₦airaland Forum

A 28-year-old photographer allegedly killed his mother by pouring acid on her on Tuesday, ostensibly because she abandoned him after taking a new husband.

Sunday James of Ikot Usekong in Eket Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State also accused the mother of bewitching him and causing him misfortunes, according to witnesses.

“I have been suffering as a photographer with my bicycle since I left secondary school but instead of my mother, a teacher who knows the value of education to send me to school, she abandoned me and faced her new husband,” Sunday said, according to a News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) report. “She was the one working against my progress, she was a witch and that was why I killed her.”

Sunday later died in police custody, though the police have not given an account of what led to his death. But NAN quoted an unnamed witness saying Sunday attempted to commit suicide after attacking his mother.

Sunday’s mother Mrs. Iko James was, until her death, the Deputy Headmistress of Government Primary School, Idung Offiong in Eket and a mother of five.

Trouble started with an argument between Sunday and his mother on Tuesday morning during which he poured acid on her and forced her to drink some of the substance, a witness said.

When neighbours heard her cry, they forced the door open and rushed her to the hospital but she died before medical help came her way. He attempted to set himself ablaze but was saved by sympathisers, who handed him over to the police.

On interrogation, Sunday, an itinerant photographer, accused the mother of refusing to send him to school.

Five cutlasses, electric cables and a gallon of acid were recovered from his room.

Police sources in Eket confirmed the incident and arrest of the suspect who later died in their custody.

In another incident, a woman in her late 20’s Hassana Philip of Marama village in Hawul Local Government Area of Borno State was charged to court over slaughtering her two children, one of them an infant, and attempting to commit suicide by stabbing herself with the same knife.

The two kids, one-and-a-half-year-old Joseph and Hussaina, 6, were killed on July 20 last year, court documents at the Borno State High Court 11 have shown.

In her second appearance for hearing yesterday, the woman who was charged with murder and suicide attempt punishable under sections 221 and 231 of the penal code was not represented by a counsel and as a result, one Barrister Nkham Adamu, in court for a different case, volunteered to hold brief for her.

Adamu in his submission urged the court to order for the accused to be checked at the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital in Maiduguri, arguing that a normal human being cannot slaughter their own kids.

The request was granted by Justice Alkali Gana Wakili, who ordered that Hassana Philip be admitted and examined at the hospital to determine her mental state. The case was adjourned till June 30.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has finally decided to return to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which he left PDP after disagreement with the party and the then President Olusegun Obasanjo on the eve of 2007 general.

Atiku, along with his supporters, joined the Action Congress (AC) and contested the 2007 presidential election under its platform.

Atiku’s media aide, Garba Shehu, told the BBC Hausa Service yesterday that the former vice president decided to rejoined the PDP following disagreements within Mega Summit Movement. Shehu said many stalwarts of the AC followed Atiku back to the PDP.

Shehu said those who said Atiku returned to the PDP because he would not get 2011 presidential ticket under the Mega Summit Movement are missing the point because “he (Atiku) did that in the interest of the nation and his people.”

He said Atiku’s return to his former party had nothing to do with the health of President Umaru Yar’adua and the PDP’s decision that 2011 presidential candidate of the party will come from the North.

Shehu however refused to say whether Atiku would contest the 2011 presidential election or not, insisting that Atiku left the PDP in 2007 when he and his loyalists were denied registration.

At least three people were killed and several others injured in clashes between Christians and Muslims in the Nasarawa Gwom area of Jos on Monday evening, a military spokesman said yesterday.

A rally by Christians celebrating the Easter briefly turned violent when members of the group fought with a Muslim mob. Police said the situation was now under control and no further violence was reported yesterday.

In a statement, spokesman for the special task force Brigadier General Donald Oji said, “Three persons lost their lives and some were injured. The injured were attended to by medical personnel of the STF while the bodies of the dead were removed by members of the STF and deposited appropriately for further action.”

He added: “What could have passed as a peaceful inter-denominational Easter prayer at Rwang Pam Stadium was hijacked by hoodlums who took to the streets thereby causing serious breach of peace. The prayer was duly signed and approved by the STF on the condition that there would be no procession and that it would be confined to the stadium. This condition was duly attested to by the organisers of the programme.

“However, the hoodlums took advantage of the large number of participants, who had concluded their programme and were dispersing to cause a breach of peace. Insinuation and rumours that that these three were killed by STF is not correct. The STF only carried out its duties of dispersing the crowd.”

But the Plateau State Police Command said only one person died in the incident and has since started an investigation into the death of the victim, who was identified as Mr Osita Ikechukwu.

Acting President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday promised to continue implementing policy framework of the administration as started by President Umaru Musa Yar’adua.

Jonathan, who stated this yesterday at the swearing-in of new ministers, contradicted media reports that he has pruned down the seven-point agenda of President Umaru Musa Yar’adua to three namely electoral reform, power and Niger Delta.

He said “The executive council we are inaugurating today will continue to work for a rigorous implementation of the policy framework of this administration, which came into office on the 29th of May 2007. While we continue to pray for the speedy recovery of the President, permit me to emphasize the policy continuum of governance and to insist on the imperative of this team to roll up its sleeve, and to redouble effort so as to meet the expectation of our people who are yearning for good governance.

“Our efforts in governance must be manifested in the revamp of decaying infrastructure including steady power supply and good roads; provision of sound and quality education; the good health of our people; provision of jobs for our unemployed youths, security of life and property, commitment to free and fair elections and the very strict adherence to the rule of law.”

A new federal cabinet was sworn in yesterday, with acting President Goodluck Jonathan taking charge of the power ministry and six returnee ministers retaining their former portfolios.

A minister of state has been appointed for the Ministry of Power, and Jonathan’s spokesman Ima Niboro said the acting president would hold the substantive power portfolio for now.

“The purpose is to achieve the set targets in the power sector by the administration,” Niboro said yesterday, shortly after 38 new ministers took oath of office and were assigned portfolios in 29 ministries.

The acting president is to work closely with an electricity power consultant and Chairman of Independent Power Producers Association of Nigeria, Professor Barth Nnaji, who heads a government committee on power.

“Acting President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, is to take charge of the Power Ministry for now. A new power team is being put in place to work in conjunction with the Professor Barth Nnaji led Power Sub-Committee of the presidential advisory council. This new body is to take charge of a new power initiative to be unveiled in a matter of days,” Niboro said in a statement.

“The Acting President shall chair this body, with the minister of state, power, as deputy chair. The body is to be made up of experts in the different areas of power, from generation to transmission, distribution and finance.”

Mr. Nuhu Somo Wya has been reappointed as Minister of State for Power, and the ministry would now be supervised directly from the office of the acting president.

Others who returned to their previous portfolios are Akinlabi Olasukanmi (Youth Development), Shamsuddeen Usman (National Planning), Dora AKunyili (Information), John Odey (Environment) and Aderemi Babalola (State for Finance).

Inaugurating the cabinet at the State House, Jonathan had told the new ministers that they would have to sign performance agreement on ministerial goals and target. He said the oath of office and oath of allegiance the ministers took constituted a sacred commitment to serve the country without fear or favour.

He warned against divisive tendencies, saying “No longer must we tolerate the triumph of centrifugal forces whose main agenda is to distract and defeat the march of our people to the summit of economic self-sufficiency and political maturity.”

He said from now on, he would be requesting a briefing fortnightly on the state of economy from the economic team, which he said would be constituted very shortly and under the chairmanship of the Minister of Finance.

Jonathan three weeks ago sacked the cabinet, which was appointed by ailing President Umaru Yar’adua.

At least two substantive ministerial portfolios have yet to be filled. The acting president has sent names of nominees who would take up the vacant slots to the Senate for confirmation.

Late Alhaji Abubakar Rimi’s widow Hajiya Hadiza Rimi said her last words with her husband were at 8.08 pm the day he died. She said their last discussion was when he called to tell her that he was taking off from Dass, where he went for the coronation of the new Emir of Dass Alhaji Usman Bilyaminu Othman.

Hadiza recalled cautioning him against travelling at night, but that he insisted he would embark on the journey and hoped to arrive at 10 or 10.30 pm. She said he asked her to prepare food for him. “When he told me they were taking off for Kano that night, I felt it was not safe and therefore advised that they postpone the journey to the following day, but he insisted that they were coming over. She said it was destined for him to die that night and that was why he insisted on travelling even after she advised him against it.

She said he was a loving and caring husband who cared very much for his family.

“He was down to earth and really supportive. He was always there for his family and ensured that we lacked nothing.

Alhaji Shehu Ladan, a former group executive director at the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, has been appointed the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, replacing Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo.

Acting President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday sacked Barkindo, who has been at the helm for just over a year.

Ladan retired exactly a year ago as Group Executive Director, Commercial and Investment, of the NNPC.

A statement yesterday in Abuja by Jonathan’s spokesman Ima Niboro said: “The Acting President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, has appointed Alhaji Shehu Ladan as the new Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). He replaces Alhaji Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo.” Jonathan thanked Barkindo for his stewardship and wished him well in his future endeavours.

The announcement of the sack came few hours after Barkindo had left the Presidential Villa, Abuja, where he attended the inauguration of the Federal Executive Council yesterday.

Ladan, who hails from Kaduna State, is a lawyer, philanthropist and oil and gas management strategist.

He was Deputy Managing Director of Nigeria LNG, and Executive Director of National Engineering and Technical Company Limited (NETCO) as well as Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), both subsidiaries of NNPC.

He had his early education at N.A. Primary School Tudun Wada before proceeding to Sheikh Sabah College (now Sardauna Memorial College) in Kaduna for senior secondary school certificate.

He has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in law at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He is also an alumnus of the Harvard Business School and the University of Dundee.

Ladan served as staff solicitor of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, and later Company Secretary/Legal Adviser of the Kaduna State Rural Electrification Board (REB) and Assistant Director, Federal Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, Jos.

He was appointed Kaduna state commissioner of education in 1987. In 1989, he became the state’s attorney general and commissioner of justice.

Ladan moved to the oil and gas industry in 1990. He held various positions at the NNPC, rising to be the Group General Manager of Human Resources in 2004. In 2006, he was appointed the deputy Managing Director/CEO of Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Ltd, a joint venture company that has NNPC, Shell, Total and Agip as shareholders. In October 2007, he was appointed Group Executive Director Commercial and Investment of NNPC.

He holds the traditional title of Cigarin (The Conqueror of) Zazzau.

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