₦airaland Forum

*jona:
i hope the northerners strike against the igbos in the north,about thousands of them  died. the igbos can  rejoice while it last,where is those Muslims when you need them.

this happen Evey year.its coming soon.watch.lol

i hope the northerners strike against the igbos in the north,about thousands of them  died. the igbos can  rejoice while it last,where is those Muslims when you need them.

;d ;d

biafra part 2 is comming.What goes around comes around

naijaking1:
Would you like a copy of today's newspaper article on niger delta killings?

no thanks.bakassi boys war in biafraland,  the rituals killing,abia baby factory,etc

there are many ways the igbos die.they died by hanging them in Asia countries for drug offence, they died by rituals killing stage,they died by their own kinmen called bakassi boys who has burnt houses and killed awhole alot in the east.etc.many ways the igbos died.watch  out for a biafra part two.

1 million igbos were killed.the bakassi boys sage in Abia,otokoto killing in imo state etc.bakassi boys will strike again.

: JJYOU /igbo guy.any igbo news?

naijaking1:
We're not talking about the presidency yet, we're just talking about surviving JTF today

what goes around comes around,tomorrow its will be biafra turn again.hummmmmmm thank God for bakkassi boys and MASSOB. .

HERE IS WHAT YOUR SO CALLED HEROS ARE LIVING IN ENUGU.

By Stan Okeke, Enugu
THEY see, hear and know little about present-day Nigeria. Inside their settlement at Oji [b]River in Enugu State, they do not have much access to all the information sources available to other dwellers in the big cities. And even if they do, it is doubtful if they have great enthusiasm and appetite for such topical issues that command headline attention in the country today.

They have their huge personal problems that obviously weigh them down. They are sad that the people they sacrificed their lives to defend during the civil war have all abandoned them to their fate.
And confined to their wheelchairs with a hopeless future for them and their families, what they see of normal Nigerians and their affluence is when they line up the Enugu-Onitsha expressway, soliciting for alms. The day mother luck smiles on them, some anonymous kind-hearted Nigerians would stop by and give them money.

Few other rich Igbo sons also pull up occasionally to give their token. But this notwithstanding, any visitor could notice from their speech and gestures that they genuinely feel abandoned by their kit and kin whom they sacrificed their limbs and happiness to protect and defend in their most difficult and agonising moments.
Welcome to Oji River, the home of the disabled ex-Biafran soldiers, men who lost their legs to the 30-month Nigerian civil war. The war ended some 34 years ago but these wounded ex-soldiers, today, remain the sad reminders of the unfortunate fratricide. They live with their wives and children at the War Veterans Camp but their only source of livelihood is whatever alms they get on the Enugu-Onitsha expressway.

But why would the five South-East governors not pull resources together to empower these people who became limbless while fighting to defend the people they rule over today? Why have other wealthy Igbo sons not deemed it worthwhile to find permanent solution to the needs of these wounded ex-soldiers? How do the governors and the rich feel when they see them on their wheelchairs as they zoom past in their expensive cars whose prices can actually take care of the poor men’s troubles? Why has the Federal Government not redeemed its numerous pledges to the disabled if, indeed, the civil war provided “no victor, no vanquished?” What future is there for their children?

Questions similar to the above kept tumbling from this reporter on this day. But the answers were not forthcoming. “I don’t think we’re the ones who should answer,” was all that Mr. Bartholomew Ezeisi, chairman of War Disabled ex-Biafran Soldiers said. “At least, we should not speak for them. Maybe, you have to ask those you just mentioned their names. For us, we’ve resigned ourselves to fate. We rely on God and other kind people who come to our assistance.”

May 13, 2004 was one such happy day in their camp. According to Mr. Joseph Akani, secretary of the ex-soldiers, there was every reason to celebrate and thank Ikechukwu Udechime, a Nigerian based in Finland. This day, Mr. Udechime brought 20 wheelchairs to the disabled soldiers and even Mr. Eddie Chukwurah, the managing director of a popular hangout in Enugu who provided food and drinks to the ex-soldiers on this day, could not hold back tears.


But rather than celebrate, the occasion brought more tears than cheers. As Udechime and other dignitaries made their speeches one after the other, most of the people betrayed emotions. The high point was when three children of these disabled soldiers, Chinaza Nwodo, Chidiebere Njoku and Ifeanyi Njoku came back from school, saw what was happening and burst into tears.

“Help us to beg government to assist our fathers,” a tearful Nwodo told Weekend Vanguard. “Please, let them help our fathers. You see they cannot do anything because of their situation. That is the only way they can send us to school.” It was such an emotional scene.

Udechime who worked as a journalist with Radio Nigeria Enugu before travelling to Finland told the story of the 20 wheelchairs. According to him, it was an effort that came by chance through the activities of his colleague and a female journalist from Finland who visited Nigeria and did some feature articles. One of the articles was on the children of Biafra. Her mother had told her that the children in Biafra she saw had no food to eat. So, she came searching for these children. She came to Nigeria and did a lot of interviews with all kinds of people, including the ex-Biafran soldiers, their children and wives.

“By the way, this lady’s name is Chathy Urous,” Udechime started. “When she got back to Finland, she wrote an article and when I saw it, I was moved and I called the newspaper and said I would love to speak with her. We spoke and arranged a meeting. During our discussion, the issue of wheelchairs came up because she said that these distinguished men (disabled war veterans) had problems of movement because their wheelchairs were old and many were no more functioning. Somehow, she didn’t know how to go about it.

“Being somebody who has worked with different non-profit organisations in Finland, I knew exactly what kind of place this could be found, and I gave her tapes. A few days later, she told me she found some wheelchairs but the problem was how to bring them over to Nigeria.

“Coincidentally, I was working on a different project that had to do with women empowerment through media. So, we were trying to set up a community media centre and radio station here in Nigeria as an initiative for community radio. We were then collecting equipment required for this project. So, I said to her that if she found the wheelchairs, we have the means of bringing them down to Nigeria. This was how it all happened and we sourced the wheelchairs and then with the other equipment we needed for the radio project, we packed them all in a container and brought them all here. That’s just the story.”

He was so happy to have touched the lives of the people who fought the Nigerian civil war. “I feel so fulfilled in the sense that this is the kind of thing I’ve been dreaming of doing. It gives me joy.” By this time, even Udechime was all tears.
But whatever joy that heralded the presentation was shortlived because as soon as the inmates began to bare their minds, the mood became very ugly. Mr. Anthony Ozoji cut a picture of a man in perpetual agony. He was, undoubtedly, the youngest of the lot in the rehabilitation camp. He said he was between 13 to 14 years old when the war broke out in 1967, and was in the arm of the Biafran army known as the Boys’ Company.

“I was a little boy then. I was always in the company of our soldiers. Whatever they asked me to bring, I brought. This injury happened to me during an enemy air raid. I was sent to buy something at the market. What caused my problem was that the enemy bomb hit me as the federal forces bombed the busy market where men, women and innocent children were buying and selling different things. With nobody to help me, I found myself here.”

Tony Uzoji recollects that it was the administration of Ukpabi Asika of the
then East Central State that rendered some help. This was soon after the civil war. “We’re appealing to government to help us. We’re all in hell here. Look at our wheelchairs. But I thank this young man that made it possible for us to get these new wheelchairs. It is God that will reward him. You can see our predicament here. If the (federal) government has actually put the war behind us, let those in authority come to our rescue.”

Mr. Bartholomew Ezeisi, chairman of the wounded former soldiers has lived in the rehabilitation camp at Oji River since 1975. He tells the story of how he sustained the injury that has consigned him to a wheelchair forever. According to him, they were initially at Enugu soon after the civil war in 1970. They stayed there for five years and were later sent to the Oji River Rehabilitation Centre. His disability was
caused by a bullet wound on his stomach that paralysed his lower limb.

Where did you sustain the injury?

At Nkpor junction in 1968. I was at 11 Battalion and our commander then was Lt. Col. Agbogu. I operated the Biafran armoured car.

What happened on this day?

What happened was that first of all, any day we woke up and found ourselves alive, as Ojukwu’s brave soldiers, we knew that day was another day of action and we must exhibit our bravery. Like I told you, I operated the Biafran armoured car. I went to the Republic of Benin (that’s how he referred to Benin City, the Edo State capital) in 1967. My armoured car was badly hit but I bravely returned it to our territory. My commander had so much confidence in me.
“My armoured car was grounded but he didn’t want me to leave his command. Haa! Agbogu, he kept me in case another armoured car was bought or captured from the enemy. None was forthcoming.

So, he sent me to a mortar course, and thereafter, I started manning our mortar gun. We were the ones who hit that Nigerian Army convoy at Abagana. Let me not say that I hit it. It was a collective effort. “During that time, once you woke up alive, you would thank God. The spirit then was that you were defending your fatherland and that you were not committing any crime other than defending your life, the lives of your family members and the lives of your people. That is why it hurts me that our young governors have abandoned us. But why? Were we fighting for ourselves? Do they know if all of them would have been alive today if we didn’t do what we did?

Eventually, we started the Nkpor battle. The day I sustained this injury, I had a premonition but I didn’t know it would be like this. When the battle got tough, Lt. Col. Agbogu would always look for me. I would then go and break the enemy resistance and we would move on. I never knew or felt any fear that you could be hit by a bullet and you would die. Man die go. We never knew that you could be hit by bullet and be paralysed. That was it. So, the Nkpor battle was fierce. It was terrible.

Even the Nigerian soldiers knew that. It was a great battle. We were a hard nut to crack. They saw hell. The battle for them was to enter Onitsha, a mere distance of four miles from Nkpor. They couldn’t penetrate. President Olusegun Obasanjo knew. Ask him. The late Murtala Mohammed knew. Black Scorpion (Adekunle) knew. We fought a great battle, so much that the Nigerian soldiers became depressed. Most times, we chased them back as far as Ogidi and Awka.
War is not good. It is a terrible thing. We can never finish the story of that war. God forbid anything that will cause war in Nigeria again. Our children suffered. When we saw them during the war, we would vow to go to the war front and die. It was with such anger that we always went to the war front.

Are you here with your family?

Yes, I married in 1967. I have five children. One died. I presently have four boys and one girl. I had one here in 1980, disability or no disability. These kids have been suffering. It is their fate that makes our hearts to bleed. As a father, it feels so bad to see your children in need of things you cannot provide. At times, you feel like standing up to go and look for ways to help. But where are the legs?
Unfortunately, government is not assisting us. One of my children has dropped out of school because I cannot continue to see him through school. It is the same for other fathers here.

There’s no way my child would drop from school if I had my limbs intact. Other children are doing fine but ours whom their fathers fought for the lives of our people are suffering. They (our children) feel very bad about it but we try to comfort them. They ask questions and you don’t want to believe that your people (Ndigbo) abandoned you. But as they grow up, they know the truth. They can’t even have decent meals. We’ve had promises before that were never fulfilled. Now, we look up to God. If help comes, fine. Otherwise, our children will have to take over the troubles of training their younger ones when we die. That is our story.”

Akani, the secretary agrees completely. “We’re not young any longer. We know the time could come for any of us at any time. The worry is that you are totally hopeless about how your children would live after you die. Right now, they depend on whatever we get from the road (alms). It’s from there we struggle to feed them, to train them and to clothe them. Look at the way they (children) look.
“It’s as if we committed an offence before our people by fighting on the side of Biafra. If the government would not do anything, you could at least say that these were the people whom you fought against.

Maybe, they are still not happy. But what do you say of our own people? Or are they not happy that we’re alive?

“My brother, this is no time to talk for a long time. We’ve granted many interviews to both Nigerian and international media. But have our people cared? Did these wheelchairs not come from Finland? Did we fight to protect the people of Finland? Bye. May God never allow you to taste what we go through here.” As more people began to cry at this stage, it was quite impossible to say “Amen” to that prayer.[/b]

naijaking1:
We're not talking about the presidency yet, we're just talking about surviving JTF today

Featured Essay
By
Emma Agu(DerhythmAfrika)

[b]The Nigeria-Biafra War ended in 1970, till date, the youths of Eastern Nigeria origin are still bearing the burden of the war, their fathers, big brothers, even their mothers; paid dearly for . When that war broke out, some of these innocent youths were not born.

My history teacher taught me that Nigeria was founded by a Briton called Mongo Park and that the amalgamation of this entity called Nigeria was done by Sir Frederick (later Lord) Lugard.
We all learnt about the efforts of our forefathers, who fought to give us a free Nigeria. I cannot remember precisely the date, in the year 1966 when they told us this war started, but I can never forget that the war ended in 1970 because my old man died exactly that same year.
I was also taught that the Federal government of Nigeria declared "No victor, no vanquish." I beg to disagree with that phrase.

The victims of that war are the youths from the East, many of them who lost their parents. My family still has till date, a victim who does not know where he hails from. This man has been living with us since the age of four.

We were told how the Igbo were slaughtered in Kano and how Dim Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu led the war. I was20also made to understand that Chief Obafemi Awolowo who was jailed in the East by the then Federal government of Nigeria for treason was freed by the Biafran government. The chief according to
My teacher was to go back home and declare the Oduduwa State however; when he got back to Lagos, he teamed up with the Federal government . The late saga being a highly intelligent man was the man who according to my elders, actually won the war.
The chief I was told came up with the idea of changing the national currency and blocking food aids to the East. The Biafran government threw in the towel because thousands of children from the East were dying daily as a result of hunger.
My elders further said at the end of the civil war, people from the East who owned businesses in Lagos, Port-Harcourt and the Northern State and ran away when the war broke out were given twenty-five pounds by the Federal government to start a new life. This is all I could remember.This account may not be correct, I stand to be corrected!

Why I went down this memory lane is because the innocent boys and girls, men and women who were not even born when this war broke out are paying the price for a war fought in the 60's with their future and lives. Take a trip across Nigeria, there is virtually no place, no hamlet, or city you cannot find an Igbo man on flight. It is a common saying that power belong to the Northerners,20the West, the economy, while the Igbos are in-charge of commerce . Which commerce? Petty trading?

Visit Onitsha main market, go to Ariaria main market in Aba; make another trip to Alaba international market, or Ladipo; Yaba spare market, Surulere spare parts market all scattered in Lagos, in the morning hours, you will see tens of thousands of youths who instead of going to school are forced due to poverty to start learning petty trading, some of them at a very tender age. You need to see these little kids inside some dinky, dirty looking shops struggling to learn how to trade instead OF being in the classrooms.
In the night time, drive around the major cities, pay a visit to the night clubs and pub houses, the ladies of the darkness who want to go home with you for a fee mainly are from the East. You will be shocked however to find out that the cheap lady you took home is an undergraduate, who in her quest to pay her school tuition took to that dangerous way of life. Sometimes, many of them are not so lucky. Some met their end in the hands of criminals, who most times gang raped, maim, or even kill and dismember their bodies for money-making rituals.

I once made a record on Miss Adline, a young Igbo girl who had her two eyes plucked out by men who wanted to get rich over -night in Lagos. We all saw what has become of that helpless Igbo girl today.
Back in the days in Lagos, Nigeria,=2 0I was an Ajao Estate resident and every evening, there was this spot where you can find girls who could win "Miss world," with the beautiful face heavens blessed them with. I frequented a very popular joint where I mingled freely with some of the world's prettiest women. When you get close to them, you will discover are these are Igbo girls in Universities and colleges. One thing very noticeable is that when you interact with them, they can barely make a correct or a complete sentence. When you ask them how they pass their classes they will tell you "money answereth all things." The truth is that their teachers make good money from them. You ask yourself, how this young girls will face the future as graduates, after their university education.
What kind of leaders are we preparing for the future. Poverty, that seven letter word which everybody dread is the reason why tens of thousands of Igbo youths are passing through hell in Gabon, Libya and in some of tiny African countries.

There was a time some Igbo boys found a 'haven of rest' in Gabon. During the Christmas holidays, they usually visit home with big cars, their peers In these Nigerian villages who are not properly informed took the risk of their lives, traveling thousands of miles on rickety food boats to Gabon. Some of them don't even make it there. You hear every now and then how thier boats capsized killing a whole most of them.
In the mid 90's,many were deceived t o think rushing to Gabon is like going to America. The truth only dawned on them after settling down and maybe with the saving they made in Nigeria, they started a little business. You could spend about one year trying to put your business together but, as soon as things set out, the French-trained police will swoop on them like a bees. These ruthless French-trained police, I was told, do not care about human lives. They take away these harmless boys; if you are lucky, you would come back with broken limbs; if not, your family way back home are given the sad news about the lost of their beloved one.
You cannot own a business in Gabon without running the risk of having it destroyed by their state French-trained police.

As I write, thousands of youths of Eastern origin are stranded in Gabon. They live in the streets and in fear. I keep in touch daily with some of these boys who want to go back home. The Nigerian Embassy in Gabon is not doing anything to help these youths.
I made arrangement for a stranded boy to go back to Nigeria. He told me it was better for him to commit suicide than going back through the same way he came. This youth cannot go back by air because when he, like others went there, they had no papers. I am told if you get to the airport, you would be arrested and tortured by the police.

You read over here about hundreds of boys from the Eastern part of Nigeria who died in Sahara Desert while making their way to Libya. You probably heard how most of them were killed in that country after so many years. You heard when thousands of them were deported back to Nigeria and the action the federal government of Nigeria took. Daily, the youths, our leaders of tomorrow, risk their lives to see how their poor families, victims of the Nigerian civil war, can survive hunger and poverty caused by the war.
In their attempt to seek greener pastures they end up being killed in these hostile African countries. If war had not broken out in Nigeria in the 60s, the Igbo land should have been among the most developed nations in the world. The land is still bleeding from the war. Her youths are still dying of hunger caused by the war. Our young girls, our future mothers, are being killed daily by callous men who took advantage of their plights. I ponder everyday what will become of the Igbo generation in the next decade.

The federal government of Nigeria owe it a duty to bring these boys back to Nigeria. These youths left their towns and villages because the government could not provide for them. These innocent children are still suffering from the war which ended in 1970.
Since there was no victor, no vanquish, the Eastern part of Nigeria should not be like a zone conquered, defeated, and abandoned forever. I have traveled around Nigeria, you cannot find portable drinking water in any village in the South-East ern part of Nigeria. No electricity, no motorable road. The war between the federal government of Nigeria and the defunt State of 'Biafra' appears not to have ended! The peace we are enjoying right now is a peace of the graveyard!
Emma Agu…(deRhythmAfrika,formerly called Alabama)[/b]

Over 300 houses about to collapse in Lagos –Alli
By PETER ANOSIKE
Thursday, May 21, 2009


[b]
There are strong indications that there would be no end to the issue of building collapse in Lagos as about 300 houses are about to collapse in Lagos Island and Kosofe areas of the state.
This was revealed by the Chairman, Lagos State Physical Planning and Development Authority, Mr Taoreed Alli.

According to him,investigations conducted by his men in Lagos Island and Kosofe /Shomolu Local Government areas showed that a lot of buildings in the areas are ready to collapse.
He said that out of 5000 houses that they investigated in Lagos Island,100 is on the collapse list while out of 18,000 houses investigated in Kosofe/Shomolu Area,about 200 are near collapse.

The state, he said, are still carrying out more structural investigations as reports have shown that a lot of houses in the state has structural deficiencies which is usually the cause of building collapse.

Alli said that there should be a law to empower Lagosians to carry out monitoring on their own in the Lagos City Development Plan, the reason being that his men could not be everywhere at the same time.

His words “Investigations being carried out by my department has revealed that a lot of buildings in Lagos State are waiting to collapse.We have discovered that about 100 houses are ready to collapse in Lagos Island out of the 5000 that we tested and about 200 in Kosofe/Shomolu areas out of the 18,000 that we checked .

That means that there is no end to the issue of collapse buildings but I want to say that monitoring of building should not be left to my department alone.All Lagosians are encouraged to report any building that has structural deficiency to us.That is the only way disasters could be averted.
Speaking in the same vein,the Chairman,Nigerian Institute of Building(NIOB), Lagos State Chapter Mr Kunle Awobudo said that one of the causes of building collapse is wrong use of concrete.
According to him,over 90 percent of the houses in Lagos, has their concrete done by non-professionals.
He said that at times when they visit some collapsed sites,they would find out that the concrete debris were not well mixed.

According to him,in order to ensure that all the houses in the state meet the required structural standard,his institution would collaborate with the Association of Concrete Workers and make sure that they adhere to the standard approved by the Standards Organization of Nigeria for concrete.
Awobodu said that concrete is a very important component in building, adding that if it is not used in the right proportion,it can lead to structural failure or even out right collapse of a house.
He said that there is the need to take concrete work seriously.

According to him,that is the reason why Nigerian Institute of Building Lagos State Chapter has thought it wise to collaborate with the Association of Concrete Workers in order to find a way of bringing to an end the issue of building collapse in the State.


[/b]
http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/money/2009/may/21/Money-21-05-2009-003.htm

;d

Fire Guts Oando Service Station
May 19, 2009 14:29 (3 hours ago),

By Paul Iyoghojie
A section of the Oando filling station at Obalende, Lagos Island, was, last night, gutted by fire.


The cause of the fire has not been officially made public. But P.M.NEWS gathered that the fire may have started when a commercial motorcyclist started his motorcycle after buying fuel at the station. Another account had it that the fire started when the nozzle of the fuel dispenser hit the ground when the attendant struggled to free himself from those who came to buy fuel in jerry cans. The fire was prevented from spreading to the residential houses nearby by firemen from the Federal Fire Service, Onikan.

One of the fuel dispensing machines at the filling station was badly burnt while a motorcycle and a commercial vehicle were also partially burnt in the incident. Many of those who came to buy fuel at the station sustained injuries as a result of the stampede that ensued.




http://thepmnews.com/2009/05/19/fire-guts-oando-station

EZE NDIGBO TITLE: 14 Chiefs Sue Fashola
May 19, 2009 14:35 (3 hours ago),

By Akin Kuponiyi
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has granted leave to fourteen aggrieved Igbo traditional title-holders in Lagos to sue the Babatunde Fashola-led Lagos state government over the ban of their title in the state.

[b]The order of the court was sequel to a suit filed before the court by fourteen traditional title holders of Eze Ndigbo, led by Eze John Nwoche, a lawyer, to challenge the Lagos state government’s directive that they desist from parading themselves as Eze Ndigbo in the state.
Joined as co-respondents in the ensuing legal battle are the Lagos State Ministry of Local Government and Chieftancy Affairs and Eze Cletus Ikechukwu Ilomuanya.
In an affidavit sworn to by Nwoche, he averred that on 28 April, 2009, the Lagos state government authorised the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftancy Affairs to publish in the media houses in Nigeria that Ilomuanya led a delegation of South East traditional rulers to the palace of the Oba of Lagos requesting for the ban.
Consequently, the Lagos state government banned the title of Eze Ndigbo in Lagos.

Nwoche claimed that the Igbos maintain their traditional title any where they are, according to their customs. He stated that the title of Eze Ndigbo, which means the king of the Igbos, is the highest customary law to honour an Igbo and any community can confer the title on their illustrious sons, who deserve and merit such honour.

Therefore the deponent contended that the ban on the title of Eze Ndigbo in Lagos is discriminating against the Igbos in the state and restraining them from acquiring such title is unconstitutional and discriminatory.”

It was further averred that it is not the duty of the Lagos state government to choose an Igbo king for the Igbo-speaking community in the state. Thus, he urged the court to declare the ban placed on the applicants from practicing, observing and enforcing their native law and custom is unconstitutional under Section 42(1) (2) of the 1999 Constitution. Justice Mohammed Sanni has adjourned further hearing till 1 June.[/b]

http://thepmnews.com/2009/05/19/eze-ndigbo-title-14-chiefs-sue-fashola

Nsukka residents protest high rate of kidnapping   
Written by Tony Edike     
[b]Tuesday, 19 May 2009 

ENUGU—HUNDREDS of residents of Nsukka in Enugu State yesterday staged a peaceful protest against the

increasing cases of kidnapping and armed robbery, which has created apprehension and fear amongst the residents.
They also complained about the inability of the police in the town to protect the citizens from the incessant attacks by the miscreants, who now operate on daily basis, kidnapping both children and adults for ransom and dispossessing citizens of their money and cars at gunpoint.

The protesters including youths, aged men and women were armed with several placards calling for the removal of the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) for Nsukka urban Police Division, Mr. Ike Mba, whom they accused of aiding the kidnappers operating in the area.


Some of the placards read: “We want a responsible DPO”, “We want a stop to kidnapping and robbery in Nsukka”, “Police knows the robbers and shares ransom with kidnappers”, “IG please save us, crime and insecurity have taken over Nsukka.”

Led by some Catholic Priests from Nsukka Catholic Diocese, most of who dressed in black, the protesters marched from the Catholic Secretariat on the University of Nigeria road to Nsukka Local Government secretariat, where they presented their grievances to the council officials before marching through the Police Station to the market, chanting anti-police slogans.

One of the organisers,  Ozo Anthony Ogbonna told the Nsukka Council Chairman who was represented by his deputy, Mrs. Mercy Onah, that the protesters drawn from a coalition of human rights groups including the Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Diocese of Nsukka, Centre for Human Rights Studies and Vigilance, and Daniel’s Foundation, traders and religious groups, took to the streets to express their anger over the increasing wave of crime, especially kidnapping and armed robbery in Nsukka and its environs.

He lamented that residents of Nsukka now live in fears of invasion by gangs of kidnappers and armed robbers, who have continued to terrorize people without any intervention by the police, adding that distress calls to the police over the development were not responded to.



[/b]

CNN) -- Christian Eshiett was a rambunctious pre-teen who spent a lot of time cavorting with his friends in southern Nigeria. He would skip school and run away from home for days, frustrating his grandfather, who oversaw the boy's care.


[b]Children branded as witches protest on February 26, 2009, in the southern Nigerian city of Eket.

"I beat him severely with canes until they broke, yet he never shed a tear," said Eshiett Nelson Eshiett, 76. "One day, I took a broom to hit him and he started crying. Then I knew he was possessed by demons. ,  Nigerian witches are terrified of brooms."

From that day two years ago, Christian, now 14, was branded a witch. The abuse intensified.

"They would take my clothes off, tie me up and beat me," he told CNN in a telephone interview.

The teen is one of the so-called witch children in Eket, a city in oil-rich Akwa Ibom state of Nigeria.

They are blamed for causing illness, death and destruction, prompting some communities to put them through harrowing punishments to "cleanse" them of their supposed magical powers.

"Children accused of witchcraft are often incarcerated in churches for weeks on end and beaten, starved and tortured in order to extract a confession," said Gary Foxcroft, program director of Stepping Stones Nigeria, a nonprofit that helps alleged witch children in the region.

Many of those targeted have traits that make them stand out, including learning disabilities, stubbornness and ailments such as epilepsy, he added.

The issue of "child witches" is soaring in Nigeria and other parts of the world, Foxcroft said.

The states of Akwa Ibom and Cross River have about 15,000 children branded as witches, and most of them end up abandoned and abused on the streets, he said.

Christian ran away from home and wandered around for two years with other children similarly accused. He said they stole, begged for food and performed menial jobs to survive.

The plight of "child witches" is raising concern among aid organizations, including the United Nations.

"It is a growing issue worldwide, among not just African communities, but in countries such as Nepal as well," said Jeff Crisp, head of policy development and evaluation for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. "We are trying to see whether it is a neglected protected issue."

Belief in witchcraft thrives worldwide. About 1,000 people accused of being witches in Gambia were locked in detention centers in March and forced to drink a dangerous hallucinogenic potion, human rights organization Amnesty International said.

In 2005, relatives of an 8-year-old Angolan girl living in England were convicted of torturing her for being a "witch," according to the Times Online.

Pastors have been accused of worsening the problem by claiming to have powers to recognize and exorcise "child witches," sometimes for a fee, aid workers said.

But some are true believers, such as one minister in Lagos, Nigeria. He pinpoints children affected by witchcraft for free, he said.

"Sometimes, we get a dream that shows us a certain person is suffering from witchcraft," said the Rev. Albert Aina, a senior pastor at Four Square Gospel Church. "Sometimes, you have a child who has inexplicable body marks because of struggling in the night. They are easy to identify, but why charge when you have been given a gift by God?" Aina said.

Once a child is branded a witch, the stigma can last forever.

Christian was reunited with his grandfather, a former theater instructor at a university in Nigeria. Eshiett said he let his son's child return home because he loves him and he advocates for youth education.

But, he added, he does not think Christian has been or can be freed from witchcraft.

"When you are possessed, you are possessed; no one can deliver you from Satan," Eshiett said, adding that his grandson is a witch because he still exhibits unruly behavior and does not take education seriously.

Aid organizations acknowledge that the belief is acceptable and popular in some communities.

"It is not the belief in witchcraft that we are concerned about," Foxcroft said. "We acknowledge people's right to hold this belief on the condition that this does not lead to child abuse."

Foxcroft, whose documentary, "Saving Africa's Witch Children," was broadcast last year, spoke to a U.N. panel on the issue in April.

The aid worker said he is planning a global conference in 2010 and public awareness campaigns, including addressing the issue in Nigerian movies. The nation's film industry, dubbed Nollywood, is a popular form of entertainment in African countries.

Government officials also have joined the fight.

Akwa Ibom recently added a clause into the Child Rights Act, saying that anyone found guilty of branding a child a witch would get up to 12 years in prison.

"This is groundbreaking, and Stepping Stones Nigeria applauds the Akwa Ibom state government for this," Foxcroft said.

But, he added, there is more work to be done, and other groups, especially churches, have to team up to resolve the problem.[/b]
"The role of the international Christian community in this cannot be underestimated," Foxcroft said. "Unfortunately, the fact remains that this belief system is being spread by so-called Christians."

CNN's attempts to reach Akwa Ibom state officials through phone calls and e-mails were unsuccessful. A Nigerian federal communications official declined to comment.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/05 ,  index.html

@topic.
u.s. Dismantles International Credit Card, Identity Theft Ring Of Nigerians.

Mai Suya:
Interesting! how come most almost 95% of all the names are southerners? After una go open una big mouth :'the north is cause of our problem blah, blah. . ." yeye

but your mom is from the south?you are mixed with a nigerdelta mom from the south.

Akwa ibom,

Photo News: Faces of Nigerian New York ID Theft Ring
http://saharareporters.com/index.php?op ,  &Itemid=18

Kai, soon these guys will be known as the "Nigerian mafia":

http://saharareporters.com/index.php?op ,  &Itemid=18


International Credit Card and Identity Theft Ring of Nigerians in New York Dismantled

THURSDAY, 14 MAY 2009 12:01 SAHARA REPORTERS, NEW YORK | Print |

Stolen IDS-Photo Credit: Bill Farrington

Fraud Estimated at $12 Million; Nearly Four Dozen Individuals Charged Following 21-Month Investigation; Counterfeit Credit Cards Used To Steal Money and Buy Electronic Goods that Were Later Fenced; Stolen Credit Cards Allegedly Used Around the Globe Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, joined by Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, today announced that an international forged credit card and identity theft ring based in the New York- metropolitan area and with roots in Nigeria has been successfully dismantled following the indictment this week of forty-five individuals. The ring – which was comprised of three separate identity theft and forged credit card groups that employed multiple cells – is alleged to have been responsible for stealing the credit cards and personal credit information of thousands of American and Canadian consumers, costing these individuals, as well as financial institutions and retail businesses, more than $12 million in losses over the past year alone.


District Attorney Brown said, “Our investigation reveals that – in terms of just the sheer number of people indicted – this is one of the largest identity theft networks uncovered in recent history and is just possibly the tip of a much larger global credit card trafficking operation. Besides draining the bank accounts of individuals throughout North America, we believe that the defendants – some of whom live in California, Illinois, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Toronto – also shipped stolen or fraudulently obtained credit cards to buyers around the world and that purchases were made in such far-off places as Japan, Saudi Arabia and Dubai. Particularly disturbing is that we have no way of knowing if any of these accounts have fallen into the hands of terrorists and are being used to finance their terrorist activities or to undermine the efforts of homeland security and other law enforcement officials intent on keeping our borders and citizens safe. Such a serious threat to public safety cannot go unchallenged. We will continue to work closely with our law enforcement colleagues to stamp out such fraud and help to maintain our nation’s safety and security.”
Organogram of Fraud-Photo Credit: Bill Farrington



District Attorney Brown added, “Technological advances have made it increasingly easier to carry out identity theft and fraud – two of the fastest growing crimes in the United States and which afflicts millions of victims and costs billions of dollars in losses to consumers, businesses and financial institutions. In this case, some of the defendants are alleged to have activated consumers’ credit cards by utilizing SpoofCards which allow a caller to disguise the telephone number they’re calling from and even their voice and gender. From a law enforcement perspective, such cards are anything but a spoof. They are virtually untraceable and can be used by identity thieves and hackers to pose as government and financial entities as a means to unscrupulously obtain personal information from unsuspecting consumers and also by defendants in domestic violence cases to harass their victims.”

Commissioner Kelly said, “When these suspects said ‘charge it’ they stole more than cash and goods.
They robbed unsuspecting victims of their identities too. This was a sophisticated crime ring which met its just end through painstaking investigation by NYPD detectives and unstinting support by Queens prosecutors.”

District Attorney Brown said that the defendants have been charged in a series of indictments charging 784 pattern acts with, among other crimes, Enterprise Corruption under New York State’s Organized Crime Control Act. They are accused of being members and associates of three organized criminal enterprises that operated in Queens County and elsewhere and that, between April 18, 2008, and April 23, 2009, systematically schemed to defraud thousands of unsuspecting consumers and financial institutions – such as Citibank, Bank of America, Chase and HSBC and a series of Canadian banks – including President’s Choice Bank, CIBC, MBNA Canada and Bank of Montreal.

According to the charges, suppliers in the ring fraudulently obtained credit card accounts to be compromised. The accounts included NRI (non-received as issued) accounts [accounts where a credit or debit card was mailed to an account holder but was never actually received by the account holder]; accounts that were fraudulently taken over; and accounts that were fraudulently opened. Once the suppliers obtained the accounts, they would get the accounts prepared so that they could be accessed by leaders of identity theft cells. This was accomplished by turning the accounts over to:

• Account preparers – responsible for activating the accounts, which usually involved placing a phone call to a financial institution and impersonating the account holder by pretending to be calling from the account holder’s home phone. This was accomplished by using a Spoof Card, which allows a person to change the number that appears on the receiver’s caller ID and can make a man’s voice sound like a woman’s and vice versa. The account preparer would also change a PIN number, change the mailing address, add a secondary card user and/or increase the account’s credit limit;
• Account maintainers – responsible for paying off accounts in order to avoid fraud detection and increase credit lines. The maintainer would use funds from one account to pay off another account to keep it viable and to steadily increase its credit limit, at which point all the funds from the account would be drained; or
• Account washers – responsible for obtaining as much pedigree information on an account holder as possible so that other account preparers could then use the information to access the victim accounts in order to take over the accounts.

A supplier would then sell the accounts to identity theft cell leaders, who would either pay the supplier a flat fee for an account or a percentage of the funds accessed with the account. Prior to accessing the accounts, the cell leaders would turn the accounts over to a “mill” run by a document manufacturer who would create the forged credit cards and forged identification cards. A document manufacturer was paid for each dummy credit card and identification card he made. Once a cell leader had the fraudulent documents they were distributed to the ring’s foot soldiers and shoppers who actually accessed the accounts.
Foot soldiers would access the accounts using ATMs and bank tellers. While using an ATM was less risky, there was a limit as to the amount of money that could be withdrawn at any specific time (usually a few hundred dollars). Equipped with a forged credit card and a forged identification card (such as a driver’s license), a foot soldier could withdraw up to $4,900 at a time at a bank. Shoppers were responsible
for making purchases, usually high-end electronics with the stolen credit cards. The accounts the shoppers were given were those that had a high credit limit but no available cash advance. Shoppers were also responsible for finding “fences,” who would buy the electronics from them.

Theft Cell: Photo Credit: Bill Farrington

The District Attorney said that the investigation – dubbed “Operation Plastic Pipe Line” – leading to this week’s indictments and arrests began in September 2007 when police officers assigned to the Police Department’s Identity Theft Squad commenced a joint investigation with the District Attorney’s Economic Crimes Bureau into the large scale theft of Citibank credit cards and the subsequent use of the credit cards in Queens County and elsewhere. The investigation involved physical surveillance, intelligence gathering and court-authorized electronic eavesdropping on approximately one hundred different telephones and e- mail accounts in which thousands of conversations were intercepted – many of which required translation from Yoruba and Pidgin English to English.

In the largest of the criminal enterprise indictments, it is alleged that Wole “Shola” Ogunwen was the leader of the Shola Enterprise and supplied the various accounts to his cell leaders – Ayanwale Ganiyu, Anthony O. Johnson, Kola Falidaya Molake, Adebayo A. Animashaun and Charles Femi Adoyele and his manager Jones Omoyemi Osinowo – who managed the local cells and managed the compromising of the supplied accounts. The accounts were allegedly prepared for usage by the defendants Idaya Molake, Hassan O. Anibaba, Abiodun A. Shotonwa, Anthony O. Johnson, Abimbola Lana and Samuel A. Adeoba. Steven Trevor Jackson was alleged to have been the forged document manufacturer who provided the “Shola” Enterprise with the forged identification and credit cards. John Doe (a.k.a. Abe), Ike Nwabuoke and Abidemi Olajide allegedly were the foot soldiers who went to the banks to make the withdrawals or to stores to make purchases with the compromised accounts. According to the charges, when purchases were made with these accounts, the items, usually expensive electronics, would then allegedly be fenced to Ronan Hassoun, who operates Five Brothers Audio and Video Electronics at 43 Graham Avenue in Brooklyn.

Finally, it is alleged that any funds obtained from the compromised accounts would then be paid up to Wole Ogunwen. District Attorney Brown said that the twenty-six defendants charged in the Shola Enterprise Corruption indictment are also variously charged – along with ten others – in a second 309-count identity theft indictment. In addition, three of the purported cell leaders named in the Shola indictments – Charles Femi Adoyele, Ayanwale Ganiyu and Abdul Razack Yusuf – are charged in separate indictments with operating two smaller identity theft and forged credit card operation – the Femi Criminal Enterprise and the Ganiyu/Razack Criminal Enterprise.
District Attorney Brown noted that, as part of the investigation, court-authorized search warrants were executed earlier this week at 17 locations and resulted in the recovery of forged credit cards, credit reports, machines used to stamp credit card account information onto cards and nearly $100,000 in cash.
Twenty-two of the defendants have been arraigned thus far before Queens Supreme Court Justice Richard L. Buchter.

The investigation was conducted by Detective Enrico Morriello of the New York City Police Department’s Identity Theft Squad under the supervision of Sergeant Barry Neiss and Lieutenant Ruperto Aguilar and the command of Deputy Inspector Gregory T. Antonsen, of the Organized Theft and Identity Theft Task Force, and the overall supervision of Deputy Chief Jeremiah Quinlan, Commander of the Special Investigations Division, and Chief George F. Brown of the Detectives Bureau.

Assistance was also provided by the NYPD’s Asset Forfeiture Unit – namely, Detective Raymond Phillips, Sergeant Stephen Scalza and Lieutenant Charles Scalzo – and its Fugitive Warrant Squad. Out of state assistance was provided by the Chicago Police Department, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department, the Frederick (MD) Police Department and the Philadelphia Police Department.
Assisting also in the investigation were various members of the District Attorney’s Economic Crimes Bureau – namely, Assistant District Attorney Edward Suh, Paralegal Ericka Loperena, Investigative Auditor Phylesia A. Lang, Consumer Fraud Representative Michael Albanesi, Trial Prep Assistant Ivory Lai and Secretary Robin R. McCray.

Assistant District Attorney Purvi Patel, of the Economic Crimes Bureau, is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Gregory C. Pavlides, Bureau Chief, and Christina Hanophy, Deputy Bureau Chief, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Peter A. Crusco and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney Linda M. Cantoni.
District Attorney Brown expressed his appreciation to the United States Postal Inspection Service and the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles for their assistance and cooperation during the investigation.
It should be noted that an indictment is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.



I. SHOLA ENTERPRISE CORRUPTION INDICTMENT (369 counts) (17 DEFENDANTS)
The defendants are all charged with enterprise corruption and are variously charged with second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, third- and fourth-degree grand larceny, third-degree attempted grand larceny, fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, petit larceny, attempted petit larceny, and fifth-degree conspiracy. If convicted, they each face up to 25 years in prison.
* denotes defendant is presently being sought.

NAME/ADDRESS ALLEGED ROLE
1 * Wole Ogunwen, of 187-47 Ilion Avenue, St. Albans, Queens Supplier
2 Steven Trevor Jackson, 42, of 1271 Ocean Avenue in Brooklyn Forged Document Manufacturer
3 Jones Omoyemi Osinowo, 49, of 250 East 29th Street in Brooklyn Cell Manager
4 Adebayo A. Animashaun (age and address unavailable) Cell Manager
5 Ayanwale Ganiyu, 40, of 2020 East 41st Street in Brooklyn Cell Leader
6 Kola Falabake, 36, of 345 Montgomery Street in Brooklyn Cell Leader
7 Charles Femi Adoyele, 55, of 7 Trebor Road in Massapequa, LI Cell Leader
8 Anthony O. Johnson, 40, of 120 Beach 19th Street in Far Rockaway, Queens Cell Leader/Account Preparer
9 Idaya Molake, 43, of 341 10th Street in Brooklyn. Account Preparer
10 * Abiodun A. Shotonwa, 58, of 770 New York Avenue in Brooklyn Account Preparer
11 Hassan O. Anibaba, 32, of 950 Rutland Road in Brooklyn Account Preparer
12 Obimbola Lana, 45, of 1655 Undercliff Avenue in the Bronx. Account Preparer
13 Samuel A. Adeoba (age and address unavailable) Assistant Account Preparer
14 * John Doe (a/k/a Abe) (name, age and address unavailable) Foot Solider
15 Abidemi Olajide, 50, of 1396 Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn Foot Solider
16 * Ike Nwabuoke, 41, of Canada Foot Soldier
17 Ronan Hassoun, 38, of 2614 Quentin Road in Brooklyn Fence (for electronics)
II. SHOLA IDENTITY THEFT INDICTMENT (309 counts)
(27 DEFENDANTS)
Seventeen of the individuals are those named in the Shola Enterprise Corruption indictment. Below is information on the additional 10 defendants)
The defendants are variously charged with first-, second- and third-degree identity theft, first- and third-degree attempted identity theft, third-degree unlawful possession of personal identification, third- and fourth-degree grand larceny, second- degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, fifth-degree conspiracy, petit larceny and attempted petit larceny. If convicted, they each face up to seven years in prison.
* indicates that the defendant is presently being sought.
NAME/ADDRESS ALLEGED ROLE
18 Denis Lenoid, 49, of 617 East 39th Street in Brooklyn Forged Document Manager
19 Roden Daniels Forged Document Manager
20 Fidelis Chukwuyem, 45, of 1037 East 99th Street in Brooklyn Forged Document Manager
21 Abdul Razack Yusuf, 48, of 380 Cozine Street in Brooklyn Cell Leader
22 Jide Salako, 35, of 518 West 41st Street in Los Angeles, California Cell Leader
23 Olanrewaju A. Shittu, 45, of 765 Lincoln Avenue in Brooklyn Cell Leader
24 Oladele Adeyemi, (age and address unavailable) Account Preparer
25 * Vivian Ike, 47, of 380 Cozine Street in Brooklyn Foot Soldier
26 Wole A. Lajide, 45, of Queens. Foot Soldier
27 Yetunde Peronel, 40, of 2501 Nostrand Avenue in Brooklyn Foot Soldier

III. FEMI ENTERPRISE CORRUPTION INDICTMENT (326 counts)
(11 DEFENDANTS)
The defendants are all charged with enterprise corruption and are variously charged with second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, third- and fourth-degree grand larceny, third- and fourth-degree attempted grand larceny, fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, petit larceny, attempted petit larceny, and fifth-degree conspiracy. If convicted, they each face up to 25 years in prison. * indicates that the defendant is presently being sought ** indicates that the defendant is also named in either the Shola Enterprise Corruption or/and Identity Theft Indictments.

NAME/ADDRESS ALLEGED ROLE
** Charles Femi Adoyele (named in Shola E.C. and I.D. Indictments) Cell Leader
** Jones Omoyemi Osinowo (named in Shola E.C. and I.D. Indictments) Cell Manager
** Adebayo A. Animashaun (named in Shola E.C. and I.D. Indictments) Supplier
28 Gaberial Goodwin, 41, of 259-51 147th Drive in Rosedale, Queens Supplier
29 * Ajibola Williams, 38, of Toronto, Canada Supplier 30 Olatunde Ashaya, 28, of 6333 North Ridge Avenue in Chicago, Illinois Supplier
** Steven Trevor Jackson (named in Shola E.C. and I.D. Indictments) Forged Document Manufacturer
** Abimbola Lana (named in Shola E.C. and I.D. Indictments) Account Preparer
31 John Adewale, 49, of 905 Rutland Road in Brooklyn Foot Soldier
** Wole A. Lajide (named in Shola I.D. Indictment) Foot Soldier
** Abidemi Olajide (named in Shola E.C. and I.D. Indictments) Foot Soldier

IV. FEMI IDENTITY THEFT INDICTMENT (297 counts)
(25 DEFENDANTS)
Eleven of the defendants are those named in the Femi Enterprise Corruption indictment above. Below is information on the
additional 14 defendants.
The defendants are variously charged with first- second- and third-degree identity theft, first- and third-degree attempted identity theft, second- and third-degree unlawful possession of personal identification, third- and fourth-degree grand larceny, third-degree attempted grand larceny, second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, fifth-degree conspiracy, petit larceny and attempted petit larceny. If convicted, they each face up to seven years in prison.
* indicates that the defendant is presently being sought
** indicates that the defendant is also named in either the Shola Enterprise Corruption or/and Identity Theft Indictments

[b]NAME/ADDRESS ALLEGED ROLE
32 Taiwo Adekanbi, 51, of 1035 Clarkson Avenue in Brooklyn Supplier
33 * Olayiwola Adams, 49, of 2425 Nostrand Avenue in Brooklyn Supplier
34 Jason Doyle (age and address unavailable) Supplier
35 Taye Adewale, 41, of Brooklyn Supplier
36 Israel Adeyomi, 41, of 6544 Belmar Street/Terrace in Philadelphia, PA. Supplier
** Kola Falabake (named in Shola E.C. and I.D. Indictments) Supplier
37 * Kazeem A. Atanda, 39, of 1438 Street Place in Brooklyn Supplier
38 Haffeez A. Odoffin, 31, of 8948 South Normal Avenue in Chicago, IL Supplier
39 * Tola Omotayo, 40, of 49 Crown Street in Brooklyn Supplier
40 Samuel A. Adeoba (age and address unavailable) Assistant Account Preparer
41 * Yele Kunle Akins (age and address unavailable) Foot Soldier
** Yetunde Peronel (named in Shola ID indictment) Foot Solider
42 Yussuf Amos Oladipo (age and address unavailable) works for others who used this cell to wash accounts
** Abiodun A. Shotonwa (named in Shola E.C. and I.D. Indictments) works for others who used this cell to wash accounts
V. GANIYU/RAZACK ENTERPRISE CORRUPTION INDICTMENT (92 counts)
(7 DEFENDANTS)
The defendants are all charged with enterprise corruption and are variously charged with second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, third- and fourth-degree grand larceny, fourth- and third-degree attempted grand larceny, fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, petit larceny, attempted petit larceny, and fifth-degree conspiracy. If convicted, they each face up to 25 years in prison.
** indicates that the defendant is also named in either the Shola Enterprise Corruption or/and Identity Theft Indictments
NAME/ADDRESS ALLEGED ROLE
** Abdul Razack Yusuf (named in Shola I.D. Indictment) cell manager
** Ayanwale Ganiyu (named in Shola E.C. Indictment) cell manager
43 Richard Nwabuisi, 40, of 525 Ellrose Court, Frederick, MD supplier
44 Hakeem B. Olokodana (age and address unavailable) supplier
** Fidelis Chukwuyem (named in Shola I.D. Indictment) forged document manufacturer
** Denis Lenoid (named in Shola I.D. Indictment) forged document manufacturer
45 Abimbola Akinrindae, 51, of 188-02 64th Avenue in Queens account preparer

VI. GANIYU/RAZACK IDENTITY THEFT INDICTMENT (105 counts)
(9 DEFENDANTS)
Seven of the individuals are those named in the Ganiyu/Razack Enterprise Corruption indictment above. Below is information on the additional 2 defendants, who are also named in the Shola Identity Theft Indictment.
The defendants are variously charged with first- and second-degree identity theft, first- and third-degree attempted identity theft, third-degree unlawful possession of personal identification, third- and fourth-degree grand larceny, second-degree
criminal possession of a forged instrument, fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, fifth-degree conspiracy and petit larceny. If convicted, they each face up to seven years in prison.
** indicates that the defendant is also named in either the Shola Enterprise Corruption or/and Identity Theft Indictments
NAME/ADDRESS ALLEGED ROLE
** Roden Daniels (named in Shola I.D. Indictment) forged document manufacturer
** Vivian Ike (named in Shola I.D. Indictment) foot soldier [/b]

-O-N-F-E-S-S-I-O-N: We can’t implement budget - Yar’Adua - Considers dropping some projects
Bola Badmus and Idowu Samuel, Abuja - 15.05.2009

PRESIDENT Umaru Yar’Adua said, on Thursday, that his administration would not be able to fully implement the 2009 budget because of the dwindling government revenue, which, he said, had dipped by 30 per cent in three months.


The president stated this in a letter he wrote to the Speaker, House of Representatives, Honourable ‘Dimeji Bankole, and which was read on the floor of the chamber by Deputy Speaker, Honourable Usman Bayero Nafada, who presided over the session.


President Yar’Adua wrote the letter based on the motion moved on the floor of the House last Wednesday, accusing the Presidency of implementing the 2009 budget in a selective manner.


In the letter, the president, who lamented the poor revenue base of the country, as a result of the drastic fall in revenue from crude oil, disclosed that his government was proposing a comprehensive review of the 2009 budget with a view to dropping some of the projects embedded in the document.


President Yar’Adua, also, in the letter, highlighted a four-pronged approach in reviewing the budget, including aligning and rationalising government spending with revenue flows and prioritising expenditure to focus on projects central to the realisation of the administration’s Seven-point Agenda.


According to him, the approach also included virement proposals to reallocate resources from projects for which “we do not have capacity for implementation and effective supervision to critical projects.”


Others include “submission of a Supplementary Budget to the National Assembly to fund particularly critical projects that were left out in the 2009 budget and initiating dialogue with the National Assembly to address issues of constitutional separation of powers in relation to budget execution.


“This revenue shortfall has been exacerbated by the challenge of financing the fiscal deficit. We had identified sources of financing the deficit, such as accessing the international and local capital markets.


“However, we have stepped down plans to issue the $500 million denominated international bond due to the ongoing global financial crisis, which has adversely affected international liquidity. The administration is also being cautious in excessively accessing the domestic financial markets to avoid the risk of crowding out the private sector and stifling economic growth.


“Finally, although we have introduced measures to improve internally generated revenue, including customs reforms and audit of MDAs internally generated revenues, there are still challenges in meeting our financing needs,” the president said.


The president said in the letter that even some of the projects that were crucial for the attainment of his Seven-point Agenda had been slashed or completely removed from the budget, disclosing those affected included provisions for power-related projects critical to the attainment of targeted 600 megawatts by the end of 2009; allocations for the Multi Year Tariff Order (MYTO) which he said was critical to the ongoing power sector reforms.


He also disclosed that vote for security of oil and gas assets to improve the security around oil installations; arrears for parastatal agencies monetisation; provision for public sector wage adjustment; provision for FCT water treatment plant; construction of soldiers’ accommodation necessary to improving security under the Seven-Point Agenda and the President’s contingency, which is a vital provision that provides the administration with the necessary resources to promptly respond to urgent and unanticipated expenditures were affected as well.


Members, who reacted to the letter on the floor, urged that copies of the document be made available to every member of the House while a date be set aside to deliberate on it.