The recent release of the 82 Chibok
schoolgirls by Boko Haram insurgents
as facilitated by the Federal
Government has been commended by
the United States of America. The US commended the Muhammdau
Buhari-led Nigerian government for
securing the release of the 82 girls after
3 years in captivity. According to the US government, the
release of 82 of the Chibok schoolgirls
by their Boko Haram captors, after
three years, is heart-warming. The remark was made by the Deputy
Director, Office of West African Affairs,
Bureau of African Affairs at the U.S.
Department of State, Nathan Holt, in
Washington, D.C. via teleconference on:
“Nigeria, a critical U.S. partner.” He said the release of the girls from
captivity was also a positive
development for them and their
families.
“Many of you will have also followed
the news of the release of the Chibok
girls over the weekend. “Obviously, that was a heart-warming
and positive development for the
young women involved and for their
families. “We’d like to point out that they’re
among thousands of victims of Boko
Haram and its offshoot, ISIS West
Africa,’’ Holt said.

Elder statesman and former Minister of
Petroleum Resources, Prof. Tam David-
West has claimed that the President
Muhammadu Buhari-led government is
habouring corrupt people. He, therefore, called on the President to
urgently kick them out of his
government. David-West, who spoke with newsmen
shortly after being conferred with
honorary Doctor of Science (D.Sc) by
the Nasarawa State University, Keffi,
said Buhari, as a person, was very
clean, “but the people around him are corrupt.” He said: “The president is my friend
and I always tell him the people
around him are corrupt. Buhari is clean.
I have worked with him and I can
enter fire because of him; but a lot of
people around him are very corrupt and until he kicks them out of his
government, the country cannot move
forward. Nigeria is a great country “There are a lot of people using
government positions to influence
things for themselves. When I was
minister of petroleum, I had only three
refineries and I was exporting petrol
and the country was moving on well. President Buhari needs to clean up his
house.”
On the probe of Secretary to
Government of the Federation (SGF)
Babachir Lawal, Prof David-West said:
“If the SGF loves Buhari, he would have
resigned. I did not influence any
contract to my favour or steal money when I was in government. People
even made fun of me, that I was taking
only tea.”

A 21-year old lady has been hospitalised after she was gang-raped by five men on her way to work at Irawo area of Owode Onirin, Ikorodu, Lagos State. According to PM express, the victim suffered her fate while going to work as early as 5.30am to beat traffic. The lady was attacked while she was heading to the bus terminal. The suspects took her to an open corner, forcefully removed her pant and raped her in turns without any protection. The newspaper reports that after the dastardly act, she was allowed to go and the suspects disappeared. The victim returned home to inform her parents of what happened. The matter was reported to the police who took the victim to the scene and she was able to identify one of the suspects. One of the suspects, a 21-year old Mathew Odunayo was arrested and charged before Ogba Magistrates court for sexual assault and unlawful penetration with others now at large under the Criminal Code. He pleaded not guilty. The prosecutor, Mr Isiaku Babaji reminded the court that the offence the defendant committed was a serious crime and urged the court to consider a stringent bail that will not enable him to escape in the interest of justice. The presiding Magistrate, Mr J.A. Abegun granted him bail in the sum of N200,000 with two sureties in like sum. Odunayo was remanded in prison custody pending when he will perfect his bail condition. The matter was adjourned till 19th May 2017.

Boko Haram’s leader Abubakar Shekau has been injured and one of his deputies killed in an air strike in northeast Nigeria, civilian and security sources told AFP on Wednesday.
Two Nigerian Air Force jets bombarded fighters who had gathered for prayers inBalla village, some 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Damboa, on the edge of the Sambisa Forest, last Friday.“Shekau was wounded in the bombings and is believed to be receiving treatment near the Nigerian border with Cameroon around Kolofata,” said one source with contacts within Boko Haram.Boko Haram’s leader Abubakar Shekau has been injured and one of his deputies killed in an air strike in northeast Nigeria, civilian and security sources told AFP on Wednesday.
Two Nigerian Air Force jets bombarded fighters who had gathered for prayers in Balla village, some 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Damboa, on the edge of the Sambisa Forest, last Friday.“Shekau was wounded in the bombings and is believed to be receiving treatment near the Nigerian border with Cameroon around Kolofata,” said one source with contacts within Boko Haram.“His deputy, Abba Mustapha, alias Malam Abba, was killed in the attack along with another key lieutenant, Abubakar Gashua, alias Abu Aisha,” he added. Babakura Kolo, a member of the civilian militia in the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, gave a similar account, saying “Shekau was injured and a number of commanders were killed.“Among them is his deputy called Malam Abba. They suffered heavy casualties because the bombings targeted a large gathering of his followers attending Friday prayers.”There was no immediate comment from the Nigerian military when contacted by AFP. The authorities have previously claimed to have killed Shekau on at least three occasions.In an emailed statement on Tuesday night, the air force said it had bombed “a gathering of Boko Haram terrorists” last Friday “in a village 3.42 km northeast of Mangosum”.The “air interdiction mission” in the remote region involved three jets.“Battle damage assessment conducted after the strike showed that several leaders of the Boko Haram terrorist organisation and their followers were killed during the attacks,” it added.

President Muhammadu Buhari continues to take a rest from official functions on the advice of his doctors, Information Minister Lai Mohammed has said. Mr. Mohammed stated this Wednesday while addressing State House correspondents after a meeting of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, which Mr. Buhari failed to attend for the third time running.“The President chose today to rest, he was in his office yesterday, which you all reported.“He is taking his doctors’ advice so that he can fully recover,” the minister said.Mr. Buhari was also absent during FEC meeting last week. Then, Mr. Mohammed said the president was taking the day to rest and work from home.

Chairman of Thisday Editorial Board ,
Olusegun Adeniyi, in his new book,
“Against the r un of play” , stated that
embattled former National Security
Adviser, Sambo Dasuki (rtd), supported
President Muhammadu Buhari in the build-up to the 2011 general election . Adeniyi noted that “one of those who
worked tirelessly to make the 2011
alliance between Tinubu and Buhari
work was Colonel Sambo Dasuki (rtd),
who would later become the National
Security Adviser to Jonathan.” He added that Nasir El-Rufai, governor
of Kaduna state , during the period,
expressed the belief that following the
collapse of the merger talks ahead
2011 polls , both Tinubu and Ribadu
worked for Jonathan. “Tinubu of course gave the votes from
Lagos and a few other SouthWest
states, except Osun, to Jonathan, while
the calculation of Ribadu was to reduce
Buhari’s votes in the north even
though he failed on that score.” DAILY POST recalls that Dasuki in 2015
disclosed how he supported Buhari’s
presidential aspiration in 2003, 2007 and 2011.
Dasuki said he knelt down in 2011 for
the former National Chairman of the
defunct Action Congress of Nigeria
(ACN), Chief Bisi Akande, to make
Buhari a joint candidate of the ACN and
the defunct Congress of Peoples Congress (CPC). The ex-NSA urged Nigerians to verify
from prominent Northerners, such as
Adamu Adamu, Bashir Kurfi, Wada
Maida, Sule Hamman and Kabir Yusuf ,
among others. He also cleared the air on his
involvement in the 1985 coup that led
to the ouster of Buhari, then a military
Head of State.

The Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele
Fayose, has called on Nigerians to
continue criticising President
Muhammadu Buhari because the
President is on his way to destroy the
country. Fayose, who is the Chairman of the
Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,
Governors’ Forum gave the call while
reacting to a question on whether he is
the main opposition voice to the
Buhari-led government. Speaking with The Sun, Fayose said,
“It’s not as if I am the main opposition
to Buhari, I am just a believer in
fairness, wherever criminals belong,
whoever they are, Muslims or
Christians, it does not matter, crime is crime, wickedness is wickedness,
brutality is brutality. “I will continue to say it as it is,
because when we all keep quiet we
will be taken one after the other and
we will be destroyed by this
administration. We must remember
that Nigeria is greater than all of us, the power of the people is better than
those of us in power. “One day we will all die whether it’s by
oppression or sickness, so let me say I
am not afraid of anything. If you don’t
die, age will take everything away
from you.
“Look at our President, if you can see
his heart, he wishes he was 42 years
old because that is the age and time
one can be active. May God give him
good health because it is in good
health that Nigerians can benefit. “When the President comes out every
Friday, do we say we have a
ceremonial President? Let us have a
President valued for money and votes.
You can’t deceive people forever
because the truth hurts and the hunger in the land is ridiculous. The people are
hungry and angry.”

Nigerians have taken over the social
media with the hashtag,
#WheresBuhari, to demanded the
whereabouts of President Muhammdau
Buhari who has not been seen in public
in recent times. The president who was supposed to
make a public address to Nigerian civil
servants on May 1 was nowhere in
sight. Also, the President has not attended
the last three Federal Executive Council,
FEC meeting. Recently, the Vice President, Yemi
Osinbajo has been attending and
taking charge in so many occasions
where the President himself should
have shown up. Just last week, the Minister of
Information, Lai Mohammed told
Nigerians that the President could be
working from home. A statement he
later denied.
However, As majority of Nigerians
,especially the federal government
workers and civil servants observe the
May 1st ‘Worker’s Day’ holiday on
Monday, some took to the social media
platform, Twitter to ask about President Buhari.

@EU Emmanuel wrote, “Our President
is now a ghost worker …a ghost
worker looking for a ghost worker to
catch.#wheresBuhari
@UgomPrince said, “I rather die on the
seat isn’t the best. Your health is
paramount. Resign or show yourself
strong. #wheresBuhari
@dondekojo wrote, “Please
#wheresBuhari, he has yet to address
the nation in months. No FEC meeting
in 3 weeks and he has gone
incommunicado. @OrjiUka wrote, “On this day, I join
well meaning Nigerians to demand the
health status of our Prsident
#wheresBuhari.” This is coming after the presidency had
late last week, via its twitter handle,
@NGRpresidency, told Nigerians that
there is no need for apprehension over
the health of President Muhammadu
Buhari. It further stated that the absence of the
President from the FEC meeting on
Wednesday was a last minute decision,
otherwise the cabinet and the public
would have been alerted in advance. It
added that as eager as the President is to be up and about, his doctor had
advised him to take things slowly as
he fully recovers from the long period
of treatment in the United Kingdom.

The British Government has denied
allegation that it conspired with others
to ensure the defeat of former
President, Goodluck Jonathan, in the
2015 general election, reiterating that
President Muhammadu Buari won with the backing of majority of Nigerians. Jonathan in a book: “Against the Run of
Play,” written by the Chairman of the
Editorial Board of Thisday newspaper,
Olusegun Adeniyi, alleged that former
British Prime Minister, David Cameron,
connived with former United States President Barack Obama, among other
world leaders, to push him out of office. Reacting on Friday, the British High
Commission in Nigeria in a statement
signed by its Press and Public Affairs
Officer, Joe Abuku, said the outcome of
the 2015 elections was totally the
decision of Nigerians. Britain said the only role it played in
the election was the engagement with
Nigerians and their leaders prior to the
elections to make it non-violent, free
and fair. The statement reads: “Prior to the
2015 elections in Nigeria, the UK
engaged with Nigerian political parties
and their leaders to urge them to run a
fair, non violent campaign and allow
Nigerian voters to decide who their future political leadership would be. “We congratulated President Jonathan
on having handed over power
peacefully in 2015 having lost the
Nigerian Presidential elections. “The elections were a credit to the
Nigerian people and a truly historic
moment for Nigerian democracy. This
process further strengthened Nigeria’s
democratic tradition. “The UK welcomes the assessment of
independent observers, including the
EU, that Nigeria’s elections were largely
peaceful and conducted in accordance
with recognised international
democratic norms, and that there was no evidence of systemic manipulation
of the process.”

It was the turn of the suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal,to face the three-man panel headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday.
He was quizzed for about two hours by the committee that was set up to investigate allegations of violations of law and due process made against him in the award of contracts under the Presidential Initiative on the North East (PINE).The committee had on Monday interacted with the suspended Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ayo Oke for several hours. It was over the discovery of the huge amount money in foreign and local currencies by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) operatives in a residential apartment at Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos. Lawal, who arrived at the State House around 1pm, was seen coming out of the meeting by 3:15 pm.The suspended SGF was seen entering some offices before he was seen in the company of the National Security Adviser (NSA) Babagana Mongunu, a member of the panel about 30 minutes after his audience with the three-man panel.He had been attended to by the committee after Osinbajo received members of the Bangladesh military delegation at the State House, Abuja.

Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, has said the nation plans to get out of recession by boosting government non-oil revenues and cracking down on corruption. Reuters reports that Mrs. Adeosun made the remarks while fielding questions from reporters at the World Bank conference in Washington on Thursday. Analysts said the Nigerian government’s anti- corruption war received a boost recently when the government suspended the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, David Lawal, and ordered an investigation into the allegations of violations of law and due process made against him in the award of contracts under the Presidential Initiative on the North East, PINE. Similarly, the government also ordered a full scale investigation into the discovery of large amounts of foreign and local currencies by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in a residential apartment at Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos, over which the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) has made a claim. The Director General of the NIA, Ayo Oke, was also suspended. There are insinuations that these and other funds recovered from similar anti- graft operations would be ploughed back into the economy. Meanwhile, Mrs. Adeosun said the government will also issue more international debt to pay for
infrastructural projects. Nigeria is in its second year of recession, brought on by lower oil prices, which have slashed government revenues, weakened the currency and caused dollar shortages. The development has stifled investment initiatives and frustrated businesses and households.

The Federal Government has
condemned the use of chemical weapon in Syria on April 4. At least 87 people were killed in the attack, including many children. The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Olushola Enikanolaiye, in a statement in Abuja called on all parties to the Syria conflict to cease hostilities. Mr. Enikanolaiye also urged the parties to resume negotiations for an early resolution of the protracted conflict and the loss of lives and destruction of property. He further called on all actors in the conflict to respect the Chemical Weapon Convention which prohibits the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapon in all armed conflicts. in this connection. He urged all Member States that have not yet destroyed their stockpile of chemical weapons to do so without delay. “Nigeria feels reassured by the UN Secretary General that the UN Security Council, in the exercise of its responsibility for international peace and security, will take adequate measure to address these development,” he said.

The Presidency has denied the involvement of the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo in a N10m bribe as claimed by former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Ishaya Bamaiyi(rtd).

Bamaiyi, in his book, “The Vindication of A General” alleged that Osinbanjo was directed to convict him and others within six months during the time, he, Osinbajo was Lagos State Attorney- General.

The former Army claims that Osinbajo shielded the then trial judge, Justice Ade Alabi, whom he accused of demanding a N10 million bribe from him.


However, the Senior Special Assistant to the Vice-President on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, described Bamaiyi’s claims as blatant lies.

In a statement, Akande said Osinbajo was never called to Abuja or given any form of instruction on how to resolve the case.

According to Akande, “ My attention has been drawn to claims made by General Bamaiyi in his book Vindication of a General, where he alleged that the then Attorney-General of Lagos State, Osinbajo, the trial judge, (in the criminal case of his “involvement” in the shooting of Alex Ibru) Justice Ade Alabi and the State Police Commissioner were called to Abuja and “directed to convict us at all costs within six months.”


“That Justice Ade Alabi asked for a N10m bribe through “one Mr. Martin” to facilitate his bail application in the case, and that the National Judicial Council panel composed to investigate the bribery allegation, protected the Judge.

“Specifically that Prof. Osinbajo “brought what he said was the panel report during one of the motions. Unfortunately, pages one through twenty-nine of the report were not produced.”While the Vice President, Osinbajo would take more comprehensive steps to address the evil insinuations made by the retired General, I have confirmed from him, i.e. Prof. Osinbajo, that he was never called to Abuja or at any time given any instructions on how to resolve the case. This blatant lie arose only from the fertile imagination of the author.

“Equally, the shifty recollections of the retired General about Prof. Osinbajo bringing a panel report with pages missing is as ludicrous as it is incongruous. For instance, is the author saying the then Lagos State Attorney-General was responsible for the NJC panel report? That would be incredible and clearly a mischievous proposition.”

Akande stated that Bamaiyi’s counsel, Mike Okoy, who argued the bail application for the former Army Chief had confessed in open court and in several newspaper public notices as ordered by Court that he lied against Justice Alabi.


“Okoye actually had to read his confession and apology in the open court in a case that involved such prominent lawyers like Chief F.R.A Williams, who in particular pressed that Okoye be held fully responsible for his wild accusations.

“It is incredible that after all of this, the author went on to mislead the public. What impudence!” the presidency stated,” Akande added.

The dpa news agency reports that the 22-year-old man, who was born in Germany and who hadn’t committed a crime, arrived in Lagos Thursday. The unnamed man was one of two detained in February in Goettingen during an investigation of suspected attack plans. When the two men were picked up, investigators found two weapons, at least one of them a firearm that had been altered to fire live ammunition. advertisement Also found were ammunition, flags of the Islamic State group and a machete. The man deported to Nigeria is banned from entering Germany for life. Following attacks by Islamic extremists last year, German authorities vowed to step up deportations of foreigners deemed to be threats.

The British Government will give the Federal Government information about Nigerians who own property in that country next year, a presidential aide has said. Bolaji Owosanoye, Executive Secretary, Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption, told the correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in New York that negotiations on this had reached advanced stage.Mr. Owosanoye said the measure being taken by the governments of both countries was a step forward in the fight against corruption.“There’s no doubt that rogues in government oppress and impoverish their people by corruption and this must be sanctioned by collective action.“We need to make sure that there is no safehaven for you (corrupt officials) to run to.“Britain has promised that by 2018, she will provide Nigeria with the information about who owns what and where; that’s very helpful.“These include all the houses that have been bought by public officials or accounts that are held by public officials on which they are right now not paying taxes or which they cannot explain the sources.“So if you cannot buy a house in England, you have to look for somewhere else.“But if all countries criminalise this, then it becomes much more difficult unless you want to buy the house on Mars,” he said. The presidential aide also explained that Nigeria and other African countries, who are victims of illicit financial flows, must challenge developed countries to block illicit financial flows from developing countries.“Receiving states – the countries of the North – need to be proactive to block the proceeds of crime even before a request is made by victim countries.“This is because, in many situations, it is clear that illegality is taking place.“We think that reversing the burden of proof to improve the confiscation of criminal proceeds of crime would help, especially when we are going after the asset and not necessarily the person.“If the person who claims to own the asset would not cooperate in giving information, then this should be a point in favour of the state,” Mr. Owosanoye said. He contended that the burden of proof for criminal proceeds should shift to the suspect and not the government, citing the case of a former Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).“A former Managing Director of the NNPC was found with nine million dollars cash and over 70 million naira in his house in a small place he has built. “He said the money is a gift. He was asked if he could tell the very generous angels who gave him this money.“He’s not been able to provide that information. That sort of disposition should be used to penalise a claimant of asset whocannot justify the origin of the asset.“The proposed “Unexplained Wealth Order in England,’’ which hopefully we were told would pass through the legal process this year, should really help to deepen the conversation in this regard.“It (Unexplained Wealth Order) would help to quickly recover assets,” the presidential aide said.Mr. Owosanoye said available research records showed that about 60 per cent of capital flight from Africa came from Nigeria because of the size of its economy.

Former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, and Senate Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has declared that Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, has executed more projects in the last two years than the All Progressives Congress, APC-led Federal Government.

The former Governor was addressing journalists after accompanying Rivers State Governor on an extensive projects inspection on Monday.Senator Akpabio said that Governor Wike’s excellent performance stems from his love for Rivers people.

Akpabio said, “Governor Wike has done more work and projects in the last two years than the Federal Government. That is my considered opinion.

"Performance is not necessarily an issue of the availability of resources. If your state gets N5 Billion, do projects of that amount.“If you get N1 Million, do projects commensurate with that figure. For Governor Wike, he has judiciously applied the scarce resources available to the state to develop needed infrastructure.

“The resources available to Rivers State is nothing compared to that of the Federal Government. Rivers State Government gets far less than a quarter than one percent of what accrues to the Federal Government, but we can see the tremendous quality of transformation taking place in the state.”

“It is not so much money that makes performance. It is love for your people. When you are elected, if you love your people you will perform, no matter the little money that you have.

“What I am seeing here in Rivers State is not like a recession economy because the Governor of Rivers State loves his people.

Let me use this opportunity to congratulate the workers at the various sites because they are acquiring a lot of skills working at the sites.“The kind of projects that Governor Wike is doing in Rivers State will attract the world to the state.

Today, there is a song, that the handwork of Wike is beautiful.”He further advised Wike never to be distracted bypolitical detractors who engage in political blackmail.

A witness in the corruption trial ofJustice Adeniyi Ademola has alleged that President Muhammadu Buhari gave the embattled judge N500,000 while his certificate controversy was pending before Mr. Ademola. Some persons had filed a suit challenging Mr. Buhari’s candidacy prior to the 2015 elections, alleging the president had no secondary school certificate as required by law. The witness said the money was given through Mr. Buhari’s former lawyer, Kola Awodeyin. The witness, however, said he does not consider the money a bribe. Mr. Ademola is being prosecuted by the Nigerian government for alleged corruption. He has denied the charges and requested accelerated hearing at the trial in Abuja‎. The federal judge is being prosecuted alongside his wife, Olubowale, and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Joe Agi.
Details later…

Indeed, the former Nigerian president was a
guest at the St Andrew home of Ambassador
Carlton Masters, Jamaica’s first representative to
the African Union, who described Obasanjo as
“my brother”.
Naturally, the reception hosted by Masters would
not have been the same had the guest list not
included his good friend and former Jamaican
Prime Minister PJ Patterson, who has known
Obasanjo for many years.
The retired Nigerian army general was also
pleased to see Opposition Leader Portia Simpson
Miller, former Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips,
Jamaica Olympic Association President Mike
Fennell, former Cabinet ministers Anthony Hylton
and Arnold Bertram, and Verene Shepherd,
professor of social history at the University of the
West Indies, Mona campus.
Obasanjo was in the island for just a few days on
what Ambassador Masters described as “a friendly
personal visit”. Therefore, the late evening
reception was devoid of business. In fact, the
closest he came to engaging in such talk was in
his informal remarks after being officially
welcomed by Patterson.
The Jamaica Observer, though, got him to speak
a bit about international politics, especially
current events in Africa, after the newspaper
asked him for an update on his life since his
retirement in 2007.
“Jokingly I always say that I’m unemployed and
unemployable,“ he responded with a soft chuckle.
“I don’t hold any political office; I don’t even
belong to any political party now. I think I can call
myself an elder statesman in Nigeria because the
position that I have, of not belonging to any
political party or not holding any Government or
political office, allows me to be able to be advisor
to all and sundry and to make informed
comments on situations in the country and
indeed in Africa,” he added.
“I do occasionally get invited, either by the
African Union, by the Commonwealth or by
ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African
States) to be involved in election observation, or
to investigate some situations in Africa. I did that
in the case of South Sudan after the unfortunate
violence and destructive actions in 2013,” he
said.
His reference was to the flare-up of violence in
December 2013 sparked by political divisions
between President Salva Kiir and former Vice-
President Riek Machar that exacerbated deeply
rooted ethnic tensions.
“Then I was asked to observe elections in
Zimbabwe [and] Ghana. I’ve in fact now been
asked to observe elections in Gambia, which are
coming up towards the end of November. That’s
the sort of thing I do, in addition to running my
farm,” Obasanjo explained.
Farming has actually proven successful for
Obasanjo, who had to be pressed a bit to tell the
Observer that he had seven farms – four
producing poultry, and three providing maze and
cassava.
The farms, he said, employ approximately 7,000
people. Information posted in 2014 about the
business called Obasanjo Farms, states that it was
opened in October 1979 and earns up to N34
million (approx US$107,851) daily.
Asked whether his produce are for export,
Obasanjo no.
“They are purely for the domestic market,” he
said, adding that the population of Lagos, said to
be Nigeria’s largest city, is more than 20 million.
“Whatever we produce, Lagos is a good market,”
Obasanjo said.

Amnesty International has accused an elite
Nigerian police unit of torture and bribery
demands. In its report, Nigeria: You have signed
your death warrant, Amnesty has claimed that
police officers of Special Anti-Robbery Squad
(SARS) torture inmates for bribe and also steal
money from them and their families for their
freedom.
The squad was set up to probe serious violent
crimes, primarily armed robberies and
kidnappings.
The report, which was published on Wednesday
(21 September), contains horrific details of the
former detainees. It also encloses reports from
lawyers, human rights defenders, journalists and
collected testimonies.
"A police unit created to protect the people has
instead become a danger to society, torturing its
victims with complete impunity while fomenting a
toxic climate of fear and corruption," Damian
Ugwu, Amnesty International's Nigeria researcher,
said.
The human rights group has alleged that the
suspects held by the SARS were subjected to
hanging, starvation, beatings, shootings and
mock executions until "they either make a
'confession' or pay officers a bribe to be released".
It also claimed that they were treated like animals
and were not allowed to contact a lawyer, a
doctor or their family during their detention
period.
"SARS officers are getting rich through their
brutality. In Nigeria, it seems that torture is a
lucrative business," Ugwu said.
However, SARS has denied any wrongdoing and
said no torture had taken place. But one senior
officer on the condition of anonymity told the
human rights campaign group that at least 40
officers, believed to have carried out several acts
of torture and ill-treatment of detainees, were
shifted to other stations in April 2016. However,
he was unable to claim whether the charges
against them were investigated or not.
According to a case study featured in the report,
32-year-old Chidi Oluchi was tortured after being
arrested by SARS officers in the Nigerian city of
Enugu. "They told me to slap myself and, when I
refused, they started beating me with the side of
their machetes and heavy sticks. My mouth was
bleeding and my vision became blurred," Oluchi
claimed and added that he was freed only after
he paid N25, 500 ($100) to the authorities.
Meanwhile, it was reported that in December
2014, the Nigerian police had launched a human
rights manual that put complete ban on torture
of inmates, but SARS has failed to execute it.
"With the Nigerian government's previous
attempts at stamping out torture proving
completely ineffective, it is time for the authorities
to ensure that officers responsible for such
human rights violations are finally held
accountable.
"There is also an urgent need for robust
legislation that ensures all acts of torture are
offences under Nigeria's criminal law," Ugwu
asserted.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama will review military strategy against the Islamic State group, press nations to admit more refugees and review progress around the world, despite new challenges, when he makes his final appearance at the U.N. General Assembly session in New York next week, the White House said Friday.

On the sidelines of the session, Obama has scheduled meetings with the leaders of Iraq, Nigeria and Colombia and plans to promote trade between the U.S. and Africa.

Obama heads to New York on Sunday for the General Assembly session that opens Monday, his eighth and final as president.

He plans to sit down Monday with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to discuss progress the country has made countering the Islamic State group, a coming Iraqi military operation to take back the city of Mosul from IS militants, and a brewing humanitarian crisis inside Iraq, said Ben Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security adviser.

Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week while visiting Baghdad that Iraqi forces aided by the U.S.-led coalition against IS had retaken half the territory that militants once held in the country. He also announced more than $181 million in aid to address a humanitarian crisis that has festered in Iraq as a result of the insurgency.

Despite a series of major defeats in recent months, IS has maintained its grip on Mosul, Iraq's second largest city. Iraq hopes to launch an operation this year to retake Mosul.

Obama delivers his final address to the yearly gathering of world leaders on Tuesday, and will use the opportunity to "step back" and review some of the progress over the past eight years along with "some of the trends that have been shaping our international order," said Rhodes, previewing the trip for reporters.

The Syrian conflict continues to confound world leaders, although a recent cease-fire agreement appears to be holding, but Syria has not yet allowed humanitarian aid to flow to the city of Aleppo and other affected areas. Meanwhile, North Korea continues to defy the international community with its recent nuclear and ballistic missile tests.

Obama also plans to meet Tuesday with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who has held office for just over a year, to talk about continued U.S. support for security and economic changes in the country, as well the government's efforts to counter the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram.

At a summit on refugees that the president is hosting, Obama is expected to press more nations to open their borders and help double the number of refugees who are resettled around the world. Mexico, Sweden, Canada, Germany, Jordan and Ethiopia are co-hosting the summit along with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Europe has shouldered a large portion of the Syrian refugee crisis. Canada welcomed 25,000 Syrian refugees, and the U.S. recently met its goal of resettling 10,000 Syrian refugees this year.

Obama will devote a portion of Wednesday, the final day of the General Assembly session, to promoting trade between the U.S. and Africa. He was attending a summit with some 200 American and African CEOs, and African heads of state.

The president also plans to meet with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, mainly to discuss a historic peace agreement recently struck between Santos' government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia rebel group to end 52 years of hostilities, the Western Hemisphere's longest-running war.

The U.S. supported the peace effort, and the people of Colombia will vote on it a nationwide referendum in early October.

On Sunday evening in New York, Obama was headlining a Democratic Party fundraiser.

A proposed service tax on certain electronically supplied services in Nigeria will increase the costs of doing business and make internet access unaffordable for a vast swathe of the population, the Government has been warned.

The Communication Service Tax (CST) Bill 2015, which is currently moving through the National Assembly, would add a nine percent tax to payments for voice, data, SMS, MMS, and pay-TV services. Service providers will be responsible for collecting the service tax from consumers and passing it on to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

Under the proposal, services providers would be required to submit a service tax return and pay any tax due by the end of the month subsequent to the one in which they collected the tax from consumers. Companies will face a penalty of NGN50,000 (USD154) for failure to file a service tax return by the due date, with an additional daily penalty of NGN10,000 for each day the return is outstanding. In addition, late payments will be subject to monthly interest of 150 percent of the average interest rate charged by banks.

With the Government highly dependent on revenue from oil, the service tax will help to diversify its revenue base and the NGN240bn in annual revenue it expects to collect from the new tax would also help its deficit reduction efforts. However, critics argue that the additional revenues will come at a price, making Nigeria's tax system more complex, increasing businesses' compliance costs and driving up prices for consumers.

"The focus instead, should be on stimulating the economy and ensuring that the tax system is efficient by widening the tax net and creating an effective framework for tax compliance," PwC Nigeria said in a briefing on the tax.

Opponents of the service tax also point out that the proposal will add to the already considerable tax burden faced by businesses and consumers in the IT and telecommunications sector, who are already subject to a five percent value-added tax and 12 percent import tax on electronic devices, and a 20 percent tax on mobile telephone SIM cards.

It is also feared that the tax would severally hamper the Government's broadband internet roll-out plans.

According to the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI), the tax would result in a broadband connection being unaffordable for 10 percent of the Nigerian population, or for nearly 20 million people.

"Nigeria is far behind the more developed countries of the world when it comes to broadband use, and the introduction of the CST will only widen this gap," said Dr Ernest Ndukwe, National Coordinator for the A4AI-Nigeria Coalition.

"The National Assembly must reconsider the passage of the CST and its impact on the development of broadband in Nigeria," he said. "After such a review, if the introduction of a CST is deemed an absolute necessity, it must consider a lower tax rate than nine percent, one that would enable it to achieve fiscal revenue targets without undermining broadband affordability and access."

Nigeria aims to achieve 30 percent broadband penetration by December 2018. However, the A4AI believes the Government will fall well short of this target if it persists with the CST.

President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Ambassador Enikanolaiye, Audu-Rafiu Olusola as a Permanent Secretary in the Federal Civil Service. Until his appointment, Ambassador Enikanolaiye was the Charge-de affairs at the Nigerian High Commission India. In addition, President Buhari has also redeployed 8 Federal Permanent Secretaries. Those affected are;



The circular announcing the redeployments signed by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Winifred Ekanem Oyo-Ita, stated that the process of handing and taking over should be completed on or before the 5th of August, 2016.

Agents of Nigeria’s secret police, State Security
Service, on Saturday sealed the secretariat of the
House Committee on Appropriation, PREMIUM
TIMES learnt.
The closure marked the latest development in the
ongoing political and media war between the
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu
Dogara, and a lawmaker from Kano State,
Abdulmumin Jibrin, over alleged manipulation of
line items and figures in the 2016 Appropriation
Bill.
Mr. Jibrin began working to oust Mr. Dogara from
office a day after the Speaker announced his
removal as chairman of Appropriation Committee
on allegations that he committed serial betrayal of
trust.
PREMIUM TIMES sources said SSS officials
stormed the secretariat, which serves as offices
for the 40-member appropriation committee and
its staff, and immediately placed it under lock and
key.
The sources said the SSS also sealed Mr. Jibrin’s
office at Room 1.05 in the New House of
Representatives building.
The development followed Mr. Jibrin’s statement
on Thursday that Mr. Dogara ordered removal of
workstation from the Appropriation Committee
Secretariat and allegedly attempted to break into
his office.
Mr. Jibrin had reportedly visited the SSS
Headquarters on Friday to brief the agency about
the budget padding scandal rocking the House.
He also called on EFCC and ICPC to commence
investigation into the crisis with a view to
prosecuting those involved.
Efforts to reach the spokesperson of the House of
Representatives, Abdulrazak Namdas, were
unsuccessful as his phone was switched off.
Speaker Dogara’s spokesperson, Turaki Hassan,
disconnected a phone call upon hearing it was a
PREMIUM TIMES’ enquiry.

The Nigerian government has announced the deportation of three South Koreans from the country over alleged immigration offences.
The three persons, according to a statement by the spokesperson for the Nigeria Immigration Service, Ekpedeme King, were removed from Africa’s most populous country on July 20.
They remained ineligible to enter the country for 10 years.

Read full press release announcing the deportation below.

FEDERAL GOVT DEPORTS 3 KOREANS

The Federal Government of Nigeria had on the 20th of July, 2016 deported three (3) South Koreans namely Lee Yoo Song, Lee Byeung Woo and Moon Een Soo for Immigration related offences. The Hon. Minister of Interior, Lt. Gen. Abdulrahaman Dambazau (Rtd) in the exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 45(2) and (3) and 44( 1e) of the Immigration Act 2015 signed the Deportation Order.
With the deportation order in force, the three (3) Koreans will not be eligible to enter Nigeria again through any port in the next ten years.
Without prejudice to the Foreign Investment Drive of Government, the Comptroller – General of Immigration, Muhammad Babandede, wishes to use this opportunity to caution all expatriates and their employers in Nigeria to respect the laws of the country as the Nigeria Immigration Service is determined to implement all aspect of immigration laws in the public interest.
However expatriates resident in Nigeria with correct documentation are assured of the protection of their rights and dignity.
Ekpedeme King
(Deputy Comptroller of Immigration)
Service Public Relations Officer
26th July, 2016.

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Elias Nwalem Mbam, an engineer as chairman for the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission. The President also approved the appointment of Dr. (Mrs) Marilyn Amobi as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company. A statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday by the Director of Press and Public Relations in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Bolaji Adebiyi, obtained by THE PUNCH did not give details about their states of origin but said Amobi’s appointment was “for a tenure of four years.”

THE Minister of
Labour and Employment,
Senator Chris Ngige said
weekend that the election of
President Muhammadu Buhari
last year saved Nigeria from
being a laughing stock among
the comity of nations,
arguing that the country
would have collapsed totally
by now if the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, had
remained in government
beyond May 29, 2015.
Ngige, who addressed
officials of All Progressives
Congress, APC, from the 326
wards in the three senatorial
zones of Anambra State, said
Buhari was taken aback with
what he saw on assumption
of office, adding that though
APC knew that PDP was
running the country aground,
the magnitude of
mismanagement of the
economy was beyond human
imagination.
While acknowledging the
present hardship in the
country, the Minister
appealed to members of the
party to be patient, assuring
that the Buhari administration
was making serious efforts
to turn things around for the
better.
According to him, part of the
delay in constituting the
cabinet by the president was
due to the bad shape of the
economy when APC took over
government, as most
ministries, departments and
agencies were discovered to
be heavily indebted to their
contractors to the tune of
trillions of naira.
He said: “There was virtually
nothing in the country’s
reserve, despite what the
PDP government officials
were telling Nigerians. But
the APC government has
started organizing the
economy by formulating
policies that will put smiles on
the faces of our people.
“For instance, the Federal
Government has created job
centers in all states of the
federation where the
unemployed will be exposed
to skills acquiring on various
trades. We are also
introducing empowerment
schemes and our party
members will be given
priority.
“In addition, government is
also planning to introduce
scholarship and bursary
schemes and our party
members will also be the first
to benefit from it.”
Ngige also said that in
addition to the 500000 jobs
for the unemployed youths,
government would also offer
employment to all graduates
of agriculture and allied
fields, in view of the
renewed emphasis on food
security in the country.
On federal roads in the
South East, the minister said
that the federal government
had mobilized RCC, the
construction giants, for the
reconstruction of the
dilapidated Enugu –Onitsha
expressway, while SETRACO
is to handle the Enugu –
Umuahia –Aba expressway.
He said the main problem
delaying the Second Niger
Bridge was the problem
created by some people, who
were insisting that
government must pay them
compensation before the
work could go on.

The Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation
(NNPC) has said that
Nigeria’s plans as contained
in its 2016 budget are now
being grossly impacted by
renewed militancy in the
Niger Delta.
It also said pipeline
vandalism in the region has
led to the curtailment of
about 700,000 barrels of
crude oil per day.
NNPC’s Group Managing
Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru
disclosed this to the Chief of
Defence Staff (CDS), Major-
General Abayomi Gabriel
Olonishakin on Thursday
when he paid him a courtesy
visit in Abuja.
Baru’s remarks during the
meeting were made available
to THISDAY by the
corporation.
He told the CDS that the
country’s power sector was
also impacted by the
development, and that from
January to May this year, an
equivalent of 1447 vandalism
incidents have been
recorded in the country
resulting to a loss of an
equivalent of 109 million
litres of petroleum products
and an equivalent of 560,000
barrels of crude oil to the
nation’s refineries in Warri;
Port Harcourt; and Kaduna.
“CDS sir, as you may be
aware, Nigeria’s energy
supply security is
underpinned by a robust
network of over 8000kms of
pipeline assets used in the
transportation of crude oil,
petroleum products and
natural gas.”