₦airaland Forum

Anambra 2010: Ojukwu endorses Emeka Etiaba   
Written by VANGUARD     
Sunday, 19 April 2009 


A [b]STATEMENT towards Anambra 2010 gubernatorial election was made by Ikemba Nnewi and the national leader of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, as he took a tour of the ancient town of Awka which doubles as the capital city of Anambra State, with APGA governorship aspirant and son of the current deputy governor of Anambra State, Barrister Emeka Etiaba.
Dim Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu in his speech at the opening of ‘The Next Level Arena’, Emeka Etiaba Campaign Organisation headquarters at Udoka Estate, Awka and the official declaration for the 2010 governorship race in Anambra State by Etiaba, praised Governor  Peter Obi for what he has achieved for the state however stating that the governor, having  played his part, should take a well deserved rest to enable Etiaba take the state to the next level of development.

Ojukwu said “The one to come in as the next governor is my name sake Emeka. We will move from this campaign headquarters to government house. I will always be by your side and I urge you to support the current governor until the end of his tenure”.[/b]Etiaba earlier unveiled his blueprint for Anambra State which he said will lead Anambra State to the next level of development and said his main reasons for joining the governorship race were to do fundamental work on education, health and agriculture; create a deserving state capital in Awka while not neglecting other cities in the state

http://www.vanguardngr.com/content/view/33882/42/

jamace:
Ndito ette, etie nte *jona ye *comfort e di owo kiet o. Enye diongo ke ndi tan iko mbakara. Odiongo "copy and paste" kpot.

odiongo.

Last Updated: 4/17/2009 10:27:03 PM

[b]Forty-five Nigerian and international passports have been recovered from a syndicate that steals travelling documents for identity theft. The syndicate, based in the Mulero,  area of Agege, Lagos, according to the police, is headed by a suspect who identified himself as a 1985 graduate of Business Administration from the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU).[/b]Gbenga Odudele, 49, was paraded at the Zone ‘2’ police headquarters, along with other persons suspected to have committed fraud and economic crimes. There was also the case of a fraudster, who posed as an estate agent to dupe people, who were searching for accommodation, of over N31million, and another case of three vandals caught with 1000 kegs of petroleum products.

Speaking on the passport racket, the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Muhammed Abubakar, said his men recovered stolen British, American, ECOWAS and Nigerian passports when they raided the suspects’ base in Agege. He said that some of the passports had visas in them.

Abubakar said: “On April 2, at about 3:30p.m., detectives visited one International School of Aviation at Mulero area of Agege, where one Gbenga Odudele was arrested. After a search of his place, 42 Nigerian International Passports belonging to different persons, one United States of America International Passport, one Latvian International Passport, one polythene bag containing charms, a big envelope containing application for Visa and statements of accounts from different banks were recovered.”

Odudele told http://nigeriafilms.com that he had been in the Visa and Passport racket for five years.

On the property agent’s case, Abubakar said a complainant, Raphael Aribisala, told the police about the activities of one Ojo Ola, who collected N500,000 promising to get a flat for him.

“[b]Investigation commenced in earnest and detectives found that Ojo Ola had been using one Ola Ventures as his company name with other cohorts at large. He had obtained various sums of money from 75 persons totalling N31,880,000, under the pretext of renting out the same two-bedroom flat. The suspect had since squandered the money before the victims realized the folly in the transaction,” Abubakar said, adding that the suspect has been slammed with a 143-count charge.

Abubakar urged prospective tenants to be wary of the kind of agents they entrust with their money for house rent. He also called on those whose passports had been stolen to come to the police headquarters at Onikan and check if they are among the recovered ones.

Commending the police anti-vandalism team at Zone ‘2’ led by Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Friday Ibadin, Abubakar spoke of what he called “very serious economic sabotage” embarked upon by some Nigerians and displayed over 1000 kegs, filled with stolen petroleum products, recovered from vandals.

The suspects, who Abubakar identified as Kazeem Omar, Monday Ogundele and Abiodun Alade were allegedly caught siphoning petroleum products from NNPC vandalised pipeline, along Arepo area of Ogun State.

“Exhibits recovered from them included several 50-litre kegs loaded with petroleum product, one Iveco lorry with registration number XP 943 AKD and one LT 35 bus (XM 350 AGL) with which the product was conveyed. The prime suspect, one Ya-Lateef, on sighting the police, jumped into the river and efforts are on to arrest him,” Abubakar said, adding that activities of vandals could cripple the nation’s economy.[/b]

The people of ondo town(ondo state} and igbo people enjoy eatting dog as a meat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-J_SyifKb0&feature=related
mike okri. 

Villagers foil bid to kidnap student
By Agency Reporter
Published: Monday, 20 Apr 2009
A female student of the College of Education, Ikere-Ekiti, was on Friday rescued in a bush by villagers at Ijemo, along Ilawe Road, few minutes after she was kidnapped by three men in Oke-Iyinmi area of Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital.

Two of the abductors, who had stripped the girl naked in an apparent bid to rape her, were also apprehended by the villagers, while the third accomplice bolted from the scene.

The whereabouts of a female Igbo youth corps member living in Ilawe who disappeared from the state since last year after a ride on a motorcycle allegedly driven by his kinsman were yet unknown.

From the report monitored on the Broadcasting Service of Ekiti State television, on Sunday by our correspondent, the latest victim had stood by the roadside, on Saturday, waiting to board a vehicle to the motor park.

She was said to have been travelling to Kogi State when the men, who rode on two motorcycles, accosted her to direct them to a location within the city, which she told them was not known to her.

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art200904202115115

Father of kidnapped girl threatens Abia governor

JUDE OPARA, Abuja


After his nine-year-old daughter spent 10 days in captivity before regaining her freedom last Wednesday, a retired Naval officer has threatened to sue the Abia State Governor Theodore Orji, for allegedly failing to rescue the young girl and other victims of kidnappings in the state.

Navy Capt. Jerry Ogbonna (rtd), also condemned the authorities of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) for failure to curb kidnapping and hostage taking in the country.

Ogbonna, who was the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance [APGA], in the 2007 general elections in Abia State, in a press conference in Abuja last Friday, said that he parted with the sum of N500,000 as ransom to the kidnappers before his daughter, Rebecca regained her freedom.

"The government of Abia State did absolutely nothing, may be because they think l am an opposition person in their state so l might as well suffer it. They did absolutely nothing. From the time the thing was made public l went to Broadcasting Corporation of Abia (BCA) and they were not interested to broadcast it. It was only, because l met somebody who was in school with me, that they were able to broadcast it minimally’’ he said.

Ogbonna claimed that after three of such announcements, the station was ordered to stop. He added that no state functionary came to enquire about his child’s ordeal from him.

"Nobody came to me, no commissioner, no government functionary came to me, nobody asked any question. it was like everybody folded their hands .It was only me and my God. There is nothing Abia State Government is doing, yet this is happening within their territory’’ he said.

On the non-chalant attitude of the police in the matter, Ogbonna said the police was confused and lacks knowledge of what to do, adding that the equipment is not there for them to operate.

"I was in the military. I know that the police this day lack knowledge and have poor training because l do not see how a police force can be working, trying to find these but do not have a map. The people are in the bush. The real guys, who are doing this thing are in the bush.’’

"The police have no map. You just tell them and they will say okay. It must be in this hotel. It must be that hotel. They keep wasting time. This girl has to stay in that place for 10 days because the police doesn’t know what to do. They cannot go to the bush, because they are afraid,’’ he said.

Narrating her ordeal to journalists, little Chinenye who is a primary school pupil in Roda Lane Primary School, Woodfort Green Essex, London, and was in Nigeria for the first time to attend the wedding of her elder sister before she was kidnapped on April 6, said that the kidnappers, numbering between 8 and 15, took her to several locations in the forest, where they have tents and military weapons.



http://www.champion-newspapers.com/news/article_9.htm

Kwara: Saraki tips daughter for 2011 gov race?
Yekini Jimoh, Ilorin - 20.04.2009

SECOND Republic Senate Leader and leader of the Northern Union, Dr. Olusola Saraki, may have put his daughter, Senator Gbemisola Saraki, in the race for the 2011 governorship election in the state.


Dr. Saraki was said to have indicated this to his supporters in Ilorin a few weeks ago. According to sources, Dr. Saraki had stated that in the next two months, he would disclose the governorship candidate of his own party.


It was gathered that Dr. Saraki, some weeks ago, with his political supporters, paid a courtesy call on the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Sulu Gambari, where a closed door meeting was held.


Although, the purpose and the outcome of the meeting were not disclosed, sources said it might not be unconnected with the ambition of the former Senate Leader to bring his daughter into the race.


Already, the picture of the incumbent governor, Dr. Bukola Saraki, on a billboard on the Olorunshogo campaign ground of Dr. Olusola Saraki has been replaced with that of Senator Gbemisola Saraki.


When contacted on the development, Senior Special Adviser on Media to Governor Saraki, Mr. Biliaminu Daramola, said it was only a rumour.


He described Dr. Olusola Saraki as a father and political leader who would always protect the interests of the people.


http://www.tribune.com.ng/20042009/news/news8.html

Yar’Adua approves deportation of Vaswani brothers - Customs for probe - President should follow due process - Staff
Lanre Adewole, Abuja - 20.04.2009

CONTROVERSIAL businessmen, the Vaswani brothers, are to be deported again from Nigeria over alleged fraudulent business activities. They had earlier been deported by the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo over same allegation but recalled by the government of President Umaru Yar’Adua.


However, the same Yar’Adua’s administration is said to have endorsed the recommendation of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that the siblings be deported from the country following their alleged indictment for fraud-riddled businesses.



The commission investigated the brothers for alleged criminal conspiracy, tax evasion, economic sabotage and money laundering, with its report said to have indicted them on all the allegations.


Nigerian Tribune gathered from very credible sources that the final report of the commission recommended the brothers’ expulsion from the country following their refusal to appear before the commission to defend the allegations against them, especially the alleged N3 billion customs duties evasion.


The brothers were also said to have failed to honour their earlier promise to pay up the N3 billion and instead took the commission to court after they allegedly tricked the commission into releasing their staff that were arrested during a raid on their companies.On the alleged customs duties scam, the report of the commission reportedly found the brothers guilty of short-changing the Nigerian government on the import duties they ought to pay on the six vessels that shipped in rice for them from Thailand.


The six names of the vessels were given as M.V Golden, which reportedly brought in 21,000 metric tonnes, M.V Lucky Field, 23,000 metric tonnes, M.V Goldmar, 20,500 metric tonnes, M.V Tolim, 5,00 metric tonnes, M.V Glory Sanye, 5,000 metric tonnes and M.V Thor Alliance, 10,000 metric tonnes.


Nigerian Tribune sources further revealed that “it was discovered that the three vessels with the highest number of goods were the ones cleared with the expired waivers, while the goods in the other three were devalued to evade payment of appropriate import duties.”


The sources added that “on September 26, 2008 when the import documents were signed to show that the goods were already in Nigeria, it was discovered that the vessels were still in Thailand. Instead of paying $850 (U.S dollars) per metric tonne on the goods in the other three vessels that were devalued, they declared $450, in order to beat import duties.


“What they did was a clear case of front-loading to evade duties on the consignment”. It was learnt that while the Nigerians working in the Vaswani companies would be allowed to continue operations, the companies would be prosecuted.


Nigerian Tribune sources disclosed that apart from the alleged tax evasion case against the brothers, it was also discovered during the EFCC investigation that the Vaswanis exceeded their expatriate quota with about 2,500 Indians working in the Stallion Group instead of less than 500 expatriate quota they had.


The commission started investigating the brothers in March 2009 and declared them wanted when they allegedly refused to honour its invitation.


They were reportedly said to be in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates when the last contact was said to have been made with them by the commission.


Meanwhile, Nigerian staff of the Indian business group, Stallion, owned by the Vaswani brothers, have sent a desperate appeal to President Umar Yar’Adua to stay with his due process mantra and not allow his government unlawful sealing or deportation which, in their view, would hurt not only the credibility of government but the prospect of foreign direct investmentin Nigeria.


“Any thought of their deportation in the middle of a judicial process will detract from the government’s impeccable due process credentials. It will hurt the good prospects of foreign investments in the country and impact negatively on the 10,000 Nigerian families employed under our companies,” a statement by the Nigerians in the the companies signed by Alhaji Tajudeen Olalere, a director said.


“If the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) believes it has a case against them, let them present themselves to the jurisdiction of the courts. Since we are already in court, it would amount to a negation of the due process policy of the government to act with arbitrariness on the matter.”


The statement reaffirmed their confidence in the courts to justly and fairly adjudicate on their ongoing dispute with the customs.


“Our companies have done no wrong. The rice imports in dispute met all the requirements of the law and customs guidelines on importation and we are ready to prove that in court,” they said.


They counselled the government to look beyond the “antics” of a powerful group of barons who desired a monopoly in the Nigerian commodity trade and who they alleged, had ruined several other Nigerians and were determined to see the back of the Vaswanis in order to halt their growing effort to institute the local production of rice in Nigeria.


Alhaji Olalere alleged that the recent round of trouble for the Vaswanis arose from their signature on the N162 billion agreement with the Nigerian goverment to produce rice locally together with the world’s largest rice producer.The new project is billed to start with farm acrages in 10 states of the federation and is expected to provide 3,000,000 job openings at the first instance as mentioned by the Minister of Agriculture.”


“We are indeed surprised by the rather harsh EFCC action when the matter is under due process with the relevant government departments, namely the Customs and Ministry of Finance. During the time that rice prices skyrocketed worldwide in 2008, in line with the Federal Government’s import strategy on ensuring food security, we responded to the requirements by making supply arrangements of sufficient quantities internationally between May and October 2008. The progressive strategy of the government was very successful, reducing the prices of rice for the consumer from N15,000 per bag to N6,000 per bag.


“All of these shipments were customs cleared and partly discharged before the stipulated duty free deadline of October 31st 2008 and were also partially discharged in Lagos port before proceeding to Port Harcourt .


These shipments, their clearance documents and their arrival details are legally well documented as is the wide knowledge of the congestion of all the ports in Nigeria during that time. However, in January 2009, three months later, the customs chose to claim duties against these last shipments. As payment of duties would undermine the very purpose of FG’s move to stabilize local prices and ensure food security, Stallion Group contested these decisions officially with the customs and have provided all requisite information since then.


“It is also pertinent to note that during the same time in October 2008, several other shipments of rice imported by other importers have not gone under the EFCC radar and are being allowed to go un contested.”

http://www.tribune.com.ng/20042009/news/news3.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUJSME0TORw&feature=related

Abduct Kidnappers Now in the North
•Canadian student in Kaduna
04.19.2009

Kidnapping of people in exchange for ransome which is very prevalent in the South-south and South-eastern zones in the country has reared its ugly head in the northern part of the country as police confirmed that a Canadian university student on exchange programme was seized in Kaduna on Thursday. [b]A group has demanded money before the woman could be released.
The woman, one of five Canadian university undergraduates on the student exchange programme, was abducted about 9:00pm.
"We have an abduction case on our hands. I can confirm that a Canadian woman was kidnapped Thursday night around 9:00 pm," Aminu Lawan, police spokesman for Kaduna state, told AFP.
"We have commenced investigations to trail her whereabouts and launch a rescue operation,” Aminu said.
A police source said the other four Canadian nationals had been flown out of Nigeria following the kidnapping.
The students had been staying at a Rotary Club residential complex in the southern Kaduna suburb of Rigasa, police said. The Canadian student was abducted by four men while attending an international conference.
The student, who sources said, had a Nigerian male friend, was kidnapped in Narayi in the northern part of the city.
Another source close to the investigation said the kidnappers were seeking a ransom.
"I can't give figures but it's a handsome demand," said the source.
The Foreign Affairs Department in Ottawa said in an email that Canadian diplomats are in touch with Nigerian authorities and are attempting to secure the woman's release.
The email statement added that consular officials were also in contact with family members, who are asking the media to respect their privacy at this time.
“I can tell you at this point that the government of Canada can confirm that a Canadian national is missing and presumed kidnapped in Nigeria," Lisa Monette said. "The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade is in touch with local authorities with a view to securing release of the Canadian national."
Reuters news agency quoted a police officer as saying that gunmen kidnapped a Canadian woman late on Thursday in the northwest Nigerian city of Kaduna.
"The woman was kidnapped around 10 p. m. (Thursday) by four gunmen as she was entering a house," a Kaduna police officer said in a telephone interview.
The police officer, who asked to not be identified, said no one had claimed responsibility.
An official with the Canadian Embassy in Nigeria declined to comment, Reuters said.
"Consular officials are in contact with the family, who have asked that the media respect their privacy at this time," Monette said.
In a related development, an expatriate with a construction firm in Akwa Ibom has been abducted by suspected Niger Delta militants.
The construdtion worker, a Lebanese simply identified as Mosouf, was attached to Gitto Construction firm.
Sources said the Lebanese was abducted at the site of the construction of the Ibom International Airport at Okobo local government area of the state.
Gitto Construction Com-pany is a sub-contractor handling the construction of the runway of the Ibom airport project.
The Deputy Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Oki, said the command had put necessary measures in place to effect the release of the expatriate worker.
He disclosed that, already the hierarchy of the Gitto construction outfit had opened contact with the militants at their hide out with a view to securing the release of the worker.
Although no group has claimed responsibility for the abduction, police authority in the state said the Command was out to pick those behind kidnapping in the state. [/b]

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=141213

Two Nigerians top Microsoft exams
By Segun Olugbile
Published: Sunday, 19 Apr 2009
TWO pupils of Doregos Private Academy, Lagos, Davidson Osaremen, 12, and Alade Oluwaseun, 13, have graduated as two of the best students in this year‘s Microsoft Certified Professionals examinations.

With their performance, the two, according to Microsoft and New Horizons, have become Africa‘s youngest pupils to obtain the Microsoft CP certificate.

Microsoft had partnered New Horizons to develop local innovation by empowering Nigerian youths.

The partnership‘s goal is to drive creativity amongst Nigerian youths, and help them reach their full potential, so that at any age they can compete with their peers across the world.

According to the Managing Director, New Horizons, Mr. Tim Akano, the two pupils had partnered with Rilwan Shittu about three years ago to set up a company called DASH. ”The two youngsters, nine and 10 at the time, assembled their own computer within 15 minutes in December 2006,” Akano told the gathering, where the two IT whiz kids were honoured at an elaborate ceremony on Wednesday in Lagos.

He added that it was therefore not difficult for the two to excel in the MCP examinations after their school partnered with his firm to participate in the exams.

”This achievement by Davidson and Alade is sure proof that Nigeria has the talent to compete against the best IT professionals in the world if they are given the right training and support. Once we identified that these teenagers had a strong flair for technology we made the commitment to nurture them to this point where they have now emerged as Nigeria‘s youngest IT professionals,” he added.

He commended the academy for adopting technology education as a core part of its curriculum. Doregos, the first school to embrace the ICT Partnership programme with New Horizons, has garnered several awards, including the Best ICT Students award in Lagos State. The school also represented Nigeria in Brazil for the International Science EXPO, where Nigeria won five medals and two trophies.

According to him, this century is the ICT century, hence his organisation‘s commitment to supporting and actively driving programmes aimed at ensuring that Nigeria is relevant in the ICT revolution.

The Country Manager of Microsoft, Mr. Emmanuel Onyeje, noted that the two pupils had shown promise of a better IT future for Nigeria.

He said, ”When these students come of age, and with the additional training they are likely to receive, these qualifications will translate to real, marketable job skills, ready to be used immediately. Their success at the examination is evidence that the talent is available in Nigeria to achieve great things in technology given the right training.

”We are working with New Horizons to roll out this programme across Nigeria, based on the success of this partnership. More importantly, this is true empowerment, as we are not only targeting private schools but also government schools.”

Responding on behalf of the two, Osaremen said they were delighted with their achievements.

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20090419351131

Car snatching on the increase – Crime statistics
By Toyosi Ogunseye
Published: Sunday, 19 Apr 2009
[b]There has been an increase in the cases of car robberies in different parts of the country in the past week, crime statistics obtained by SUNDAY PUNCH has shown.

Last week alone, a total of seven cars were stolen by armed men in Lagos and Ogun states.

Last Tuesday, four cars, including a black Honda CRV jeep, were snatched by armed men at Ogudu, Lagos. The driver of the jeep was said to be on his way home when the thieves, who were in a convoy of three stolen cars, double crossed his vehicle.

Also last Thursday, two Honda Accord cars with number plates LF 330 AAA and PT 133 AAA, were seized at Aguda, Surulere, Lagos, and Sango-Ota, Ogun State, respectively. A Toyota Avensis car with number plate DU 792 APP was snatched at the Apapa area of Lagos on Friday.

While the police in Ketu, Lagos, recovered the black jeep on Wednesday, the Honda cars were recovered by a patrol team at the Seme border on Friday. The Toyota car was recovered on Saturday morning by the same team.

According to Musa Kimo, an Assistant Commissioner of Police and coordinator of the police border patrol, South-West Zone, Seme, the Honda cars were recovered around 1510 hours when his men, who were on duty, sighted the vehicles being driven in a suspicious manner at the Coca-Cola junction, Seme, Benin Republic.

He said, ”The suspects attempted to bribe our men with N10,000. Those arrested appear to be ‘crossers.‘ Discreet investigation and interrogation will reveal the actual suspects.”

While the occupants of the green Honda car with number plate PT 133 AAA escaped, the men driving the second car with number plate LF 330 AAA identified as Amed Wassi and Pauline Atemenu, were arrested.

The suspects told the police that they were given the car by one Idowu to drive across the border. They claimed that they did not know that the car was stolen. ”Idowu buys electrical equipment from Alaba, Lagos and sells them in Benin Republic. We usually help him to carry his goods across the border. On Friday, he asked us to help him drive the car across the border and we obliged him,” they claimed.[/b]The occupants of the Toyota car also abandoned the car and escaped when they were accosted by the police. The owner of the car, a medical doctor, when contacted by the police, said the car was snatched from him as he was driving out of his Apapa residence on Friday morning. According to the doctor, after the robbers seized the car they robbed his family of N180,000, jewellery and other valuables.

Kimo called on Nigerians to give the police information on criminals and their hideouts.

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20090419230781

Canadian woman kidnapped 19/4/2009


Canadian woman attending an international conference in Kaduna has been reportedly kidnapped by four gunmen.

Kaduna State police spokesman Aminu Lawan who confirmed that the woman was seized Thursday evening said the case was been investigated but gave no further details.

The Associated Press reported that the Canadian Foreign Affairs department is confirmed the incident.

A Foreign Affairs official said in an email that Canadian diplomats are in touch with Nigerian authorities to try to secure the person’s release. Consular officials are in contact with family members who are asking the media respect their privacy at this time.

Foreign Affairs declined to release any details about the victim

http://www.thenationonlineng.com/dynamicpage.asp?id=82237

Aloy.Emeka:
See new Port Harcourt
https://www.ezesportsworld.net/l/500/507_s.jpg


https://www.ezesportsworld.net/l/400/497_s.jpg

Trans-amadi

https://www.ezesportsworld.net/l/1700/1737_s.jpg
Olu Obasanjo way

stupid topic.there is no cold war going on  in rivers state,maybe in imo or Abia state.

ikwere is not igbo,na by force? rivers state belong  to south south region.

babayosisi.

Akwa Ibom State has the highest number of prostitutes, and these prostitutes all operate within Lagos state. She said statistics from Uyo zonal office of NAPTIP alone showed that, out of 104 victims rescued in the last quarter of the year, 53 were from Akwa Ibom state. “It is sad that most of the Akwa Ibom girls rescued were used for prostitution in Lagos , and that most of the brothels in Lagos are inhabited by young girls from Akwa Ibom State ,” Ndaguba said. The unwritten legality of prostitution, as a profession in Lagos, has given rise to an increase in the number of areas where sex hawkers can be found. These areas, popularly called hot spots or red zones, increase in number daily and the efforts of police officers in picking them off the roads, at regular intervals, have not had any impact.
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-260673.0.html

onenaija/ireport/st funmi/depzone.

South Africa 'doomed under Zuma'

Helen Zille is running for premier in the Western Cape
South African opposition leader Helen Zille has urged voters to stop the African National Congress from turning the country into a "failed state".

Speaking at the final Democratic Alliance (DA) rally before elections on Wednesday, Ms Zille accused the ruling ANC of cronyism.

A crowd of about 3,000 people came to hear her speak despite heavy rain.

She told the crowd their votes could stop the ANC from retaining their two-thirds majority.

'Telling the truth'

"Only the DA is strong enough to stop (ANC President Jacob) Zuma taking us down the road of a failed state," she said.

She made frequent reference to criminal charges of corruption and racketeering brought against Mr Zuma which he denies and which were dismissed earlier this month.

In 10 years time people will look back and everyone will know the DA was telling the truth from the start

Helen Zille
Democratic Alliance leader


Profile: Helen Zille
Speaking in three South African languages, Xhosa, Afrikaans and English, she urged the crowd to prevent the ANC from getting a two-thirds majority.

The DA fears that if the ANC achieves this, it use it to change the constitution to influence the independence of the judicial system.

"In 10 years time people will look back and everyone will know the DA was telling the truth from the start," she said.

She also accused the ruling party of overseeing a system that put services for the people in the hands of friends and family of ANC leaders.

'Electric atmosphere'

Mrs Zille danced and sang at the rally which buoyed up her supporters despite the rain.

She sang along to the Afrikaans song 'Koekie Loekie' which has become her trademark.

The lyrics of the bawdy ballad roughly translate as "Hey Koekie, with your little tight pants."

The BBC's Peter Biles in Cape Town said the atmosphere at the stadium was electric.

The DA is the only party that suggests it is possible to cross the racial barrier, he says.

Mrs Zille has massive support from coloured or mixed race South Africans in the western Cape.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8005701.stm

ud4u:
Wtches do exist, that is why a portion of the bible says "don't suffer a witch to live". We can not pretend to be ignorant of these devices of the enemy.

But the only escape to it , is to be born again, give your life to Jesus Christ, and be protected.

:-x

moph:
If you reside in port Harcourt like me you will know that there is a big time transformation of the state is going on , there has not been any past governor in exception of spiff since 1970 that i got to port Harcourt who has the type of passion Amaechi puts in the development of the state. All those who ran to Abuja and don't come to PH will miss their way if they visit in next two years, Amaechi is Gods gift to rivers state as Oshiomole is Gods punishment to Edo state. mophiro

loser get a life.whine whine people.

FG uncovers jail evasion cartel in NDLEA
By Chiawo Nwankwo and John Ameh, Abuja
Published: Saturday, 18 Apr 2009
A panel set up by the Federal Government to probe the operations of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has unearthed a cartel that specialises in releasing convicted drug barons and couriers, even before they set foot in prison.


Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar‘Adua

The cartel, which is made up of NDLEA agents, lawyers and prison wardens, is believed to be responsible for the release of 197 drug barons and couriers convicted by the courts and sentenced to various jail terms.

Details about this cartel’s activities are contained in a report submitted to the Federal Government by the panel, the National Committee for the Reform of NDLEA, set up to probe the agency in 2007. The seven-man panel was led by Justice Gilbert Obayan (retd). It listed 11 top prosecutors of the agency (names and service numbers withheld); 14 lawyers (names withheld); and 11 prison officials as the members of the cartel.

The immediate-past Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Bayo Ojo, had set up the committee in October 2006 at the behest of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, citing the need to overhaul the operations of the agency as motive.

According to the report, which Saturday Punch obtained recently, the cartel either ensured that convicted drug barons did not get to prison after leaving the courts or that those who did were quickly released.

The report says that the cartel ensured that 101 convicted drug barons and couriers successfully prosecuted by the NDLEA in 2005 were not taken into prison custody after being sentenced, and that 96 convicts ‘disappeared’ between the court and prisons in 2006.

“All the cases involved in this jail racketeering were handled by the same set of counsel and prosecutors. Similarly, another 101 drug convicts for the year 2005 were never brought to the prison, bringing the total convicts evading jail to 197, within the periods,” the report states.

The report, which was submitted in February 2007, about four months to the expiration of Obasanjo’s administration on May 29, 2007, has neither been implemented nor made public till date. The panel’s five-term reference were to “identify officials and other personnel of the NDLEA who have engaged in any inappropriate conduct and make recommendations for appropriate sanctions; examine the circumstances leading to the evasion of jail terms by offenders prosecuted by NDLEA, who were convicted but were never found in prison; and to identify officials of the agency and any of the public services found to have connived with the convicts…”

[b]The report painted vivid pictures of the mode of operation of the cartel stating, “On one occasion, a prison warden was caught within the court premises in Port-Harcourt. (He was) expecting the conviction of an accused for him to take over (the accussed) and set (him) free. When he was apprehended, he admitted that he was doing the bidding of a defence counsel who is now at large.”

Before the FG decided to set up the Obayan-led panel, an internal investigation on the orders of the Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Alhaji Ahmmadu Giade, had revealed that two drug convicts, Ejike Martins and Godwin Obi, “were missing from prison.”

The panel recommended the prosecution of the prison officials arrested in connection with the racket by the police and the Ministry of Justice. On punishment for the errant lawyers involved in the racket, the panel advised the Federal Government to “bring to the attention of the Nigerian Bar Association, the misconduct of the defence counsel in this case of jail evasion and particularly the incident in Port Harcourt .”

As for the NDLEA, the panel recommended compulsory retirement of 34 of its top officials. Among them was a former scribe to the board of the agency who served under four NDLEA chairmen and was removed “under ignoble circumstances.”

In his capacity as head of the agency’s tenders’ board, he reportedly admitted fronting for a company which won “shoddily-executed” multi-million naira contracts at its Regional Academy in Jos. The panel also discoverd that a Director of Finance, Budget and Pension (name withheld) could not account for the N2billion yearly recurrent expenditure of the NDLEA.

The same official, who was indicted for duplicating vouchers and manipulating staff salaries, also deposited N124million in Call Accounts at a “ridiculous interest rate of 2.5 per cent.”

On the advice of the committee, the same amount yielded up to 11 per cent interest, while it found out that the official had been implicated in another “large-scale fraud discovered in the agency’s Account Section amounting to N10m.” The committee recommended that the officer involved should be retired.

Another official, who was head of legal services, allegedly aided the prison evasion of “over 100 drug convicts” including a popular home video actress in 2006. He reportedly tampered with 168, 400 Euros (exhibit money) and compromised in the case of one Solomon, a drug baron arrested in London .

Other financial improprieties discovered by the panel included the building of NDLEA Regional Academy for Drug Control at the cost of N260million instead of its actual cost of N60.011m. The report on pages 169-170 stated that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had investigated the contract inflation in respect of the Academy construction and confirmed a fraud.

“That the expert report shows that the cost of the development of the training Academy, jobs is put at the cost of N60,011,474 being the actual approved prevailing rates at the time the job was executed in 2001 when it was awarded, and not the bloated figure of N260, 000, 000 alleged to have been used.”

However, the committee’s findings added, “Since training is not going on in the Academy, the UNODC is finding it increasingly difficult to convince donors to put in their money for the subsequent phases of the project.” One commander said to have headed the Lagos Command of the NDLEA between 2002 and 2005, claimed that he never seized any ‘Category A’ (Cocaine and Heroine) drugs during his tenure. The committee described his claim as “inconceivable” and recommended his retirement from service. A particular official at the Jos Training Academy was indicted for embezzling staff salaries and frequently withdrawing sums ranging from N5m to N14m for “petty expenses” like buying meat for cadets.

“The Committee finds it unthinkable that Directorates and Commands are left without running funds for an upward of eight to nine months, in the face of agency’s recurrent expenditure running into almost N2bn in most years.”

Curiously, the report, which was submitted to the Attorney-General, has not been made available to the current Chairman of the NDLEA Alhaji Ahmadu Giade[/b].

Giade in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Friday disclosed that he had not seen the 175-page report. He explained, “Frankly speaking, the report you have just mentioned has never come to my notice. I was invited by the Obayan committee during its opening sitting, but I was not invited when the report was presented.

“I think the report was presented to the then Permanent Secretary of the Ministry; I guess the minister was not around at that time.”

Asked why he had not enquired about the report since it was meant to strengthen his agency, Giade snapped: “Why should I ask? If the investigation was meant to make the agency stronger, I should have been invited (during report presentation). In fact, they should not have kept me out of it.”

At the Ministry of Justice, efforts to get the reaction of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Michael Aondoakaa, SAN, yielded no fruit, as his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Taye Akinyemi, refused to comment. Our correspondent had made excerpts of the report available to him to acquaint him with its details. Akinyemi then promised to get it across to his boss. But when he was reached again on Friday, he thundered, “Get out of my office! The ministry has no reaction; you can go and write what you like.”

Akinyemi’s grouse was that The Punch had carried incisive reports and commentaries on the Halliburton’s $180million bribe scam, for which critics had queried Aoandoakaa’s handling of the matter.

At the Nigerian Prisons Headquarters, its spokesman, Mr. Kayode Odeyeji, claimed that action had been taken against the wardens implicated in the jail evasion racket. However, he he declined to elaborate.

“I don’t know (the actions taken) but my boss said that action had been taken,” he explained.

While inaugurating the panel, Ojo had said, “Government is determined to weed out the bad eggs and reposition the administrative machinery of the agency in order to enhance the delivery of qualitative service.”

The NDLEA was set up in 1989 via Decree No 48, but it commenced operations in January 12, 1990, with a Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Fidelis Oyakhilome, as pioneer Chairman. Other former heads are Messrs Fulani Kwajafa, Bappah Jama’re (AIG), Musa Bamaiyi (Maj-Gen) and Bello Lafiaji.

Nigeria is seen by the international community as a drug transit country. NDLEA records show that 393.678kilogrammes and 120.638kilogrammes of cocaine and heroin were seized in 2007. While 2008 seizure figures stand at 365.4904 kilogrammes and 11.6054 kilogrammes for cocaine and heroin respectively.

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art200904180365492