikurubi Prison for a week.
She was charged with three counts of attempted murder.
Pictures and videos of the incident were trending on social media over the weekend. Following the inferno love triangle incident, Princess and Fiona’s identity was not revealed. The incident only came to light after Princess was granted bail on Thursday.
DSS on Thursday said it does not detain Nigerians for “big men” as alleged by a former media aide to the late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua, Olusegun Adeniyi, in his article.
Human rights activist and Amnesty International designated Prisoner of Conscience, Omoyele Sowore, has chronicled at least seven cases where the Department of State Services arrested innocent Nigerians on the orders of or in connection with some big men in the country.
Sowore was reacting to a terse statement from the DSS on Thursday saying it did not detain Nigerians for “big men” as alleged by a former media aide to the late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua, Olusegun Adeniyi, in his article.
The human rights’ activist, Sowore, in a response, catalogued some of the cases when the secret police detained Nigerians for big men, adding that the DSS was the “hushpuppi” of Nigeria’s security agencies.
He said, “In Response To Lawless DSS Threat Against Segun Adeniyi and the fact that it doesn’t detain people on behalf of Nigerian big men! These are some facts: Huge lie! The DSS is the HushPuppie of security agencies in Nigeria.
“Their directors told me that my detention was prolonged because I reported that the late Chief of Staff to Buhari, Abba Kyari collected N500million from MTN. Then they sent a delegation led by the late Isa Funtua to ask me to apologise to Muhammadu Buhari for insulting him on ARISETV.
When I refused, they charged me to court with stupid charges which they later reduced to “treasonable felony.” I met a guy who was released same day as us who was jailed for eight months because he purportedly scammed his boss who is friends with the DG DSS and a director. He nearly died because he won’t eat for 21 days.
“A guy had his tendon cut because he stole foreign currency from a retired DG of DSS. Another guy had kidney disease after a prolonged hunger strike because he was opposed to the president of Chad, Idris Derby who is also now late. What about the case of Emperor Ogbonna who was detained because he had an issue with his state Governor Okezie Ikpeazu (Isi leather slippers).
“The most brazen and recent was the illegal detention of Anthony Okolie from Asaba, Delta State. Anthony was detained for 10 weeks because he unknowingly purchased an MTN SIM card previously owned by Hanan Buhari.
“Even in our latest encounter with the #Dunamis5 it was revealed that Dr. Paul Enenche told DSS to detain the five young activists for safe keeping because they wore #BuhariMustGo Tshirts to his church.
“Their final evacuation from the church security post was coordinated by a DSS director who was a senior member of his church. It is reason they don’t let people have access to their lawyers and families during detention. They also make their victims sign non-disclosure agreements after they are released. DSS is a criminal organisation. We need a revolution to hold all these criminals to account. #RevolutionNow.”
Open grazing of animals has been banned within the Katsina metropolis and its surrounding communities.
The directive was contained in a statement signed by Wakilin Kudin Katsina, Alhaji Abdu Iliyasu, and made available to newsmen on Wednesday.
Alhaji Iliyasu said the directive became effective from Tuesday,3, August 2021, adding that machinery has been put in place for its effective implementation.
The spokesman for the Katsina Emirate Council, Mallam Iro Bindawa said he was out of town and could not comment on the development until he returns.
The PUNCH recalls that Governor Aminu Masari had last month revealed that the President, Major General Muhammad Buhari( retd) had, approved N6.25 billion for the state for the ranch project.
The Governor made the revelation during the commissioning of the Zobe Regional water scheme in the Safana Local Government Area of the state which was also attended by the President.
The Governor disclosed that the Federal Government had already made available five billion naira(N5 bn)out of the amount for the project.
The Governor revealed “Mr. President has graciously approved the sum of N6.25 billion for ranch development purposes in Katsina State. Part of this amount, N5 billion is already in the account of the state government and within few weeks, you will see advertisements calling for interested companies and consultants that would wish to participate.”
‘Good intentions but why cash?’ — mixed reactions as Disu, DCP Kyari’s replacement, is offered $10k gift
Aloy Chife, an information technology expert, has promised Tunji Disu $10,000 on his appointment as head of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT).
Usman Alkali Baba, the inspector-general of police (IGP), had named Disu as head of the IRT following the suspension of Abba Kyari, who was popularly addressed as Nigeria’s super cop.
The Police Service Commission (PSC) had suspended Kyari on the recommendation of the IGP over his alleged relationship with Ramon Abbas, self-confessed international fraudster better known as Hushpuppi.
Hushpuppi had alleged that he bribed Kyari to arrest and jail “one of his rivals in Nigeria after a dispute over a $1.1 million scam on Qatari business people”.
Kyari initially denied any wrongdoing, saying he never collected money from Hushpuppi but later deleted the Facebook post.
Excited by Disu’s appointment, Chife took to his Twitter handle to extol and congratulate him.
He described Disu as a “ray of hope” after which he promised him a cash gift on behalf of Nigerians and their “hopes for a professional police”.
Chife had also said in an earlier tweet in January that Disu is his most preferred person to serve as the IGP.
“News: IGPappoints Tunji Disu Head, Police Intelligence Response Team. Disu rising. A ray of hope for Nigeria,” Chife wrote.
“Congrats! @TunjiDisu1
“I’ll be giving you $10k in the name of long-suffering young Nigerians as a slight token of their affection and hopes for a professional police.
“There is no future for Nigeria unless it boasts a professional police service.
“Nations are built by a few good men in their chosen fields. And you, Mr Disu @TunjiDisu1 have an appointment with destiny.
“And we’re all desperate for your success.”
Disu rising. A ray of hope for Nigeria.
Congrats! @TunjiDisu1 I’ll be giving you $10k in the name of long-suffering young Nigerians as a slight token of their affection and hopes for a professional police 1/ https:///Ag6Cul42Em
— Dr Aloy Chife (@ChifeDr) August 3, 2021
Chife’s gesture was followed by accolades for Disu as many Nigerians testified to his professionalism.
There were, however, some who expressed reservations about offering monetary gifts to Disu.
Below are some of the reactions.
Officer Disu's antecedents are remarkable. He's been a good cop, and I am desperate for his success too. How can a long-suffering young Nigerian like myself support your $10k with light N5k, sir? �
— Isaac Usoro (@Anyisabali) August 3, 2021
The man is an amazing soul. I remember his days in @rrslagos767 , that unit to date is the best policing outfit Nigeria has ever produced. I don't know how he did it but we're hopeful he will replicate same excellence in the national level.
— ����� | チンカイル (@rebirth_mode) August 3, 2021
this hope you are expressing in the man, where is it coming from? just a few days ago i was thinking abba kyari was an beacon of hope in the nigerian police. go easy sir.
— OYB (@oyb2point1) August 3, 2021
Surprised that ofu onye mgbu haven't tweeted "what does Dr. Chife do for a living sef?" Ndị uchu.
Wait a minute…they may have "Kooed" it on koo.
Omaka meli gị…enna.
— Distinguished N.T [SayNoTo97%Agenda 2.0] (@idmann_mit) August 3, 2021
Good intentions, but why cash gift? Biko put it down, if he takes it then, he's a corrupt man
— Fidelis Anumole (@fidelisanumole) August 3, 2021
The North boasted of ABBA Kyari until now. Mr. Tunji is an officer in the NPF and not the institution itself, until we see the change Nigerians are yearning for in the NPF, I can not VOUCH for him.
— Ugochukwu L. (@UgochukwuAni2) August 4, 2021
He is good as he is competent. Hopefully he won’t take the money offer.
— Mr. Odù (The Angry Nigerian) (@BolanleOdu) August 3, 2021
Let us not make another super cop out of tunji disu so that we will not end up being disappointed
— Enemali Emmanuel Edibo (@maliforjustice) August 3, 2021
Dozens of suspected ISWAP fighters ambushed a military convoy along Gubio/Damasak highway in the northern part of Borno State on Saturday.
Unspecified number of soldiers reportedly sustained injuries in the attack while utility vehicles belonging to the troops were forcefully taken away after a gun battle.
The soldiers ran into the ambush at Kareto while traveling to Gubio in Borno State to pick APC members for their ward congress billed for Damasak.
Kareto is the hometown of Bukar Gana Kareto, who represents Kukawa/ Guzamala/Abadam/ Mobbar Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.
Kareto has been abandoned for years due to the activities of Boko Haram/ISWAP.
The soldiers were supposed to accompany the politicians from Abadam to Damasak, venue of their Ward Congress.
Although Abadam Local Government has been a no go area since 2014, politicians from the LGA were mobilised for congress in Damasak but the incident did not allow them attend the congress as they returned to Gubio.
The military authorities are yet to react to this attack.
A 27-year old man, Ahmed Kareem, has vented his anger on his lover, Esther Oyedeola, after he reportedly bought her a mobile phone and yet she denied him sex in Lagos.
P.M.EXPRESS reports that the suspect, Kareem, demanded the phone from her but she refused. He then descended on her and battered her seriously.
The incident happened at Babalegba Street in Ijegun area of Lagos, where they reside.
According to Kareem, he loved Esther and went further to buy her a mobile phone but she did not give him attention or allow him to sleep with her. He then demanded for the phone from her but she refused.
The alleged assault was reported to the Police at Area M Command, Idimu and Kareem was arrested. He later charged before Ejigbo Magistrates Court for the alleged offence.
He pleaded not guilty.
The prosecutor, Inspector Simeon Njue, asked the Court to give a date for hearing to enable Police to prove that he actually committed the alleged offence.
The Presiding Magistrate, Mrs. A.S. Okubule, granted him bail in the sum of N50,000 with one surety in like sum and ordered the defendant to be remanded in Correctional Centre at Kirikiri town, Lagos, pending when he will perfect his bail conditions.
While he was being taken into custody, Esther started pleading with the Court that she does not want him to go to prison and she has forgiven him.
By then the Court had ordered for his remand and adjourned the matter till 27th September, 2021, for mention.
Ibrahim Abunna, a member of the House of Representatives, threw wads of Naira at men, women and elderly.
By Bakare Majeed
Although Nigerian lawmakers have been advised to visit and empower their constituents during the summer break, Ibrahim Abunna has taken this counsel to another level.
In a viral video, the Borno lawmaker was seen throwing money at people believed to be his constituents.
The ‘beneficiaries’, numbering over 100 , comprised men, women of different age groups, including the elderly.
Mr Abunna, who represents Dikwa/Kuduga/Mafa federal constituency of Borno State in the House of Representatives, portrayed his generosity from a balcony ignoring the risk of a stampede as the people struggled to catch the flying naira notes.
He also posted the act on his official Facebook page with the caption “distributing money to thousands.”
It is ironic yet unsurprising for a lawmaker to be seen publicly breaking the law.
Section 21(3,4,5) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act 2007 clearly prohibits any form of abuse of the Nigerian currency.
The Act prescribes “imprisonment for a term not less than six months or to a fine not less than N50,000 or to both such fine and imprisonment for anyone guilty of spraying of, dancing or matching on the Naira or any note issued by the Bank during social occasions.”
“For the avoidance of doubt, spraying of, dancing or matching on the Naira or any note issued by the Bank during social occasions or otherwise howsoever shall constitute an abuse and defacing of the Naira or such note and shall be punishable under Sub-section (1) of this section.
“It shall also be an offence punishable under Sub-section (1) of this section for any person to hawk, sell or otherwise trade in the Naira notes, coins or any other note issued by the Bank…
The law further says “Matching” includes spreading scattering or littering of any surface with any naira notes or coins and stepping thereon, regardless of the value, volume, occasion or intent.
Although, the law is seldom enforced by the government, as most Nigerians still indulge in spraying of money, lawmakers inclusive at public functions.
Nigerians react to video
Already, Nigerians have taken to social media to condemn the act with many describing it as demeaning and insulting.
Others said there are better ways to gift and empower the people than spraying wads of cash in the air at the risk of a stampede.
Chidi Odinkalu, a human rights activist and former chairman of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) , shared the video on Twitter and captioned it with heavy sarcasm.
“This is how the Chairman, Committee on #ClimateChange in @HouseNGR, Hon. Ibrahim Abunna, representing Mafa, Dikwa & Konduga Federal Constituency in #wartorn North East #Nigeria, lowers #GreenHouse emissions: thro #NairaRain. It is called #ParliamentaryDoings!”
Another Twitter user, @dortune4, wrote “This is what will keep Nigeria the way it is for a long time to come, the bigmanism mentality of the rich, this is what will make them keep stealing money by any means possible, the ‘rankadede’ way of life will make people will come n line up for scraps. Instead of holding politicians responsible for the harm they do to our Commonwealth.”
The lawmaker did not respond to calls made to his phone nor reply text messages sent to him.
Poverty capital
Nigeria, according to World Poverty Clock, compiled by Brookings Institute, is the poverty capital of the world, after it overtook India in 2018.
The report says about six persons in Nigeria fall into poverty every minute and over 87 million Nigerians live below the poverty benchmark.
The level of poverty makes people to be vulnerable to political inducement and lawmakers are known for allegedly using the Zonal Intervention Fund also known as constituency projects to induce voters.
Despite the continuous lamentation of insufficient funds for legislative process, Nigerian lawmakers most often have enough to induce electorates.
“I can’t take it” – Ghanaian lady flees from man she met online due to big 'manhood'
A Ghanaian has disclosed that she decided to flee from a man she had met online due to his large penis size that she could not withstand.
The beautiful woman gave the narration in an interview on Kumasi-based Akoma FM.
According to her, she was hooked up with the man online by a third party before they started communicating and he expressed interest in marrying her.
The man then suggested that they make a video call and she agreed, which gave her the opportunity to set her eyes on the package she was signing up for.
After examining the physical physique of the man, she was convinced that he was her type of man but little did she know that he was endowed beyond her specification.
She described the man’s penis as weirdly large, adding she could not withstand it, so she has “resigned” from the intended marriage.
She said that the man identified as Emmanuel is physically appealing, it would take only an extraordinary woman to accommodate the size of penis he carries.
Although in her own words the man is yearning to marry her at all cost, she said she would not take that risk.
Well, she alone saw the penis and knows how large it is, but there may be some other women out there who might be wishing they could be linked up with the man in question because 'one man's meat is another's poison'.
Investment announcements in Nigeria fell to $1.69bn in the second quarter of this year from $8.41bn in Q1, indicating a decline of about 80 per cent, a new report by the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission has said.
The report said the total value of investments interests in the first half of this year fell by $1.57bn to $10.11bn, compared to the second half of last year. The figure is, however, $5.05bn higher than that of the same period of last year.
An analysis of investment announcements by sectors revealed that the manufacturing sector attracted the highest investments with $5.9bn or 58 per cent.
It was followed by construction, $2.9bn (29 per cent); electricity (including gas, steam and air conditioning supply), $680m (seven per cent); information and communication, $410m (four per cent); while others recorded $210m or two per cent.
By destination, Bayelsa and Delta states attracted the most investments out of the 14 states that were listed, with $3.60bn (36 per cent) and $2.94bn (29 per cent), respectively.
They were followed by Akwa Ibom with $1.40bn (14 per cent); Lagos received $0.70bn (seven per cent) while a total of $1.45bn (15 per cent) went to the other 10 states.
The report also showed that domestic investors made the highest contribution of $3.29bn or 33 per cent of the total investment announcements; $1.40bn (14 per cent) emanated from Morocco; $950m (nine per cent) from China; $640m (six per cent) from UK; and other sources accounting for $3.82bn or 38 per cent.
Further analysis of the report showed that in the past five years, investment announcements recorded in H1 2021 decreased by $9.23bn from the $19.34bn recorded in H1 2017.
The Executive Secretary, NIPC, Yewande Sadiku, had recently said that the commission had entered into series of collaboration with the private sector to unlock potential investments in the country.
According to her, there are huge investment opportunities in agriculture, transportation, solid minerals and manufacturing sectors of the economy and the government is working to improving the country’s rating in the area of ease of doing business.
Okechukwu Nnodim and Jesusegun Alagbe Two years after the suspension of the controversial Rural Grazing Area scheme in July 2019, the Federal Government has introduced a replacement scheme called the Livestock Intervention Programme to address the lingering farmer-herder crisis across the country.
This comes amid the Federal Government’s intensified efforts to revive colonial-era grazing routes in many states across the country as per the directive by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd).
According to documents from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development sighted by one of our correspondents, the LIP scheme will see the Federal Government establishing eight large herders’ settlements in each of the six pilot states, namely Adamawa, Kwara, Niger, Bauchi, Kaduna and Gombe.
The scheme is expected to be extended to other states, following a successful outing in the pilot states.
The documents as well as interviews with some officials of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development showed that the LIP is already being implemented in the six pilot states.
The officials confirmed that the six states accepted the establishment of the large herders’ settlements and had already provided land for the purpose.
Unlike the controversial RUGA settlements, which started with 12 pilot states, the ministry officials said the government chose to start the LIP settlements with six pilot states, pending the extension to other states.
They said eight large LIP settlements would be built for herders in each of the states.
Asked if the Federal Government would reactivate the suspended RUGA programme since the clashes between herders and farmers had yet to abate, the acting Director, Animal Husbandry Department, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Winnie Lai-Solarin, replied, “What we have now is the Livestock Intervention Project. And this intervention will take place in the settlements. It might also interest you to know that right now, the intervention has been reduced to six states.”
According to the director, the six pilot states for the LIP are in the North because the region has large settlements and land to grow pasture.
“The states are Adamawa, Kwara, Niger, Bauchi, Kaduna and Gombe,” she noted.
Lai-Solarin confirmed that the Federal Government was establishing the livestock settlement in eight locations in each of the six states.
On why the government reduced the intervention to six pilot states, unlike the RUGA settlements that started with 12 states, the FMARD official explained that the outcry against plans to establish RUGA settlements led to the cutdown.
She, however, noted that some states were still showing interest, despite the initial widespread outcry in many parts of Nigeria.
Lai-Solarin said, “When we started, the states were 12 in number. They included Taraba, Adamawa, Plateau, Niger, Nasarawa, Katsina, Zamfara, Kaduna, Sokoto, Kebbi, and Kogi. They were 12 originally.
“And all the states are in the North. The speculation and media reports made people start saying the government wanted to take people’s lands in the South-West, South-East and others.”
She added, “There was never a time that we included states in the South. Rather, speculation and miscommunication gave rise to the concerns by the people that the government was coming to take their land.
“The wrong information went out. Once they heard RUGA, they kicked against it. However, the concept of RUGA was to meet pastoralists where they are in their settlements and provide infrastructure for them there.
“But when that information went out, and because you have settlements in the South and other regions too, it was easy for people to turn it around and say, ‘They (herders) are coming to our states to take our land.’
“But this was when there was no such plan ab initio. Never was such a plan made by the Federal Government.”
Lai-Solarin added that the ministry had been carrying out diverse other interventions to mitigate the clashes between herders and farmers nationwide.
The immediate past Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, had in May 2019 announced that Buhari approved the RUGA initiative to address the farmer-herder crisis.
A month later, a former Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mohammed Umar, announced that the Federal Government was to commence the pilot phase of the RUGA project in 11 states for a start, including Sokoto, Adamawa, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Kogi, Taraba, Katsina, Plateau, Kebbi, Zamfara and Niger.
“The RUGA settlement will attract a lot of investments to Nigeria and it is our belief that in the next five years, each RUGA settlement will provide nothing less than 2,000 employment opportunities. We are collaborating with the cattle breeders associations in Nigeria,” Umar said at the time.
The Benue State House of Assembly, for instance, called for the removal of the signboards erected in the communities earmarked for RUGA settlements.
Many southern states called for ranching, saying since cattle rearing was a private business, herders ought to buy land and graze their cattle on it, adding that the measure would stop the frequent clashes between herders and farmers.
Also, many lawyers, including a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, kicked against the plan to establish RUGA settlements in parts of the country, describing it as “illegal.”
Falana argued that the Supreme Court had held that the entire land in each state was vested in the governor.
Amid the outcry that trailed the RUGA scheme, the Federal Government suspended the initiative in July 2019.
The government said the reason RUGA was suspended was because it was inconsistent with the National Livestock Transformation Plan, an initiative to establish ranches across the states.
The NLTP was approved by the National Council of Agriculture in conjunction with the National Economic Council.
States that keyed into the NLTP are to receive 49 per cent funding from the Federal Government, while the remaining 51 per cent funding is to be sourced by the state, private sector and development partners.
In February 2021, the Federal Government said it had mapped out 30 grazing reserves across the country for the NLTP implementation.
Meanwhile, as of June 2021, of the over 20 states said to have assented to the NLTP, only four states – Nasarawa, Plateau, Adamawa, and Kaduna – were said to be ready for the scheme’s take-off, according to the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Agriculture, Dr Andrew Kwasari.
While the scheme is awaiting full take-off, in a new twist recently, Buhari, in a move believed to challenge the ban on open grazing by southern governors, said in an interview with Arise News that the grazing routes across the country would be revived.
Buhari said he had directed the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), to produce a gazette which delineated grazing routes in all parts of the country in the First Republic.
The President stated, “What I did was to ask him (Malami) to go and dig out the gazette of the First Republic when people were obeying laws.
“There were cattle routes and grazing areas. Cattle routes were for when they (herdsmen) were moving up-country, north to south or east to west. They had to go through there.”
The President’s statement followed Malami’s criticism of southern governors for banning open grazing, saying their action was like banning the sale of spare parts in the North.
However, several southern states and institutions like the Nigerian Bar Association and the Pan-Niger Delta Forum faulted the President for the revival of old grazing routes.
Southern states, including Ondo, Delta, Cross River, Enugu, Benue, Akwa Ibom, and Oyo, said there was no existence of a gazette that marked out grazing routes for cattle across the country.
The state governments also insisted on the ban on open grazing, despite the President’s opposition to it.
Also, many lawyers, including the Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Ajibola Basiru, insisted that there was no law on grazing routes in any part of Nigeria.
Constituents Write Nigerian Senator, Demand Explanation For Her Absence During Plenary Session
Members of the Obosi Development Union (ODU), Abuja branch, have addressed a letter to the Senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Uche Ekwunife (Iyom), demanding an explanation for her absence during a plenary session last Thursday.
The letter which was signed by Engineer Goddy Ikebuaku and Chimezie Obi, the group's President and Secretary respectively demanded to know why she was not present at the red chambers when others cast their votes on the issue of electronic transmission of results.
The group pointed out that Ekwunife was elected to represent a people who expect that her presence at the National Assembly will favour their cause, especially during important discussions such as the E-transmission of results.
They warned that failure to offer a satisfactory explanation is a proof that she is one of such politicians who profit from manipulation of election results.
The letter read, “Request for an explanation of your absence at plenary on Thursday 15th July 2021:
”We are members of the Obosi Development Union (ODU), Abuja branch, your constituents whom you represent at the Red Chambers of the National Assembly.
“We have observed with dismay from the compilation of votes of Senators for the Bill on electronic transmission of election results, that you were absent on Thursday, 15th July 2021 when the Draft bill was put to vote on the floor of the Senate Chambers, a day that presented an opportunity for history to be made in the electoral process of the Federal Republic of Nigeria - a country bedevilled with various forms of electoral riggings and manipulations.
”We have no doubt that you are aware that the disaffection with the electoral system in Nigeria is intrinsically connected to the lack of integrity and confidence in the electoral result delivery process. The acrimony and violence in our electoral process have led to fatalities, too numerous to mention; Obosi as a town has experienced quite a number of fracases that culminated in deaths during the election result collation process, hence our feeling of disappointment that our voice did not count owing to your absence on the day of the vote.
“As our representative in the Senate, we expect that when very sensitive and important decisions or voting is taking place in the Senate, you will not only make yourself available but also use every means possible to lobby your colleagues (especially those from the North because of their numerical strength) to support initiatives that will advance the cause of your constituents.
“Iyom, bear in mind that if this issue is not well handled, it has the capacity to overshadow your performance and define your legacy as our representative, as it portrays a clear and unambiguous disconnect with the desires of your constituents.
“Please, also note that unless a satisfactory explanation is offered, our members and your constituents at large are inclined to view your action as typical of politicians who profit or hope to profit from election result manipulation that has bedevilled our electoral system and frustrated the desires of the people to elect representatives of their choice as guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution. We look forward to receiving your prompt response on this matter.”
After reading the narration of the experience of Nigeria Air Force officer, Flight Lieutenant Abayomi Dairo, who survived an air attack in Zamfara State, do apologists like Sheik Ahmad Gumi, Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai, and their southern minion, Joe Igbokwe, still believe that the bandits are merely doing business? For a while now, they have desperately tried to ameliorate the gravity of their incessant attacks by claiming those people were just “bandits.” But bandits do not shoot down airplanes. It is no small effort to direct “intense enemy fire” at a jet in the sky. If they have heat-seeking surface-to-air missiles to do that, it is a game-changer.
When supposed bandits get to the point where they have enough clout to acquire the weapons that can down a fighter jet and even the gumption to draw government ire by doing it, they can no longer be called bandits.
Either the people they call bandits have morphed into something more monstrous, or Nigeria is not just winning its long-drawn battle against terrorism. Whichever one, this enemy needs a new name.
For Nigeria to still be referring to those who shot down a plane as bandits, they should also tell us how state officials arrived at a calculation that makes the activities of IPOB and their leader, Nnamdi Kanu, to be called “terrorism.” How did Garba Shehu, for instance, conclude that separationists like Sunday Igboho is a terrorist, but an official document still characterises those capable of downing a fighter jet as mere “bandits”? By what parameters does Nigeria define banditry and terrorism? Is there an official standard for qualifying these activities? Defining and designating an organisation as “terrorist” is typically at the discretion of state agents.
In Nigeria’s case, that value judgement has been so subjected to the nepotism of the government that the label does not do much more than categorise insurgent activities and agitation from a certain part of the country.
Compared to terrorists, “bandit” is a tame language because it suggests those perpetrating the crimes are a gang of outlaws operating outside the precincts of the state. Bandits do not typically attach any political aims to their activities since their exploiting the vulnerabilities of people who venture outside governed spaces is mostly about money.
The language of banditry also suggests they are not as much of a threat to national stability. Yes, in military lingo, “bandit” also means an enemy plane, but that rather remote definition has not been consistent with official and popular usage of the word in the Nigerian parlance.
Terrorism, on the other hand, means using violence to achieve political ends. Such violence must intentionally generate psychological ramifications, and it must set a chain of other political and social activities into motion. Thus, when Nigerian officials said that the likes of IPOB members and Sunday Igboho are terrorists, they insinuate there is substantial proof of political malice in their activities. It means anyone that associates with them or provides them any kind of support could be placed under surveillance and even punished. But what legal and moral mechanisms has accounted for their actions to be labelled as terrorism but which does not feature—and even more evidently—in the deeds of the ones who shot down a plane?
We cannot afford to prevaricate on the appropriate characterisation of those who could attack a jet. We have to speak unequivocally to determine who they are, what they want, and how we should approach them. Words matter, and language is everything. The ability to make sense of the world through words is one of the distinct reasons humans are categorised as higher animals. Words can heal or harm, and that is why sensible people choose them carefully. Our ways of speaking to and about people are often an indicator of our evaluation of their worth. The same applies to our understanding of situations. Ill-defining an issue is tantamount to misdiagnosis because things have to be called by their right names for them to yield their significance.
The Air Force press release specifically noted that their pilot faced “intense enemy fire” from his attackers. To retain the label of bandits for people who can rain an intense fire means these officers are either biased in their judgement of what qualifies as security threats against Nigeria or have not yet given critical thought to the nature of the enemy they are fighting. It could be that “bandits” is a terminology they frequently throw around and they have not yet reflected deeply on how the threat they confront is changing enough for them to update their vocabulary. The designation of banditry lessens the gravity of the crimes of these people. That selectiveness in the professional judgment of those tasked with providing national security is one of the many ways Nigerian officials make it hard for them to find patriotic support. Such ethical inconsistency is why many Nigerians remain unimpressed when they do their best to hunt down fugitives from Kenya and Benin Republic.
General killed by bandits for burial today That brings me to another point: the official statement by the Nigerian Air Force was probably more revealing than they intended. According to them, the said Alpha Jet aircraft was returning from a “successful air interdiction mission between the boundaries of Zamfara and Kaduna states.” Does that mean that despite a supposedly “successful” air raid, there were still armed groups audacious enough to try to take down their fighter jet within the same Zamfara State where they just rained fire on them from the sky? That shows that whatever the success of that mission was, it did not affect this group that attacked him (and probably also spared several other groups of enemy forces). So, by what metric do they measure air mission “success” when it is self-evident that air bombardments do not do enough to cripple the activities of these people?
The press statement failed to mention if there were supporting ground troops. Airstrikes are not usually conducted without concomitant ground attacks. After the enemy has been destabilised from the sky, ground troops are unleashed on them while they are yet scrambling to find their bearing. In this case, and given the paucity of details from the official release, it did not seem so.
Again, according to the same statement, the pilot successfully ejected from the crippled jet. He got on the ground, and his attackers still pursued him. Thankfully, and according to the statement, he was able to “elude several bandits’ strongholds and manoeuvred his way to a Nigerian Army unit, where he was finally rescued.” Does the use of plural terms in that extract officially confirm that these so-called bandits still maintain multiple “strongholds” across the same state where they just carried out a successful air mission? Does that mean that despite almost a decade of constant war against terror in Nigeria, they are not receding but still maintaining “strongholds” in defiance of what the government is doing from high above? Reading that part of their press statement was, to be honest, frightening. From officers to supposedly advanced military equipment, military effort does not seem capable of razing down the camps of these marauders. If even an air raid does not show the potential of wiping them off, we have to come to terms with the fact that we have been condemned to permanent warfare with them. I hate to say it, but Nigeria will be at this war for a long time to come from the look of things.
Finally, I am happy for the pilot that survived what must have been a harrowing incident. If I were his relative, God knows we would spend this whole week on a thanksgiving service. For even his military superiors to be so excited over his experience and triumph, it must mean he passed through a force so terrifyingly macabre, but the scale of which they cannot fully admit because they cannot afford the truth. Was it not just some months ago they vehemently denied that Boko Haram members downed one of their fighter jets? On some days, the truth manages to out itself.
The recent announcement by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) that it is set to recover N1.8trillion in outstanding taxes from South African pay- TV company, Multichoice, owners of DSTV, may deter foreign companies from setting up shop in Nigeria, according to a report by Reuters.
Citing how Nigeria failed to get anything from a $2 billion tax bill it leveled against another South African company, mobile phone giant, MTN, in 2019, the report said that Nigeria’s reputation as an investment destination would be adversely affected when companies and individuals assume that the country’s tax bills are either negotiable or avoidable.
In fact, according to the report, Multichoice shareholders believe that only a fraction of the FIRS’ initial demand will probably have to be paid. The report said: “Judging from the company’s seven per cent share price drop(after the FIRS announcement), investors are braced for a penalty in the region of $260 million, 94 per cent less than Nigeria is demanding. Even that might be an overestimate.
“A $2 billion tax bill levelled against South African mobile phone giant MTN in 2019 came to literally nothing a year later. And the $8 billion that the central bank demanded from the same telecommunications company for supposedly illegally repatriated dividends became a $53 million wrist slap. “Such missteps hurt the credibility of the Nigerian authorities. Companies and individuals will naturally assume tax bills are either negotiable or avoidable. Nor does it enhance the credentials of Africa’s most populous nation as an investment destination. At the height of its dispute, MTN even threatened to pack up and go home. Fear of being randomly targeted may deter foreign companies from setting up shop there in the first place.” The report noted that a lack of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) would undermine President Muhammadu Buhari’s efforts to end Nigeria’s dependence on oil exports.
“With global oil demand set to plummet by 2050, Nigeria will have a big gap in its coffers to plug. But randomly targeting companies is short-sighted. Boosting VAT receipts or adding consumer levies on things like mobile phone airtime may be politically unpopular but will both raise more revenue and be less damaging to Nigeria’s economy,” the report stated.
New Telegraph reports that in a statement issued by the Director, Communications and Liaison Department at the FIRS, Abdullahi Ahmad, on July 9, the Service announced that it had engaged some commercial banks as agents to freeze and recover N1.8 trillion from accounts of MultiChoice Nigeria Limited and MultiChoice Africa. The FIRS explained that the decision to appoint the banks as agents and to freeze the accounts was as a result of the groups’ continued refusal to grant FIRS access to their servers for audit. The Executive Chairman FIRS, Muhammad Nami, was quoted as saying, that: “The companies would not promptly respond to correspondences, they lacked data integrity and are not transparent as they continually deny FIRS access to their records. “Particularly, MCN has avoided giving the FIRS accurate information on the number of its subscribers and income. “The companies are involved in the under-remittance of taxes which necessitated a critical review of the tax-compliance level of the company,” Nami stated.
By Sanni Onogu, Senator Ibrahim Abdullahi Danbaba on Thursday emerged the new Deputy Minority Whip of the Senate.
Senate President Ahmad Lawan read a letter appointing Danbaba to the position on the floor of the Senate.
The letter was signed by the National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ibrahim Tsuari.
Danbaba represents Sokoto South Senatorial District.
The position became vacant following the defection of the former Deputy Minority Whip, Senator Sahabi Ya’u (Zamfara North) from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
......... demand details of recruitments from 2014 till date
…direct institution to suspend the pre-screening exercise of shortlisted candidates
By Levinus Nwabughiogu
House of Representatives, Wednesday, fingered lopsidedness in the Nigerian Navy recruitment and directed the institution to suspend forthwith the forthcoming pre-screening exercise for the shortlisted candidates.
The House also asked the Navy to provide details of all recruitment from 2014 to date showing the geographical spread.
The parliament said the essence was to help strengthen the federal character law as well as to ensure better and more vigorous enforcement and implementation.
It added that every Nigerian deserved to be treated with dignity and rights irrespective of where they may be located physically in the country.
The resolutions followed the consideration of a motion to “investigate the process of the Nigerian Navy supplementary recruitment of 44 candidates for being against the principle character and in gross violation of section 14 of the 1999 constitution”, moved under matters of urgent public importance at the plenary by Hon. Ben Rollands Igbakpa representing Ethiope federal constituency of Delta State.
Moving the motion, Igbakpa noted that the Nigerian Navy Shortlisted 44 Candidates for the 2021/2022 recruitment exercise and have scheduled a pre-screening exercise for the candidates before their full induction into the Nigeria Naval Service.
He said that all the successful candidates that were to report for training in 2 batches at the Nigerian Navy Basic Training School Onne, Port Harcourt, Rivers State hailed from a particular part of the country which, he said negated the Federal Character principle of all-inclusiveness, equity and fair play.
He said: “Section 14(3) of the 1999 Constitution provides that all appointments must reflect Federal Character.
“The Section provides thus: “4(3) The composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to promote national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few states or a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that government or any of its agencies”.
The lawmaker argued that the underlying purpose of the principle in a multi-ethnic society like Nigeria was to ensure equal participation of the various ethnic extractions in the governance of the country.
“The Principle is also aimed at preventing the domination by one or some ethnic groups in the affairs of the country and the exclusion of other ethnic groups.
“In practice, the principle appears to have been observed more in breach. Appointments and recruitments into the various ministries, departments and agencies both at the federal and state levels by successive administrations seems to be treated as a matter of political discretion, and those with the appointment and recruitment powers do not feel a legal duty to ensure an equitable spread of appointments and recruitments into the various government bodies.
“This recruitment Supplementary list of 44 candidates since it became public knowledge has created a lot of tension, apprehension and discourse within the young and old from the deprived section.
“Adequate observance and implementation of the federal character principle will in no small measure allay fears of domination and denial by the ethnic minorities, and invariably foster national unity”, Igbakpa said.
Adopting the motion after securing favourable support of the majority of the members, the House mandated its committee on Navy to investigate the exercise and recommend appropriate measures to avoid similar constitutional violations in all future government recruitment.
The committee was given 12 weeks within which to conclude the assignment and report back to the House for further legislative action.
The Lagos State Police Command has arrested more suspects in connection with the murder of late Chief Executive Officer of Super TV, Usifo Ataga.
The Lagos Police Commissioner, Hakeem Odumosu, made this known during a parade of some suspects at the command headquarters in Ikeja on Wednesday, without giving details.
“We have established a case of conspiracy in the murder and we have arrested more suspects,” he said.
Odumosu also assured the public that police would not compromise in the case, dismissing claims that one of the arrested suspected, Chidinma Ojukwu, was given a soft-landing.
The police boss had described the new claims made by Chidinma Ojukwu, the suspected killer of Super TV boss as an “afterthought”.
In a video that went viral on Monday, the undergraduate denied killing the Super TV CEO – a claim that is contrary to her initial confession.
When she was paraded at the police command headquarters on June 24, the suspect had admitted to stabbing the 50-year-old in the neck with a knife after a disagreement.
She also corroborated the claim in an exclusive video interview with The PUNCH.
Odumosu, however, insisted that the police have the suspect on tape during her confession.
He said, “That is the trait of an active criminal; she was here, we recorded her. The night she was arrested, we recorded her at the state CIID, even the lady that rented the place to her, we recorded her and we have all that. If she now has an afterthought, investigation will prove that.”
Lagos State Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, Katsina State Governor Aminu Bello Masari and Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai have hailed ex-Lagos State Governor Asiwaju Bola Tinubu for refurbishing the Arewa House Library.
The governors spoke at the inauguration of the upgraded Arewa House Library.
Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat, said the Arewa House Library has served and fulfilled the purpose of its establishment by sustaining its enviable status as a reliable centre for research and documentation.
The governor added that it was heart-warming that the centre has not only provided documentation of the history and culture of the people, it has also provided abundant materials and resources on contemporary studies on policy, peace and leadership. This, he said, has served as a rich reference point and source for scholars.
“I am glad that a centre as this exists in Northern Nigeria and in Nigeria at large to document historical occurrences that both we in this present time and even the future generations can learn from to either avoid repeating certain mistakes or to provide us with the knowledge to act better in future,” the governor said.
Sanwo-Olu said with the upgrade, the centre was now well placed to meet the need of 21st-century researchers.
He commended the centre’s Director-General, Dr. Shuaibu Shehu Aliyu, management and staff of the Arewa House Library for preserving the history and culture of the country through the preservation of research and historical documentation.
Masari lauded the APC national leader for coming to the aid of the centre, a role which, according to him, should have been played by the governors in the North.
He said: “It is an obligation for the governors in the North to give minimum support to the Arewa House as they all have the means and capacity to do so. The citizens of the North must also collectively work together in addressing security challenges rather than allowing government alone to do so.’’
El-Rufai, who was represented by his Commissioner of Education, Dr. Shehu Mohammed Makarfi, praised Tinubu for upgrading the centre and called on other philanthropists in the country to contribute to the growth of the research centre.
The Vice-Chancellor, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Professor Kabiru Bala, also commended Tinubu for not reneging on his pledge to renovate and upgrade the library.
During the eleventh annual memorial lecture of the centre in March, Tinubu pledged to renovate the library to an international standard.
Tetfund Chairman Alhaji Kashim Ibrahim-Imam also praised Tinubu for the project.
He said: “ Arewa House is very important to every northerner. The man of the moment Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who took it upon himself to renovate the library, I know him as a friend, brother, comrade in the progressive struggles to ensure democracy in this country. I am happy he found it worthy to identify with us by contributing to the renovation of the library of the Area House.”
The South-West Governors’ Forum is pushing for the removal of the Federal Government’s exclusive control of the national minimum wage and stamp duty collection as well as decentralisation of the prisons and police structures.
The governors are also calling for the removal of gender in the Constitution.
These are part of their proposals presented to the South-West Caucus in the National Assembly as part of the ongoing review of the 1999 Constitution.
The forum had last week met with members of the caucus in Abuja behind closed doors.
At the meeting were governors Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State and Chairman of the South-West Governors’ Forum; Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, and Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State.
In the cover letter on the proposed constitution amendment signed by Akeredolu, a copy of which our correspondent obtained, the governors urged the lawmakers to push for the amendments “without prejudice to the submissions from the South-West states that are presently before the National Assembly.”
The letter, which was presented to the caucus, was dated July 5, 2021, and titled, ‘Presentation by South-West Governors’ Forum on the Review of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) ’.
It read in part, “We specifically invite the National Assembly to note the following areas of special interest to the South-West Governors’ Forum:
“The federal structure in governance and fiscal decentralisation: Resource allocation and management as well as fiscal federalism/decentralisation have remained contentious issues in previous constitution review exercises. The constitution review process places the National Assembly in a position to respond to the needs of states with a view to enabling them to discharge their constitutional responsibilities, including adequate provision of social and economic infrastructure for the citizenry.
“To achieve this in concrete terms, the principle of appropriateness, that is, which tier of government is more appropriate to deal with and effectively supervise a particular subject, should guide the sharing of powers between the federal and state governments.
“The items on the Exclusive (legislative) list should be substantially reduced to reflect the principles of appropriateness and state autonomy. In this regard, Section 4(4), Second Schedule of the 1999 Constitution is proposed for amendment.”
On state police, the governors said, “We propose that there should be a section of the Constitution that provides for the creation of the State Police Service. (A) State Houses of Assembly should have powers to enact laws for the establishment, recruitment, structure, operational control, finance and discipline of members of a state police.
“State police laws should include sufficient provisions for checks and balances as well as stipulate the respective jurisdictions of the federal and state police services to ensure a harmonious relationship between the two. Therefore, Section 153(1) dealing with the establishment of the Police Service Commission should be amended to introduce the States Police Service Commission.
“Recruitment into Nigeria Police should be done by the State Police Service Commission and in accordance with the laws made by state Houses of Assembly. Discipline of police officers above the rank of sergeant should be referred to the Federal Police Service Commission in order to check abuse of power at the state level.
“Appointment of state Commissioners of Police and officers below the rank of state commissioners should be made by the governors of the state on the recommendation of the State Police Service Commission.
“Appointment of officers above the rank of Assistant Inspector-General of Police to that of Inspector-General of Police should be made by the President, upon the recommendation of the Federal Police Service Commission.”
The governors further proposed that all state police commands should be licensed to procure arms on the approval of their request by the President, while the Office of the National Security Adviser should monitor the use of the arms procured by the state commands.
The Senate has commenced process of amending the establishment Act of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), with particular interest on age of candidates participating in Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The lawmakers suggested in the new amendment that 18 years should be set as age for any candidate that will like to participate in UTME henceforth, as against the practice of candidates participating in the exercise as early as 14 years.
Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Basic Education, Senator Akon Eyakenyi, disclosed the information on Monday when she led other Committee members on oversight visit to JAMB headquarters in Abuja.
She explained that the Committee had identified two major areas to be addressed in the proposed amendment for the examination body to function better.
Senator Eyakenyi said: “We have the responsibilities of making laws and legislate. We have identified two major areas that we need to go into the process of amending the act establishing JAMB. That’s the area of support we will give.”
The Committee insisted that candidates should neither sit nor be admitted into the university below the age of 18, as age has a lot to do with learning ability.
The Senator stressed the importance of education to the development and future of Nigeria, and added that the sector deserves maximum attention as good quality education can only be achieved through funding and commitment of teachers and students.
While describing JAMB as a bridge between the secondary and the university, she said the agency is a necessary vehicle for the delivery of quality and standard education in Nigeria.
Senator Eyakenyi commended the board for the smooth conduct of the 2021 UTME, stating that the exercise was free from malpractice as each candidate had different questions to answer, while describing JAMB Registrar, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, as a round peg in a round hole, who knows his job.
Responding, JAMB Registrar, Prof. Oloyede, told the Committee that the Board does not have powers to disqualify any candidate on the basis of age shifting the responsibility to individual institutions.
“Individual institutions can decide on who to admit or not based on age or any other criteria. It is the case with University of Ibadan which does not admit candidates below 16 years,” he said.
On the general performance for UTME in 2021, Prof. Oloyede, said the Board has been able to use the profile code and National Identification Number (NIN) to arrest the issue of multiple registration, adding that in 2021, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) supplied pictures of candidates in addition to the one captured by JAMB at the point of registration.
He disclosed that some security agents were caught in the act of aiding examination malpractices by swapping candidates after they have been cleared through the biometrics process.
He threatened that some candidates results may be withdrawn if after reviewing the exercise on CCTV they are found to be culpable of malpractice.
Unsatisfied with invading the home of Sunday Adeyemo, alias Sunday Igboho, and finding little of substance to substantiate their apocalyptic theory of his secessionist plot, and unfulfilled at ‘intercepting’ Nnamdi Kanu of IPOB fame and running into a needless diplomatic storm that is still brewing, the Department of State Service (DSS) has begun a welter of propaganda to damage the reputation and standing of both ethnic champions.
Mr Igboho is famously hyperbolic about the Yoruba freedom cause, particularly as it relates to the rampage of herdsmen in the Southwest, but there is no record of violent enforcement of his self-appointed cause, nor evidence that he had inspired or directed the killing of any herdsman, the object of the Buhari administration’s umbrage.
The coarser Mr Kanu has spoken violence but, despite the rampage of the so-called unknown gunmen in parts of the Southeast, has been largely theatrical, propagandistic, and unwisely eager to claim credit for violence of unknown origin, without understanding the legal pitfalls.
Neither Mr Igboho nor Mazi Kanu had undertaken the genocidal assault Fulani herdsmen and Northwest bandits subscribe to, but the Buhari administration and the DSS have expended huge resources to interdict their fairly popular causes.
The administration is unfazed by public allegations, particularly from the south, that its methods and objectives betray an ethnic agenda, considering how it obsesses over Messrs Igboho and Kanu without a corresponding high-tech effort to ‘intercept’ and destroy the bases and funding of bandits and herdsmen. But no matter what anyone says, the administration will persist in its goals and obsessions. This obsession may reflect the limitation of their understanding of how a pluralistic society should be governed, but they really don’t care. Not only has the administration needlessly turned fringe ethnic players in the south to mainstream players, they have also incredibly drawn an opaque and unfair definitional line in the sand between secessionists in the south on the one hand and bandits and herdsmen in the north on the other hand. The latter may be infinitely more violent, but the administration and the DSS have decided to assign more definitional and criminal weight to the former. This skewed propaganda will continue apace.
Hundreds of schoolboys and girls are being kidnapped regularly, especially in the north, and brutalized or murdered, but the DSS has declared its intention to seek out backers and funders of Mr Igboho and Mr Kanu’s IPOB. The backers have already being criminalized. The administration’s selectiveness is so acute now that no one in the south and perhaps the Middle Belt believes their impartiality anymore. Bandits have extorted hundreds of millions from their victims, and asked for motorcycles and food items, but, as if they are spirits, they have not being located, exposed and humiliated. The bandits have sometimes come out into the open to half-heartedly accept amnesty, and their identities are well known, but still nothing has happened to them.
Perhaps the administration is passing on the message that self-determination is evil but killing and maiming and kidnapping are nothing but inconsequential misdemeanour. Had medieval kingdoms been governed like this, historians would have no example of past developments and greatness to write about.
The Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc is making moves to expunge the N7,620,840,000 allocated for the “senate” in its 2021 budget, TheCable understands.
A review of the 2021 approved budget of NBET, an agency under the ministry of finance, shows an item without a code number tagged “Senate 5%”.
It is still unclear what NBET plans to do with the staggering sum for the senate as Nnaemeka Ewelukwa, NBET’s chief executive officer, did not respond to calls and messages from TheCable to clarify the curious item found in the budget.
It was also discovered that NBET — the body that buys power from the generating companies (GenCos) and sells to the distribution companies (DisCos) — also allocated N630 million to buy transformers and electrify rural communities. This is clearly not part of the agency’s mandate.
The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) is saddled with the responsibility of providing energy access to rural and underserved communities across the country.
TheCable understands that NBET has asked the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) to approve the award of the contracts.
The development is coming at a time the agency is struggling to fulfil its financial obligations to GenCos for energy wheeled to the grid.
After the publication of the exposé, insiders told TheCable that the budget has been corrected and the controversial N7.6bn billion for senate merged into the fund for GenCos under the power sector reform programme.
By implication, the corrected version of the approved budget will no longer contain the “5% senate” item.
TheCable also learnt that the publication of the report has raised a dust of controversy at the agency.
The board of NBET is expected to meet on Friday to deliberate over the questionable items in the approved budget.
The British government has warned that Nigeria’s democracy is at the risk of destabilisation before the 2023 general elections. Though it noted that the police and army are in urgent need of reform, the United Kingdom said the solution to Nigeria’s instability does not lie in simply strengthening the police and army, but rather in building an effective social contract system.
Development Director, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Chris Beecroft, in a goodwill message at the launch of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) Peace and Inclusive Security Initiative (PISI) in Abuja on Thursday, said conflict represents an existential threat to Nigeria’s unity and its development. Beecroft, who stated that Nigeria is facing peace and security challenges, added that: “The rise in conflict risks destabilising Nigeria’s democracy in the run-up to the 2023 elections.
“There is an active insurgency in the North East; farmer-herder conflicts are extending across the country; resource conflicts in the Delta; tension in the South-East; and banditry in the North West. “Conflict destroys lives, destroys livelihoods, destroys hope and ambition for the future. Conflict represents an existential threat to Nigeria’s unity and its development,” Beecroft stated.
He blamed this on the injustice and impunity, as well as weak justice institutions in the country, and expressed the view that peace and stability could be achieved when the causes of conflict in society are managed through strong, fair, and responsive governance mechanisms at community, state, or federal level. Beecroft added that the use of the police and army would only be part of the solution, and called for greater emphasis: “On reconciliation, mediation, arbitration, and access to justice – all vital components of a vibrant, resilient, and effective social contract.” According to him, proliferation of small arms and weapons and the weaponisation of social media, are drivers of conflict and instability.
He called for job creation for young Nigerians “so they have a stake in a prosperous and peaceful Nigeria,” adding, however, that “with the right commitment, dedications and support, there are solutions.” Beecroft stated that the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office recognised the important role the NGF plays in setting the peace and security agenda, and in building state and community level structures and institutions to reduce violence and respond to conflict and insecurity across Nigeria.
Former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd), in his remarks, decried what he described as “the instrumentalisation of violence,” noting that violence has become a commodity in Nigeria. Abubakar, Chairman of the National Peace Committee, who was repre-sented by Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, said Nigerians are averse to diagnosis. He disagreed that poverty is the cause of violence in Nigeria, arguing that China has about 300 million unemployed persons.
The former Head of State also condemned the spate of defections by politicians from one party to another, noting that “when a governor or senator defects, it has a destabilising effect. The problem of this decision spurs violence.” Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Dr. Kayode Fayemi said Nigeria, is still at the crossroads, adding that the level of insecurity across parts of the country is not only eroding citizens’ safety and peoples’ means of livelihood, but also threatening the expression of the rights of all Nigerians.
Fayemi, who is governor of Ekiti State, noted that the spate of violence and coordinated criminal activities have undermined government’s authority and waned public trust in recent times. He attributed the current security crisis in the country to several factors, “including an oversized population that the government is unable to cope with, a large number of poor people estimated at over 40 percent of the population who are living below $1 per day, and indeed, desertification which has affected over 60 percent of Nigeria’s land, as drought and climate change has continued to aggravate land deterioration in the country.”
Fayemi equally blamed the situation on proliferation of small arms and light weapons, which he said worsened and exacerbated the level of violence and fatalities. According to him: “Between May 2011 and February 2021, over 76,000 deaths were reported. “Mass displacement of persons from their areas of residence remains a challenge. At the end of 2019, the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) reported a total number of 2,583,000 internally displaced persons who have been affected by conflict and violence in the country.”
The Katsina government has introduced community development levy and cattle tax, referred to as ‘jangali’, in the state.
Faruk Jobe, commissioner for budget and economic planning, disclosed this on Wednesday, while briefing journalists after the state executive council meeting presided over by Aminu Masari, governor of Katsina.
According to NAN, Jobe said a committee set up to fine-tune modalities for payment of taxes has submitted its report to the council.
“After receiving the report, we resolved that each adult in the state — including non-indigenes — as well as male and female civil servants are to pay N2,000 each as development levy annually,” the commissioner said.
“For the cattle levy, ‘jangali’, every cow owner will pay N500 per cow yearly. We are going to push the matter to the state house of assembly for legislative process.”
When asked if it would not amount to double taxation for civil servants since tax is being deducted from their salaries, the commissioner said the civil servant tax is different.
According to him, the one introduced by the state government is “development levy”, which is for all residents in Katsina.
He added that married women who are not working would be excluded, while those who are employed would pay the levy.
The commissioner explained that the development is not new in the state, as it had been in existence but was abolished in 1979.
“Now, we have brought it back. Before we commence, government will take a biometric data of all adults in the state to know those who will pay and those that will not,” he said.
“The data will provide us with necessary information, address, business, and other relevant information about the tax payers.”
Jobe noted that the same thing would be applicable to cattle owners, as the data will provide information on the number of cows and where the owners reside.
The commissioner, however, said the state government took the decision as part of efforts to check banditry, cattle rustling, stealing, kidnapping and other criminalities across the state.
Police Detain Young Man Who Lures Women With Fake Job Vacancies, Rapes and Tortures Them In Lagos
A young man identified as Kingsley Onuorah has been arrested and detained by police officers at the Ojo Police Station in Lagos State for luring unsuspecting women with fake job vacancies.
It was gathered that Onuorah who works at Alaba International Market as a manager with one of the mobile phones outfits, ITEL, advertised vacant positions and consequently lured applicants to his apartment to submit their Curriculum Vitae.
One of the Operating Officers of the Advocates for Children and Vulnerable Peoples Network noted that Onuorah had deployed a tactic to deceive applicants that a Human Resources representative would come to his house for the CV.
In the process, however, Onuorah will allegedly lock up his victim, preventing them from going home and subjecting them to rape and torture for days to his satisfaction.
His cover was blown after he met his last victim, a 23-year-old lady, whose sister was resilient in ensuring her return.
Onuorah is now in the custody of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligent Department (SCIID), Panti, Yaba.
The ACVPN officer said, “Kingsley Onuorah is a manager with ITEL, one of the mobile phone outfits in Alaba International Market Branch.
“Kingsley is a sociopath who specialises in luring vulnerable women and young girls. He advertises vacant positions and applicants are asked to come with their CV which happens to be his apartment.
“Whenever the applicants query why the location for submission is his house, he would quickly tell them the HR representative would come to his house and pick up the CV.
“He takes advantage of them by sexually molesting the women and young girls.
“The last survivor he did the same to is a 23-year-old woman whom he lured to his apartment. He made her cook noodles, he then raped her and kept her for five days.
“Thank God for the survivor's sister who was very resilient and determined to get back her missing sister and it paid off.
“He was arrested by the officers from Ojo Police Station. Kingsley initially denied setting his eyes on the survivor, but when his phone was properly checked, the missing lady's nude picture was found in the phone.
“Other women's nude pictures were also there. This was how Kingsley broke down and he admitted the survivor was in his custody.
”She was found inside Kingsley's apartment. He's presently with the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti.
“Kingsley's relatives have offered the survivor's guardian N150,000 to withdraw the matter but the no-nonsense OC Gender Anti-Human Trafficking Unit, SCID, Panti has insisted that justice must prevail.”
A 20-year-old man in Kano State has set himself ablaze after all his efforts to raise the money to pay for his Secondary School Leaving Certificate Examination (SSCE) organised by the National Examination Council (NECO), failed.
The incident happened last week Tuesday in Garo town of Kabo Local Government Area of the State.
Reports said the youth, who was identified as Danladi Shu’aib, had written the exams three times but failed all but he could not raise the money to register for the exam this year.
A resident of the area, Ya’u Ahmad Garo, confirmed to Daily Trust that late Danladi had on various occasions threatened to commit suicide if he failed to write the exam because of his ambition to further his studies, but that nobody took the threat seriously.
He also explained that Shu’aib was later taken to the hospital after setting himself ablaze, but died two days later.
Similarly, another resident of the area and a neighbour of the deceased, who pleaded anonymity, said: “Danladi used to go and work in one mechanic garage, so after getting his pay for the day, he used them to buy fuel, and later entered one room in their house, poured it on his body and set himself ablaze.
“However, when the fire heat penetrated his body, he started crying for help. People were able to put it off and rushed him to the hospital.
“But, two days after, he died as a result of the injuries he sustained from the inferno,” the source added.
Reports also said late Shu’aib was able to raise half of the amount earlier but gave up when he couldn’t get the remaining half to complete it.
Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina has advised Nigerians to fight bandits with their teeth and not wait for President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime to protect them.
Mr Masari stated this in a video seen by Peoples Gazette on social media.
“It is important for you to fight your enemy, even with your teeth bite him. Where are the warriors? I don’t understand our people these days. What they should be doing is not what they are doing,” Mr Masari said in the Hausa language.
He added, “You are waiting for brigadier somewhere to come, or soldiers and policemen or even fighting (sic) jet, is it not possible, they will do their work, but we need to join hands together.”
Governor of Katsina State, Masari is Challenging residents to defend themselves from RPG and Ak47 wielding Bandits by atleast bitting them or using bow & arrows and not waiting for the police or military. pic.twitter.com/jVI6WFd8ZH
— Yusuf Anka (@ankaboy) July 4, 2021 Last June, Mr Masari asserted that it was irresponsible of Nigerians to expect the police or military to protect them against bandits, charging Nigerians to protect themselves.
Though he admitted that the bandits were armed, Mr Masari chastised victims of bandits’ violence for running away when attacked.
“The only difference is that they have taken arms against us; does it mean we have nothing to take against them?” Do we mean we should vacate all our villages, all our farms, all our houses, and surrender them to bandits, and wait for police officer Emeka all the way from Enugu to come to Katsina and rescue me? This is ridiculous,” Mr Masari complained.
In February, defence minister Bashir Magshi berated Nigerians for running away from their communities due to “minor shootings” by bandits.
“I don’t know why people are running from minor things like that. They should stand and let these people know that even the villagers have the competency and capability to defend themselves,” said Mr Magashi.
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