₦airaland Forum

The federal government has reportedly filed a motion at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) seeking the removal of Walter Onnoghen as the chief justice of Nigeria (CJN).

In documents seen by PUNCH, the motion was filed on Thursday by Musa Ibrahim and Fatima Danjuma Ali on behalf of Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation (AGF).

The move is reportedly aimed at getting Ibrahim Muhammed, the next in line, appointed as acting chief justice pending the determination of the case against Onnoghen.

The federal government prayed the tribunal for an interlocutory order “directing the defendant/respondent to step aside as the Chief Justice of Nigeria and chairman of the National Judicial Council over an allegation of contravening the provision of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act CAP C15 Laws of the federation of Nigeria 2004 pending the determination of the case.

“An interlocutory order of the honourable tribunal directing the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to take all necessary measures to swear in the most senior Justice of the Supreme Court as an acting Chief Justice and chairman of the National Judicial Council in order to prevent a vacuum in the judicial arm of government pending the determination of the case.”

The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) had filed a six-count charge of false assets declaration against Onnoghen in response to a petition filed by the Anti-Corruption and Research Based Data Initiative (ARDI).

On Wednesday, the federal government asked the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) to freeze five bank accounts belonging to Onnoghen.

The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), on Friday, alleged that there is a plot by the federal government to arrest Onnoghen.

The National Industrial Court has given an order restraining the police from arresting the CJN.

Source:
http://www.insiderpostonline.com/news/just-in-fg-moves-to-replace-onnoghen-as-industrial-court-retrains-police-from-arresting-cjn/

By Abdullahi Shugaba

Less than a month to the presidential election, some heavy weights in opposition Pepoles Democratic Party (PDP), including a former governor of Jigawa state, have defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Those who defected are the first civilian governor of the state, Alhaji Ali Sa’ad Birnin Kudu and former Senator for Jigawa NorthWest, Alhaj Danladi Sankara.

Others are former commissioners, special advisers, and members of the state and National Assembly who failed to secure tickets to re-contest.

The Former Deputy Governor during the administration of Lamido, Alhaji Ahmad Muhammad was also among the defectors and is currently the campaign Director-General of the incumbent governor, Alhaji Muhammad Badaru.

Mr Suleiman Bulus of the PDP accused the defectors as hungry politicians, looking for something to eat.

”I am assuring you, anytime if PDP wins elections, the same people will still come back and meet us, I tell you,

”There is no cause for alarm, PDP will still recapture Jigawa this year, we don’t want to talk too much, just wait and see,” Bulus said.

In a swift reaction, Chieftain of APC in Jigawa, Alhaji Ishaq Hadejia, popularly known as Baba Ishaq, dismissed the claim that PDP will still capture Jigawa in the upcoming elections.

”That is a dream; we have already killed and buried PDP in Jigawa, that is just an empty outburst,

”PDP will not do anything in Jigawa it is because of the good leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari at the centre and governor Muhammad Badaru in Jigawa that people are defecting to our party on daily basis.

”The APC administration under present Buhari was able to fight, corruption, insecurity and unemployment.

”Buhari was able to achieve a lot in just about four years of his tenure which the PDP couldn’t in its 16 years of administration,” he said. (Credit: NAN)

Source:
http://www.insiderpostonline.com/news/pdps-woes-lingers-as-former-governor-senator-dump-party-in-jigawa/

By John Amieyeofori

The lingering crisis within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers state has become a major blessing to the state ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which remained unchallenged in the forthcoming general elections.

It is all smiles for PDP as all candidates of APC have been barred from contesting elections in Rives state by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) following orders of the courts.

INEC’s Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Mr Obo Effanga, said the decision by the commission followed the outcome of the ruling on the litigation between two factions in the state’s APC.

Effanga noted that the APC factions of Sen. Magnus Abe and that of the Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, had been in court over the conduct of congresses by the party.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, had on Monday ordered INEC to expunge the names of candidates representing the APC in Rivers in the February and March general elections.

The REC said that INEC had to obey the ruling of the court.

The presiding judge, Justice James Omotosho, ruled on the suit brought before him, asking the court not to recognise any candidate from the state APC.

Omotosho referred to an earlier ruling by the Rivers High Court, which nullified the ward, local government and state congresses held by the state APC.

“All nominations in the APC, from governorship, Senate, House of Representatives and others, are hereby nullified and void and set aside.

“Only political parties that conducted valid primaries are eligible to produce candidates for the general elections,” the judge ruled.

With the ruling, the main alternative opened to electorate in the state is PDP which APC has been threatening for some years.
(NAN)

http://www.insiderpostonline.com/news/elections-smooth-ride-for-pdp-as-inec-delists-all-apc-candidates-in-rivers-state/

Minister of Transport, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, has replied the Rivers state Governor, Nyesom Wike, who had alleged that he (Amaechi) was behind the plot to destroy the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Walter Onnoghen.

In a Press statement made available to Newsmen, Ameachi said:

“We read with dismay and utter disgust another round of spurious allegations by the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, at a campaign rally in the State yesterday, accusing the former Governor of the State and Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi of ‘the plot to destroy the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen.’ This is another blatant lie just to smear Amaechi and put him on collision course with the judiciary. Ordinarily, we would not have bothered to respond to a Governor whose stock-in-trade is to concoct stories and lie about almost everything and anything. Wike completely lacks any shred of credibility. Nothing is sacred to him The former Rivers State Governor and Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi is not a judicial officer and is not part of whatever is happening in the Judiciary. We challenge Nyesom Wike to mention the name of the APC chieftain, he falsely alleged, Amaechi discussed the ‘destruction of the CJN with.’ This Wike’s latest attack on Amaechi is reminiscent of his earlier spurious allegations during the Ikoyi-Osborne-gate scandal where Wike disgracefully opened his mouth to shamelessly allege that the former Rivers State Governor, Amaechi was the owner of the 13 billion dollars and the owner of the Osborne apartment in Ikoyi, Lagos, where the money was kept. Wike lied that the money was stolen from Rivers State Government treasury. However, in Wike’s usual chicanery, up to today, he has refused to go to Court to claim the 13 billion dollars found in that apartment which he claimed was Rivers money stolen by his predecessor. Even when a court of law openly asked anyone laying claim to the money to come forward and collect it, Wike ran far away from the court and chickened out, like the chicken he is. Consequently, we wish to remind Wike that the immunity he currently enjoys as governor against prosecution for his many libelous attacks on Amaechi, will not last forever. At the appropriate time, he would no doubt face the full wrath of the law and ultimately, that of the Almighty God. Governor Wike should by now know that Nigerians are tired and are no longer interested in his rantings and cock and bull stories against Amaechi. Indeed, it is pathetic and a big shame that Wike do not know that Nigerians already know him as an incurable, incorrigible compulsive liar and do not take him and/or his comments seriously.

Again, Wike’s recent outburst against Amaechi at the PDP campaign is diversionary. The Governor knowing too well that he has nothing to show for his almost four years in office to Rivers people, in a state obviously with one of the highest allocations, resorted to casting aspersions on Amaechi, instead of telling the people what he had done for the State. We therefore call on all and sundry to ignore Wike, a frivolous, deceitful character who is obviously drunk on power and off course, alcohol- what a terrible collabo!”

More:
http://www.insiderpostonline.com/news/cjn-a-frivolous-deceitful-drunk-ameachi-blasts-wike/

Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has asked the Federal Government to release N50 billion to demonstrate its commitment to the revitalisation of public universities, in line with previous agreements with their union.

The striking lecturers gave this as a condition for calling off its strike, which began November 4 last year. The N50 billion, the union said, will form the first tranche of the N220 billion government agreed for the project this year and add to the N20 billion earlier released for the year. The President of ASUU, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, who disclosed this in an interview with Premium Times on Wednesday night, said the union was not asking the government to release the whole N220 billion at once. ASUU called the current strike to press for improved funding of universities and implementation of previous agreements with the government. The union is also demanding implementation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU agreements, Memorandum of Understanding (MoU; 2012 and 2013) and Memorandum of Action (MoA, 2017) and the truncation of the renegotiation of the union’s agreements.


The union asked the government to release funds for the revitalisation of public universities, based on the FGN-ASUU MoU of 2012, 2013 and the MoA of 2017. The teachers are also angry over the failure of the government to release operational licence to the Nigerian University Employees Pension Company, NUPEMCO. However, a major issue dragging the negotiations is the revitalisation of the universities. At present, the government is yet to release the N1.1 trillion it agreed to release as part of the funds for the revitalisation project. The 2013 MoU stipulated that public universities need N1.3 trillion for a modest revitalisation. The fund was to be released in tranches of N200billion in 2013, N220billion 2014, N220billion 2015, 220billion in 2016, N220billion in 2017 and N220billion..

Source:
http://www.insiderpostonline.com/news/strike-ASUU-demands-release-of-n50-billion-as-condition-to-end-strike/

Photo- Buruji Kashamu

By Temitope Salami/Ijebu-Ode

Sen. Buruji Kashamu, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Ogun, says his emergence on INEC’s final list of candidates is a victory for resilience.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the embattled Kashamu made the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) final list of candidates for the 2019 general elections released on Thursday.

In a swift reaction, Kashamu, through his spokesperson, Austin Onyikor, said in Ijebu Ode that despite the announcement, “there was no victor, no vanquished.”

The senator, currently representing Ogun-East Senatorial District, urged party faithful to work together for victory at the polls.

He said with the publication of the final list of candidates by INEC, it was incumbent on all lovers of the party to close ranks and work to deliver Ogun for PDP.

Kashamu commended INEC and the judiciary for standing firm on the side of justice and the rule of law.

“Like I said recently, we are members of the same family. We may have our differences in the past. At the end of the day, it is the party that wins, not any individual or group.

“We have to come together and work to deliver Ogun for PDP in all the elections.

“As the governorship candidate of the party, my doors are wide open. I am willing, able and ready to work with all in the overall interest of our party and people,” he said.

NAN recalls that the lawmaker supported the Chief Bayo Dayo-led Ogun State PDP executive.

Kashamu had been engulfed in a supremacy battle with the Oladipupo Adebutu-led PDP faction in Ogun.

Adebutu was also a governorship aspirant in Ogun and current lawmaker representing Ikenne/Shagamu/Remo North Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives.

Source:
http://www.insiderpostonline.com/news/breaking-kashamu-makes-inecs-final-list-as-ogun-pdp-gov-candidate/

The Imo state governor, Rochas Okorocha, Thursday said that he would not stop supporting the governorship candidate of the Action Alliance, AA, Uche Nwosu, to succeed him because he (Okorocha) had found “honesty” in Nwosu.

Okorocha made this statement in Owerri, when he handed over a newly built complex office to the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, led by the CAN, National President, Samson Ayokunle, alongside the Imo state chapter of CAN as well as other executives. Okorocha said among other of his reasons for supporting Nwosu is that he is a child of God.

He said: “I am delighted that I have fulfilled one of the promises I made to God when I was seeking for power in 2011. While I battle so many Challenges associated with my office, I am particularly happy that the vow I made to God has been fulfilled today in many ramifications.

"This came with a lot of difficulties as most people never understood me and some never even believed I was a Christian. I was baptized with so many names, but that did not stop my vision to win souls to God. “One of my very first project was the construction of a modern Chapel in front of the Government House.

Today, we have Chapels in all the Twenty-Seven Local Governments in the State and currently been manned by Pastors and Reverends. And the Chapels also serve as branches of CAN in the 27 Local Governments”. “Today, I am here to hand over this edifice to CAN, I pray and hope that this edifice will continue to be a symbol of peace and unity in the Christendom.”

He reminded them that, “In few months to come, I will be exiting as your governor, I have been praying to God Almighty to help Imo State to get a good successor to continue with the good works already started. “As a human being, Samuel was ordered by God to anoint Saul. It takes God to send a person to anoint another.” On who will succeed him as the next governor, he insisted that, “I have gone through the length and breath of Imo State and Uche Nwosu will be the best in 2019.

I urge CAN in Imo State to maintain peace and continue to pray for our leaders. “I urge all churches to support CAN and its leadership. They may not be perfect but together we can build the CAN of our dreams. I handover the CAN headquarters with some operational vehicles and 2 million naira monthly subvention.” Earlier the National President of CAN, Rev. Ayokunle said, “It is a sacrifice and an offering to the Lord. God will continue to reward the governor and his generations as he has deemed it fit to build a house for God so shall God build a house for him in his Kingdom.”

More:
http://www.insiderpostonline.com/news/i-support-nwosu-because-he-is-a-child-of-god-nwosu-reveals/

The Coalition of Buhari/Osinbajo Movement (COBOM), on Thursday says it plans to mobilise 10 million Nigerians to vote towards re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari in the forthcoming poll.

The Patron of the Group, retired Maj.-Gen. Garba Audu, gave the promise at the launch of COBOM’s Executives in Abuja on Thursday.

Audu said the group was working with other supporters to coordinate the re-election campaign of Buhari in all the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the country. He said the task would be easy considering the enviable records of the Buhari led administration. “We are having an inauguration of COBOM, a coalition with grassroots; we have about 10 million people with their voters’ cards and they are ready to vote for Buhari come Feb.16.

"This is because they believe in his work, they have conviction in the progress of the country and they have the hope that Buhari will take us to the next level. “This coalition is talking about 10 million votes; this coalition is going to give Buhari votes drawn from all the 774 LGAs,’’ he said. Prof. Ibrahim Magudu, former Director-General, National Metallurgical Development Centre (NMDC), said the good work of the administration would earn it re-election. ` All spheres of the economy is feeling the impact of the administration,’’ he said.

He said Buhari has recorded successes in many sectors especially in the areas of security and agriculture. The National Coordinator of COBOM, Mr Austin Gabriel, said that they came together in 2014 to support Buhari as Change Ambassadors (CAN)but later metamorphosed into COBOM. Gabriel said COBOM which has structures in all the 36 states and FCT decided to support Buhari because of his patriotism in piloting the affairs of the nation. “Nigeria used to be a country without direction, but today it is not so, therefore, as the election approaches, I looked at all the candidates and what they are bringing on board.

“I have no doubt that Buhari with his integrity will be able to steer the nation back to the path of glory, production after several years of suffering. “So we gathered together to drum support for him because he deserves to come back after all the infrastructure development he brought in all states..
Source:
http://www.insiderpostonline.com/news/group-pledges-10-million-votes-for-buhari-osinbajo/

The Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organization (PPCO) says President Muhammadu Buhari’s comments at the Wednesday’s Presidential Town Hall meeting, in Abuja, exposed his proclivities for corruption, as well as his insensitivity to the plight of ordinary Nigerians, particularly those in the North.

Nigerians were shocked listening to President Buhari’s defence of the Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, over videos showing the governor allegedly receiving bribe from a contractor.

Particularly revealing was President Buhari’s contention on whether Governor Ganduje could not have used another person to get the money; a comment, which ostensibly exposes how corruption is being covered in the Buhari Presidency. Nigerians can now see that the Buhari Presidency is a sanctuary of corruption, where officials thrive in using faceless individuals as fronts to fritter trillions of naira and cover their trails, while Nigerians wallow in hunger, acute starvation and untold hardship. Perhaps, this offers an insight into why there has been no investigation into alleged involvement of some individuals said to be close to the Buhari Presidency in the N1.032 trillion alleged corrupt acquisitions in 9Mobile and Keystone Bank PLC. This is in addition to the muting of investigations of a former aide to the First Lady, Aisha Buhari, Mr. Baba Inna, who was arrested in September last year, over accusations of receiving N2.5 billion from politicians, businessmen and women on behalf of the First Lady. Nigerians can also recall the confession of one Amina Mohammed, who while being paraded by the Department of State Services (DSS), stated in public that persons close to President Buhari were involved in serial fraud and looting of public resources under the official cover of the Buhari Presidency. 2019: Atiku will lead comprehensive anti-corruption crusade- PDP This could also explain why investigations into the leaked memo detailing how N9 trillion was frittered through underhand contracts at the NNPC and Ministry of Petroleum Resources has been stalled. This is in addition to government’s refusal to open up on allegations that 18 unregistered companied were used to divert N1.1 trillion worth of crude oil in 2017, as well as the alleged stealing of over N18 billion out of the N48 billion approved by the National Assembly for the rebuilding of six North east states ravaged by insurgency among other sleazes in the Buhari Presidency. The PPCO therefore counsels President Buhari to end his showboating as Mr. Integrity as Nigerians have seen through the deceptions of his Presidency, particularly its humongous corruption and have decided to rally behind our Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar to restore integrity and transparency in governance...

http://www.insiderpostonline.com/news/buharis-presidency-a-sanctuary-of-corruption-pdp-fumes/

Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Presidential Candidate of PDP, has made clear again that he would privatise the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) even if it cost him his life.

The opposition Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate made the vow again on Wednesday while addressing the business community in Lagos.

Brushing aside the controversy generated when he first made the promise, he repeated: “I am committed to privatising NNPC, I said it.”

“I swear, even if they are going to kill me, I will do it,” he said.

Atiku also said that his emergence in power would lead to prosperity.

“I am also not going to enrich members of my family but my friends.

“Are my friends not entitled to be enriched? As long as there is no element of corruption there.”

The plan to privatise the state oil company and sell the four refineries had earlier been criticised by stakeholders and financial experts, including the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Financial Derivatives Company, Mr. Bismarck Rewane.

Rewane had asked the candidate to tell Nigerians who he wanted to sell the NNPC to and how he intends to go about it.

“I agree that the NNPC should be privatised, but selling to who?”

“You must not just say you are going to sell, you must tell us how, and to who? he questioned.

“Tell us who and who, and how you are going to ensure that it is not sold to your own cronies.

“One of the big risks of privatisation is the Russian model, where you have chronic capitalism.

“If you have businessmen, who are in government like Donald Trump, you want to make sure that both the government and the people are protected from conflicts of interest.”

Established in 1977, the NNPC is the oil corporation through which the federal government regulates and participates in the country’s petroleum industry.

Source:
http://www.insiderpostonline.com/news/i-will-privatise-nnpc-even-if-they-kill-me-atiku-dares/

Photo- Atiku/Obi, credit- Vanguard

By Vincent Ujumadu

The Igbo Canadian Community Association (ICCA), comprising Igbo residents in Canada has urged the Nigerian electorate to vote massively for the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku and his vice, Mr. Peter Obi.

In its letter of endorsement, the association said Atiku and Obi were the only hope to redeem the nation’s battered glory under what it referred to as the “unrepentant penchant for nepotism, unapologetic ethnocentrism and blatant display of sectionalism” being demonstrated by the Buhari-led All progressives Congress, APC, government.

The endorsement letter was signed by the association’s president, Ugochukwu Okoro; chairman, Board of Trustees, Benjamin Chike Allison; Public Relations Officer, Ahaoma Kanu; and Secretary, Board of Trustees, Chris Chike Nsoedo. The association said its position was informed by “the state of the nation and the blurred horizons and increasing despair of ordinary Nigerians who were the worst affected, expressing the hope that Atiku would re-design the country for the benefit of all. “We see in you a bridge-builder that will bring some measure of stability, calm and trust in governance and belief in our country, which is going through a divisiveness that is as scary as it is gruesome,” the association said. It observed that the antecedents of Atiku and Obi, including their long experience in service, leadership, entrepreneurship and statesmanship, would surely lead Nigeria from the present morass of “massive unemployment, job losses, progressive demise of industries, increased brain-drain, and a failing health sector”. The association expressed confidence that in Atiku and Obi, Nigeria had discovered two economic surgeons...

Source:
http://www.insiderpostonline.com/news/igbos-in-canada-declare-support-for-atiku-obi/

A chieftain of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Musiliu Akinsanya a.k.a MC Oluomo, was on Tuesday night discharged from a Lagos hospital, where he was receiving treatment.

Oluomo was attacked at an All Progressives Congress (APC) rally in Ikeja on Jan. 8, and was immediately taken to Eko Hospital, following injuries he sustained. A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), who visited the Eko Hospital in Ikeja on Wednesday, gathered that MC Oluomo left the hospital on Tuesday night after payment of over N2 million medical bill.

A very reliable source, who preferred anonymity, told NAN that the NURTW leader may have left for the United States immediately he was discharged from hospital on Tuesday night. “He is very fine and has nothing to worry about his health after his treatment at the hospital. Before he finally left on Tuesday night, he was receiving a lot of well-wishers. “Sometimes, he moves around and sometimes walks his visitors to the corridor, so he was in a sound health before leaving the hospital. “Few days before he left the hospital, his associates were making arrangements for his trip,’’ the source said. NAN also observed that there was no more police presence around the hospital, as the three police vehicles stationed there had been removed. The Lagos State Police Command had said it arrested some suspects and also declared wanted another NURTW chieftain over the disruption of the APC rally in Lagos. The Command’s spokesperson, CSP Chike Oti, had said that those arrested in connection with the incident were helping the police in their investigation. (NAN)

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http://www.insiderpostonline.com/news/mc-oluomo-discharged-from-hospital-runs-abroad/

In a statement released by the IPOB Media and Publicity Secretary, Comrade Emma Powerful, the pro-Biafra group denied reports that it had decided to direct its members to vote during the election, adding that what the IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu said in a broadcast, was that Governors Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia and David Umahi of Ebonyi must not be allowed to return to office because of their roles in the arrest and detention of IPOB members.

The IPOB statement read: “We shall boycott the forthcoming presidential election and every other with the notable exception of Abia and Ebonyi states where the incumbents, Okezie Ikpeazu and Dave Umahi, are using their positions to facilitate the kidnap, arrest, torture and execution of our people.

“The misconception by some individuals, who intend to have Umahi and Ikpeazu return to office, will never deter us. The decision by IPOB to shutdown Biafraland on the Election Day has gone far and cannot be changed or stopped, unless our terms are met.

“People are at liberty to twist, fabricate and misunderstand IPOB, but the people of Biafra understand clearly where we are going. We will continue to deploy all forms of civil disobedience, most notably boycott of every Nigerian election until they give us date for Biafra referendum.

“Our aim towards achieving this goal and desire cannot be truncated by an orchestrated attempt to misinform...

More:
http://www.insiderpostonline.com/news/well-boycott-presidential-poll-but-vote-against-abia-ebonyi-govs-ipob-reveals/

The Islamic human rights organization has said via a statement signed by its director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, that “Judicial corruption fuels impunity. It is the worst type of corruption because that is where we go when the system is corrupt, he added. The statement reads:

"Any nation whose judicial system is led by corrupt judges is sitting on the precipice. Judicial corruption should not be tolerated in any sane society. It corrodes the rule of law. It is a cancerous tumour in any nation’s anatomy and any surgeon worth the salt will not hesitate to amputate a cancerous part of the body in order to save the rest.

“Judicial corruption enthrones corrupt politicians in political offices. It robs hardworking, honest and credible politicians of well-deserved victory at the polls. Judicial corruption is the deadliest enemy of democracy. It debilitates the rule of law, renders equal rights unattainable and puts asunder any dream of an egalitarian society. Judiciary is the last hope of the common man and a corrupt judge dashes the hope of the ordinary citizen.

“A corrupt judiciary poses the most potent threat to crime fighters like policemen, anti-corruption agencies, anti-graft activists, human rights activists, etc. The efforts of these patriotic elements who put their lives on the line for the sake of society will be in vain if the judiciary is corrupt. Corrupt judges frustrate the efforts of crime fighters. A corrupt judiciary emboldens criminals and corrupt people as they always know that they can bribe their way out in court.

“Nobody can wipe out corruption where the judiciary itself is enmeshed in dirty deals. It is like pouring water inside a basket in an attempt to fill it up. A hundred bucketfuls cannot achieve that. That is why MURIC is sounding this note of warning. Allow FG to handle the case of the CJN now before it infects the whole system.

“Something is wrong with us as a people if we want to defend a chief judge who made five different cash deposits of $10,000 each into Standard Chartered Bank Account 1062650 on 8th March 2011; made two separate cash deposits of $5000 each on 7th June 2011 followed by four cash deposits of $10,000 each on the same day. Again on 27th June 2011, Justice Onnoghen made another set of five separate cash deposits of $10,000 each and made four more cash deposits of $10,000 each on the following day, 28th June 2011. Are the rest of us who are poor Nigerians created to shine his shoes and lick his boots?

“MURIC is concerned because Islam abhors materialism. What is a judge doing with so much money when 80 million fellow citizens are wallowing in abject penury? Can we take any accumulated wealth to the grave? Do we know when our time will be up? Where are those before us who stole all the milk and honey in the land?

The Muslim Rights Concern is concerned because even if all public office holders are accumulating wealth unjustly, the chief judge of the land must be above board like Caesar’s wife. The Qur’an says all the wealth in this world cannot make a man live forever (104:1-9; 102:1-. Umar bin Khattab insisted that governors appointed by him must declare their assets immediately they are appointed and immediately after leaving office.

All these are allegations made in the petition written against him by a lawyer human rights activist and instead of the judge to deny them he claims to have forgotten to declare them in his asset declaration. If ignorance of the law is no excuse, what do we call this claim of forgetfulness made by the numero uno lawman of the federation? Justice Onnoghen should resign immediately if there is any decency left in him.

This is definitely not the ideal symbol of justice a nation can be proud of. We are making a mockery of the bench if high-ranking lawyers bend over backwards to defend the indefensible in this case. We seem to be unable to face the truth in this society. Other countries are making progress by punishing corrupt judges. Who did this to Nigeria?

“In China, Huang Songyou, a former Chinese supreme court judge was jailed for life after being convicted of embezzlement and receiving nearly £500,000 in bribes. Another judge, Wang Suyi was sentenced to fifteen years in prison for bribery. Indonesia's corruption court sentenced one of the country's top judges to eight years in prison for taking bribes in January 2017.

“In Pakistan, a five-member panel of judges ruled that Justice Patrialis Akbar was guilty of receiving thousands of dollars from a meat importer to influence the outcome of a judicial review of the law on animal husbandry. Mark Ciavarella, a corrupt judge in the United States was sent to 28 years in June 2018 for selling kids to private prisons while Munir Patel, an ordinary British court clerk was sentenced to four years in prison in 2011 for receiving £100,000 bribe because Britain will not stomach corruption in its criminal justice system.

“The choice is ours, whether to deal decisively with corrupt judges in order to instill discipline in the judiciary or to allow tribal jingoism, acrobatic religiousity and articulated political sentiment to override our objectivity.

For the avoidance of doubts, we assert clearly, categorically and unequivocally that MURIC will continue to support this regime not because the president is a Muslim (he is not the only Muslim candidate anyway) or because of his political leaning but because the president has unassailable integrity and because this is the only regime that has made fighting corruption its cardinal focus.

“We are also not unaware of the personal risks involved, they are simply part of the hazards of human rights activism. We are prepared to do even more in the interest of our dear country and in defense of Allah-given fundamental human rights of Nigerian Muslims and the rest of its citizens.

On a last note, we reiterate that Justice Onnoghen is a clog in the wheel of justice. Wailers should allow the law to take its due course. It is most dangerous for Nigeria to approach a general election with a jaundiced judicial system. The Nigerian people have lost confidence in him. He should resign without delay”.

http://www.insiderpostonline.com/news/onnoghen-judicial-corruption-fuels-impunity-muric-reacts-to-cjn-probe/

Photo- Adamu Mohammed

Indications emerged, last night, that President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Assistant Inspector General of Police, AIG, Adamu Mohammed, as acting Inspector General of Police. The appointment followed a meeting the President had with the outgoing IGP, Ibrahim Idris, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.


Efforts to confirm this from spokesman of the President, Mallam Garba Shehu, however, proved fruitless as he said he was not in a position to confirm the information. Similarly, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, also said there was no official confirmation of the appointment. But it was learned that the acting IGP was appointed by the President, in view of the retirement of the incumbent on January 3, 2019, when he clocked the mandatory 35 years in service. He will be 60 years today. AIG Abubakar Adamu Mohammed hails from Lafia in Nasarawa State. He was brought from National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPSS.
He was Deputy Commissioner of Police, Ekiti State, Commissioner of Police, Enugu State and has also served at Interpol and FCIID, Alagbon for some years before he was promoted to the rank of AIG. The retirement of the outgoing IGP has generated so much controversies as opinions of stakeholders in the polity had been mixed. While some wanted him retained as the 2019 elections draw nearer...

More:
http://www.insiderpostonline.com/news/adamu-mohammed-likely-to-emerge-new-ig/

Photo- Jimi Agbaje

The PDP Lagos guber candidate has shared a video of the elaborate occasion where the Accord party, Lagos state chapter endorsed his candidature.


See video below:
https://insiderpostonline./2018/12/21/see-video-of-massive-crowd-at-accord-partys-endorsement-of-agbaje/

More reactions:

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In a tweet, via his official tweeter handle. The vice president is seen interacting with Nigerians at the premiere of the movie Chief daddy.
The vice president has also declared movie tickets free! for the night.


See video below:
https://insiderpostonline./2018/12/21/osinbajo-at-genesis-cinemas-for-chief-daddy-premiere-see-video-and-reactions-below/

Photo- a Gomair aircraft

The Congolese aviation firm Gomair said its cargo plane which went missing on Thursday after delivering materials for an upcoming presidential election had crashed.

Gomair’s financial director, Jean de Dieu Gato Karekezi, said he did not yet have any information about casualties.

The firm lost contact the plane on Thursday evening as it was flying back to Kinshasa after delivering materials to Tshikapa, a city near the border with Angola.

It was not immediately clear how many people were on board. Air accidents are relatively frequent in Congo due to lax safety standards.

Karekezi said the plane had been rented by the national electoral commission (CENI) to deliver election materials.

A CENI spokeswoman said the agent who had taken the flight to Tshikapa had stayed there, but she did not provide any further information.

The incident follows a tumultuous week in Democratic Republic of Congo, which has seen the long-anticipated election postponed for a week due to logistical issues, clashes between protesters and police, and the deaths of over 100 people in fights between ethnic groups in the northwest.

https://insiderpostonline./2018/12/21/plane-delivering-election-materials-crashes/

An unidentified Nigerian has flown the latest Lamborghini via the Arabian Emirates airline.

The video has left Nigerian internet users in awe, with most describing the move as extravagant.


See video below:
https://insiderpostonline./2018/12/21/unidentified-nigerian-flies-in-latest-lamborghini-aboard-emirates-airline/

Photo- bodies of slain people

Zamfara state has witnessed the killing of 5 persons by unidentified ruthless bandits who have caused havoc in the state for some time now.

The state Police Command has confirmed the killing of five persons in Gidan Halilu village in Birnin-Magaji Local Government Area of the state.

The Public Relations Officer of the Command, SP Muhammad Shehu, made the confirmation in a statement issued to the press in Gusau, the state capital.

“We wish to confirm that on Dec. 19, a group of armed bandits attacked some villagers of Gidan Halilu Village in Billashe district of Birnin Magaji Local Government Area in their farms.

“On receiving the report, the command mobilised teams of Police Mobile Force, Counter Terrorism Unit and conventional personnel headed by the Area commander, Kaura Namoda Police Area Command, to the affected community.

“The police teams have been mobilised to the affected village to repel the attack, restore normalcy and arrest the perpetrators,’’ he said.

https://insiderpostonline./2018/12/21/bandits-kill-5-in-zamfara/

Photo- Crude oil pipelines

The federal government of Nigeria has withdrawn about $1.68 billion from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) in the last one month, leaving a balance of $631 million as at today the 20th of December, 2018.

The federal government repealed at yesterday’s Federation Accounts Allocation Committe (FAAC) meeting, saying it depleted the account to off-set the last tranche of the Paris Club obligations to states.

According to the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Dr. Mahmoud Isa Dutse, who presided over the meeting, the federal government took the action to meet the growing demands of states.

He said, “the balance in the ECA is $631 million. The final payment for Paris club refund to states was made and the figure was deducted and that’s what accounts for the difference.

“A decision was taken to make this refund and part of that decision is that the refund should be funded from the ECA. Federal Executive Council (FEC) and the president approved the money.”

A total of N812.762 billion was distributed as Federal Allocation for the month of November 2018 between the Federal, States and Local Government Councils.

It came from the Gross statutory revenue of N649.629 billion. This sum is lower than the N682.161 billion received in the previous month by N32.533 billion.as well as N92. 079 billion from Value Added Tax

Similarly Forex Equalisation of N70.000 billion and An Exchange Gain of N1.055 billion.contributed to the over all revenue for last month.

From the Gross statutory revenue, Federal Government received N280.913 billion representing 52.68%; States received N142.483 billion representing 26.72%; Local Government Councils received N109.848 billion representing 20.60%; while the Oil Producing States received N47.882 billion also representing 13% derivation revenue; Mahmoud concluded.

https://insiderpostonline./2018/12/20/excess-crude-account-drastically-drops-to-631m-as-elections-approach/

Photo- Armed ISIS terrorists

Credit- wired

The white House has declared that the US has started ‘returning troops home’ after Trump declared ISIL (also ISIS) has been defeated in Syria.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said “victories over ISIS in Syria do not signal the end of the Global Coalition or its campaign”.

“We have started returning United States troops home as we transition to the next phase of this campaign,” she added. “The United States and our allies stand ready to re-engage at all levels to defend American interests whenever necessary, and we will continue to work together to deny radical Islamist terrorists’ territory, funding, support and many means of infiltrating our borders.”

The press release is coming after reports surfaced that the US was considering a full troop withdrawal from the country.

Prior to Sanders’s statement on Wednesday, Trump tweeted, “We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency.”

Photo- America’s president, Trump

The wool haired American president has previously expressed a strong desire to bring troops home from Syria when possible.
https://insiderpostonline./2018/12/19/us-to-completely-withdraw-from-syria-as-trump-declares-isis-defeated/

Evidence of underground dealings between Governor of Eboyin Dave Umahi and the APC have surfaced online. Internet users have been circulating photos bagged rice which bear prints of Buhari and Dave Umahi’s faces.

However, insider post can not currently verify if the images were doctored.

https://insiderpostonline./2018/12/19/just-in-photos-of-umahi-buhari-rice-surfaces-online/

Photo- FAAN press release

The federal government of Nigeria has revealed that the president will on the 20th of December, commission the new International Terminal of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. A communique was released to that effect by the federal airport authority of Nigeria. (See below picture)

The minister of aviation, who has been at the center of the controversial Nigerian air deal is also expected to accompany the president.
Stay tuned for details…

https://insiderpostonline./2018/12/19/buhari-to-commission-new-international-terminal-at-nnamdi-azikiwe-airport/

A recent report from Reporters Without Borders has concluded that journalist deaths rose by 8 percent this year 2018. Hatred whipped up by “unscrupulous politicians”contributed to the increase, the organization said.

A total of 80 journalists were killed in the first 11 months of 2018, while 348 were in prison and 60 more were being held hostage, according to figures from Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

RSF report, which was released on Tuesday, said 49 of those killed between January 1 and the start of December had been murdered or were deliberately targeted with violence.
The nongovernmental organization said the murders of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and Slovak data journalist Jan Kuciak “highlighted the lengths to which press freedom’s enemies are prepared to go.”

Violence against journalists has reached unprecedented levels this year, and the situation is now critical,” the organization’s head, Christophe Deloire, said in a statement which accompanied the report’s release.
“The hatred of journalists that is voiced, and sometimes very openly proclaimed, by unscrupulous politicians, religious leaders, and businessmen, has tragic consequences on the ground, and has been reflected in this disturbing increase in violations against journalists.”
Deloire added that social media networks “bear heavy responsibility” as they amplified expressions of hatred that “legitimize violence, thereby undermining journalism, and democracy itself, a bit more every day.”
China remains the biggest jailer of journalists with 60 currently being held, according to RSF. A majority of them are non-professional journalists, who the report says “are being held in often inhuman conditions for nothing more than a post on social networks or messaging services.”

Afghanistan was the world’s deadliest country for journalists and media members in 2018 with 15 deaths, the report said. Nine of the deaths occurred during a double bombing on April 30, which was the world’s deadliest attack on reporters since the 2009 Maguindanao massacre in the Philippines. That attack killed 32 journalists.
https://insiderpostonline./2018/12/18/more-journalist-killed-this-year-than-ever-81-dead-journalists-without-borders/

Current standing of Nigeria's largest banks
photo credit- startcredits

With the recent Access/Diamond merger and acquisition, the combined entity will have the largest number of retail customers in Africa. The 2 Nigerian banks experienced significant changes in their capital shares following a recent deal which saw Acces acquiring a portion of Diamond bank in cash and asset. The deal was announced last week with the Lagos based Citigroup Inc. and Chapel Hill Denham investment banks advising Access, while Exotix Capital advised Diamond.

Access’s offer is a 260 percent premium to Diamond’s closing price of 0.87 naira a share on Dec. 13. Its stock has risen 20 percent this week to 1.14 naira in Lagos, still far below the offer price, but paring its losses this year to 24 percent.

If the monetary authorities (CBN) successfully approve the deal, then Access is sure to emerge Nigeria’s largest bank by asset.
https://insiderpostonline./2018/12/18/with-diamond-bank-acquisition-access-to-emerge-nigerias-largest-bank-by-asset/

English soccer giant Manchester United has announced that Jose Mourinho has left the Club.

In a press statement released on its official website manutd.com and its official twitter handle, the club stated that it would like to thank the former coach for his work during his time at Manchester United and wish him success in the future.

More details coming…
https://insiderpostonline./2018/12/18/jose-mourinho-quits-manchester-united/

The Transmission Company of Nigeria said the export would raise the quantum of electricity exported from Nigeria to the West African region.

Speaking at the meeting of the joint technical working group of the West African Power Pool in Abuja on Monday, the Managing Director, TCN, Usman Mohammed, who is also the chairman of the WAPP executive board, said power distribution companies in Nigeria were still not taking all the electricity from generation companies. He said, “For Nigeria, if you look at the generation and what the distribution networks can take, we don’t have a shortage, we have a surplus.

“From the system point of view, we cannot say Nigeria has a shortage, the excess we have, we can send to other parts of West Africa but we need to have some few things put in place. One of such is the synchronisation so that we can actually export energy from Nigeria to West Africa.”

The Federal Government had repeatedly stated that about 2,000 megawatts of electricity had been stranded over time due to the inability of the Discos to distribute the additional quantum of energy to domestic power users.

Mohammed also stated that apart from selling power to other countries of West Africa and earning foreign exchange from such, the expected expansion and synchronisation of the region’s electricity lines could help expand Nigeria’s generation capacity.

The TCN boss noted that the meeting of the WAPP executives was to advance the grid synchronisation programme.

He said, “We are holding a meeting for the synchronisation of the interconnections between the various countries. The intention is to synchronise them because WAPP wants to ensure that energy flow from Nigeria to Senegal and back.
https://insiderpostonline./2018/12/18/nigeria-to-export-electricity-to-west-african-countries-tcn/