₦airaland Forum

ABUJA, February 21, (THEWILL) - The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Dahiru Musdapher Tuesday directed Justice Abdul Kafarati of the Federal High Court to reverse an order he made on Monday restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from going ahead with Saturday’s governorship election in Cross Rivers State.

A top judiciary source familiar with the administrative order told THEWILL "that is the pulse of the CJN. He means business."

Following the directive, Justice Kafarati has refused to sign the order despite repeated demand for same by the plaintiffs, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)and the People Democratic Party .

The candidate of the PDP, Senator Liyel Imoke is in pole position to win the election.

http://thewillnigeria.com/politics/12565-CJN-Directs-Justice-Kafarati-Reverse-Self-River-Guber-Poll.html

SAN FRANCISCO, February 01, (THEWILL) – A man believed to be the spokesman of the terrorist group Boko Haram has been detained by Nigerian authorities, a top security source told THEWILL Wednesday.

Known in the media as Abul Qaqa, the source said he was arrested in Maiduguri, the headquarters of the Boko Haram.

http://thewillnigeria.com/politics/12224-Developing-Story-State-Nab-Boko-Harams-Spokesman-Abul-Qada.html

ABUJA, January 31, (THEWILL) - The Minister of Youth Development, Alhaji Bolaji Abdullai today disclosed that the Ministry had directed that from next year, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) should post corps members to rural areas only with no provision for redeployment.

The minister who disclosed this at the budget defence session with the House of Representatives committee on youth development said the corps members would only be posted to rural areas and they would be posted to concerns including agriculture, rural health, infrastructure and education.

“Corpers would no longer be posted to banks and other organizations where they are always being rejected,” he said.

He told the committee that the ministry has proposed N3 billion for Youth Empowerment Programme (YEP) in 2012.

He said the Youth Empowerment Programme (YEP) was designed to train 250,000 Nigerian youths in the first year with the capacity to enlarge the figure to one million by the end of 2013.

According to him, the programme would be executed with the collaboration of the private sector adding that the pilot programme would begin with the selection of 1000 youths from each state of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory for training in different vocations.

He said the programme designed for Abuja would not necessarily be the ones that would be done in other states of the federation. He said the programme would be run without building a block as trainees would be taken to private organizations to be trained.

But the Committee Chairman, Hon Kamil Akinlabi (ACN, Oyo) counseled the minister to carry out critical studies before embarking on the YEP project as he cautioned that similar efforts in the past was hijacked by high-heeled politicians.

The chairman urged the minister to collaborate with the ministries of education, agriculture and information communication technology (ICT) for effective performance.

http://thewillnigeria.com/politics/12206-NYSC-Stops-Posting-Corps-Members-Urban-Areas.html

SAN FRANCISCO, January 30, (THEWILL) - A Lagos court has sentenced Hamza Al-Mustapha and Lahaji Lateef shofolahan to death by hanging for the death of Kudirat Abiola.

Hamza was former Chief Security Officer, CSO, to late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, while Shofolahan was a protocol officer in the MKO Abiola campaign organization.

A Lagos High Court sitting in Igbosere presided over by Justice Mojisala Dada convicted the duo for the murder of wife of late Chief Moshood Abiola, Kudirat, who was assassinated in Lagos during the Abacha administration.

http://thewillnigeria.com/politics/12179-Hamza--Mustapha-Shofolahan-Get-Death-Sentences.html

KANO, January 29, (THEWILL) - Our correspondent in Kano reports that there is a gun battle currently raging between security forces and Boko Haram terrorists at Naibawa Police Station in Kano metropolis.

One source told THEWILL that the police station has been bombed, but we are however unable to independently onfirm this.

The dusk to dawn curfew imposed on the city is still being enforced.

http://thewillnigeria.com/politics/12146-Another-Gun-Fight-Erupts-Kano.html

SAN FRANCISCO, January 27, (THEWILL) – Chief Timipre Sylva has gone into hiding, according to very credible reports reaching THEWILL.

The embattled former governor who was sacked Friday morning alongside four other governors bailed on his aides in the wee hours of Friday.

Security sources say Sylva and his family who were in Abuja until a few hours ago have skipped town for an unknown destination.

“We are looking for him, he told his security detail to wait for him in their convoy early this morning. No one has seen him since then. We are looking for him,” one source told THEWILL.

THEWILL had previously reported that Sylva was the target of the Supreme Court judgement to enable the Presidency prosecute him for various offences ranging from corruption to treason.

http://thewillnigeria.com/politics/12114-Former-Bayelsa-State-Governor-Sylva-Bails.html

*** Corrected: Justice Walter Samuel Nkanu Nnoghen headed the panel today and delivered the unanimous ruling and not the CJN, Dahiru Musdapher as earlier reported.

SAN FRANCISCO, January 27, (THEWILL) – Just as exclusively reported in our earlier edition, the Supreme Court has sacked 5 state governors from office in a tenure elongation ruling delivered Friday morning in Abuja.

The 7-man panel of justices headed by Justice Walter Samuel Nkanu Nnoghen, ordered the sack of Bayelsa State Governor, Chief Timipre Sylva, his Sokoto State counterpart, Aliyu Wammako; Alhaji Ibrahim Idris (Kogi State); Admiral Murtala Nyako (Adamawa State); and Senator Liyel Imoke (Cross River State). The five of them belong to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The justices approved the appeal filed by INEC and Adamawa State governorship candidate, Buba Marwa, that the tenure of the governors ended on May 29, 2011.

In a unanimous decision, the apex court held that the governors have indeed overstayed their constitutional limit of four years in office.

… EFCC, SSS To Arrest Bayelsa Governor Sylva

SAN FRANCISCO, January 26, (THEWILL) – Baring any sudden last minute changes, in what appears to be a deft move targeting Bayelsa State Governor, Chief Timipre Sylva and his Sokoto State counterpart, Aliyu Wammako, THEWILL has gathered from multiple connected sources that the Supreme Court will in a couple of hours remove 5 State Governors from office when the 7-panel justices headed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Dahiru Musdapher, delivers its ruling in the controversial tenure elongation suit filed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), seeking to quash the tenure elongation approved for the 5 governors by a Federal High Court and upheld by an appeal court.

The other governors are Alhaji Ibrahim Idris (Kogi State), Admiral Murtala Nyako (Adamawa State), and Senator Liyel Imoke (Cross River State). The five of them belong to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The trio of Imoke, Nyako and Wammako have already secured their party’s ticket ahead of their State’s governorship elections scheduled to hold at different dates this year. Imoke and Nyako however enjoy a great deal of popularity in their states and have the backing of the PDP and the Presidency to return to office. The same cannot however be said for Wammako, who though has secured his party’s ticket, may still be blocked by the PDP and Presidency because he did not support the election of President Goodluck Jonathan.

Kogi State already has a governor-elect waiting to be sworn following a governorship election that was conducted in December, 2011.

The biggest loser of the lot is Timipre Sylva, who was disqualified from contesting in the Bayelsa State PDP primary; and would be arrested, detained and prosecuted on various charges ranging from corruption to treason, THEWILL was told by reliable sources. (He allegedly threatened to kill President Jonathan and his wife because they refused to support his re-election bid). The Governor has since fallen out with the President who was his predecessor in office. Sylva’s sin was that he frustrated efforts at the National Assembly to make then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan Acting President, during the long absence from office of late President Umaru Yar’Adua, due to an ailment that eventually led to his demise.

Sources conversant with the plan told THEWILL Thursday that the SSS operatives attached to Sylva have been directed to detain him as soon as his sack is announced.

Sylva is presently in court challenging the PDP’s decision to block him from seeking the party’s ticket.

There is however panic across the five states following the development, as the Governors have relocated to Abuja -- Nyako and Sylva have been in Abuja for over a week -- Sources close to the Governors told THEWILL that they are all aware that their terms would probably come to end in a couple of hours and have made contingency plans to manage the situation at their various states.

The Speakers of the State Assemblies in the states affected will assume office as acting governors if indeed the governors are removed by the court as expected, and INEC will have to conduct fresh polls within a stipulated period, usually 3-6 months.

http://thewillnigeria.com/politics/12108-Anxiety-Supreme-Court-Moves-Sack-Governors-landmark-Judgement.html

The bodies of three people have been recovered in Brazil by rescue workers searching through rubble after the collapse of two high-rise office buildings in Rio de Janeiro.

Officials say that at least 19 people remain missing, while a further six were taken to hospital.

City Mayor Eduardo Paes said current investigations were focusing on structural problems.

The buildings, one of which was 20 storeys, collapsed late on Wednesday.

Mr Paes discounted speculation that a gas explosion could have caused the collapse.
Continue reading the main story

Hugh Oliver Witness

The buildings, which were respectively 10 and 20 storeys high and were located near the Municipal Theatre and the headquarters of oil giant Petrobras, crushed a four-storey construction site on their way down.

Dozens of emergency workers attended the scene and police cordoned off the area.

Electricity to the street has been cut off for safety reasons.

Allesandro da Silva Fonseca told AFP he had been briefly trapped in a lift with five construction workers after they tried to escape. He said he had almost suffocated because of the dust.

"I was out of air. I could not breathe," he said.

Hugh Oliver, who was in the area when the collapse happened, told the BBC the situation was surreal.

"The city quickly filled with rescue vehicles and there was a lot of helicopter activity. The dust cloud hung around for a long time," he said.

Fire Department spokesman Moises Torres said that he had hopes of finding people alive, the news agency AFP reported.

Luiz Cosenza, a building inspector with Rio de Janeiro's Regional Council of Engineering told Brazil's Globo televison network that he feared illegal projects could have been a factor, AFP reported.

Mr Cosenza said: "Two projects were happening in the building, on the 16th floor. They were illegal works - they were not registered with the council."

Mr Oliver said he was not surprised by the falling building and said: "The infrastructure is poor - only areas such as Barra de Tijuca are modern and well regulated, but behind the main streets in the centre of Rio there are crumbling dirty sidestreets where safety is not the top priority."

The incident comes a little over three months after a suspected gas explosion at a restaurant in the city left three people dead.

Concerns have been raised about the state of Rio de Janeiro's infrastructure as Brazil prepares to host football's World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games two years later.

… Justice Niki Tobi Led Jos Crisis Panel Recommended The Sack Of IGP

SAN FRANCISCO, January 25, (THEWILL) - Nigeria’s New Acting Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mohammed D. Abubakar is a religious fanatic, according to a White Paper released by the panel that reviewed the 2001 Jos crisis.

The Justice Niki Tobi led panel also indicted Abubakar for his "ignoble role in the crisis" and recommended that he be forced to retire immediate from the force, and even went as far as recommending his sack, if he declines a request to resign honourably, following his complicity in the killing of Christians in Plateau State during the religious crisis in that state.

Justice Niki Tobi is a highly respected retired Supreme Court Justice.

Abubakar was an Assistant Inspector General (AIG) in charge of Zone 5, but was Plateau State Commissioner of Police during the crisis in 2001 during the administration of former Governor, Mr. Joshua Dariye. 

The panel was constituted on September 7, 2001 to review and proffer solutions to the perennial religious crisis that has plagued the state, but its report was eventually made public on February 16, 2010, local paper The Nation reported.

A newspaper journalist that followed the panel’s investigations and several interviews conducted as part of its exercise told THEWILL on Wednesday that from the testimonies received from respondents, it was obvious that Abubakar took sides with the Muslim/Hausa community, while they massacred Christians during the conflict.

His appointment as Acting IGP is also coming at a time when the Boko Haram has placed a Fatwa on all Christians living in Northern Nigeria.

It is however not clear why the panel’s recommendation on his sack was not implemented.

State Governments have little or no control over the police force or the Police Service Commission.

The White Paper released by the Plateau State Government said: "Religious fanatics should not be posted to head state police commands. The commission recommends that for his ignoble role during the September 2001 crisis which resulted in the loss of lives, the former Commissioner of Police, Plateau State Command, Alhaji M.D. Abubakar, be advised to retire from the Nigeria Police Force and in the event of his refusal to do so, he should be dismissed from the service."

The panel further said, "The non-implementation by government of the report of previous commissions of enquiries and in particular the report of the commission of enquiry into the riots of April 12, 1994 in Jos metropolis (the main features of which are very similar to the September 2001 civil disturbances) is a sure recipe for a repeat performance of such disturbances".

"There was strong and convincing evidence before the commission that: on April 11, 1994, just a day before the fateful day, Alhaji Yaya Aga Abubakar, the President of Jasawa Development Association, in the company of Alhaji Aminu Mato’s younger brother, Sanusi Mato, held a meeting at Masallaci Juma at Jos with the Jasawa community during which they resolved to carry out a demonstration the following day.

"So, Yaya Abubakar and Sanusi Mato were directly connected with riots. They were the leaders of the insurrection that brought disaster and shame to Jos metropolis, to Plateau State and to Nigeria, that brought death and destruction of lives and properties".

The Justice Tobi panel further recommended that the Hausa/Fulani should be encouraged to begin negotiations with other communities in the state and "accept the ownership of Jos by the Ajizere, Anaguta and Berom", noting that "Anything short of that will not make for peace in Jos."

http://thewillnigeria.com/politics/12074-New-Police-IGP-Abubakar-Religious-Fanatic-Indicted-Over-Jos-Crisis.html

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan challenged the violent Islamist Boko Haram sect on Thursday to identify themselves and state clearly their demands as a basis for talks, while acknowledging that military confrontation alone will not end their insurgency.

In an interview with Reuters at the presidential villa in the capital Abuja, Jonathan also said there was no doubt that Boko Haram had links with other jihadist groups outside Nigeria.

The sect killed more than 500 people last year and more than 250 in the first weeks of 2012 in gun and bomb attacks in Africa's top oil producer, Human Rights Watch said this week. Coordinated attacks in the northern city of Kano killed 186 people on Friday in its most deadly strike to date, prompting Jonathan to visit surviving victims.

"If they clearly identify themselves now and say this is the reason why we are resisting, this is the reason why we are confronting government or this is the reason why we destroy some innocent people and their properties , then there will be a basis for dialogue," said Jonathan.

"We will dialogue, let us know your problems and we will solve your problem but if they don't identify themselves, who will you dialogue with?"

Jonathan, who won an election last year that observers said was Nigeria's cleanest since the end of military rule in 1999, has been criticised for dealing with the insurgency in the north using purely military means.

But in this interview he made clear there was a need to bring development to the remote, semi-arid corners of the country where high youth unemployment has provided easy recruits for extremists.

"Military confrontation alone will not eliminate terror attacks," he said, adding that an "enabling environment for young people to find jobs," was also needed.

"Our commitment is to make sure our irrigation programmes are all revitalised so most of these young people are engaged in productive agriculture and , will not be free for them to recruit," Jonathan said in an ornate diplomatic meeting room adorned with pictures of Nigeria's heads of state since independence in 1960.

Wearing a dark grey kaftan and his trademark fedora hat, the former zoology lecturer and governor of Bayelsa state in the oil rich southeastern Niger Delta cautioned that the Boko Haram crisis would be much harder to resolve than the Delta conflict, which was largely defused in 2009 under an amnesty he helped broker.

That was because the Islamist militants do not have a clear public figurehead or negotiable aims, he said.

"If anybody invited Osama bin Laden (to talks), he wouldn't have appeared , Boko Haram, if you invite them, they will not come. They operate without a face, they operate without a clear identity, so it is difficult to interface with such a group."

"That is the greatest difference between Boko Haram , and the Niger Delta issue," he said.

Boko Haram was formed in 2003 in the remote, northeastern city of Maiduguri. It launched an uprising against the government in 2009 that security forces crushed in days of fighting with the sect that killed around 800 people.

The sect's leader Mohammed Yusuf was captured and died in police custody during those battles, triggering vows of revenge from surviving members of the sect which they now seem to be honouring in increasingly lethal attacks on security forces and authority figures.

Jonathan added he was confident that a final version of a long delayed bill aiming to completely overhaul the oil industry would be put before the national assembly by the end of February.

http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE80P09P20120126?sp=true

SAN FRANCISCO, January 20, (THEWILL) – Ugonna Alison-Madueke has reacted to his photographs posted on multiple online mediums, blaming mischief-makers for misrepresentation of facts, adding that the move was aimed at embarrassing the Alison-Madueke family to score cheap political points.

Ugonna is the stepson of Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, Nigeria’s Petroleum Minister who been at the receiving end of major oil-marketers lately.

Though Ugonna declined to speak to THEWILL correspondent, he however emailed a statement to address what he called a plot by the “devils in our midst to rubbish our family’s name.”

The statement reads:

Re: A WICKED ATTACK ON MY PERSON VIA INTERNET PHOTOGRAPHS: OFFICIAL RESPONSE OF UGONNA MADUEKE, SON OF MRS DIEZANI ALISON-MADUEKE

It was with great dismay that I awoke a few days ago to see the pictorial publications being circulated about my family and me by the on-line media. It has stirred up a great deal of controversy and has portrayed our family in a negative light.

The pictures posted were taken over a period of time, some before my mother left the private sector as an ED at Shell to work for the Nigerian government.  Although I benefited from a comfortable upbringing I was raised in a fairly strict environment by a military father who insisted that we worked to support ourselves whilst in school. He ensured that we had the basic minimum to support us covering tuition food and transport only.

We were all compelled to work to support ourselves and at the same time excel academically. I am a fully qualified engineer who has worked in my area of expertise for the last 2 and half years. I work very hard at my job and like many people across the globe I also party hard.

The pictures of my brother with Neyo and Dbanj are typical of the way any young man or woman will react getting somewhat excited when they run into stars whether they be home grown or international. Most people will be more than happy to have their photograph taken with them.

As far as the limo ride goes, they are commonly used as airport taxis overseas. Occasionally myself along with my friends and family chip in to pay approx $100 from the airport to our destination. To put this in context it is approximately N16, 500. There were 6 of us in the limo ride, which worked out to be roughly N2000 per head.

With regards to the picture of me in the airplane, which by the way was shot almost 2 years ago, the explanation is really quite simple. I was in America to attend the wedding of an old classmate whose parents had chartered a small aircraft to take some of the bride's closest friends and family to the destination. I did what anyone in my shoes would do and took a picture, Facebook is a testament to that.

It has been alleged that my family flew to America to attend a party, The event we attended was the Chris Aire event for the unveiling of NIGERIA’S GEM STONES with my Mother in her capacity as the then Minister of Mines & Steel. It was an event designed to promote Nigerian Gem stones.

The picture of us on the Red Carpet as we attended the event has also being published. I struggle to fully understand how something that was intended to showcase Nigerian talent and products is now seen as wrong. She also honoured an invitation at the London Stock Exchange to make a presentation; a clear indication that the Gemstone event at Los Angeles had started attracting foreign investors. 

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2009/11/nigerian-gemstone-to-be-launched-in-hollywood-diezani/
http://www.voiceofnigeria.org/Nigeriab.htm


The picture showing members of my university fraternity and I holding some money was taken several years ago, while I was an undergraduate. It was a requirement of the society that we documented our fund raising success for a charitable course on behalf of the society I belonged to in the university. The society is called Alpha – Phi – Alpha University of Maryland Chapter.

Like any young man, I have had my fair share of fun, hanging out and partying I am grateful for the upbringing that I have had. This does not however mean I am immune from the realities of the plight of millions of Nigerians living at or below the poverty line. If the pictures (published out of context) were intended to portray me or my family as insensitive to the plight of millions of Nigerians I can honestly state that this is by no means who we are.

What this has taught me however is that, with positions of privilege and leadership come humility and responsibility not only by those in leadership but members of their extended family also.

I sincerely apologise to my family and the Nigerian public for any hurt, anger or embarrassment that might have been caused by these pictures, which were taken completely out of context. I will endeavor to ensure that all my actions in future will be sensitive to the plight of all.

However I have absolutely no control over this well orchestrated smear campaign, which is mainly directed at my mother, I therefore appeal to Nigerians not to take everything they see or read at face value.

http://thewillnigeria.com/politics/11971-Ugonna-Alison-Madueke-Says-Internet-Photos-Mischievous.html