₦airaland Forum

A coalition of civil society organisations, Civil Society Network Against Corruption (CSNAC), has petitioned the Nigerian Guild of Editors asking it to punish the Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan, Reuben Abati, for his breach of journalistic ethics.

Mr. Abati is a journalist and former Chairman of the Editorial Board of Guardian Newspapers.

The coalition said by spreading untruth about the health of the first lady, Patience Jonathan; government’s negotiation with extremist Islamic group, Boko Haram; and the cancellation of the Manitoba Power Contract, Mr. Abati flouted a fundamental journalistic ethics-telling the truth at all times.

“The public has a right to know. Factual, accurate balance and fair reporting is the ultimate objective of good journalism and the basis for earning public trust and confidence. The journalist therefore should refrain from publishing inaccurate and misleading information,” the group said quoting a provision of the Code of Ethics for Nigerian Journalists.

Read more: http://premiumtimesng.com/news/109887-group-asks-editors-guild-to-punish-abati-for-spreading-falsehood.html

Nigeria remained rooted to the bottom of the global corruption ranking Wednesday as global corruption watchdog, Transparency International, rated it the 35th most corrupt country in the world.

In a report released at 6 a.m. Wednesday, Nigeria scored 27 out of a maximum 100 marks to clinch the 139th position out of the 176 countries surveyed for the report. It shared that position with Azerbaijan, Kenya, Nepal and Pakistan.

Countries such as Togo, Mali, Niger and Benin fared better than Nigeria.

Nigeria placed 143rd in the 2011 ranking, making it the 37th most corrupt country. It is difficult to say Nigeria has improved in the ranking this year because 182, six more than this year’s, were ranked in 2011.

This year’s index ranks 176 countries/territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, TI explained in the report.

The index draws on 13 surveys covering expert assessments and surveys of businesspeople.

The Corruption Perceptions Index is the leading indicator of public sector corruption, offering a yearly snapshot of the relative degree of the corruption problem by ranking countries from all over the globe.

Read more: http://premiumtimesng.com/news/109853-nigeria-is-35th-most-corrupt-in-the-world-says-transparency-international-2012-report.html

A crippled woman, Aisha Yunusa, who appeared before a Grade One Area Court, Lugbe, Abuja, accused by Hauwa Musa of attempting to kill her on Monday agreed to settle out of court.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the case first came up for hearing on Nov. 28.

Ms. Yunusa had alleged that her colleague, Musa who resides at Karmajiji village, Airport road, Abuja was dating her husband.

Mrs Musa, a widow also prayed the court to compel the defendant to desist from carrying out her threat as well as pay her the sum of N200,000 as damages for defaming her and her daughter.

Mrs Musa said that the defendant on Nov. 21, came to her house, armed with a knife and cutlass, accused both her and her daughter of having an affair with Yunusa’s husband.

Read more: http://premiumtimesng.com/news/109739-two-women-in-court-over-husband-snatching-allegation.html

Google has stepped up pressure to ensure that the ongoing United Nations, UN, organised Conference on International Communication keeps the internet open and free from proposed regulations.

Government representatives from around the world are currently meeting in Dubai to renegotiate the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs), the binding global information and communications treaty.

Governments at the meeting include those that do not support a free and open Internet, who are expected to present a proposal to globalise internet censorship.

Government, latecomers to the internet technology, would use the conference to seek greater control of the net which now webs over two billion people around the planet.

Read more: http://premiumtimesng.com/news/109644-google-steps-up-pressure-on-uns-internet-treaty-conference.html

The head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI, is the latest world religious leader to join the micro-blogging site Twitter.

The Pope, who is yet to post a tweet as at the time of this report, joined the social media site on Monday morning and his English language account attracted over 45,000 followers in less than three hours of joining the site.

However, it seems the Catholic pontiff is only interested in himself as he only follows his own account in seven other languages- Arabic (353 followers) Portuguese (2007 followers) German (997 followers), Italian (6384 followers), Spanish (13 820 followers), French (603 followers) and Polish (469 followers).

The Twitter accounts of the Pope are @Pontifex @Pontifex_de @Pontifex_es @Pontifex_pt @Pontifex_ pl @Pontifex_fr @Pontifex_ar @Pontifex_it

Read more: http://premiumtimesng.com/news/109617-holy-tweets-pope-benedict-joins-twitter.html

The Police command in Nassarawa State on Friday paraded four armed robbery suspects over the killing of a recharge card dealer, Abdullahi Hadi, and stealing cards worth N5 million.

The Commissioner of Police, Abayomi Akeremale, said the suspects, on November 19, trailed the victim from his shop at Masaka to his residence at Dantata Quarters in Karu, where they shot him dead.

Mr. Akeremale said the suspects carted away recharge cards worth N5 million and unspecified amount of cash.

He said detectives at the New Nyanya Police Station, acting on a tip-off, arrested the suspects while trying to sell the recharge cards to buyers, including a lady.

The police also paraded one Abdullazeez Adam, suspected to be a notorious car snatcher.

The commissioner told newsmen that the suspect was arrested at New Nyanya while trying to remove the number plate from a stolen Honda Accord car with registration number AG 893 GKW.

He said the suspect confessed that he and an accomplice, currently at large, snatched the vehicle from the victim.

He, therefore, advised the owner of the vehicle to come with relevant documents to claim it.

Mr. Akeremale assured that the suspects would be charged to court as soon as investigations were concluded.

He also urged members of the public to be vigilant, especially during the festive period and not hesitate to furnish the police with information that could help check crime.

Read more: http://premiumtimesng.com/regional/109347-police-parade-four-over-killing-of-recharge-card-dealer.html

The late Ikemba of Nnewi, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, willed his estate and monies to his wife, Bianca, on the condition that she remains unmarried.

The presentation by the Chief Registrar of the Enugu High Court, Dennis Ekoh, was witnessed by Bianca; Val Nwosu, Ojukwu’s first cousin; and Mike Ejemba.

In the will, the late Mr. Ojukwu identified one Tenny Haman as one of his children.

He listed his eight children as Tenny Haman, Chukwuemeka Jnr, Mmegha, Okigbo, Ebele, Chineme, Afam and Nwachukwu.

The Ikemba gave the Casabianca Lodge at No. 7, Forest Crescent, GRA, Enugu, two properties at Jabi and Kuje in the FCT as well as all his money and personal effects to his widow.

He also said that Bianca should replace him as the trustee in the family company, Ojukwu Transport Ltd, while also giving her two plots of land in his village at Nnewi.

Read more: http://premiumtimesng.com/news/109321-update-ojukwu-wills-estate-monies-to-bianca-identifies-new-daughter.html

Some families of the dead victims of the June 3 Dana Air crash in Lagos have said that the attitude of the airline’s management towards compensation claims is “painful.”

At a press conference in Lagos, Thursday, the families said that they are yet to receive the US$30,000 initial compensation, six months after the crash.

It was gathered that about 80 families out of the 120 who submitted claims have been compensated.

“Personally we’ve seen the cat and mouse game they are playing and it’s painful for an organization like Dana Air to toy with people’s lives and there’s no consequences,” said Sanya Shobowale, a lawyer and cousin of Femi Shobowale who was aboard the ill-fated flight.

Read more: http://premiumtimesng.com/news/109284-dana-airlines-deceit-is-painful-dead-victims-families-say.html

The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, said the finance ministry’s lackluster performance is a result of the non- release of budgetary allocation for the fourth quarter of 2012.

She said this on Thursday in Abuja at the Ministry’s budget defence before the National Assembly Joint Committees on Petroleum (Upstream, Downstream) and Gas.

Mrs. Alison-Madueke told the Committee that the Ministry’s 41 per cent implementation of the 2012 budget is because only N3.3 billion was released out of the N8.1 billion earmarked for capital projects.

She also explained that the ministry had spent N128 million so far between 2009- 2012 on the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, awareness campaign.

The minister said that another N371 million was spent on facilities and equipment for capacity developments in Abuja from 2010-2012.

Read more: http://premiumtimesng.com/news/national/109280-my-ministrys-performance-is-poor-because-of-insufficient-funding-diezani-alison-madueke.html

A Magistrate Court in Benin, Edo State, has sentenced a 47-year-old man to jail for defiling his 12-year-old daughter.

The judge sentenced the culprit to a seven years jail term.

Details later: http://premiumtimesng.com/news/109150-man-47-sentenced-to-7yrs-jail-for-defiling-12-year-old-daughter.html

The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, the umbrella body of tens of millions of Nigerian Christians, said on Wednesday that it is putting plans in place to press charges against the Islamic insurgent group, Boko Haram, at the International Criminal Court.

The President of the Association, Ayo Oritsejafor, stated this at the opening of the National Executive Council Meeting of the association in Awka, Anambra State.

“We at CAN are strongly considering pressing charges against the Boko Haram sect for crimes committed against Christians at the International Criminal Court and we will commence soon,” Mr. Oritsejafor said.

The Christian leader also urged the Federal Government to pronounce the sect a foreign terrorist group.

“The Federal Government should designate the Boko Haram sect as a foreign terrorist group,” Mr. Oritsejafor said.

Read more: http://premiumtimesng.com/news/109103-can-to-sue-boko-haram-at-international-criminal-court-oritsejafor.html

The postponed Annual General Assembly of the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, will now hold on December 13 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

This is part of the resolution of the board meeting of the NFF held on Wednesday at its boardroom in Abuja.

The board also agreed to dissolve its Technical Committee headed by Chris Green. A new one is expected to be inaugurated on Thursday, sources present at the meeting told PREMIUM TIMES.

Read more: http://premiumtimesng.com/sports/109061-breaking-news-nff-dissolves-technical-committee-to-hold-general-assembly-dec-13.html

take note, its 870 thousand.

Why INEC Can’t Prosecute Electoral Offenders – Jega

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Attahiru Jega, on Wednesday in Abuja said the commission cannot successfully prosecute electoral offenders because it lacks adequate funds and manpower.

The commission, during the course of various elections across Nigeria, apprehended about 870 thousand electoral offenders, Mr. Jega said.

Only 200 of these, 0.02 per cent, have been successfully prosecuted.

The commission chairman said this at the INEC / Civil Society dialogue on plans and progress toward the 2015 elections. Mr. Jega said the prosecution was over offences arising from the 2011 voter registration and general elections.

One of the thousands of electoral offenders yet to be prosecuted is a serving senator from Bayelsa State whom the commission said it caught with ballot boxes and thumb-printed ballot papers during elections.

Mr. Jega said prosecuting has been “a big problem” because of paucity of funds and manpower.

Read more: http://premiumtimesng.com/politics/109020-why-inec-cant-prosecute-electoral-offenders-jega.html

https://premiumtimesng.com/dev/wp-content/files/2012/11/akin-ogungbe-400x300.jpg

A veteran Yoruba actor, Akin Ogungbe, is dead.

The septuagenarian died in Abeokuta his hometown on Wednesday.

Details later: http://premiumtimesng.com/news/109009-breaking-news-akin-ogungbe-veteran-yoruba-actor-dead.html

Civil Society Groups Mobilize To Commemorate January’s Deadly Subsidy Uprising


Civil society groups have signaled a plan to stage a hard-biting remembrance of last January’s deadly anti-fuel subsidy removal revolt that claimed more than a dozen protesters.

A coalition has called for days of strikes, mass demonstrations and fresh demands to government in January 2013, to mark the 2012 action which ranked amongst the fiercest in the nation’s history.

A brutal government crackdown in several cities forced back demonstrators who had remained on the streets for 10 days insisting that a proposed removal of petrol subsidy, that was bound to spiral cost, be suspended.

As the protests gained momentum in days, police fired live bullets at growing crowd, killing protesters; used tear gas, and physically assaulted union leaders before a partial reversal of the policy brought the strike to an end.

The popular action has been partly credited for spurring multiple investigations into mega subsidy scam that cost the nation more than N2 trillion.

Several fuel marketers indicted in the fraud currently face charges.

But a recent remark by President Goodluck Jonathan, affirming an earlier position that complete subsidy removal remained the only option for the country, has fueled fears within labour ranks the government may be planning full withdrawal of the fuel funding early 2013.

The United Action Democracy, UAD, a coalition of citizen organizations, on Tuesday urged labour unions and affiliate groups to prepare for a grounding commemoration that will see at least two days of strikes, massive protests across and a tabling of fresh conditions before the authorities.

The series of events will “deepen the unfolding revolutionary process in Nigeria,” UAD said in a statement.

“Although it was the unconscionable hiking of fuel prices that triggered our anger and unleashed the fury of the January Uprising,” the group said, “we were all very clear that it was unbridled treasury looting that led us down the path where our refineries had become moribund, thus turning a country which is the 6th largest oil producer in the world, with the 3rd largest installed refinery capacity in Africa, into one that depends exclusively on importation of refined products to meet its domestic needs!”

As the January 2013 date approaches, revelations from investigations on the degree of abuse and rot in the petroleum sector, should frame new demands to government, the group, led by activists, Jaye Gaskia and Ken Henshaw said.

“We specifically urge two Days of Nationwide Mass Protests accompanied by a 48hour General Strike to mark the first anniversary of the January Uprising and place existing and new demands on the agenda with very clear timelines,” UAD said.

The planned actions are to be in cooperation with the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC; the Trade Union Congress, TUC; and other unions.

The NLC and the TUC have previously vowed to oppose any further removal of the subsidy, but it is not clear whether it will approve staging strikes in remembrance of the January demonstrations.


http://premiumtimesng.com/news/national/108971-civil-society-groups-mobilize-to-commemorate-januarys-deadly-subsidy-uprising.html

Justice Olabisi Akinlade of the Lagos High Court, Ikeja, on Tuesday ruled that an alleged serial fraudster, Seun Ogunbambo, continue to stay at the Kirikiri Maximum Security Prison, Lagos.

Mr. Ogunbambo is involved in multiple cases of fraud and is renowned for his ease to assume multiple identities, according to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

The commission is accusing Mr. Ogunbambo, and his company, Adeline Investment Ltd., of fraudulently obtaining a credit facility of over N1.2bn from Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc in 2009.

Mr. Ogunbambo conspired with Olamide Ogunbambo and David Ayodele – both of them at large – to obtain the facility, the commission said.

While fixing trial for January 24th, 2013; Ms. Akinlade said that the defendant did not convince the court that he would not jump bail before the date.

“I’ve gone through the evidence against the defendant, the evidence is quite weighty and serious,” Ms. Akinlade said.

“Also, the claims that the defendant was using different names to procure international passports at different times were not challenged or contradicted; therefore admitted as the truth,” the judge added.

The judge maintained that she would give the trial an accelerated hearing.

The credit facility was granted to Mr. Ogunbambo, after he forged bank statement of Guaranty Trust Bank and Bank PHB, in four tranches – N610m, N230m, N200m and N180m, according to the anti graft agency.



In the bank statements that helped facilitate the fraud, Mr. Ogunbambo claimed that he earns a monthly salary of N5.5m, with an additional N5m per month taking care of his housing allowance, the EFCC added.

When he was arraigned last week, Mr. Ogunbambo pleaded not guilty to all 14 counts and was remanded in prison.



PLEA BARGAIN

At the hearing of the bail application on Tuesday, Adebayo Adenipekun, counsel to Mr. Ogunbambo, said that his client had already refunded N120 million to the bank.

Mr. Adenipekun also told the judge that they have been meeting with the EFCC, as well as Stanbic IBTC, towards a resolution of the matter.

“It is not in dispute that before the arraignment and after the arraignment, the applicant has been meeting the complainant towards the settlement of the matter,” said Mr. Adenipekun, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

“The applicant will not only attend trial when the trial commences, he is also taking steps to settle this matter by plea bargaining,” he added.

Ms. Akinlade, however, responded that their meeting is not the matter before the court.

Read more: http://premiumtimesng.com/news/108824-serial-billionaire-fraudster-remanded-in-prison.html

After a showy commissioning and multi-billion investments five months ago, the Akwa Ibom State e-library, a proposed full e-learning facility flaunted as West Africa’s first, has yet to commence operations.

Instead, equipment shortages that have remained unresolved at the facility months on, are giving vent to earlier concerns that authorities in Akwa Ibom rushed out an unfinished project for immediate political gains.

A spokesperson for the state acknowledged parts of the project have yet to be finalised, and that managerial issues are still pending.

“It takes a process to put all the public elements in place,” Anietie Umanah, the state commissioner for information said on Sunday.

The inertia at the library has raised fears about its completion, refreshing concerns about state governments’ penchant for delivering half-made projects, often, for lavish presidential unveiling, gaining public approvals, after which the projects are abandoned.

President Goodluck Jonathan opened the sprawling unit in Uyo, the state capital, late June, in a brassy ceremony that exhibited the details and prospects of the new project, and drew plaudits for the government.

The credits soon turned to criticisms after a PREMIUM TIMES’ report revealed that the library had no functional website, a basic requirement for such facility.

The publication spurred the state government to hurriedly switch on three unfinished websites.

Read more: http://premiumtimesng.com/news/108789-much-hyped-akwa-ibom-e-library-still-under-lock-five-months-after-presidential-commissioning.html

The first batch of the 2,000 Dangote graduate drivers trainees will conclude their training in January, 2013, an official has said.

The scheme was launched in November at the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT).

The Director-General of the Institute, Aminu Yusuf, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday.

He said 2,000 graduates of various disciplines were expected to be trained under the scheme to become professional truck drivers.

Mr. Yusuf explained that the training would be done in batches of 100 participants on quarterly basis over a period of four years which would end in 2016.

He said the institute was carrying out the training in conjunction with the Federal Vehicle Inspection Officers and the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC).

“These graduates, which include women from the Dangote Group, will undergo a three -month training because they have no knowledge of driving before being certified as drivers.

Read more: http://premiumtimesng.com/news/108769-first-batch-of-dangote-graduate-truck-drivers-to-complete-training-in-january.html

Violence against women is a dreadfully brutal and pervasive crime. In many countries, those who are responsible for preventing, eliminating and ensuring accountability for it mostly fail to recognize it as such, tolerate it or simply blame the victims for being violated. On the 31st Anniversary of the International Day of Action on Violence against Women – 25 November – law enforcement and public officers in Nigeria must commit to a programme of action to change this.

On Friday, 23 November 2012, I attended a workshop of the International Association of Women Judges at the conferenceViolence against women is a dreadfully brutal and pervasive crime. In many countries, those who are responsible for preventing, eliminating and ensuring accountability for it mostly fail to recognize it as such, tolerate it or simply blame the victims for being violated. On the 31st Anniversary of the International Day of Action on Violence against Women – 25 November – law enforcement and public officers in Nigeria must commit to a programme of action to change this.

On Friday, 23 November 2012, I attended a workshop of the International Association of Women Judges at the conference room of the High Court of Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory in Abuja. The theme of the conference was “Sextortion”. Its aim was to call attention to the various forms of sexual exploitation that women suffer in the public space and inspire a committed search for how the judiciary and the legal process take action to diminish and ultimately eliminate this.

Present at the workshop were senior judges of all the Superior Courts in Nigeria, including High Courts, the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court as well as some international judicial experts. The conference showcased the progress that women have made in Nigeria’s legal profession as well as the considerable amount of work that is still needed to eliminate historical discrimination against women in the legal profession and the wider country.

The afternoon panel discussion featured three presentations respectively by a Nigerian judge, a Tanzanian judge and this writer explaining the concept of sextortion, illustrating its various dimensions and offering suggestions as to how to address it. The session was moderated by a recently retired Justice of the Nigerian Supreme Court.

In response to the panel ‘s presentations, Katsina State Attorney-General, Alhaji Ibrahim Dan-Soho, who was also present at the meeting, offered a spirited defence of “men” and a shocking plea for tolerance of the levels of gratuitous sexual violence in our country. During the course of this prolonged allocutus, the Honorable Attorney-General asserted that “rape is self-inflicted….in at least 90% of cases.”


Three different participants at the meeting, including this writer, publicly pointed out to the Honorable Attorney-General the egregious baselessness of his claim, the obvious insensitivity of it and the clearly adverse implications for victims of rape and other sexual violence in Katsina State, and requested him to withdraw it. He failed to acknowledge this request.

Rape is a vile crime of violence against mostly – but not necessarily or exclusively – women. It grossly violates the physical integrity and dignity of its victims, causes serious damage to public and reproductive health, and injures social cohesion. It is, therefore, evidently outrageous for anyone to say or suggest that such a crime is self-inflicted or to blame the crime on its victims.

Every criminal justice system has a basic obligation not just to recognize rape and similar sexual violence as the vile crime that it is but also to ensure that it is effectively punished. Even in situations of conflict, rape is now well established as a war crime. Victims of such crimes are entitled to expect the state to treat the crime of rape seriously and to provide the necessary care and support to enable them survive its lingering and most damaging consequences.

Victims or survivors of rape in Katsina State, for instance, have no hope of such support, care, remedies or accountability if or where the Chief Law Officer of the territory takes the view that a crime of this seriousness is self-inflicted. This attitude further victimizes survivors of sexual violence and violates the political and legal obligation on government to protect its entire people equally by providing effective remedies for such crimes.

This is why most victims will suffer in silence rather than report rape. It is also why the attitude reflected in the statement by Attorney-General Dan-Soho is a danger to public safety and security. Any Chief Law Officer that harbours this view has a duty to re-consider his position as such because this is fundamentally incompatible with the functions and primary responsibilities of the Attorney-General.

It is worth recalling that since 1981, November 25 has been commemorated globally as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. In December 1999, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 54/134 formally recognizing this day as such. The International Day is instituted in memory of the sacrifice of the Mirabal Sisters – Patria Mercedes, Maria Argentina Minerva, and Antonia Maria Teresa – persecuted and ultimately assassinated by suspected agents of the regime of Rafael Trujillo in the Dominican Republic on 25 November, 1961.

The globally recognized 16 Days of Activism on Violence against Women also begins this week. In recognition of the multiple dimensions of sexual and other forms of violence against women, the 16 Days of Activism include the International Day of Action on Violence against Women and World HIV/AIDS Day on December 1, and ends with the International Human Rights Day on 10 December.

On this beginning of 16 Days of Activism on Violence against Women, law officers and leaders – like Attorney-General Dan-Soho – must do more and take clear action to address the multi-dimensional problem of violence against women.


Present at the workshop were senior judges of all the Superior Courts in Nigeria, including High Courts, the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court as well as some international judicial experts. The conference showcased the progress that women have made in Nigeria’s legal profession as well as the considerable amount of work that is still needed to eliminate historical discrimination against women in the legal profession and the wider country.

Read more: http://premiumtimesng.com/opinion/108607-katsina-attorney-general-and-his-warped-dangerous-logic-on-rape-by-chidi-anselm-odinkalu.html

I have met Chinua Achebe only three times. The first, at the National Arts Club in Manhattan, I joined the admiring circle around him. A gentle-faced man in a wheelchair.

“Good evening, sir. I’m Chimamanda Adichie,” I said, and he replied, mildly, “I thought you were running away from me.”

I mumbled, nervous, grateful for the crush of people around us. I had been running away from him. After my first novel was published, I received an email from his son. My dad has just read your novel and liked it very much. He wants you to call him at this number. I read it over and over, breathless with excitement. But I never called. A few years later, my editor sent Achebe a manuscript of my second novel. She did not tell me, because she wanted to shield me from the possibility of disappointment. One afternoon, she called. “Chimamanda, are you sitting down? I have wonderful news.” She read me the blurb Achebe had just sent her. We do not usually associate wisdom with beginners, but here is a new writer endowed with the gift of ancient storytellers. Adichie knows what is at stake, and what to do about it. She is fearless or she would not have taken on the intimidating horror of Nigeria’s civil war. Adichie came almost fully made. Afterwards, I held on to the phone and wept. I have memorized those words. In my mind, they glimmer still, the validation of a writer whose work had validated me.

Read more: http://premiumtimesng.com/arts-entertainment/108378-chinua-achebe-at-82-we-remember-differently-by-chimamanda-ngozi-adichie.html

A 28year-old woman, Hawa Musa, of Kurudu village, Abuja, on Thursday told a Karu Senior Magistrates’ Court how her neighbour bite off her nipple during a scuffle.

Hawa in her evidence-in-chief said “I came out of our room that morning to throw away the water I used to wash my face.

“Mistakenly, I threw the water away in front of my neighbour, Anastasia Uche’s, house, who came out and started raining insults on me.

“I told her I was sorry and even swept the area where I poured the water. She then attacked me and tore off my cloths, including my bra.

“As I was trying to run for cover, she grabbed me and bit my nipple.

“I was immediately rushed to the hospital where it was discovered that my nipple was missing,’’ she said.

Lost nipple

Hawa said a team have thoroughly searched for the nipple but the nipple was not found.

The accused, Anastasia pleaded not guilty and could also not account for her neighbour’s missing nipple.

Hawa may have to live without one of her nipples as a medical doctor at a hospital in Gwagwalada said that the affected part required disinfection – because it already had pus – before a surgery can be performed next year January.

The Counsel to the accused, Michael Ejeh, was not in court and no reason was given for his absence.

The prosecutor Pascal Njoku, told the court that the offence contravened Section 241 of the Penal Code.

The case was adjourned to December 10, for the defence to open its case.

Read more: http://premiumtimesng.com/news/108293-abuja-woman-bites-off-neighbours-nipple.html

Nigerians will have to wait another week to know if Civil society groups have the right to know how $12.4 billion gulf oil windfall was spent by the Federal Government under former Military dictator, Ibrahim Babangida, following the adjournment of a suit over the money.

Gabriel Kolawole, presiding judge of the Federal High Court, Friday morning, postponed the delivery of judgement on the matter to November 29.

The judge apologised for the adjournment, which is one of many previous adjournments on the suit.

Read more: http://premiumtimesng.com/news/108286-again-judge-postpones-ruling-on-12-4bn-gulf-oil-windfall.html

Nigeria’s biggest fraudsters- mostly ex-governors and politicians-well known for evading justice, do so using their huge loots to lengthen cases filed against them, often repeating trips to the Supreme Court, Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Lamorde said.

Mr. Lamorde rendered a frustrating narrative of the nation’s anti-corruption war on Thursday to the Senate Committee on Drugs, Narcotics and Financial Crimes as he defended the commission’s budget.

Hardly offering unfamiliar details, the remarks again put on the spotlight the paradox of the nation’s anti-corruption war, which often punishes the lowly- somehow for lacking the resources to stage a good fight- while the mighty go free with their plunder.

This year alone, Mr. Lamorde said, over 200 convictions have been recorded. But nearly all involved the relatively low-scale pilferers, the 419 scammers, the Yahoo Yahoo boys and dubious bank officials.

But when it comes to multi-billion naira fraudsters, the stolen resources have been deployed to delay justice, with minor injunctions frequenting the Supreme Court.

“The truth is no case has been concluded,” the EFCC chairman said. “I don’t think it is correct to say that whether the charges framed are not properly done or the prosecution is not putting the case properly.”

“We have example of a case we charge to court in 2006; for this very case, we have gone to the Supreme Court twice on just interlocutory applications. They will file this, the judge will overrule them, they will go to Court of Appeal and lose there but they will still go to the Supreme Court,” he added.

When such cases are lost, he continued, the Supreme Court orders it be returned to the trial judge for continuation, then a fresh application will suddenly emerge anew.

“They will come with another application and certainly for lawyers among us we know how long it takes for a trial to go to Court of Appeal and get listed, then go to the Supreme Court get it listed and decided upon. This is the fate of most of the cases we have in court,” he said.

In the commission’s nearly-a-decade history, only a handful of high profile convictions have been recorded.

Several cases involving top politicians, accused of stealing public funds, have lingered for years after an initial public fanfare. Many of such cases, filed as early as 2005, remain unresolved, with some of the indicted officials still roaming the country as kingmakers, lawmakers, and political gladiators.

The EFCC in the past has blamed the law courts for the delays, clamouring for special anti-corruption courts to speed the process.

To block the frustration, Mr. Lamorde said the commission’s priority now is to forfeit the assets of the accused, to freeze the resources that would have been deployed in prolonging cases.

“The first thing we do now is that we try to recover and confiscate the assets of individuals that we are investigating because it is only when you deprive them of their resources that you will be able to force them to stand trial,” he said.

“Once they have access to their resources and asset, they will use it to continue to delay and drag some of these trials.”

Poor funding

Mr. Lamorde also presented a budget proposal of over N21 billion to the lawmakers.

The breakdown of the proposed budget shows that Capital Expenditure is N11 billion; Personnel Cost,N6 billion; and Overhead Cost, N3 billion.

Mr. Lamorde pointed out that the commission’s proposal of N21 billion against the N9.3 billion approved by the Budget Office of the Federation leaves a gap of N11.3 billion which could impact adversely on the operation of the agency.

http://premiumtimesng.com/news/108229-why-nigeria-big-thieves-evade-conviction-efcc.html

The Bayelsa lawmaker said President Jonathan was God’s gift to salvage Nigeria

If Nigerians knew what was best for them, they would beg President Goodluck Jonathan to contest for a second term in office in 2015, a lawmaker has said.

The lawmaker representing Ogbia Constituency II in the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Obedient Emoto, on Thursday, called on Nigerians to persuade President Goodluck Jonathan to seek a second term in office.

Mr. Emoto, a former Chief Whip of the Bayelsa House of Assembly, said that Nigerians must shun divisive tendencies, hatred and religious bigotry in order to attain political development.

The lawmaker made the call in Yenagoa when members of the Ogbia Legislators Assessment Foundation paid him a visit.

Members of the foundation had visited the lawmaker to congratulate him on his recent award as `’The Best Performed Lawmaker of the Year’’.

Mr. Emoto said that the choice of Jonathan as the President of Nigeria was a divine decision from God to salvage the nation from the shackle of poverty, deprivation and underdevelopment.

He stressed that Nigerians would gain more from Jonathan’s eight year rule. Mr. Emoto advised Nigerians to allow the president rule the country for a second tenure to enable him consolidate on the gains of his laudable policies and programmes.

He said that only the people could compel the President to seek a second tenure, as Mr. Jonathan, being a faithful servant of the people, would never turn down the call.

The lawmaker advised Nigerians to be united in the fight against terrorism that was currently threatening the corporate existence of the nation.

http://premiumtimesng.com/news/108160-nigerians-should-in-their-interest-beg-jonathan-to-seek-second-term-lawmaker.html

Soldiers on Wednesday morning stormed the hostels of students of the University of Abuja, whipping the students out of their rooms.

Reports say that the University authorities had on Tuesday ordered all students to vacate their hostels before 6.00a.m. after ordering the closure of the institution.

The university authorities shut down the school following protests by students against the non-accreditation of some courses of the university. The students protested against the school’s inability to secure accreditation of certain programmes like Engineering courses.

A female student of Philosophy department told PREMIUM TIMES that the students were asked to vacate the campus by 6a.m. on Wednesday by the authorities.

She said by 10a.m., soldiers came into the female hostels, began to flog them and went to ahead to smash their phones.

“Yesterday students were asked to leave by 6a.m. today. And when the soldiers came this morning at about 10a.m. they started flogging students out of the hostel with whips,” she said. “Even those that were not in the hostel when they came but still had their bags inside the hostel, were flogged mercilessly before they were allowed to go pack their things from the hostel,” she added.

The soldiers were reportedly invited to the institution by the University Vice Chancellor, something common with university authorities in Nigeria who call on soldiers to quell students’ protests or activities.

Efforts by PREMIUM TIMES to reach the school authorities were futile as the school’s Vice Chancellor, James Adelabu, did not pick his calls or reply text messages sent to him.




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The Federal Commissioner representing Kogi at the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, RMAFC, Ignatius Ahmodu, who was sentenced to 14-month jail term with 15 others, has appealed against the judgment.

The counsel to the appellant and the other convicts, John Adele, who said this on Wednesday in Lokoja, the state capital, said he filed the Notice of Appeal on behalf of the appellants at the Lokoja High Court.

Mr. Adele said he had also filed their motion for bail pending the determination of the appeal by the court.

A Lokoja Senior Magistrate Court presided over by Rachael Omajali, in her judgment on Monday, said the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt in a land dispute.

The convicts were jailed after they were found guilty on a five-count charge of criminal conspiracy, trespass, intimidation, disturbance of public peace, unlawful assembly, and engaging in witchcraft contrary to various sections of the Penal Code.

They were said to have illegally trespassed into the land of one Charles Iduh of Umuochina village, Avurugo in Igalamela/Odolu Local Government of Kogi and criminally took possession of the land and economic trees.
Read more: http://premiumtimesng.com/news/108074-convicted-commissioner-15-others-appeal-judgement-remain-in-prison.html

A two-storey building, Block M20, Jakande Estate, at Church Street, Oke-Afa, Isolo, Lagos, on Wednesday collapsed at about midnight killing two sisters.

The sisters in their mid-twenties were pulled out from the debris dead, while their mother was seriously injured and had been taken to the hospital.

A correspondent who visited the scene reported that at 6.15 a.m, some officials of the Nigerian Red Cross Society came and took the corpses away.

Some other buildings around the vicinity were noticed to have severe cracks. The buildings were erected about 30 years ago.

Read more: http://premiumtimesng.com/regional/108018-building-collapse-crushes-two-sisters-to-death.html

He allegedly helped James Ibori siphon the money from Delta State

There seems to be no end in sight to the troubles of the Chief Executive Officer of Bi-Courtney, Wale Babalakin, as he has been charged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for money laundering of about N2 billion.

Sources in the commission told PREMIUM TIMES that the charges were filed Wednesday morning at a Lagos Court in Ikeja.

The Federal Government on Monday announced the cancellation of its contract agreement with Bi-Courtney on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. The multi-billion dollar contract would have seen the company re-construct the road and then manage it for several years. The company would have made its profit by tolling and taxing users of the road, Nigeria’s busiest inter-state road.

The Federal Government said the company had failed to maintain or reconstruct the road.

Also on Tuesday, the Ondo State Government announced its readiness to cancel a N4.8 billion road contract in Akure awarded to another company, Homan Engineering Limited, believed to be owned by Mr. Babalakin. The State’s Commissioner for Works, Gboye Adegbenro, said three years after the contract was issued and adequate payment made, the company was yet to reach 30 per cent of construction.

The two construction scandals are however different from the money laundering charge.

The Babalakin-Ibori money laundering

According to sources at the commission, the new charge against Mr. Babalakin is related to his involvement with James Ibori, the former Governor of Delta State who is in jail in the UK for money laundering.

Mr. Babalakin is believed to have used one of his many companies to launder the N2 billion for the former governor.

The deal, investigators said was hatched under the guise of building a stadium in Asaba, Delta State during Ibori’s tenure as governor (1999-2007). Most of the materials to be used for the construction were allegedly subcontracted to a company owned by Mr. Ibori.

Money for the stadium, N2 billion, was released, but stadium was never built, investigators said.

“Babalakin just helped Ibori siphon the money from the state,” an EFCC investigator said.

http://premiumtimesng.com/news/108006-breaking-news-babalakin-bi-courtney-boss-charged-for-n2bn-ibori-money-laundering.html

A civil servant in Bauchi State who made a facebook post questioning the financial integrity of the State Governor has been dismissed.

Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State ordered the dismissal of Abbas Faggo over a facebook comment in which he accused the governor of corruption.

A letter terminating Mr. Faggo’s appointment and signed by one Ibrahim Shehu for the Head of Service of the State, said his appointment was terminated “because his services are no longer needed”.

The termination of the appointment took effect from October 10 this year when he was first suspended.

Mr. Faggo’s troubles started when he accused the governor of monumental fraud and corruption, questioning the source of funding of the governor’s son’s wedding which took place recently.

Mr. Faggo had been arraigned by the Police before the Chief Magistrate of the state for the same offence.

However, the Chief Magistrate, Adamu Madaki, on Friday November 16, struck out the case against Mr. Faggo because “it was not properly filed.”

Below is the content of Mr. Faggo’s dismissal letter:

TERMINATION OF APPOINTMENT

I am directed to refer to the civil service commission’s letter No.

CSC/PRO/S/001/T.V dated 1st November 2012 to convey the commission’s

approval of your suspension and termination of appointment from Bauchi State

Service with effect from 10th October, 2012 as your service is no longer

required, please.

Signed

ibrahim shehu

For: Head of Service.

Below is the controversial Facebook post which angered the governor, and for which Mr. Faggo was arrested, detained and arraigned in court for allegedly defaming the Mr. Yuguda’s character.

“Those of us resident in Abuja, are witnessing yet another Bauchi wedding, this time we understand is the Governor’s son that is hooking the one-time PDP’s Chairmanship aspirant’s daughter. Inside sources said, already:

“Top officials of the Min. for Local Govt, along with the ALGON Bauchi State chapter are asking the 20 LGA’s to sign out N2m each as donation for the wedding next Saturday of the Gov’s son. They awarded contract for calendars and note pads to an Abuja printing press. Contract for coffee mugs, Wall clocks, bags, badges etc. was given to a Lagos based lady. They will all carry the pictures of the groom and the bride. An SUV Jeep was also suggested as a wedding present to Ango. Finally the 20 LGA chairmen will all send their wives to Abj where the jamboree is taking place because Yuguda is now Abuja based.

“The story is all over town too, that in April $80,000 was sent to the ango on his graduation by the SSG, on the orders of the Gov. This is as a result of request by the groom to buy a limited edition M/Benz Series.

“In Nov, 2009, when the Gov latest wife, also acquired thru Bauchi funds, was having her first child in Washington DC the sum of £150,000 was sent to the SSG by the then Accountant General for onward transmission to Yuguda. One wonders, why all this, as he has 21 kids from 3 wives earlier and all of them born in Nigeria. The thinking is that he is using Bauchi state money for the purchase of citizenship thru birth, for his latest 2 kids in the USA. Already a house has since been purchased for Yuguda in Maryland through a once upon a time VOA staff, aide of his.

“These things are happening in a state where staff salaries are becoming very difficult to pay and inevitable retrenchment is looming day in day out. God save Bauchi State.”

http://premiumtimesng.com/regional/107951-bauchi-governor-yuguda-dismisses-civil-servant-over-facebook-post-on-corruption.html