₦airaland Forum

By Akeem Nafiu and Tunde Oyesina
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The Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, has come under attack from lawyers for accusing some members of the inner Bar of frustrating the anti-corruption war by helping corrupt politicians take advantages of the loopholes in the laws.

The EFCC’s boss had in a piece titled, ‘Need for Ethical Reforms as NBA Conference Begins’, berated the Senior Advocates of Nigeria who are taking advantage of their expertise to abuse the country’s laws.

He lamented that the silks were putting their know-how at the disposal of corrupt politicians to frustrate the federal government’s anti-graft war. He also urged lawyers to always demand the sources of their clients’ income before receiving any money.

“It is personally disheartening to see lawyers who invest their talents and expertise in advancing the cause of corrupt politicians and public officials. It is amazing that a senior lawyer can accept professional fees of N1.7 billion from a politician without scruples.

“The same lawyer with a turnover of N3, 765,414,995.24 only paid valued added tax of N7, 051,928.24. The N300 million cash payment which the senior lawyer received from a South-South state government in an election petition matter in 2016 was never captured in his tax submissions to the Federal Inland Revenue Service.

“Yet when he got wind of EFCC investigation, he was quick to take advantage of the VAIDS window as cover to shield himself from the commission’s dragnet.

“Another senior lawyer who is quick to advertise himself as the nemesis of the EFCC has a turnover of over N5.1 billion with an assessed total tax liability of over a billion naira between 2010 and 2017. Sadly, he merely declared a meagre N8 million as gross earnings for 2014 and 2015, and N10 million for 2016.

“While we are mindful of the fact that there may be more than one side to a situation, which equally deserves robust presentation and defence, we believe that no matter the positions we take on any issue, Nigeria should come first”, Magu wrote in the piece.

However, in their responses to Magu’s allegations, the lawyers said the comments of the EFCC’s boss smacks of incompetence having opted to dwell in the realm of conjectures when he should have taken appropriate legal action against the silks he claimed were truncating anti-graft war.

The lawyers in separate telephone interviews with Saturday Telegraph said it was improper for Magu to come up with such a generalised statement against a set of professionals. In his own reaction, the new national President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Paul Usoro SAN, noted that there a number of misconceptions and misperceptions.

He said: “First, judges and the courts are not enemies of society simply because they discharge and or acquit persons who are charged before them for criminal conduct. Courts, world over, make decisions based on the facts presented before them and based on applicable principles of law.

Courts do not manufacture evidence and do not descend into the arena to prosecute or defend persons charged with criminal conducts. Judges remain impartial arbiters, even in criminal matters and our Nigerian courts have in the main carried out these functions in a most exemplary manner.

“It therefore pains us, as lawyers, when the Judiciary is erroneously perceived and characterised as the problem in Nigeria. It pains us when they are vilified and demonised in a manner that would tend to cow and intimidate them.

Yes, like any grouping of people, there may be bad eggs amongst our judges, but that does not call for class demonisation of our judges and courts. What needs to be done is to fish out those bad eggs amongst them and remove them from the pack – and there are sleuth methods and laid down procedures in this regard.

“We truly damage our justice administration system when we, public officials and lawyers alike, openly vilify and condemn our entire judiciary and judges – more often than not, without any proven case of infraction. We degrade the rule of law thereby and blackmail our judges and the judiciary.

“A corollary and second misconception and misperception are that which characterises lawyers who defend persons charged with criminal conduct before our courts as criminals themselves or accomplices to the crimes for which their clients are charged, ipso facto.

That is entirely incorrect. Persons charged with criminal conducts are not only constitutionally deemed innocent until proven guilty based on court pronouncements; they are entitled to legal representation by counsel of their choice.

“This is a basic principle of the rule of law and a constitutionally guaranteed right. It is also a demand of the rule of law that counsel, once engaged in defence of a client, must prosecute the client’s case to the best of his professional ability and most assiduously. In some instances, such forensic and assiduous defence of clients earns the defendant a discharge and/or acquittal.

That is not and cannot be the fault of the counsel and it should not necessarily be attributed, without proof, to the compromise of the judge by counsel. “Such an attribution is just as unfair to the court and counsel as the attribution of all convictions to the unproved undermining pressures that may be perceived by some to have been placed on the courts by agencies of government. Indeed both misperceptions do grave injustice to our justice administration and unduly destroy the credibility of our courts and lawyers.

To this end, it is important that lawyers be not class-defamed and treated by our law enforcement agencies as criminals or accomplices to the crimes for which their clients may be charged,” he added.

“We would look at measures that need to be introduced in order to make our disciplinary procedures far more responsive and time sensitive. In truth, the image of the Nigerian lawyer is perhaps at its lowest ebb and this cannot all be attributed to misperception by government and the public. The conduct of some of our members brings bad repute to us.

It is critical and important that we purge ourselves and, as a profession, regain the moral high ground that historically stood us out as members of the honourable profession”, he stated. Also reacting to this, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Mike Ozekhome said that if the anti-graft agency has found any lawyer who is corrupt, such should be arrested and prosecuted instead of generalising.

Ozekhome said: “If any lawyer is found to be corrupt , he should be brought to book, but I know that of the three arms if government, it is only the judiciary that has a self-deodorizing mechanism through the NJC and the NBA disciplinary committee that have always smoke out corrupt lawyers and judges and dealt with them accordingly.

“The irony of the situation is that in some of these cases that the government and the ruling party are crying about, when they won at the lower court, either at the tribunal or the court of appeal, the judiciary is glowingly praised with a lot of adulation and encomiums as being the last hope of the common man, as being the vanguard of the oppressed.

There was nothing wrong with the judiciary that time, that time the judiciary did not give anybody any headache, but as soon as the same court gave judgement which favour the opposition, such as Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Abia and Taraba, the judiciary is suddenly corrupt and must be probed”, he added. Another Abuja based lawyer, Kayode Ajulo in his own response said that Magu should keep quiet.

“Magu is an investigator, he is sitting in one the very important government law enforcement agency, he should not be seen to be speculative. “It is his duty to investigate. If any lawyer or judge is found to be corrupt, he should arrest them and take them to court, not that he will be shouting like a coward.

Even it is an indictment on his part by saying that. “It his duty to investigate them and not to be coming to the public and shouting. Allegation does not lie in the mouth of Magu, his own is to act. He has the knife, he has yam, then he should peel it.

If there is anybody that should speculate, he should not be the one. That is uncharitable on his part. “And I as a lawyer, I am worried of his competence if he is talking like that,” he added. Another senior lawyer, Olaolu Ajayi, while reacting said that this is not a time to shift blame but a rather a time for each and every actor to play his part to perfection.

“I think the EFCC boss is only trying to shift blame for his inefficiency. Talking like that as an insider shows the level of his ignorance. And if the war against corruption will be won, I think the President should with immediate effect terminate his appointment.

“Whoever that will talk, should do so with facts and figures and not speculations. Magu is ignorant of his assignment. He is appointed as a publicity secretary but as an investigator to arrest and prosecute corruption.

“This is not the first time he will talk like that. He said something similar last week that the judiciary should purge itself of corruption. This is becoming too much of him. And the irony is that, he will still depend on these lawyers prosecute his corruption cases.

Any house divided against itself shall surely fall”, he stated. In his submissions, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Mike Ahamba, asked the EFCC’s boss to be bold enough to name the silks concerned and charge them to court if he has his facts against them.

He said: “The ball is in Magu’s court. He is in charge of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and not the lawyers. For him to have facts to prosecute people and he has not done so, he needs to explain to the country what is stopping him from prosecuting those people.

“It is not proper for him to make a generalised statement against a set of professionals. Let him come forward and name those involved. If anyone has committed any offence, we the lawyers will not cover the person.

Let him come forward and charge the people to court instead of lamenting his incapacity and incompetence. He will arrest people who have done nothing, while he will not arrest those he has facts on. “Magu should stop making such general statement. I don’t like it. If he has his fact against any person, let him prosecute the person. If it is Mike Ahamba, I am ready to answer the prosecution.

He should desist from making such serious allegations against lawyers, particularly, senior advocates. “I didn’t earn this title on the roadside, I worked for it and I got it. So, nobody should just come and bullshit it on a general term. When you are talking about senior advocates, I am one of them”. Also speaking in the same vein, another silk, Hakeem Olatunde Afolabi, said it is most uncharitable for the EFCC’s boss to levy such allegations against senior lawyers without being specific about those concerned.

“Though I am yet to see the content of the piece, but if he had actually made such allegations, it is most uncharitable for him to do so. “Every Nigerian by virtue of the constitution, in any criminal offence for which he has been charged to court is presumed to be innocent and is entitled to a legal practitioner of his choice.

Whether such individual want to retain the service of a senior advocate or not is his decision just like the EFCC can also decide to hire the service of a silk. If the EFCC’s case is not properly packaged and it lost at the end of the day, senior lawyers should not be blamed for such loss.

“Secondly, if the EFCC’s Acting Chairman has his fact on any senior lawyer aiding politicians to launder proceeds of crime, he should proceed to court instead of making generalised statement, since no one is above the law. “It’s even a serious indictment on the part of Magu for him to be making such unsustainable claims.

It is a failure of responsibility if he is admitting that somebody is assisting another person to filter away proceeds of crime. What has he done about it? Is he saying that he is incompetent to arrest those people? So, as far as I am concern, I think Magu is unnecessarily playing to the gallery with his claims.

“What is the business of a lawyer as to source of the fund through which his legal fee was paid? It is for the state authority to decide. It has nothing to do with the legal practitioner,” the silk said. A former Vice-President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Adekunle Ojo, was of the view that Magu’s allegations will remain in the realm of conjecture as long as he hides the identity of the silks concerned.

By Ayo Olukotun



Much of the past week was taken up by unfavourable comments about Nigeria made by the United States President , Donald Trump , and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom , Theresa May , who came visiting . According to a report in the London Financial Times , Trump had allegedly described President Muhammadu Buhari as “ lifeless” after a meeting with him at the White House earlier this year .

Trump reportedly went on to say that he was not looking forward to another meeting with anyone as “ lifeless” as Buhari . On the heels of that controversial remark is the one made by May , to the effect that Nigeria is home to the highest number of the world ’ s very poor people . May ’ s statement was made in Cape Town , South Africa , preparatory to her visit to Nigeria on Wednesday .

Obviously , there is little to contend about May ’ s position , which is based on some of the latest global rankings by such organisations as the Brookings Institution, which, a few weeks ago , categorised Nigeria as the poverty capital of the world .

There may be differences of interpretation about the recent global report on worsening poverty and inequality in Nigeria ; the point remains nonetheless that the last decade for Nigeria can be regarded as lost opportunities in terms of the agenda to pull people out of poverty as envisaged by the Millennium Development Goals .

Even in the boom years of the President Goodluck Jonathan administration , when Nigeria became the world ’ s capital, so to say , for the accumulation of private jets by our emergent billionaires, the impressive growth rate was far from inclusive , considering that it occurred side by side with grinding poverty of the majority.

It was not just jobless growth , considering the soaring unemployment rate, it was also growth without development , given that it excluded millions of Nigerians , who were unaffected by the long running ball enjoyed by the tiny minority.

Matters became worse in the last couple of years, with the plummeting of oil prices , as well as economic recession unequalled in scope and severity in our history .

Notwithstanding that the country subsequently peeped out of recession , its hangover can be guaged by such lingering symptoms as the inability of subnational governments to pay salaries for several months , high unemployment, galloping inflation whose harsh edges are being increasingly trimmed , as well , as an astronomical debt hangover occasioned by a heavy borrowing spree.

Politicians prefer to blame their opponents , and to exonerate their own parties for culpability for the country’ s lot . The truth, however, is that neither the Jonathan nor Buhari administration , rhetoric aside , has done much about , or paid particular attention to the poverty crisis about which May spoke about . True , there is less overt corruption under Buhari , there is less to steal now anyway , but acknowledging that fact is not the same thing as saying that deliberate policies and systems to reduce poverty have been successful.

Unsurprisingly , May ’ s upbraiding of Nigeria has not been attacked frontally by the ruling party and its publicity machinery . In spite of that , and taking into account that it is an election season , friends of the administration are circulating on social media a recent report in a global media about the new face of poverty in some parts of Britain for instance , Coventry , where hundreds of kids are either going hungry or stretching out for one subsidised meal a day from a youth summer feeding programme .

Without necessarily saying so , the publication is being circulated as a counterpunch to May ’ s criticism of Nigeria ’ s wildly skewed political economy . Of course , everyone knows that even the richest countries in the world harbour swathes of desperately poor people , an underclass created by reckless right wing neo- conservative policies, and the fallout of a prolonged global recession .

It is another matter however , whether that is the same thing as describing the Nigerian scenario , where a demographic surge in the population of youths has tallied ominously with new dimensions of poverty among the overwhelming majority of Nigerians.

Turning now to Trump ’ s caustic observation , it is amazing that this is only coming to light several months after Buhari ’ s Washington trip during which the general run of the US President’ s speech appears to connote a slight endorsement of Buhari .

However that may be, it is important to state that Trump has earned global notoriety , not just for shredding diplomatic etiquette, but for hurling tantrums and abuse , through his Twitter handle at several countries and world leaders . Some of his comments have shaken the US relations with its allies such as Britain , Canada, France among others to their very foundations. A sampler : Trump caused a major diplomatic upset, late last year , by making unsavoury remarks about May , in the course of a diplomatic visit to Britain .

In what a British tabloid described as an “ astonishing political knifing of Theresa May ”, guest, Trump went so far as to suggest that Boris Johnson , the immediate past British Foreign Secretary , who had just then resigned following a major disagreement with May , would make a good Prime Minister .

Trump also called the Canadian Prime Minister , Justin Trudeau , dishonest , weak and mild, causing the Canadian nation across the political spectrum to stand up to Trump in united outrage . Well - known too is Trump ’ s derogatory reference to ‘ shithole nations” of Africa and Latin America . Future historians will spend time psycho - analysing Trump and his penchant for raw and undiplomatic comments .

Within Nigeria , it is entirely appropriate that even the opposition Peoples Democratic Party , which had hitherto engaged in predictable and automatic censor of Buhari , this time round , said that it had “ strong reservations ” about Trump ’ s opinion . The party nonetheless went on to blame Buhari for selling Nigeria cheap to the US and for demarketing Nigeria in the international community.

The point in contention, in this instance , is not whether there is a ring of truth to what Trump said , but that Trump had chosen to castigate , or better still deride a visiting President .

Buhari can derive some comfort from the fact that he has now joined a distinguished roll call of heads of government and statesmen, about which Trump had tweeted diatribes. Beyond that , there appears to be a kind of low self - esteem in what may have been an overreaction , panic or hysteria on the part of spokespersons for the Buhari administration .

While it is legitimate to charge Trump with being tawdry on etiquette, it betrays a lack of confidence to go overboard in reacting to such remarks.
Interestingly , almost all the reactions have come from the publicity machinery of the government and the major parties .

There is nothing close to the kind of national outrage that seized the public space , in other countries whose leaders , Trump had carried to the cleaners . This may be a matter for investigation , but for this writer , it indicates the elitist nature of our politics , pointing to a democracy without the demos that is, the people .

There is also the suggestion that though impertinent , there is a haunting validity in Trump ’ s perception of underachievement and a lack of vigour in the handling of governance issues by Buhari .

We can conclude with the paradoxical postulation that Trump goofed on niceties and proper conduct but , in a sense , was not wildly off the mark on purport or substance.

lalasticlala

By Samuel Ogidan

Abuja – People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday said that the visit of British Prime Minister, Theresa May, has exposed the incompetency of President Buhari and the low level leadership of the country has degenerated to.

The Party lamented President Buhari’s inability to productively engage the British Prime Minister, thereby directly bungling the nation’s opportunity to draw maximum economic dividends from her visit before she left the shores of our country.

PDP expressed deep concerns that President Buhari could not even assemble a competent economic team to engage the British leader and has also not considered it expedient to muster a team for strategic engagement with German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, who is billed to commence a state visit to our nation.

The party, in a statement by its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan said, “It is indeed unfortunate and completely unpatriotic that instead of thinking of ways to draw economic dividends from the important state visits, President Buhari is rather more interested in using them to secure international endorsements for his selfish re-election bid.

“We all saw a British Prime Minister who was favourably disposed to a healthy and productive engagement on critical areas of our economy and how President Buhari and his officials, out of sheer incompetence, failed to seize the opportunity for the benefit of our nation.

“Instead, the Buhari Presidency was more interested in photo-ops and diplomatic niceties, perhaps to score cheap political points, indicative of how our Presidency has diminished in the last three years.

“The robust and very fruitful engagement the British leader later had with Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta, shows how low, the standard of national leadership has fallen in our country under the Buhari Presidency.”

Urging Buhari Presidency to stop being a cog in the wheel of progress for the nation, the party said Buhari should immediately end “this government lethargy and seek help in setting up a team comprising of very competent and knowledgeable hands to interface with the German Chancellor and her team so that Nigeria will benefit from her visit.”

PDP, however, warned the President not to use the visit of the German leader for another lame attempt at international endorsement, “which has continued to elude him, while attracting embarrassing backlashes to the nation.

“Moreover, such is no longer useful for him, as Nigerians and the international community have already reached a consensus that our dear nation needs a more competent and resourceful President, who has respect for rule of law and the overall interest of the people.”

By Olayinka Olukoya




The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Ogun State Command has announced that the Sagamu-bound carriage way on the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway will be closed down for reconstruction work for a period of 18 weeks.

This was contained in a statement obtained by the Nigerian Tribune in Abeokuta, signed by the Public Education Officer, Route Commander Florence Okpe, that there will be temporary diversion of traffic to incoming carriageway between Kilometre 27 which is about 200 metres before the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) camp Car Park C U-turn to Kilometre 25 after the camp’s main gate.

The closure will enable the construction company working on the reconstruction of the highway, Julius Berger Plc, to carry out the resurfacing work on the Lagos- Sagamu segment of the expressway.

This development according to FRSC would automatically narrowed the Lagos bound traffic way to accommodate the Sagamu bound motorists, thereby making it two lanes for both Lagos and Sagamu bound travellers to ply.

When contacted on phone, the Ogun State Sector Commander of the FRSC, Clement Oladele, enjoined motorists to cooperate with the body and other sister traffic management agencies for the inconveniences that might be experienced, pending the completion of the road reconstruction.

He said that men of the FRSC and other traffic management sisters agencies would be deployed to ensure orderliness and control the diverted traffic for the period of diversion.

“This is to inform the motoring public that there will be temporary traffic diversion on the Sagamu bound traffic along the Lagos – Ibadan Expressway from KM 26 around 200 Meters from the existing RCCG CAR PARK C U – TURN to KM 28, being a location just after RCCG Maingate and narrowing of Lagos bound traffic carriage way to accommodate 2 lanes both for Lagos and Sagamu bound traffic respectively from Sunday 02 September 2018 to Tuesday 15 January 2019.

“This is to enable Julius Berger Nigeria PLC, the construction company rehabilitating the Lagos to Sagamu segment of the Lagos – Ibadan Expressway carry out resurfacing work on the Expressway.

“Motorists are accordingly advised to note that this may increase the time of their usual travelling period and should therefore increase the time of their travelling period whenever using this corridor during the period of the temporary diversion of traffic.

They are to drive within the maximum speed limit of 50km per hour, prescribed by the National Road Traffic Regulations, 2012, as maximum speed at construction zones.

“They are also to observe lane discipline and enjoined to drive cautiously while obeying traffic rules and regulations around the diversion area and on all other road corridors.”

Samuel Awoyinfa , Abeokuta


https://cdn.punchng.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/29165612/murder-suspects-Bamiduro-and-Akindele.jpg
Photo: Murder Suspects


A 42- year - old bricklayer , Olusola Akindele, has been arrested by the men of the Ogun State Police Command for allegedly killing his lover , simply identified as Iya Anu, for ritual purposes.

The suspect allegedly invited the deceased to his rented apartment at Itoki, Agbado , in Ifo Local Government Area of the state , where he allegedly killed her after he had had sex with her .

Akindele, who also claims to be a prophet , was said to have , thereafter , used a pestle - like wood to smash Iya Anu’ s head .

The prophet was said to have later cut off her head and hands , while he also allegedly removed her intestines which he allegedly took to a pastor, one Ayodele Bamiduro , the founder of Lion of Judah Church of Christ on Robiyan Street, Abule Ijoko in Ogun State.


https://cdn.punchng.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/29171044/Bamideles-church.jpg
Lion of Judah Church of Christ on Robiyan Street, Abule Ijoko , where Iya Anu’ s remains were found . Photo : Samuel Awoyinfa



Bamiduro has been arrested by the Police .

The two suspects were later driven to Bamiduro ’ s church , where the victim ’ s head, hands and the intestines were buried in a far corner of the compound .

Akindele reportedly dumped Iya Anu’ s decapitated body in an uncompleted building next to the bungalow where he lived.

The decomposing body has since been recovered by the Police and the men of Vigilante Group of Nigeria in the area .

The state Commissioner of Police , Ahmed Iliyasu , described the act as a conspiracy, murder and ritual .

He said it was on August 10 , 2018 that the Baale of Igbore Robiyan reported the discovery of a decomposing headless body in an uncompleted building within the community to Agbado Divisional Police headquarters .

He said Akindele confessed that the deceased was his lover and that they had dated for two years before he killed her .

Akindele however told journalists that he did not know why he killed his lover .

Bamiduro , on his own part, said though he knew Akindele, he did not contract him to kill anyone . Akindele corroborated the claim .

Also arrested alongside the suspects was Mr. Akinola Oyedele , the landlord who rented his apartment to Akindele.

Iliyasu said the suspects will be arraigned in court after due investigation .

Charity Nwakaudu, Abuja


The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has become the Nigerian “Italy” as some highly-connected ladies now lure beautifully-endowed but poverty-stricken innocent girls from remote villages and towns for prostitution in the name of job availability in the capital city.

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and other related agencies are aware of this development and have been making efforts to sensitise the public on this dangerous trend.

The NAPTIP has always discouraged girls against traveling out with people of questionable character who promise them job opportunities and better life abroad.

Although the Federal Government has consistently assured Nigerians of good economic outlook, the level of poverty is still very high to the extent that most families can barely feed twice a day.

Perhaps as a result of the economic hardship some parents easily submit to the claims of job opportunities in the big cities and send their daughters out to make money for them at all costs. Investigations by Daily Sun reveal that most girls who travel to Abuja on the claim of going to meet a friend for a job end up in apartments rented for them by their mistresses.

They roam at night for “romantic hunt” so as to make returns to their mistresses. From the proceeds of their daily outings they pay rents to their boss ladies. Anybody who is not ready to meet up with that is thrown out of the house.

There are also disturbing cases of some women who go to villages in search of house helps. They give out those girls to restaurant owners in town and get paid monthly.

Back to the “mart girls” as they call themselves they are easily picked out in their neighborhood and any social gathering.

They are either, hugging their cigarettes, puffing out thick smokes or bickering among themselves. They are frequently accused by their neighbours of stealing clothes in the compounds where they are housed.

Some of their neighbours who claim that they are struggling to contend their seeming anti-social behaviours confessed that living in the same neighborhood with these “mart girls” is real hell.

Mrs. Sandra Olayinka lives in the same compound with some of the girls in the Jabi. Her story: “These girls have lost every sense of womanhood. At times, I wonder if it was really a woman that gave birth to them.

“There is no kind of evil that they do not involve in. They smoke and steal at any smallest opportunity. There was a day we nearly ran away because of the number of heavily armed security operatives we saw on the street.

“It was later we were made to understand that one of the girls said she came back that morning with the money she made and kept it with her gold jewelry in her bag, only for her to come out of the restroom and found her bag emptied. The lady that was sleeping when she dropped it and discovered it was nowhere to be found.

“She invited members of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) to help her collect her stolen property. But till date nobody has seen the ‘sleeping lady’ because immediately she stole those things, she relocated to another place to continue with her business.

“Our husbands can easily be seduced. As from 4pm you start seeing them with all manner of skimpy and braless tops, walking around the environment hunting for the night’s catch. It is no longer easy living with this kind of people around you. I pray God to protect my husband from these daughters of destruction.”

Another neighbour, Abdulrasheed Adamu, from Maitama confessed: “It is not funny having these girls around the neighbourhood.

You cannot differentiate between night and day because they are always going and coming till dawn. Even when you want to rest in the day, you hear them quarrelling on top of their voice. At times they fight violently.

“The most annoying one is what they wear around. I find it difficult to come out of my room. They wear very skimpy, see-through clothes and sit carelessly in the compound to attract any available man. To void temptations, I stay in my room until when I am going out.”

A security man in Wuse Zone 3, Mr. Lawal Shuibu, claimed that the ladies are making his life unbearable as he can no longer sleep at night: «l am always attending to someone at the gate till dawn.”

He added that the rate at which they fight and quarrel is alarming: “There is no day that passes without them fighting over missing things around them.”

The Rapid Response Squad Force headquarters Abuja Assistant commissioner of police in charge Mr Mohammed Guri sent a strong warning to criminals to relocate from FCT Abuja or else it will wage a war on them.

Olusola Fabiyi , Abuja


The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party has announced the sale of its nomination and expression of interest forms to its members who are interested in contesting elections in the country in 2019.

The announcement was made by the National Organising Secretary of the party , Col . Austin Akobundu ( retd . ) in Abuja on Monday.

Before the announcement was made , the party ’ s National Working Committee led by Prince Uche Secondus , had met with state chairmen of the party.

It was gathered that the decision to start selling the forms was taken at the meeting .
The selling of the form , Akobundu said , would end on September 6.

While presidential and governorship aspirants are to collect and submit their forms at the national secretariat of the party, those aspiring to be in other offices were directed to pick up their forms in the state chapters of the party .

Senate and House of Representatives ’ aspirants were also advised to collect their forms at the Abuja national secretariat of the party , but were asked to submit at the state chapters .

The notice indicated that Presidential aspirants were to pay a total of N 12m , while governorship aspirants were to pay N 6m .

Those aspiring to go to the Senate and the House of Representatives are to pay N 3.5m and N 1.5m , respectively.

The party also directed those aspiring to go into the state houses of Assembly to pay N 600,000.

By Mike Odiakose


Indications have emerged that the plot by the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress, APC, led by Comrade Adams Oshiomhole to remove the Senate President, Bukola Saraki has hit a brick wall as majority of the party’s senators have distanced themselves from the impeachment move.

Comrade Oshiomhole has been leading the campaign for the sack of Senator Saraki following his defection to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

The move against Saraki got to a head about two weeks ago when hooded operatives of the Department of State Service, DSS laid a siege on the National Assembly which prompted the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo to sack the Director General of the DSS, Lawal Daura.

Nigerian Pilot gathered from very dependable sources close to APC senators that majority of the party’s senators are no longer on same page with Comrade Oshiomhole over the plot to remove Saraki.

According to our sources, in spite of monetary inducements and promises of automatic tickets, only about eight APC Senators out of over 50 are in support of the removal of the Senate President.

Some of the anti-Saraki senators include Abdullahi Adamu, Ali Ndume, George Akume and Ovie Omo-Agege.

It was gathered that over the years most of the senators, especially former governors, developed close relationship with Saraki beyond the chambers of the National Assembly. This relationship and close rapport cut across partisan party lines.

Senator Saraki’s management of the Senate since he took over in June 2015 is also working in his favour as he was said to have “carried along over 90 percent of the senators” irrespective of party affiliation.

Even Senator Shehu Sani who declined to defect with Saraki despite his strained relationship with Governor Nasir El-Rufai is said to be against the removal of Saraki saying “he has not done anything to warrant his removal.”

Some APC governors are also said to be working behind the scene to ensure senators from their states queue behind Saraki.

The APC governors are said to be uncomfortable with the “combative, aggressive dictatorial” leadership style of Comrade Oshiomhole.

The governors are of the view that Comrade Oshiomhole has compounded the internal crisis in APC and may lead the party to a woeful outing next year if he is not curtailed.

It was also gathered that APC national chairman is getting strong signals from APC senators that “he is on his own” in his bid to remove Saraki.

The former governor of Edo State is said to be beating silent retreat as failure stares him in the face in his bid to unseat Saraki and has been less vocal about the issue in almost two weeks.

However, Nigerian Pilot also gathered that despite the fact that the Senate President has over 90 percent of the senators behind him, he is not resting on his oars as he has continued to reach out to his colleagues in the upper chamber of the National Assembly.

British Prime Minister Theresa May will visit three African countries, including Nigeria, on Wednesday.

According to a statement by the UK government, May will meet with President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja and also spend time in Lagos, where she is expected to visit victims of modern slavery.

She would also visit Kenya and South Africa.

The visit comes at a time the UK is moving towards Brexit and seeking to invest in and work alongside African nations, with mutual benefits.

The prime minister will be joined by a business delegation made up of 29 representatives from UK business – half of which are small and medium enterprises SMEs – from across all regions of the UK and its devolved administrations.

“The Prime Minister’s central message will be focused on a renewed partnership between the UK and Africa, which will seek to maximise shared opportunities and tackle common challenges in a continent that is growing at a rapid pace – from the Sahara to South Africa,” the UK government said in a statement.

“As Africa seeks to meet the needs of its growing population the visit will also emphasise that it is in the world’s interest to help secure African stability, jobs and growth because conflict, poor work prospects and economic instability will continue to encourage migration and dangerous journeys to Europe.

“Because nations cannot prosper without security, the prime minister will also use the visit to announce further support to tackle instability across the region.”

May said she is proud to lead a delegation to Africa, expressing delight over being the first British prime minister to visit Kenya in 30 years.

“Africa stands right on the cusp of playing a transformative role in the global economy, and as longstanding partners this trip is a unique opportunity at a unique time for the UK to set out our ambition to work even closer together,” She was quoted to have said.

“A more prosperous, growing and trading Africa is in all of our interests and its incredible potential will only be realised through a concerted partnership between governments, global institutions and business.

“As we prepare to leave the European Union, now is the time for the UK to deepen and strengthen its global partnerships. This week I am looking forward to discussing how we can do that alongside Africa to help deliver important investment and jobs as well as continue to work together to maintain stability and security.”

By Dayo Johnson Akure



A 42-year-old man, ldowu Benson has been arrested by police detectives in Oba-ile area, Ondo state for reportedly cutting off two fingers of his wife Kemi for money ritual.

Police source hinted that the suspect on August 3 this year at about 7:30pm put on a mask and armed with cutlass pretended to be an hired assassin invaded his own house and attacked his wife.

Police source hinted that the attack took place at Kardors College Street, off Akure/ Owo expressway, Oba-ile in Akure, the Ondo state capital.

During the attack, the suspect was said to have informed the wife on gaining entry into the house that he was sent to kill her and in the process matcheted her on the head and cut off two of her fingers.

It was learnt that the fingers were chopped off while the wife was trying to fence off the machete from cutting off her head
Vanguard was informed that the suspect even asked the wife the whereabout of her husband during the attack.

The suspect was said to have went away with his wife two fingers which was alleged was for money rituals.

Police source said that the wife who bled profusely until help came from neighbours who heard her distress call.

The incident was reported at the police station by the victim and detectives swung into action only for their findings to reveal that it was an inside job.

Vanguard gathered the suspects telephone dropped inside the room from his pocket while he attacked his wife.

After the attack and having fled with the fingers of his wife, the suspect later returned to the house and was reportedly searching for his telephone.

Report had it that the suspect was invited and their investigation revealed that he masterminded the attack and he confessed to the police.

Contacted, the police image maker Femi Joseph said the suspect confessed attacking the wife blaming it on the devil.

Joseph said the suspect however denied using the chopped off fingers for money rituals.

According to Joseph the suspect was yet to confess where he kept the two fingers of his wife that he chopped off during the attack.

The police spokesperson said the suspect attacked his wife with cutlass and attempted to kill her.

” He ( the suspect) has not confessed to police detectives where he kept the fingers or what he had done with them. He kept saying it was not cut off for money rituals.

John Alechenu and Olusola Fabiyi



The All Progressives Congress has dared the Senate President , Bukola Saraki, to reconvene the Senate if indeed he was not perturbed about moves to impeach him .

The APC spoke through its acting National Publicity Secretary , Mr Yekini Nabena , said the party ’ s position was its response to Saraki’ s declaration that he was not losing sleep over threats to unseat him following his decision to dump the APC to join the opposition Peoples Democratic Party .

Nabena made the party ’ s position known to Punch via the telephone . in Abuja on Sunday.

Saraki had told reporters in Asaba the Delta State capital on Saturday that he was not bothered about the APC plot against him.

He told journalists , “You can look at me . I am not losing any sleep about it (impeachment threat ) . We believe democracy must go by the rule of law.

“ There are processes , constitutional processes over what we do . So , I am not concerned about that .

“ There are lots of noise being made about that but be sure that once we resume, the processes are followed , we will see that the noise will fizzle out. So I am not concerned about it . ”

But the APC speaking through Nabena said , “Like we’ ve said it before, he will be removed democratically . Let him reconvene the Senate first since he feels we in the APC don’ t have the numbers required to impeach him .

“ As far as we are concerned , he will leave that seat for a loyal party member to occupy . It is a question of morality , he has left our party which has the majority of Senators and as a party , we agree with our senators that a member of the minority party cannot rule over the majority . ”

Saraki’ s spokesman , Yusuph Olaniyonu, had in a telephone interview with our correspondent said due process would be followed to reconvene the Senate .

He said , “ The Senate is on recess as you know, when it is time to reconvene , due process will be followed . ”

Buhari knows he has failed , says PDP
Meanwhile , the Peoples Democratic Party has said that it has thoroughly reviewed the President Muhammadu Buhari -led All Progressives Congress administration and come to the conclusion that it has failed in every sector .

The PDP said that it noted that available data, both locally and internationally, confirmed that the Buhari administration had failed woefully in all its promises and claims , particularly on the fight against corruption , economy , security , democracy and national unity.

The National Publicity Secretary of the party , Mr Kola Ologbondiyan , in a statement in Abuja on Sunday said the PDP observed that the Buhari administration ’ s claimed fight against corruption had also been exposed to be what he described as a big lie .

He also dismissed the claim as a charade designed to hound perceived political opponents while providing cover for corruption and pillaging of resources by agents of the Presidency .

Instead of fighting corruption , he alleged that “ the Buhari administration is practically a felonious empire of corrupt individuals, certificate forgers , contract inflators , looters of treasuries and well- known liars , making it , ‘ head to toe ’ , the biggest assemblage of plunderers in the history of our nation . ”

Ologbondiyan added , “ We ask if Mr President is indeed a man of integrity as his handlers want the world to believe . Why is he comfortable employing, embracing , surrounding himself with and offering protection to corrupt persons, certificate forgers and liars as ministers , advisers and political associates ?

“ Are there things Mr President benefits or has in common with such individuals that attract them to him or for which they enjoy his cover to steal public funds in parastatals , agencies and ministries , particularly those under the direct supervision of the President?

“ Largely , due to the incompetence and corruption of the Buhari Presidency , our once robust economy has been wrecked , resulting in unbearable hardship , unemployment, hunger and starvation , strange sicknesses and untold depression with compatriots resorting to suicide missions and slavery as options .

He added , “ Under President Buhari , our nation has become dangerously divided. Violent clashes and bloodletting has become the order of the day.

“ Rights of citizens are daily violated ; democratic institutions, including the courts and the National Assembly have come under attack ; elections are rigged with impunity ; the unity of our beloved country is now under stress . ”

He claimed the Buhari administration could not boast of any major development project it had initiated , executed and completed in the last three years, in any part of the country.

Ologbondiyan alleged that the President had been going around the country looking for projects executed by other persons, including PDP governors , to commission .
He challenged the President and the APC to debate on good governance, where he said the PDP would expose the ruling party .

He said , “ The PDP is ready to commence a series to expose the lies and failures of this administration as well as the huge liability , woes and dangers it has brought on our nation .

“ The PDP also challenges both the Presidency and the APC to an open debate on governance , where we will further expose the failure of the APC and Buhari Presidency to Nigerians. The time has finally come. ”

But the APC in its response on Sunday said the PDP was scared of its inevitable descent into oblivion because of what the Buhari - led APC administration had been able to achieve in three years.

This , it argued , was the reason why the PDP was looking for any opportunity to put the administration down .

Acting National Publicity Secretary of the APC , Yekini Nabena , said this in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents in Abuja on Sunday.

He said , “ They are scared of the achievements recorded by the President Muhammadu Buhari - led APC administration which has done in three years what they could not do in 16 years with the little resources available . They will continue their propaganda but Nigerians know better.

lalasticlala

By Nurudeen Oyewole


On August 14, 2018, the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former governor of Lagos State, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, rolled out new guidelines for the party’s primary elections during a meeting of stakeholders. The meeting was held at the party’s secretariat in Ogba, Ikeja, Lagos.

Instead of wide acceptance as earlier expected, the guidelines attracted fear and concerns in some quarters, that the much-anticipated endorsement of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode for a second term ticket may face huge challenges.

Since he became governor of Lagos, Tinubu has maintained a firm grip on the political structure of the state. From the defunct Alliance for Democracy (AD) to the Action Congress (AC) and Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), and now, the
APC, he has always had his way.

In 2011,Tinubu’s relationship with his godson and successor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), almost turned awry. It was at a similar stakeholders’ meeting like the recent one that matters were resolved and support for Fashola’s re-election was announced.

Our sources who attended the meeting told Daily Trust on Sunday that against the expectation that the former governor would use the occasion to declare support for Ambode’s second term bid, the matter was not even mentioned throughout the deliberation.

“Going by the fact that we have about five months before the next elections, and with the fact that activities for gubernatorial election are in top gear in other states, nobody would have thought that the key issue of re-electing Ambode would not be mentioned. But considering the fact that the leader is in charge, we defer to his superior position in all sensitive issues like this one, we cannot but wait for him to give the go-ahead,” one of our sources said.

Another stakeholder who attended the meeting said, “We even became more worried when all that was discussed was ‘direct primary’, against the ‘delegate system’ we have been used to in primary elections. We hope this would not affect the governor’s chances if a primary is called.”

Of greater worry to the party stakeholders was Tinubu’s pronouncement that nobody would secure an automatic ticket any longer. They insisted that notwithstanding Tinubu’s claim that the party is democratic and is embracing an open selection process, it remains an open secret that whosoever enjoys his blessing has greater chances of winning.

“Don’t borrow money to pursue your aspirations. If you come to me because of primaries I will attend to you. If you bring yam and cassava flour for me I will collect it, but there is no assurance that I will support you.

I only have one vote in my ward and my vote is not different from that of other leaders. There is nothing like you are going to meet Asiwaju; I am not going to endorse anybody. Everybody should go to the field to determine his or her popularity by votes. We will do primaries and whoever wins will be the party’s candidate,” Tinubu said at the stakeholders’ meeting.

There have been speculations in recent times that certain forces who are not happy with Governor Ambode for sidelining them in the scheme of things have been mounting pressure on Tinubu to drop his support for him and allow a free contest during the party’s primary election. The position taken by Tinubu appears to further strengthen that claim.

Fuad Oki, a factional chairman of the APC in the state, was among the first people to raise the alarm that Ambode’s chances to return might be endangered.

Less than 24 hours after he was sworn into office following a parallel congress conducted by his faction, Oki told journalists during an interaction in Lagos that Ambode had been boxed to a tight corner. He said certain forces were holding him hostage, and except he re-negotiated his terms of support with them, he might be frustrated.

Not many took Oki seriously at that time since he was known to belong to another caucus of the party, different from that of Tinubu/Ambode. However, a look at how events have unfolded since the last local government election in the state seems to be solidifying Oki’s red flag.

In the supremacy battle that ensued in the buildup to the local government primary election, many political bigwigs were embittered that their candidates lost out to those from the Tinubu/Ambode camp. For instance, loyalists of the Osun State governor, Rauf Aregbesola, who are also rooted in the politics of Lagos State, and the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, were among those who were known to have lost out in the political scheming.

The matter came to a head when, on the day of the primary election at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, hoodlums hijacked the process, tore the cloth of the chief returning officer, Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi and delegates were forced to flee in different directions.

Keen watchers of events were quick to point to other developments that unfolded afterwards. One of the most-talked-about was the signing of the state budget. As is the tradition, after the budget proposal has been passed, the speaker, alongside other lawmakers, as well as the governor and his executive members, would sit together and witness the budget proposal being signed into law.

The situation was, however, different this year when, in the last minute, the governor called off the earlier scheduled date for signing the budget into law. He was later said to have signed it at a day when the speaker and other legislators could not witness it.

Thereafter, it was reported that different forces within and outside the party mounted pressure on Tinubu to withdraw his support for the governor. And until the recent stakeholders’ meeting, not many could say what was actually in the offing.

A chieftain of the party, Hon. Razak Muse, however, said that beyond the political anxiety in some quarters, the idea of direct primary is a good development. According to Muse, direct primary truly enhances democracy as that would bring about members’ participation in determining those who would represent the party at general elections. He, however, admonished party leaders to ensure that the system is not hijacked as that may create greater problems than the delegate system.

Dele Seteolu, a doctor of Political Science, Lagos State University (LASU), also raised concerns about direct primary election, saying it is susceptible to manipulation.

“Very critical to an acceptable direct primary is a credible party membership register. Without that in place, direct primary, as lofty as its idea looks, is susceptible to manipulation.

In the statement of Mike Igini, the Independent National Election Commission (INEC) commissioner in Akwa Ibom State, few days ago, no political party in Nigeria can be said to even have a reliable membership register. To that extent, I am worried about the credibility or otherwise of the outcomes of direct primaries,” he said.

But for Joe Igbokwe, the spokesman of the APC in Lagos State, having experimented with direct primary in Osun State, the party has come to the conclusion that “it is cheaper and nobody needs to camp delegates in hotels and be paying them.” He added that since the national leader of the party had spoken on the matter, there is no going back on its implementation.

He declined to speak on the chances of Governor Ambode in the face of direct primary.

For Ambode’s loyalists, however, there are no reasons to panic. In a statement issued and signed by the governor’s chief press secretary, Habib Aruna hours after the stakeholders’ meeting, Ambode was quoted as saying: “There is no better time to appreciate our national leader (Tinubu) than now.

What we have just witnessed is the beginning of a revolution about deepening democracy in Nigeria. People might not understand what is going on, but we are giving power to the people, and it is starting from the APC.”

Posted By: Mike Odiegwu


The new leadership of the Department of State Security (DSS) may have started making good its promise to review cases of all detainees in its custody, according to indications yesterday.

Seven Ijaw youths from Bayelsa State who were arrested two years ago and locked up in the organization’s cell since then were yesterday set free in Yenagoa.

The agency’s newly appointed Acting Director -General, Mr. Mathew Seiyefa, told reporters at his maiden press conference two weeks ago that he would review the cases of detainees with a view to setting free those who are not supposed to be held.

The seven Bayelsa men were brought from the DSS Headquarters in Abuja to Yenagoa at the weekend and released to their families who had gathered outside the agency’s office in the state capital to receive them.

Some of the suspects shed tears of joy in the warm embrace of their friends as they walked into freedom.

The suspects looked unkempt with overgrown beards, rough skin and dirty clothes.

One of them, who identified himself as Clinton Ohaigbofa, said suspects held without trial were being massively released across the country.

He hails from Ebedebiri in Ogbia Local Government Area.

He said they were held in underground cells in Abuja and went through untold hardship.
They were never charged to court, he said.
Narrating how they landed in DSS detention, he said: “We didn’t do anything.

We were arrested on May 24th, 2016. We were taken to the JTF headquarters in Opolo and were later transferred to DMI, Abuja.

“After interrogation, we were transferred to Defence Intelligence Agency. On August 26, 2016, we were transferred to the Department of State Service, Abuja. We stayed there for over two years.”

Reliving their ordeals in the DSS cell, he said: “They treated us badly. We were held in an underground cell. They gave us little bread in the morning, little rice in the afternoon and a morsel of semovita in the evening.

“Each portion of food cannot satisfy a two-year old baby. They deprived us of everything. They didn’t even take us to court. There was no freedom to even see light. They subjected us to severe punishment.

They kept us hungry and deprived us of medication. Suspects are being released massively because of the new DSS boss. I don’t know the actual number released so far. But we thank the new DSS boss.”

lalasticlala

Posted By: Yusuf Alli


Loyalists of the immediate past Director-General of the Department of State Security Service (DSS), Mr. Lawal Daura have launched a move to make the National Security Adviser (NSA), Gen. Babagana Monguno and the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu pay for his sack.

The loyalists, including some members of the President’s kitchen cabinet and kinsmen, are understood to be putting pressure on President Muhammadu Buhari to fire Monguno and Magu.

They have already made a representation to the President on why the duo must go, The Nation gathered authoritatively yesterday.
On the side of the Daura loyalists is a South West governor.

In their view, the sacked DSS boss was a “victim of a palace coup” who was sacrificed for the survival of the NSA, Magu, and a few other security chiefs.

They said the president must now proceed to overhaul the nation’s security architecture, sparing neither Monguno nor Magu.

But some other members of the cabinet are said to be kicking against any fresh plot to tie the fate of the NSA and EFCC chair to Daura’s travails.

They claim that the duo had no hand whatsoever in the sack of Daura.

A source said that the EFCC steered clear of the de-briefing and interrogation of Daura by other security agencies to avoid being accused of bias or retaliation.

Two letters to the Senate from the DSS under Daura were largely responsible for the decision of the Red Chamber of the National Assembly to deny Magu confirmation as substantive chairman of the EFCC.

The Nation also gathered that the Presidency has however called for “performance brief on the NSA and Magu.”

A well- placed source familiar with the development said the ripples over Daura’s removal have not abated.

“Those loyal and sympathetic to the ex-DG of DSS are up in arms by mounting pressure on the President to overhaul the nation’s security and anti-corruption architecture,” the source said.

“They specifically demanded the sack of the NSA and Magu too.

“They alleged that the ex-DSS DG was sacrificed in the absence of the President to ease him out of the equation in the presidency.

“They also alleged that the removal of Daura was timed to achieve a purpose for the NSA and the EFCC boss.

“Some of these forces even added spiritual connotations to the sack of Daura. They said some marabouts did the job on behalf of some key figures around the President.

“It is unfortunate that a governor from the South-West, who has links with a few corrupt ones, has been vehement in the sack of Magu.”

Continuing, the source said: “those backing Daura’s sack prevailed on the President not to bow to pressure to remove the NSA and Magu who has done so much to put the anti-corruption fight on proper footing.

“Some of the lobbyists and influential people from the Northwest are alleged to be getting tired of the Northeast elements around President Buhari. They are asking him to remove a few of these Northeast hands including the NSA and Magu.”

Another top source added: “Some of us are worried at the latest twist to the sack of the former DG of DSS. Some loyalists and a few influential kitchen cabinet members are trying to personalize the sack by fingering the NSA and Magu.

“The NSA and Magu had nothing to do with the fate of Daura. It was not a case of investigation for corruption or any financial crimes; it had to do with wrongful deployment of forces on a critical arm of government, which is the Legislature (the National Assembly).

“The vice president, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, who was then the Acting President, had told the nation that the disciplinary measure was necessary to end impunity in the country.

He described the DSS operatives’ invasion of the National Assembly as ‘a gross violation of constitutional order, rule of law and accepted notions of law and order.’

“Attributing such removal to the NSA and Magu will be unfair. It is even sad that a Southwest governor is among those driving this latest initiative to achieve selfish ends.

“The vice president also stayed away from elements of bias by disallowing the NSA and the EFCC from being part of the detention and debriefing of Daura in a safe house in Abuja. The Nigeria Police and other security agencies were directed to handle Daura’s matter.

“It will be disastrous for Buhari to start his anti-corruption war afresh because the ultimate target is to make the war a failure.

Some of us have been warning against these Fifth columnists who are out to bring this administration down.”

A government source said: “There is a whole lot of confusion because some forces are desperate to create a wedge between the President and Osinbajo.

“At a time the nation is getting international recognition for its anti-graft war and arresting the killings and insecurity in many parts of the country, some forces have launched attacks on the NSA and Magu.

“It is on record that the ex-DG of DSS never took directives from the NSA who took it with equanimity. At a point, a former DG of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ambassador Ayo Oke brokered peace between Monguno and Daura to work as one.

“Oke maintained the equilibrium among security chiefs; he also united all of them. He later introduced an interaction between the Intelligence community and the media which the NSA and Daura benefitted tremendously from.”

The source traced the cold war between the NSA and Daura to the constitution of the Special Investigative Panel on Arms Procurement on the $2.1billion arms deal in the Armed Forces, which was headed by AVM Jon Ode.

The ex-DG of DSS was said to be unhappy that no representative of his agency was part of the probe.

“Since then, a battle line was drawn by the two security chiefs,” the source said, adding: “Daura also felt that the eventual recommendation of Magu for EFCC’s job (after excellent outing as a member of the investigative panel) was meant to achieve a purpose. Unknown to him, the NSA only acted on merit, he did not know Magu.

“Despite curious letters to the Senate on why Magu should not be confirmed as the EFCC chairman, he never treated Daura with disdain. We do not know why these forces want to cause crisis in the presidency by pressurizing the President to sack those giving him results.”


The performance brief on the NSA and Magu

“The performance brief of the NSA and Nagu which the presidency is said to have requested is expected to guide President on his next line of action.

A source said: “the brief might determine the fate of the NSA, Magu and probably other security chiefs,” It was unclear as at press time whether or not Daura has been released from a “safe house” in Abuja.

lalasticlala

By Festus Ahon, ASABA



PRESIDENT of Nigeria Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, Saturday said he was not losing sleep over the plot to impeach him by some Senators and the leadership of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Saraki who spoke to newsmen in Asaba after a closed door meeting with Governor Ifeanyi Okowa debunked claims that the Senate was yet to reconvene due to fear of his impeachment, adding that those who had gone to the roof top to announce the plot to impeach him, should have dissipated such energy on democratic ideals that would better the lots of Nigerians.

He said; “I am not losing any sleep about impeachment, we have a country that a lot of Nigerians believe there must be rule of law, those who are talking about impeachment are engaging in cheap blackmail and I am not concerned about that”.

The Senate President said the mass defection to the PDP was because the APC has denied Nigerians of true democracy in the past three years, adding that nothing would derail the present Senate from upholding the tenets of good governance.

He insisted that no amount of political intimidation and security harassment would prevent the business of law-making that would impact positively on the country, saying that “our ideas and visions on what we expect in a democratic setting were not met in APC, hence we left.

Posted By: Kunle AKINRINADE



There was pandemonium penultimate Tuesday in the Itafaaji area of Oke- Igbo, Ondo State, after a masquerade, Olojede, allegedly brutalised a man called Oyewale Isaac during a row over N1000.

The money was allegedly given to some youths during the masquerade festival held in the community.

It was learnt that the Isaac encountered the masquerade, while he was begging for money from people.

Isaac , a commercial motorcyclist popularly called okada and his friends who were at the venue of the festival were said to have jokingly told the masquerade that they had no money, and that they were willing to take money from the masquerade, if he had any.

Trouble however started after an unidentified man arrived the scene and gave a sum of N1000 to another masquerade identified as ‘Mopol’, who in turn shared the money with Isaac and his friends.

It was while Isaac was trying to keep the money in his pocket that Olojede emerged and asked him to surrender the money to him.

By Abdulaziz Abdulaziz



PREMIUM TIMES has uncovered the real reason the Nigeria police last week detained its reporter, Samuel Ogundipe.

Mr Ogundipe was lured into police net on August 14, where he was pressed to reveal a source for a story he wrote.

A day later, he was secretly arraigned before a Chief Magistrate Court in Kubwa, a suburb of Abuja, and accused of criminal trespass and illegal possession of document.

The document was a report of police investigation of the blockade of the National Assembly by the State Security Service (SSS).

Curiously, the alleged offensive story was published by many other news platforms, some even ahead of PREMIUM TIMES.

Fresh revelations have now shown that the ordeal of the journalist was indeed at the behest of the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, contrary to the claim of the police.

Multiple sources around him said Mr Idris is unhappy with the journalist over previous reports on his activities, and has been shopping for an excuse to “deal” with him.

Mr Ogundipe was taken into custody in a subterfuge operation, after the police deceived another PREMIUM TIMES journalist, Azeezat Adedigba, into answering summons for a fake case.

From August 11, Ms Adedigba was brought under pressure from one Emmanuel Onyeneho, who presented himself as a police officer investigating a case of fraud in which her name and number came up.

When she asked that she be formally invited if the police had any case against her, the police sent an invitation letter on Monday.

However, when the journalist reported to the offices of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Guzape on August 14, she and PREMIUM TIMES Editor-in-Chief, Musikilu Mojeed, were detained and asked to produce Mr Ogundipe.

Immediately Mr Ogundipe showed up, Ms Adedigba was asked to go, while the two journalists were driven to the police headquarters where Mr Ogundipe was made to write a statement. He was in police custody for three days.

A deputy commissioner of police, Sani Ahmadu, who interrogated the reporter insisted he name his source for the story on the police interim report on their investigation of the incident at the National Assembly.

After deceiving Mr Ogundipe’s lawyer that no action would be taken on the issue till 4:00pm on August 15, the police secretly arraigned the journalist before a court in Kubwa in the afternoon.

In a summary court sitting, Mr Ogundipe was charged with criminal trespass and theft of police document.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The judge granted the police five more days to keep the reporter in custody, but reviewed his decision and granted him bail on August 17.


Axe To Grind

PREMIUM TIMES understands that Mr Ogundipe was long targeted for persecution by the police authorities.

Insiders said Mr Idris had been angry with Mr Ogundipe since his report in February revealing the Inspector-General’s disregard for a presidential directive to move to Benue State in the heat of killings by suspected herdsmen in the state.

A story by Mr Ogundipe published by PREMIUM TIMES showed that contrary to the directive by President Muhammadu Buhari for the IG to move to the restive Benue, the man was actually elsewhere at the time.

With the escalating violence in the North-central state, the president ordered the police chief to move in and ensure restoration of peace and order.

The Benue State Governor, Samule Ortom, later said Mr Idris spent only a day in the state, contrary to the directive. He accused the police chief of complicity in the deadly crisis in his state.

President Buhari would later publicly express regret over the disobedience, promising to investigate why his directive was not obeyed by Mr Idris.

Multiple sources told PREMIUM TIMES that the February report iss what Mr Idris is still holding against the journalist.

“The man was really angered by those reports on Benue, and it is probably what he is trying to avenge. I know that really touched his nerves,” said one source close to the police chief, who requested anonymity for fear of harassment.


History Of Intolerance

Traces of Mr Idris’s career profile reveal an officer with little regard for press freedom and intolerance of critical reportage.

His past life as commissioner of police in Kano and Nasarawa states is replete with instances of attempts to gag reporters, intimidate and harass them.

A journalist who served as correspondent when Mr Idris was commissioner of police in Kano recalled that he was summoned repeatedly to the office of the police chief over stories the police boss found unpalatable.

The journalist however requested anonymity because of his current work place policy.

“He would summon me a number of times through the police PRO and at one point he almost had me detained if not for the thoughtfulness of the then assistant commissioner.”

Another journalist was also summarily detained on the orders of Mr Idris for reporting a case of killing of two protesters in Kano in 2012.

It took the intervention of a friend to Mr Idris who was familiar with the reporter for the journalist to be let off the police hook.
Hir Joseph, a Daily Trust correspondent in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, was however not as lucky.

After reporting the participation of some policewomen in a protest over the abducted Chibok girls in the state, Mr Joseph was promptly taken in by the police.

He was detained by the police despite protests by rights groups, the employers of the journalist and the local chapter of the Nigerian Union of Journalists.

The NUJ later announced a boycott of police activities in the state in protest of Mr. Idris’ highhandedness.

The police later charged Mr Joseph before a magistrate court for “injurious falsehood.”
However, with mounting pressure and perhaps his inability to sustain the charge, the then police commissioner (Mr Idris) later soft-pedalled and had the case withdrawn.

The saying that old habits hardly die is true of Mr Idris who continued with his anti-media posture when he was promoted IG.

For instance, on New Year Day this year, the police arrested journalist and online publisher, Daniel Elombah, and his brother, Timothy Elombah, who also serves as editor of the website,
elombah.com .

The two were arrested in Anambra by SARS operatives, the same unit that took in Mr Ogundipe. The two were later moved to Abuja for interrogation.

The arrest of the two journalists was said to be at the instance of Mr Idris who was unhappy with a piece critical of him published by the medium.

While the publisher was released after 10 days in detention, the editor was only freed after 25 days in police custody.
No charges were pressed against them.

As a security reporter, Mr Ogundipe followed and closely reported on the illegal detention of the two journalists.

In a petition to then Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo on August 15, the President of NUJ, Abdulwaheed Odusile, recalled some of the excesses of Mr Idris.

“I write this petition on behalf of thousands of Nigerian journalists, against the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris, over his incessant attacks on journalists and violent violations of their human rights, culminating in Tuesday’s arrest of a Premium Times reporter, Mr Samuel Ogundipe.”

The union described the action of the police chief as unacceptable, and a violation of the rights to freedom and free press.

“PREMIUM TIMES has a constitutional duty to inform the Nigerian people and hold public officials to account. It will neither be intimidated nor cowed by the filthy antics of the police or the administration,” commented Mr Mojeed on the reporter’s detention.

By Cletus Ukpong



A former Governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva, on Wednesday said he believed politicians defecting ‘impulsively’ from one party to another are mentally unstable and should be subjected to psychiatric test.

“Chief Timipre Sylva finds a correlation between impulsive defections and mental instability, and so, considers those flirting from party to party as people needing psychiatric evaluation,” the former governor said in a statement issued on his behalf by his media aide, Julius Bokoru.

Mr Sylva issued the statement to counter the information making the rounds, especially on the social media, that he has defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Mr Sylva, who was formerly of the PDP but defected to the APC years ago, described the latest “rumour” of his defection as “laughable.”

He said he remains “firmly” a member of the APC.

He said he believes that the APC was “steering the country out of the shackles of mediocrity and under-development”.

He accused the PDP-controlled government in Bayelsa of being behind the “rumour” of his defection.

“Spreading unfounded rumours about Sylva has become the unscrupulous pastime of the failed Dickson Government.

“Sylva is at loss what purpose this baseless rumour is meant to serve. But you cannot put anything past the demented PDP government in Bayelsa State.

“While this fabricated rumour may be evidence that some members of the PDP dream of having someone of his fine qualities, integrity and charisma within their ranks. Chief Timipre Sylva hopes that stating his unwavering commitment to the All Progressives Congress will cause those hallucinating about his imaginary defection to wake up,” the former governor said.
Mr Sylva was elected governor of Bayelsa in 2008 under the platform of the PDP.

He ran again in 2016, this time around as the APC candidate, for the governorship of the state but was defeated by the incumbent governor, Seriake Dickson.

As the 2019 general elections get closer, several politicians have been defecting from one political party to the other, the most controversial ones being those of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, from the APC to the PDP, and the former Senate minority leader, Godswill Akpabio, from the PDP to the APC.

Ife Ogunfuwa



A new cable television firm , Telcomm Satellite TV , has said it has faced severe battle from other operators in the industry for the past 10 months .

The Chief Executive Officer /Managing Director, TStv Africa , Bright Echefu , said in a statement on Wednesday that since it announced the commencement of its operations on November 1 , 2017 , the company had been fighting off enemies pitched against it .

While appreciating the concerns and prayers of Nigerians, Echefu acknowledged the power of God in winning the battle and announced the formal commencement of its operations starting from August 20, 2018 .

He said the fight for survival had affected the company financially and its relationship with subscribers , satellite providers and dealers , adding , “ It has not been easy one bit . We were wrestled even down to our satellite providers but our God is ever faithful. ”

“ I sincerely appreciate all your concerns and prayers for our darling TStv . From the date we announced TStv , it has been fight all the way. I doubt if a week passed without us quenching one fire or the other .

We didn’ t anticipate that there would be war . We were also not trained to fight in the arena we were pushed into , ” he said .

Echefu added , “ The kind of weapons our enemies would later contend us with showed they had stocked their armoury waiting for a time like now.

We may not have their kind of money , neither their kinds of weapons, ‘ connections’ and network but one thing I sure know we had more than them was a determined spirit and a steadfast God . ”

He said the company was able to acquire five units of 35. 5 MHz transponders on Nigcomsat in partnership with Intertel and the Federal Ministry of Communications.

He said the TStv was ready to offer Nigerians real entertainment with 45 channels in full HD , which would be available for free for one month.

“ TStv management in appreciation to everyone has decided that 45 TStv premium HD channels will be available for free for another one month as we don’ t intend to encrypt the channels now . You can use any dish at all, including the ones you are using for other operators to track NigComSat today and let us enjoy premium entertainment together, ” he added .

Some gunmen reportedly stormed the country home of a senator, Godswill Akpabio, on Tuesday, around 7.30 p.m., in Akwa Ibom state, where he was holding political meeting.

Mr Akpabio’s media aide, Anietie Ekong, took to Facebook on Tuesday night to raise an alarm.

Mr Ekong wrote on the social media site, “On-going: sporadic shooting by unknown gunmen at Ukana Ikot Ntuen, Essien Udim Local Government, country home of former Senate Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio.

“The Divisional Police Officer, Essien Udim and the Commissioner of Police Akwa Ibom State should please urgently intervene.”

PREMIUM TIMES could not immediately reach the police on the incident. The police are also yet to confirm the incident.

Some persons living close to Mr Akpabio’s house in Ukana Ikot Ntuen, Essien Udim, said they observed several police trucks parked in front of the senator’s house in the morning, around 6.30 a.m.

The senator is safe, his media aide, Mr Ekong, told this newspaper, Wednesday morning.

Mr Ekong, who said he was present during the incident, explained what happened.

“The senator was at home holding political meeting with some APC groups. A retired deputy inspector-general police, Udom Ekpoudom, was in that meeting. Bishop Samuel Akpan was also there. I was there as an observer. We were in the banquet hall.

“Suddenly, people who were not part of the meeting rushed into the banquet hall, so the senator enquired from them what was going on. Before anybody could explain, we heard gunshots, sporadic shooting, outside.

“The chief detail to the senator put out a radio message to all the policemen and other security men in the compound that they should be alert, that there is an attack.”

Mr Ekong said Mr Akpabio and his guests were holed up in the banquet hall, while the senator’s security repelled the attack, thereby preventing the gunmen from having access to the compound.

The shooting lasted for about 15 minutes, Mr Ekong said.

Mr Akpabio, a former governor of Akwa Ibom State, defected on August 8 from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to All Progressives Congress (APC).
Political tension has heightened in the state since his defection.

https://independent.ng/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Okiki-Afolabi.jpg



Lagos – Okiki Afolabi, a former Sunshine Stars of Akure forward, who is presently playing for Ismaily of Egypt, may be banned by FIFA following his alleged presentation of a forged document during his transfer from an Ethiopian club to Ismaily.

Presently, the player has been reportedly fined by the Ethiopian Football Federation because of the same issue.

The 23-year-old striker was lastly playing for Jimma Aba Jifar in Ethiopia where he finished as the league’s top scorer with 23 goals as they won the title on goal difference.

According to BBC Africa report, the Nigerian forward, who presented a fraud document during his transfer to Egypt side Ismaily SC, is awaiting a FIFA transfer ban after the EFF Discipline Committee filed a complaint to football’s governing body.

Jimaa Aba Jifar also condemned the act of the player and inquired to the EFF Discipline Committee about fining the player. Meanwhile, it has been reported that an apology to the EFF and the Ethiopian club from Afolabi could minimize FIFA’s potential sanction, according to the report.

The report is coming just weeks after Salisu Yusuf, Super Eagles chief coach was enmeshed in bribery scandal, where a video from BBC revealed the coach collecting bribe from a supposed players’ agent and accepting to feature his players at the last Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) in Morocco.

By Dennis Agbo

ENUGU—FORMER Senate minority leader, Obong Godswill Akpbio, has given a glimpse of the shape Nigeria’s 2019 general elections would take, equating the coming general elections to the 1940 invasion of Poland by Adolf Hitler’s Germany.

Akpabio who recently defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC, said the election shall be war which its victory shall be in his side and to that of his new found political party.

Conducting what he said was his first official function since he formerly defected to the APC in a rally at Ikot-Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, Akpabio said he chose an uncommon method for his defection because he was an uncommon transformer. The former Governor of Akwa Ibom spoke weekend at the funeral Mass of his grandmother-in-law, late Madam Mercy Uduoku Neife Igwenagu, at Christ the king Parish Aguobu-Owa, Ezeagu Local Government area of Enugu State.

Akpabio said: “Recently, I had an occasion in Akwa Ibom State and this is what happened: I went just to make a floor declaration; others do it in the social media, others just sit in their offices, some do it by text messages that they have changed platform, what we call party. But in my own, I just decided to do it in an uncommon way because they call me uncommon transformer.

It was watched in 59 countries and somebody asked what happened there, and I said just how it happened in Poland. When they asked Hitler’s minister for information how was the war in Poland? He said Warsaw saw war and war saw Warsaw.

“I will say that in the Ikot-Ekpene arena, when I stepped out, this is my first function after that, Warsaw saw war and war saw Warsaw. We can’t talk politics in the church but in 2019 Warsaw shall see war and war shall see Warsaw. The return will be victory.

May God grant us all victory.” “By the time I joined the (Igwenagu) family, we produced a local government chairman, we produced a commissioner for Urban Development in Enugu State, special Adviser, we produced a commissioner in the government of Anambra State, we produced a business man from the family whose name is everywhere and the daughters are doing well in their different fields.

We don’t want to be very reach because when you are very rich and you want to die, you start crying because of your money in the bank. “All of us have resolved that God should just give us the basic need like Mama was. We just want to be comfortable the way we are and now she is transiting to haven and she will be there as a saint to pray for the rest of the world, may God accept her in Jesus name. Amen!”

Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/08/apcs-takeover-of-akwa-ibomll-be-like-hitlers-invasion-of-poland-akpabio/



[quote]lalasticlala

Friday Olokor, Jos

The United States of America has blamed the killings in the Middle Belt and northern Nigeria on what it identified as the reign of impunity,.

The American government also said the killings increased because the perpetrators were not punished.

“The Nigerian government should strengthen its laws to deal with killers,” it advised.

The US also urged the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure the conduct of a free, fair, transparent, peaceful and credible process of the 2019 general elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

“We want partners in ways to ensure that the kind of violence we have seen over the past months don’t flare up in any election”, the American government stated.

The Deputy Chief of Mission and Charge de Affaires, US Embassy in Nigeria, David Young, expressed these views in an interview with journalists on Sunday night in Jos during his fellowship with church leaders in Plateau State.

Young, who is said to be a key member of the Methodist Church in the US, was responding to questions on the solution to the ceaseless killings and crisis between farmers and Fulani herdsmen in Plateau State, after he delivered a sermon titled, ‘Living as a Christian in a multi-religious and multi-cultural context.’

He also paid tribute to the 83-year-old Imam of Nghar village, Gashish District, Alhaji Abubakar Abdullahi, who reportedly saved 300 persons, including Christians when suspected Fulani herdsmen struck on June 24.

The acting US Ambassador to Nigeria also reiterated the condolences of the Donald Trump’s administration to the families of those killed by suspected Fulani herdsmen who attacked some communities in the Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State.

He said, “On behalf of the United States government and American people, I want to express again our condolences on the tragic loss of lives across Plateau, North-Central and North-West states. Quite a lot of people have died; it has been very terrible tragedies. We want to affirm the sanctity of human lives and anytime a person dies, it is a tragic loss, be that person a Christian, Muslim, Berom, farmer or herder.

“I think it is clear, we know and government knows that as well. A lot of people are doing good things and working hard. But it needs to be even more because it is clear that there is a climate of impunity. When people are committing serious crimes, they get away with it, without being brought to justice.

“It is so important that there should be very strong efforts to make sure that people are brought to justice for these terrible crimes. It is also important to address the drivers of conflicts, address opportunity, fight poverty and provide jobs and hope for young people because definitely young people are getting into terrible groups. They really need to be part of the future and as such need mentoring and parenting.”

Young said key actors in Nigeria should be deeply involved in the peace-making process.

By John Owen Nwachukwu


The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, AYCF, has stated that it will not allow a repeat of the political scenario that played out in 2015 where the North was purportedly turned into a mere observer in who represents the region in a presidential election.

AYCF said it has noticed that gradually, the country was being pushed back to the political scenario of 2015, in which the South-West region dominated decision-making efforts on who should be Nigeria’s president.

It noted that the North, out of modesty, merely allowed that “historic” imposition which has made the region’s first four years wasted years of poverty, hunger, unemployment, general underdevelopment and disturbing levels of stagnation.

AYCF, in a statement made available to DAILY POST on Sunday afternoon by its National President, Alhaji Yerima Shettima, said, “As a group of citizens from the North, who mince no words in speaking the truth every time, we are once again sounding a note of warning as follows:

“We will no longer tolerate the kind of imposition that brought the nation’s economy to knees and all we now get is empty propaganda instead of performance. This is an insult on the sensibilities of all Nigerians who struggled to drive away the military in order to pave way for democracy

“Even though the consensus is that power should reside within the North in 2019, we make bold to say no one should dare try to teleguide the region and its people this time around. Northerners have a right to their democratic aspirations and choice of a President and no one should try to usurp such constitutional power through the backdoor.

“We want to make it vary clear that the era of imposition of anyone on the North is gone. We are watching, very closely, the turn of events on Nigeria’s democratic space at the moment and won’t take any form of manipulation by people who know little or nothing about the kind of leadership the people of the North want.

“We cannot fathom why people outside the North should turn our region into their political experiment field, choosing a candidate who would take orders from them and abandon his own people’s wishes and aspirations.

“This is primitive, unacceptable and a smear on well-known democratic principles of a modern, independent nation that we have been in over 50 years.

“The earlier this shameful manipulation of our hopes in democracy is stopped, the better for our relationship with our neighbours. On no account should anyone take the North for granted again, especially on the matter of 2019 presidency. We are no fools and the world has come a long way from the era of political obscurantism and harmful patronage.

“We also find it disheartening that the Northwest is now slowly going into the hands of toxic political class, whose political madness has now reached alarming levels. How else can anyone, in his right senses, explain the emergence of Nine(9) presidential candidates all from one geopolitical zone? What has gone wrong with the North’s sense of decency in politics?

“Imagine the exemplary style of the Northeast, which has just two candidates! Isn’t that a lesson for the scattered and uncoordinated Northwest? If this mess is not tackled, the next generation of Northern political leaders will never forgive us for being so callous and reckless politics. And we won’t fold our arms and watch this happen.

“We also declare that our plans are already in top gear, to use all constitutional means to protect the integrity of the North by stopping those political merchants from elsewhere who are turning our region into their experimental guinea pig. We have overlooked this political subjugation in 2015, to give democracy a chance and also not to jeopardise the alliance between the North and its neighbours. But now that there are deliberate efforts by some political merchants to repeat the same ridiculous manipulation, we are telling them that it’s no longer possible.

“There are so many ways of promoting the deepening of democracy in Nigeria, but open and shameless manipulation is not one of them. We hope this message would serve as a final warning to those plotting for the imposition of their lackeys as presidents for selfish political gains. We have heard enough of this insult on the North just because some self-centred political marauders are being driven by the hunger for absolute power. Enough is enough.”

A federal lawmaker in the Second Republic, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, tells JOHN ALECHENU that the handling of the current crisis in the National Assembly will determine the fate of the country’s democracy


What do you make of the invasion of the National Assembly by operatives of the Department of State Services?


From what we have heard so far, the Director-General of the State Security Services who was at the centre of it all hasn’t confirmed his loyalty either to the President, Acting President, or for that matter, to the Senate and other institutions of governance in this country. There are suggestions out there that he is acting in cahoots with Bukola Saraki.

Well in Nigeria, nothing could be too surprising because there are quite a number of double agents in virtually every branch of government, in every ministry and every department and these are people who are for sale or have their own ambitions to service and they don’t care about the national interest. One has to be very careful about evaluating what actually happened, what was supposed to happen and what didn’t happen. While there was noise about locking down the Senate, there were people within and they were senators.

Is it being suggested that these people went in and said lock us in? The question is, if there was an intention to lock everybody out, how come some people found their ways in and sat there? The story making the rounds is that some people decided they would come early in order to be part of the agenda of what they were going to do that morning.


Whatever the theory being peddled about the incident what does it portend for our democracy?


What happened was very unfortunate and whichever side you want to blame or give credit to, it has really reduced our country, our democracy to that of a banana republic and the fact that since the event happened, there has been no statement-except the one which came from the office of the Acting President, denying any involvement in what happened.

Now, this Lawan Daura has been arrested and all the noise about searches being conducted in his house or houses either in Abuja or other places. What happened or did not happen to him is a story for another day. As far as I am concerned, the event itself has been a great disservice to this country and as I said, it has reduced us to the place of a banana republic which is very, very unfortunate.

This democracy has cost us so much in terms of money, in terms of labour, in terms of political argumentation for it to be seen to be threatened this way by a gangster and a few of his service men holding huge Israeli guns, it is really unfortunate and it speaks volumes about the kind of government we are running and the kind of leadership we have.

Since the event happened and the dismissal and arrest of Lawan Daura there has been no statement from Buhari himself, only guess work. There is also the spin that what (Yemi) Osinbajo did; he did it with the knowledge and blessings of Buhari.

There is an ethnic attempt by those who are related to Buhari, who are from Daura, who must be related to Lawan Daura, who now want to travel to the United Kingdom to ask Buhari to reverse himself and virtually bring back Lawan Daura and then sack the National Security Adviser who was supposed to be Lawan Daura’s boss but who he never respected and who he was not even in speaking terms with.

You can see that the whole thing now is becoming a typical Nigerian football game where everybody kicks it the way he likes. It is very unfortunate and it is more or less heading towards a climax of the kind of Presidency we chose for ourselves in 2015 and the kind of situation Nigeria now finds itself. It speaks volumes about the incompetence and the irresponsibility of this Presidency, the ruling party and the main opposition party and all seems to be a bloody mess.

If you recall, like I told you before the elections and thereafter, that there is no difference between the ruling All Progressives Congress and the opposition, Peoples Democratic Party, which are in fact two sides of the same coin. This is now becoming absolutely clear. This kind of two-party system and close to one hundred others calling themselves political parties being registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission, will not serve our democracy well.

We, as Nigerians, will have to start thinking about a way out. I have had occasions to talk to people in the media to say look, since this Saraki fellow sneaked into the Senate under the cover of darkness to cut a deal with the PDP, the Senate has known no peace. When you undermine the Senate, you essentially undermine the two chambers of the National Assembly. Why is it that every time anything concerns Bukola Saraki it becomes a crisis, why?


Do you think the leadership style the new National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, has employed will bring about the cohesion the party is seeking to get before going into the 2019 elections?


No. To the contrary, it will add to the existing confusion and acts of gangsterism and the use of uncouth language synonymous with the lifestyle of gangsters, he is bringing it into our political scene. What we had before he became national chairman of the party was already too much. Bringing Oshiomhole and making him chairman of the party, add that to the blunders of President Muhammadu Buhari and his presidency; simply means Nigeria and the political system should be ready to pay a high price.

Nobody in his right senses will look at this fellow (Oshiomhole) and think he can be a political party leader who can maintain some harmony, some level-headed approach to sorting out problems. He has now become more or less the glorified National Publicity Secretary of the APC.

In Nigeria, if you are the publicity secretary of a party, your job is to go and abuse everybody other than your own party and that is what he has been doing. Nobody for example, now knows that the APC has a publicity secretary other than him. He has been abusing other parties and their leaders and the others return the favour by abusing him, the government, the President and everything thereafter.

I don’t believe Adams Oshiomhole has the qualities of a political party leader and that in addition to so many other blunders and display of bad faith by Buhari himself has further complicated matters. I would have thought that if you are a president of a country, you have a vested interest in the maintenance of peace and measure of civility in the political system.

But this President seems to be the kind of person that encourages corrupt, abusive rogues and scoundrels to be the major players in the political system. This does the country no good; it doesn’t do the ruling party any good. Oshiomhole is now in the middle of this crisis. In fact, he is making his own reputation by the way he is behaving.

I can assure you, he has a more hard-line posture than those people in the Senate that have a vested interest in their political careers than him because he is a spent force. Here in Nigeria if you mess up in a job, you get promoted to a higher job that is typical of the Buhari administration.


The legislators have also had a cause to complain about the President’s slow response to national issues requiring urgency. Do you share their concerns?


It takes a while to build a reputation. If somebody handles certain sensitive and strategic assignments badly, insensitively, corruptly and without due international interest, it will be expecting too much to think the same person under similar circumstances will come up with something better. Essentially, from 2015 to date, Buhari has been governing the country the only way he knows and you and I will agree that his best is not good enough for Nigeria. In a democracy, you don’t blame people for their electoral choices.

You must have seen it in the news media that people are blaming President Donald Trump for every crisis the global economy is going through. It is the same problem we have since we chose Buhari as president without taking a look at his capacity and allowing his relatives and friends deliberately choosing to hide the truth about his health status physically and mentally from the rest of Nigeria, this is what we are reaping. To make matters worse, he is now determined to return for a second term to repeat the same thing.

It took him six months to appoint a ministerial team what do we have? He promised to change his cabinet over one year ago, what has happened? This is the worse cabinet ever assembled in Nigeria since 1914.

John Alechenu , John Ameh and
Sunday Aborisade



Senators loyal to the Senate President , Bukola Saraki, have perfected a strategy to stop his impeachment and that of his deputy , Ike Ekweremadu , according to SUNDAY PUNCH
investigations.

Findings by SUNDAY PUNCH revealed that apart from keeping vigil at the National Assembly to prevent the All Progressives Congress senators from sitting , the Peoples Democratic Party members in the Senate have mapped out an arrangement to keep the red chamber save for Saraki until September 25 and beyond .


How Saraki, Dogara planned ‘ coup’ to abort reconvening

Findings by SUNDAY PUNCH revealed that Saraki reached out to the Speaker of the House of Representatives , Yakubu Dogara , last Sunday night to suspend any form of reconvening last Tuesday , as earlier agreed by both presiding officers.

The sudden change of mind , according to some senators who spoke on condition of anonymity , was to save Saraki from impeachment because it was discovered that many of his loyalists had travelled to Saudi Arabia on pilgrimage.

A senator from the North-Central geopolitical zone said , “ Our calculation was that the APC senators can never get two - thirds of the majority of the entire membership of the Senate to carry out any impeachment , but we had to be careful when they started arguing that the two - thirds could also be based on the numbers of senators at plenary .

“ We were aware that many members of the House of Representatives got notice of resumption last Saturday , so both presiding officers met and agreed that the resumption should be postponed indefinitely . ”

Strategies adopted to extend reconvening
SUNDAY PUNCH investigations further revealed that Saraki and Dogara agreed that only members of the Committee on Electoral Matters in both chambers should be recalled to hold joint meetings with officials of the Independent National Electoral Committee between Wednesday and Friday last week .

The committees of both chambers would thereafter hold a joint meeting with INEC officials to consider Buhari ’ s request .

The joint Senate / Reps committees on Appropriation , Loans and Debts were also involved in the timetable as the members were also recalled to deliberate on the Eurobond request .

The two presiding officers agreed not to reconvene until the reports are ready .


The Joint plenary idea

The latest strategy which is expected to keep the seats of Saraki and Ekweremadu safe till the end of September is the idea of a joint sitting .

The two presiding officers have agreed to reconvene a joint plenary for the presentation and consideration of the committees ’ reports .

A senator from the South - West geopolitical zone , who also spoke on condition of anonymity said , “ Since the reports of the presidential requests were jointly treated by committees of the two chambers , it would be proper for the passage to be done at a joint sitting .

“ Besides, everybody would be at the joint session to discuss the INEC budget and the Eurobond request , so no motion for impeachment would be moved because it is not permitted in such arrangement. ”

Further investigations by SUNDAY PUNCH revealed that Saraki and Dogara agreed to reconvene a joint sitting of both chambers sometime after the Sallah celebrations and adjourn afterwards.

The calculation , according to sources, was that many of the senators on the APC side would have seen the handwriting clearly on the walls , that the automatic tickets being dangled before them was nothing but a mere deceit.

A senator , who recently defected to the Peoples Democratic Party said , “ By the time the Senate would eventually reconvene , it would be clear that many of the APC senators would have lost their tickets to either their state governors or another preferred candidate . ”

He cited the case of Oyo , Ogun , Kaduna, and Ondo states , among others, where the governors are currently at loggerheads with some of their senators .

He said , “ There is no way that the APC senators in Oyo , Ondo , Ogun , and Kaduna states would make their ways back to the Senate because their governors are eyeing some of their seats especially in Oyo and Ogun states .

“ No APC senator would still take the Chairman of the APC (Adams Oshiomhole), seriously by September 25 if he is still promising return tickets if they could impeach Saraki. ”


National Assembly may not resume until after primaries

Meanwhile , strong indications have emerged that the leadership of both chambers may extend the resumption of plenary beyond the initial agreed date of September 25 to enable members to participate in their party primaries .

According to the timetable released by INEC , party primaries for the presidential , governorship , federal and state assembly elections would run between August 18 and October 7 , 2018.

With this arrangement, a principal officer confided in one of our correspondents that since members would be busy in their states for the primaries , it would be proper to extend the resumption by at least two weeks.


No group can stop joint sitting – PDP lawmakers

But some PDP senators and House of Representatives members have vowed to support the leadership of both chambers to convene a joint session for the consideration of the presidential requests pending before the lawmakers .

They insisted that since the committees of the two chambers are jointly handling the issues at the moment , the best thing would be for a joint session to treat the executive communication and give it a joint approval.

A senator from the North- East geopolitical zone , who spoke on condition of anonymity , dismissed insinuations that the joint session was aimed at preventing Saraki from impeachment .

He said , “It is not possible for the APC senators to impeach Saraki and Ekweremadu because they don’ t have the figure . Where will they get 73 members to carry out the impeachment ? The idea of joint sitting is just to save time , and we would ensure that it holds. ”

The most vocal member of the Saraki’ s camp in the senate , Senator Rafiu Ibrahim , said it was a waste of time for any group to try to resist the lawful action of the National Assembly leadership .

He said , “ They are entitled to their opinion . But any step that is constitutional and is according to our rules can ’ t be resisted by any lawmaker that is worth his salt .

“ We advise these Executive hatchet men to tread carefully as history is watching all of us . ”


Joint session with Senate is pure imagination — Reps

The House of Representatives has responded to claims that the Senate and the House plan to reconvene and sit at a joint session the same day to consider the report on the 2019 elections budget and other financial proposals by President Muhammadu Buhari .

It is rumoured that the purpose of the alleged joint session is to prevent any plot to impeach Saraki, and Ekweremadu , from succeeding .

But , the House described the claims as “ pure imagination ” and not a possibility , because a joint session as envisaged could not be sustained by any standing rules of the National Assembly.

The Chairman , House Committee on Media and Public Affairs , Mr Abdulrazak Namdas , who gave the official position of the House in an interview with Sunday PUNCH, said there were no precedents or rules to make a joint session under the circumstances possible .

Namdas explained that what the rules covered was for each chamber to sit separately and consider a report .

He added that where there were differences in the separate reports by the two chambers , a conference committee would be raised to sit and harmonise the differences outside the plenary .

He noted that the report of the conference committee would again be sent back to each chamber to sit separately and adopt it.

Namdas added , “ This is pure imagination and honestly , we don’ t know where this one is coming from . This has never happened before ; that the Senate and the House will reconvene and sit together , instead of doing so in their separate chambers .

“ We are not aware of this and it ’ s not a possibility . Recall that even when the two chambers hold a joint session to receive the annual budget presentation by Mr President, it is for the purpose of taking the address only .

“ The two chambers revert to their separate ways to work on the budget and consider the report separately . It is only when there are differences between what one chamber has passed and the other one that we set up a conference committee for harmonisation .

“ If it was possible to be done in a joint session , what is the need of the conference committee, which is a provision of our rules? There is no rule on joint session in the circumstances envisaged , and therefore , there will be none . ”

He added that the claims were part of the “ongoing bid to continue to paint the National Assembly in a bad light .

He urged Nigerians to discountenance it .
Namdas also pointed out that members of the House would have no voting rights in the impeachment of a presiding officer of the Senate , neither did senators have any role to play in the House if the presiding officer of the House were to face impeachment .

On the allegation of shifting full resumption to October 12 , the spokesman responded that lawmakers would follow the directive of their leadership on the matter, after the various committees had turned in their reports on the polls budget , virement proposals and Eurobond request by Buhari.

“ This one is not for speculation . Committees have started working and it is hoped that they will conclude soon and produce their reports .

“ Instead of the spins and twists that we hear every day , especially on the social media , let us allow the parliamentary procedure to follow through , ” he said .


Buhari’ s senators plan offensive action

However , the Parliamentary Support Group , a body of the APC members in the National Assembly loyal to President Buhari , has vowed to take necessary legal and constitutional actions to stop the idea of a joint sitting rather than boycotting it .

Two prominent members of the group , senators Adesoji Akanbi and Ovie Omo - Agege , in separate interviews with
SUNDAY PUNCH, said the APC caucus in both chambers would insist on separate reconvening of chambers to discuss the two proposals from the Executive .

Akanbi described the joint session idea to consider a budget as alien and that the action was not being taken in the best interest of the country.

“ It is a bit alien to treat MDAs budgets in a joint session . Some people already have an agenda before they proposed such idea .
However , the minority will have their say but the majority would have their way.

“ We are definitely going to meet and fashion out a proper legal way to stop it so that we won ’ t lose out . Definitely we are not planning to boycott the session but we are already planning how to prevent it from taking place .

Also , Omo - Agege said the APC senators had met with the National Chairman of the ruling party , Adams Oshiomhole , during the week on the matter.

He said , “ We have the information that they want to reconvene a joint session and that is completely unacceptable to us . Of course , we won ’ t accept it . The Senate itself has to be reconvened for this purpose.

“ The reason (for postponing the planned recall on Tuesday) is that he (Saraki) knows that we have the numbers now – and indeed we have the numbers now to remove him . Any opportunity that we have right now , we will get rid of him . ”

“ We, as a caucus, are very resolute to removing him and at the slightest opportunity he gives to us , he is gone . We have said that he ought to do the honourable thing ; the right thing , . by stepping down , otherwise he would be humiliated . We have the numbers and we are going to remove him . ”

However , a member of the House of Representatives , Bode Ayorinde, said the constitution did not support a joint sitting to consider the presidential requests before both chambers .


We will follow due process to reconvene – Saraki

However , Saraki has said due process would be followed to reconvene the Senate which is currently on recess.

Saraki spoke through his Special Adviser (Media ) Yusuf Olaniyonu, in a telephone interview with SUNDAY PUNCH, in Abuja , on Saturday .

He was responding to a question on an alleged plan to reconvene the National Assembly and hold a joint session of the Senate and the House of Representatives , to consider the 2019 Budget of the Independent National Electoral Commission.

According to him , there are procedures to be followed in the consideration of bills and requests for funding . He explained that the issue of reconvening had yet to arise because the committees working on the INEC budget had yet to submit their report for consideration .

He said , “ Due process will be followed in the consideration of all requests . There has to be a report before you can reconvene to consider it .

“ Has the INEC Committee submitted its report , has its report been worked on by the committees on Appropriations? These are the processes that will be followed if the Senate is to reconvene for the sole purpose of considering the INEC budget . ”

lalasticlala

By Seun Opejobi


The Acting National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Yekini Nabena, has said the Senate President, Bukola Saraki wanted to “play a double game but was caught.”


Nabena alleged that Saraki “wanted to remain within the party in order to kill it.”

Speaking with Punch on Saturday, the APC spokesperson noted that Saraki plotted “coup d’état” with the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Senators to become Senate President against the wishes of APC.


He insisted that Saraki left the ruling party due to his personal interest, adding that he was using his position to negotiate with the government.

Nabena said, “Just like I have just told you; people like Saraki as Senate President are using their positions to negotiate with government which is not possible with this government.

“This government is serious about the anticorruption fight. How can we live with a situation which Saraki put the APC-led administration in by having a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party as Deputy Senate President?

“And on top of that, he now wants to be president when we have a sitting president who has indicated interest in seeking for a second term. All that Saraki is doing is to pursue his selfish interest; he is not interested in the people.

“The President of the Senate had no choice because he wanted to play a double game and he was caught. He wanted to remain within the party in order to kill it. From the beginning, you will agree with me that he was never faithful to the party.

“The coup d’état he plotted with PDP senators to become Senate President against the wishes of the party is there for everyone to see. That he has left today is not a surprise to most of us; he was never present, he only used the party to achieve his personal agenda.”

lalasticlala

By Abdulkareem Baba Aminu


Nine out of Nigeria’s 36 governors will next week mark their last Eid in office, after witnessing a good number of the yearly celebrations since coming into office over seven years ago.

The state governors, who are Muslims, include (in alphabetical order) AbdulAziz Yari of Zamfara, Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara, Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo, Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun, Ibrahim Geidam of Yobe, Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo of Gombe, Kashim Shettima of Borno, Tanko Almakura of Nassarawa, and Ogbeni Rauf Aregebesola of Osun.

Most of the governors, especially those who first came into office on May 29, 2011 (Borno, Gombe, Kwara, Nassarawa, Ogun, Oyo and Zamfara) witnessed two Sallah celebrations every year beginning with their first Eid-el-Fitr in August, 2011 followed by Eid-el-Kabir in November of the same year. The seven governors will be marking their 16th Eid next week.

Governor Aregebesola of Osun, who came in November 2010, narrowly missed the Eid-el-Kabir that held about a week before the appeal court declared him on November 26, 2010. He will also be marking his 16th Eid next week.
Governor of Yobe, Ibrahim Gaidam, has witnessed more Sallah celebrations in office than any of the others, beginning from 2009. He was elected as Deputy Governor in 2007, but succeeded Governor Mamman Ali, who died in January, 2009.

While Aregebesola will hand over this year, the others will be completing their second terms on May 29, 2019, incidentally a few days before another Sallah.

The 2019 Eid-el Fitr is expected to hold within the first week of June 2019, when newly-elected governors are expected to have taken over in Borno, Gombe, Kwara, Nassarawa, Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Yobe and Zamfara states.