₦airaland Forum

Danisa Masuku



A man from Bulawayo was allegedly drugged and left lying in a bushy area and woke up half naked while his manhood had semen stains as if he had sex.

The 38-year-old man is said to have boarded a Honda Fit pirate taxi that had two women from the city centre to Hillside at 8pm last week on Friday.

A source said while they were on their way one of the women reportedly gave the unsuspecting man a drink suspected to be laced with a drug.
The source said after taking the drink the man allegedly felt dizzy and moments later he fell unconscious.

He does not know what happened next. He woke up to find himself lying in a bushy area half naked.

“He woke up at 1am to realise that his trousers and underwear were lowered to knee level. As if that was not enough his manhood had semen stains and he was feeling tired as if he had sex,”said a source close to investigations.

He reported the matter at Hillside police station.
Bulawayo provincial public relations officer Assistant Inspector Nomalanga Msebele confirmed the incident.

“I can confirm that we are investigating a case where a man who boarded a Honda Fit pirate taxi from the city centre to eastern suburbs found himself lying half naked in a bushy area. The suspects are still at large.”

Assistant Inspector Msebele spoke about an increase in cases of robberies committed by Honda Fit crews and urged members of the public to be cautious: “We are continuously recording crimes involving unregistered pirate taxis. We are also recording assault and rape cases. We want to urge members of the public to desist from boarding unregistered cars as some of them are involved in serious crimes.”

The Department of State Service (DSS) is still holding activist and Convener of the botched RevolutionNow protest, Omoyele Sowore, in its custody four days after the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered his release.

The Guardian learnt yesterday from sources within the secret Police that the agency was not in a hurry to release the activist, saying: “We are aware of the court order, but we are still keeping him to be arraigned next week on charges that Nigerians will know of when he gets to court.”

Meanwhile, investigative journalists around the world yesterday joined the call for Sowore’s immediate release, just as the human rights lawyer, Ebun Olu-Adegboruwa (SAN) has declared his continued detention by the DSS illegal.

In her speech delivered at the on-going Global Investigative Journalism Conference in Hamburg, Germany, the Director, Media, Technology and Advocacy Specialisation, Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, Anya Schiffrin, lamented Sowore’s continued detention by the DSS even after reportedly meeting his bail conditions.

Schiffrin said: “Mr. Sowore is a world-renowned journalist. He has pioneered new and important avenues in the field of investigative journalism.

“In addition, he is the founder of the well-known online investigative news outlet, Sahara Reporters, that focuses on corruption and political misconduct.

“Many colleagues in the worlds of journalism and academia hold Mr. Sowore in great esteem for his life-long effort in speaking truth to power.“After Sowore had spent more than six weeks in jail, on September 24, a Federal High Court Judge, Justice Taiwo Taiwo, granted Sowore bail and asked Sowore to surrender his passport pending his trial.”

Justice Taiwo of the Federal High Court had last Tuesday ordered the release of Sowore, who has been in the DSS custody since August 2, this year, when he was arrested in Lagos by the Service.

While ordering his release, Justice Taiwo noted that the detention order he issued to the DSS on August 8 expired last Saturday, September 21.The Judge had observed that he took cognizance of the fact that the DSS initially filed an ex-parte motion for extension of the detention order for another 20 days, but later withdrew the application through its lawyer, Godwin Abadua, and it was accordingly struck out.He held that the application having been struck out, there was nothing before the court to warrant Sowore’s continued stay in detention, noting: “The constitutional right to liberty of the high and the low, as well as the poor and the rich is guaranteed under the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“I am of the view that the Respondent ought to be released forthwith in view of the fact that there is no extant order of this court for his continued detention.”

But the DSS appears to have ignored the court order, as frantic attempts by Sowore’s lawyers to secure his freedom had hit a brick wall. A member of his legal team disclosed that the agency blatantly refused to release him, feigning ignorance of the order.Spokesperson of the DSS had claimed that the agency had yet to receive a copy of the court order, contrary to insistence of Sowore’s lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), that it was duly received on September 24, the same day it was made, by one Ayuba Adam of the Legal Department of the DSS.

The agency made the denial few hours after Sowore’s lawyer commenced a process to commit its DSS Director General, Yusuf Bichi, to prison for flouting a subsisting court order after the detained activist had met all the conditions for his release. Falana decried the refusal by the DSS to comply with the court order even after it was duly served with an affidavit of compliance and consequently filed a Form-48, which is ‘Notice of Consequence of Disobedience of Court Order,’ for Bichi to adduce reasons why he should not be jailed for disobeying the court order.

Despite its denial of receiving the court order, the DSS, yesterday, blocked an attempt by a Bailiff of the court to re-serve it with the order. The Bailiff, who arrived at the DSS headquarters in Abuja about 9:30a.m yesterday, was asked to return by 12noon when Bichi would be around.

However, upon his return at 12.40p.m, the Bailiff was denied access into the DSS premises.Adegboruwa, in an interview with The Guardian said if Sowore has met his bail conditions as claimed by his lawyers, his continued detention was in flagrant violation of the express order of the court. According to him, Nigeria is running a constitutional democracy, founded upon the concept of the rule of law, which prescribes unconditional respect for all orders of the court.

Adegboruwa said: “The DSS has not appealed against the order of the Federal High Court admitting Sowore on bail pending his trial, if any. That imposed on it a compulsory obligation to comply with the said order, willy-nilly.

“Indeed, it was upon the order of court that the DSS kept Sowore in custody in the first place and if the same court has now ordered his release, there can be no justification for his continued detention. When government and its agencies refuse to obey lawful orders of court, society descends into the Hobbesian state where life becomes brutish and short, and this encourages citizens to resort to lawlessness.

“Under and by virtue of section 287 (3) of the 1999 Constitution, ‘the decisions of the Federal High Court shall be enforced in any part of the federation by all authorities and persons.’“To that extent, there can be no justification whatsoever, for the continued detention of Sowore by the DSS, especially as it is not contesting the order of court. This is why the continued detention of Mr Sowore by the DSS is illegal.”

Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa



The Speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Tonye Isenah has finally bowed to pressures mounted by the leadership of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the state for him to resign for a new Speaker to emerge from Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.

Isenah (Kolokuma/Opokuma Constituency 1) in Bayelsa Central Senatorial district had emerged the speaker of the 6th Assembly in June with the understanding that he would step down from the position if the party picks a governorship candidate from Bayelsa Central and he wins the November 16 governorship election.

However, the anger from Southern Ijaw Local Government Area following the inability of the governorship aspirants from the area to clinch the PDP governorship ticket and fears that the people of the area might queue behind Chief David Lyon, governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) forced the PDP leadership to request Isenah to vacate office so that the incumbent leader of the House, Hon Monday Bubou Obolo (Southern Ijaw Constituency 2) could be elected speaker to placate the people of Southern Ijaw.

Investigations revealed that barring any last-minute change of plan, Obolo would emerge the speaker on Monday September 30 as Isenah had agreed to step down.

Isenah was said to have dropped hint of his resignation during what could be termed as a valedictory meeting with staff of the House of Assembly shortly after the plenary session.

“Yes, the speaker met with workers of the Assembly and addressed them on his stewardship in the past three months. He told them that on Monday, he would no longer be the speaker and enjoined the workers to cooperate with the new leadership.”

Investigations revealed that aside from the speakership position and that of the Director-General of campaigns already given to Southern Ijaw, other appointments would still be given to politicians from Southern Ijaw to shore up the support base of the party in the area.

Governor Henry Seriake Dickson had on Thursday in a minor cabinet reshuffle moved Hon. Ebipatei Apaingolo from the Ministry of Environment to Youth Development and Udengs Eradiri from Youth Development to Environment in a move to give Apaingolo an indigene of Koluama community in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area more access to youths for effective mobilisation for the PDP governorship candidate, Senator Douye Diri.

Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa



The Nigerian Navy has declared that it would make the Body Mass Index (BMI), one of the major criteria for promoting its personnel and allocating courses to its officers and men. The BMI is the measurement of a person’s weight with respect to his or her height. It also indicates a person’s total body fat, with normal range falling between 18.5 and 24.9.

The Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Central Naval Command, Yenagoa, Rear Admiral Saidu Garba, made this declaration Thursday during the maiden edition of a wellness lecture with the theme: “Harnessing Good Health Through Prescribed Medical Lifestyle” at the command’s headquarters in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

Garba urged officers to take the issue of fitness seriously so that they could benefit from the wide range of welfare available.

He explained that the lecture was a proof that the Nigerian Navy placed a lot of emphasis on the physical and mental health of its personnel, adding that the programme was packaged to enable personnel to appreciate the need to be medically and mentally fit to undertake all operations.

“The Nigerian Navy places emphasis on physical, mental and medical fitness of its personnel and this is in line with the fact that we want to ensure that they are certified okay to undertake every operations required of them.

“Recently, the Nigerian Navy introduced the Body Mass Index scale as a measure of fitness to ensure all of us are fit to undertake our regular routine operational activities and it is going to be used as a criterion for both promotion as well as availability of courses and operations.

“In order for personnel to know their status, we introduced this lecture so that some preventable ailments can be avoided. It will be quarterly so that we can reach others who are on the field to enhance the health, wellness and fitness of our personnel.”

“Our annual programmes show we have to undertake a series of events like swimming, football championship, the thug-of-war games and so many others which we concluded a few days ago. We will ensure that those men on the field and in the waterways get this very important information as it will be done in batches,” he said.
In her lecture, the guest speaker, Dr. Susan Adam, a fitness and wellness expert, said the programme was scheduled to encourage all participants to be conscious of their health status.

“We recognise that a lot has been done and already put in place for them (officers) to be proactive but we think something extra could be done to enhance their health. They have to deliberately prevent some things, watch their BMI and what to eat, and how to eat them” she said.
Adam advised the officers and men to embrace natural foods in the place of processed foods, adding that food was capable of healing many ailments.

“Vegetables have so much to offer in terms of healing us. We can’t run away from nature. Awareness has to be created that there’s something called ‘healthy living.’ It will be a learned habit and it doesn’t happen overnight,” she said.

A Kano-based group Thursday accused the state governor Umaru Ganduje scheming afresh to remove the embattled Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II.

Renaissance Coalition alleged that Kano State government plans to deploy Sanusi to the newly established Bichi emirate and subsequently dethrone him.

“It has come to the notice of the Renaissance Coalition that, Kano state Government has gotten wind of a vile plan to swap the Emir of Kano Mallam Muhammadu Sanusi II, to Bichi, and in the event he resists, he shall be deposed,” Renaissance Coalition representative Ibrahim Waiya said in a statement.

“This is quite unfortunate that, despite a subsisting court ruling which has ordered the maintenance of status quo pending the conclusion of the matter before it, and even the contentious law which was maliciously and hurriedly made, and is being challenged before the court, has not explicitly provided for such swap.”

When contacted, chief press secretary to Governor, Abba Anwar said he was not aware of such plot.

Waiya said the alleged plot from Ganduje, which shows desperation was likely to cause violent, unrest in the polity to advance a personal vendetta at the expense of the peace and wellbeing of the citizens he swore to protect.

The group called on all well-meaning individuals and the Federal Government, to call the governor to order, to desist from any further hostile action against the Kano emirate and the person of the Emir Sanusi which is capable of jeopardising the relative peace in the State.

“We decided not to wait and be reactive but to be proactive because of the perceived heavy toll the repercussions of the alleged action of the Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, awaits the people of Kano if the alleged plot is materialised and remains unchecked.

The group also called on security agencies, political leaders, the respected elders, venerated Ulamas, intellectuals, opinion leaders and any person or people with the means to reach out to advise the Governor on the matter.

Should the governor refuse the advice, the group said it will call on the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in Kano State to save Kano State from the consequences of the alleged plot.

The group reminded Ganduje of a similar attempt against former Emir Ado Bayero in 2981, saying that Ganduje may generate needless economic and social disability if the plans eventually harsh.

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday threatened to jail the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Bichi for the continued detention of the convener of the revolution now movement, Omoyele Sowore.
The Federal High Court on Tuesday, ordered the
immediate release of Sowore .

In a notice addressed to Bichi and dated September 26, the court berated the DSS DG for not releasing Sowore despite an order to do so.

Taiwo Taiwo, the judge, said there was no subsisting order keeping him in detention.
But the DSS is yet to comply with the order. Owing to the non-compliance, Femi Falana, Sowore’s counsel, went to court seeking the execution of the order.

The court noted in a notice that the failure of the DSS to release Sowore will amount to contempt of court.

The notice entitled, ‘Notice of consequences of disobedience to order of court’ read: “Take notice that unless you obey the direction contained in the order of the Federal High Court of Justice Abuja delivered on 24 September, 2019, which ordered you to release the applicant in suit no: FHC/ABJ/CS/915/2019 forthwith, you will be guilty of contempt of court and will be liable to be committed to prison.

“This court has been informed that even as at today, Thursday the 26th of September, you are yet to comply with the lawful order of the Federal High Court by refusing to release the applicant namely: Omoyele Sowore, in your custody.

“You are hereby directed to comply with the court order forthwith or you will be guilty of contempt of court.”

Sowore was arrested Aug. 3 for convening a nationwide protest, themed #RevolutionNow.

Magnus Eze, Owerri




Allies of the immediate past governor of Imo State, Senator Rochas Okorocha, have gone underground in Owerri while many of them have fled the town following renewed clampdown by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

South East zonal head of the anti-graft agency, Usman Imam, at a recent press briefing in Enugu, said the commission had marked more property linked to the former governor, his family members and some aides believed to have been acquired from stolen public wealth.

He disclosed that full scale investigation of the eight-year tenure of Okorocha was ongoing, revealing that many officials and contractors who served the administration would be called to answer some questions.

Soon after he vacated office, the EFCC swooped on him and his family members.

Apart from the closure of some of their private business outfits, the anti-graft body has deployed court processes to ensure interim forfeiture of the property, which include schools, hospitals and estates, as well as an ultramodern hospital belonging to his former aide in Owerri.

Daily Sun investigation, yesterday, showed that the operatives of the EFCC were intermittently sighted in Owerri, a situation that has forced some notable former appointees of the past government to avoid public places.

It was also gathered that the recent interim seizure of the hospital owned by Okorocha’s former principal secretary and now House of Representatives member, has fuelled fresh fear of arrest in the camp.

A source told our reporter that operatives of the EFCC were recently spotted at the highbrow Graceland Estate, Irete near Owerri, housing key actors of the Okorocha era.

Another high profile residential area visited by the officials was the Redemption Estate known as Udenwa Estate.

In addition, members of the last state House of Assembly were not spared especially the 18 people alleged to have received N22million each from the former governor in return for supporting the governorship aspiration of his son-in-law, Uche Nwosu, on the platform of Action Alliance (AA). Some of them have allegedly become regular guests at the Enugu zonal office of the EFCC.

Tobi Aworinde, Abuja



The Director General, Media and Communications , the Kano State Government , Salihu Yakasai , drew the ire of several Nigerians by referring to the Vice President , Prof Yemi Osinbajo , as “ vice president academics” on Twitter .

Yakasai, via his account, @dawisu , on Tuesday , posted the controversial tweet , which seemed to mock the Vice President , in response to another user , Ismail Kabir , who had said, “ It seems everyone in Nigeria is in New York for UN Assembly. ”

The tweet was in reference to the attendance of President Muhammadu Buhari and several top Nigerian government officials at the United Nations General Assembly in the United States .
Ganduje ’s aide , however, replied , “ Vice President ( Academics ) is still around sir .”

Yakasai’ s tweet drew reactions from several Nigerians , particularly amid speculation that Osinbajo ’ s role in the Buhari administration is being whittled down by powerful personalities close to the President .

Nigerians expressed outrage over the tweet with “ VP Academics ” among the top Twitter trends on Wednesday evening .
After coming under fire , Yakasai described himself as Osinbajo ’s “ huge fan . ”

But @dsalahu replied , “ Oga , a huge fan of the VP would not supposedly jokingly refer to him as ‘ VP academics ’ at a time like this , it sounds distasteful coming from a governor ’s spokesperson . This backlash is justified .”

@JA _ Anva , said, “ VP Academics is that office you put an important person whom you wish to render powerless for a long time .”

By Henry Umoru



THE Senate, Tuesday distanced itself from the seeming political imbroglio between the Presidency and the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, saying that the issue was not its concern.

The Senate also said that it was not bothered about what was going on at the Presidency, just as it said that the President has the prerogative to assign duties to all those who work with him in the Executive.

Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari had recently replaced the Economic Management Team (EMT) headed by the Vice President with an Economic Advisory Council (EAC) under the chairmanship of Prof. Doyin Salami.

He was also said to have been stripped of some government agencies and parastatals that were hitherto under his supervision as well as having a running battle with some persons in the Presidency.

Answering questions from Journalists yesterday, Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Adedayo Adeyeye, All Progressives Congress, APC, Ekiti South who noted that the Senate has no hands in the unfolding scenario, said, “The Senate is not involved with that and we are not concerned about what happens in the executive. things that are happening with the Executive. I am speaking for the Senate.

“I do not speak for the Executive and I do not want to concern myself with the issue of the Vice President or the Executive, it is not our business, That is the executive arm of government and we do not interfere. Why do we have to do that?

“It is not our concern, why do you want drag me into something that does not really concern me and that does not concern the Senate.
“So, we are not bordered about that and we are not concerned.”

“I am not aware of any role constitutionally assigned to the Vice President has been taken away from him. Nothing like that has happened. Constitutional, assigned duties remain the same. Get it right, The President has the prerogative to assign duties to all those who work with him in the executive.

“He has the constitutional power, he can call the minister of works and say okay go tomorrow, Finance go to labour. The Senate will not inquire into that because that is his duties.

“He can say my Vice President, I give you these additional responsibilities where is the power of the senate to investigate that. We do not have the power of course that will warrant the intervention of the Senate. That has never happened, and that has not happened.

“I do not think that will happen, even judiciary will have a role to play in that as well, not only the legislature, only where the constitution is seen to have been violated.

“I do not think we have any cause to be discussing that, because that itself has not happened. So we are not bothered about that and we are not concerned. I want to tell you that at this moment, we are not investigating it.”

By Richard P. Ngbokai

A headmaster, and a classroom teacher have been deployed to formally kick start basic primary school at Shara community by the Local Education Authority(LEA) Sumaila local government area of Kano state.

The community had been without a primary school over the years, and its residents of school going age have to travel a very long distance to attend schools in neighbouring villages, as a consequence majority of the community’s youth population had not acquired basic primary education.

A press statement signed and issued by the Programme Officer, Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), Malam Sagiru Ado Abubakar, stated that the school was informally founded by CITAD as part of its advocacy for universal access to basic education about three years ago, and had run for three years as pure community school in terms of funding and other support.

He said the school has now been formally registered with the Local Government Education Authority.

It could be recalled that about three weeks ago, CITAD in a ceremony distributed learning kits to pupils in the community as part of preparations for school resumption after the long vacation.

Abubakar added that representatives from the LEA, Sumaila Local Government Area during the occasion pledged to integrate the school into its curriculum in fulfillment of which two teachers were sent to formally flag off the school.

He said “On Tuesday 10th September, 2019, in preparation for the resumption of school activities CITAD went and distributed uniforms and writing materials for pupils in a ceremony that was witnessed by education officials from Sumaila Local Government Area.

“During the occasion, the Education Secretary of the Local Government, Alhaji Sabo Aliyu who was represented by Malam Mukhtar Uba Sumaila promised that the Local Education Authority would provide teacher to the school and urge the School Based Management Committee to visit the Education Secretary so that they can be formally registered and be in line for state.

“On Tuesday 17th September, 2019, the Committee visited ES and was duly registered.

Today I would like to share with you that the Local Government Education Authority has fulfilled its promise of sending teachers to the school” Abubakar said.

He added that on 16th September, 2019, the members of Shara community received the two teachers posted by the LEA to formally flag off the school.

He however, pleaded with the state government to carry the community along in its Free Education Policy and to quickly embark on the building classrooms in the school saying already the Community had donated land for building of classroom blocks.

Adedayo Adeyeye, spokesman of the senate, has defended the decision of the national assembly to purchase sport utility vehicles (SUVs) reportedly worth N5.5 billion for its members.

Justifying the decision, Adeyeye said if Nigerians think democracy is expensive because of the legislature they could experiment with dictatorship and do a cost analysis.

Adeyeye said this when journalists asked him about the huge sum earmarked for the purchase of cars by the legislature on Tuesday.

He wondered why the case of the legislature would be different when officials in the executive and in the judiciary have vehicles.

“In this country, legislators, ministers and civil servants were provided houses and then the policy was stopped,” he said.

”As of today, most government officials have official vehicles the same way judicial officials have. I have asked the question several times why that of the legislature is different?
“It is simply because the legislature has not been part of the government. In a democracy, it is because of the legislature you have democracy at all. Because we are already used to the judiciary and executive having these things. A lot of people in Nigeria even think there is a need for the national assembly.

“They think it is a waste but I tell you to try dictatorship and we have tried dictatorship in this country and we have seen where it took us. Like people used to say if you think education is expensive try ignorance.

“I am now saying if you think democracy is expensive and the legislature is not necessary, try dictatorship and let us see. Do a cost/benefit analysis.”

BudgIT, Nigeria’s civic tech organisation, had asked the national assembly to stop its culture of waste and to shelve the plan.

For South African brands doing business in Nigeria, the fear of losing money is the beginning of wisdom. The reaction to the recent xenophobic attacks in South Africa couldn’t have been worse for business, as they were caught unawares by the backlash from Nigerians.

Some of them had to temporarily close shop, while others flew below the radar, hoping the Nigerian public doesn’t beam the searchlight on them.

It is no wonder that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa – himself a successful businessman with major interests in MTN – sent a special envoy, Jeff Radebe, to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja, in order to convey “sincerest apologies about the incident that has recently transpired in South Africa”.

South Africa has huge investments in Nigeria, with Shoprite, MTN, Travelstart, DSTV and other companies jostling with local companies for a share of the continent’s biggest market. And while the destruction and looting of the assets belonging to these South African brands has been successfully curtailed by the Nigerian police, the undercurrents of animosity remain, with calls for a boycott of these businesses and their services a recurring theme.

For Nigerians, an apology from the South African president is not enough. Rather, balancing trade between both countries should be the ultimate goal. While Nigeria enjoys a positive trade balance with South Africa, 99 per cent of South Africa’s imports from Nigeria is from crude oil.

On the other hand, South Africa’s exports to – and business footprints in Nigeria – are across various sectors from plastics to edible fruits to electronics, due to the conducive business climate afforded them.

The demand is that the South Africa government should be as welcoming to Nigerian businesses in a similar way to that which has ensured South African businesses thrive and rake in millions – in some cases, billions – of dollars in Nigeria.

A South African in Japan narrates how he was snubbed by a Nigerian after he introduced himself, with the Nigerian saying:’South Africans are not my brothers. We share Jason Jetnarayan’s story, which was first published by IOL’


https://i2.wp.com/www.pmnewsnigeria.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Jason-Jetnarayan-left-when-he-arrived-in-Japan-as-a-teacher--e1569100164256.jpg?zoom=4&resize=600%2C450&ssl=1
Jason Jetnarayan, left when he arrived in Japan as a teacher



African reaction to xenophobia in South Africa has spread as far as Japan. Durbanite and Manchester United fan Jason Jetnarayan, who works as an IT recruitment consultant after starting as an English teacher in the Land of the Rising Sun, discovered this when he went to a pub in Shibuya to watch the recent match between his team and Leicester.

“The pub was busy and there weren’t any seats available, but I looked around and spotted a black gentleman in a Manchester United jersey with open seats at his table.

“I approached him to let him know my friend and I were Manchester supporters too and asked permission to join him.

“He gave us his approval in an African accent. As a proud African myself, I was excited about this because Africans are rare here. So I ask him where he was from. He said ‘Nigeria’ and reciprocated the question. I extended my hand and excitedly told him I was South African. He didn’t believe me until I proved it to him, showing him my ID as I beat my chest with pride.
“However, he didn’t seem to share the sentiment by the look of it.

“He was visibly upset, and made a statement about South Africans not being his brothers. I immediately realise he was referring to the xenophobic attacks that have unfortunately occurred in SA for the last decade, and only seem to be getting worse.”

Jetnarayan said he felt a sense of uneasiness, which he described as “a sinking feeling in my chest”.

“The pride I felt a moment before sharply deteriorated into one of shame.

“I, for one, have never taken issue with immigrants in my country or any other. I am in no manner responsible for the xenophobic attacks in South Africa, yet I apologised to the gentleman as he got up to leave the bar, having made the choice he would rather not be affiliated with a South African.

“We’re failing our brothers and sisters in Africa, we’re failing our women, we’re failing our children. We need to be better. We need to fight for our people and speak out against atrocities committed on our land, or else we too are part of the problem.

“Let’s be the resolution.”

In his fourth year in Japan, Jetnarayan spoke of his experiences as a foreigner there.

“Japanese people’s perceptions of SA are very uneducated and come across as ignorant.

“They find it hard to understand how an Indian or white can come from Africa. And racism isn’t a prominent topic for them.

“They often don’t know they’re being racist. But I don’t blame them, they live in a very isolated society and are mostly exposed to domestic media only, whereas foreigner perceptions of SA are influenced by movies like District 9, sports, celebrities like Trevor Noah, or apartheid or Mandela.” – IOL

The Ghana Immigration Service is set to deport 25 Nigerian ladies arrested in the Bono East Region of the country over prostitution.

The Regional Commander of Immigration Service Department in the Bono East Region, Chief Superintendent Enoch Annor Abrokwa, told journalists that the girls will be deported to Nigeria as soon as the process was completed.

Their arrest followed the directive of the Regional Minister, Hon. Kofi Amaokohere to security personnel to rid the region of unlawful elements.

Chief Superintendent Abrokwa said there was a renewed campaign to weed out foreigners engaged in unlawful acts in the territory.

He said the prostitutes were arrested in the Nkoranza South and Kintampo South of the region when officers of the Immigration Service and the Ghana Police Service the area.

“Our men raided some notorious spots in the towns around 12a.m and 3a.m on the fateful day and picked about 25 prostitutes, all Nigerians,” he said.

The Immigration officer revealed that none of the girls had in their possession, any valid form of identification at the time of their arrest.

“None of the girl’s had any form of identification cards, such as Voter’s Identification card and Passports,” he said.

Chief Superintendent Annor said the Ghana Immigration Service will immediately commence the process for their deportation.

He sounded a strong warning to foreigners illegally residing in the region saying,” I want to use this opportunity to warn all foreigners in Bono East Region, who do not have appropriate documents to start packing, because the Immigration Service will come after them.”

A video recording captured some of the girl’s scantily dressed and soliciting for patronage from the officers.

Samson Folarin



Some policemen attached to the Anambra State Police Command have arrested PUNCH ’s correspondent in the state , Tony Okafor , over reports on the suspended senior lecturer of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University , Awka, Peter Ekemezie.

Our correspondent learnt that Okafor was manhandled by the police team before his detention for over six hours at the Awka Area Command.

The reporter said the police claimed to be acting on a petition by Ekemezie .

He said, “ Around 11 . 15 am, two plain -clothes policemen came to the Aroma junction , a meeting point for journalists in Awka, and said I was under arrest . When I enquired why , they said a lecturer at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University wrote a petition against me .

“ While the policemen were still explaining to me , the lecturer , Peter Ekemezie , surfaced and started shouting , ‘Arrest him, he is the purveyor of my travails ’ .

“ The policemen first took me to the ‘ B ’ Division and later transferred me to the Awka Area Command, where I was detained for six hours . Following the intervention of the state Commissioner of Police , John Abang, and the Police Public Relations Officer , Haruna Mohammed, I was taken on bail by a colleague .”

The police spokesperson , Mohammed , however, denied that Okafor was arrested , adding that he was only invited to make a statement based on Ekemezie ’s petition against him .

“ There was an allegation against him . We are investigating an allegation from the petitioner . The allegation is still under investigation . Ask the person and he will tell you the allegation , ” he said.

When our correspondent asked the spokesperson if the petitioner provided any evidence to back up the allegation , he said, “ That is what the police are investigating now . That is why I said it was an allegation . ”

The PUNCH had run a series of investigative reports on the lecturer , which culminated in his suspension after years of cover -up .

He was to be promoted from the position of a senior lecturer to a reader ( associate professor ) when our correspondent began reporting on the matter.

The Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina , on Monday , unleashed a torrent of abuse and threats on PUNCH ’s State House Correspondent, Mr John Ameh .

Ameh and other journalists were at the Press Gallery of the Presidential Villa , Abuja when Adesina , a former President of the Nigeria Guild of Editors , walked in and , without exchanging courtesies , began to scream and gesticulate aggressively at our correspondent in the full glare of his colleagues .

“ What was that rubbish you people wrote on Saturday ? Adesina asked , referencing a story published by one of our newspapers , Saturday PUNCH , on Saturday .

“ Did you say that Mr President did not approve the statement ? Let me tell you , if you want to last here, you had better be careful !”
The presidential aide then walked away before our correspondent could utter a word in response.

Our correspondent gathered that Adesina had also threatened to bar members of the State House Press Corps from ‘open coverage’ of the President ’s events .

The Saturday PUNCH story , “ Tribunal : Buhari retracts , confesses he was under pressure ” had quoted Buhari as telling some leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress who visited him on Friday that he was under tension while the tribunal delivered its judgment on Wednesday .

The president ’ s admission, our correspondent noted in the story published on Saturday , was contrary to an earlier statement issued by Adesina in which he claimed that the President had not experienced any anxiety over the proceedings of the election tribunal .

Adesina had issued a statement on Sunday , attacking this newspaper and its journalists . The insult-laden statement was deemed unsuitable for publication by the newspaper ’ s editors and , therefore , ignored .

Adesina ’s conduct calls to mind the decision of former Security Officer , Bashir Abubakar , to summarily expel this newspaper ’s former State House correspondent, Olalekan Adetayo , from the Presidential Villa in April 2017 .

Abubakar claimed two articles , “ Fresh anxiety in Aso Rock over Buhari’ s poor health” and “ Seat of power ’s event centres going into extinction ,” authored by Adetayo were uncomplimentary .

Abubakar had summoned Adetayo to his office, briefly detained him and compelled him to write a statement before directing that his accreditation tag be withdrawn .

The police officer also ordered security operatives to escort the journalist out of the villa .

Reacting to the outrage that greeted the CSO ’s overreach at the time , Adesina , in a series of tweets, had reiterated what he described as President Buhari’ s commitment to press freedom .

“ We weren ’ t consulted in the media office by the CSO before he expelled The PUNCH reporter . President Buhari is committed to press freedom .

“ An amicable solution would be found to The Punch ’s reporter matter. President Buhari does not intend to muzzle the media in any way ,” Adesina tweeted .

The Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal in Ogun State has dismissed a petition filed against Governor Dapo Abiodun’s victory in the March 9 governorship poll in the State, saying “the petition was destined to fail.”

In a petition, marked EPT/OG/GOV/01/19, filed by the Allied Peoples Movement (APC) candidate, Adekunle Akinlade and his party, the petitioner raised issues of lack of qualification and over-voting against Abiodun.

The petitioner had alleged that Abiodun’s Form CF001, submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), contained false information, adding that the electoral body aided his qualification through the form.

According to the petitioner, the alleged false information was fundamental in nature to Abiodun’s qualification to contest March 9 election.

However, Justice Yusuf Halilu-led panel, in a unanimous judgment on Saturday, resolved the two major grounds of the petition – false information and over-voting in favour of the respondents.

In the judgement, which lasted for about five hours, Halilu held that the petitioners failed woefully to prove that the information contained in Abiodun’s Form CF001 was false and that INEC aided his qualification.

The Panel described argument canvassed by the counsel and the evidences given by the petitioner witnesses during the hearing as “lazy, shallow and deficient.”

On the alleged overvoting, the panel held that out of over 1,000 polling units where illegalities and irregularities were alleged, the petitioner only called 34 polling units’ agents who testified before the tribunal.

According to the tribunal, “the scanty and insufficient” witnesses called by the petitioner showed irredeemable damage has been done to the petition.

The panel further held that Petitioner Witnesses failed to tender smart card reports and the voter’s register to justify alleged irregularities at the polling.

“The petitioner failed woefully to prove that the respondent did not score the majority of lawful votes cast and we so hold,” Justice Halilu said.
“This petition is destined to fail, it failed and it is hereby dismissed,” he added.

Popular Nollywood Actress Iyabo Ojo may be shutting down her business soon as she receives a tax bill of 38 million naira from the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service, LIRS.

The fair-skinned Actress posted the tax bill on her Instagram page with a long caption that reads;


“Well, it’s so sad that I may have to finally close down my business soon… because I don’t even know how or where to start this negotiation with Lagos state from, I’m still struggling with making profit, after paying rent, salaries, maintenance, electricity, local and state govt taxes in different categories & levy, I hardly make little or no profit…My fellow Nigerians, I have been asked to pay almost 38m for my personal income tax to Lagos state ALMOST 38M NAIRA…Personal income bawo?

#Lagosstate how? 2014-2017 I was still struggling with my small business in Ikeja like I’m still even doing now, or is it from my acting that we are poorly paid or from where now? Pls can someone help me explain how they arrive @ this calculations, almost 38m naira, please you people should kuku sell me, my self & I. i dont even know where you want me to get this kind of money from ……. E ma gba mi ke @jidesanwoolu ni bo ni mo ti fe ri iru owo to po to yii? Seriously, I’m not understanding @ all o. I be single mother with plenty bukata oooo, I’m confused….retiring looks like the best option o because doing business is very frustrating in Nigeria.”

Ahead of the November 16 governorship elections in Bayelsa and Kogi states, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says some political parties submitted governorship and deputy-governorship candidates that are below the minimum age prescribed by the constitution for the positions.

Under the “Not Too Young to Run Act” signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari, candidates standing for governorship elections are expected to have attained the age of 35 to be eligible.

INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), Festus Okoye, said yesterday in Abuja that the commission will notify the concerned parties soon and subsequently consider further action.

He said in accordance with the Electoral Act and in line with the timetable and schedule of activities for the Bayelsa and Kogi states governorship elections, INEC will on Friday 13th September 2019 publish the personal particulars of nominated candidates for the elections.
He said the personal particulars of the nominees will be published on the notice boards of INEC offices in Yenagoa and Lokoja.

“From our records, 64 political parties conducted primaries in Bayelsa State as against 59 in Kogi State. Out of these, 52 political parties for Bayelsa State and 49 for Kogi State respectively submitted the list of candidates and their personal particulars at the close of nomination at 6pm on Monday 9th September 2019.

“While some of the political parties that conducted the primaries did not submit any list and personal particulars of candidates, a few failed to submit within the time limit prescribed by the commission.

“Out of the 101 nominees for the two states, 91 are males, representing 90 percent, while 10 are females, representing 10 percent of all the nominees. Of the 52 nominees for Bayelsa State, 6 are females, while 46 are males. The corresponding figures for Kogi State are 4 female and 45 male nominees,” Okoye said.

The Oyo State Police Command on Friday arrested a 20 year-old-man, Gbolahan Ismail, for killing a 35-year-old woman, Toyin Olubowale in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

The state Commissioner of Police in Oyo State, Shina Olukolu, who paraded the suspect at the command headquarters, in Eleyele, Ibadan said he killed the victim with a wooden stool after having sex with her forcibly.

According to him, “On 29th August, 2019 about 1400hrs, one Gbolahan Ismaila, age 20yrs boarded a commercial motorcycle ridden by one Joel Musa to No. 15 road 3 Ogidi Estate Ibadan. He alighted and entered the house of one Toyin Olubowale whom he sexually assaulted and subsequently smashed her head with a wooden stool which led to her death before he made away with her A32F Itel Android cell phone.”

The Police boss explained further. “When the commercial motorcyclist returned him to Oju-Irin, Akobo Area of Ibadan, he noticed a wound and blood stains on one of Gbolahan’s fingers on the right hand and he became suspicious due to unusual sound he heard from the house while he was outside. Hence, he went back to the house and met people crying over the death of the deceased. He thereafter informed the people that he knew the suspect who killed the deceased and that he brought him to the house earlier in the day. Hence, Joel Musa was promptly arrested and handed over to the police.”

Olukolu noted that the arrest of the motorcycle rider led to the apprehension of the principal suspect who carried out the dastardly act, adding that one Gbolahan Ismaila, on his interrogation confessed to the crime and two other suspects, one Oyedeji Blessing ‘m’ age 22yrs who received the stolen phone and one Oyekola Mumini ‘m’ a GSM repairer, who assisted to flash and destroy evidence on the phone were arrested and are being prepared.

“On 9th September, 2019 at about 1630hrs, a case of murder of one Toyin Olubowale ‘f’ aged 35yrs was reported at Akobo Divisional Police Headquarters, Akobo Ibadan, which was later transferred to the Criminal investigation Department, Iyaganku Ibadan for discreet investigation.”

While Speaking with journalists, the suspected murderer, Gbolahan Ismail said that it was the work of devil that made him to killed the woman, adding he had initially toasted the deceased, and the woman said that she will be thinking about the proposed love.

“On that day, I went to her house, I had sex with her forcefully, and thereafter, I used a wooden stool to hit her in head and she died, it was the work of devil, I’ve initially went for her naming ceremony, and I have once toasted the woman, and she told me she will think of it, i don’t know what prompted me to kill her.”

Meanwhile, another suspect arrested in connection with the murder, Oyekola Mumini, a phone repairer, said that he has nothing to do with the killing of the woman, noting that he was arrested for wiping away details on the phone which was unknowing to him that it was a stolen phone.

“When the phone of the deceased woman was brought to me, I was told that the document of the phone has been lost, so told him (Ismail) to filled a form before I can wipe the phone unknown to me that the phone was a stolen phone, I was later arrested as an accomplices of the crime I didn’t know anything about.”

By Jeremiah Oke,



The Oyo State National and State Houses of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Ibadan, on Tuesday dismissed the petition filed by a former governor of the state Abiola Ajimobi, challenging the declaration and return of Senator Kola Balogun as the senator representing, Oyo south senatorial district.

The tribunal held that the petition filed by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in February 23 general elections lack merit and the petitioner was unable to convince the tribunal that the election was induced.

The Tribunal chaired by Justice Anthony Akpovi therefore upheld the election of Senator Muhammad Kola Balogun as the senator representing Oyo South Senatorial district.

Meanwhile, the senator described the victory as victory for democracy.

He said, “I give thanks to Almighty God. What an erudite judgement. That means there is hope for the common man. It is victory for democracy.

The election was revolutionary. People voted against recklessness, abuse of power and the government running away from the norm of good governance. If Ajimobi wants to continue to combat against Lord, let him continue.”

Tunji Bosun, Abeokuta



The National President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities , Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi , says Nigerians would soon begin to pelt senators with stones for being insensitive to their plights as demonstrated by their plan to acquire exotic cars despite the harsh economic situation in the country .

Ogunyemi stated this on Monday in an interview with journalists at the end of ASUU’ s National Executive Council meeting at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta .

Ogunyemi , who accused the lawmakers of making anti -people policies , said it would not be long before the Nigerian masses begin to attack lawmakers .

The professor said, “ They move about in armoured cars at a time when those who suffered in the rain and sun to put them in office are languishing in abject poverty .

“ They are insensitive to the point that they are telling us they want to buy what they called exotic cars . It is provocative and by the time Nigerians become fully conscious , they will be stoned .

“ A time will come that the rich would not be able to sleep when the poor are hungry , and that is what the Nigerian ruling class is not recognising .”

Yemi Ajayi





The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has escalated its probe into how a firm promoted by an Irish, Mr. Michael Quinn, and registered in British Virgin Islands, Process and Industrial Developments Limited, secured an agreement with the federal government, an alleged breach of which has attracted an enforcement order, by a British commercial court, of a $9.6 billion arbitral award against Nigeria.

THISDAY learnt yesterday that the anti-graft agency is expanding its focus of investigation following a report published on September 4 by Bloomberg BusinessWeek, which detailed past suspected fraudulent activities by Quinn, now deceased.

It was learnt that the Bloomberg report had generated concern among top government officials as it detailed a pattern, similar to the controversial Gas Supply and Purchasing Agreement (GSPA) P&ID entered into with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, on behalf of the federal government, in 2010, which led to the $9.6 billion arbitral award, now largely suspected to have been procured under fraudulent circumstances through which the late Quinn had previously tried to wangle hefty sums of money from the Nigerian treasury.

Under GSPA, Nigeria was to supply wet gas to P&ID plant, to be built in Cross River State, which would be processed and used to generate about 2,000 MW of electricity for Nigeria.

The Bloomberg report showed that the late Quinn, who began living in Nigeria in the 2000s, wormed his ways into the hearts of top government officials and political bigwigs, and had a reputation of short-changing Nigeria in the contracts awarded to him by his friends and contacts in government.

He was reputed to have known former President Olusegun Obasanjo, his successor, late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, and a former Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Theophilus Danjuma, who was also a former Minister of Defence in the Obasanjo administration in 1999.

The Bloomberg report showed that contrary to Quinn’s claim before the court during the arbitration in the failed gas supply project that he borrowed $40 million in preparations for the GSPA, it was Danjuma, who claimed the project was his idea that gave him the money.

According to the report, among the projects the late Quinn was involved with in Nigeria was a contract to repair and upgrade 36 British-made Scorpion tanks in Bauchi, in which he gamed the system by supplying used and faulty parts as well as equipment.

He was also reportedly involved in a contract to supply 4,000 rounds of tanks ammunition to the Nigerian Army.

He was said to have been involved in a contract scam that led to him be charged with espionage and handling secret military materials along with his son, Adam and others, including three Nigerian officials.

Among the litany of his alleged bids in trying to defraud Nigeria through contracts and arbitration was the $5 million contract he won through one of his companies, Industrial Consultants, which in 2010 brokered the deal with the Nigerian Air Force to repair ejector seats in six Alpha Jets, a fleet of small fighter aircraft for training.

However, the Nigerian Air Force withdrew from the contract some months after the deal was sealed for a British company, North Wales Military Aviation Services Ltd. (NWMAS) to carry out the repair.

The dispute for the botched contract went into arbitration with the Nigerian panel describing the reasons for the pull out of the air force as “flimsy, untenable and unacceptable…”
The arbitration panel also awarded the British company about $2.3 million for work allegedly done, plus interest.

However, the British company, which was suspected not to have been aware of the proceedings at the arbitration panel, as it had been sidelined by Quinn, who had reportedly registered a local company, NWMAS Nigeria Limited to surreptitiously take over benefits from the contract.

It was reported that the inability of Quinn’s company to collect the arbitral award informed his decision to make the seat of arbitration in subsequent contract dispute to be outside Nigeria.

In another arbitration dispute involving IPCO (Nigeria) Limited, formerly part of Singapore-based construction group, IPCO International Limited, there was a $150 million case against the Ministry of Petroleum Resources over alleged delays in the construction of an oil terminal for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

But THISDAY learnt that when NNPC lawyers probed the contract, they discovered that the work was not quite done.

However, they settled the dispute at $39 million and the money was paid into an escrow account.
It was gathered that investigation so far has shown that P&ID were consultants and friends to those behind IPCO, led by one Olu Adewunmi.

Given the nexus between the IPCO dispute and P&ID, sources said the EFCC were now trying to determine if there was a pattern of fraud being perpetrated by the company using phony contracts and arbitration.

Besides, the commission was considering probing the payment of $39 million arbitral award to IPCO.

A source said that EFCC believed that Danjuma was crucial to unearthing the fraudulent activities of the P&ID promoters, given his allegations contained in the Bloomberg Businessweek report that Quinn cheated him out of the GSPA deal.

EFCC agents were also said to be investigating possible case of perjury against Quinn, who in his averment claimed that he borrowed the $40 million from the bank in preparations for the gas plant.

Quinn’s averment is, however, contrary to what Danjuma told Bloomberg Businessweek that one of his companies, Tita-Kuru Petrochemicals Ltd. spent the $40 million in preparations for the gas plant.

He had said Quinn was a consultant to the project, using his funds and office.
Before the publication of the Bloomberg report, President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered the EFCC, the Nigerian Intelligence Agency (NIA) and the Inspector General of Police to thoroughly probe P&ID.

Besides the probe, the federal government had signified its intentions to appeal the judgment of the UK court and to fight any attempt to seize its assets to defray the arbitral $9.6 billion award.

Ifeanyi Onuba, Abuja



Within the last three years, the looted fund recovered by the Federal Government was used to partly finance its annual budget.

The Attorney - General of the Federation and Minister of Justice , Mr Abubakar Malami ( SAN) , said this during a stakeholders ’ validation retreat to finalize the second Nigeria Open Government Partnership National Action Plan .

He said the Federal Government had intensified its anti -corruption war by approving the harmonized National Anti - Corruption Strategy.

Malami explained that the Asset Recovery and Management Unit in the Federal Ministry of Justice serves as the secretariat responsible for the implementation of NACS.

He stated that that high-level transparency in asset recovery had been achieved by the Federal Government in the last three years.

He said “ With respect to the commitment under anti- corruption thematic, the Federal Government has approved the harmonised NACS.

“ Greater transparency in asset recovery has been recorded in the past three years and these have been applied towards the implementation of Nigeria ’s annual budget as well as in social investment for the poor .”

A Senior Fellow of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group , Dr . Tayo Aduloju, in his remarks stated said there was a need to eliminate corruption in the country .

Aduloju who is the incoming Co -Chair , Non- State Actors of the Open Government Partnership National Steering Committee said, “ I will not attempt to emphasize the value of OGP as it is self -evident.

“ The single most important ingredient in the recipe for success is transparency because transparency builds trust , and trust is the foundation for building strong societies and nations.

“ The second OGP National Action Plan comes at a time when our national fiscal gap between development resources requirements and our revenue mobilization capacity indicates a fiscal deficit that needs to be closed .”

He said the National Action Plan seeks to achieve revenue transparency that allows for domestic resource mobilization in tax and non -tax revenues while closing leakages in tax compliance.

Many heads may roll as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) plans to go after more people allegedly linked with an investigation into the $16bn power projects awarded under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

As part of the probe, the EFCC, last week detained two officials of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC).

The anti-graft agency has launched a probe into an alleged misappropriation of the funds running into trillions of naira after President Muhammadu Buhari gave a clue last year that the deal was going to be investigated.

President Buhari had given the EFCC the green light to probe the contracts following persistent complaints by Nigerians about insufficient power supply in the country after government had allegedly spent $16b.

Buhari had accused the former President Obasanjo administration of blowing $16bn on power. But Obasanjo replied that he was never indicted, saying: “The answer is simple; the power is in the seven National Integrated Power Projects and 18 gas turbines that Chief Obasanjo’s successor, who originally made the allegation of $16bn did not clear from the ports for over a year, and the civil works done on the sites.”

Speaking at the Federal Capital Territory’s presidential rally of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in February this year, Buhari vowed that his administration would continue to ensure efficient utilisation of the nation’s scarce resources in the provision of infrastructural facilities across the country.
He insisted that those involved in the wastage of over $16bn on power sector without any meaningful results under the previous administrations would be investigated and anyone found wanting would be prosecuted.

Buhari said: “You know there was no power under the previous administrations, and a previous government admitted, without anybody asking them, that they spent $16b on power. You know more than I do. Where is the power? Where is the money?”

Sources close to the anti-corruption agency confided in Daily Trust on Sunday that the commission would go all out to get all the people who had a hand in the alleged misappropriation of the funds in both the public and private sectors.

Sources said investigators were not ready to leave any stone unturned in trying to unmask the brains behind the $16b loss to the nation.

Individuals, no matter how highly placed, who would be found wanting by the probe, would be made to face the full wrath of the law, one of the sources said.
“Very soon, Nigerians will see more invitations and more arrests as the investigations deepen,” he said, adding that, “More information have been gathered about the manner the power projects were managed,” he said.

The EFCC is aiming at unmasking the actors in the controversial $16b power projects of the Federal Government. The huge amount covered investment into the whole power sector, which cuts across generation, transmission and distribution. The projects were actually handled by the NDPHC.

Most of the projects were allegedly allocated under the National Independent Power Projects under the Obasanjo administration.

It was learnt that top officials of the administration may be invited to shed light on their roles in various projects.

As part of its move to unravel the true position regarding the power sector fraud, operatives of the EFCC had detained two key officials of the NDPHC over their alleged involvement in the payment of N84b to the host communities.

Mr Marvel Emefiele, head of finance and Eze Odigbo, head of compensation of the NDPHC, were reportedly detained in connection with how huge public cash meant for the payment of compensation to many communities was handled.

The two key officials of the NDPHC were said to have been detained by the EFCC following their alleged involvement in bogus payment and diversion of about N850m compensation to communities where the components of the power project were sited.

Although approval was said to have been granted for the payment of N84bn to the communities where transmission lines of the power project were meant to be laid, a team of EFCC investigators reportedly discovered that the money was not paid to the benefiting communities after the huge sum was officially signed off from the books.

Also detained by the EFCC at the launch of investigation into the matter were the managing directors of two leading Nigerian engineering firms: Richard Ayibiowu and Mr. Richard Ayibiowu, while another chief executive of an engineering firm, Christian, Ejik Imoka, was also detained over a controversial payment for N500m contract.

Following the initial arrests by the EFCC, other key suspects implicated in the $16b power projects were said to have relocated abroad. But a source told Daily Trust on Sunday that the EFCC had sought the assistance of the International Police Organisation (INTERPOL) to go after the runaway suspects.

Those sought after for interrogation by the EFCC include some ex-officials of the NDPHC; technical committee and general project manager; a former managing director of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN); ex-chief executive officer of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN); an ex-head of transmission of the TCN and a businessman who was expected to supply nine gas turbines and auxiliaries at an alleged inflated cost of N185bn ($1.55bn).

The EFCC probe team was also said to have commenced a review of the contracts awarded to 27 firms, to ascertain whether or not they were executed, while also working round the clock to verify the actual amount withdrawn from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) for the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP).
When the Federal Government then initiated the various reforms in the power sector, the power ministry was under Liyel Imoke (2003 to 2007). But a report titled, “From Darkness to Darkness,” released by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) at the Westown Hotels, Lagos earlier in August this year, said the huge investment yielded little results as it failed to generate the needed amount of electricity or meet the set goals.


NIPP power plants gulped $8.4b since 2005

The National Integrated Power Project (NIPP), managed by the NDPHC, was established in 2005 with the objective of increasing the generation capacity by over 5,000 megawatts.

The NDPHC is funded from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) with equity distribution, where the Federal Government has 18 per cent, states 35per cent and local governments having the largest share of 47per cent.

The NIPP was focused on completing and operating 10 power generation companies with about 5,000MW installed capacity, and has gulped $8.4b, officials said.
The latest update from the NDPHC revealed that eight of the 10 NIPP generation companies, along with associated infrastructure, have been commissioned and connected to the national grid and contributing over 22 million kilowatts hour (kwh) of energy daily to the national grid.

The pioneer managing director of the NDPHC, Mr James Olotu, in an interview with Daily Trust in 2018, said the 10 NIPP generating companies with 5,778MW electricity capacity, 130 transmission substations, 350 distribution projects and gas assets were executed for $8.4b (about N3.032 trillion).

A breakdown of the investment of the NDPHC in the NIPP from 2005 shows that $4.4bn was spent for generation; transmission network was about $2bn, distribution infrastructure was about $1.5bn, investments in gas was about $750m. The rest, officials said, was for administration, compensation, salaries and rents.

During the bidding process in 2014, the NIPP plants were priced at $5.7bn (about N2.057 trillion) for 80 per cent of their shares, but the transaction was yet to be completed. Officials said the preferred bidders complained of inadequate transmission, gas and distribution.

The NDPHC said it continued to operate the eight power plants that are completed with about 4,000mw available generation capacity. This is despite undesirable security challenges and an accumulated N121bn energy debt the firm is being owed in the electricity market.


NIPP generating companies

The 750mw Olorunsogo II NIPP plant is in Ogun State and was completed in March 2015 and commissioned by former President Goodluck Jonathan. It has four General Electric gas turbines, two steam turbines. The project was handled by SEPCO III.

The 450mw Sapele NIPP plant has four GE turbines in Delta State and the EPC was completed in 2012 by Marubeni Corporation and MeWAL firms. It is currently operational, records show.

The 434mw Geregu II NIPP plant is located near the Ajaokuta Steel Complex in Kogi State. It has three Siemens gas turbines and added 435mw capacity when it was commissioned in 2014 by former President Goodluck Jonathan. Siemens was the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the project.

450mw Omotosho II NIPP

The plant, located in Ondo State, has four GE turbines and was commissioned in 2013. The project was handled by CMEC Limited.

450mw Ihovbor NIPP

It has four turbines supplied by General Electric in Benin, Edo State. It was completed in 2014 and the contractor is MeWAL.

450mw Alaoji NIPP

The Alaoji NIPP plant is located in Alaoji, near Aba in Abia State. The project was to deliver six units of General Electric (GE) gas turbines and one steam turbine with a combined cycle capacity of 789mw.
In 2015, the first phase of 480mw capacity was commissioned by former President Goodluck Jonathan and has been operational while the second phase of 289mw was to be completed in 2017.
Rockson Engineering Limited, a Nigerian firm, is the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the project that delivered the phase one and has not completed the combined cycle component.

563mw Calabar NIPP

The ideal plan was a 630mw capacity plant with five GE turbines. The 563mw (about 600mw) plant was completed in September 2015 and is operational at Odukpani, near Calabar in Cross River State.
Marubeni Corporation/Marubeni Engineering (West Africa) Limited, a Japanese conglomerate, executed the project.

225mw Gbarain NIPP

It is located in Bayelsa State with two GE turbines. A section was completed, commissioned and operational since 2016, while Rockson Engineering is yet to complete the other section.

225mw Omoku NIPP

This has two GE turbines and was supposed to be completed in 2016 in Rivers State. Rockson Engineering has not completed it and its transmission line is pending.

338mw Egbema NIPP

This plant has three turbines from General Electric and should generate 378mw in Imo State. It will add at least 360mw to the national grid when completed. It was scheduled for completion in 2017, but construction is still ongoing, its transmission line project is not yet completed and the gas pipeline is under construction by the Nigerian Gas Company (NGC).

Rockson Engineering Limited, the Nigerian firm handled this project. In December 2018, the managing director of the NDPHC, Mr Chiedu Ugbo, said on an NTA programme, Presidency This Week, that the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) had taken over Egbema and Omoku power plant projects from Rockson Engineering Limited over delays in completing them.

“We are working with the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria, which has taken over from the contractor under a receivership, with the full support of AMCON to complete these projects,” he said.


Transmission, distribution boosted with 21,336 substations

Records and data obtained from the NDPHC on its projects’ status show that the NIPP has added hugely to transmission infrastructures managed by the Transmission Company of Nigeria and those of distribution companies by 21,336 substations. There is an added 5,000 kilometres in the 330 kilovolt transmission line section and 6,000km of 132kv lines.
For the distribution line, the NIPP has added 23,753km for the 33kv segment and 19,226km for the 11kv segment.

The NDPHC built 114 substations for the TCN and 21,222 substations for distribution companies. The records indicate that under the NIPP, 23 new substations were added in the 330/132kv section and 91 substations for the 132/33kv type. At the distribution company level, the NIPP, as at 2019, has added 679 substations of 33/11kv capacity and 20,543 substations in the 11/0.415kv capacity type.
Critical among the transmission projects the NDPHC has delivered are substations in Lokoja and Gwagwalada in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

There is the 330kv Ikot Ekpene transmission backbone and switching hub that provides several 330kv double circuit transmission line from generation companies in Calabar, Alaoji, Afam and Ikot Abasi. This hub radiates power from these southern based generation companies to Jos and the North-East through Ugwuaji and Makurdi in Enugu and Benue states.

The firm also constructed and commissioned over 350 injection substations for the distribution companies with a combined capacity of 3,540mw for improving access to electricity and quality of power supply to consumers. It said distribution capacity had been enhanced by the installation of 25,900 completely self-protected transformers to significantly reduce technical losses.

Additional statistics proved the NIPPs increased 33/0.415kv and 11/0.415kv capacity by 26 per cent and further targets reaching 163 per cent when all the projects are completed.

When contacted about the ongoing probe of the alleged $16b power projects, the spokesman of the EFCC declined to comment, saying he had nothing new to say.