₦airaland Forum

Ganduje's action will exhume pre-Fulani sentiments in Kano, which is actually healthy in times like this

IME1:
University of Ibadan

Run from private uni for post graduate

I'd have said Ilorin but I don't know whatsupp nowadays

Meanwhile wey you dey run go

Na Nigeria you dey oh

What is wrong with doing postgraduate at a private university in Nigeria? Please, enlighten a brother.

tuniski:
But nobody is saying staff are sad rather, they are making a case for even more increase. Sometimes the oppressed actually protect and hail the oppressor. It is unfortunate!

The guy suffers from Stockholm syndrome!

Nobodyperson:
It's clear that woman only graduated because of her what's on her chest and back
5 in every 6 Nigerian women are prostitutes

Don't forget some of us have sisters who are dear to us

Sheep

Fake. Abraham Lincoln historians said he never wrote such a letter to a teacher.

Cherrybae:
If I were GEJ I will toe the part of honour and leave politics and PDP

Ipobs will lead this man to further destruction and downfall

IPobs did it to Fayose
Ipobs did it to Atiku
IPod's did it to Izi Iyamu

Just to name but a few.

He who has ears let him hear

GEJ is loyal to a fault!

This culture is irritatingly rife in Ughelli, otherwise known as Deve. I have a bitter encounter with them and it was the military intervention that saved my case. They are usually beyond the control and checks of traditional rulers, as often the band is led by a relative of the throne. They are cruel and merciless!

I have a thread on Nairaland about the pitiable state of the community primary school in my community. I need help to wake Delta State Government to its responsibilities

https://www.nairaland.com/4949359/state-infrastructure-bulou-ndoro-community-burutu#74616048

Facebook went down for many users worldwide on Wednesday — an outage that Facebook’s site attributed to “required maintenance.”

“Facebook will be back soon,” according to a message posted on the social networking site shortly after the outage began early Wednesday afternoon.

Users quickly began complaining about issues with creating posts, as well as looking at content on the website. Others say they have been unable to access the platform altogether.

“Facebook is down for required maintenance right now, but you should be able to get back on within a few minutes. In the meantime, read more about why you’re seeing this message. Thanks for your patience as we improve the site.”

The problems were happening across the globe, with large parts of the US and Europe affected, according to outage tracking website Down Detector.

Facebook-owned apps Instagram and WhatsApp also were experiencing performance issues, according to some users.
https://www.google.com/url?q=https://nypost.com/2019/03/13/facebooks-site-down-for-maintenance-in-widespread-outage/&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwjqi_-q4f_gAhVDtHEKHciYD1cQqOcBMAB6BAgIEAI&usg=AOvVaw27QMWTRkRjUL3KlzgKn-aM

I think it will be relevant to explain to PCMs the relationship between the printing of JAMB result slips and mobilisation. NYSC seems to be introducing new measures at each batch mobilisation, thereby leaving non-internet savvy students behind during mobilisation.

Gandollaar:
Oh really? Onoifiok would beat him any day. Do you have updates on Aniekan Umana and Emma Ikon?

Nothing official yet, I guess that is Abak/Etim Ekpo/Ika federal constituency, right? But it seems Aniekan Umana is in the lead!

Gandollaar:
Who did he go up against? I mean the APC guy?

Dan Akpan

braveboi4life:
I wish, akpabio, saraki and akume loses, then no bastard politician will take us for granted

And PDP winning in Lagos would conclude the democratic revolution.

maybachmusic:
Our future Governor

Exactly

He is my man, my constituency representative, popular beyond measure. God bless you, Onofiok Luke

he National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ahmed Bola Tinubu, may have deployed the perfect election-rigging mechanism in the 2015 election, a confidential review obtained by SaharaReporters shows.

And it may all have been accomplished with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not knowing its own technology was being used against it.

It began in 2012 when a company, Act Technologies Limited, was put into play after it had been taken from its original owners by Tinubu and Retired Col. Sani Bello, two of Africa’s wealthiest men. ACT went into partnership with INEC to provide voter registration and accreditation, as well as election-management technology, to Nigeria’s electoral body.

“This company eventually flushed out the original recipient of the voter management system contract from INEC and provided a compromised technology which had a gaping back door framework for manipulating voter registration, PVC card issue and the voting process,” the report said.

The contract to provide INEC with the election technology was originally to have been awarded to Zinox Technologies Ltd, but INEC frustrated Zinoxand ensured it was awarded to ACT, which was then used to perpetrate APC’s scheme known as “Preferred Voter Arrangement.”

“Despite winning the INEC contract, the company had no records of having filed an annual report as of May 2015,” the report said. “Disgruntled individuals within the company have revealed that approximately 80% of the company’s earnings from IMEC were siphoned off, with the company being left with 20% to execute the project.”

The report is replete with tales of money-laundering and manipulation, fake companies and addresses, and of powerful people and their families playing games with funds and companies. Many of the companies remain unknown to the Corporate Affairs Commission.

Among its stunning revelations, the bulk of the funds paid by INEC for the card reader project were paid out without delay to companies that were completely unrelated to the project. “In fact, a majority of the money was paid out to a Maigidana Bureau de Change, a company with a fake address.”

Of greater importance, however, the report said there was strong evidence that key figures in APC had control of ACT Technologies during the period in which card readers and PVC cards were being produced, and had started paying out money through ACT Technologies to the companies producing the card readers and handling the Biometrics security one year before INEC paid any money to ACT.

According to the report, “There is a very high probability that the Card reader technology and accompanying biometric PVC card technology was severely compromised.”

It observed that a pattern of payments in May and July 2012 to Shenzhen Emporium by Capital Management Limited, a company suspected to be linked to Tinubu, and by a friend of APC Niger State governor-elect Alhaji Sani Abubakar Bello, took place one year a year before INEC paid any money for the project. “So it is safe to assume that both of these individuals or the party they represent made these payments in order to have their own private access to a large number of card readers. These card readers would have been an exact replica of the ones given to INEC.”

Examining the pattern of those events, the report said that there is evidence to suggest that not only did elements within APC have an exact replica of INEC’s accreditation infrastructure, but that they had it well in advance of INEC.

“In essence, these individuals gave INEC a system that they already had.”

The report noted that INEC was given a system it could access only via its handheld terminals, one it was told it had sole custody of.

“They couldn’t have known that prior to the system being delivered, thousands of other terminals had already been produced for individuals linked to a political party. Essentially, a secret back door had been created accreditation system. And while INEC was doing the voter registration, the individuals with back door access injected their own data into the INEC database.”

It said all that was then needed was the port address that INEC used in communicating with the database, which was not difficult to obtain since the electoral body gave it to their field staff to program the card readers.

“With access to the port and to the exact replica of both the card readers and the Biometric security template, parties loyal to the APC injected data seamlessly and near flawlessly into the database without anyone being alerted. With inflated accreditation numbers in designated polling units/regions, they knew exactly which polling units to rig and go unnoticed.”

The report said the only weakness in the plan concerns whether INEC kept time logs of when its staff uploaded to the database, otherwise it would be very difficult to prove definitively that it was tampered with.

It concluded that in 2015, the electronic accreditation process was clearly tampered with.

The report then offered this dire warning, for a nation facing national elections starting this Saturday: “If the card reader technology, as it currently exists, gets used in future elections, the individuals who have this technology have the capability to inflate accredited voter numbers and dictate which electoral candidate win which election.”

Tinubu, who has bragged in recent days that he is richer than Osun State and that he is single-handedly bankrolling Buhari’s re-election effort. He has promised the president three million votes in Lagos.

Last week, The Guardian (United Kingdom) faulted Nigeria’s voter registration patterns, noting that the number of new voters registered since January 2018 has increased by an identical percentage in each of thestates, leaving the forthcoming polls open to rigging.

The newspaper described the correlation as a "statistical impossibility," saying it does not reflect Nigeria's demographic changes.
http://saharareporters.com/2019/02/21/how-tech-company-linked-apc-national-leader-bola-tinubu-used-sophisticated-technology

The APC Caucus meeting
The APC Caucus meeting
The Nigerian Army has reacted to a controversial statement issued by President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday that all those planning to snatch ballot boxes may be carrying out their last illegal acts.

The comment is already generating heated debates in the polity with many saying the president’s statement is a veiled sanction to security operatives to kill (extrajudicially) those who run afoul of the electoral law.

The president made the statement at the All Progressives Congress (APC) caucus meeting on Monday.

A leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, has, however, defended the president saying President Muhammadu Buhari was ‘misinterpreted’.

The Electoral Act prescribes two years in jail, not death, for persons found guilty of snatching or destroying election materials.

Lawyers also argue that Section 33 of the Nigerian Constitution gives instances where ”one may forfeit his/her life as a result of certain scenarios”.

The Nigerian Army on Monday added another twist to the debate when it told PREMIUM TIMES it will obey ‘totally and effectively’ such order if it is given by Mr Buhari.

“If Commander-in-Chief has given order to the Nigerian Army to that effect, be rest assured that order will be totally and effectively obeyed without any ifs or buts,” Army spokesperson Sagir Musa told PREMIUM TIMES when reached for comments about whether the military would review its rules of engagement if Mr Buhari gave an order for shooting of ballot box snatchers.

The Nigerian Army had earlier said it would deploy personnel for the elections, but only on contingent bases on the outer perimeter of communities rather than near polling units.

The police did not immediately return requests for comments about how they would treat any controversial directive by the president.

What Buhari said
President Buhari on Monday afternoon ordered security forces to be ruthless against anyone caught snatching ballot boxes after citizens had voted.

”Anybody who decides to snatch boxes or lead thugs to disturb the election, maybe that would be the last unlawful action you would take. I have given the military and police the order to be ruthless.

”I am going to warn anybody who thinks he would lead a body of thugs in his locality to snatch boxes or to disturb the voting system; he would do it at the expense of his/her own life,” the president said at a gathering of the ruling All Progressives Congress on Monday in Abuja.
https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/313713-nigerian-army-speaks-on-buharis-death-threat-against-ballot-snatchers.html

Having also said he was “giving the military and the police [the power] to be ruthless”, it appeared Buhari had no problem with security forces gunning down ballot box snatchers. But what exactly does the law prescribe for this electoral offence?

President Muhammadu Buhari caused quite a stir on Monday when he said those who influence ballot box snatching at the 2019 elections do so at risk to their lives.

The President, speaking in Abuja at a meeting of the national caucus of the All Progressives Congress (APC), following the one-week postponement of the elections announced on Saturday, had said: "Anybody who decides to snatch ballot boxes or lead thugs to disturb, it may be that [this will be] the last unlawful action you will take…

"The whole 36 states in Nigeria, I went round. I think I have got enough support across the country to look after me. So I'm going to warn anybody who thinks he has enough influence in his locality to lead a body of thugs to snatch boxes or to disturb the voting system, he will do it at the expense of his own life."

Having also said he was “giving the military and the police [the power] to be ruthless”, it appeared Buhari had no problem with security forces gunning down ballot box snatchers.

But what exactly does the law prescribe for this electoral offence?

Sections 129 (1) and (2) Electoral (Amendment) Act, 2010 list Election Day offences as follows:

129 (1) No person shall on the date on which an election is held do any of the following acts or things in a polling unit or within a distance of 300 metres of a polling unit-

(a) canvass for votes;

(b) solicit for the vote of any voter;

(c) persuade any voter not to vote for any particular candidate;

(d) persuade any voter not to vote at the election;

(e) shout slogans concerning the election;

(f) be in possession of any offensive weapon or wear any dress or have any facial or other decoration which in any event is calculated to intimidate voters;

(g) exhibit, wear or tender any notice, symbol, photograph or party card referring to the election;

(h) use any vehicle bearing the colour or symbol of a political party by any means whatsoever;

(i) loiter without lawful excuse after voting or after being refused to vote;

(j) snatch or destroy any election materials; and

(k) blare siren.

(2) No person shall within the vicinity of a polling unit or collation centre on the day of which an election is held-

(a) convene, hold or attend any public meeting during the hours of poll as may be prescribed by the Commission;

(b) unless appointed under this Act to make official announcements, operate any megaphone, amplifier or public address apparatus;

(c) wear or carry any badge, poster, banner, flag or symbol relating to a political party or to the election.

“A person who contravenes any of the provisions of this section commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of N100,000 or imprisonment for a term of 6 months for every such offence,” Section 129 Subsection 3 confirms.

The following subsection lists the penalty for ballot-box-related offences. It says: “Any person who snatches or destroys any election material commits an offence and is liable on conviction to 24 months imprisonment.”

Therefore, any other punishment beyond two years, such as the one advised by Buhari, runs foul of the law.
http://saharareporters.com/2019/02/18/question-what-punishment-does-law-stipulate-ballot-box-snatching-death

The Coalition of United Political Parties on Saturday alleged that President Muhammadu Buhari is planning to suspend the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mahmood Yakubu.

Ugochinyere claimed the President was planning to name a National Commissioner, Amina Zakari, as the Acting Chairman, citing her experience as the oldest and most experienced National Commissioner.

The coalition made the allegation in a statement made available to journalists by its spokesman, Imo Ugochinyere.

Ugochinyere said, "The President is planning to use the excuse of inability to hold election today (Saturday) as a reason for the imminent suspension.

"Feigning ignorance of the real reasons behind the shift, the President in his earlier statement today did not have just a word for the shameful and despicable actions of security forces and the Central Bank's staff who, in obedience to Presidency's directives, deliberately sabotaged the distribution of sensitive materials in selected states.

"We are aware that his hurried return to Abuja today from his home state, Katsina, is to sack the INEC boss. But this should be resisted by all well-meaning Nigerians and the international community.

"The sin of the INEC chairman is that he refused to conduct staggered elections that will allow the President and his men to manipulate the process.

"The Presidency had mounted pressure on the Commission to conduct election today in states where there were no issues and postpone only the states with materials distribution issues.

"The INEC chairman insisted on conducting the election at the same time, hence warranting the postponement of the entire election.

"The 1999 Constitution in Section 157(1) states that the chairman and members of the Commission may only be removed by the President acting on an address supported by two-thirds majority of the Senate that the person be removed for inability to discharge the functions of the office (whether arising from infirmity of mind or body or any other cause) or for misconduct.

"We are aware that the government itself sabotaged INEC distribution of materials.

"We are warning that any attempt to sack or suspend the INEC chairman will only lead to electoral and constitutional crisis. The nation is still grappling with the illegality and unconstitutionality of the removal of the Chief Justice of Nigeria.

"If the President has ears, let him hear."

https://punchng.com/election-shelving-buhari-considering-amina-zakari-to-replace-inec-boss-cupp/

Borno State governor Kashim Shettima Thursday reacted to the Boko Haram splinter group loyal to the Islamic State, Islamic State West Africa Province, attack on his convoy on Tuesday.

Three persons died in the attack, Shettima’s media aide Isa Gusau said in a statement. He said the governor will meet families of those “affected”.

The governor said the attack was “aimed to attract local and global media attention in order to sustain propaganda strategy and to instil fear in citizens and gallant troops.”
“The unfortunate incident will not make the Governor have doubt in the capacity of the gallant and patriotic personnel of the Nigerian armed forces who have dedicated their lives fighting for peace and the freedom of Borno people,” Gusau said.

ISWAP claimed the attack.

In a broadcast, on Amaq News Agency the sect said it killed 42 people in the attack when the governor was returning from a campaign outing near Dikwa.

Some of those killed may have been beheaded, a military source told Reuters.
The Guardian learned on Wednesday that the insurgents ambushed the convoy, split it into two and attacked the one left at the rear.
Another source told AFP that two soldiers and two civilians were killed and an unspecified number of ruling All Progressives Congress members were kidnapped.

“The bus they were travelling in got stuck in the sand while the driver was trying to manoeuvre and turn back towards Dikwa,” the source told AFP.

“All the people in the bus were rounded up and taken into the bush. Another truck belonging to CJTF, which also got stuck, was taken away but the occupants were able to flee.”
The state government, however, said it is still expecting full security briefing to get accurate information on the incident.
https://guardian.ng/news/borno-governor-reacts-to-iswap-attack-on-his-convoy/?F

anjigirl:
Nonsense! Quack judge, El-Rufai is a governor he has immunity

You must be a Buhari supporter!

The Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has denied calling for violence in his comments about foreign interference.

El-Rufai was reported saying that members of the Global Democratic Institutions that are not working for a peaceful election in Nigeria will return to their countries in body bags.

His comment has however drawn the attention of the opposition party, threatening to withdraw the peace accord that was signed.

In a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Samuel Aruwan, the governor said that his statement was not a call for violence.
He explained that When the governor appeared on national television, ‘he made comments every patriot can understand.

“He stood up for Nigeria’s dignity in the wake of those who would traduce their country and reduce it to the status of a colony in their vain quest for power.

“The video of his comments is in circulation. Any fair-minded person with modest familiarity with the English language and unimpaired comprehension can understand it. It does not contain any call for violence.

“What it is a powerful defense of sovereignty. Are some sections of our political class implying that they will acquiesce in or collaborate with foreign intervention in our country?”

Mr. Aruwan noted that a country will defend itself against needless intervention is the kind of statement you expect to hear from a patriot. It is not a call for violence. Warning about the consequences of meddling in another country’s affairs is legitimate.

“Non-interference in the affairs of other countries is a basic principle of international law. Threatening to intervene in another country implies the use of force. Those who are basing their electoral calculations on foreign intervention need to be discouraged. Only the lawful votes of the Nigerian people should make or unmake governments”.

He added that the governor’s comment is a call for vigilance and clear notice that other countries should not mistake the supine posture of the opposition for national weakness.

He also added that the governor is standing firmly against those trying to divide Nigerians on ethnic and religious lines, and is opposed to violence but firmly committed to peace and harmony.
https://www.channelstv.com/2019/02/06/elections-el-rufai-denies-calling-for-violence-in-his-comments-about-foreign-interference/

A team of European Union election observers on Wednesday reacted to a statement by Governor Nasir El-Rufai that Nigerian forces would kill any foreign soldiers who intervene in Nigeria’s elections.

The EU team said the threat would not deter it from observing the general elections set to hold on February 16 and March 2.

The team, however, said it would continue to review its security arrangements before, during and after the elections.

“We are aware of the comments by the Governor of Kaduna about non-interference by foreigners during a talk show on the elections Tuesday 5 February.

“The EU only deploys an election observation mission when it is invited to do so by the authorities of a country. The EU has been invited to observe all of the general elections in Nigeria since 1999. Thus this is the sixth time the EU is observing elections in Nigeria.

“The Independent National Electoral Commission invited the EU to deploy an observation mission for the 2019 general elections.

“EU election observation missions give commentary and analysis, and make recommendations about the electoral process. EU election observation missions are impartial, do not interfere in the electoral process, and operate according to a strict code of conduct.

“While the security of EU observers is of paramount importance, and will remain under constant review, EU observers will continue their work across the country in the run-up to – and beyond – the 16 February elections.

“For the last month the mission’s team in Abuja, as well as 40 long-term observers across the country, have followed the elections. We have met with a wide range of candidates, parties, election officials, security agencies, and civil society organisations, and have enjoyed good cooperation at federal and state levels.

“The mission looks at all aspects of the election, including the campaign tone, the transparency of the election administration, the neutrality of security forces, and the independence of the judiciary,” the statement by the team’s Sarah Fradgley read in full.

Mr El-Rufai’s controversial comments were made during an appearance on Nigerian Television Authority Tuesday night.

“Those that are calling for anyone to come and intervene in Nigeria, we are waiting for the person that would come and intervene, they would go back in body bags,” Mr El-Rufai said.

The governor argued that Nigeria’s sovereignty was sacrosanct and the country also respects other nation’s sovereignty. He said Nigeria only intervened militarily in other countries (Liberia and Sierra Leone) when it had international mandate to do so. In another statement on Wednesday, Mr El-Rufai tried to clarify his statement saying he was only trying to vigorously defend Nigeria’s territory and did not call for violence against foreign countries.

The governor’s statement has been criticised by many Nigerians, and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party mentioned it as a reason for threatening to pull out of a peace accord.

Last month, presidential spokesperson Garba Shehu said Nigeria would raise its forces against any military intervention. Mr Shehu stated this after the United States, United Kingdom and the EU criticised the unconstitutional suspension of Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/310785-just-in-european-union-monitors-react-to-el-rufais-statement-on-foreign-intervention.html

zurich1010:
Atiku don buy market. Nnamdi Kanu will present undisputable proof next Saturday that he is a Cameroonian. For Atiku to respond this sharp sharp shows he is hiding something.

A negligent part of Adamawa State was once part of Cameroon before the defeat of Germany in the First and Second Wars and the taking over of those territories by France and Britain through the trusteeship council of the UN, but they declined to rejoin their Cameroonian brothers at independence after a referendum to that effect was effected by Nigeria and decided to become permanently a part of Nigeria.

Walter Onnoghen, the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), has explained the sources of the foreign currencies deposited in his domiciliary accounts.

Onnoghen was suspended by President Muhammadu Buhari on a directive by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), before whom Onnoghen is standing trial over allegations of the fraudulent declaration of assets.

According to Sun newspaper, in a ‘Cautionary Statement Form’ filed at the Department of Intelligence Investigation and Monitoring, Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), in Abuja, Onnoghen said the deposits in his dollar account were from trading in foreign exchange (forex), AGRICODE, while other investment returns were from proceeds of his investments.

This was contained in a voluntary statement he made at CCB.

In the statement, he specifically explained that “the deposits made in my US Dollar account No. 87000106250 with STD. Chartered Bank of $10,000 at different intervals of June 28, 2011 were sourced partly from my reserve and saving from my estacodes, including medical expenses.

“The same applies to my deposit of July 28, 2011, of $10,000 twice. It is important to state that prior to my opening the US dollar account, I had foreign currency, which I kept at home, due to the fact that there existed a government that proscribed the operation of foreign currency account by public officers including judicial officers.

“It was when I got to know that the policy had changed that I had to open the said account. Upon opening the account, I was made to understand that I cannot pay in more than $10,000 at a time and per payment slip. I cannot remember the total amount I had on reserve at the time, but it spread from my practice days as a private legal practitioner from 1979 to 1989.

“Some of the deposits are a result of forex trading, AGRICODE, and other investment returns were from proceeds of my investments into them. The withdrawals in the account are partly to pay children’s fees, upkeep abroad and further investments. My British pound and euro accounts with Chartered Standard Bank are savings accounts.

“In the January 1, 2019 document, the suspended jurist, who wrote his statement on January 11, 2019, between 12:30pm to 1: 45pm added: 'I, Walter S. N. Onnoghen, of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, hereby, voluntarily depose to the statement averred herein, knowing that whatever I write or state may be tendered against me as evidence in court'.

“I also volunteer to state that the statement was not taken in evidence from me under duress but after the administering officer had explained and made known the details of the allegations against me.”

In his response to allegations of non-declaration of his assets, Justice Onnoghen added: “My asset declaration for numbers. SCN000014 and SCN.0000 5 were declared on the same day, December 14, 2016, because I forgot to make a declaration of May 2005 of my assets after the expiration of my 2005 declaration in 2009.

“Following my appointment as acting Chief Justice of Nigeria in November 2016, the need to declare my assets anew made me realise the mistake and then did the declarations to cover the period in default.

“I did not include my Standard Chartered Bank Account in SCN. 000014 because I believed they were not opened during the period covered by the declaration.

“I did not make a fresh declaration of asset after my substantive appointment as CJN because I was under the impression that my SCN. 000015 was to cover the period of four years; which includes my leave as CJN.”

Meanwhile, the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) will resume sitting on the matter on February 4, 2019.

http://saharareporters.com/2019/02/01/onnoghen-explains-sources-foreign-deposits-his-accounts

Real Reasons Why The Code Of Conduct Tribunal Lacks Jurisdiction To Try The CJN In The Present Circumstances By:


Word on the street is that the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Honourable Justice Walter Onnoghen admitted guilt to the Code of Conduct investigators and tried to excuse it by pleading mistake.

The next line of argument is that ignorance of the law is not an excuse. I heard it from a layman like Fisayo Soyombo who said that the Honourable Chief Justice of Nigeria has already been convicted in the court of public opinion. Then I heard it from Prof. Oyebode on national television and then from a radical young lawyer I admire so much Mr. Umar Sa’ad. The question really is who is ignorant of the law?

According to the reports in the news, Chief Justice Onnoghen was visited by operatives of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) on 10/1/19 and he admitted in writing that a Standard Chartered Bank Account declared by him in 2016 for the first time was opened sometime in 2011. Going by a strict interpretation of Section 15 of the Code of Conduct Act it ought to have been declared at least 4 years before in 2012 or thereabouts, it is implied. It is this admission in writing that emboldened the CCB and Attorney General in filing charges to file an application for the CJN to resign from office together with the charge. I don’t know how a court can grant a request for a defendant to resign. Maybe it is the defendant that will grant the prayers of the prosecutor? But that is by the way side.


The real question is this; did the CJN’s admission prove that he is guilty of a crime? The law is that he is not guilty of anything and in fact under the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act his admission in writing rather than being proof of guilt is in fact a defence – perhaps, the strongest possible defence under the law. Yes, you heard me right!

The Chief Justice’s hasty investigation and botched arraignment made his traducers overlook the law. They were in a hurry to bag their prey, but they got the wrong one. Speed is nothing if you are travelling in the wrong direction. Especially if you are travelling in the opposite direction to the law.

On the 9th of January 2019 the Code of Conduct Bureau received a petition from President Buhari’s sidekick and former party publicity secretary, one Dennis Aghanye. The CCB investigated the petition on the 10th of January 2019 and charged the Chief Justice of Nigeria to the Code of Conduct Tribunal on the 11th. Not to be outdone the CCT fixed the arraignment for the very next working day, the 14th of January 2019. Talk of a rush to an extrajudicial lynching!

I submit that the there is absolutely no basis in law for the charge before the CCT.

Section 3 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, Chapter C15, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 provides as follows;

The functions of the Bureau shall be to –

Receive assets declarations by public officers in accordance with the provisions of this Act;Examine the assets declarations and ensure that they comply with the requirements of this Act and of any laws for the time being in force;Take and retain custody of such asset declarations; andReceive complaints about non-compliance with or breach of this Act and where the Bureau considers it necessary to do so, refer such complaints to the Code of Conduct Tribunal established by Section 20 of this Act in accordance with the provisions of sections 20 to 25 of this Act;

Provided that where the person concerned makes a written admission of such breach or non-compliance, no reference to the Tribunal shall be necessary.

Lawyers know what a proviso is. That last part of the section where it says, “provided that where…” is a proviso in law. You can call it a condition precedent or an exception, as the case may be. Black’s Law Dictionary says a proviso is (1) a limitation, condition or stipulation upon whose compliance a legal or formal document’s validity or application may depend. (2) in drafting, a provision that begins with the words provided that and supplies a condition, exception or addition.

If you look at entire Act, you would see that Section 3(d) is the only provision that gives the CCB power to refer cases of investigation to the CCT. And if you look closer, you would also see that the power of the Bureau to refer a person under investigation to the Tribunal for trial is subject to the proviso. But what the proviso clearly says is that once the person under investigation makes a written admission of the breach or non-compliance of which he is accused, the Bureau no longer has power to refer the matter to the Tribunal. The word used is SHALL, a word which lawyers know is mandatory and cannot be interpreted as permissive in this context.

So when commentators like Prof. Oyebode gloat on prime time television that the CJN admitted non-compliance and thereby he finished himself. You can now see why he is the CJN and they are not!

Too many lawyers have started thinking like President Buhari – that you can select what part of the law you want to apply depending on whether your friends or your enemy is concerned.

There are at least three implications of the proviso to Section 3 of the Code of Conduct Act I want to draw attention to. First, that the Bureau has no power to refer the CJN or any person to the tribunal for trial if indeed such a person has admitted to certain non-compliance in writing. Second, without the Bureau’s reference/referral the Tribunal has no jurisdiction to try the CJN for any act of non-compliance. If you look at the legislative scheme, you would notice that there is no independent power of the Tribunal to originate cases. That is to say all cases must come from the Bureau on the condition that the person sought to be tried has denied the non-compliance or breach of the law. Finally, it means that the Bureau failed in its responsibilities to act in line with the provisions of the Act only and violated Section 5 of the Act which obligates a public officer not to allow conflict between his personal interests and his duties and responsibilities.

By virtue of Section 24(2) only the Attorney General of the Federation or his delegate can prosecute. Thus the Bureau’s power of reference can only be exercised through the office of the Attorney General. My question is did the CCB or the Attorney General read the proviso to Section 3(d). it is the same Attorney General that has now instructed the NFIU to freeze the CJN’s accounts. Under what law?

It is clear that the true intention of the Code of Conduct Act is to enforce disclosure of the assets of public officers. It does not only punish false disclosure and non-disclosure it positively rewards truthfully disclosure even if done late. It is thus clear that Section 3 overrides Section 15 of the Act.

Section 15 of the Act provides,

A public officer shall, within fifteen months after the coming into force of this Act or immediately after taking office and thereafter –At the end of every four years;At the end of his term of office; andIn the case of a serving officer, within 30 days of the receipt of the form from the Bureau or at such other intervals as Bureau may specify

Submit to the Bureau a written declaration in the Form prescribed in the First Schedule to this Act or, in such form as the Bureau may, from time to time, specify all his properties, assets and liabilities and those of his spouse or unmarried children under the age of twenty one years.

It is this section that is relied upon to say that the CJN ought to have declared his Standard Chartered Account opened in 2011 at least in 2012 and hence his admission that he did not do so until 2016 is proof that he breached the Act.

Assuming that his non-declaration in 2012 is a breach of the Act, the proviso to Section 3(d) provides that if he admits as much in writing, the Bureau SHALL not refer his case to the Tribunal.

What the CCB and Attorney General of Federation has done is to divorce Section 15 from Section 3 and treat the categories of offences created by Section 15 as strict liability offences. I submit that it is impossible to do so without doing violence to the law, unless an exception can be found to the proviso to Section 3(d).

By standing the law on its head, the CCB and the Attorney General maybe encouraging public officers to break the law. A public officer who declares an asset after the due date (going by Section 15) instead of making an additional declaration and admitting in writing this non-compliance, will be encouraged to retrieve his early declaration and retrospectively declare.

Anyone familiar with the process of filing assets declaration forms, know that it is signed before a high court judge. A corrupt senior judge who makes a mistake would have retrieved the earlier one and destroyed it and commissioned another one. Which high court judge would not jump at the opportunity to be of assistance to MiLord, the Chief Justice of Nigeria? If the CJN had done this in 2016 when he realized his error and removed the earlier ones, no one would have embarrassed him today. But he did the right thing.

Section 3(b) of the Act says the Bureau’s functions include examining the assets declarations and ensuring they comply with the requirements of law. Read together with the proviso, it follows that if in the course of examining the assets declaration forms the Bureau finds any lapse it can draw the attention of the declarant to the fact and if he admits in writing that the observation is true, that is the end of the matter. That was how the law was meant to function.

Until President Buhari came along, that is. Nowadays, those parts of the law which are exculpatory are ignored and the entire legislative scheme distorted. Isn’t it interesting that we have yet to see a single serious anti-corruption legislation made by the Buhari Presidency? Maybe they will do something before May 29, 2019.

The essence of the Code of Conduct Act is to ensure that public officers declare their assets and not to punish them for doing so (even if late, since that is a non-compliance with the time frame requirements). The proviso to Section 3 is a breakwater that the Bureau cannot pass over, unless the person being investigated denies the act of non-compliance. Section 15(2) buttresses that point, when it provides that “any statement in any declaration that is found to be false by any authority or person authorized in that that behalf to verify it, shall be deemed to be a breach of this Act.”

For a statement in a declaration to be actionable it must have been found to be false by the authority or person authorized to verify it. In other words, after the person has been given opportunity to deny or admit and he denies, the verifying authority (the Bureau) can investigate and prove it was false. It is in such cases and such cases alone that the person is referred to the Tribunal. However in cases like the CJN’s where he has admitted his non-compliance since 2016 the Bureau was wrong to refer his case to the Tribunal.

Why then did the CCB overstep its boundaries in the face of the clear provisions of the law? Politics.

Mr Dennis Aghanya who wrote the petition said it all, in his petition to the Bureau referenced the forthcoming elections and said we are only 30-something days away from the general elections in which the CJN will play an important role. The motive was political. It was a two way gamble, on the one hand if the CJN is stampeded into resigning, he would be removed from office and whoever takes over after him would be made more pliable by the climate of fear created by this unusual event. The biggest beneficiary of such a seismic event would be the sitting President. If on the other hand the CJN refuses to resign but chooses to fight on in court, the Buhari media octopus can then pillory him all over the place. This would impede the smooth functioning of the judicial arm. Every act whether administrative or judicial that he performs as Chief Justice of Nigeria would be considered fair game. In the event that an election petition comes to the Supreme Court and the judicial outcome is not in favour of President Buhari or his party, we are likely to witness massive protests or other acts which will imperil national security.

Having acted in ignorance of the law or in bad faith or both, the entire Bureau ought to resign. The Attorney General who is saddled with the task of commencing prosecutions but did not bother to read the law and proceeded with haste to institute proceedings should equally fall on his dagger. But then, am being carried away, this is Naija. They will not.

Emmanuel Jakpa, a legal practitioner wrote in from Warri. He can be reached on japsmanuel@gmail.com

I love cooking too

The Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Abubakar Rashid has urged members of the public to disregard any ranking purportedly published by the commission.

Abubakar who gave an address at the 3rd Combined Convocation of the Bingham University, Karu in Nasarawa State, describes the claims as “simply fake.”

He said the Commission had not carried out ranking of Nigerian universities in the past 14 years.

“The purported ranking published in the conventional and social media is false, fake and not from the NUC. It is meant to deceive members of the public and should be disregarded,’’ he said.

He mentioned that the NUC would soon carry out the ranking of the universities.

Abubakar commended the proprietor of the institution, ECWA Church, for landslide achievement in sustaining

The convocation reportedly saw 33 out of the 676 graduates bag a first class.

https://www.ripplesnigeria.com/nuc-says-it-has-not-done-ranking-of-any-nigerian-universities-in-14-years/

[quote author=1Sharon post=74901086]Into the fire you go[/quote