Despite winning the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial primaries in six of the seven local government areas of Bauchi North, the winner’s name was substituted without any reason, PREMIUM TIMES findings show.


Usman Tuggar was one of the five aspirants who sought to represent the ruling party in the Senate from Bauchi North.

Mr Tuggar won the primaries held on October 3 in six local government areas: Itas/Gadau, Zaki, Jama’are, Giade, Gamawa and Shira. His closest challenger, Mohammed Bulkachuwa, won narrowly in Katagum local government by 7,263 votes to 6,278.

In total, Mr Tuggar scored 71,508 votes while Mr Bulkachuwa scored 16680 votes. None of the other three aspirants scored up to 10,000 votes in total.

Mr Tuggar’s victory at the primaries was also ascertained by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), whose officials monitored the primaries.

In a document titled “Summary of Candidates Nominated At Political Party Primary Elections,” the INEC in Bauchi named Mr Tuggar the winner of the primary and the nominee of the APC fpr the senatorial seat.

The document was signed by Ahmed Waziri, the Ag. HOD EPM of INEC; Baba Usman, the Admin Secretary, and Ibrahim Abdullahi, the INEC Resident Electoral Commisioner in Bauchi.

Despite Mr Tuggar’s victory, the chairman of the primaries committee, Ahmed Mohammed, announced the runner up as the party’s candidate. By the time the APC headquarters, which has the final authority to send a final list to INEC, sent the list, it removed Mr Tuggar’s name and replaced it with Mr Bulkachuwa.

“The facts speak for themselves. Elections were held, after that, they announced somebody else on the radio by the chairman of the committee.

“After that, I came here and saw the party chairman the day the House of Reps elections were taking place and he said to me that that same day was the day they were holding the senatorial primaries which was obviously not right,” Mr Tuggar told PREMIUM TIMES.

Politicians in Bauchi told PREMIUM TIMES they believe the APC headquarters took the action in order to benefit from Mr Bulkachuwa’s relationship. Mr Bulkachuwa is the husband of the President of the Nigerian Court of Appeal, Zainab Bulkachuwa. PREMIUM TIMES could not confirm if that was the reason the manipulation was done especially as similar scenarios occured in other parts of the country. The manipulations caused many Nigerians including the wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, Aisha, to castigate the APC national chairman for the poor handling of the primaries across the country.

Mr Tuggar on October 9 wrote a petition to the APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole. In the petition, he expressed his dissatisfaction and asked that justice be done. Till date, he is yet to get a response from the leadership of the party.

After that, I wrote a petition to the appeal committee, the appeal committee said it should be given back to me. But from all indications, they (the APC) ignored the order and went ahead and submitted the same person that didn’t win the election.

“The APC is just like a dictatorship. They are not even talking to anybody, they are not reaching out to anybody. You write them a letter, they don’t write you back. Nobody has reached out to me till now. Nobody has said anything. You can imagine what we are dealing with. It’s a shame,” he explained.


When contacted, the APC spokesperson, Lanre Issa-Onilu, simply said, “it is difficult to speak to specific cases like this, especially that the process is still ongoing. A comprehensive list of our candidates will be published at the end of the exercise. Please bear with me.”





https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/292771-bauchi-fraud-how-apc-headquarters-cheated-candidate-who-won-partys-primaries.html

•79 parties to field presidential candidates in 2019 •1,803 vie for Senate, 4548 for Reps seats
•We didn’t receive APC list for Zamfara, says INEC



No fewer than 79 political parties will be fielding candidates in the 2019 general elections, Saturday Vanguard has learned.

This was as the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, ruled out the possibility of implementing all the provisions of the amended Electoral Act, if given Presidential assent, particularly as they relate to electronic voting.


We have gone really far with this. If tomorrow the bill is assented to, there are provisions that we can immediately implement but there are provisions that we cannot implement simply because of time. For instance, full blown electronic voting. It is impossible within the time-frame available which is 112 days.


“We have been working closely with the National Assembly and many of the new provisions passed in the bill were actually based on our recommendations. We prepared ourselves in such a way that in case some of the provisions become law, we would have no difficulty in implementing them,” said INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.

He said only 79 out of the 89 political parties participating in the elections had presidential candidates. Nigeria currently has 91 registered political parties.

Prof. Yakubu who announced this while giving an update on the nationwide ongoing publication of details of candidates for the next general elections, noted that while 1,803 candidates would vie for the 109 seats in the Senate, 4, 548 would be vying for the 360 House of Representatives seats.


According to him, the commission would between 6th and 12th November, publish the National Register of Voters nationwide to allow Nigerians file claims and objections in line with Section 20 of the Electoral Act as amended.

We didn’t receive APC list for Zamfara, says INEC

Meanwhile, INEC has disclosed that it did not receive any list of candidates from the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, for Zamfara state.


The Commission had earlier barred the ruling party from fielding candidates for elections in the state, having run foul of the guidelines for the conduct of political party primaries.

He said although the matter had become a subject of three lawsuits, the commission would await the outcome of the judgements before taking any further decision on the matter.

“INEC did not receive any submission of candidates of APC from Zamfara state. Beyond that, I won’t say more because the matter is in court. Once a matter is in court, by our culture, you do not comment on it. There are three cases on the matter. So, we will wait for the court to determine,” he explained.

On the disqualification of APC from fielding candidates in Rivers state, INEC Chairman said the commission was waiting for details of the apex court ruling before determining its next line of action.

He said further: “I wish to provide further clarification on the ongoing publication of the personal particulars of candidates. Each candidate nominated by a political party is required to provide details of his/her personal particulars by personally completing the form CF001 and to swear an affidavit at the Federal High Court, a High Court of a State or the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Within seven (7) days from the close of submission of these documents, the Commission is required to publish the form in the constituencies that candidates seek to represent as required by Section 31(3) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended). This will give the general public the opportunity to view the affidavit of personal particulars of those who aspire to represent them.


Any person with reasonable ground to believe that any information on form CF001 submitted by a candidate contains incorrect or false claims is at liberty to file an action against such candidate at the Federal High Court or the High Court of a State or the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). While the current exercise is limited to candidates for presidential and National Assembly elections, the personal particulars of those contesting in Governorship and State Assembly elections will be similarly published on November 9,2018, one week after the close of submission of nominations by political parties.

“I wish to appeal to the general public to seize this opportunity to view the personal details of the candidates that seek to represent them. The forms, as completed on oath by the candidates and submitted to the Commission by their political parties, are photocopied and pasted in our State and Local Government offices nationwide. This is an opportunity for citizens to ascertain the personal details of the candidates to enable them take informed decisions on election day or even initiate legal action against candidates who they believe have made false claims on their forms.

Publication of the National Register of Voters

“Still as part of the ongoing preparations for the 2019 general elections, I wish to announce in advance that the register of voters for each polling unit will be displayed at the polling units nationwide for one week from November 6 to12, 2018, for claims and objections by citizens in accordance with the provision of Section 20 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).

“Although the Commission has dutifully cleaned up the register using the Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS); it is the right of citizens under the law to examine the register and exercise their civic duty by drawing the attention of the Commission to the prevalence of any ineligible persons so that together we can further clean it up.

For emphasis, eligibility to register and vote in Nigeria is open only to citizens who have attained the mandatory age of eighteen (18) years and resident in the places they registered. Such citizens must also not register more than once. The Commission will also appreciate the assistance of citizens in identifying deceased persons on the register so that such names can be nulled from our record. It is also an opportunity to correct misspellings of personal details such as names, age and gender.

“I wish to once again place on record that the voter register is robust. It is also the largest data base of citizens in Nigeria containing names, photographs and biometric details. It is a national asset that should be protected and perfected. Ownership of the register by citizens and their involvement in cleaning it up is crucial to our electoral process. I urge citizens to help the Commission during the display. Full details of the procedure for collecting citizens’ observations will be released shortly.

New Bye-elections

“Recently, the Commission received declaration of vacancies that require us to conduct bye-elections. Following the election of two serving members of the House of Representatives as Senators in bye-elections conducted on 11 August 2018, the Honourable Speaker has declared consequential vacancies in the Toro Federal Constituency in Bauchi State and the Kankia/Kusada/Ingawa Federal Constituency in Katsina State.

Similarly, the Cross River State House of Assembly has declared vacancy in Ikom II State Constituency following the death of the member representing the Constituency. Consequently, the Commission will conduct bye-elections in the three (3) constituencies. We have directed our Resident Electoral Commissioners in Bauchi, Katsina and Cross River States to convene stakeholders meetings immediately and prepare for the bye-elections latest by Saturday 17th November 2018. Detailed timetable and schedule of activities for the bye-elections will be released on Tuesday next week.

“The Commission wishes to reassure Nigerians that preparations for the 2019 General Elections are proceeding in earnest and according to the detailed timetable and schedule of activities released by the Commission. It is exactly 112 days to the elections. We shall continue to faithfully and consistently implement the timetable and all activities”, he added.





https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/10/new-electoral-act-inec-rules-out-e-voting-in-2019-says-time-too-short/

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mahmood Yakubu, on Friday met with the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari.

The meeting was held behind closed doors inside Kyari’s office at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The meeting lasted about 30 minutes.

The agenda of the meeting was not made public.


Yakubu did not speak with State House correspondents at the end of the meeting. The Presidency also has yet to issue a statement on the meeting as of the time of filing this report.

The meeting was however held barely 24 hours after the electoral commission published the names of presidential candidates contesting the 2019 election and their details.


President Muhammadu Buhari will be seeking a second term on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress.

The President, a former military ruler, had claimed in his details published by INEC that his credentials were with the Secretary of the Military Board.


Since the claim was made public, it has been generating controversy the same way it did when Buhari made the same claim ahead of the 2015 presidential election which he won. Some of his supporters had at the time said even if he presented “NEPA bill” in lieu of credentials, they would still vote for him against the then President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party.


Jonathan lost that election to Buhari. But in the 2019 election, Buhari’s main challenger is former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of the PDP.




https://punchng.com/inec-chairman-meets-buharis-chief-of-staff-inside-aso-rock/

Ngf chairman state no Apc Candidates

Buhari campaign Dg state no apc candidates.

God is Great

All the enemies of Nigeria shall work out at the right time..

The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a faction of Boko Haram, has executed Hauwa Leman, an aide worker with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), TheCable has been informed.

The terrorists also promised to keep Leah Sharibu, the Dapchi schoolgirl, as “a slave for life”, TheCable has also exclusively gathered.

More to follow…




https://www.thecable.ng/breaking-boko-haram-executes-another-aide-worker-says-leah-will-live-as-slave

Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, has claimed that he had “authentic list” of those who have been banned from travelling abroad as a result of corruption charges preferred against them by the Buhari government.


Frank said the current list of purported 50 high profile Nigerians “to be dealt with” with the coming into effect of the Executive Order 6 (EO6), is a ruse by the presidency to deflect attention from their real motive which is to clamp down on perceived enemies of Buhari and major opposition figures ahead of the 2019 general elections.

Frank in a statement in Abuja on Monday said: “Sequel to my earlier statement, I have now uncovered the true identities of Nigerians being targeted by the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration for punitive measures through the EO6.

“The list below is an updated version of the one I earlier released on Sunday. Information available to me from authoritative channels in the presidency shows that the list earlier circulated by the presidency is fraudulent as it contains names of both Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and some members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC),” he said.

According to Frank, those the presidency “plans to deal with” through the EO6 include; Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, General Ibrahim Babangida, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, General Aliyu Gusau, Senator David Mark, Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, Governor Nyesom Wike, Governor Waziri Aminu Tambuwal, Governor Ibrahim Dakwambo, Governor Udom Emmanuel, Governor Ayo Fayose, Prince Uche Secondus, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode and Chief Olisa Metuh.

Others are Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, Alhaji Kawu Baraje, Sule Lamido, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, Senator Rabiu Kwankwanso, Senator Dino Melaye, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce, Senator Isa Misau, Senator Bala Mohammed, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, Mrs. Toyin Saraki, Amb Goodnews Igali, Tunde Ayeni, Bishop David Oyedepo, Rev Father Matthew Hassan Kukah, Sheik Abubakar Gumi, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, Mr. Jide Omokore, Chief Jonah Jang, Elder Godsday Orubebe, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, Mr. Steve Oronsanya, Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu, Ibrahim Shema, Senator Esther Nemadi Usman, Bashir Yaguda, Dr. Abba Moro, Amudu Fintiri, Alex Badeh, Warapamo Dudafa, General Azubuike Ihejirika and General Kenneth Minimah.


He said: “It is now clear that the president plans to suspend the constitution which guarantees freedom of association to Nigerians and the right to own property. The plan to deal with opposition figures listed above is real and Nigerians and the international community need to face reality.

“With the present mindset and attitude of the Buhari’s administration to retain power at all cost in 2019, I fear that there may not be 2019 after all because the presidency has taken the first step to muzzle and drive prominent opposition underground or clamp them into jail in the guise of fighting corruption.

“I hereby call on Nigerians of conscience and members of the international to do something urgently to prevent the eclipse of democracy in Nigeria with impunity and lawlessness by the present administration.

“Our democracy faces a certain peril from the current desperate administration that plans to appropriate the presidency by force since they are now aware that Nigerians have rejected them and will definitely vote them out in 2019.”







http://dailypost.ng/2018/10/15/buhari-travel-ban-apc-ex-spokesman-frank-releases-authentic-list-affected/

Barring any last minute changes, Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, and his loyalists in the All Progressives Congress (APC) will dump the ruling party.

Their imminent exit from the APC was as a result of the alleged refusal of the party’s national leadership to uphold the candidacy of the governor’s preferred candidate, Adekunle Akinlade, for the 2019 governorship election.

A meeting preparatory to Amosun’s defection was held on Wednesday night at his private residence located at Ibara GRA, Abeokuta.

In attendance at the meeting were APC members from the 20 local government areas of the state, who were loyal to the governor, as well as top government functionaries in the state.

The state chapter of APC had been engulfed in crisis following the adoption of an oil magnate, Prince Dapo Abiodun, as the party’s gubernatorial candidate for 2019 as against Amosun’s choice.

A highly placed source, who was present at the meeting on Wednesday night, confirmed the plan to pull out of the APC.

According to the source, Amosun briefed his loyalists on the outcome of his meetings with President Muhammadu Buhari as well as the APC National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, which were not favourable.

The source said the governor informed his loyalists that rather than address the pending issue, the party leadership in Abuja asked him to share the National and State Assembly tickets with certain individuals in the state who never participated in the just concluded governorship and legislative primaries.

The governor was said to have berated those who manipulated the primary election to produce Abiodun as against the consensus governorship candidate of the party, Akinlade.

Amosun, the source added, made it clear that he could not work with Abiodun because he lacked the wherewithal to win elections.

According to him, Abiodun who could not win a senatorial district election in 2015 will be unable to win the whole of Ogun State in 2019.

The governor was said to have maintained his stance that he would bid APC goodbye rather than accept Abiodun’s candidacy.

He, however, did not disclose the particular political party he and his loyalists would consider.

Asked about the growing speculation that the governor is likely to defect to Accord Party, the source insisted that the governor was silent on his choice but only declared that his next sanctuary would not be the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).


https://newtelegraphonline.com/2018/10/breaking-gov-amosun-loyalists-move-to-dump-apc/

The governing All Progressives Congress (APC) has been declared ineligible to field candidates for all elective positions in Zamfara State in the 2019 general elections, PREMIUM TIMES can exclusively report today.

This is because the party failed to meet the October 7 deadline for conducting primaries to elect candidates for the elections.

The Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC), has already notified the party’s national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, in a letter sighted by PREMIUM TIMES reporters Tuesday evening.

The Zamfara State chapter of the APC had descended into serious crisis as political camps fought bitter and violent battles as they jostled to produce candidates for positions.

The major tussle was between the camps of the state Governor, Abdulaziz Yari, and a senator, Kabiru Marafa.

Mr Yari worked to ensure his preferred aspirant, Mukhtar Idris, the state commissioner of finance, succeeds him.

However, Mr Marafa, one of the leading governorship aspirants, challenged what he described as Mr Yari’s high handedness and attempt to foist Mr Idris on the party.

The APC national headquarters dissolved all party structures in the state while also directing My Yari, himself a senatorial aspirant, to hands off all matters relating to party primaries in the state.
The NWC decision on the removals of the party officials led to a fresh battle between Mr Oshiomhole and his deputy, Lawal Shuaibu.

Both feuding camps eventually organised parallel primaries, producing different sets of candidates.

However, the electoral panel sent to the state by the party’s national leadership announced that it was unable to organise primaries in the state.

INEC has now told Mr Oshiomhole, in a letter titled “Failure To Conduct Party Primaries in Zamfara State Within The Stipulated Time Frame”, that it is not expecting any list of candidates from the party for Zamfara State.

The commission referred Mr Oshiomhole to the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2019 general elections released by the commission on January 9 2018.

“You would note from the timetable that the conduct of party primaries is scheduled to take place between 18th August and 7th October 2018.
“Kindly also refer to the last schedule communicated by your party to the commission on the dates of party primaries nationwide, including Zamfara vide your letter Ref. APC/NHDQ/ INEC/19/18/51 dated 3rd Oct. 2018.

“However, report received from our office in Zamfara State shows that no primaries were conducted by your party in the state, Notwithstanding that our officials were fully mobilized and deployed.”

INEC said based on the provisions of Section 87 and 31 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), “the commission does not expect that your party will submit names of any candidates from Zamfara State.

“For clarity, our position is that the All Progressives Congress (APC), will not be fielding candidates for the governorship, National Assembly and State Assembly Elections in Zamfara state for the 2019 for the general elections.”
The letter was signed by the acting secretary of the commission, Okechukwu Ndeche.

INEC’s decision appears to have given the strongest opposition party in the state, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the chance to govern Zamfara for the first time since the country’s return to democratic rule in 1999.

The first governor, Sani Yerima, his successor, Mahmuda Shinkafi and the incumbent, Mr. Yari, were all elected on the platform of the defunct All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP), one of the legacy parties that merged to form the APC on February 6, 2013.

Mr Shinkafi, who at a point defected to the PDP, returned to the APC last November and is one of the aspirants seeking to pick the party’s governorship ticket.

The PDP has already picked a former member of the House of Representatives, Bello Matawalle, as its governorship candidate for the 2019 elections.






https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/289415-exclusive-inec-blocks-apc-from-fielding-candidates-in-zamfara-for-2019-elections.html

President Muhammadu Buhari’s appointment of Yusuf Bichi as the new Director-General of the State Security Service (SSS) has drawn the ire of senior officials within the key national security department, with many of them threatening to undermine not just the president’s re-election bid but also Nigeria’s counter-terrorism operation against Boko Haram.

Multiple officers told PREMIUM TIMES the secret police’s headquarters in Abuja and field offices across the country have been subsumed by an air of anxiety and volatility since Mr Buhari recalled Mr Yusuf from retirement and named him as replacement for Matthew Seiyefa on September 13.

Mr Seiyefa’s removal came a little over a month after he was appointed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

Mr Osinbajo, while serving as acting president for 10 business days in August as Mr Buhari took a break in London, decided on Mr Seiyefa as the acting-DG of SSS after firing Lawal Daura for his role in the infamous August 7 siege by SSS operatives on the National Assembly.

Mr Seiyefa was the most-senior official at the time of his appointment, having enrolled in service in 1984. He assumed office with promises to perform his duties differently from his predecessor, who was infamous for his crude and controversial approach to law enforcement.

In his first two weeks as DG, Mr Seiyefa’s soft reform efforts were already being felt with gradual release of ‘illegally-detained’ suspects from custody and the appointment of the agency’s first spokesperson in three years.

A few days before his removal, PREMIUM TIMES learnt that Mr Seiyefa’s job was being threatened by top presidential aides, especially the chief of staff, Abba Kyari.

Mr Kyari, whom presidency sources said was unhappy about the sack of Mr Daura, tried to mitigate Mr Seiyefa’s control over the SSS. The chief aide ordered Mr Seiyefa to undo some administrative decisions he had taken, including postings, and operate only as directed by the presidency going forward.

At first, Mr Seiyefa rebuffed attempts to make him subservient to the chief of staff — arguing that he would only report to the National Security Adviser as legally required. But he later caved in under immense pressure from the presidency, PREMIUM TIMES learnt, and reversed most of the decisions.
Senior officers and rank and file who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES during Mr Seiyefa’s face-off with Mr Kyari expressed support for their principal, saying they would reject any attempt to further deface the image of the agency by dragging it into politics.

Mr Seiyefa also had the support of some leaders from southern Nigeria, who warned the president against removing the only southerner in the core national security and intelligence architecture.
But it appeared the former spy chief’s popular moves and goodwill were not appealing enough to persuade the president into allowing him stay on the job.

Stalling career progression

When the presidency announced Mr Seiyefa’s removal, there was a whiff of resentment that Mr Buhari took the decision not because Mr Seiyefa was incompetent but because he was not comfortable with a southerner overseeing a crucial national security desk going into an election he had been so keen on winning.

After Mr Seiyefa was sacked, the same group of concerned leaders from southern and central parts of Nigeria accused the President of fueling ethnic and religious division in the country. They said the president deliberately sidestepped senior officers in the SSS who were capable of being appointed DG and recalled Mr Bichi from retirement because he does not believe in Nigeria’s unity.

“That the president went ahead to deepen himself further into the cocoon of ethnic irredentism in making this insensitive appointment shows clearly that he does not care a hoot about the unity, cohesion and oneness of Nigeria,” the leaders, who include Edwin Clark and Ayo Adebanjo, said in a statement September 13.

Mr Buhari declared he would run for re-election in April, a disclosure that effectively shut out potential contenders within the party. A few months earlier, a former vice-president, Atiku Abubakar, had left the party, apparently sensing that Mr Buhari would seek the party’s ticket and no one would be able to stop him.

Other political bigwigs with presidential ambition who left the ruling All Progressives Congress for Mr Buhari included Senate President Bukola Saraki, Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal and Rabiu Kwankwoso, a serving senator.
Recent findings by PREMIUM TIMES showed that Mr Buhari faces the most potent threat to his reelection not from political opponents or critics like southern leaders but from disgruntled elements deeply embedded in Nigeria’s security architecture.

In the first week of Mr Bichi’s appointment, at least four SSS personnel at director levels, in separate interviews with PREMIUM TIMES, expressed displeasure over the development. Further interactions with additional eight senior and five junior officers across different departments and directorates confirmed the pall of grievance which Mr Buhari’s decision cast on the agency.

The officers complained that the appointment would greatly hinder their own career progression, with many who belong to the class of mid and late 1980s fearing they will not have a chance to produce a director-general before they retire.
“Afakriya Gadzama (2007-2010), Ita Ekpeyong (2010-2015), Lawal Daura (2015-2018) and Matthew Seiyefa (2018) all belong to the same class,” a senior official said. “Now all of them have been directors-general and no one from our generation has managed to get that high.”

Another officer from northern Nigeria condemned Mr Bichi’s appointment as threatening his own career, saying he would not forgive Mr Buhari for bringing him from retirement.

“This man retired since 2015, he got a security consultant deal with Lawal Daura that kept him near the SSS for two years until 2017, so why was he recalled three years after retirement?”
“I am a northerner and I do not agree with this move by the president because it will destabilise the service,” he said.

“We believe the president took this action to preserve himself in office, but we will ensure he does not get a reelection,” another SSS official at director level said. “In-between working for the opposition and frustrating the Boko Haram war, we will get him out of office.”

All the officers spoke under anonymity because they are still in service and fear they could be targeted for summary dismissal or worse punishment if named in this report.

The spokespersons for the SSS and the Nigerian presidency did not return several requests for comments from PREMIUM TIMES.

Successful leaders since Nigeria’s independence have always placed a heavy reliance on state agents in the SSS. Although the secret service was established to ensure national security, some military dictators and civilian rulers have used it to prop up regime security.

The threats by the SSS personnel came a few months before the general election in February 2019, and as the Nigerian soldiers are recording heavy setbacks in the war against Boko Haram.
Over 100 soldiers have been killed in recent campaigns by insurgents, who also carted away heavy military equipment and other supplies in a string of raids on military formations. The losses followed a few months of relative calm on the frontlines, with many in the northeast assuming the way was already won.

The Nigerian government has also asked residents to return to their villages from where they were once displaced by terrorists, but dozens of those villagers have been killed by insurgents after returning home on government’s advice.

A presidential call

Asides its widely known role of protecting political office holders and national assets, the SSS plays a central role in intelligence gathering for Nigeria’s internal security. Virtually all other law enforcement agencies collaborate with the secret police on security matters.

Even without going out of their way to cause harm, their inaction in most cases could result in a security crises, said security expert Charles Omole.

“Anything that affects the morale of officers is a major national security issue,” Mr Omole said. “What they do mostly is preemptive measures: they join the dots in terms of information they gather and prevent sinister acts before they happen.”

“Therefore, they do not need to do much to cause national mayhem. All they need to do is fold their arms on information they got and that would be a major disaster,” he added.

Some Western analysts have claimed there were times in the past when the United States and some countries in Europe stopped sharing intelligence with Nigerian security outfits because they feared there may be disgruntled elements ready to sabotage it.

“When it comes to employing security chiefs across the world, the president has a right to appoint anyone he likes,” Mr Omole said. “It is not a civil service in the real sense, so you can not say ‘it is my time.'”

“There are people who have been appointed to the CIA who are not career officers,” the expert added.
He said officers could only complain when their internal progression is affected, but not over a political appointment like the director-general.
Mr Omole said, as the new DG, Mr Bichi should immediately conduct an internal review of officers before the situation gets ugly.

“Internal progression, yes, but who becomes the director-general could be anyone the president appointed. There will be all kinds of disenchantment within the organisations, so this could be a symptom of something deeper than just the appointment of the new chief.

“As a minimum response, the new head of SSS should instantly conduct a review of the senior leadership and see how he could address it. That can help mitigate the situation.

“If there are people inside the system who want to sabotage the system, it would be difficult to detect. So this threat should never be ignored,” Mr Omole added.




https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/288174-exclusive-disquiet-in-sss-officers-threaten-to-undermine-buharis-reelection-boko-haram-war.html

The Abuja division of the Federal High Court has described the two years detention of journalist Jones Abiri as outright conviction and ordered government to pay N10 million in damages to Mr Abiri.

Mr Abiri was arrested in August 2016 and detained for two years till his lawyers, led by human rights activist, Femi Falana filed a fundamental suit against the Federal government.

Following outcry by various human rights agencies and the media, Mr Abiri was arraigned on militancy at a magistrate court in Abuja.

Speaking at a judgement on Mr Abiri’s fundamental rights suit at the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court on Thursday، the judge, Nnamdi Dimgba, said the federal government had no right to detain Mr Abiri after taking his statement in 2016.

“Having taken his statement, the applicant should have been arraigned,” Mr Dimgba ruled.

The judge said the federal government’s submission that Mr Abiri was detained in national security was baseless.

According to the judge, the federal government should have filled the suit against the defendant and asked the court to refuse him bail, so that the court will use its discretion in determining whether Mr Abiri should be granted bail on not

The court therefore declared Mr Abiri’s detention illegal and an abuse of his fundamental rights.



https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/283404-breaking-court-awards-n10-million-damages-against-nigeria-for-illegal-detention-of-journalist-jones-abiri.html

• Debt mgt strategy exposes Nigeria


Nigeria’s current economic struggles look set to continue if President Muhammadu Buhari wins a second term in office, the multinational banking and financial services company, HSBC, has said. The company stated this in a report by its Global Research unit, entitled, “Nigeria, papering over the cracks”, obtained by Saturday Telegraph yesterday. According to the financial institution, although President Buhari’s “approval ratings sit near alltime lows, a development, it said, “largely reflects the impact of Nigeria’s painful recession in 2016-17 and the sustained economic hardship that has accompanied his presidency, including rapidly rising joblessness, and poverty,” the President will once again lead the APC into the 2019 elections. It, however, stated: “A second term for Mr Buhari raises the risk of limited economic progress and further fiscal deterioration, prolonging the stagnation of his first term, particularly if there is no move towards completing reform of the exchange rate system or fiscal adjustments that diversify government revenues away from oil.”

The multinational banking group, which is Europe’s largest by total assets, noted that while higher oil prices have brightened Nigeria’s macro outlook, boosting export earnings, improving the supply of foreign exchange, and supporting naira stability, the Buhari administration was yet to address the economy’s structural shortcomings. Specifically, it said: “Economic growth remains sluggish and reliant on the rebound in oil output while the non-oil economy, which accounts for about 90 per cent of GDP, continues to languish with many service sectors still mired in contraction.

Joblessness continues to rise, up almost three-fold in three years to 19 per cent in Q3 2017, pushing the number in poverty to 87 million. “Meanwhile, current account improvements may have pivoted on higher oil prices, but they also derive from on-going import restrictions and limited FX access for many sectors of the economy.

All told, we see growth capped at about 2.5 per cent over the next two years – a welcome recovery from the 2016 contraction, but less than half the rate of the previous cycle.” It further stated that in addition to failing to address the country’s ongoing reliance on oil revenues and the issue of inadequate nonoil tax collection, the administration was also grappling with the challenge of having a large share of its budget directed to debt service.

The company noted that while the Federal Government’s debt management strategy of issuing external debt to redeem more expensive short-term government securities is helping reduce debt service costs in the near term,it “exposes the fiscal position to exchange rate risk in the event of a future decline in oil prices and naira devaluation.” In addition, it stated that high oil prices has not translated into nonoil growth, adding that: “Nigeria’s reliance on fuel imports means rising international oil prices are pushing up the cost of fuel subsidies, estimated by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) at USD250m in May alone.”

Besides, HSBC projected :” Oil prices at current levels therefore suggest a fuel subsidy that could total USD1.5bn in H2 2018, and about USD2.5bn for the year as a whole, which would equate to almost 20 per cent of last year’s gross oil revenue.” It, however, stated that while the, “polls look set to be a closely contested affair” and the, “political environment favours a return to power for the PDP, yet the opposition remains weak and fragmented, and has yet to declare its presidential candidate.” Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Mallam Garba Shehu, declined comments on the report but referred our correspondent to the Chief Economic Adviser to the President. However, the referral could not be reached as at the time of filing this report.



https://newtelegraphonline.com/2018/09/hsbc-buharis-2nd-term-risks-limited-economic-progress/

Some human right lawyers have said there was no truth in the allegation that the former Senate Minority Leader and Senator, representing Akwa Ibom North West, Senator Godswill Akpabio, defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to avoid being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as presently there is no case against the Senator.


They said it was mischief and a campaign of calumny by political opponents of the Senator to claim the politician defected to escape probe by the anti-graft agency, saying nothing could be further from the truth.


Addressing a press conference in Abuja, the lawyers led by Barrister Leo Ekpenyong revealed that their law firm was briefed by clients who made allegations about N100 billion alleged graft in Akwa Ibom State for which petitions were sent to EFCC.


According to him, “the law firm deemed it necessary in the interest of justice to withdraw the petitions when in the course of our interactions with the EFCC, we called the attention of the sponsors and instigators of the petitions to substantiate their allegations and they were not able to substantiate same. The law says he who asserts must prove.


“We felt that as a law firm, we owed the country a duty to propagate and also seek the truth and defend same when the need arises.


It was on that note that the firm having discovered that the petitions were fuelled and instigated by disgruntled politicians in Akwa Ibom State decided to withdraw the petitions, and EFCC may have established same. So as it is, Senator Akpabio does not have any case with the EFCC,” he said.


A statement sent from the WhatsApp page of Mr. Anietie Ekong, Special Assistant, Media, to Senator Akpabio said since his principal, Senator Akpabio defected to the APC there have been allegations that he did so to avoid prosecution by the anti-graft agency, assertions the lawyers faulted as the handiwork of political opponents and mischief-makers.


Also speaking, Barr. Eyo Ekong said it was wrong to play politics with legal issues of which clarifications have been made.




https://dailytimes.ng/lawyers-debunk-corruption-allegations-senator-akpabio/

sweetyme001:
Alright!!! It is possible. Nigeria is bigger than any individual.

It’s really disheartening that some few Nigerians have been brainwashed by the lifeless man and his cabals, all i know for sure is come 2019 there will be a new captain on board with God & our pvc by our side.....Like if you believe

This week must be one of the most humiliating ones for the Muhammadu Buhari Presidency. Here and there, he has had to endure insults and unpleasant observations from leaders of western countries he has spent valuable time trying to impress. First, it was the gratuitous insult from the United States president, Donald Trump, and then the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, piled it on when she used Nigeria as an exemplar of crushing poverty and retarded development. Nothing they have said about either Buhari or Nigeria is new or strange; we already know what ails us. What no one seems to know yet is how to upend this lousy government and pave the way for a more productive, and forward-looking governance. From the feelers one gets by reading and talking to Nigerians, it seems that many have already done the calculations and resigned to the fate of another four years of Buhari. On this one, I want to remain optimistic that it is not over yet for Nigeria, and that a Buhari-less future is still quite possible.



To get to that future, we will have to go through two sets of people. One is the Buharists, a cult of devout followers of the President whose desire for a perpetual Buhari leadership has little to do with the quality of his governance. I will argue that no Buharist, none whatsoever, boasts of either the President’s intelligence or his deployment of it to confront serious national issues. Instead, they exaggerate every mundane insight he has into simple issues and praise his supposed moral integrity because there is almost nothing else that continues to recommend him for the Presidency. It does not bother them that Buhari does not articulate any vision for the Nigerian state neither has he demonstrated that he is driven by a sense of urgency to push his country beyond its state of poverty and disrepair. When he returned from another medical tour in the UK recently and was interviewed, it was frustrating that he was still stuck on the same old song about corruption and jailing of offenders.



One can, of course, argue that Buhari also clings to corruption as a solo agenda because he has to pander to those whose sole demand on his Presidency has been for him to jail those who denuded the nation’s wealth. Some of those followers, based on the issues that preoccupy their politics, are either blind to the gnawing reality of growing poverty or they have so much swallowed the All Progressives Congress propaganda they live in an alternate reality. I am not sure there is enough time and reason to flip this constituency.




There is another category of people who are not yet resolute about voting for either Buhari, his opponents, or abstaining entirely. This constituency has significant numbers that can sway the nation’s fate come 2019. In the days ahead, they are the ones to be convinced that given Buhari’s antecedents and temperament in handling crucial national issues, he is not the man for Nigeria’s future. While there are no definitive statistics to work with to gauge the feelings of different demographics and their sentiments about the elections, this group of voters is going to be inundated with the only weapon of warfare that the Buhari administration can wield: corruption. We should anticipate and preempt this message before they turn it into a loud party and drown the voices of reason in their din as they did in 2015.



The idea that Nigerians are exceptionally corrupt is a myth, and the belief that if we can get rid of corruption, Nigeria will consequently prosper is unrealistic as no country can be said to have toed such a teleological line. The myth was a dominant character in the 2015 elections, and it fuelled the hysteria that all Nigeria desperately needed was an anti-corruption-oriented leader to set the nation on course permanently. That presumption paved the way for a Buhari Presidency. Even now, it is still a potent weapon to impoverish Nigerians and retain them within a nightmarish cycle of bureaucratic nothingness. Buhari and the APC keep propagating that falsehood for the ends of self-perpetuation while they hold Nigeria down from meaningful progress.

Rather than their conclusive claim that Nigeria or even Africa is the way it is merely because of the economic crimes committed by the political class, an easier diagnosis is that corruption exists as it does because Africa is peopled by leaders like Buhari whose understanding of issues of corruption is one-dimensional. They presume that it is axiomatic that social progress and advancement will follow a corruption-free polity when the reality is that rich and advanced nations too have not succeeded in wiping out corruption from their systems entirely. When you compare the corruption in Nigeria to what goes on in the USA, our Nigerian leaders, for all their thievery, look like mere pickpockets. In fact, larger economies give rooms for wider chances of crimes and abuse of power. What their systems have done differently has been to build systems and reproduce social processes that encourage continuous self-improvement to ameliorate occurrence of corruption. They did not paralyse initiatives by taking corruption as their peculiar cultural habit.


Unlike the practice Vice President Yemi Osinbajo seems to have patented, they did not perpetually distract everyone with stories of who stole what, rather than a narration of ideas of how to build a modern society. The point here is not to downplay the pernicious effects of corruption in our society. I believe corruption – as it exists in our society as both economic crimes and abuses of political power- is a huge problem and it accounts for the complacency of those who should strive towards building systems that will strengthen our democracy. However, the obsession with economic crimes and subsequent punishment of jailing people after taking them through sensational media trials is an approach that leads nowhere in the long run. Nigerians are not exceptionally corrupt; corruption is a universal human culture.




Half of economic corruption in Nigeria, from the mundane interaction where small sums of money are exchanged for favours, to the mid-level ones you experience in government bureaucracies, up to the grand level corruption in larger public systems and private corporation can be eliminated by developing a modern system where transactions pass through technological systems that surveil those processes. Buhari and Buharists, and their mania with jailing people for their infractions have made us pass up opportunities to have intelligent conversations about how to unclog our unwieldy systems using modern intelligence and redirected our focus to gripe over symptoms of deeper malaise.




For 2019, the culprit on which the APC will lay all the failures of Nigeria will once again be corruption, and they will define that corruption as people belonging to other political parties carting away national fortunes in Ghana-Must-Go bags. They will obscure any broader picture that critically interrogates why things are the way they are. If there is an appeal that one can make to the undecided folks, it is that we cannot continue this way, forever taunted by the illusion of a corruption-free polity when what we need now are intelligent and patriotic leaders who are pushed by a goal higher than themselves. We no longer need leaders with a self-righteous fervour who perform poverty to make the attainment of wealth look amoral. The leaders who celebrate their watching a 32-inch television in the age where their counterparts use smart devices to access the world are not an option for the future. They should be allowed to rest their analogue feet in the past where they belong while the nation coasts ahead with a leadership that is enlightened, educated, and innovative enough to create wealth and build sustainable systems that will guarantee a better life for all of us.


https://punchng.com/a-nigerian-future-without-buhari-is-possible/

By Innocent Anaba, Dapo Akinrefon, Ikechukwu Nnochiri, Levinus Nwabughiogu, Dirisu Yakubu & Henry Ojelu

•Lawyers, Afenifere, PDP, others knock Buhari, say rule of law foundation for national interest; Senators react

LAGOS — Senior lawyers and notable political actors, yesterday, took umbrage at President Muhammadu Buhari’s elevation of national interest above the rule of law, with several of them lamenting that the country was headed the path of dictatorship.



President Buhari, however, found support from the chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, Professor Itse Sagay, SAN, who said he would even extend Buhari’s assertions beyond national security to even putting the fight against corruption above the rule of law.

Buhari had in an address presented at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, in Abuja on Sunday, insisted that individual rights of alleged offenders would not be spared when national security and public interest were threatened.

“Rule of Law must be subject to the supremacy of the nation’s security and national interest”.

“Our apex court has had cause to adopt a position on this issue in this regard and it is now a matter of judicial recognition that where national security and public interest are threatened or there is a likelihood of their being threatened, the individual rights of those allegedly responsible must take second place, in favour of the greater good of society,’’ the President had said.

Outcry over  President’s  position

His claim was repudiated by senior lawyers across the country, political actors and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Lawyers, who kicked against the President’s statement include Professor Ernest Ojukwu, SAN, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, Abeny Mohammed, SAN, Mr Solomon Bob, a lawyer and Governor Nyesom Wike’s aide, Dr. Kayode Ajulo, Mr. Ugochukwu Ezekiel, Mr Joseph Otteh, Executive Director, Access to Justice, Mr Monday Ubani, out-going second Vice President of NBA, and Mr Gbenga Ojo, Senior Law Lecturer, Lagos State University, LASU.

In his reaction, Prof. Ernest Ojukwu, SAN, said:  “It is unfortunate that our President made that speech. I think there is a fundamental problem which we need to address on that issue.

“If our President says that rule of law must be subject to national interest, then it is an ominous sign that our democracy has failed. The civil society needs to rise to reverse that speech whether it is in substance, form or reality, otherwise we will be in trouble.

” Rule of law is  father of  national interest  — lawyers

Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, said:  “He (President Buhari) is dead wrong. The rule of law predominates over national interest. Without the rule of law, there can be no nation-state. Without a nation-state, there can be no national interest. The rule of law is the father of national interest.

“As proposed by Professor A.V. Dicey, it  means equality before the law by all persons, observance of all laws by persons and authorities and, of course, obedience to court orders made by competent courts of law.

“Once a court of law has made an order for the release of a citizen on bail, the president, government and all authorities must obey the order of the court. It is not for the government to pick and choose which order to obey and which not to obey in the so-called name of “national interest.

“This is because in arriving at a decision to release an individual on bail, the court must have first heard the facts and argument of the case of both the government and the citizen.

“It is tantamount to executive lawlessness and governmental capriciousness and whimsicality to sit on appeal over a court decision to determine what amounts to national interest. Such a stance is a clear descent into anarchy and chaos.”

Similarly, Abeny Mohammed, SAN, said:  “What is national interest that rule of law must be sacrificed for? Rather, it is in the national interest of any government to obey and subject Nigeria to the rule of law. Where there is the rule of law, every interest, including that of the nation is safeguarded. A country without the rule of law is a lawless jungle.

“I don’t know who wrote that speech; it is the first time in our jurisprudence that I will hear a President complaining that the rule of law must give way for national interest. The first national interest of a country is to subject itself to the rule of law.

“That implies not doing things to suit the whims and caprices of anyone. That stops any leader from doing what he likes as he is doing today in Nigeria, unless he wants to take Nigeria back to 1984 when he was military head of state, when his words were law.”

Solomon Bob also said in his reaction:  “President Buhari, seeking to double down on lawlessness, has demanded that the rule of law be subject to national interest.  What is national interest? It’s an indeterminate term which is open to capricious abuse as we’ve seen in the last three years.

“That the President chose the occasion of the opening of the Bar Conference in Abuja to make such a comment says a lot about the abysmal depth to which the Bar has sunk and the contempt with which it is held. Lawyers who sat through that inanity without a whimper of objection need to take another look at themselves. Of what benefit is a cowardly Bar?”

National interest  is coded in  constitution,  which is law

Another lawyer, Dr. Kayode Ajulo, said:  “The ultimate national interest is codified in the Constitution. Fundamental human rights are hinged on the rule of law and if the rule of law is now to play second fiddle, then there is a potential to trample on these rights protected by our constitution.

“The President’s statement is ultra vires our constitution and every tenet of his claim as the President of our federation and, therefore, the statement has no legs to stand on. No serious citizen would take him seriously on it.”

In the same vein, Mr. Joseph Otteh said:  “What the President is saying is possible during national emergency. During such periods, certain propositions about the rule of law and human rights can be overridden in the interest of national security. Say for instance, the nation is at war and soldiers need to use a particular property that belongs to somebody.

“But even then, there would have been legislation that provides for that kind of exception. So even in war situations, the rule of law can still prevail, even if some rights are denied individuals for strategic reasons.”

“But not in peacetime, not when a country is not facing a national emergency or crisis. It is unattainable completely to say that you want to sideline the rule of law to what some people in power refer to as national security.

“In Nigeria right now, you can’t speak of any emergency that requires the President to distract from the rule of law. National security cannot be equated with government’s preference to be unaccountable to the constitution.

“They are not the same thing. A government that merely wants to ride roughshod over other branches of government, a government that wants to be arrogant to the constitution cannot say it is doing so in the interest of national security. That is not in the interest of national security.

“I defer in theory that there are some occasions where national security might press very hard on the rule of law. But where I disagree with the President is the attempt to equate Nigeria’s current situation with those kind of emergencies. We don’t have those kind of emergencies.”

Mr. Monday Ubani, said in his reaction:  “We as lawyers, don’t have a problem with national interest overriding rule of law at some point. That is possible in certain circumstances which should be determined by the court.

“But if the President is making reference to the Dasuki matter or any other matter where there had been an express order of the court, where the court has even considered national interest and other issues presented by the prosecutor and still insisted that the liberty of the defendant cannot be curtailed because there is a constitutional provision which protects the fundamental human right of every citizen, if a person is accused of a crime, our laws still presume the person innocent. It is only the court that presumes a person guilty.

“When a person has not been pronounced guilty, the state does not have any right to override the ruling of a court which has granted bail to that person.

“The issue of national security and the rule of law in the address of Mr. President must be put in proper context. There are certainly instances where a court can curtail the liberty of an individual, especially when there is a conflict of national security.

“But it is only the court that can do this and no other person. Moreover, it will be for a season and not indefinitely. This is in contrast with Dasuki’s case where the government has held him permanently incarcerated, despite several court pronouncements.

Danger ahead

“If we continue to allow this in a democracy, it is very dangerous. It is a red signal that the executive can arrest any person and tell the whole world that the person is being detained because of national security.

“The government can even use that against political opponents. That is the danger with such postulation. This is why the judiciary is there to independently examine such matter and decide whether national security should supersede the right of that individual.

“It is wrong for the executive to hide under the excuse of national security to detain an individual. The President has spoken to us (lawyers), but we don’t want him to have the impression that we have accepted his message. We are certainly not convinced with what he has said.

” Mr. Gbenga Ojo, Senior Law Lecturer, LASU, said: “If the President is talking about national security, it must be in the context of the law. Everything must be according to the law, including state or national security. If we allow what the President is postulating, then there is danger because that will give the President power to detain anyone under the guise of state security.

“Dasuki’s case is a classic example. The government is already abusing the privilege which it does not even have. The president’s idea is simply nebulous.”


Speaking on the issue, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, in a statement said:  “To postulate that national security should override the rule of law consideration may unwittingly portray one as harbouring dictatorial intentions, for preferring national security as a priority for governance.

“It is a dangerous proposition as we approach 2019. Taken to its proper interpretation, it may be taken to be an advance notice to the people of Nigeria, to brace up for likely threats to their rights and liberties, in the coming days.

“Whereas we all support the President in the fight against corruption and terrorism, it is still necessary to allow the rule of law to have the pride of place in all spheres of governance.

“It was under national security for instance that I was kept in custody from November 2007 till July 2008, without trial at all.”

I support Buhari — Sagay

The president, however, found support in Sagay, who said he would prefer rule of justice for Nigerians.

Sagay said: “I agree with him absolutely. I will even go further because people are saying that he is referring to the case of the former NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd) and Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, my own goes beyond all that.

‘’My own extends to robbers and looters and criminals in the society, who jump at human rights and the rule of law, forgetting that there should be rule of justice.   When you loot and subvert the economy of the country, and millions of Nigerians are suffering, then the interest of the country should override any rule of law that you claim.

‘’You should not be secure in the arms of the law when millions of your countrymen are going down because of your depredation and sabotaging our economy. So, I even extend it to corruption and not just those two, I agree absolutely with him. What I am saying is that rule of justice for Nigerians is superior to rule law for individuals.”

We’ll rally  Nigerians to  protect  democracy  — PDP

Reacting in a statement by its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, vowed to deploy every legitimate instrument to protect the nation’s democracy, stressing that every semblance of military dictatorship would be weeded out.

“It is instructive to note that contrary to claims by Mr. President, there is no pronouncement by the Supreme Court that subjugates the constitutional rule of law and rights of citizens to the whims, caprices and dictatorial impulses of any President.

“The PDP expresses readiness to rally Nigerians to reject every attempt by President Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to introduce the long-forgotten trappings of military dictatorship into our democratic rule, which Nigerians laboured for many years to attain,’’ the statement read in part.

The party further expressed readiness to make President Buhari account for what it called criminal abuse of human rights allegedly perpetrated under his stewardship in the past three years.

The statement continued: “Our national interest is thoroughly embedded, protected, expressed and enforced only under the rule of law as provided by our constitution and there is no how Nigerians can allow an individual to superimpose or override the constitution with his personal whims and impulses; a pattern that is characteristic of known dictators all over the world, as expressed in the obnoxious Executive Order 6, designed to justify a complete clampdown of political opponents ahead of 2019 general elections.

“President Buhari should therefore be made to answer for the litany of human rights violations in Nigeria, including documented disobedience to court orders, destruction of property, restriction of free speech, press, official corruption and lack of accountability as detailed in report by various international bodies, including Transparency International (TI), Amnesty International (AI) and US Department of State.

Turaki faults  Buhari

PDP presidential aspirant, Barrister Tanimu Turaki, also faulted the President.

Turaki, who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, argued that the position of the President was illegal on the strength of the fact that it is inconsistent with the provisions of the constitution which is the supreme law of the land.

Turaki, who reacted on the sidelines of a visit to the Edo State chapter of the party, said  there was danger in the position of President Buhari because his government and his party, the APC, may have a sinister motive of clamping down on the opposition under the guise of national security as the country heads to the 2019 general elections.

He lamented that the president is attempting to interpret the law illegally just as he said that he and the APC had been equating national interest with either personal interest or the interest of their party.

We’re under  full-blown  dictatorship —Afenifere

Faulting the President’s remarks, the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, said the statement showed Nigeria was under full-blown dictatorship.

Afenifere’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, said: “It is clear that by that statement, the President has abrogated the rule of law in Nigeria and it signals a descent into full-blown dictatorship under a civilian dispensation.

“To make such proclamation and give the impression that the rule of law is subject to the interpretation of the President, it means that we have a democracy that is lifeless. Once you remove rule of law out of a democracy; it means that democracy is lifeless. So, clearly, our worst fears have come to play.

“We are less than six months to the general election and the President has not assented to the Electoral Act and Section 2 (1) of the ECOWAS Protocol states that no member country can change its Electoral laws six months to election.

“To the President, the law is the rule of tongue in Nigeria and once we have this type of system in a democracy, we are under full-blown dictatorship.”

Govt has lost the  argument  — Osuntokun

On his part, a chieftain for the Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM), Akin Osuntokun, said: “Well the fact that he chose the gathering of the NBA to issue the declaration is itself significant and symbolic. This is what happens when the government of the day has lost the argument.

“He has thrown a challenge at the Nigerian public, so it is up to the people to reclaim the fundamental notion of democracy that power belongs to the people. It seems it is also a case of a leopard who is inherently unable to change its spots. Good enough, there is an opportunity coming soon for the Nigerian electorate to liberate itself.”

It’s autocracy  — Abaribe

Also reacting, Chairman, South East Senate Caucus, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, faulted the President’s remarks. Senator Abaribe who represents Abia South senatorial district, said the rule of law was the grundnorm of any democratic society. He submitted that any act of governance that runs at variance with the rule of law presupposes autocracy.

“Rule of law is the grundnorm of any democratic society. Elevating any other thing above it means moving away from democracy to autocracy,’’ he said.


https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/08/outcry-as-lawyers-others-blast-buhari-on-rule-of-law-remarks/

The Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole in Borno State, Maj.-Gen. Rogers Nicholas, has said Boko Haram insurgency has been completely defeated.

He spoke at the inauguration of the Nigeria-Cameroun Military Joint Mission, at the weekend, in Maiduguri.

According to him, troops of Operation Deep Punch II, on Friday, dislodged and occupied the insurgents’ tactical ground “Camp Zairo”.

Hundreds of insurgents surrendered and many fled, while over 100 civilians were rescued, Gen. Nicholas said.

He said: “My soldiers are in the heart of Boko Haram enclave, “Camp Zairo” and have taken total control of Sambisa Forest.

“We have broken the heart and soul of Shekau’s group, taking over the camp and its environs. They are on the run and we are pursuing them to wherever they go. This time around, there is no place for escape anywhere.

“We earlier asked them to surrender, and we are still asking them to surrender, otherwise they will meet it the hard way.”

Gen. Nicholas called on the insurgents and abducted persons to come out and surrender to the troops, saying they would not be harmed or killed.

He noted that the partnership between the two militaries was critical to the successful completion of the counter-insurgency campaign.

“We share information and intelligence to enable us map out strategies to fight Boko Haram insurgents on our common borders,” he added.

Head of the Camerounian military delegation Brig.- Gen. Djonkep Fredrick said the collaboration would strengthen military ties to enable them win the war against insurgency.



Army to abductees: surrender

The Army has called on persons in Boko Haram captivity to surrender.

The Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj.-Gen. Rogers Nicholas, spoke at the weekend, while handing over 82 rescued victims to the Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) in Maiduguri, Borno State.

His words: “This is the last phase of the operation; we are asking everybody in Borno State to cooperate by giving information about fleeing Boko Haram insurgents.

“People need to be vigilant; if you see any suspected person, report to the military or security agents.

“As I speak now, many of them have surrendered and many more will surrender. The most important thing is that we are treating this people very humanely because they are Nigerians.

“And the message is to say we are not killing people, we are receiving them because they are Nigerians. We are trying to rescue them and that is why we are on this operation, as against the narrative by the insurgents that we will kill them.”

Gen. Nicholas added that the rescued persons would undergo medical examinations, rehabilitation and de-radicalisation.

SEMA’s Head of Rescue Operation Bello Danbatta hailed the military for rescuing the victims.

He said the agency would assist the victims and reunite them with their families.

Some of those rescued were happy at their freedom after years of being enslaved.

A teenage girl said she was forced to marry four times during her four-year captivity.

“We have no food, water and drugs. Many people died in the camp due to starvation. I was abducted from my village four years ago and I suffered various inhuman treatments in the camp.

“I am free now and happy to be reunited with my family. The military is taking care of us,” she said.

http://thenationonlineng.net/insurgency-completely-defeated/

KANO – Former governor of Kano State, Senator Rsbiu Musa Kwankwaso has called off his constituency visit following pressure from well-meaning Nigerians.


Briefing Reporters at Lugard hall headquarters of Kwankwasiyya movements in Kano, the former Secretary of the State Government, Rabiu Suleiman Bichi said the visit has been suspended indefinitely.


Bichi said “In view ofvthe above and after lengthy consultation with well-meaning Nigerians, home and abroad, we painfully have decided to shelve the schedule visit at the moment “

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/01/breaking-kwankwaso-bows-pressure-cancel-visit/

LAGOS—SOME desperate drug traffickers in their bid to make-it-quick, ostensibly for the yuletide celebrations have been caught up in the dragnet of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.


NDLEA operative
A statement signed by Jonah Achema, Principal Staff Officer, Public Affairs Unit, said the Agency’s Murtala Muhammed International Airport Command intercepted seven of the desperadoes, within the days preceding Christmas, as they attempted to smuggle varying prohibited drugs.


He stated: “The arrested suspected drug traffickers are: Toriola Latifu Ayodele, Aniemeka Victor, Mpecheni Abel Kabelo, Aneakee Valentine Chukwubuikem, Ugochukwu Anthony, Okeke Chikelue and Okeke Onyeka Henry.

“Ayodele was arrested with 6.620 kilograms of Ephedrine concealed in the false bottoms of two suitcases on Ethiopian Airline to South Africa. Arinzechukwu was arrested with 8.200 kilograms of Cocaine on the South African Airways from Johannesburg into Nigeria. The illicit substance was concealed in the false bottoms of two suitcases.

“Kabelo, a South African was arrested with 2.400 kilograms of Heroin concealed in the false bottom of both Dove soap packs and suit cases aboard South African Airline from Johannesbourg. Chukwubuikem originated his own journey from São Paulo, Brazil en route Johannesbourg but was arrested upon landing in Lagos with1.980 kilograms of cocaine concealed inside cosmetic products.

“Ugochukwu Anthony was arrested with 5.520 kilograms of heroin on Ethiopian Airline from Sudan -Jubbah through Addis Ababa.”

The drug was concealed in the false bottom of suitcases. Chukwulue was arrested with 4.120 kilograms of Heroin from Johannesburg while Onyeka Henry was intercepted with 1.520 kilograms of Methamphetamine on his way to Indonesia. He concealed the illicit substance in a Jerrican custard container. The penalty for drug trafficking in Indonesia is death.”

Ahmed Garba, NDLEA/MMIA Commander noted that the stories of the drug traffickers have not changed.

“Their story is either that they do not have a job, their friend who gave the packages did not tell them the content, or that the devil pushed them into it. But the truth is that there is greed and deliberate intention to commit the crime because of the money involved. I wish to urge Nigerians not to risk their lives since there are other legitimate businesses that are more rewarding than drugs”, Garba maintained.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/12/christmas-turns-sour-drug-traffickers/

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested two suspects for alleged attempt to smuggle methamphetamine out of the country.

The suspects – John Ifechukwu and Victor Anadu – were intercepted by the NDLEA operatives at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja.

They reportedly swallowed 65 and 54 wraps of substances to conceal the drug.



The spokesperson for the NDLEA, Jonah Achemah, who confirmed the arrest on Wednesday, said a 37-year-old woman, Omotayo Anifowoshe, was also arrested at the local wing of the Lagos airport with 3.0 kilogrammes of ephedrine and 1.9kg of cocaine.

Achemah said, “Ifechukwu flew in from Lagos and was intercepted at the airport in Abuja. He excreted 65 wraps of substances weighing 864 grammes out of which only one wrap tested positive for methamphetamine. Anadu was intercepted on his way to Indonesia. He excreted 54 wraps weighing 1,073.4 kilogrammes of suspected substances out of which 700 grammes tested positive for methamphetamine. The remaining 373.4 grammes did not test positive for any known drug.”

•Buhari’s adviser asks Patience Jonathan to come clean

Information and Culture Minister Lai Mohammed says 55 people may have stolen about $6.2 billion public funds from the country.

He gave no names of the culprits, listing only projects which government could have executed with a third of the funds, if recovered.

Mohammed spoke on an Al Jazeera as part of a feature on the vast properties acquired in the UK with stolen funds by Nigerians.



According to the minister, $2.06billion of the alleged stolen funds would have built 600 kilometres of roads, 37 hospitals, 20,000 housing units and trained 4000 kids from primary to university level.

The corruption problem was also the subject of discussion on the Facebook wall of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Special Assistant on Social Media, Lauretta Onochie yesterday.

Onochie aimed darts at former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan and ex-Petroleum Affairs Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke for what she called their weird demands.

Her words: “It’s the season of weird demands. Recently, Nigerians were assaulted by the demand by the wife of the former President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience Jonathan, asking President Muhammadu Buhari to “Tell EFCC to leave her alone.”

“Fat chance! EFCC is an institution, not an adulterous man running after someone else’s wife. “So, woman to woman, I asked her to look inwards. Patience should wear the sort of aura that dispels, rather than attracts law enforcement agencies.

“She can start by being honest and coming clean, regarding everything – cash, properties, etc., that were ill-acquired. Then hand them back to the rightful owners. Yes, back to Nigerians via the EFCC.



“You see, EFCC, ICPC, DSS, CCT, all follow the smell of crimes. If she does not have suspicions of criminal activities oozing and buzzing from and around her, there’s no way she’ll be dragging President Buhari to commit impunity by ordering EFCC to leave you alone.

“But there again, she’s been busy swatting the bees, she had no time to see that her husband’s reign of impunity, ended many moons ago.

“But that’s not the end of the story. And then, there’s Diezani Alison- Madueke.

“She too, wants something. She wants to return home. Remember she’s in the UK for medical purposes. Remember the photoshopped images her image launderer plastered all over the tabloid and the Social Media?

“Diezani is over 18 years old. That makes her an adult. She dusted her passport and flew out of this country, Nigeria.

“She had concluded plans to run off to a Caribbean Island to live off the blood money she stole, not hauled from the poorest and the most vulnerable citizens of this nation.

“She had no idea that she had become attractive to the British authorities, and had been in their view since 2013.

” You see, these women, who own choice properties and obese bank accounts they do not need, across the world including Nigeria, had the best of opportunities to improve the lives of Nigerians, especially those who suffer health hazards from environmental degradation in the bowels of the Niger Delta where these two come from.

“If they cared not about their immediate environment, why would they bat an eyelid that environmental issues in the Lake Chad Basin were fuelling Boko Haram.

“The adage that what a man can do a woman can do better, has never been proven more by anyone than Diezani Madueke.

“The forfeitures the Nigerian people have been awarded against Diezani, the pending and on-going corruption investigations and cases, are a testimony that this woman, who was elevated to the status of a goddess by ex-President Jonathan, has cases to answer, from UK to USA, Italy to the Caribbean.

“Why Mrs Madueke suddenly developed an urge to return home, is not clear. But many Nigerians think it’s not unconnected to the perceived cash and carry criminal justice system in Nigeria.

“But she’s probably not aware that the Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Onnoghen, has vowed to clean up the judiciary.

“But there might be those judges who would be tempted by the mouth watering inducement that flows from the bottomless pit of Diezani Madueke’s haulage.

“May I remind Mrs. Madueke that a certain (Rtd) Admiral Alison-Madueke, warned President Muhammadu Buhari to leave his wife alone. May I also remind Diezani that Nigerians assume that she is that wife that the retired naval officer warned the President about.

“Now that she has been left alone, if she needs to return to Nigeria, she will also need her husband to threaten President Buhari to come after her, Hahahahaha…

“Dear Sis, in the meantime, you should make yourself comfortable in the UK. Attend to your criminal trials going on there. When found guilty, happily serve your jail term because it’s just the beginning.

“Then when you are done, repeat the same process in America and then in Italy. If you are still alive by then, you should then be retired to Nigeria, to begin the same process that will ultimately lead you to your retirement home. You have a choice between Kirikiri and Kuje, among other prisons. Till then, it’s Goodbye Diezani. You aren’t coming home soon!”

http://thenationonlineng.net/corruption-55-people-stole-6-2bn-lai-mohammed/

The police authorities have snubbed a request made by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo for the secondment of a police officer for a special assignment.

Police Inspector General Ibrahim Idris, The Nation gathered, declined the release of Deputy Commissioner (DSP) Abduyari Lafia to serve on the Special Presidential Panel for the Recovery of Public Property as requested by a Presidency letter dated September 21, 2017.

Instead, the police boss posted 12 officers from the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police and below to the panel.

Lafia had earned the confidence of the panel for uncovering how a syndicate defrauded a businessman, Mr. Austine Ugochukwu Albert, of $1 million.



His recommendation for promotion to the rank of Commissioner of Police was withdrawn at the last minute, following his rebuff of alleged pressure from some bigwigs to stay action on the $1 million.

Although Lafia was said to have been promised a bribe of $100,000, he insisted on bringing members of the syndicate to justice.

Following his unyielding position, some police officers were alleged to have conspired to transfer him from the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) in Abuja to the Police Academy (POLAC) in Kano.

Before his posting to Kano, he was said to have recovered more than $205,000.

Based on his track records, the Special Investigation Panel requested for Lafia’s service on the directive of Vice President Osinbajo.

The Chairman of the SIP, Mr. Okoi Obono-Obla, who signed the letter, said: “I am directed by His Excellency, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN (GCON) to request for the release of DCP Abduyari S. Lafia to serve in the Special Presidential Panel for the Recovery of Public Property.



“DCP Abduyari S. Lafia is presently posted to POLAC with AP NO-41804.

“While thanking you for your usual cooperation, please be assured of my high regards and esteem.”

However, sources told The Nation that DCP Lafia was not released to the SIP owing to internal wrangling in the police.

A highly placed source familiar with the matter said: “The panel was shocked that those it did not request for were sent by the IGP.

“All attempts to get Lafia redeployed for the special assignment have been rebuffed.

“What shocked most people is that the affected DCP was requested for by the panel based on the instructions of the Vice President.

“We learnt that the redeployment of the crack detective was caught in hi-wire intrigues in the Force Headquarters over the $1 million case.

“The IGP was actually not disposed to the release of the DCP. But the panel believes only the DCP could fit into the assignment given to it. No agreement yet on this officer who is rated as incorruptible.”

Responding to a question, the source said: “The panel may have no choice than to report the latest dimension to the request to the VP.”

A police source said: “Well, although the IGP has the final say on redeployment of officers and other ranks, DCP Lafia ran into trouble with some police top shots for probing a syndicate who defrauded a businessman of $1m.

“Some officers had mounted pressure on DCP Lafia to drop the investigation of the $1m. At a point, the recommendation for his promotion to a CP was withdrawn from the Police Service Commission. The same recommendation was endorsed by the IGP.

“I think DCP Lafia stepped on toes over the fraud case. The IGP might not even be in the full picture of what is really happening.”

Businessman Austine Ugochukwu Albert, had petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari over alleged poor handling of a $1 million (N360million) fraud case he lodged with the police.

He said he paid N360 million in exchange for $1 million which he never got.

He suspected compromise, abuse of office and corrupt activities by some officers assigned to investigate how he was swindled of the money.

He blamed some officers in the Inspector-General of Police monitoring unit of compromise.

He alleged that he suspected a corrupt deal of about $200,000 to frustrate his complaint to the police.

He said the officer handling his case was transferred in a suspicious manner at the prompting of one of the influential suspects who defrauded him.

He said he could not understand why the officer was redeployed midway into a crucial investigation in which he had recovered $205,000.

In a petition through his counsel, Ugochukwu Ezekiel, he urged President Muhammadu Buhari to direct the IG to return his case to the Force Intelligence Bureau instead of the Monitoring Unit.

He said he paid N360 million with intent to source for $1 million for his business.

But after successfully remitting the N360 million, a group of five suspects involved in the transaction refused to give him the $1 million.

He said: “Surprisingly, after our client paid the money as agreed above, the group, which we now believe is led by one Bakare, disappeared with the money.

“Our client first reported the matter at Area J command of the Nigeria Police Force, Ajah, Lagos State where the suspects made confessional statements that the entire transaction was a fraud, but at this point they all refused to give up their kingpin, Bakare.

“The matter was later transferred to Zone 2 command of the Nigeria Police Force, Lagos on the orders of the Assistant Inspector General of Police who equally ordered that all accounts already frozen by the police pursuant to their investigation activities be unfrozen. Our client was dissatisfied and wrote a petition to the Inspector General of Police.

“Unfortunately, the officers that investigated the matter at Inspector General of Police monitoring unit compromised the matter, refused to arrest the kingpin who had been identified as Bakare.

“They hurriedly charged the matter to a Magistrate Court in Abuja, which to their knowledge, has no jurisdiction to entertain the matter.

“The suspects were subsequently set free on ridiculous bail conditions and this emboldened them as they called our client and demanded that our client should not pursue the matter anymore or he would be eliminated.

“To forestall the materialization of their threat, our client wrote a fresh petition to the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department and the matter was assigned to the Force Intelligence Bureau for investigation.

“On learning of the embarrassing situation, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Inspector General of Police monitoring unit quickly transferred the case file to the Force Intelligence Bureau for a review and unbiased investigation.

“Our client must confess that the Force Intelligence Bureau acted professionally and intelligently and within weeks rounded up the suspects and obtained an order from the Federal High Court to have them detained pending investigation.

“We are aware that the head of Force Intelligence Bureau was offered some huge amount of money as bribe and he turned it down.

“This honest officer was duly commended and recommended by the Inspector General of Police for his honesty and recommended that he be promoted to the office of Commissioner of Police.

“To our client’s utter consternation, our client got information that Bakare was boasting while still in detention that he has offered the money that was rejected by men of Force Intelligence Bureau to some officers in the Monitoring Unit and that the case will not only be taken away from that department but the head of that unit, who he described as very strict, will be removed.

“Our client treated this as the joke of the century and moved on. However, less than 24 hours after our client got the information, the Inspector General of Police sent a signal that the case file be transferred to another unit and that the officer be immediately transferred.”

Efforts made to reach police spokesman, Moshood Jimoh, yesterday night yielded no result.

Although he had called to speak with one of our reporters less than two hours earlier, his line was not going through at about 9 pm.



http://thenationonlineng.net/police-defy-osinbajo-dcp-busted-n360m-fraud/

By Vera Samuel-Anyagafu


A court in Guangdong Province, China, has confirmed the death sentence on suspected drug smuggler, Mr. Ikechukwu Peter Obiekezie, with two years probation. Vanguard gathered that Mr. Obiekezie, with Nigerian Passport No. A50296207 was on October 2, 2016, arrested at the Baiyun International Airport in Guangzhou, China, upon arrival from Addis Ababa aboard Ethiopian Airlines Flight No. ET 606 on suspicion of smuggling cocaine into China.



He has since October 3, 2016, joined the growing list of Nigerians who were detained and serving various jail terms in Guangdong Province, after he excreted 1410.9 grammes of cocaine at the Chinese Aviation hospital.


Obiekezie was on August 18, 2017, issued a death sentence, following the rejection of an appeal made at the Intermediate Peoples’ Court of Guangzhou after he was declared guilty of smuggling 1410.9 grammes of cocaine into China and was given a suspended death sentence.



A follow up report from the Nigerian Consulate General in Guangzhou, China, disclosed that the death sentence will not be carried out within the period of two years if the convict shows remorse, good behaviour and if no new crime is intentionally committed during the two-year probationary period.


Should that happen, the death sentence will be reduced to life or 15 years imprisonment.

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/08/nigerian-faces-death-penalty-china/

It seems he's dancing to Olamide "bobo" ; Ride on Ikpeazu!!

Why don't the FLAT DEVELOPERS go and develop Honduras...

A Nigerian national is currently assisting Indian authorities in its investigations after he was caught peddling drugs.

Ugochukwu John Nnadi was nabbed by the Anti-Narcotics Cell of the Navi Mumbai police on Thursday afternoon for trying to sell mephedrone rock and powder.

Reports in India news media said about 25 grammes of the drug in powder form and 85 grammes in rock form, together estimated to be worth around ₹3.30 lakh (about N1.6m), were seized from him.



The 37-year-old was arrested after a tip-off.

According to Inspector Maya More, the police laid traps in Koparkhairane, where Nnadi usually carried out his activities, and on Thursday he walked into the trap.

“When he realised that we were police officials, he tried to escape. After a struggle, we caught hold of him. We found some pav in his possession, and on opening it, we found the drugs hidden inside,” More told the Hindu.

Police found that Nnadi arrived in India three years ago on a business visa where he started trading in women and children’s clothing. The visa has now expired.

He later started peddling drugs to make easy money. Nandi has been remanded in police custody till May 5.

Lalasticlala even the COAS is a big fan. Front Page things!

omenkaLives:
Keeping mum.. Just here to see how the cantankerous e-scumscrubing Wailing Bushbabies defend this under "recession".

Base on Logistics i'm also waiting to see how APC e-warriors BMC defend their executive grasscutter friend. [/b]“We have a budget of N1.5 billion for the celebration, most of which is expected to be raised from private donors. Already, we have raised over N1 billion from private donors. The golden jubilee celebration will be self-funded without any stress to the Rivers State government,” Okocha said.[b]