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FG Sets Up Committee To End Violence In Niger Delta

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FG Sets Up Committee To End Violence In Niger Delta

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The Nigerian government has set up a committee saddled with the responsibility of coming up with solutions that will bring an end to the bombing of pipelines and the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the Niger Delta region.

The committee known as the Niger Delta Riverine Protection Programme, will be coordinated by Tikari Danjuma,

Addressing the media in Abuja, on Thursday, Danjuma explained that his committee which is being supervised by the Office of the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs in liaison with the office of the National Security Adviser, is saddled with the responsibility of working with critical stakeholders to recover illegal weapons, curtail the spate of bombings and the operation of illegal refineries in the Niger Delta region.

He pointed out that the programme is also part of government’s efforts to address several years of neglect of the Niger-Delta region as well as to check the spate of violence in the region.

“The programme is aimed at driving further the peace process initiated by the federal government,” Danjuma told pressmen.

“Part of the mandate of this programme is to recover illegal arms and ammunition in the region; ensure adequate protection of federal government assets in the region and curtail the incidence of illegal refineries in the region,” he added.

Danjuma  stressed that the development of the oil-rich Niger Delta region cannot be achieved in an atmosphere of lawlessness, violence and anarchy.

He reiterated government’s willingness to correct the ills of the past, adding that it was left for people of the region to fully cooperate with the government in order to make the region attain its full potential and guarantee a better future for generations yet unborn.

The coordinator added that his committee will be meeting with critical stakeholders in the region to unveil details of its programme.

He called on individuals and groups in the Niger Delta, especially those in possession of illegal arms to surrender such arms in the interest of the peace and stability of not only the region but Nigeria as a whole.

SAN, Judge Under EFCC Fire For Alleged Bribery

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SAN, Judge Under EFCC Fire For Alleged Bribery
Godwin Obla
Godwin Obla

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has commenced moves to remand a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Godwin Obla, for allegedly paying N5 million into the bank account of a Federal High Court judge, Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia.

Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia is one of the judges under investigation following the corruption allegations brought against some senior judges in the country.

She was being quizzed by the EFCC for allegedly receiving money from a senior lawyer through her bank account, but it was later discovered that Obla, a former EFCC prosecutor, was the one that paid in the said amount into the Judge’s account.

Obla has been in EFCC detention since Tuesday.

Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia had told investigators that the N5m was a deposit for a N40m property she sold to Obla in 2015, but the senior advocate denied having any transaction with the judge, saying that he was deceived into paying the money into her account.

According to an EFCC detective who spoke to the PUNCH newspaper: “The High Court judge had earlier told operatives during interrogation that the money was a part payment for a property she sold to the lawyer in Abuja for the sum of N40m sometime in 2015.

“But Obla’s response contradicted the judge’s position. The senior advocate told investigators that the money was meant for buying of building materials (iron rods) for a building he was putting up in Abuja and not for buying of any property.”

“Obla explained that in one of his trips to Lagos, he ran into the judge who had been a contemporary in university days and asked her where he could get very good building materials in Lagos.

“He said the judge gave him the name of someone who plies the trade. She provided the company’s name and the account number for the transaction. Obla said he paid the money and goods were supplied.”

The EFCC source however said that the senior lawyer could not provide the name or address of the trader from whom the building materials were purchased, nor the receipt of transaction and delivery evidence of the goods.

He added that the anti-graft agency was able to establish that the company which owned the said account belonged to Ofili-Ajumogobia and her children.

“The account number the N5m was paid into by the senior lawyer has been confirmed earlier to be a company belonging to the female judge and her children. The registered company, not known to be engaged in building materials or any viable business is suspected to be surreptitiously set up for the purpose of warehousing proceeds of gratification,” he added.

Nigeria To Boosts Security In The Gulf Of Guinea

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Nigeria To Boosts Security In The Gulf Of Guinea

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President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged Nigeria’s commitment to team up with other countries in order to strengthen maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea.

Presidential media aide, Femi Adesina quoted Buhari as making the pledge when he received the Executive Secretary of the Gulf of Guinea Commission, Florentina Ukonga, at State House, Abuja on Thursday.

According to Adesina, Buhari said that it was important that security along the region was strengthened because most of the crude oil stolen from Nigeria is transported through the Gulf of Guinea.

He said: “That region, between Senegal and Angola, affects our financial and physical security as a country. Nigeria will, therefore, meet all its obligations to the Gulf of Guinea Commission, and also encourage other member countries to do the same.”

“This administration will do its best to strengthen maritime security. The rejuvenation of the Gulf of Guinea Commission is vital, and Nigeria will participate more effectively because of the security implications,” Buhari added.

The Executive Secretary of the Gulf of Guinea Commission told the Nigerian President that Commission was established in 2001, with the mandate to tackle piracy, unregulated fishing, drugs and human trafficking and environmental pollution, among others.

The Commission, with headquarters in Luanda, Angola, also creates awareness among member states on the need to maintain appreciable security in their territorial waters.

“We have been giving the bad guys in maritime a run for their money,” the Executive Secretary said.

The Commission has eight countries as members from West and Central Africa, with an intention to admit more countries soon.

Chief Justice Of Nigeria Bows Out As Onnoghen Takes Over

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Chief Justice Of Nigeria Bows Out As Onnoghen Takes Over
President Buhari congratulating the new Acting CJN, Walter Onnoghen
President Buhari congratulating the new Acting CJN, Walter Onnoghen

Following the retirement of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mahmud Mohammed, after attaining the compulsory retirement age of 70, President Muhammadu Buhari has inaugurated the most senior Justice of the Supreme Court, Walter Onnoghen as the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria.

The Federal Judicial Service Commission had on Wednesday, October 5 recommended Justice Onnoghen to the National Judicial Council, NJC, for onward recommendation to President Buhari.

Onnoghen, who will be 66 years old by December 22, is a native of Biase Local government area of Cross Rivers State.

He obtained his first Law degree from the University of Ghana, Legon, in 1977, with a second Class Upper Division, and attended the Nigerian Law School, Lagos.

He was a former Cross River State high court Judge before he was appointed an appeal court judge In 1998, and subsequently appointed to the apex court in 2005.

Onnoghen is expected to be in acting capacity until his name is forwarded to the Senate for confirmation.

Bomb Scare In Abuja

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Bomb Scare In Abuja

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Tensions were high at the Jabi area of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, on Thursday after a parcel, suspected to be an Improvised Explosives Device, IED, was found under the Jabi bridge, near Shoprite shopping mall, Abuja.

Security agencies, including the Anti-Bomb Squad of the Nigerian Police, were notified and they quickly arrived the area and cordoned off the access road to the bridge, while motorists were directed to follow alternative routes.

The bomb disposal unit however discovered that the parcel was a container which was reportedly forgotten under the bridge by members of the FCT Water Board.

It was gathered that the situation had return to normal and the road which was earlier blocked has been reopened to motorists.

An eye witness – a petty trader around the Jabi axis – told journalists that the container was abandoned by men of the water board on Wednesday.

She said, “The police found out that it was not a bomb as speculated. What happened was that someone saw the food cooler and informed the Shoprite security guards about it and they called the police who blocked the road and checked the container for bomb, but nothing was found in it.”

The FCT Police Public Relations Officer, Anjuguri Manzah, when contacted said he would get clearance from superior authorities before he could comment on the matter.

EFCC Slams Fresh N26 Million Charge On Fani- Kayode 

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EFCC Slams Fresh N26 Million Charge On Fani- Kayode 
Femi Fani-Kayode
Femi Fani-Kayode

Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani Kayode, was on Thursday re-arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, before Justice John Tsoho of the Abuja Federal High Court, on a fresh money laundering charge.

The former campaign spokesman of former President Goodluck Jonathan was accused of collecting N26 million from former National Security Adviser, NSA, Sambo Dasuki without going through financial institutions as required under the Money Laundering Act.

He pleaded not guilty to the charge and was granted bail in the sum of N50 million and one surety in like sum, while the case was adjourned to December 14 for hearing.

It would be recalled that the EFCC had on Friday, October 21, re-arrested Fani-Kayode, after he stepped out of a courtroom at the Federal High Court in Lagos, where he is already standing trial.

He had earlier been arraigned alongside former Minister of Finance, Nenandi Usman and one Danjuma Yusuf on a 17-count charge of unlawful retention, unlawful use and unlawful payment of money to the tune of about N4.9 billion.

The EFCC said that the money was sourced from the office of the NSA, manned at the time by Sambo Dasuki, who is also undergoing corruption trail.

According to the anti-graft commission, the accused persons reasonably should have known that the money was proceeds of corruption.

Fani-Kayode and Nenadi Usman were each granted N150 million bail while the trial continued.

In October, security agencies had detained Fani-Kayode’s wife for allegedly attempting to withdraw money from one of her husband’s bank accounts which had been frozen by the EFCC.

Governor Ayodele Fayose of the Ekiti State, however intervened, by personally going to the police station and securing her release.

Senate Urges Review Of Residency Fee By Nigerians In Ghana

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Senate President, Bukola Saraki
Senate President, Bukola Saraki

Senate President Bukola Saraki, has called on his colleagues at the Ghanaian Parliament to review the $120 Residency Fee imposed on Nigerians living in that country.

Saraki made the appeal when a delegation of the Ghanaian Parliament paid him a courtesy visit at the National Assembly, Abuja.

In a statement issued by Chuks Okocha, Saraki’s Special Assistant on Print Media, the Senate President told the parliamentarians to revisit the issue as “things are hard” right now.

He said: “I am appealing to you my colleagues in the parliament in Ghana on the recent laws passed on Nigerians to pay a residency fee of $120.

“I am appealing that you review this law and take a second look at it again as things are hard. This recession is biting hard,” Saraki said.

He also commended the Ghanaian Parliament for supporting Nigeria to emerge as the Vice President for the West African Region in the just concluded  Inter-Parliamentary Union, IPU, conference in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Ghanaian delegation had requested that Lawmakers from Ghana be allowed to benefit from Nigeria’s National Institute of Legislative Studies, NILS, especially in areas of legislative drafting.

Saraki assured them that the National Assembly was willing and ready to render any assistance it could, adding that NILS was actually established for such purposes.

He further stated that NILS has been committed to promoting the duties of the National Assembly especially in enhancing the economic agenda of the National Assembly to bring Nigeria out of the current economic recession.

Leader of the Ghanaian delegation and Deputy Leader of the Ghanaian Parliament, described NILS as one of the main pillars to advance democracy in Ghana, while pledging the country’s commitment to enhancing and improving bilateral relationship between it and Nigeria.

Earlier this year, Ghana had formulated a policy which makes it compulsory for Nigerians and other immigrants that stayed in the country for a total of 90 days or more in a given year to register for a Non-citizen card at the cost of $120, an equivalent of about N19, 000.

Judge Okays Arraignment Of Supreme Court Registrar, Two Others

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Judge Okays Arraignment Of Supreme Court Registrar, Two Others

 

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Justice A. B. Mohammed of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Jabi, Abuja, has granted a request sent by the office of the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF to arraign the Chief Registrar, as well as two other officials of the Supreme Court, on a nine-count charge of corruption and diversion of about N2.2bn belonging to the court.

The office of the AGF had on November 3, 2016 instituted a lawsuit against Ahmed Saleh, the Supreme Court Registrar; Muhammed Sharif and Rilwanu Lawal, accusing them of receiving gratifications from private contractors providing services to the Supreme Court between 2009 and 2016.

They were scheduled to be arraigned before Justice Mohammed on Wednesday, but neither the accused persons nor their lawyers were present in court. It was learnt that the defendants were yet to be served with the charges as at Wednesday morning.

Consequently, the prosecuting counsel, Hajara Yusuf, asked for an adjournment to enable the prosecution to produce them in court.

“We were made to understand that the matter was assigned to this court just yesterday morning,” she said.

“We will be asking for an adjournment to enable us to produce the defendants in court.”

Justice Mohammed granted the prosecution’s request and adjourned the case to November 17for the arraignment of the accused.

The fraud allegations for which the Supreme Court officials are arraigned are said to have been part of discoveries made by operatives of the Department of State Services, DSS, during te raids on the residences of some judges in October.

Recall that two of the judges affected were Supreme Court judges.

The contractors from whom they allegedly collected gratification are Willysdave Limited, Welcon Nigeria Limited, Dean Musa Nigeria Limited, Ababia Ventures Limited and MBR Computers Limited.

S/African Parliament May Pass Vote Of No Confidence On Zuma

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S/African Parliament May Pass Vote Of No Confidence On Zuma
South African President, Jacob Zuma
South African President, Jacob Zuma

South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma will face a vote of no confidence in parliament on Thursday, as allegations of corruption mount against him.

The main opposition Democratic Alliance, DA, has tabled the motion, calling for President Zuma to be removed from office.

Leader of the party, Mmusi Maimane said in the statement in which he called for the vote of no confidence: “The choice between Jacob Zuma and South Africa is both simple and profound.

“President Zuma’s brand of corruption, economic mismanagement and lies can no longer continue to exist alongside the project of building a better South Africa for all.”

However, the motion is expected to be defeated after the governing African National Congress, ANC, ordered its members in the parliament to rally behind Zuma.

The ANC denounced the motion as “frivolous”, describing the corruption allegations against the President as “spurious”.

This is despite the fact that the party’s parliamentary chief whip and former chief whip have called for President Zuma to step down.

Zuma has been dogged by allegations of corruption for more than a decade, and has been under renewed pressure after an anti-corruption watchdog called for a judge-led inquiry to investigate claims that he let the wealthy Gupta family wield undue influence in his government.

The report of the investigation was later made public, after the president had tried to prevent it from getting to the media.

It made damning revelations against the president and the Gupta family but both parties have denied any wrongdoing.

Recall that earlier in the year, a South African Court had ruled that President Zuma should refund part of the money he took from government coffers to renovate his personal home in his hometown.

Also, the country’s Finance Minister, Pravin Gordhan, believed to be one of Zuma’s right hand men, was accused of corruption but the charges were controversially dropped in October.

Bakassi Strike Force Militant Group Surrenders

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Bakassi Strike Force Militant Group Surrenders

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One of the militant groups that have terrorized the Niger Delta region in recent times, Bakassi Strike Force, BSF, has surrendered some of its arms to the Nigerian Military authorities as a sign of its willingness to  surrender and quit militancy if the federal government addressed their concerns.

This was contained in a statement issued by the spokesman of the Joint Military Force in the Niger Delta, Olaolu Daudu, on Wednesday, in Yenagoa.

Daudu, a Lieutenant Colonel, stated that the government of Cross River State in conjunction with the State command of the Department of State Services, DSS, was working out the terms of the surrender.

He said: “Available information from Sector 4 in Cross River State indicates that Bakassi Strike Force (BSF) militants led by one Mr Benjamin Ene have expressed unreserved willingness to lay down their arms.

“They have contacted the Department of State Service in Cross River State through the State Government’s appointed rapporteur on amnesty to signify their readiness to hold talks on amnesty with the relevant authorities.”

He added that the militant group had turned in some of its weapons.

“To buttress this demonstration of goodwill, BSF turned in one General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) and an AK 47 rifle,” the Military spokesman stated.

“The Department of State Service representatives and representatives of the rapporteur have since recovered the arms as talks are ongoing on modalities to surrender their remaining arms,” Daudu said.

Leader of the group, Benjamin Ene, a.k.a ‘Humble Lion G1’ had in a video message on November 1 expressed the desire of his group to surrender to the Nigerian Authorities.

In the video message, the Militant leader said that his group was not out to vandalise National assets, but were only agitating for the wellbeing of his people in Bakassi, an area of Nigeria that was ceded to Cameroon.

Ene maintained that, unlike other militant groups, there was no evidence that the Bakassi Strike Force had destroyed any of Nigeria’s oil and gas infrastructure or molested innocent citizens.

Daudu, the JTF spokesman in his statement noted that the Acting Commander of the Operation, Kevin Aligbe, a Brigadier General applauded the move by the militant, insisting that the military has zero tolerance for militancy and related crimes in the Joint Operations Area.

Aligbe advised other militant groups to emulate the BSF and embrace the reconciliatory options open at both State and Federal levels.

The JTF spokesman further stated that troops of Sector 3, acting on intelligence report on Wednesday went after suspected sea robbers around Kumfari Community near Idama in Rivers State.

“During the encounter, one suspected sea robber was killed, two were wounded and seven others apprehended as one locally made pistol and machete were recovered,” he stated.

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