₦airaland Forum

THE Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has condemned the approval of N9bn loan for Governor Nyesom Wike by the state House of Assembly.


The party, which described the loan as unconscionable and wicked, alleged that the state government planned to use it for the July 30, 2016, rerun election in the state.


The state APC Chairman, Chief Davies Ikanya, made this known in a statement, on Tuesday.
According to Ikanya, the action is a sign of desperation by the governor ahead of the forthcoming election.
Ikanya said, “The APC is convinced that just like the governor committed Rivers people to a N10bn loan to host and write-off the failed PDP national convention in Port Harcourt last May, he is, this time, borrowing N9bn to prosecute the forthcoming July 30 rerun election in the state as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission.”


“The governor is obviously frightened by the prospect of his candidates losing in the forthcoming elections, especially in the Rivers South-East axis where his morbid fear for the popularity of Senator Magnus Abe has become unbearable for him.”
Reacting, the state Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Samuel Nwanosike, described the claim by the APC as false.


Source: http://www.insidesafari.com/2016/07/rivers-state-chapter-of-apc-opposes.html

The United States government says it has no information on the alleged crimes committed by President Muhammadu Buhari’s wife, Aisha.

The acting Public Affairs Officer, US Consulate General, Lagos, Frank Sellin, said this in an email sent to our correspondent on Tuesday.
Sellin said this in response to an enquiry made by our correspondent regarding allegations that the President’s wife was wanted in the US and was avoiding travelling to the country.



In a message, Sellin said, “Thank you for the inquiry. We have no information to provide on this matter.”
The Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, had, last month, alleged that Mrs. Buhari was involved in the $185m Halliburton scandal.
While reacting to the freezing of his Zenith Bank accounts by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Fayose claimed that the wife of the President was a wanted person in the US.
He had said, “Even the President cannot claim to be an angel. The estate he built in Abuja is known to us. His wife was indicted in the Halliburton scandal. When that American, Jefferson, was being sentenced, the President’s wife was mentioned as having wired $170,000 to Jefferson. Her name was on page 25 of the sentencing of Jefferson. We can serialise the judgment for people to see and read.”


Fayose repeated the claim in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi. He said Aisha refused to travel with the President to the US because of her involvement in the scandal.


Source: http://www.insidesafari.com/2016/07/we-have-no-fraud-information-on-buharis.html

The Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, on Tuesday evaded questions on the recent calls for the probe of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, for purchasing properties worth $1.5m in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.

Magu was departing the Rockview Classic Hotel, in Abuja, venue of a one-day workshop on ‘Anti-corruption, ethics of the legal profession and justice sector,’ when some journalists approached him for an interview.
The event was co-organised by the Nigerian Bar Association and the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption.


Magu had adjusted himself to take questions from the journalists but as soon as the first question bordering on Buratai was asked, he sharply turned back and jumped into his waiting car.
Incidentally, while speaking earlier at the event, Magu had lamented various corrupt acts including a situation where a civil servant paid as much as over N800m as legal fee to lawyer.
Magu queried how a civil servant could have legitimately earned as much as N800m to pay a lawyer.
This came few days after some prominent legal practitioners, including Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), had urged President Muhammadu Buhari to sack Buratai, if the Army chief failed to voluntarily resign following the revelation that he purchased the Dubai properties.
Magu had while speaking at the event had said his commission would start going after lawyers who aid their clients in laundering money.
He said the commission would not spare anybody, including Senior Advocates of Nigeria, who were found to have helped others to buy properties with stolen funds.
Other speakers at the event included the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami; and the Chairman, PACAC, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN).
Magu said, “I don’t want to mention some of our strategies, but we will start going after people now. If you are involved in laundering money, we will go after you it doesn’t matter who you are because the law does not respect anybody – whether you are the EFCC chairman, whether you are SAN.
“Sooner or later we will look at how people assist people to buy properties with stolen funds, how people assist others to escape justice and we will go after them.
“But for now, I want to say, please, join us in the fight against corruption to save this country so that our children and grandchildren will have a greater Nigeria.”
He said the issue of human rights needed to be de-emphasised in the ongoing war against corruption, as he urged lawyers to ply their trade while placing the interest of the nation above any other consideration.
Represented by a Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, the CJN said some recent events had called for self-assessment by players in the legal circles and justice system.
The CJN said, “Indeed, recent events within the profession have no doubt thrown up questions bordering on the ethical content of our profession and justice system, as well as its readiness to properly fight against corrupt practice.


“If charity, as they say begins at home, self appraisal must by necessity, start there too.
“This event calls for honest discourse and impartial considerations on a wide range of issues- legislative, fiscal, institutional and more importantly ethical, as affect the conduct of our Justice system.”

Source: http://www.insidesafari.com/2016/07/efcc-chair-magu-evades-questions-on.html

Popular Nigerian music singer, Bankole Wellington popularly
known as Banky W has posted an insightful open letter to all single men and women
in the society.


Wellington had uploaded a picture of his married celebrity friends, Tunde Demuren, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, and Olamide Adedeji, all wearing their wedding bands and tagged it; “Last man standing’’ in reference to his relationship status.


Banky W noted that he posted the letter as a result of the attention he got from a fan who felt unsettled by the fact that Wellington was the only one in the group that was still single and not married.
The letter reads thus: “If I got a million naira every time I am asked when I will marry, I’ d be a billionaire, but thankfully, I am not the only person in this situation’’.
“My fellow Bachelors and Bachelorettes, for too long we have been teased, harassed and tormented by Society with When will you marry, and when is your wedding and it is getting out of hand.
“You don’t see us going around to old people asking them please when is your funeral.
“These days, I can’t even post Good morning on social media, without someone saying yes, but it will be a better morning when you marry.
“It is with this in mind that GidiLove was created.


“The song is in defence of all single people in Lagos and all over the world, some of us are just not ready.
“Some of us are single and searching, but it hasn’t worked out yet.
“There are others who may just not want to get married at all. The point is that in the words of the great youngskales, it is Nobody’s Business.

“By God’s grace, we will get there and we will settle down with the right person and live happily ever after.
“But until then, please leave us alone because the same people, who are pressuring us and talking us into marriage, are the same people who will mock us and talk about us if the marriage ends quickly.


“If it is party rice you people want, we will give you party rice and peppered fish and some ciroc to wash it down but leave us and our single status alone.
“My fellow single people, waste no time in downloading GidiLove today so the next time someone asks you those annoying questions, just smile and play the jam for them.
“By Order of the most Eligible Bachelor in Lagos,’’ Wellington stated..


Source: http://www.insidesafari.com/2016/07/must-read-open-letter-to-all-bachelors.html?m=1

United Nations humanitarian chief, Stephen O’Brien, has released $13 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to provide life-saving assistance to 250,000 people in areas of north-east Nigeria that have just become accessible, bringing the total CERF support to more than $70 million.

About $27 million was already allocated in March 2015 to assist more than 1.6 million internally displaced people, refugees, returnees, and host communities in Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria. An additional $31 million was provided in early 2016 to help 700,000 people in the Lake Chad Basin.


The destruction of crops and looting of livestock have left many unable to support their families. More than 50,000 people are in need of seeds and tools for the upcoming planting season and CERF funding will help them to rebuild their livelihoods by providing food, including the all important child nutritional supplements.
Not only that, a significant number of women and girls, as well as men and boys, have suffered or witnessed terrible abuses due to the violence perpetrated by Boko Haram and CERF funds will enable humanitarian partners to provide critical psychosocial support and protection and health services. And all of the above will be achieved through disbursements to FAO, UNDSS, UNFPA, UNHAS, UNHCR, UNICEF and WFP.
In a statement made available on Monday, O’Brien stressed that the international community must take advantage of the better access to vulnerable people to reach them with essential services and build on the CERF allocation to scale up the response.
“The humanitarian crisis in North-East Nigeria is massive and alarming: 15 million people are affected by the violence instigated by Boko Haram including 7 million people who need urgent humanitarian assistance,” said Munir Safieldin, the acting Humanitarian Coordinator. “Unless we scale up now, 7 to 8 children will die of severe acute malnutrition every hour; 184 children will die every day. We need resources now to scale up our current response,” he said.
He said the Humanitarian Response Plan for Nigeria was revised upwards by $51 million in June and is now calling for $279 million.


“To date, it is only 22 per cent funded,” he said.
CERF is a pooled fund that supports rapid humanitarian response. Donors preposition funds with CERF so that money is available immediately to kick-start relief operations in new emergencies and to provide live-saving assistance in crises that are underfunded. At mid-year, donors have contributed $248 million to CERF for 2016 and CERF has allocated nearly the same amount, responding to high demand from humanitarian partners

Source: http://www.insidesafari.com/2016/07/us-agency-donates-13m-for-boko-haram.html

No fewer than 10 persons were reportedly killed in clashes between suspected Fulani herdsmen and farmers in two communities in Niger State.

It was learnt that the clashes happened at Bokuta village, Bosso Local Government Area, and Tungan Mallam village in the Paikoro LGA.
While six were killed in the Bokuta clash, four died in the Tungan Mallam melee.
A resident of Bokuta, who identified himself only as Isiaq, said trouble started in the community on Thursday, July 7, when some herdsmen invaded a farm with their cattle and destroyed its crop.
He said the farm owner engaged the herdsmen in a scuffle, during which one of the invaders was killed while another one was injured.
“The following day, herdsmen went on a reprisal and shot five farmers dead. The village was in turmoil and nobody could go out for two days. It was the police and military men who eventually came to restore peace,” he added.
In the Tungan Mallam clash, a source who spoke to our correspondent on the telephone, said a youth had on Friday reared cattle into a large farmland where maize, sorghum, yam and soya beans were grown and destroyed the crops.
He said the owners of the farm complained but the youth and other herdsmen struck and killed one of the farmers. The source added that the farmers regrouped and went on a reprisal, killing three herdsmen.
Seeking lasting solutions to the incident, the source said, “Government must take a bold step to solve this problem. Why must some people destroy the means of livelihood of others to earn their living? It is unfair.”
The Benue State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Bala James, who confirmed the clashes, said eight persons were killed while three others sustained varying degrees of injuries.
The PPRO said two suspects had been arrested and that there were ongoing dialogues to forestall the crises.
He said, “It was the issue of herders going into farmers’ crops and damaging them. On July 7, at Bokuta village, there was an argument between the farmers and the herders and we learnt that a herder was killed and another one injured.


“The next day, herders mobilised and went on a revenge mission. They killed three farmers and injured two. The situation was brought under control by the police anti-riot team and the military. Normalcy has been restored to the community. Two suspects – Landan Adamu and Muhammed Musa, were arrested.
“On Sunday at Tungan Mallam village, some herdsmen also invaded a farm there and killed a farmer. Farmers in that locality also went on a reprisal and killed three herdsmen. Altogether, eight persons were killed.
“To resolve these clashes, consultations are ongoing. We have invited both parties to a meeting. The state governor and the Commissioner of Police were at the meeting and a committee has been set up to discuss the matter and proffer a more lasting solution to the problem.”
Reacting, the state Governor, Sani Bello, said that the masterminds of the violent clashes would be brought to book.
Bello, who visited the two communities on Monday, said the government would no longer condone any act of lawlessness in the state.
“Nobody has the power or right to take the life of others. These senseless and unwarranted killings cannot and will not be condoned.
“You cannot just take machete and kill somebody because of disagreement. There are laws and nobody can claim to be above the law.
“I have instructed the chairmen of the affected councils, the Commissioner of Police and my Special Adviser on Security to fish out the masterminds of the two clashes as well as their accomplices.


“I have also directed for comprehensive investigations into the incidents with a view to prosecuting and bringing the culprits to book.”


Source: http://www.insidesafari.com/2016/07/10-die-as-farmers-herdsmen-clash-in.html

[url]=http://www.insidesafari.com/2016/07/odusami-matthew-final-year-unilag.htmlOdusami Matthew a final year UNILAG undergraduate dies in hostel[/url]

Six people have been killed after two suicide bombers attacked the Damboa central mosque in Borno state early this morning. According to a statement by the acting director of public relations of the Nigerian Army, Sani Usman, the bomb attacks took place at about 5am

“At the early hours of today, precisely at about 5.15am, two Boko Haram terrorists suicide bombers attacked Damboa. The first suicide bomber targeted Damboa Central Mosque but due to stringent security measures, he could not gain entry.

Obviously frustrated, he exploded and died near the Central mosque. However, the second bomber veered off and gained entry into another smaller mosque and detonated the bomb killing himself and 6 other worshipers and injuring one other person. The wounded has been evacuated to a hospital while efforts are on to clear the rubbles. Troops and other security agencies have been mobilized to the area.”the statement read


More at http://www.insidesafari.com/2016/07/bomb-blast-at-borno-mosque-leaves-6.html

Sierra Leonean model and former Big Brother Africa contestant, Zainab Sheriff, shared some more photos from her risque maternity shoot via IG some hours ago. She captioned the photos: "A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create nurture and transform. Body of Art.. When pregnancy gives you curves, Flaunt em.". See more photos after the cut...

More at. http://www.insidesafari.com/2016/07/photos-ex-bba-housemate-zainab-sheriff.html

The Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta, has re-assigned the trial of a former Governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako, and son, Abdul-Aziz, on charges of money laundering to another judge of the Abuja Division of the court, Justice Okon Abang.
This development followed the death of the former trial judge, Justice Evoh Chukwu, early last month.
Lawyers, who are involved in the case, confirmed the re-assignment of the case to Justice Abang in separate interviews with our correspondent on Thursday.
The case was initially scheduled to commence afresh by a way of re-arraignment before Justice Abang on Thursday, but the court could not sit due to the extension of the Eid-el-Fitri holiday announced by the Federal Government on Tuesday.
Though no date of the re-arraignment has been officially announced, it is suspected that it will take place on Friday (today).
It was learnt that the prosecution, led by Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), had called six witnesses before Justice Chukwu’s sudden death.


The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had initially, on August 7, 2015, arraigned Nyako, along with his son, Abdul-Aziz, and Zulkifikk Abba, Abubakar Aliyu as well as five firms.
They were arraigned on 37 counts of money laundering, involving alleged diversion of N29,099,430,879.92 belonging to the Adamawa State Government.
The firms arraigned along with Nyako and his son were Blue Opal Limited, Sebore Farms and Extension Limited, Pagoda Fortunes Limited, Tower Assets Management Limited and Crust Energy Limited.
Abdul-Aziz is the senator representing Adamawa Central in the National Assembly.
All the accused persons pleaded not guilty to the 37 counts when they were initially arraigned.
In the counts 1 to 13 of the charge, FHC/ABJ/CR/293/15, filed on July 7, 2015, against Nyako and others, the EFCC alleged that between September 26, 2011, and May 31, 2012, the accused persons converted the total sum of N1.845bn, which allegedly was alleged to be proceeds of theft of funds belonging to the Adamawa State Government.


Source: http://www.insidesafari.com/2016/07/n29bn-alleged-fraud-efcc-to-re-arraign.html

Only God can stop Biafra, not Buhari, MASSOB spit fire!!!
MASSOB Members
The Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereignty State of Biafra on Thursday said only God can stop the objectives of the group, adding that President Muhammadu Buhari cannot.
It maintained that Buhari cannot stop Nigerians from discussing the way they would want to live in the country.
It restated that Nigerian sovereignty was negotiable.



In a press statement made available to journalists in Awka, the Anambra State capital, MASSOB leader, Uchenna Madu, described Buhari’s comment that Nigeria’s unity was not negotiable as curious and primordial.
“This is an enthusiastic expression of an old man who still believes in his old way without realising that new trends are taking place.
“Buhari believes that with his kinsmen occupying all the positions in the military, he will easily crush Biafra and other opinions on the restructuring of this country,” they stated.
They also added, “Maybe, he thinks that with his intimidation of Igbo governors, National Assembly members and religious/opinion/political leaders, he can crush Biafra.
“MASSOB views Buhari’s constant negative comments on Biafra consciousness as a sign of being jittery. As every revolutionary struggle has its own methodology, the current Biafran struggle for self determination and restoration will continue to pose confusing methods to President Buhari.
“Buhari’s military-civilian administration is the worst government Nigeria ever experienced in this country.
“His leadership style of enforcing and imposing Islamic Hausa/Fulani agenda on the rest of Nigerian people is tremendously assisting and justifying our struggle for Biafra actualisation.”
They stated, “Buhari’s stubbornness and Islamic fundamentalism against the Christian Southern, Eastern and Middle Belt regions have reawakened the consciousness and thought of future survival of the people of these regions.
“We want President Buhari to continue to make similar statements of this kind which always express his frustrations. Any king who thinks like Pharaoh of Egypt against the Jews will certainly experience the doom of Pharaoh.
“No man born of a woman can crush Biafra because God, history and humanities are on our side.”
Meanwhile, the Conference of Ethnic Nationalities in the Niger Delta has said that rather than continue to say the country’s unity was non-negotiable, President Buhari should improve Nigeria’s structure and the status of the citizens.
The President of the group, Prof. Kimse Okoko, explained that though he believed in the corporate existence of Nigeria, it was meaningless to say the unity of the country remained non-negotiable when the nation was moving towards precipice.


Okoko urged the Federal Government to implement the recommendation of the last National Conference in order to avoid the Yugoslavian experience.
He added that it was possible for Nigerians to sit down and examine other possibilities if the implementation of the last National Conference report would not be possible.
Okoko, who is also the Pro-Chancellor of the University of Uyo, said, “You cannot continue to say the country’s unity is non-negotiable and would refuse to improve on the status of the citizens, improve on the structure of the country and improve on the system of the country.
“To me, it is meaningless because the reality before us is that we are moving towards the precipice. If we are not ready to implement the recommendations of the National Conference, then let us sit down and examine other possibilities,” he said.
Also, the National Director of Information, MASSOB, Mr. Sunday Okereafor, has countered the campaign for referendum by one Mr. Madu and his team, insisting that the group primarily wanted the Independent State of Biafra.
He maintained that Madu was not a member of MASSOB, let alone being on the top hierarchy of the organisation. Therefore, he said he should not meddle in the affairs of the pressure group.
Okereafor, who spoke to one of our correspondents on Thursday in Owerri, stated that MASSOB had sometimes ago in 2004 and 2005 yielded to referendum and that for Madu to come up with an idea for the group now showed that he was not abreast of the group’s agenda.


He strongly warned him (Madu) to desist from hiding under the cloak of MASSOB to deceive members of the public and the international community.


Source: http://www.insidesafari.com/2016/07/only-god-can-stop-biafra-not-buhari.html

Avengers bomb Chevron’s oil facilities again, attack guards

The rampaging militant group, Niger Delta Avengers, on Wednesday night attacked three oil manifolds belonging to Chevron Nigeria Limited around the creeks of Warri in Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State.
There was however a drama after the militants blew up the facilities as they opened fire on local surveillance youths who had attempted to know what was happening following the explosions.

Local sources told one of our correspondents that the incident took place along the creeks of Ikparagbene community near Dibi Flow Station that was recently attacked by the militants in Warri North Local Government Area of the state.
The group’s spokesman, Mudoch Agbinibo, some residents and security agencies confirmed the incident.
One of our correspondents gathered that the loud explosions which heralded the attacks woke up many residents from their sleep.


A villager from the community told one of our correspondents on the telephone that youths from the area who had gone to the area to ascertain what was amiss were ambushed by the militants.
It was however not clear if any member of the surveillance team was injured or killed in the attack.
The local surveillance team was employed by the oil company to guard oil facilities in the area.
Industry sources who also confirmed the attacks, added that a technical expert team had been dispatched to the incident site to ascertain the level of damage.
A source noted that the affected manifolds were crude oil platforms that supply crude to Chevron Escravos Terminal.
The Avengers, while confirming the attack in a statement posted on their website said, “Between the hours of 10.50pm and 11.10pm our (Niger Delta Avengers) strike team blew up Chevron Manifolds. The manifolds are RMP 22, 23 and 24.”
The militants also wished all Muslims a happy Eid Mubarak.
In a similar statement, it also announced that the group had shut down all its social media accounts, saying that it would now be communicating with members of the public through its website.
According to The Avengers, fraudsters had taken over their activities on the blogging sites including Facebook andTwitter.
The spokesperson for the Delta State Police Command, SP Celestina Kalu, confirmed that there was an explosion on oil facilities but the command had yet to receive any report on the extent of damage.


But the spokesperson for the 4 Brigade of the Nigerian Army in Benin, Edo State, Capt. Musa Maidawa, said he had not been briefed on the incident.
Meanwhile, a federal commissioner representing North-Central geopolitical zone in the Public Complaints Commission, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, has called on the Niger Delta militants to turn their attacks on their leaders who failed them rather than destroying state facilities.
Tsav, who is a former Lagos State Commissioner of Police, decried the incessant attacks on the nation’s oil wells, adding that the militants were misdirecting their anger on the nation.
“That is why I’m calling on them (militants) not to pour the sins of their corrupt leaders on the nation, let them turn the guns and bombs on those leaders who have mercilessly embezzled what belong to the people of Niger Delta and allow peace to reign in the country,” he said.

Source: http://www.insidesafari.com/2016/07/avengers-bomb-chevrons-oil-facilities.html

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission says the trial of three former Managing Directors of defunct banks has received a major boost.
The three bank Managing Directors include Mr. Erastus Akingbola of the defunct Intercontinental Bank, who is accused of stealing N47.1bn; the MD of the defunct Bank PHB, Mr. Francis Atuche, who is accused of stealing N25.7bn; and the MD of the defunct Finbank Plc, Mr. Okey Nwosu, alleged to have stolen N18bn.

The commission said this on its officialFacebook page while reacting to its victory against ex-Finbak boss, Nwosu, who failed to stop his trial at the Supreme Court last week.

The Central Bank of Nigeria, under the leadership of Mallam Lamido Sanusi (now Emir of Kano), had, in 2009, petitioned the EFCC, asking the anti-graft agency to investigate Nwosu, Akingbola, Atuche and a former MD of the defunct Oceanic Bank, Mrs. Cecilia Ibru, who has since been convicted.


Based on its findings, the EFCC charged them before the Federal High Court, Lagos, on money laundering charges.
It subsequently initiated another charge of stealing against them before a Lagos High Court, Ikeja, having obtained a fiat from the Lagos State Attorney General.
Nwosu, however, challenged the charge at the Lagos High Court on the grounds that it was an abuse of court process and would expose him to double jeopardy.
He also questioned the jurisdiction of the state High Court. The Lagos High Court dismissed his objection. Nwosu then took the matter to the Court of Appeal, Lagos division and won in November 21, 2014.
Subsequently, both Akingbola and Atuche argued that since their cases were identical with that of Nwosu, the charges against them should be struck out on the same grounds.
The Court of Appeal therefore struck out the charges against them on the same grounds.
In a last attempt, the EFCC took Nwosu’s matter to the Supreme Court and was handed a victory last week.
The Supreme Court, in its judgment, upheld the appeal by the EFCC and set aside the decision of the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, which earlier quashed the charge on the grounds that it amounted to an abuse of court process.
The court, in a unanimous judgment of a seven-man panel, faulted the reasoning of the Court of Appeal in relation to its finding that the decision by the EFCC to charge Nwosu and directors in his bank for stealing before the Lagos High Court, while it simultaneously maintained a charge of money laundering against them on related facts, would expose them to double jeopardy.
The court directed Nwosu and directors in his bank to submit themselves for trail and remitted the case back to the Lagos State Chief Judge for expeditious trial.
In the lead judgment on the appeal SC/74/2014, which was used to decide two other appeals (marked: SC/73/2014 and SC/75/2014) on similar issues, Justice Musa Muhammad held that it was unreasonable to suggest that the prosecution of the respondents by the appellant at the trial court was aimed at either irritating or annoying them or was a bid by the prosecution to stall the effective and efficient administration of justice.
Last week, Justice Muhammad, in the lead judgment of the Supreme Court, held, “Besides, the offence of stealing as created by the Lagos State House of Assembly, notwithstanding the same or similar facts as constituted under other offences created by the National Assembly, retains its identity as being not only dissimilar, but distinctively different.


“It is wrong, in the light of these characteristic, for the lower court to hold that the trial court’s jurisdiction has abated on the grounds that the proceedings before it against the defendants constitute an abuse of the process of that court.”
The court further held that the rule of double jeopardy, as contained in Section 36(9) of the1999 Constitution, could not avail for the respondents, having been unable to prove that they were being prosecuted for the same or substantially the same offence at the Lagos High Court and the Federal High Court.
“Accordingly, this meritorious appeal is allowed, and the perverse judgment of the lower court is set aside. The decision of the trial court in consequence, prevails,” it said.
Justices Walter Samuel Onnoghen, Olabode Rhodes-Vivour, Nwali Sylvester Ngwuta, Clara Bata Ogunbiyi, Chima Centus Nweze and Amiru Sanusi agreed with the lead judgment.
The EFCC hailed the judgment of the Supreme Court, describing it as a victory in its fight against corruption.


It said, “The EFCC has won a major victory in the war against economic and financial crimes as the Supreme Court categorically ruled that Okey Nwosu, former Managing Director of FinBank Plc, who is being prosecuted by the EFCC over N18bn shares scam, should face his trial.
“Nwosu’s previous victories at the lower court slowed down the prosecution of other bank chiefs, who aligned with his victory, to ask that their cases be struck out. But with this ruling of the apex court, the trial of the likes of Francis Atuche, formerly of BankPHB, and Erastus Akingbola, formerly of Intercontinental Bank would receive a major boost.”

Source: http://www.insidesafari.com/2016/07/efcc-to-re-arraign-ex-mds-akingbola.html?m=1

the Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has declared that President Muhammadu Buhari was using an equally “corrupt” Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to fight corruption.
He insisted that the President must start the corruption fight from his party and immediate aides “since charity begins at home.”
“The EFCC leaders’ opinions remain their opinions and if they are so sure of whatever information they have, they should go to court and stop subjecting Nigerians to media trial and that no amount of media trial from the same elements that orchestrated my removal in 2006 can erode my popularity among Ekiti people,” Fayose said.



The governor said any property that might be linked to him or his company was bought legitimately and they were duly declared in his assets declaration form, adding that sources of such funds were not illicit.
Fayose, according to a press release on Wednesday by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, maintained that his election was funded by Zenith Bank as well as donations from friends and associates.
He said, “As a promising candidate of my party, I cannot stop Nigerians from supporting my election like every other candidate of other political parties, including President Buhari.”
Fayose said since the money he got for his election was from legitimate sources and not from the Office of the National Security Adviser as being concocted, how the money was spent remained his own business and not that of anyone.
The governor also debunked the reported allegation by the EFCC that he received bribes from some contractors in Ekiti.
“If they have anything against me, they should keep their gun powder dry, because in 2006 when they took me to court, their allegations crumbled like a pack of cards because court decisions are founded on facts and law, and not on media trial as currently being done by the EFCC as tele-guided by the APC leaders in their desperation to set the people against me knowing fully that they are not on the ground.
“Having failed to buy the conscience of the Ekiti House of Assembly members, the APC people have become increasingly afraid of 2018 and the agencies of the Federal Government should know that no matter how hard they try, Ekiti electorate will not be deceived by their blackmail and media trial.
“The EFCC should be told in clear terms that this is 2016 and not 2006 when impeachment notices against governors were signed on the table of the EFCC operatives. Those who are tele-guiding the EFCC now should also be reminded that they did more than what they are doing now in 2006, yet I was overwhelmingly voted for by the Ekiti people eight years after the orchestrated impeachment which the Supreme Court declared illegal.
“Should Nigerians now conclude that the EFCC is an appendage of the APC? Is the EFCC for investigation of corrupt practices among all Nigerians or members of opposition parties alone?” Fayose queried.
The governor said as of today he had not been accused of stealing from Ekiti treasury.
“The EFCC has not also said that Ekiti money was stolen and that my election was funded with Ekiti State money,” he said.


Accusing the EFCC of carrying out the APC agenda to force him out of office as was done in 2006, the governor added, “It is sad that some politicians from Ekiti State now resume and close in EFCC offices in Lagos and Abuja and we wonder whether those politicians have now taken over the job of the EFCC.”
Fayose maintained that he would continue to speak his mind on issues affecting Nigerians and could never be cowed.
“Nigerians are suffering. states can no longer pay workers’ salaries, a litre of kerosene is now N220, a bag of rice is now N20,000 and some people will sit in the Presidential Villa and expect that all of us should keep silent? That’s not possible!


“No amount of media trial by agents of the Buhari-led APC government will make me to stop baring my mind on the cluelessness of the Federal Government,” he said.


Source: http://www.insidesafari.com/2016/07/fayose-buhari-using-corrupt-efcc-to.html?m=1

Despite perceived lopsidedness in his appointments, President Muhammadu Buhari has promised that under his watch, no section of the country would either be discriminated against or marginalised.
Buhari made the promise at the palace of the Emir of Daura, Katsina State, Dr. Farouk Umar Farouk, where he was hosted to the breaking of the Ramadan fast, Iftar.
The President spoke at a time when he is under fire by Southern groups over what they described as “lopsided” appointments of heads of the various security agencies in the country.


They said the pattern of the appointments by the President did not reflect federal character and the diversity nature of the country.
Saturday PUNCH had reported that 14 of the nation’s 17 security agencies are currently being headed by Northerners, majority of whom were appointed by Buhari, with only three security agencies headed by Southerners.
But Buhari who addressed his kinsmen in Hausa language after the Iftar said issues and situations would be considered objectively.
He said no action would be taken for or against any section of the country on the basis of prejudice.



“Under my watch, no section of the country would either be discriminated against or marginalised,” the President told his kinsmen who trooped out to welcome him.
He assured Nigerians that he would do whatever it takes to remain honest, fair and just in steering the ship of country towards prosperity.
He therefore called for support and understanding of Nigerians as he strives to rebuild the country fairly, honestly and responsibly.
Katsina State Governor, Aminu Masari; and the Emir took turn to assure Nigerians that Buhari’s honesty and integrity, Nigeria is not only in safe hands but destined for prosperity.
They described the fight against corruption and the renewed focus on agriculture and solid minerals development as critical to the survival and development of the country.


Buhari who left Abuja for his home town, Daura, on Friday for a private visit is due back in Abuja on Monday.


Source: http://safarifiles..com.ng/2016/07/president-buhari-i-wont-discriminate.html?m=1

Mod: MosesNG

The Ekiti State Chapter of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties has said it will not participate in any planned protest rally by some groups against President Muhammadu Buhari and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The commission has frozen Governor Ayodele Fayose’s accounts and some of his associates after allegedly tracing N4.7bn from the Office of the National Security Adviser to them and those of two sons of a former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro.

In a statement at the end of its monthly meeting, the conference expressed disgust at its inclusion among other groups mobilising to protest against the president and the EFCC.
The conference comprising 18 political parties said it would not be a party to any protest over the matter that was already before the court of competent jurisdiction.

“Apart from the question mark that will be put on the morality and credibility of the groups storming the streets to rally in support of a clear fraudulent practice unearthed by the EFCC, it will be an irresponsible contempt of the court to protest in the matter over which the governor has already submitted himself to the court of competent jurisdiction by filling a complaint against EFCC’s action at the Federal High Court in Ado-Ekiti.
“By this statement, we declare that we are not a party to any rally and we warn all the groups dropping our name to desist from doing so henceforth,” the statement warned.
The conference said it stood solidly behind Buhari’s anti-corruption war and vowed never to support any group that was promoting criminal activities that have left Nigeria in ruins in the last few years.
The conference also condemned members of the House of Assembly for protesting on the highway in support of the governor.
Berating the lawmakers for living far from the social and economic realities of their constituents, the conference described as shameful the lawmakers’ action protesting against the interests of their constituencies.
“Several of them have not visited their constituencies for several months over excuses that the governor is starving them of funds.
“Now, without consulting their constituencies, they are holding a protest rally against the interest of their constituencies in favour of the same governor they routinely accuse of starving them of funds,” the conference said.


It urged Buhari and EFCC to intensify efforts in anti-corruption war, stressing that such was the only hope for the country to survive as a nation.

Source: http://safarifiles..com.ng/2016/07/count-us-out-of-anti-buharis-protests.html?m=1

MosesNG

[center]
President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday afternoon cancelled the traditional breaking of Ramadan fast which he would have had with the leadership of the National Assembly.
The development, The PUNCH learnt, was necessitated by the current face-off between the Executive and the Legislature over the forgery case instituted against the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki; and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, by the Federal Government.



But the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said in a statement that the event was postponed because the lawmakers had prior commitments scheduled for the same day.

The presidential spokesman said, “Please don’t call it cancellation because nothing like that happened.
“The President’s Iftar for the leadership of the National Assembly was postponed, to be rescheduled for another date.
“This arose from the clash of schedules. You know the President spent the first 14 days of the fast out of the country. The schedule was put up hurriedly on his return to ensure that all interests are accommodated.
“It turned out that the date fixed for the parliament could not be sustained due to prior commitments some of the invitees had. We are expecting that a new date will be appointed.”
Since Buhari returned to Nigeria on Sunday after his medical trip to London, he had been meeting some top government officials to break the Ramadan fast.


On Monday, the President hosted security chiefs and also used the event to host the former Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, to a farewell dinner.
The President also on Tuesday hosted members of the Federal Executive Council led by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.
He was scheduled to host the leaders of the National Assembly on Wednesday before the sudden cancellation.
The PUNCH learnt that the event was hurriedly put off to avoid a situation where the President would be embarrassed.
A source told one of our correspondents that the dinner was put off when news filtered in that the lawmakers would boycott it to protest the Executive’s alleged interference in their affairs.
The source said, “When news filtered in that the lawmakers would not attend the event, the Presidency had no choice but to cancel it.
“The Chief of Staff to the President was asked to issue a notice to that effect.
“But in the notice, the COS only said the event had been rescheduled. The truth however is that it may not hold under the current situation.”
In continuation of the traditional breaking of fast, however, the President had been scheduled to host representatives of the judiciary on Thursday and receive some leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress on Friday.


http://www.insidesafari.com/2016/06/president-buhari-cancels-dinner-with.html?m=0[/center]

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Tuesday said it had made a breakthrough in how over $15bn was siphoned from the account of the Office of the National Security Adviser during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.



The EFCC, which has frozen the bank accounts of the Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, and the account of a company, belonging to the two sons of a former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, said it had recovered evidence of the alleged illegal transactions from the banks.



The bank tellers and other relevant documents, which were made available to The PUNCH, showed that the alleged scam took place between April 4, 2014, and December 15, 2014, when a total of N4.745bn was paid into the Diamond Bank account of Sylvan McNamara.
A document, made available to one of our correspondents showed that Sylvan McNamara was incorporated in November 2011, with the following people as directors: Ikenna Ezekwe, Idowu Oshodi and Elizabeth Adeniyi.
However, the company, on May 7, 2012, passed a resolution that it should open an account at Diamond Bank and have the following persons as signatories – Gbolahan Obanikoro, Babajide Obanikoro, Ikenna Ezekwe and Theresa Matuluko.


Babajide and Gbolahan are the sons of Musiliu Obanikoro, a former minister of State for Defence.
A source at the EFCC said, “The entire fraud started from the company that Obanikoro’s sons were operating. The company was set up by some people but curiously made Obanikoro sons signatories to the account.”
It was learnt that after money was paid into the firm’s account, about N759,384,300 was transferred into the accounts of about six bureau de change operators.



The two bureau de change operators, who received the bulk of the funds, were A. A. G. B.S Oil and Gas and North Line Limited. While A. A. G. B. S received N168m on June 16, 2014, North Line Limited received N835,000 on July 14; N83,750,000 on June 17; N1, 680,000 on September 3, 2014; about N2,325,300 on September 9; N5,932,500 on September 17 and N842,500 on July 30.
A detective at the EFCC added, “The owner of A. A. G. B. S Oil and Gas confirmed to us that the company is a BDC but was only bearing the name of an oil company. He confirmed that he received N168m from Sylvan McNamara and $1m was delivered to Obanikoro in cash while he was the Minister of State for Defence based on the exchange rate at the time.



“Obanikoro acknowledged receipt of the cash and we have recovered evidence. Some of the remaining dollars was received by Obanikoro’s son, Gbolahan.”
The detective at the EFCC further revealed that about N2bn from the money was withdrawn by the Obanikoro sons and then flown to the Akure Airport, Ondo, for onward transfer to Ekiti State.
While presenting the flight document, the detective said, “On June 12, 2014, barely 10 days to the Ekiti State governorship election, Obanikoro and a man, who claimed to be his Aide-de-Camp by the name of A. O. Adewale, chartered a private jet belonging to OAS Helicopters.



“About N724,500,000 was conveyed on the plane with tail number N638MA. The plane was an HS125 jet, operated by Okin Travellers, a subsidiary of Elizade. The plane landed at Akure at 9.38am and then went back to Lagos to get an extra N494,900,000 and landed at Akure at 5.57pm.
“Obanikoro handed the money over to one Abiodun Agbele, otherwise known as Abey, an associate of Fayose. Officials of Zenith Bank arrived at the tarmac in a bullion van to convey all the cash to the bank’s vault, located at 13 Alagbaka Estate, Akure.”



The detective, who presented bank tellers, said Abey gave the bank instructions at different times to pay the money into Fayose’s Zenith Bank account even after the elections.
He added, “Abbey directed the bank to pay N137m into the account of Ayodele Fayose with number 1003126654 and Bank Verification Number 22338867502. The bank teller dated June 26, 2014, was filled by Abbey with teller number 0556814.
“Abbey directed the bank to transfer N118,760,000 to the same account and paid in N50m cash into Fayose’s account.
“On April 7, 2015, several months later, Fayose personally moved N300m to his fixed deposit account at Zenith Bank with number 9013074033 with the same BVN. The account is domiciled at 15 Olusola Abiona Street, Estate, Alapere, Ketu, Lagos.”



The source added that on the instructions of Fayose, Abbey deposited N100m in the account of Spotless Investment Limited, a hotel, which is owned by Fayose and his wife, Olayemi.
Abbey, who was identified as the owner of a firm, De Privateer Limited, paid N100m into the Zenith Bank account of Spotless Investment Limited with number 1010170969 on June 17, 2014.
He also paid N219,490,000 and N300m on June 18, 2014 and June 19, 2014 respectively into his own company account with Zenith Bank marked 1013835889 while he kept a cash of N260m from the original funds.



Meanwhile, the Presidency on Tuesday described the allegation by the Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayo Fayose, linking President Muhammadu Buhari’s wife, Aisha, to the United States Congressman William Jefferson’s bribery scandal, as laughable.
Based on the scandal, Jefferson was convicted in 2009.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, in a statement, described the governor as a man “childishly obsessed with the desire to grab the headlines and insulting people at will because of his incurably boorish instincts.”



Shehu said the Presidency chose to respond to Fayose for the sake of innocent Nigerians who might be misled by his “shameless and blatant distortion of facts.”
He said ignoring Fayose carried the risk of giving traction and credibility to outright and brazen falsehood inconsistent with the status of anybody that called himself a governor or leader.
The presidential spokesman said Aisha had no direct, indirect or the remotest connection with William Jefferson’s corruption scandal in the United States.



He challenged Fayose to tell Nigerians if the so-called Aisha, whose pictures he proudly, but ignorantly shared, was the same Aisha married to Buhari, or if the Aisha of his “idle imagination” had any relationship by blood or any relationship in whatever form, with Buhari’s wife.
Shehu also challenged Fayose to produce evidence from the records of investigation and subsequent trial of Jefferson to prove that Buhari’s wife was in anyway linked to that scandal.
He explained that common names alone were not enough to automatically link innocent people to crimes or scandals, especially in an era of identity theft.



He asked Fayose to show proof when and where Aisha Buhari was invited for interrogation in connection with the Jefferson’s bribery scandal, let alone indicted for a crime locally or abroad.
Shehu added that free speech did not entitle Fayose to falsely accuse innocent people of crimes they knew nothing about.
He warned the governor that Aisha Buhari was entitled to protect her reputation from being recklessly maligned, adding that political opposition was not a licence to attack people’s reputation brazenly without legal consequences.
But the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party Governors’ Forum and Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, has urged Buhari to caution the EFCC and urgently intervene to rescue the country from what he described as the “current gross abuse of the constitution.”
Reacting to the reported freezing of Fayose’s account by the EFCC, Mimiko, in a statement in Akure on Tuesday, said the action of the anti-graft agency had portrayed the nation as one in crisis.




The Ondo State governor argued that the EFCC could not “interfere with the account of a sitting governor,” saying such action would run contrary to Section 308 of the Nigerian Constitution.
According to him, if the intention was to suggest any criminal infraction or fraud against the governor, the agency should have sheathed its sword until Fayose vacated office.
“What has happened is a blatant and violent infraction of the provisions of the constitution and our democracy.
“It’s an attempt to subvert the constitution and it is fascist. The intention is to achieve a penal sanction without going through the due criminal procedure and criminal proceedings,” Mimiko added.



He warned that the country was beginning to manifest the signs of totalitarianism, arguing that the account of any individual could only be frozen after an order by a court of competent jurisdiction.

Source: http://www.insidesafari.com/2016/06/efcc-n47bn-arms-funds-traced-to.html?m=1

Former Customs chief Abdullahi Inde Dikko is being held by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He was yesterday questioned over an alleged N42billion fraud.
Besides, the EFCC has traced how about N2.6billion was withdrawn from Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) coffers and remitted into the accounts of some companies floated by a former Assistant Comptroller General who served under Dikko.



Dikko was yesterday grilled on the sources of funds with which he allegedly acquired a N2 billion mansion at 1, Audu Ogbe Street, Jabi, Abuja.
The anti-graft agency had been on Dikko’s trail since January 8 when its operatives stormed his home.
But Dikko was said to have travelled out of the country. The EFCC launched a discreet manhunt for him, seeking help from some agencies, including the INTERPOL.
Dikko yesterday turned himself in to the EFCC.
He arrived at the EFCC’s Abuja headquarters at about 10am. His interrogation lasted about eight hours.
According to reports, he his still being detained by the commission for the continuation of his interrogation today.

Source: insidesafari

Hmmm

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is set to arraign a former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode; a former Minister of Finance, Senator Nenadi Usman; a firm, Joint Trust Dimensions Limited; and one Jimoh Yusuf for an alleged N1.5bn fraud.
The anti-graft commission will on Wednesday arraign a former Senior Special Assistant on Domestic Affairs to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Mr. Waripamowei Dudafa, for an alleged N1.6bn fraud.



An impeccable source at the anti-graft agency told our correspondent that Fani-Kayode, Usman and Yusuf would be charged with 17 counts bordering on money laundering and fraud.
The source added, “We have filed charges against Fani-Kayode, Usman, Yusuf and a company, Joint Trust Dimensions Limited. Yusuf was the signatory to the account of Joint Trust Dimensions Limited. They will be arraigned before a Federal High Court in Lagos this week.”
The EFCC had arrested Fani-Kayode and Usman for their role in the sharing of a N4bn campaign fund during the build-up to the 2015 presidential election.
The money was said to have emanated from the account of the Office of the National Security Adviser domiciled in the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The money was said to have been transferred to the account of JTDL and then distributed to some chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party.
Usman, who was the Director of Finance of the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation, was alleged to have transferred N840m into the Zenith Bank account of Fani-Kayode with account number 1004735721, domiciled in Maitama, Abuja.
Fani-Kayode was said to have received the funds in three tranches.
The first tranche of the payment, involving N350m, hit the account on February 19, 2015. Another N250m was also paid into the account on February 19, 2015, while N240m was credited to the account a month later; precisely on March 19, 2015.
Apart from Fani-Kayode, others, who also received the funds, were the Chairman of the Social Democratic Party, Chief Olu Falae (N100m); a former Governor of Imo State, Achike Udenwa; while a former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Viola Onwuliri, also got N350m in two tranches while Nenadi Usman took N36.9m.
A coalition of pro-Jonathan groups, headed by a former Special Adviser to the President on Political matters, Prof. Rufai Alkali, also received N320m.
The accounts of those accused of receiving funds have since been frozen by the EFCC.
Usman has returned about N23m to the EFCC while two of her properties in Abuja have been seized by the anti-graft agency.
Meanwhile, the EFCC is also set to arraign Dudafa, a former Senior Special Assistant on Domestic Affairs to Jonathan, for an alleged N1.6bn fraud.
Dudafa was arrested by the EFCC at the Lagos airport in April for his alleged role in the sharing of about N10bn to delegates at the PDP presidential primary in 2014, where Jonathan was the sole candidate.
A former Aide-de-Camp to Jonathan, Col. Ojogbane Adegbe, who was arrested in February for the same offence, has since been retired by the Nigerian Army.
It was learnt that Dudafa would be charged alongside one Iwejuo Nna, also known at various times as Taiwo Ebenezer and Olugbenga Isaiah.
They will be charged before Justice Mohammed Idris at a Federal High Court in Lagos.


The first count states that the accused persons on or about June 11, 2013, in Lagos, “allegedly conspired amongst themselves to conceal the sum of N1.667bn said to be the proceeds of crime.”
The offence is said to be contrary to Section 18(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) (Amendment) Act, 2012 and punishable under Section 17(a) of the same Act.
In the other charges, Dudafa also allegedly used six companies – Seagate Property Development and Investment Limited, Avalon Global Property Development Company Limited, Ebiwise Resources, Pluto Property and Investment Company, Rotato Interlink Services and De Jakes Fast Food and Restaurant Nigeria Limited – to conceal varying sums of money between June, 2013, and April, 2016.
The EFCC has lined up 21 witnesses including representatives of some banks to testify against the defendants.

Source: http://www.insidesafari.com/2016/06/n15bn-fraud-efcc-to-arraign-fani-kayode.html?m=1

The Niger Delta Avengers on Monday said it was ready for a dialogue with the Federal Government.
The militants, however, gave conditions for the peace talk.
In a statement published on its website, the group said the Federal Government must suspend the purchase of crude oil from the Niger Delta region.



The militants also asked President Muhammadu Buhari not to turn the proposed peace talk and dialogue to a political jamboree.
The group said it only needed a genuine attitude and conducive atmosphere that would “make us commit to any proposed dialogue and lasting peace talk.”
In the statement signed by the NDA’s spokesperson, Mudoch Agbinibo, the militants also asked the Federal Government to involve member states of the multinational oil corporations to commit independent mediators to the proposed dialogue.
It said the peace talk would set up a framework for achieving the short, medium and long-term demands of the Niger Delta to bring about a lasting peace.
The statement partly read, “If need be, we may review our earlier stance of not taking lives. We are going to redirect and reactivate all our activities if the government, oil companies and their services firms don’t heed to these modest warnings of not carrying out any repair works and suspend the buying of crude oil from our region as we await the right atmosphere that would engender genuine dialogue.
“The NDA high command is restating our commitment to attack the interest of oil corporations and international refineries operators that bring in vessels to the Niger Delta territory to buy our oil that every successive government has refused to use and reapply the proceeds towards any development in the region since 1958.
“If they refuse to heed our advice, it would result to the sinking of two of their mother vessels as examples to others. They should not undertake any repair of the pipeline, oil and gas facilities that is damaged or attacked by our forces during this period of “Operation Red Economy” until and after the dialogue.”
Meanwhile, a prominent Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, has warned a former Governor of Nasarawa State, Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu, to desist from ridiculing and discrediting him and other Niger Delta leaders.
The nonagenarian specifically told Adamu to stop spreading falsehood and accusing him of not showing concern following the emergence of the Niger Delta Avengers.
Clark said as a father, he had played his roles towards the maintenance of peace in the zone.
Clark, in a statement by his Legal Adviser, Mr. Dotun Sowemimo, on Monday in Abuja, faulted the claim, saying he had on many occasions cautioned the militants.
He, however, called on the NDA members and other groups to stop all activities that were inimical to the pipeline and oil facilities in the Niger Delta and embrace dialogue.
“Chief Clark is, once again, using this medium to call on the Niger Delta Avengers and other groups to stop all activities inimical to the pipeline and oil facilities in the Niger Delta and embrace the three weeks ceasefire offered by this administration to embrace dialogue.” Sowemimo stated.
According to him, Adamu lied by accusing Clark of showing lackadaisical attitude in stopping the militants from bombing oil installations.
Sowemimo recalled that Clark on May 17, 2016, strongly called and appealed on the Niger Delta Avengers and any other groups of like mind, to desist, forthwith from their activities and embrace dialogue as the best means of having their grievances assuaged.
According to him, Clark reiterated his support for the anti-corruption war of President Muhammadu Buhari, when he insisted that it should be fought to the end.

http://www.insidesafari.com/2016/06/avengers-list-conditions-for-dialogue.html?m=1

The EFCC says its fight against corruption has led to the recovery of this house pictured...

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The EFCC says its fight against corruption has led to the recovery of this house pictured above allegedly owned by former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke. The house, located in Asokoro Abuja is said id to be worth $18 million with furnishings worth $2million and a bulletproof gym.




The antigraft agency showed the recovered house in a new interview with Al Jazeerah. Also displayed were jewelries and monies reportedly recovered from corrupt government officials.




Speaking during the interview, the EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Magu said" We have been able to take on a lot of big shots that were hitherto were untouchable in the three arms of the military, political class. We have recorded 164 convictions in just one year". He denied claims that the fight against corruption was politically motivated. "No, not my EFCC, not the EFCC of today. We are not politicized. If there is an allegation against anybody, we will go after them"he said

Watch the interview here

http://www.insidesafari.com/2016/06/see-photosvideo-of-18m-house-with-2m.html?m=1

Ijaw communities in Gbaramatu kingdom, the Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State, on Friday, made a passionate appeal ...

2 Student feared killed In Gombe State During Water Protest
Militants ask FG to reclaim ceded Bakassi Peninsular from Cameroon, threaten violence
NCC, MTN agree on delayed payment of N1.04tn fine


Ijaw communities in Gbaramatu kingdom, the Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State, on Friday, made a passionate appeal to the Niger Delta Avengers to accept the Federal Government’s dialogue.
The appeal came on the heels of renewed hostilities by the militants despite the Federal Government’s readiness to dialogue with the people of the region.




The militant group had on Thursday night attacked an offshore oil pipeline belonging to the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation criss-crossing the Shanomi creek and Ogidigben rivers.
The spokesperson for the communities and Chairman of Kokodiagbene community, Mr. Sheriff Mulade, said that the communities were the ones feeling the brunt of the incessant attacks as the militants were already making lives unbearable for the people.
Mulade said the group’s demands should not be personalised as the Niger Delta people were already aware of the degradation engulfing the region and were working assiduously to address them, stressing that dialogue was the only viable and veritable means to address grievances.
He said, “Our position is that the continued bombings of the region in view of the cease-fire arrangement are highly condemnable. They are technically crippling the economy to enable them to get what they want. So, they should not personalise their demands.
“Some of the things they highlighted are what the Niger Delta people are agitating for and violence is not the best way to get those things done. We think they are only taking advantage of the government’s failure to address these fundamental issues.’’
An Ijaw leader, Chief Jeffery Ojogun, said one of the solutions to the renewed hostilities in the region was the full operation of the Nigerian Maritime University, Okerenkoko.
Ojogun, a former Chairman of Benikrukru Community, which is host to several multinational oil companies in the Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State, described the continued attacks on oil facilities as “unfortunate.”
According to him, dialogue should be adopted in resolving the renewed hostilities in the region and commended President Buhari for ordering a two-week ceasefire in the troubled region.
He said, “I am pained by the recent happening in the Niger Delta Region. The people of the region are responsible and peace-loving and this is why I am appealing that those breaching the peace in the region should allow peace to reign.”


Source: http://www.insidesafari.com/2016/06/stop-attacks-ijaw-communities-beg.html?m=1

No fewer than 642 militants on Friday asked the Federal Government to reclaim the ceded Bakass...

stop attacks, Ijaw communities beg militants
2 Student feared killed In Gombe State During Water Protest
NCC, MTN agree on delayed payment of N1.04tn fine

No fewer than 642 militants on Friday asked the Federal Government to reclaim the ceded Bakassi Peninsular from Cameroon.
The armed group, referred to as Bakassi Strike Force, said apart from not being carried along before, during and after the ceding process, indigenes of Bakassi had been neglected by the Federal Government and other local and international stakeholders.




The militants, also known as Esighi group, had a one-hour boat display with heavy weapons around Esighi axis of Bakassi, before proceeding to Esuk-Mba.
In a sheer display of its combat readiness, the group brandished weapons such as sophisticated gun boats, browning machine gun and rocket launchers, among others.
While admitting that they would be ready to embrace amnesty if extended to them, leader of the group, Gen. Simply, also known as Humble Lion, said the people of Cross River and Akwa Ibom states had been sidelined by the Federal Government in the amnesty programme.


Simply, who read from a prepared speech, said, “The Bakassi Strike Force is an indigenous group made up of youths from Akwa Ibom and Cross River states, totaling 642 foot soldiers. You will agree with me that Akwa Ibom and Cross River states are part of the Niger Delta region, yet we have been sidelined from the amnesty scheme and other empowerment programmes for the youth of the area.
“Yet it will interest you to note that it is in Obubra, Cross River State, that the team of Niger Delta militants were hosted, when Bayelsa, Delta, Rivers, Edo and Ondo states refused to host the rehabilitation camp for the militants.
“Again, the Federal Government took away our oil rich Bakassi from us and handed it over to Cameroon. We, as indigenes and habitants, were not consulted before this was done; neither was there any constitutional resettlement process initiated for the displaced persons.
“To make matters worse, after taking over our land, the Cameroonian forces began to harass and molest our people. They even levied us with heavy taxes which became entirely unbearable.
“Therefore, when it became obvious after several petitions that the federal and state governments were not ready to protect us and even the United Nations, we invited our Ijaw brothers who were already in the arms struggle to resist the Cameroonian operatives, but unfortunately, they embraced Federal Government amnesty programme when it was offered and abandoned us.
“As indigenous youths, we have no other option than rise to defend ourselves from the oppression and injustice from the Cameroonian forces. The Federal Government should reclaim Bakassi from Cameroon.”

Source: http://www.insidesafari.com/2016/06/militants-ask-fg-to-reclaim-ceded.html?m=1

There was confusion in some parts of Kakuri, in Kaduna South Local Government Area, when a 41-year-old carpenter, Mr. Francis Emmanuel Francis, almost lost his right eye on Tuesday following an attack on him by Muslim youths for not observing the Ramadan fast.

This is coming barely a week after a 74-year-old, Mrs Bridget Agbahime, was murdered in Kano for allegedly blaspheming Prophet Mohammed.

An eyewitness account had it that the carpenter courted trouble for himself when he was spotted by some Muslim boys in the Sokoto Road area of Kakuri, at about 2.30pm, eating when others were supposed to be observing the fast. This drew the ire of the youth who started beating him.
Emmanuel, according to the eyewitness, was given the beating of his life and subsequently rushed to the St. Gerard Catholic Hospital, where he is currently receiving medical treatment.
He was inflicted with deep machete cuts on his head and other parts of his body during the incident.
Narrating his ordeal to journalists from his hospital bed, Emmanuel said he was taking his launch when the boys, numbering about six, descended on him on the grounds that he was not fasting.
He said, “I went to buy wood to do some work. When I came back, I bought food to eat. As I was eating, about six Hausa boys came and asked me whether I was a Muslim or a Christian. I did not answer them. They asked me why I was not fasting. I told them that I am not a Muslim.
“Before I know it, one of them slapped me. As I stood up, the rest came and surrounded me and started attacking me with knives. I didn’t know them. Nobody could come to my aid because of the type of dangerous knives they were carrying.
“They used cutlasses, scissors and knives. I became unconscious; I don’t even know who brought me to the hospital.”


http://www.insidesafari.com/2016/06/photo-muslim-youths-attack-carpenter.html?m=1

Niger Delta militants

The Nigerian Navy said it has arrested a militant kingpin, who is described as the coordinator of the recent attacks on the facilities of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and oil giant, Chevron, in Delta State.
Briefing journalists while parading the suspects at the Naval Base, Warri, on Tuesday, Commander, Nigerian Navy Ship Delta, Comm. Riami Muhammed, said his men also arrested another militant leader who allegedly spearheaded last week’s attack on the SPDC’s 48-inch crude pipeline in Forcados.




The militants’ leader, whose name was not disclosed for security reasons, was said to illegally operate about 35 abandoned oil well heads and crude oil pipelines in Okpoko and Obodo creeks in the Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State.
Mohammed said the suspects were arrested in collaboration with other security agencies, arguing that the arrest would reduce attacks by the Niger Delta militants.



It was not clear if the arrested suspects could be members of the new militant group, the Niger Delta Avengers.
The commander added, “After several weeks of persistent efforts, the Nigerian Navy, in collaboration with other security agencies, has arrested the main coordinator of the attacks on the NNPC and the Chevron oil and gas facilities that we have witnessed since May 4, 2016, with the attack on the Chevron Okan Valve platform, offshore Escravos.
“You are aware of the recent series of attacks on oil and gas facilities in the Niger Delta and in Delta State, for which some groups or persons have claimed responsibilities. The Nigerian Navy and other security agencies have been doing their best to curtail these attacks.”
He noted that his men were not just after members of the Niger Delta Avengers but everyone suspected to be responsible for the recent attacks on oil facilities in the region.

Punch
http://www.insidesafari.com/2016/06/suspected-bombers-of-nnpc-chevrons.html?m=1

Niger Delta Avengers have released a statement on their website, slamming members of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND. Read the statement they titled "Mend your criminal days are over" below
"We appeal to the general public and all sane minds on the activities of Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) to disregards all purported statements and misplaced threat emanating from disbanded criminal elements like the so-called MEND
(Movement For the Emancipation of The Niger Delta) that are political sidekicks and desperation from Gov. Adams Oshiomhole of Edo state, Mr. Timipre Silva and their political paymasters to hold their political party to the jugular of the affairs of the Niger Delta Region. That our struggle is focused on the liberation of the People of Niger Delta from decades of divisive rule and exclusion. We are watching keenly their regretful efforts at rebranding and regrouping criminal elements in the region for their short political gains and territories. The NDA is unperturbed, we have mandate that is clearly a departure of those old tactics of the defunct so-called MEND that was indulged in kidnapping, hostage taking, Sea piracy, illegal oil bunkering, bank robberies and social crimes, the likes of Boyloafs, Ateke Toms, were associated to in their days in the name struggle. The wind of change in the Niger Delta struggle has come, we are are young, smart, and focused Niger deltans. Our mandate is to liberate the Niger Delta people; we don’t run after pipeline contracts. God bless the Niger Delta People. Brig.Gen Mudoch Agbinibo

http://www.insidesafari.com/2016/06/niger-delta-avengers-slam-rival.html

The Enugu State Police Command says it will disqualify any applicant with tattoo in its ongoing nationwide recruitment. Public Relations Officer of the Enugu State Police Command, Ebere Amaraizu, said this to newsmen in Enugu state today June 6th.


“The present recruitment is for degree holders and will last for three weeks and after that, the selected ones will proceed for the written interview. Over aged people, tattooed persons, falsified results, statement of results over five years and people with some physical impediments will be disqualified from the exercise” he said.
http://www.insidesafari.com/2016/06/recruitment-police-to-disqualify.html?