₦airaland Forum

Representatives of the Association of Cattle Sellers, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), NATO, Sheikh Gumi Market Association, among others, have purchased the expression of interest form and nomination form for Nasir el-Rufai, Governor of Kaduna State, as part of efforts to support his re-election bid.



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The representatives presented the forms to the Governor on Monday, according to a series of tweets on his handle.

According to the post, el-Rufai described the action "as one of the most pleasant surprises of his life".

The post also noted that the groups decided "to come together to buy the nomination form for Governor Nasir Ahmad @elrufai in support of his giant unprecedented developmental".

The post read: "Happening Now: Representatives of IPMAN, NATO, Sheikh Gumi Market Association and the Association of Cattle Sellers have come to present Governor @elrufai with the APC expression of interest and nomination forms which they bought for his re-election bid.

"The groups have said that they decided to come together to buy the nomination form for Governor Nasir Ahmad @elrufai in support of his giant unprecedented developmental strides in Kaduna State.

"Governor Nasir Ahmad @elrufai describing the moment as one of the most pleasant surprises of his life, thanked the groups for their thoughtfulness, criticisms and counsels at all times."

The groups have said that they decided to come together to buy the nomination form for Governor Nasir Ahmad @elrufai in support of his giant unprecedented developmental strides in Kaduna State. pic.twitter.com/zNfV2Xcsye
— Governor Kaduna (@GovKaduna) September 10, 2018

by Femi Owolabi



Enrico Monfrini, the Swiss lawyer hired by Nigeria to recover Abacha Loot, says Abubakar Malami, the attorney-general of the federation (AGF), is trying to change the facts on the $321 million recovered from Luxembourg.

TheCable had reported how Malami engaged Oladipo Okpeseyi and Temitope Adebayo, two Nigerian lawyers, for a fee of $17 million (about N7 billion) to do a job already completed by Monfrini.

In an interview with New Telegraph on August 26, Malami, questioning the services of Monfrini, alleged that the Jonathan administration agreed to pay Monfrini 20 to 30 percent as his fees before the final repatriation of the money to Nigeria— an idea the AGF said the Buhari administration frowns at.

“And he was indeed paid an amount which was not clear as to the concept and extent of what services he rendered whether this $321 million was part of his facilitation. But a point of interest is that as at the time this government came in the $321 million was not paid by the Swiss government,” Malami said in the interview.

Speaking with TheCable, however, Monfrini, a world renowned lawyer, said Malami has chosen to publicly make allegations and statements which tend to smear his reputation.

“I read the content of the article published by the New Telegraph on 26 August 2018 in which Mr. Malami is trying through lengthy statements to get people to believe different facts which are, to say the least, untrue,” he said.

Before President Muhammadu Buhari came into office, the Swiss lawyer said he had never heard of any professional fees “of 10 to 20 per cent” paid to lawyers.
“As far as I am concerned, my fees were always fixed at 5% or most of the time substantially lower. If one comes to the matter of the $ 321,000,000, I want to strongly stress the fact that this money was not what Mr. Malami calls ‘part of my facilitation’.

It was money which had illegally been received by some members of the Abacha Family which I had started to search as of September 1999, found through researches operated by my firm and myself in Luxembourg in 2000, frozen in said country thanks to my intervention and finally forfeited thanks to my intervention in Switzerland in December 2014. I do not consider that all the enormous work invested by my firm and myself in this matter could possibly be quoted as a ‘facilitation’,” he said.


‘NO NEED TO PAY LAWYERS AGAIN’

Malami, in the interview, said Monfrini was considered to be among others for the recovery of the $321 million but he was asking for 20-30 percent as against the conventional five percent approved by the federal government. He said he had, however, convinced Buhari on a 10 to 15 percent pay for the Swiss lawyer but Monfrini rejected, insisting on 20 to 30 percent cut — which the president was not going to approve.

“It was against this background that a consortium of lawyers of Nigerian origin now submitted their proposals and we accepted their letters and they swung into action,” he said, adding that he had already proposed to the ministry of finance for the Nigerian lawyers to be paid a five percent cut from $321 million.

But Monfrini insisted he had already completed this job and his fees, in about 20 years recovering Abacha Loot, was around five percent.

“I sternly deny having ever asked Mr. Malami or any other public Officers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to pay me anything more than the 5 % I was entitled to,” he told TheCable.

“I also have to repeat that the payment of my fees [happened] in December 2014 upon receipt by the Geneva Attorney General of $321,000,000 paid by the government of Luxembourg thanks to my intervention.

“It’s equivalently false to state, as Mr. Malami does, that at the time this government came in, the $321,000,000 was not paid by the Swiss Government as it was the subject of judicial pending before a court and to write that this situation was ‘the crux of the matter’ is so untrue that it becomes laughable.

“The truth is that the money was available to the government of Nigeria as early as December 2014 and as I said before, the matter for which Mr. Malami chose to appoint two new Nigerian lawyers for fees exceeding $ 17,000,000 [could have been done] in writing a letter to the Geneva Attorney General or to the government of Switzerland requesting the money to be paid back to Nigeria. Again, such an activity is not to be developed by lawyers but only through diplomatic consultations between States.”


DELAY TACTICS

In April, Monfrini had denied asking for additional fees when a syndicated article in Nigerian media sought to justify the duplication of his job by Malami.

Cable Newspaper Journalism Foundation (CNJF), a partner organisation with TheCable, for eight months, has continually written the AGF, seeking information and documents on the recovery of $321 million but the AGF is yet to respond.

CNJF has gone to court, seeking an order of mandamus compelling the AGF to make available the information and documents requested from its office pursuant to the freedom of information (FoI) act 2011.

TheCable had also asked the AGF what the newly engaged lawyers did to merit N7 billion.

The only time he responded to TheCable’s email enquiry, Malami said, “I am not ready to make any comments on my private email over the matter.”

The house of representatives has described the engagement of new lawyers for an already completed job as height of injustice. An ad-hoc committee was set up to look into the matter, but Malami resorted to delay tactics to frustrate the investigation .

Incidentally, Okpeseyi and Adebayo were lawyers to the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the legacy party of President Buhari, while Malami was legal adviser.

“Well, the truth of the matter is a relationship between the lawyers and I exist. There is no doubt about that,” Malami disclosed in the interview with New Telegraph.

By Tosin Omoniyi




The Presidency on Monday said it hopes the certificate forgery scandal involving the finance minister, Kemi Adeosun, would soon be proven as false, claiming that investigations are still on after more than 60 days since PREMIUM TIMES broke the story.

It however said the government would take the appropriate action immediately details of the investigations are made public.

PREMIUM TIMES exposed how Mrs Adeosun skipped the mandatory one-year National Youth Service Corps scheme and
forged a certificate that indicated she was exempted from participating.

The revelation trigerred widespread outrage from Nigerians, with the Human and Environmental Development Agenda, a nongovernmental organisation, petitioning the police inspector general demanding an investigation into the claims against the minister.

Last month, another nongovernmental organisation, the Social Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP),
sued the NYSC for its failure to disclose details of the certificate paraded by the minister.

The group had earlier made a freedom of information request to the NYSC which the agency ignored.

In August, Lai Mohammed, the information minister, said the appropriate agency was still investigating the allegations against Ms Adeosun and that the president would only act at the end of the probe.

So far, the corps’ only comment on the scandal was a short statement on July 9 saying it would investigate the claims .

On Monday, in the Presidency’s first public comment on the matter, President Muhammadu Buhari’s spokesperson, Garba Shehu, said the allegations against a key member of the administration were yet to be proven.

Mr Shehu, who was responding to allegations of corruption against top officials of the administration said ‘some persons’ were looking forward to a predetermined outcome from the allegations hence their disappointment with the government’s (in)action so far.

“The minister of information has spoken on the matter. And a process is ongoing to address the allegations. When that process is complete, Nigerians will know the outcome,” Mr Shehu said during an interview on AIT’s Kakaaki.

“Some people want a particular outcome and because they are yet to see this outcome, they are not happy. Give it (investigation) time. There is a process ongoing,” Mr Shehu said.

He said the Presidency would act when it has all the facts.

“It’s an allegation. If it is proven, you will see what will happen. The minister and the NYSC have spoken on the matter,” he added.

When challenged on the length of time the ‘investigation’ was taking, Mr Shehu said: “It is not for me to decide (the duration). I don’t have the full facts of the matter, so why the investigation is not out, I don’t know. I hope there will be an early outcome.

“Don’t forget, these people (Mrs Adeosun and other indicted officials), whose names are being dragged in the mud have families and relatives. We hope their innocence will be established,” he said.

While the Nigerian government continues to drag its feet on the certificate forgery, it successfully prosecuted a civil servant for falsifying his professional accounting, ICAN, certificate.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how James Lebi-Ayodele, who worked at the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation, was convicted by an FCT High Court in Jabi in July and sentenced to two years in prison without an option of fine for forging the Institute of Chartered Accountant of Nigeria certificate.

According to a report in Vanguard, the judge, Yusuf Halilu, said the convict would have risen to the position of the Auditor General of the Federation with a forged certificate in the future if the forgery had not been detected.

The judge also ordered Mr Lebi-Ayodele to pay ₦100, 000 in restitution.

By James Emejo in Abuja


The Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr. Babatunde Fowler, has disclosed that the agency will soon target defaulting taxpayers who have billions in their bank accounts but refuse to honour tax obligations to the country.

He said over 6,772 billionaire taxpayers had been identified by the service leveraging on bank data, adding that the FIRS would through all banks do what it called substitution on accounts for such identified taxpayers.

The FIRS boss spoke at a stakeholders’ meeting which held last Thursday in Lagos, noting that those who had between N1 billion and N5 billion in their accounts have no Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) or have an identification but never filed any tax returns as tax payers.

Fowler was quoted by a source as saying, “What we have done is what we call ‘substitution’ which also is in our laws which empowers us to appoint the banks as collection agents for tax.

“So, all these ones of TIN and no pay and no TIN and no pay, to the total of 6,772 will have their accounts frozen or put under substitution pending when they come forward.”

He said, “First, they refused to come forward in 2016, they refused to come forward under VAT and are still operating here. So, we are putting them under notice that it is their civic responsibility to pay tax and to file returns on these accounts.

“We looked at all businesses, partnerships, corporate accounts that have a minimum turnover of N1 billion per annum for the past three years.

First of all, the law states clearly that before you open a corporate account, part of the opening documentation is the tax I.D. From the 23 banks, we have analysed so far, we have 31,395 records, out of which effectively minus duplications we had 18,602.”

Continuing, he said, “We broke those into three categories: Those that have TIN tax I.D, those that don’t have no TIN and of course no TIN no pay and those that have TIN and have not even paid anything.

“So, on a minimum, every company or business included here over the last three years have had a banking turnover of N3 billion and above. Some of them have had banking turnover of over N5 billion and have not paid one kobo in taxes. Now the total number of TIN and no pay is 6,772.

“So, if someone is good in mathematics and you take the minimum level of N3 billion multiply by 409 and they are operating within our society and economy and do not remit or make any tax payment.”

Commenting further on some far-reaching measures being taken against wealthy tax defaulters, Fowler said, “…If you do not file your returns and you are in constant default, we use turnover as a basis of estimating your tax liability’.

For example, if your turnover is N100 million, we assume that 20 per cent of that is profit and we tax that at 30 per cent.

He said some of the people or companies “claim not to own the properties, those of them that claim not to own the properties and of course were sent to government, presidency to decide what would happen to those properties that have no owners.

“To those that have owners and have not paid, they would be prosecuted. We are also in the process of going to court to get the approval of the court orders to sell those properties.

“We are not only doing that in Abuja, we have concluded it in Lagos. We are currently doing it in Osun, Oyo and Kaduna States and eventually we would cover the whole federation.

“The idea here is simple. If you have had the opportunity to make your wealth in this economy, in this society, the least you can do is pay your tax.

“We have not included any group who by law are not meant to pay tax in this group. So far, we have sent out 2,980 letters and we believe that before the end of September we would get most of them out.

By Hamza Idris & Abbas Jimoh



This is the best of times for political parties in Nigeria, as many of them are cashing in on the rush by candidates for nomination forms and other million-naira offerings.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had since given the green light for all political parties to start selling forms for aspirants ahead of 2019 general elections.

It was as if most political parties were waiting for this once-in-a-season opportunity, as many of them had following the clearance, sprung into action, held National Executive Committee (NEC) and National Working Committee (NWC) meetings and thereafter sponsored pages in national dailies detailing what each aspirant must pay to vie for any elective office.

While a large number of politicians holding various offices have not raised eyebrows over the huge amounts being charged by various parties, civil society activists, lawyers and some election monitors have condemned the charges, saying it was as if there was a “grand conspiracy” by the leading parties to favour those that have enough resources at their disposal at the detriment of those from outside the ring.

The addition of 23 new political parties on August 14 by INEC to the existing 68 registered ones bring the total to 91. Also, this will be the last round of registration of parties until after the general elections on 16 February 2019.

“This suspension is in line with Section 78 (1) of the Electoral Act, which requires all applications for registration as political party to be concluded latest six months to a general election,” INEC said in a statement signed by its National Commissioner and member, Voter Education and Publicity Committee, Malam Mohammed Haruna.

Analysts are unanimous that only few of the political parties would field candidates during the 2019 general elections.

However, the few that would contest have already released timetables for their primaries, and the amounts payable for each post.

There are 29 states where governorship elections would take place, considering that Ekiti, Osun, Anambra, Ondo, Edo, Bayelsa and Kogi states, due to staggered elections that took place in those states, would not be witnessing governorship polls in the 2019 general elections. There are 109 senatorial seats and 360 federal constituency seats that would be contested for next year.

Similarly, on the average, there are no fewer than 20 House of Assembly seats that would be contested for in each of the 29 states where elections would hold, conservatively putting the total number seats at 590. Kano, for instance, has 40 seats in the state assembly.

The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) is asking for N25m from all those want to vie for the presidency under its platform.

The party is also asking for N10m for gubernatorial aspirants; N5m for those going for the Senate; House of Representatives N2.5m and state house of assembly N1m.

For the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Presidential aspirants are expected to cough out N45m; governorship aspirants N22.5m; Senatorial aspirant N7m; House of Representatives, N3.85m and state house of assembly N850, 000.00.

The main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had pegged its presidential nomination forms at N12m while that of governorship at N6m. Others are Senate N4m, House of Representatives N1.5m, and House of Assembly N150,000.

Another opposition party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) said the expression of interest and nomination forms for the presidential category is N12m and N6m for the governorship.

For Senate, according to the party, the fee is N2.5m; N1m for the House of Representatives and N450,000 for the state House of Assembly.

At present, the PDP has 16 aspirants that are practically campaigning, and most of them have obtained the forms. These include ex-vice president Atiku Abubakar, Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo of Gombe State, Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State, former Minister of Special Duties Alhaji Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, former governor of Jigawa State Sule Lamido, and the proprietor of Baze University, Senator Datti Baba-Ahmed.

Others include former governor of Kaduna State, Senator Ahmed Makarfi; Senate President Bukola Saraki; former governor of Kano State, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso; former governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa; former Senate President David Mark; former governor of Plateau State, Jonah Jang; Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State; Chief Alfa Muhammed Oliver, Ahmed Buhari and Hon. Isah Saulawa, among others.

Assuming each of them paid N12m to get the presidential forms, it means the PDP will have over N1.9 billion from that category. And if only two people would buy the forms for gubernatorial election in the 29 states available for contest at N6m, it means the PDP will garner N348m.

There isn’t much interest in the APC presidential contest as only President Muhammadu Buhari seems to be in the race. But assuming two people would throw in their hats, it means the ruling party would have N90m from that category.

For the governorship, if two people in the 29 states where elections would hold in 2010 would buy the forms at N22m, And if two people would buy the forms for the APC gubernatorial contest, it means the party will smile to the bank with nearly N1.3billion from that category.

But the APC have a multitude of aspirants in many states, such as Nassarawa, where there are about 16 aspirants, all of them committed to clinching the ticket and therefore trooping to the party’s secretariat to get forms.

Political parties will rake in billions from forms sold for national and state assembly seats, and analysts predict that most of the parties would deploy such resources into other endeavours beyond what the law prescribes.

In spite of the economic hardship being experienced, there are indications that the major parties will fight to the finish. Ahead of the 2015 elections, the PDP charged N22m for the presidential nomination forms while the APC reportedly collected N27.5m.

The ‘Not Too Young to Run Movement’ has criticized the high cost of the forms for expression of interest and nomination for the 2019 general elections. One of the conveners of the movement, Hamza Lawal, said that the prices will make youths and qualified politicians to shelve their ambitions.

He said the whole idea of paying exorbitant rates for nomination forms smacks of a grand conspiracy to keep the system only for moneybags, and shut out those with less financial muscle.

Speaking to the Hausa Service of the BBC, the National Secretary of the APC, Maimala Buni, said they have good reasons for asking for this much.

“The APC does not get subvention from the government,” he said, adding that it is a self-funding political party and the money that would be raised will be used in financing the forthcoming primaries at all levels.

At the last nationwide vote in 2015, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of then-president Goodluck Jonathan charged N22million naira per nomination form, while the All Progressives Congress (APC), of eventual winner Muhammadu Buhari, asked for N27.5million.

A rights activist and an APC presidential aspirant, Mr. Christmas Akpodiete, has dragged the ruling party, the Attorney General of the Federation, the INEC, the PDP, and other registered political parties before the Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja, over the high cost of nomination fees. His case is marked with Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/951/2018.

The presidential aspirant is asking the court to restrain the APC and the PDP from going ahead with the scheduled primaries. That if they do, he’s asking the court to declare such primaries null and void.

Akpodiete is also asking the court to restrain INEC from recognising such primaries, pending the determination of the substantial suit. He is of the opinion that the nomination fees charged by the political parties were not only ridiculous and unaffordable, but also unconstitutional.

“The nomination fees are repugnant to the rules of natural justice, equity and good conscience,” Akpodiete noted, asking the court to give a judicial breath to this matter by pegging the nomination fees for all elective positions at N18,000 because according to him, that is the minimum wage.

But while that little drama plays itself out, more and more candidates continue to troop into party offices, paying huge sums of money, with hopes of victory at the polls in 2019.

lalasticlala

By Rakiya A. Muhammad


President General, Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs and Sultan of Sokoto Muhammad Saad Abubakar Friday received Catholic Bishops of Nigeria in his palace, and urged all religious leaders to collectively come together and preach against violence before, during and after elections.

“We must tell ourselves the truth and speak the truth. Everything is not ok in Nigeria. Let’s stop hiding under religion, ethnicity or region. I know we have problems in Nigeria. Let’s not deceive ourselves,” he stated.

He noted: “There is no fight between Christianity and Islam. But maybe disagreement between Muslims and Christians. But we must try and fish out extremist in our midst.

Though, you cannot completely fish out bad eggs from the society. But we should continue in doing our part to ensure a peaceful country.”

The religious leader pointed out: “No society that is made up 100 percent saints. We have our problems and challenges. But we should collectively try and overcome them. As leaders, we must try and work for peace. No problem in this world that defies solution unless we are not honest. If not, we will overcome the problems.”

The Sultan harped on unity. “We must also educate our followers that despite the challenges, we belong to one God Almighty but chooses to worship God in different ways,” he said.

The royal father called on Nigerians to stop hiding under the cover of religion to perpetuate evils.

He noted that many leaders use religion to better their lives. “We must remember that as leaders, we must work for peace.”

He also spoke against killing of innocent people in the name of religion. “People have wrong notion of Jihad. You cannot kill people pretending you are fighting for God.

You are simply deceiving yourself. Jihad does not entail that,” he asserted.

The Sultan added: “God did not create you to fight for Him. “

He urged:” We should however look at the too many things that bind us together and try to take our religion back from the enemies who are bent on using the religion to commit crimes”.

Earlier, National President Catholic Bishops of Nigeria, Arch Bishop Augustine Akubeze lauded the Sultan for his roles on interfaith peace and peaceful coexistence in the country.

Also speaking Catholic Archbishop of Abuja. Cardinal Onaiyekan noted the need for peace amongst religious leaders and for then to work towards ensuring peaceful coexistence.

He asked: “If we cannot get peace amongst religious leaders, how can we get peace amongst the people?”

In a remark, Catholic Dioceses of Sokoto, Matthew Hassan Kukah acknowledged the Sultan’s cordiality to all irrespective of religion and other leanings.

lalasticlala

Ayodele Fayose, governor of Ekiti state, says he will no longer contest the 2019 presidential election because the All Progressives Congress (APC) rigged the last governorship election in the state.

Fayose had declared interest in the number one position in the country, vowing to defeat President Muhammadu Buhari in a free and fair election.

“I am inviting you today, distinguished leaders of our party, is to inform you formally that I will be seeking the ticket of our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to contest the 2019 presidential election,” he had said on September 28, 2017.

“My party leaders, standing before you is Peter (The Rock) Ayodele Fayose, the man already destined by God to take Nigeria out of the present political and economic stagnation.”

But speaking with TheCable, Fayose said he has decided to put his ambition aside and face the petition filed by Kolapo Olusola, his deputy and gubernatorial candidate of the PDP, in the last governorship election.

The governor spoke through Idowu Adelusi, his chief press secretary.

“Governor Ayodele Fayose has decided to bury his ambition because of the last Ekiti governorship election that was rigged by the APC and we have already filed a petition at the tribunal,” he said.

“So presently, the governor is more concerned in getting back the mandate of his deputy, Professor Eleka, than his presidential bid.

“That’s the preoccupation for now, so for that reason, he has decided to put his ambition aside, and face the petition in the tribunal and make sure the PDP gets its mandate back.”

The governor also said he has no preferred presidential aspirant among those jostling for the PDP ticket.

“Though, the governor as a human being, a leader and party member, is entitled to have his own choice, for now, he has remained neutral,” he said.

“As the chairman of the PDP’s Governors’ Forum, he has remained neutral. Alhaji Atiku has visited him, Rabiu Kwankwaso has visited him and Taminu Turaki has also visited him. Before now, Sule Lamido has visited him, Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo has equally visited him.”

Godwin Tsa and Molly Kilete, Abuja



Elder statesman and leader of the South-South region, Chief Edwin Clark, has revealed the identity of top police officers allegedly involved in the raiding of his Abuja residence on Tuesday on information that he was stockpiling arms in his house.

Clark, who is demanding a full blown investigation into the matter, named a Deputy Commissioner of Police, Yusuf Kolo, Commander of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Tactical Squad and Assistant Inspector General of Police, Federal Intelligence, Umoru Usman as those who instructed the raid and search on his residence.

This was contained in two separate petitions addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Security Adviser (NSA), Major-General Mohammed Babagana Monguno (Rtd). In the petitions with reference number KACCL/ PET/KA/76/18, dated September 6, 2018 and signed by his lawyer, Dr. Kayode Ajulo, Clark said though he has accepted the public apology from the police, he want the matter to be thoroughly investigated.

In the said petitions, the nonagenarian wondered why the police authorities that should know the masterminds and conspirators of the invasion are going after the four junior officers, who were merely carrying out instructions from their superiors.

The petition reads: “Our client did brief us that at about 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, September 4, 2018, officers and men of the IGP Tactical Squad, a unit under the direct command of the Inspector General of Police, alongside pressmen invaded and ransacked his Asokoro residence on the pretext that they were in search of arms and ammunitions. However, despite the siege and search, they found nothing incriminating on our client.

“Our client further briefed us and we confirmed that at the point where officers and men of the IGP Tactical Squad were to commence their search, they introduced themselves as acting under the instructions of the Inspector General of Police and Deputy Commissioner of Police, Yusuf Kolo, who is their commander.

Former SSG, Bayelsa State and former Permanent Secretary Ministry of Power, Ambassador Boladei Igali, who was with our client at the venue of the search, put a call through to the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Federal Intelligence, Umoru Usman Shehu, who spoke with the leader of the search party and gave authority to go ahead with the search.

“Having so searched in vain, the Inspector General of Police, in the face of the impudent search conducted on the property of our client, has publicly denied any knowledge of the said search and has immediately ordered the arrest of the four junior officers, who were responsible for the search and tendered a public apology to our client.

“Taking into consideration the circumstances of the invasion and uncivilized search conducted on his property, and the attendant embarrassment caused to our client and what he stands for, it is imperative to hold the view that there are serious questions which ought to be determined forthwith and without mincing words.

“It will be rather unfortunate for junior officers and men of the IGP Tactical squad who were at best acting on the orders of their superiors to fall prey in this regard. It beats our client’s imagination that despite the fact that our client has the compliments of the Nigerian Police Force and the State Security Services protecting him, his property, and overseeing his daily activities, such level of conspiracy could be perpetuated against him.

He wonders what exactly warranted such unfounded suspicion on his person to the extent that a search warrant could be procured against him on the demeaning allegation that he is involved in gun running.

“Our client appreciates unreserved double apologies by the Nigerian Police; the first which was conveyed by the delegation of the IGP lead by Deputy Inspector General of Police, Habila Joshak (Operations), Assistant Inspector General of Police, David Ogbodo (Legal), Commissioner of Police, Abu Sani (IGP Monitoring Unit) and Commissioner of Police of FCT and the second which was publicly tendered on behalf of the Nigerian Police Force by the Force Public Relations Officer, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Jimoh Moshood.

“While our client accepts the apologies, it is his sole demand that this case be comprehensively probed and thoroughly investigated to fish out all the conspirators who masterminded the invasion of his residence without due cause.”

When contacted the Force public relations officer Jimoh Moshood, said: “With all due respect to the elder statesman, we have done everything to investigate that matter. When the incident occurred, IGP directed an investigation promptly and that the personnel who went there should be investigated and detained and that was carried out.

“And that same night, the IGP sent a delegation to the elder statesman to apologize to him and the DIG with the others that went said the apology was accepted by him. There is no institution that would allow its personnel, on their own, to carry out an unauthorized and illegal activities as we have reported.

“And based on that, it is not Kolo that tried these personnel. It is the provost office that tried the men and found them guilty and dismissed them from service, which the IGP approved.

If you ask some of your colleagues, they will tell you that Kolo was at parade of suspect that Monday helps along the Abuja/Kaduna highway. He was within that vicinity and he was not in Abuja at the time. “So, we plead for more understanding from the elder statesmen.

But we want Nigerians to know that Kolo was not behind it. If he has sent a petition, then the IGP will investigate but I want to make it clear to the public that we seek for more understanding from the elder statement that it is not Kolo that is behind it. Those that were behind it have been dismissed and the officer is undergoing interdiction now and the police service commission would determine his fate.”

Hindi Livinus , Yola


https://cdn.punchng.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/07020514/widow-of-d-man-killed.jpg


Suspected Fulani herdsmen have beheaded the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in Bare ward in the Numan Local Government Area , Adamawa State, Charles Chrisanthus, The politician was reportedly killed in the presence of his wife , Dorcas , in his farm on August 29, 2018 .

The widow of the slain PDP chieftain is, however , accusing the police of shielding the killers of her husband .

Speaking in an interview with our correspondent at the State Criminal Investigation Department where she had gone to lodge her complaint on Tuesday, Dorcas told Northern City News that only justice for her slain husband would bring her peace .

She said she was holding her four - month old son and watched helplessly as the assailants hacked her husband to death.

“ His attackers led by our Fulani neighbours repeatedly stabbed him on the back and on his stomach before beheading my husband in our farm and made away with his head, ” she said .

Claiming to have made some arrests , the police had invited the widow of the slain ward chairman and three other female witnesses to the state Criminal Investigation Department for their statements.

It was at the CID that the families of the deceased were alerted to the whereabouts of the suspected killers .

The bereaved families , it was learnt , discovered that some of the suspects arrested in connection with the killing were receiving medical attention at an undisclosed hospital .

Dorcas said she could identify her husband’ s killers , insisting that the police were shielding them from answering for their crime .

“The police under the guise of allowing the suspects to seek medical attention are shielding those that killed my husband . The only thing I want is justice , ” she stated.

A PDP youth leader in Bare ward , Tekas Adiel , explained that the police earlier claimed that the Fulanis who perpetrated the killings had fled the community, insisting that the same assailants carried out another attack on Tuesday.

But the Police Public Relations officer in the state, Musa Habibu , insisted that some of the alleged perpetrators of the crime were in custody , adding that investigation into the incident was ongoing.

Asked about the suspects allegedly receiving medical attention in a hospital , the spokesman simply retorted , “ A suspect has a right to medical attention if he is sick . ”

He added , “ Some arrests have been made and those arrested are in police custody . I have had consultations with the assistant commissioner of police handling the issue who said arrest had been made . ”

“ But if they said one of those arrested is receiving medical attention, a suspect has a right to medication if he ’ s truly sick , it could be but I don’ t have that information, ” Habibu said .

Oluwatobi Akindele



A motorcycle rider , Ubong Ime, took incest to a new height when he professed love to his daughter whom he allegedly raped and impregnated .

PUNCH Metro gathered that the incident happened in the Iju area of Lagos State.
Our correspondent learnt that the 15- year - old victim lived with her mother in Uyo until in 2015 when the father , who had remarried , brought her to Lagos .

Ime, who was arrested by policemen from the Iju Police Station , said he was in love with the victim , adding that he slept with her twice .

He said , “ Sometime in June 2018 , my wife informed me that my daughter was pregnant after which we both called her to ask who was responsible for the pregnancy.

She did not say anything , but I knew that I was the one who impregnated her and it happened in June. I fell in love with her and had sex with her two times. ”

The victim , however, said her father first raped her on a day her stepmother stopped her from going to school after accusing her of stealing.

She said her father , who pretended to be punishing her , had sex with her .

She said , “ My stepmother always accused me of stealing her money and most times she beat me up . Sometime in June , my stepmother accused me of stealing her N 200 and because of that, she said I should not go to school.

“ While I was doing the house chores , my daddy brought out a wire and started beating me . As he was beating me , he ordered me to sit on the bed and remove my pants .

I initially refused , but as he continued beating me , I obeyed him and he raped me . As I was shouting, one of my neighbours came to knock on our door , but he told him that he was punishing me .

“ After the sex, he told me that I should not tell anybody . He was the one that washed the clothes I was supposed to wash that day while I slept. After some time , I woke up and took my bath. I did not tell my stepmother anything.

“Then in July 2018 , before we started our examination , my stepmother said I should not go to school . My dad went out in the morning and came back in the afternoon.

As of then, I was sleeping on the bed . I suddenly noticed that someone laid on me . Before I knew it , he had sex with me again , making it twice . He still warned me not to tell anybody what happened between us . ”

The victim said when she missed her period in July , her stepmother asked her if she had sex with anyone , but she denied it.

She said she confessed to her stepmother when it was confirmed that she was two months pregnant.

“When my stepmother reported to my daddy that I looked pregnant , he said I should lie to her that I was raped by someone in a hotel. My stepmother continued disturbing me and made me do a pregnancy test . She told me that I was two months ’ pregnant.

“ When everybody on the street became aware that I was pregnant, I decided to tell my stepmother the truth .

My daddy was the first man that had sex with me . No other person had done it with me before or after him , ” she said .

The victim ’ s half - brother, David, said he had caught his father many times having sex with his sister.

The 12- year - old said , “ There was a day that I came back from school and I met daddy on top of her . Daddy used to have sex with her even in the night if our mummy is not at home . I used to see them together on our bed if our mummy is not at home . ”

Ime was arraigned before an Ogba Magistrates ’ Court on one count of defilement.

The police prosecutor , Inspector John Christopher , said the offence contravened Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, Nigeria , 2015 .

The charge read in part, “ That you , Ubong Ime, in June 2018 , at about 12 pm on Olushina Street, Isale Haruna , Obawole , Lagos State , in the Ikeja Magisterial District , did defile your daughter (name withheld ) aged 15… . ”

The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charge .

The presiding magistrate , P. E. Nwaka , remanded the suspect in custody .
The case was adjourned till October 3 , 2018.

Suleiman Abba, former inspector-general of police, has issued out a warning to Reno Omokri, former aide of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.

Speaking with reporters when he visited the secretariat of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Lagos, Abba expressed dissatisfaction with the reaction of Omokri to an interview he granted to Daily Trust last month.

In the interview, the former number one police officer had said the force he led compelled Jonathan to concede the 2015 election.

Abba also said a top Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) member reached out to him to influence the Osun state 2014 governorship election in favour of the then ruling party.

Omokri had responded by accusing him officer of spreading falsehood.

“The accusation of the former IGP of Police makes no sense to reasonable men and women,” Omokri had said.

“IGP Suleiman Abba is proof of the fact that liars need a very good memory otherwise they would contradict themselves with their lies.”

But in his own response, Abba challenged Omokri to a debate on his activities as the IG.

He said if Omokri provokes him, he would open up on some things and Jonathan would feel sad.

“Please tell him (Omokri) to leave me alone as a retired police officer. He cannot change the narrative of what I did in office… If I open up, his godfather (Jonathan) will be sad,” he said.

“Reno should keep quiet and leave me alone. He should know that he is talking about a former police IG and a lawyer. I am well informed about my fundamental human rights. It is my right to speak when I choose to.

“That he was queering why shouldn’t I speak two or six months after leaving office, is not his business. If I can defend the right of others as lawyer, I should be able to defend my own by expressing myself.

“Out of the five IGs his boss worked with, I acted in good conscience. That much is not controvertible. I am proud to say that the police under my watch forced ex-President Jonathan to accept the result of the 2015 poll through our professional conduct.

“It was not the duty of the police to conduct election neither do we vote on election day.

I have no regret over my action. Our action gave credibility to the 2015 poll which was widely acknowledged by both the local and international observers.

“For me, that translated into legitimacy for the current government. The practice all over the world is that whenever election is over everyone should work with the any government that emerged to move the nation forward. If Reno Omokri is sad that I am in Nigeria relating with a legitimate government, that is his headache.”

Jonathan had fired Abba shortly after he lost the 2015 election.

Obinna Odogwu, Abakaliki

Former governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, has revealed how some northern political cabals truncated the chances of the Igbo to be Nigerian president; through Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and Dr. Alex Ekwueme, respectively.

He regretted that against the interest of the well-meaning northerners to hand over to the Igbo, on two different occasions, some northerners, for selfish reasons, quashed that quest.

Bafarawa disclosed this in Abakaliki, capital of Ebonyi State, yesterday, when he paid a courtesy call on Governor David Umahi at Government House to intimate him and other PDP stakeholders in the state, on his presidential ambition.

“I have been in politics since 1976. I was the Transition Committee chairman of my local council in 1976. I rose from that. In 1979, NPN was almost dominant in Sokoto State but I refused to join NPN. I joined NPP, together with our leader Zik. When NPN realized that NPP was a strong party and that a national party would win the election, NPN, by then, used their intrigues to divide our relationship with NPP.

“When we got to the convention, argument started. Waziri vehemently told Zik that he wanted to be the presidential candidate and also the chairman of the party. Zik said: ‘Waziri take one and leave one. If you want president, take it, if you want chairman take it. But take one and leave one. But, Waziri said he needed all because he was being pushed by the NPN to disunite us. That was what caused the division of the NPP and GNPP.

“I am trying to tell this story for you to see that in my political career, I have been one of you. I rose from that level to the state chairman of the party, NRC, where I produced a governor, under my chairmanship, in 1992, or thereabout.

“After that, resolution of June 12 crisis set in. After that, the constitutional conference started. I contested and won and became a member of the Constitutional Conference, from 1994 to 1995.

“When that was over, I was the founder of UNCP, during Abacha’s regime. After Abacha, we formed APP. I took APP to my zone; Sokoto, Zamfara and Kebbi, under my leadership, and delivered the three states, under APP. I haven’t been the governor of the state at that time.

“And also, in 2003, when I saw that the leadership of our party was trying to sell out to the ruling party, I took over the leadership of the party. I was the governor and, at the same time, the acting national chairman of ANPP, where I produced Buhari as our flag bearer…”

He appealed to PDP stakeholders and the people of the state to support his presidential ambition, with a promise to lead the country aright; if elected.

Welcoming his visitor, governor Umahi wished the August visitor goodluck in his presidential ambition

I didn’t like it because I was the one that used to bear the brunt of it. “After taking the drug he would be pounding into me for a very long time and because of the drug, he usually takes long to come.

I don’t approve of Ladies asking Guys for money. I believe men and women are equal, feminists even advocate equality between sexes but I’m very disappointed at the requests a lot of ladies make on their Boyfriends or Suitors.

Most ladies make requests of items that won’t change their status quo or current state permanently.

For example
(1) Hair
(2) Iphone
(3) Dubai Ticket
(4) Makeup kit
(5) N50,000 / $200
(6) Hair Net
(7) Underwear
These items won’t change your life or make you reach your Self Actualized State.

Please ladies from now on, if you’re the TYPE to ask guys for Things.

Please ask for
(1)Land
(2) 500k Loan
(3) Employment
(4) School Fees
(5) Business Capital or Partnership
Ask with a purpose if you’re going to ask for anything at all, don’t ask to remain the same, ask to change.

lalasticlala

BabaIbo:
I still prefer Saraki to Sowore tho

Alleged offer of automatic tickets to serving members of the two chambers of the National Assembly for the 2019 elections, has sparked crisis between the national leadership of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the party’s intending aspirants across the states.

The protesters, who stormed the party’s Abuja secretariat on Monday, demanded a level play field for all aspirants through free, fair and transparent primary elections across the states.

One of the protesting groups from Kogi State said offering automatic tickets to the lawmakers was in clear violation of the Electoral Act, the PDP constitution and the party’s guidelines.

In an address read by Dr. Halimat Hamzat on behalf of the group, the aspirants insisted that they must be given equal opportunity to be voted for, either through delegates’ election or direct primaries.

Dr. Hamzat said the party’s plot offer automatic tickets to the lawmakers was uncovered last week when an aspirant for the House of Representatives visited the Abuja home of one of the party’s leaders, where he met a serving PDP senator.

According to Hamzat, the senator was said to have told the aspirant that tickets for all the National Assembly positions had already been allocated to serving members of the Senate and House of Representatives.

“As if that was not enough, Senator Dino Melaye met with all the members of the seven local governments in Kogi West on Friday and boasted that the issue of senatorial ticket had been settled by the highest organs of the party.

“Melaye also told them that PDP’s senatorial ticket for Kogi West had already been given to him, even as someone who recently defected to the PDP. This is in total disregard for the interests, eligibility and qualification of other aspirants”, Dr. Hamzat said.

The group expressed reservations about the possibility of the party leadership conducting free, fair and transparent primaries into the available senatorial and House of Representatives seats.

The aggrieved aspirants reminded the national chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus of his often repeated pledge to do away with impunity and imposition of candidates for elections.

Although none of the national officers of the PDP was ready to speak on the matter yesterday, it was however gathered that offer of automatic tickets was one of the concessions the party made to serving lawmakers that recently defected to the PDP.

But the aspirants cautioned against the move, urging the party against manipulation of the nomination process to avoid what they described as a looming fragmentation of the PDP across the states.

“We the aspirants for legislative seats in the National Assembly on the platform of the PDP shall collectively and wholeheartedly work for the interest of the party and any candidate duly nominated through transparent primary election.

“But should the party proceed with its pre-determined or manipulated primary elections to nominate any candidate, an implosion that would be inimical to the interest of the party might occur”, the aspirants vowed.”

lalasticlala

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A teenage suspect identified as Daniel Daisi has confessed that he faked police arrest to deceive and defraud his victims.

The Lagos-based 19-year-old indigene of Ondo State said he had relied on the trick to get money with which he would build his own tile workshop and buy important tiling tools.

Daisi made the confessions at the police headquarters, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos on Monday as one of the suspected criminals paraded at the Command headquarters. He was brought in by the team commander of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS), Salmon .A. Opukeme, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), from the Onilekere FSARS Station in Cement area of Lagos State.

According to Opukeme, the suspect specialised in collecting huge sums of money from would-be customers for tiling jobs only to lie to them that he was being detained by the police.

He would later tell the unsuspecting customers that the police had collected the money meant to buy tiles and warned that he must not be sighted in the area where he was supposed to do the job or he would be rearrested and charged to court.

Luck, however, ran out on him after playing the trick on a customer identified as Waliu Ogundele. Following the story that Daisi told him about the police, Waliu was said to have gone to the FSARS station at Onilekere with him to demand why he was arrested by FSARS operatives who also collected the money he gave him for tiles.

Daisi was however said to be dumbfounded when the station officer asked him when he was detained and the offence he committed to warrant his arrest and detention for three days.

And when the station officer went through the station’s crime register, he could not find Daisi’s name in it. The policeman then turned to Ogundele and told him that Daisi was never arrested not to talk of being detained.

Further enquiries made by Opukeme, the station’s commander, also showed that Daisi was merely lying. Confronted with the facts, Daisi was said to have confessed and gave reasons why he made false allegation against FSARS operatives.

In his confessions, Daisi said: “I am sorry I lied. I wanted to use the N5,000 and N600 he (Ogundele) gave me to solve personal problems. I wanted to buy tile tools and had been looking for money. I thought that if I lied to him that FSARS men arrested me and collected the money, he would be afraid and forget about it.”

He, however, said it was his first time of doing so.

“I was not sponsored by anybody. I wanted my master to be afraid and forget about the money. I went to learn tile work after passing out from senior secondary school, as I could not secure a job.

Expressing surprise at Daisi’s action Ogundele said: “I gave him N5,000 for a tiling job. I took him to First Bank, withdrew some money and gave him N5,000.

I also added N600 for transportation. Three days later, he came and told me that FSARS operatives at Onilekere Police Station arrested him, collected the money and detained him for three days.

”I got annoyed and told him that we would go there and they would tell me why they should seize my money. But Daisi said I should not go there to avoid being arrested too. That was even what gave me the courage to go and confront the FSARS operatives at Onilekere.

“What I saw and heard at FSARS office and Daisi’s confession made me to look foolish.
I started apologising on his behalf,but police said the allegation against them was too much. They said they would investigate him thoroughly to find out his other victims and would charge him to court at the end of a thorough investigation.

“He must refund my money. Let the police discipline him. He is a bad liar.”

lalasticlala

ZarahBuhari:
Liverpool FC finally making FP on Nairaland these days

By Emma Amaize, Regional Editor, South-South and Perez Brisibe (Ughelli)



NATIONAL Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, aka Oshio Baba, and Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon Chibuike Amaechi, are entangled in a strategic struggle over who commands the party in the South-South geo-political zone.

Both party titans made their marks as former governors of Edo and Rivers States respectively, but Amaechi, who is also the Director General of the President Muhammadu Buhari Campaign Organization, was practically in charge of the affairs in states of the zone until Oshiomhole emerged as national chairman.

The strapping exception of Amaechi’s power is Edo, the only state the party governs at the moment in the region and which Oshiomhole, as the immediate past governor, installed one of his loyalists, Mr. Godwin Obaseki as his successor.

However, since Oshiomhole took over from the former national chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, who, during his tenure, did not struggle for supremacy with Amaechi, there has been a seeming leadership tussle between him and Amaechi.


The tussle in Rivers

In Rivers, Amaechi’s home base, the minister has never concealed his predilection for the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Mr. Peterside Dakuku, the party’s gubernatorial candidate in the 2015 general election in opposition to Senator Magnus Abe, representing Rivers South-East senatorial district. But Oshiomhole appears not favourably disposed to Amaechi’s pick.

Political watchers in the state recognize that if not for the unstated support of Oshiomhole, which Senator Abe has perfectly taken advantage of; Amaechi would have run him out of town in the horse-trading for the party’s 2019 governorship ticket.

The nervous relationship between Amaechi and Abe resulted in parallel congresses in the state in May with the latter declaring in a statement by his spokesperson, Parry Benson: “I am amused by some of these allegations and stories making the rounds.

For the records, the disagreement between me and the minister (Amaechi) is political. He is the leader of the party but he has said publicly on several occasions that he can never support me.”

“That means the entire country knows that he cannot pretend to be neutral or an unbiased umpire in any matter in which my interest and the interests of those interested in me are concerned. Yet, as the leader it is his responsibility to provide a level playing field for us all,” he asserted.

Amaechi is still the principal of the party in the state just like Oshiomhole also holds sway in Edo state, but whether the national chairman will allow the director-general of the Buhari Campaign Organization to produce the governorship candidate of the party at “The Treasure Base of The Nation” yet again is imprecise.

Ogodo, first war casualty in Delta
In Delta state, indications of conflict between Oshiomhole and Amaechi are manifestly naked with the manner Oshiomhole tossed aside the parallel state chairman of the party, Mr Cyril Ogodo, produced by the leader of the party in the state and governorship candidate in the 2015 general election, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor, who is more of an Amaechi faithful.

A leader of the party in the state told Saturday Vanguard that Oshiomhole was infuriated by an alleged effrontery of the Ogodo-led executive in sponsoring media publication distancing Delta APC from his endorsement by the APC, South-South for national chairman before the National Convention that voted him to power.

“Knowing that Ogodo’s boss, Emerhor, derived his authority from Amaechi, the national chairman did not waste time in sending Ogodo packing as soon as he mounted the saddle and enthroned his opponent, Prophet Jones Erue in his place.

“Until lately, Mr. Ogodo, who believed that he was legitimately elected in a congress that was affirmed by the former national executive of the party did not realize that he is a victim of power play between Oshiomhole and Amaechi, as the national chairman took to heart the fault-finding media publication by his executive,” the source explained.

Most APC stalwarts in the state, who gravitated towards Amaechi before the new sheriff came to town, have started retracing their steps. Even at then, Olorogun Emerhor has refused to accept the peace efforts of his former partner, Prophet Erue, who was directed by Oshiomhole to reconcile all the factions in the state to forge a common front ahead the 2019 elections.


Erue’s peace report

The chairman, according to an interim report obtained by Saturday Vanguard,
met with AVM Frank Ajobena (retd), Chief Ayiri Emami, Chief Adolor Okotie-Eboh, Sir Richard Odibo, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu and a host of others, besides a meeting of meeting of party stakeholders where he admonished all to embrace peace.

The Erue report claimed: “The interactions were fruitful as everyone affirmed faith in the leadership of the party and undertook to work for peace.”

On the meeting with Emerhor, Erue reported: “On Wednesday the 8th of August 2018, the state chairman had a very fruitful discussion with Olorogun O’tega Emerhor on the need for total reconciliation in the party and he in return promise to pacify his people to embrace the ongoing reconciliatory moves by the party.”


Emerhor tears report apart

However, Emerhor in his reaction tore the interim report to pieces, describing it as pretentious, mischievous, disappointing and provocative. He stated that the statement ascribed to him, was “calculated to misrepresent him and confuse the mainstream Delta APC that is under his leadership.”

In a statement by his media aide, Aghogho Orotomah, he noted that “no peace currently exist in Delta State APC other than the peace of a grave yard.”

He said: “There exist two party Excos in Delta State, one by law, the other by recognition by the National Chairman. There are subsisting court cases that seek to overcome existing illegalities. These court cases will not and cannot be withdrawn unless genuine peace is negotiated.”

Describing the meetings by Erue and his executive as “jamboree of visitations, Emerhor fired, “a jamboree of visitations cannot cure the existing chasm but only genuine actions can, the mainstream of the party is ready for peace but peace at a fair cost to all.

“It is disappointing and provocative to carry on pretentiously that visits and political talk amount to peace and reconciliation. The wise thing for Erue to do is to use the leverage of him being accorded recognition by the national chairman to point the national chairman to act on his pronouncements on unifying the party. To assume peace has come is to not only pretend but to be mischievous and provocative.

“Those who are quick to celebrate peace and to release interim peace reports should be circumspect as they may inadvertently be creating doubts if truly they seek peace or are celebrating a pyrrhic victory. Let our genuine and collective desire for APC to win and rescue Delta State prevail,” he said.

Can Uduaghan bring Oshiomhole, Amaechi together ?
Delta is really going to be an interesting spectacle to watch for the newest political leader to join the party, the immediate past governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, is a friend to both Oshiomhole and Amaechi, and may have the enviable task of bringing together his warring buddies. Can he?


Top secret report on Delta governorship contenders

The Amaechi group in the party is tilted to a Chief Ogboru governorship ticket, which Saturday Vanguard learned has been deflated by party strategists, who prefer a Delta North candidate.

A privileged source hinted the party commissioned a report on the governorship battle and the strength of its aspirants, and the document narrowed the race to mainly two governorship aspirants from Delta North senatorial districts.
The most workable two, according to the report, are both defectors from the PDP.

One is an Amaechi beloved, a plus point that may count as a minus for him in the current intrigues. The other is from the Ali Modu Sheriff-led faction of PDP, which gave the party load of troubles before finally parting ways.

While one who is the more affluent aspirant is considered to have “baggage” with PDP that may not augur well for APC if he is fielded in the opinion of some persons, others think that the other is most appropriate to give Governor Ifeanyi Okowa the fight of his life given his staying power.
Another eminently qualified aspirant is viewed as scholarly, but without grassroots support.

Nevertheless, nearly all the governorship aspirants from Delta North have agreed to cooperate with whoever emerges as the standard bearer in a free and fair primary of the party. They met recently with the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, restating the heartening position.


Edo at Comrade’s beckon

In Edo state, there is no battle between Oshiomhole and Amaechi. The national chairman is in control, but had to make a quick dart some weeks back to settle rising objections by some party leaders and stakeholders to the leadership style and some allegedly exasperating pronouncements of Governor Obaseki.


Oshiomhole’s finger in A’Ibom

However, the defection of the former Senator Minority Leader and former governor of Akwa Ibom state, Senator Godswill Akpabio, to APC, has foreclosed the struggle between Oshiomhole and Amaechi in the state. This is because Oshiomhole is one of the chief executioners of the plot.

And knowing that Akpabio installed the incumbent governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, and has the structure to give the PDP a fight in the state, the Minister of Transportation, despite his preceding influence in the state, cannot drag control of Akwa-Ibom with Oshiomhole at the moment.

Akpabio will now work with his former friends and associates turned enemies in the persons of the former Minister of Petroleum, Chief Don Etiebet; Managing Director, Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA), Umana Umana; Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and former deputy governor of the state, Nsima Ekere, Senator John Udoedehe, Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Ita Enang and a former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Eseme Eyiboh, among others to deliver the state to APC in 2019.

A former Military Administrator of Ogun State and APC chieftain in Akwa Ibom state, Captain Sam Ewang (ertd), believes that APC will come out stronger in the South- South in the 2019 elections. His words: “APC is positioned to win most of the states in South-South in 2019.”


C’River, no man’s land

In Cross River state, it does not appear that there is a serious contention between the duo, as the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Usani Uguru Usani, a fellow cabinet minister like Amaechi and former Senate Leader, now Chairman of NDDC, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, are expected to lead other party stakeholders to unnerve PDP in 2019. Senators John Owan- Enoh, Florence Ita-Giwa and Bassey Otu are among APC chieftains being relied on to come up with strategies to oust Governor Ben Ayade, next year.

Sylva’s Bayelsa inclines to Oshio Baba
In Bayelsa state, a former governor, Chief Timipre Sylva, who has pledged his loyalty to Oshiomhole is leading the Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, former Managing Director of the NDDC, Timi Alaibe, to fight PDP in the home ground of former President Goodluck Jonathan and incumbent Governor Seriake Dickson, which unquestionably is the staggering for the party.

lalasticlala

Obinna Odogwu, Abakaliki


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A 55-year-old man, Mr Inya Aluu Israel, has allegedly slumped and died inside a Divisional Police Officer’s office located at Kpirikpiri axis of Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital.

At the moment, men and officers of the police command serving at the division are making concerted efforts to come out with explanations, which would be acceptable to the deceased’s family on what actually happened to their father.

But the greater trouble lies on the table of a policewoman who allegedly intervened in a hitherto minor matter involving some young boys playing football in the neighbourhood which has now turned out to be a murder case.


Genesis of the matter

It all started at Nri Street in Abakaliki when some children of varying ages were playing football in their neighbourhood. In the course of the outdoor activity, their football landed in the premises of nearby Assemblies of God Church located at No. 4 of the said street. The deceased and his family live at No. 2 on the street.

But when they accosted the security man guarding the facility to release the ball to them, he allegedly refused.

A son to the deceased, Inya Aluu Ebenezer, who was one of the football players, gave Saturday Sun a personal account of the incident.

“We were playing football in the neighbourhood and the ball landed in the premises of the Assemblies of God Church located at No. 4 Nri Street. So, we went to the gateman and begged him to give us the ball. He refused and started insulting us. So, we exchanged words with him.

“The pastor’s daughter came out and asked us what was happening. We told her that our ball entered the church premises and that she should help us with the ball. She told us to come back later and collect the ball.

“We left. After sometime we went back to the church and asked the gateman for the ball and he started exchanging words with us again. The senior pastor came out and made comments that didn’t help the situation.

“Then I exchanged words with him. His children and some members of the church started attacking us. They asked us to go back to our house so that the situation would calm down.

“So, I went back to my house. I was about taking my bath when two security men from a private firm (name withheld) came and told me to go and apologize to the pastor so that peace would reign. I insisted that I was not going anywhere. But later, I came down because they threatened that they would go and call the military if we don’t resolve the matter. So, I followed them to the church.

“A member of the church who is a policewoman who is not even on duty; she’s on maternity leave, came with a handcuff to handcuff us but we protested it. She did not give us any reason. They locked the gate of the church and started beating us”, he narrated.

The 18-year-old boy who is a 200L student in the Department of Criminology and Security Studies, Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu Alike Ikwo (AEFUNAI) said that the noise of the commotion drew the attention of his dad who was at home at the time.

“So, my dad came from the house and started knocking on the gate. He told them they should take us to the police station. At first, they insisted that they would not take us to the station; that they would deal with us in the church but when they saw that a crowd was already gathering, the policewoman took us to the station. My dad went to the station with us.”


Tragedy struck

Ebenezer alleged that the last he heard from his dad was when he was taken into the DPO’s office. “When we reached the station, she locked us behind the counter and started beating me. Then, they asked my dad to follow them to a room. So, my dad followed them together with the Assemblies of God Church people to the room.

“The next thing they did was that they came and released us and asked us to go and carry our father’s body. That room is said to be the Divisional Police Officer’s office. All of them left the corpse. My friend and I took the body to FETHA where two doctors confirmed that he was dead.

While we were heading to the hospital, he was foaming from his mouth. My father was 100 percent okay before this incident happened. I suspect that he was manhandled inside the DPO’s office because before we left the church, the policewoman also attacked him. She slapped him”, he narrated.

Wife of the deceased man, Mrs Inya Ngozi, corroborated her son’s account but insisted that the police, especially the policewoman, have some questions to answer. “When they took my husband into the DPO’s office, they took my son and the other boy inside another room instead of taking all of them to the DPO’s office. Few minutes later, they called my son and the other boy to come and carry their daddy. He died inside the DPO’s office.

“As children which they are, they carried him to the hospital. They were still in Keke NAPEP when I reached the hospital. I saw my husband lying down with foams coming out of his mouth. When a doctor came out and checked, he confirmed him dead”, she said.


Police react

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, ASP Loveth Odah, confirmed the incident. She however absolved the police of being responsible for the man’s sudden death even as she said that investigation has commenced.

“On 29th of August 2018, the DPO of Kpirikpiri division, said that there was a call from the Assemblies of God Church at Nri Street, Kpirikpiri that children were playing football and they played into the church premises.

“So the security officer whose name I do not know seized the ball because he said that it was a regular thing which he said disturbs the occupants during the church hour.

“So, yesterday unfortunately the ball entered there and the security officers seized it. According to them, children started throwing stones on top of the zinc of the church. Along the line, the security officer decided to open the door to see who was doing it.

“He saw the two children who were doing it. He dragged them into the premises and called the policewoman who had handled their matter before. The policewoman was actually on maternity leave. She was passing through the church to go and fill her gas cylinder. According to her, she parked her bike and entered to see what was happening.

“The security man opened the door for her and the access paved a way for their father to enter with her into the church premises. They were all taking the case as children’s play; that’s according to the policewoman.

“But the father of the children insisted that since he has dragged the children inside, by so doing, illegally detaining them, the police must be aware of it. The policewoman assisted them to the police station and went her own way because she was not on official duty.

“According to the DPO Kpirikpiri, he said that he was handling a matter involving other parties with a DSS officer in his office, then he was alerted about the incident and he was called to listen to them.

“He said that as soon as he came out, he saw somebody telling the man that he was breathing too high; ‘what’s happening to you?’ For them to rush and attend to the man, he slumped.

They later stopped a tricycle and wanted to take the man to a clinic but the children insisted that they will go to FETHA insisting that that is where the man has a card. On their way to FETHA of the man dropped dead. He was confirmed dead by a doctor. Nobody touched the man.

“Please let’s wait for the autopsy to come out and let’s see if the man died of beating by anybody or any other thing or the sickness in him which he had earlier before this incident. But it’s an unfortunate incident”, the PPRO said.

Attempts to speak with the church authority failed as no official was willing to speak with the media on the matter.

Three Nigerian pilgrims have been killed in an auto crash along Makka- Madina highway in Saudi Arabia Friday morning.

The three pilgrims from Zamfara State died about 120 kilometers on their way from Makkah to Madina, according to the NAHCON head of medical team, Dr Ibrahim Kana.

Dr Kana said based on the names in the medical data of the commission, the deceased pilgrims are: “Shinkafi Mudi Mallamawa, male, born 10/02/1952, Passport number: A09413309; Abdullahi Jafaru Gidan Sambo, male, date of birth 03/07/1956, Passport number: A09413813; and Abdullahi Shugaba, male, date of birth 22/05/1963, Passport number: A50080535.”

The NAHCON medical chief said a team from the National Medical Team was dispatched to the scene of the accident “the three bodies were moved to King Fahd Hospital, Madina while the remaining survivors are in a hospital near the scene, I.e 120km from Madina.”

The acting chairman of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), in Zamfara state Abdulrazak Kaura who is also in Saudi Arabia said the three pilgrims confirmed dead are chairmen of local council chapters of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC), in Zamfara state.

He said Jafarau Gidan Sambo is the APC chairman of Kaura Namoda Local Government, Mudi Mallamawa of Shinkafi Local Government; and Abdullahi Shugaba Ruwan Dorowa of Maru Local Government Area.

Those who survived the accident, according to him, include Nasiru Anka of Anka Local Government, Tafa Nasarawa Bukkuyum of Bukkuyum Iocal Government, and Garba Ziti of Gummi Local Government.

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By Onwuka Nzeshi



Eminent personalities and leaders of the mainstream socio-cultural groups in Nigeria, yesterday, issued a red card to President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC), resolving to work for the emergence of new leadership in the country during the forthcoming general elections.

The leaders, who met in Abuja under the auspices of the Summit of Nigerian Elders and Leaders, drawn from Afenifere, Middle Belt Forum, Northern Elders Forum, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, and the Pan Niger Delta Forum, reviewed the State of the Nation in terms of the economy, security, human rights, as well as recent political developments and came up with a damning verdict that the Buhari administration had drifted from the liberal democratic path which Nigerians had fought for over the years.

Prominent Nigerians who attended the summit included Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Chief Edwin Clark, Air Commodore Dan Suleiman, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, Senator Suleiman Dansadau, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, Prof. Gordini Darah and Senator Bassaey Ewa Henshaw. Others at the event were the Secretary of the Afenifere, Mr. Yinka Odumakin and Dr. Alfred Mulade, spokesman for the Pan-Niger Delta Forum.

The summit observed that under the current administration, democracy had come under persistent assault following the rising trend of calculated assault on constitutional governance and rule of law in the country.

The summit, which held for several hours behind closed doors, resolved that there was an urgent need for Nigerians to seek a new leadership that will not only arrest the slide away from democracy and the rule of law, but will ensure the emergence of a truly federal, constitutional democracy in Nigeria.

In a communiqué issued at the end of the summit, the leaders condemned the continued detention of persons granted bail by courts of competent jurisdiction, including the ECOWAS Court, as well as the unlawful harassment of media practitioners.

They argued that going by the recent trend of events, Nigeria was gradually descending into a full blown dictatorship where citizens’ rights under the constitution can no longer be guaranteed or respected by the government of the day.

“This is clearly evident in the unlawful freezing of the accounts of some governments of the federating units; continuous illegal detention of citizens in spite of court orders granting them bail, as in the cases of Colonel Sambo Dasuki (rtd), former National Security Adviser (NSA) and Ibrahim EI-Zakzaky, the leader of Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN); the illegal arrest, detention and mistreatment of 120 women exercising their legitimate rights to peaceful protest in Imo State; the incarceration of journalists, suppression and clampdown on media practitioners, thereby impeding not only on the freedom of the press, but also the right to information; regular denial of access to public utilities to political opponents and extra judicial killings in the country.

“This ugly trend culminated in the invasion of the National Assembly by the Department of State Services (DSS) on August 7, 2018 in an attempt to disrupt and undermine the legislative arm of government.

This, indisputably, was an attempted coup against constitutionalism, democracy and the rule of law,” the group said. The summit demanded that a Judicial Commission of Inquiry be set up to examine the recent invasion of the National Assembly by security agents, and the outcome made public.

Similarly, summit expressed concern that barely six months to the 2019 elections, the President is yet to assent to the 2018 Electoral Act, without which, the legitimacy of the next elections in 2019 will be in doubt. They also took exception to President Buhari’s recent pronouncement that “the rule of law must be subject to the supremacy of the nation’s security and national interests.”

They argued that national interest and the rule of law in a constitutional democracy are not and cannot be mutually exclusive. The summit equally expressed concern about the recent pronouncement by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, that restructuring is not a fundamental challenge in the country.

The summit urged President Buhari to be consistent with the rule of law by assenting to the 2018 Electoral Act, and opening up the political space for political actors to operate freely without hindrance by any acts of omission or commission from the government.

They also urged the President to restrain public agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), DSS and the Nigeria Police, from harassing and intimidating political actors, particularly those in the opposition camp.

The summit condemned the release of detained Boko Haram terrorists without due process and their alleged clandestine recruitment into the Nigerian security agencies. The leaders urged the President to use his good offices to secure the immediate release of Leah Sharibu, Chibok and Dapchi girls, and other innocent Nigerians still being held by Boko Haram.

The summit also rejected the illegal occupation of farming communities by invaders who sack and displace the indigenes. It urged the Federal Government to act swiftly to free these communities from illegal occupation and bring the perpetrators to justice.

By Edem Edem 





NEWS

Cross River monarch dies in police custody



Published

 

on

 August 30, 2018

By

 Edem Edem 



A 70-year-old traditional ruler of Buanchor community in Boki Local Government Area of Cross River State, His Royal Highness Henry Okong is dead.

He died of alleged hunger and torture following denial of bail by the Nigeria Police Force in Calabar.

The monarch died in the custody of the X-Squad Police at the state Police command headquarters, Calabar.

Investigation revealed that he was first arrested on the third of August 2018 by the Police in Okundi, in Boki local government area, in connection to a village mob manhandling of an elderly woman accused of witchcraft.

The woman, who was accused of being responsible for the death of several young people in the community, was almost lynched before the intervention of security personnel.

Suspected to be behind the mob attack on the aged woman, the Police, according to DAILY POST source picked him up and transferred the matter three days later to the state headquarters in Calabar.

“He was reportedly denied access to his family members, good food and healthcare while in detention. He died on 26th August,” our source disclosed.

It was also revealed that while in detention, his over 30-year-old son who was sick before his arrest also died.

A family member who gave his name simply as Sam, noted that “Chief did not have enough food to eat, and he was sick”.

The late monarch’s lawyer, Olivier Osang who was also counsel to other community leaders arrested alongside the village head said that despite the Police not seeing anything connecting his clients to the crime, he was denied bail till his death.

Osang said that “Three weeks ago, when the traditional ruler took ill, he pleaded with the Police authorities, and they took him to their clinic where he was referred to another hospital. The Police authorities refused to grant him bail or take him to the prescribed hospital.

“The officer in charge of the case Supol Victor Okonkwo said he could not release the late chief without the authorisation of the Commissioner of Police whom he said was away then on his Sallah holiday.

“As I speak to you, the body of the late traditional ruler is not yet released to his community. Nothing was found to suggest that he was culpable to the crime for which he was detained”.

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Irene Ugbo, who confirmed that the monarch died in Police custody denied the allegation of torture, harassment and starving.

“It is not true that the man died of hunger and torture. Being in the cell already is torture, so there’s no how the Police would have tortured him again.

“When a suspect is arrested, he’ll be allowed access to his family members who will bring food that will be screened to ensure it’s not poisoned.

“The only thing that would have killed him is because of the tension that he will be charged to court; he couldn’t handle it because of the atrocities he has committed in his community. Again, I think he was sick,” she said.

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A statement signed by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Gambo Isa, made available to newsmen on Thursday in Katsina, said the suspect belonged to a syndicate operating in the state.

Isa said the suspect drugged a motorcyclist, Gide Wada, who was conveying her from Kofar-Kaura to Sokoto Rima Quarters in Katsina metropolis.

The police spokesman said Wada had to park his motorcycle when he started becoming drowsy after he ate a piece of chocolate the suspect gave to him as they were moving to her destination.

According to him, it was after the victim parked the motorcycle that he became unconscious and the suspects’ accomplices, one Abubakar and Chairman, now at large, attempted to snatch the motorcycle.

He explained that the accomplices ran into the bush when the condition of the motorcyclist attracted the attention of people nearby, who apprehended Zinatu and handed her over to the police.

Isa claimed that the suspect had confessed to have been committing such offence in Kaduna and Kano states, adding that the police were on the trail of her accomplices.

He advised Okada riders and commercial drivers not to take food from people they know nothing about, so as not to become victims of robbery.