OYO State Governor Seyi Makinde has insisted that the Federal Government’s security apparatus must duly inform states before carrying out any covert operation.
The governor said this on Wednesday in reaction to the recent crisis that rocked Igangan and its environs in Ibarapa North Local Government of the state.
Some operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) had arrested suspected smugglers in the community, leading to a face-off between the operatives and the residents who mistook the operatives for the belligerent herdsmen and resisted the arrest.
The incident led to the death of the coordinator of Amotekun in Ibarapa Central Zone and two other people.
Reacting, Makinde noted that the deaths would have been avoided if the state had been carried along in the operation.
He said that the state would not release some guns seized from operatives of the NCS during the operation until it got an audience from the Federal Government.
“The Igangan incident, some days ago, was only falsified by some people who were saying that Fulani herdsmen had invaded Igangan again. The truth is actually about the NCS and smugglers. They know each other,” he said.
“Customs officials were accused to have entered Igangan, which is not a border town. But we are working with Federal authorities and they have arrested most of them. The gun that was collected is still with us. I said I won’t release it until I get the attention of the federal authorities.
“In the Constitution of Nigeria, Oyo State is a federating unit. We are not saying federal agencies should not carry out their operations here. But they must tell us; they must inform us. They may not disclose the details of the operation to us, but we must know about it.
“If we had known about the operation, we would have pre-informed the security detail in the town and those who died could have been alive. The Amotekun coordinator that died in Igboora would have still been alive today.”
The governor also berated the Customs officials for also invading the town with unidentified vehicles, knowing the volatile security situation in the area.
He pleaded with residents of the area to shun misinformation, stressing that tackling insecurity in the state was a collective responsibility.
Speaking further, the governor claimed that recent data indicated an improved security situation in the state, following various security measures the government had taken.
Makinde said part of the measures was the instruction to local government chairmen to involve traditional rulers and other voluntary residents in policing their areas.
According to him, each local government is to spend N10 million monthly on this security arrangement.
He explained that the initiative amounted to spending N330 million in the 33 local government areas, besides other efforts the state government had put in place to tighten security.
THE United States special forces under the presidency of Donald Trump almost invaded Nigeria, a new book authored by two Washington Post reporters has claimed.
The book, ‘I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump’s Catastrophic Final Year by authors Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker,’ detailed how the special forces, which included the dreaded navy’s SEAL Team 6, descended upon Nigeria in an effort to rescue Philip Walton, a 27-year old son of an American missionary, who had been kidnapped at his home by gunmen in the Niger Republic and brought to Niger State.
Trump single-handedly approved the mission without consulting with his secretary of state, national security adviser and defence secretary, which according to the book, were not in town.
The operation had to be shortly paused after it was discovered that a White House aide, Kash Patel, had been mistaken in his assertion that Nigeria’s government had given approval or even been warned about the mission to rescue the young man who was being held in a remote compound in Niger State.
Patel, according to the book, was not in a role where it was his job to get in contact with foreign governments to notify them of operations in their territory.
In the ensuing confusion, Patel reportedly ‘assured’ senior officials involved in the process that Nigeria’s government had been notified.
“The mission had to be paused until the Nigerian government signed off. American forces had come very close to a technical invasion of a foreign country,” the authors wrote.
The operation only resumed after permission was secured from the Nigerian government.
The rescue mission, carried out successfully last October, led to the death of six persons, according to a statement from the Pentagon.
Nigerian Minister of Defence Bashir Salihi Magashi told newsmen that the operation was not without the full cooperation of the US. He dismissed the invasion rumours by the US.
COURT hearing on the extradition of Sunday Adeyemo, also known as Sunday Igboho, holds today in the Republic of Benin.
Igboho’s Spokesperson Olayomi Koiki revealed this during a live update in the early hours of Thursday.
Koiki noted that the hearing would allow the self-acclaimed Yoruba activist to present his case against his extradition to Nigeria.
“I can confirm, he will have the opportunity to be heard at the Benin Republic court, they respect international law. It will be held today (Thursday) by God’s grace,” he said.
“The sitting will be held at 10 am in the morning at the Benin Republic court.
“The court will determine the fate of the extradition and we will also have the opportunity to present our case especially on the personality of Igboho.
“We know the magnitude of what the Nigerian government is trying to do if they try to get hold of Igboho but they will fail, by God’s grace
“Their intention was to capture him (Igboho), but God fought for him.”
The hearing had earlier been slated for Wednesday but was postponed till today following the failure of the Beninoise authorities to bring him to court.
Igboho, who had been declared wanted by the State Security Service (SSS), was arrested in Cotonou by Benin Republic’s security forces while trying to flee to Germany on Monday.
Socio-political leaders from the South-West region, who shared his secessionist ideas, have vowed to resist and stop his extradition to Nigeria.
His supporters protested to demand his unconditional release by his supporters in Ibadan on Wednesday.
THE National Hospital, Abuja, has detained an internally displaced person (IDP) – a tuberculosis patient – for at least one month over his inability to pay his medical bills.
The 31-year-old patient, Kabiru Ali, owes the hospital nearly one-million-naira, the hospital said.
His relations claimed the hospital had detained him since February. The Public Relations Officer of the hospital Tayo Hastrupp told our reporter that the hospital had kept him for only one month.
Despite being treated and scheduled for discharge, Ali is still on oxygen at the hospital.
He is among other male patients at the ward where the hospital keeps him.
An IDP, who claimed to be the coordinator of the health of other IDPs in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Idris Halilu said: “The IDPs coming here to visit him are tired because of the cost of transportation.
Halilu
“I wonder in the 21st century, an agency of government detains a human being, and they don’t care. They know that this human being is an IDP who has been ejected from his comfort zone by insurgents. They expect him to feed, have breakfast, lunch and dinner.
“If I don’t bring food for him, except patients help him, he will not eat. I’m talking of something that is now 77 days.”
The Nigerian government recommends that tuberculosis, otherwise called TB, be diagnosed and treated free in all public health facilities.
Director and National Coordinator of the National Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Buruli Ulcer Control Programme at the Federal Ministry of Health Chukwuma Anyaike confirmed the government position while speaking to The ICIR.
But a TB expert told our reporter that though treatment is free for the disease, patients could receive treatment for other conditions that arise from or are related to TB.
“Somebody may have TB and have other co-morbidities or other co-infections that they may not be aware of. Sometimes, the patient may tell you something, but he may not give you the details. I can tell you, most of the time; many TB patients always have one or two other co-infections or co-morbidities.
“TB treatment does not require oxygen. Oxygen is costly. Even in public hospitals, you have to buy your oxygen. You can see the twist. It is COVID-19 treatment that requires the use of oxygen, not TB treatment.”
The expert, who pleaded anonymity, said placing Ali on oxygen would make him pay for it because “oxygen is very costly, especially when a patient is on it for many days.
Hastrupp, however, countered him on the use of oxygen for patients. He said health facilities could place patients suffering from any disease and in critical condition on oxygen.
Ali fled from Boko Haram in Borno, lived as an IDP in Abuja
Ali fled his home town of Gworza in Borno State, in 2014, following increased bombardments by the Boko Haram insurgents that have devastated many parts of the North-East.
A section of the IDP Camp at Durumi, Abuja Credit: Marcus Fatunmole/The ICIR
Single and jobless, the patient had since been living on the goodwill of people and organisations at the Durumi Camp at Area One, Abuja, where he lives with thousands of other IDPs.
His parents and siblings are in Borno State, the epicentre of insurgency in Nigeria.
Halilu said the IDP was at the National Hospital for treatment last year December. The hospital treated and discharged him when he had not completed his treatment, he claimed.
He said his health was failing because of the stress he faced to secure Ali’s release.
For the first time in his lifetime, he said he was suffering from high blood pressure over Ali’s travails.
Halilu explained that the patient would eat once or twice daily since the hospital detained him, and he must bring the food to the patient or send another IDP to the facility before the patient could eat.
Our reporter saw the patient on the hospital bed on July 13. He was on oxygen and could not speak.
Halilu said Ali had been fine earlier but relapsed because he was brooding over his detention. “He’s been thinking for many days. If we don’t bring food for him, he will not eat. Though he was doing nothing at the IDP camp, he lived as a free man. But here, he’s under arrest. He cannot go out to see anyone. He lives under strict protection. The hospital management thinks he can run away if the staff allow him to move around freely.”
He said he believed the hospital was supposed to treat the patient free for TB.
Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster and Social Management, Sadiya-Farouk
Halilu claimed he had written to the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally-Displaced Persons about the patient’s condition, without any response.
Halilu and the National Hospital said the commission was supposed to pay the medical bills of IDPs.
But the commission showed no interest in footing Ali’s bill.
Our reporter met the Director-General, Resettlement and Duration Solution of the commission Musa Kangiwa who claimed he was unaware of the issue because the commission had just deployed him to his new office.
He took the details of the matter and promised to get back to The ICIR.
Seven days after his promise, he said the commission’s management had not decided over the matter.
“I forwarded the issue at the meeting, but unfortunately, we were to reconvene on Friday. The meeting could not hold because of Sallah (which Muslims would celebrate the following Tuesday). I am now out of town for Sallah. I have already travelled out. When we come back, we will reconvene and make a decision.”
Haliru presents fake bills he allegedly paid to National Hospital
Halilu boasted he had made payments to National Hospital on behalf of the patient. He also vowed to submit the receipts of the payments, but he failed to do so.
He only presented some documents that appeared like bills from the hospital, including some statements he wrote with a pen.
One of the papers that Haliru presented as bill to The ICIR
He had said of the hospital bill: “The bill indicates how much he was to pay. Not less than N270,000 was paid by us. Another one, about N160,000 was paid. There is an outstanding bill of about N365,000.”
He said it was difficult for the IDPs to cough out the remaining bill to secure the detainee’s release.
According to him, 80 per cent of IDPs at the camp were not working.
Speaking with our reporter, Public Relations Officer of the hospital Tayo Hastrupp said the hospital was holding Ali because his relations and the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons refused to pay his bill.
Hastrupp said Halilu lied that he paid a dime to the hospital on behalf of the patient.
“Halilu should appreciate what we have done for him. He didn’t pay a dime. His (patient’s) bill is close to one million Naira. I just wrote today that what could the hospital do since he could not pay? The Refugee Commission refused to pay for IDP. We said we would release him. Let him go. We will release him today or tomorrow since he cannot pay and the Refugee Commission could not pay, we will waive that bill of about one million, and we will pay the liability. What can we do?
Ali’s bill allegedly by National Hospital
“Anyone that says we detain him is a liar and not telling the truth,” Hastrupp said.
He said Halilu could not face him to make his claims.
He accused Halilu of bringing patients “from everywhere, even on the road.”
Hastrupp explained further that the receipts that Halilu showed the reporter were fake.
Our reporter sought to know if the patient was fine to go home since he was on oxygen. He responded: “He’s not too fine now. He’s stable. He can go home.”
He also admitted that Ali’s family and other patients at the hospital were feeding him.
TB at Durumi IDP Camp
Ali was the third person diagnosed with TB at the Durumi Camp, Halilu told our reporter.
One of the patients returned to the North while the other got healed miraculously, he alleged.
According to him, there have been medical outreaches at the camp by governmental and non-governmental organizations.
He said IDPs were falling sick often because of the condition in which they lived.
Our reporter went to the camp and observed that it was too dirty for humans to live in.
There were heaps of garbage in every corner of the camp, and dirt littered most of its make-shift structures.
Apart from the heaps, many make-shift homes at the camp have pit toilets covered with cellophane, causing some parts of the camp to stink.
In its fact sheet on TB, the World Health Organization notes that TB infects people fast in environments with poor ventilation.
National Hospital holds patient seven days after it promised his release
National Hospital, Abuja
Despite promising to release Ali, the patient was still at the National Hospital Monday evening.
Halilu told The ICIR on Sunday that the patient was still with the hospital, adding that he might not celebrate the annual Muslims feast, Eid-el-Kabir (Sallah), with other IDPs at the camp.
Hastrupp, who had pledged that the hospital would release the patient, told our reporter he could not confirm if the facility had released him.
He promised to check and call back within an hour. He never did.
The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) saysthere are over 2.9 million IDPs in the North-East.
Support for this report was provided by Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism with funding support from Free Press Unlimited.
THE All Progressives Congress (APC) has said the party will soon shock the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) when it announces its consensus candidate for the 2023 presidential elections.
APC Caretaker and Extra-ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) National Secretary John Akpanudoehede said this in a statement issued on Tuesday in reaction to a statement by the PDP accusing President Muhammadu Buhari of a self-succession plan in the 2023 presidential election.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, Akpanudoedehe, however, stressed that the party would not allow individual ambitions to derail the Buhari administration ahead of the 2023 presidential poll.
He said unlike the opposition PDP, the APC was a disciplined party, noting that the former was just being haunted by its past.
Akpanudoedehe recalled the third term agenda of the PDP while it was in power, pointing that the “APC would surprise it with the outcome of its planned congresses scheduled to commence on July 31.”
“After our congresses and the National Convention, we will shock them (PDP) by bringing a consensus and an agreeable candidate that will fly the flag of the party come 2023.
“APC has no third term agenda like PDP. What we are doing now is to stabilise the party and not allow individual ambitions to derail President Buhari’s administration,” he said.
PDP had accused President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC of plotting self-succession in 2023 following a remark by the presidency that the ruling party would not hand over power in 2023.
Buhari’s Spokesman Garba Shehu had charged the PDP and other opposition parties to forget about taking over power from Buhari in 2023.
Shehu said Nigerians who were firmly in support of Buhari would not allow PDP or other political parties to take over power.
Condemning the remark, PDP said Nigerians would not allow the APC to stay a day beyond May 29, 2023.
PDP argued that Garba’s statement explained why there had been a heavy onslaught against the country’s institution of democracy as well as the Electoral Act.
“Our party and indeed the majority of Nigerian across board and even across party lines caution President Buhari’s handlers to note that such plots cannot stand as it will be firmly resisted by the people” PDP’s statement stated in part.
“Shehu Garba should be bold enough to announce that President Buhari will be on the ballot for another term in 2023 and watch how Nigerians will respond.
“The 1999 Constitution (as amended) is clear on the tenure of office of the President and such cannot be extended under any guise or conditions whatsoever.
“It is imperative for Shehu Garba to note that Nigerians have been subjected to the worst forms of hardship under the Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) administration and will never allow anything that will keep this administration in office a day beyond May 29, 2023.”
ON Wednesday, residents of both Ekiti and Ondo states protested the abandonment of the federal highway linking the two states.
Some of the protesters, who were seen carrying various placards, alleged that the contractor, Dantata and Sawoe, had refused to commence work on the road 15 months after receiving the mobilisation fee for the N22b dualisation of the road.
Some of the protesters displaying placards
Some of the inscriptions read, “Too much of kidnapping, raping on Akure-Ado-Ekiti road,” “Governor Fayemi may not be too happy with the slowness of Akure-Ado-Ekiti road,” and “Revoke Akure-Ado-Ekiti road contract from Dantata and Sawoe.”
Others read, “Dantata and Sawoe are frustrating the effort of Mr. President on-road infrastructural development,” “Fix our roads, save our souls,” “After 15 months of mobilization Dantata and Sawoe company is nowhere to be found,” as well as “Too many killings and robberies on Akure-Ado-Ekiti road.”
Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Niyi Majofodu said the road had become a nightmare to residents of the Igoba axis and motorists plying the road.
“It is on record that killings, kidnappings, robbery, raping and terrible motor accident have become uncontrollable on the said road,” he said.
“We cannot afford to die in silence. We want to strongly appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR, to please look into this matter as a matter of urgency. We also express our displeasure at the manners in which Director General ( BPP) awarded the road.
“For instance, the Dualisation of Akure–Ado Ekiti road project awarded in 2020 by the President for Twenty-two billion, six hundred and sixty-three million, four hundred and fifty-one thousand, three hundred and three naira, sixty-one kobo (N22, 663,451,303.61) to Dantata & Sawoe Company with a reasonable amount of mobilization which was however abandoned by the said company.”
Another protester Biyi Poroye said the contractor’s attitude towards the project had become a huge concern, particularly as residents and motorists were going through agonies daily.
Josemaria Adeusi, senior special assistant on citizen engagement and grassroots to Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi, told newsmen that the contract should be revoked since the contractors could not show any evidence of work 15 months after the contract had been awarded.
Former Chairman of Akure North Local Government Rotimi Adeleye pleaded with the government to come to the aid of commuters plying the road.
“It is quite highly embarrassing and disgusting that nothing has been done. We are pleading with the government to come to our aid. Several lives have been lost on this road alongside several kidnappings,” he said.
IN what now appears to be a syndicate of Nigerian unemployment fraudsters, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies in the United States, have arrested three Nigerian nationals for allegedly stealing over $2.6 million in bogus unemployment insurance claims.
The suspects, identified as Quazeem Owolabi Adeyinka, Ayodeji Jonathan Sangode and Olamide Yusuf Bakare, were picked up last week at the end of a covert investigation through the help of ATM cameras, according to court documents filed by U.S. Department of Labour Special Agent John Collins, which was seen by The ICIR.
The suspects were said to have used an address located at 3217 75th Avenue in Hyattsville, Maryland, to defraud the state of California of over $1.2 million, with an attempted loss of more than $2.6 million.
“The investigation then learned that the SUBJECTS vacated the 75th Avenue Apartment on or around October 31, 2020, and at least one subject relocated to 3420 Toledo Terrace, Apt. 230, Hyattsville, Maryland (the “Toledo Terrace Apartment”), where UI fraud is suspected to have continued, this time against the state of Maryland,” the charge sheet read.
Ayodeji Sangode
Bank Of America’s ATM surveillance photo of Ayodeji Sangode obtained from 10200 Lake Arbor Way, Mitchellville, MD, on July 11, 2020.
Unemployment Insurance (UI) is a state-federal programme that provides monetary benefits to eligible lawful workers. Although state workforce agencies (SWAs) administer their respective UI programmes, they must do so in accordance with federal laws and regulations.
Generally, UI weekly benefit amounts are based on a percentage of earnings over a base period and the payments are intended to provide temporary financial assistance to lawful workers who are unemployed through no fault of their own.
Each state sets its own additional requirements for eligibility, benefit amounts, and length of time benefits can be paid.
Based on California Employment Development Department (EDD) records, over 200 individual UI applications were filed with claimants’ address at the 75th Avenue Apartment, and approximately 97 of the UI claims were approved by the EDD and funded with a total of about $1.2million in UI benefits.
Quazeem Adeyinka
Bank of America ‘s ATM surveillance photo of Quazeem Adeyinka at 7515 Annapolis road, Hyattsville, MD, on July 1, 2020.
“Based on the size of the apartment, the investigation has concluded that a high number of UI applications associated with this address is unreasonable, and thus an indicator of fraudulent activity,” the court document said.
After EDD accepts a UI claim, it transmits information via electronic wire to Bank of America (BofA). When receiving regular UI benefits, claimants must complete a Continued Claim Form (DE 4581) and certify every two weeks, under penalty of perjury, that they remain unemployed and eligible to receive UI benefits. The EDD authorises and deposits payment to the EBP debit card after it receives the Continued Claim Form.
BofA records show that 142 UI claim profiles using the 75th Avenue Apartment address issued a total of 175 prepaid cards from the states of Arizona, California, Maryland, and North Carolina. These cards received over $1.4 Million in UI benefit funds from at least four different state UI programmes (Arizona, California, Maryland and North Carolina).
According to prosecutors, these funds were withdrawn through purchases ($82,349), transfers ($181,954) and ATM cash withdrawals ($989,405) conducted in California, Florida, and Maryland.
Olamide Bakare
Bank of America’s ATM surveillance photo of Olamide Bakare at 10200 Lake Arbor Way, Mitchellville, MD, on July 15, 2020
Records from state workforce agencies obtained by the DOL-OIG show that the 75th Avenue Apartment was also used to file for UI claims in the states of Hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Texas, Washington, and West Virginia.
The latest arrest comes after FBI agents arrested and charged four Nigerians – Osakpamwan Henry Omoruyi, 36; Osaretin Godspower Omoruyi, 34; Mark Arome Okuo, 41, and Mike Oziegbe Amiegbe, 42, as part of a six-man gang for defrauding victims of up to $4 million in romance scams and pandemic unemployment assistance fraud.
On April 14, another Nigerian Charles Onus was arrested in San Francisco for his alleged participation in a scheme that stole nearly $1 million by hacking into a payroll processing company’s system to access user accounts and divert payroll to his prepaid debit cards.
In May, a former aide to Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State Abidemi Rufai was arrested for about $900, 000 unemployment scam and by June, prosecutors filled additional fraud charges against him, just as another Nigerian Chukwuemeka Onyegbula of the Pan Ocean Oil Corporation Nigeria Limited and Damilola Adepoju were also indicted for wire fraud and identity theft charges.
AN angry man caused a scene in a public bus in Austria when he harassed the Super Falcons and strongly criticised them for supporting and representing a ‘terrorist government,’ in what he later described as a protest.
The man who introduced himself as a Nigerian and former Julius Berger Football Team player, said he left the country because of corruption and was now suffering.
“I want to speak to you people, please. I’m also a Nigerian, I live in Vienna for so many years. You people are representing a terrorist organisation, a terrorist government. You Nigerian youths should be very ashamed of yourselves, every one of you here,” he said in a frustrated tone.
Insisting that the football players should know better, the man also claimed that over 10 million Nigerian youths were abroad doing nothing and averred that such could never happen in any European country.
When those on the bus tried calming him down, he threatened to call the police if they touched him, while raining curses in both English and Hausa languages.
“This is a democratic nation. This is not a third-world country. Go away! If you touch me, I will call the police on you. I’m living in Vienna and I pay my tax. The corruption in Nigeria brought me here and I’m here suffering,” the man said.
When one of the Falcons asked him what he had done to change the system, he responded by saying: “What I’m doing now, I’m doing it to change the system. I’m doing it to change you people who don’t know what it is to be a citizen.”
He also stated that he was recording the entire event and would be sure to post it online.
Reacting to the video that has gone viral, President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Amaju Pinnick has promised to ‘unmask’ the man in the video, adding that the Falcons did not deserve to be subjected to such harassment.
“That was a dastardly act by that fellow, and we’re not taking it lightly. The girls simply wanted to go on sightseeing, and there’s nothing wrong with that. They don’t deserve to be subjected to such a diatribe by a so-called fellow Nigerian,” the NFF president said.
“We’ll unmask the fellow and then take it from there,” Pinnick was quoted by Soccernet as saying.
DEPUTY Speaker of the House of Representatives Idris Wase rigged a voice vote conducted during the debate on adoption of electronic transmission of election results in the House on July 15.
A member of the House of Representatives Committee on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Solomon Bob made the allegation on a Channels Television breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily, on July 21.
Bob, a member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), spoke on issues surrounding the inclusion of a provision for electronic transmission of election results in the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, as well as the walk-out staged by PDP lawmakers after the proposed bill was passed by the House on July 16.
Following the presentation of the report of the House Committee on INEC, the clause-by-clause analysis of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill was considered at the Committee of the Whole during the sitting on July 15.
Wase presided over the sitting of the committee of the whole in his capacity as the deputy speaker.
The sitting nearly turned violent as those in support of electronic transmission of results, largely members of the PDP, clashed with mostly All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmakers who opposed the arrangement.
Speaking on Sunrise Daily, Bob noted that the ‘abuse of the use of the gavel’ by the deputy speaker was responsible for the chaotic scenes witnessed on the floor of the House during the debate on electronic transmission of election results on July 15.
Member of the House of Representatives Solomon Bob
After the rejection of a motion by an APC lawmaker for outright removal of electronic transmission of election results from the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, Deputy House Minority Leader Toby Okechukwu moved a counter motion to amend Section 52 of the bill to read “transmission of election results shall be done electronically,” a move which sought to make it compulsory for INEC to transmit election results through electronic means.
Bob explained that Wase, a member of the APC, rigged the outcome of the voice vote.
Although the supporters of the motion – the ‘ayes’ – were more and as such louder than those against, the ‘nays,’ the deputy speaker ruled in favour of the ‘nays.’
Giving an account of what happened, Bob said, “The trigger to the sequence of events that occurred on Thursday was an attempt by a member who moved a motion that we should not have anything at all to do with electronic transmission, which is ridiculous.
“He said we should be stuck with manual transmission which was the position of the ruling APC. The motion was roundly defeated.
“Another motion was moved, contrary to that earlier one moved by the APC member, that we should have it explicitly stated that results will only be by electronic transmission. Some said ‘no’ while some supported the motion. A voice vote was taken, it was against those who were against it. It was in favour of those who said it should be explicitly stated in the law that transmission will only be by electronic means.
“But we also saw a capricious use of the gavel by the presiding officer – the chairman of the whole, the deputy speaker. He ruled against the ‘ayes’ even though it was clear that the ‘ayes’ had won it.”
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Idris Wase of the All Progressives Congress (APC)
The motion was put to a second vote. They ‘ayes’ had it again but again, the deputy speaker ruled against the ‘ayes,’ Bob said.
“It was such an extraordinary and capricious use of the gavel. A motion for division was called, he ignored it. It was an extraordinary abuse of the position of a presiding officer.
“By our rules, if there is a disagreement between ‘ayes’ and ‘nays,’ you divide the House. But he refused, he practically ignored it. He denied that there was no submission at all. That was the reason behind the pandemonium in the House because a lot of things were heated up, members nearly came to fisticuffs but it was due to the audacity and the daring unlawfulness of the action taken by the man presiding and the near absence of decorum on the part of those who didn’t want anything to do with electronic transmission,” he added.
The lawmaker described the development as “unfortunate and very sad.”
Bob further explained that the walk-out staged by the PDP Minority Caucus after passage of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill on July 16 had nothing to do with the provisions of the proposed legislation.
The House passed the majority of the 158 clauses of the bill intact, including Section 52 (2) which provides that “INEC shall determine the mode of voting/transmission of election results.”
Section 52 (2) of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill passed by the House of Representatives read: “Voting at election and transmission of results in this Bill shall be in accordance with the procedure determined by the Commission.”
Bob noted that the provision was exactly what was in the report presented by the House Committee on INEC.
According to him, the PDP Reps staged the walk-out to protest against the attempt by the deputy speaker and some other members of the APC to subvert the wishes of Nigerians.
“What was passed was what we laid (before the House) regarding the vexatious Section 52(2). It was not so much a matter of what was passed by the House; it was the brazen attempt to bring something else that was different from what the people wanted.
“The House’s version (of the Electoral Act amendment bill) is that INEC could transmit results electronically. We vested the sole authority with INEC. But at some point, we had to leave because we felt that what was going on was a charade on the part of those who wanted something different from what Nigerians actually demand. So we had to leave,” Bob explained.
Provisions on electronic transmission in proposed amendments to Electoral Act infringes on INEC’s powers… SAN
Meanwhile, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Robert Emukperuo has said that the provisions on electronic transmission of election results proposed by the Senate and the House of Representatives in the Electoral Act Amendment Bill infringed on the powers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Emukperuo, who appeared on Sunrise Daily alongside Bob on July 21, observed that disparities in the versions of the amendment bill passed by the two chambers of the National Assembly necessitated a need for reconciliation to arrive at a harmonised version which could be passed into law.
But he pointed out that the sections that were proposed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on electronic transmission of results “appear to regulate the powers of INEC.”
The provisions proposed by the House of Representatives gives sole discretion on electronic transmission of results to INEC while the Senate threw in some caveat including NCC intervention and the approval by the National Assembly.
Pointing to provisions of the 1999 Constitution, particularly paragraph 15 of the Third Schedule which said that INEC should have the powers to organise, undertake and supervise elections, Emukperuo argued that the commission had constitutional powers.
“So the real question is how the National Assembly is trying to regulate how INEC organises and supervises elections. Is that not more or less encroaching into the constitutional powers of INEC? The constitution has given INEC the powers to organise elections, to undertake it and supervise it subject to its own directions. That throws up a very serious constitutional question. If any of these provisions, either of the Senate or that of the House is passed, can it not be said to be an infraction on the constitutional powers of INEC,” he asked.
The lawyer further maintained that the reason the constitution gave INEC the powers to organise, undertake and supervise elections was to insulate it completely from any kind of interference.
Suggesting that the provisions on electronic transmission of results in the proposed amendments to the Electoral Act were unconstitutional, Emukperuo said, “An Act of the National Assembly that seeks to curtail or interfere with any powers given by the constitution generally speaking is regarded to be null and void. That is the perspective from which I think both chambers need to look at these provisions.”
SUPPORTERS of Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, on Wednesday, took to the streets to protest his arrest and detention in the Republic of Benin.
The protesters were seen gathered at the residence of the self-acclaimed Yoruba activist located in the Soka area of Ibadan, Oyo State capital, with various placards.
Graphic footage shared of the placards shared on Facebook and seen by The ICIR read, “Igboho is not a criminal”; “I stand with Igboho,” and so on.
“Help us ask Buhari and his people; what is the offence of Igboho? He asked Fulani herders killing and raping our people to leave; is that an offence? The federal government under Buhari knows where bandits and Boko Haram leaders are but they ignore them, preferring to use Nigeria resources to kidnap peace-loving people and put them in jail,” one of the protesters was heard saying.
“This government watched a northern cleric romancing bandits, visiting them in the forest but this government still claims not to know bandits whereaboutsm,” the protester further said.
“We call on our south-west governors and Yoruba monarchs to rise up and fight for the people that put them in position. It is not a crime if someone is asking for an end to oppression. The Federal Government is pushing too far in the way it is handling the issues of Igboho and Nnamdi Kanu,” the protester added.
Igboho, who had been declared wanted by the State Security Service (SSS), was arrested in Cotonou by Benin Republic’s security forces while trying to flee to Germany on Monday.
Socio-political leaders from the South-West region, who shared his secessionist ideals, have vowed to resist and stop his extradition to Nigeria.
