Celebrations by the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, following the withdrawal of the forgery case brought against them by the Federal Government, may be a little too premature, as there are indications that fresh charges would be brought against them, this time, individually.
The Vanguard newspaper quoted a top official of the Ministry of Justice as saying that the case was primarily withdrawn because the Nigeria Police Force was yet to conclude its investigation.
According to the source, thepolice have not even interviewed the defendants who were accused of forging the Senate Rules used in conducting the inauguration of the 8th NASS.
“You can see that under the Criminal Justice Act, the statement of the accused persons and all the witnesses are expected to be filed and it would have been wrong to have pressed ahead with the case when the police are yet to conclude their investigations,” the justice ministry source was quoted as saying.
“The federal government considered it appropriate to withdraw the case and conclude the investigation and attach both the statements by the accused and the witnesses before filing fresh charges against the suspects.
“We want to strengthen our position and present a solid case against the suspects as required under the Criminal Justice Administration Act,” the source added.
When contacted, the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, confirmed that a fresh charge would only be pressed against the suspects when the government was ready.
Asked when the government would be ready, he replied: “I will get back to you on the matter when we are ready.”
The federal Government had on Friday, September 7, withdrew the two-count charges of criminal conspiracy and forgery against Saraki, Ekweremadu and two others, saying that a similar suit was ongoing at a different court of coordinate jurisdiction.
The World Health Organisation, WHO, has said that a total $13.5 million will be needed to cater for the health needs of peole living in Internally Displaced Persons’ Camps in Borno State.
This was made known over the weekend at the presentation of emergency medical supplies which was intended to cater for 75,000 IDPs in Mafa and Dikwa camps, two of the 15 communities liberated by the Nigerian army.
Rex Mpazanje, leader of the World Health delegation said that the organisation “is committed to supporting the government of Borno state and other parts of Northeast Nigeria to continue to have access to health services including those in the hardest to access areas through the provision of emergency lifesaving medicines which currently are urgently needed.”
He said that the WHO has appealed for $13.5 million to support health interventions until the end of 2016 out of which only $2 million has been received, leaving a funding gap of 82%.
The medical supplies, comprising of emergency Health Kits, Malaria and Post-exposure prophylaxis kits, as well as drugs to treat 15,000 people for three months, are expected to be distributed to the health facilities in each of the camps and to mobile health teams.
Permanent Secretary of the Borno State Ministry of Health, Abubakar Hassan, who received the items on behalf of the state government, expressed his appreciation for the timely provision of the much needed medical supplies.
“Many of the IDP health facilities in the state are in need of such assistance and WHO’s assistance has therefore come in at the right time” he said.
Dikwa and Mafa camps were selected for the intervention following an assessment which showed high level of Malaria and Acute Respiratory Tract Infections in the camps.
The assessment also revealed that patients in the camps who were suffering from chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension were unable to access adequate Medicare.
Two officials of the Nigerian Army have been arrested by the Department of State Services, DSS, in connection with the kidnap of Margaret, wife of Godwin Emefefiele, the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, who was kidnapped on September 29 but was released less than 24 hours after.
Musa Maidabara, a Corporal with the 322 Artillery Regiment, and Edwin George attached to 371 Artillery Regiment in Maiduguri were arrested at different locations, with cash amounting to almost N15 million recovered from them.
George, a Lance corporal, was arrested at his hometown in Otukpo, Benue State, while Maidabara was arrested along Benin-Asaba Road.
PREMIUM TIMES reports that both of the suspects are students of the Nigerian Army Institute of Technology and Environmental Studies in Makurdi, Benue State capital.
The report has it that Maidabara had gone to visit his brother who is also a soldier serving in Onitsha, Anambra State, and had kept all the money with him.
Both suspects had Honda Accord vehicles with them when they were arrested and investigation into case is still on.
Sani Usman, the Nigerian Army spokesman, the report said, did not comment on the issue.
However, a senior police official in Delta State said that the police were aware of the arrest of one of the soldiers but declined to make official comments as he was not authorised to do so.
The CBN’s governor’s wife was kidnapped along Benin-Agbor Road alongside four others including her police detail.
The kidnappers reportedly chased them into the bush before taking her to their den where she remained until her release the next day, after her family had reportedly paied large amount of money as ransom.
The Nigerian Customs Service, NCS, has denied reports in some online media that the ban on rice importation through the land borders has been reversed.
A statement issued by Wale Adeniyi, Deputy Comptroller and Spokesman of the Service, said it became necessary to restate its position on the issue in view of the confusion the reports may create among stakeholders.
The statement read: “It has become necessary to re-state the true position in view of the confusion which these online publications may create in the industry. It is even more expedient to provide this clarification given that the fact that the Service has taken a firm position earlier in the week through a joint press conference with Stakeholders.
“First, we like to reiterate the position that importation of Rice remains banned through our Land Borders, and we have the commitment of Partner Government Agencies and Stakeholders to enforce this restriction. While this restriction is in force, Rice imports through the Ports are still allowed subject to payment of extant charges.
“It is equally important to restate the confidence of the Nigeria Customs Service in the ability of Nigerian Rice Producers to fill the existing sufficiency gaps in the supply of the product. The Service has noted with satisfaction the ongoing Rice Revolution undertaken by many State Governments, and Strategic Interventions by Federal Government Agencies. The Service is convinced that the bumper harvests expected from these efforts will address the supply gap in 2017.
“It is our belief that continuous waste of scarce forex on a commodity that can be produced locally makes no economic sense, most especially at a period of recession. The Service will therefore advocate a total Ban on Rice Importation into Nigeria with effect from 2017.”
The Service urged stakeholders and Nigerians to disregard contrary information on the matter, adding that it suspected that the rice smuggling cartel was behind the circulation of the false reports.
The Department of State Services, DSS, has alleged that Governor Nyesim Wike of Rivers State used his position to prevent its operatives from searching the house and arresting a high court judge who kept two million United States Dollars in his residence.
The Service, which issued a statement on Saturday to explain why it raided the residences of two Supreme Court judges as well as two judges of the Federal high Court, said it acted on credible evidence provided to it.
According to the statement, the operations by the DSS were based on allegations of corruptions and other acts of professional misconduct by a few of the suspected Judges.
Part of the statement read “the Service’s action is in line with its core mandate, as we have been monitoring the expensive and luxurious lifestyle of some of the Judges as well as complaints from the concerned public over judgments obtained fraudulently and on the basis amounts of money paid.
“The judges involved were invited, upon which due diligence was exhibited and their premises searched.”
Garba further stated that huge amounts of money in various denominations, both in local and foreign currency, were discovered at the judges’ houses during the searches, as well as “real estate worth several millions of Naira and documents affirming unholy acts by these Judges.”
The DSS spokesman also said that “some of them (judges) have made useful statements while a few have declined even with the glaring evidences that were found against them in terms of material cash, documents and property recovered pointing to their compromise.”
Reacting to the role played by Governor Wike, the DSS said: “In one of the States where the Service operations were conducted, credible intelligence revealed that the Judge had Two Million United States Dollars ($2,000,000 USD) stashed in his house.
“When he was approached for due search to be conducted, he in concert with the State Governor, mobilized thugs against the Service team.
“The team restrained itself in the face of unbridled provocative activities by those brought in by the Governor. Unfortunately, the Judge and Governor also engaged the tacit support of a sister security agency.”
The statement further added that a DSS “surveillance team noticed that upon frustrating the operation, the Judge with the active support of the Governor craftily moved the money to an unknown location which the Service is currently making effort to unravel.”
According to the statemen signed by Abdulaziz Garba, Monies recovered during the operations include:
NAIRA – N93,558,000.00
DOLLARS – $530,087
POUNDS – £25,970
EURO – €5,680
It added that the stated sums of money were recovered from just three judges, added to “other banking documents, including real estate documents.”
The DSS noted that preparations were on to arraign the judges in a competent court of jurisdiction in line with the laws of the nation, promising that “this current operation will be sustained … till sanity and sanctity is restored to the esteemed third arm of government and public confidence is regained.”
The Service also clarified that “it has never invited Justice Walter NKANU ONNOGHEN for investigation, neither is he being investigated by this Service.”
The DSS said it has tremendous respect for the Judiciary and would not do anything to undermine it or its activities, rather it will join in the efforts to rid the judiciary of “few corrupt Judges whose actions is undermining not only the Judiciary but the common bond of our national life.”
The security agency called on the public to always avail it of any information which could assist in the drive to rid Nigeria of corrupt practices and tendencies.
As part of efforts to curb the incessant clashes between farmers and herdsmen in Nasarawa State, an 18-man disciplinary committee has been set up in Nasarawa Eggon Local Government Area to monitor and punish any herdsman found disturbing the peace.
The committee was set up following a meeting between leaders of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, MACABA, and the Eggon Cultural and Development Association, ECDA, on Saturday in Nasarawa Eggon, Nasarawa State.
The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports that the ECDA is also required to set up similar committee to identify trouble makers in the community, and take appropriate action to preserve the peace.
At the meeting, excessive alcohol consumption as well as hard drugs among youth were identified as the major causes of violence between communities in the area.
Participants at the meeting called on the state government to place a ban on the sale of hard drugs and close down outlets where such activities go on.
The Nasarawa state chairman of MACABA, Muhammad Hussaini, and the ECDA President, James Manza, in their separate speeches restated their commitment to jointly preach peace to their members.
They agreed that peaceful co-existence between farmers and the herdsmen was necessary to boost agricultural enterprise especially in the face of harsh economic realities in the country.
The two leaders urged their members to live peacefully with one another and report anyone engaged in acts that would compromise the peace and stability of the community.
Akolo Success-Ahmed, the Chairman, Interim Management Committee of the local government, commended representatives of the farmers and herdsmen for embracing dialogue in settling their differences.
He said:“As a politician and a stakeholder, my role is to preach peace, unity and to advise my subjects and others Nigerians to live in peace and tolerate one another irrespective of ethnic, religion and political affiliation for the overall development of the country.
“Because no nation or society can develop in an atmosphere of rancour and confusion.
“The security challenges facing some parts of the country had affected our lives and socio-economic development of the country negatively.”
Weak regulatory framework has been blamed for the environmental degradation occasioned by oil spill in the Niger Delta.
This was the view of Bubaraye Dakolo, the Paramount Ruler of Ekpetiama community in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
Dakolo expressed this opinion when an environmental rights group, Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria, ERA/FoEN, paid him an advocacy visit in his palace on Saturday.
The traditional ruler said that international oil companies comply with environmental regulations in their home countries but flout such rules in Nigeria.
He said:“We are all witnesses to recent occurrences in the gulf of Mexico and the steps taken to remediate the environment and compensate the victims but the same companies cannot do the same here because of weak regulation.
“There is apparent laxity in the regulation of the oil sector that transnational companies are exploiting to the detriment of our environment, in their home countries they dare not spill a barrel because they know the implication.
He stated that government needs to strengthen it’s regulations as well as equip the regulatory agencies to enable them play their roles and protect the ecosystem.
Dakolo also condemned the influx of foreign fishing vessels into Nigeria’s territorial waters, irrespective of maritime rules, thereby depriving indigenous fishermen of their means of livelihod.
He said actions like that is a “recipe for crisis because economic deprivation is like genocide (and) the law restrains trawlers to five naughtical miles but they encroach and threaten the fishermen with armed escorts on board.”
Alagoa Morris, Head of Field Operations at ERA/FoEN, told Dakolo that the aim of the visit was to seek the support of the traditional ruler to monitor the environmental impact of oil and gas explorations in Ekpetiama community.
Morris urged the royal father who is also an environmentalist to support the NGO’s advocacy to stop indiscriminate and illegal logging in the Niger Delta as well as notify ERA/FoEN of pollution incidents at oilfields in Ekpettiama.
The houses of two Justices of the Supreme Court, Justices Walter Onnoghen and Sylvester Ngwuta, as well as two judges of the Federal High Court, Justices Adeniyi Ademola and Nnamdi Dimgba, were invaded by operatives of the Department of State Services, DSS.
The raid reportedly occurred between Friday night and Saturday morning.
“After the raid, Justice Ademola was whisked away at about 5am. During the operation, a brother to Justice Dimgba was allegedly beaten,” the LEADERSHIP newspaper reported.
Justice Onnoghen and Justice Ngwuta live at the Judicial Officers’ Quarters, while Justices Ademola and Dimgba stay at the Apo Legislative Quarters, Abuja.
The report quoted some sources as saying that the DSS operatives came with doubtful search warrants bearing incorrect names.
It added that the DSS is yet to make any comment on why it invaded the houses of the judges.
Walter Onnoghen is expected to be the next Chief Justice of Nigeria, following a recommendation by the Judicial Service Commission to the National Judicial Council, for further recommendation to President Muhammadu Buhari.
He is expected to replace current CJN Mahmud Mohammed who is set to retire on November 10, when he will have reached the compulsory retirement age of 70 years.
Meanwhile in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, operatives of the DSS and some police personnel were reported to have raided the residence of a Federal High Court judge.
The PUNCH newspaper reported that the security operatives had stormed the residence to arrest the judge but the attempt failed because of the arrival of the state governor, Nyesom Wike at the scene.
“Our correspondent gathered that the state governor, Nyesom Wike, who rushed to the scene, was harassed by the operatives,” the report stated.
Special Assistant to the Governor on Electronic Media, Simeon Nwakaudu, said “the illegal failed abduction was led by Mr. Tosin Ajayi, Rivers State Director of the Department of State Services and Rivers State Police Commissioner, Mr. Francis Odesanya.”
He added that the operatives of DSS reportedly rough-handled Governor Wike, pushing him around and injuring his hand.
“A few of the operatives cocked their rifles and threatened to shoot the Governor,” Nwakaudu said.
It was learnt that Governor Wike received security information on the illegal moves, minutes after the operation started.
“The security operatives blocked the entrance of the residence of the Federal High Court judge at about 1am on Saturday morning, claiming that they were acting on orders from above.
“As they dragged Governor Wike, they insisted that they must be allowed to leave with the judge,” the governor’s aide said.
Sam Nda-Isaiah, Chairman of Leadership Newspaper Group
By Obiejesi Kingsley
About 70 percent of the editorial staff of the Leadership Newspaper Group has been converted to freelancers following the paper’s inability to pay more than one year salary arrears.
On September 28, members resumed work and were served shocking letters of conversion of their services from full time staff to freelancers beginning from October 1, 2016.
ICIR learnt the development did not go down well with the affected staff members as most of them have struggled financially due to inability of the national newspaper to pay it workers.
Reports also indicated that uneasy calm has greeted the development in the company as several of the staff remained in a state of confusion after receiving their letters.
The exercise also included State correspondents and reporters across the 36 states of the country.
It will be recalled that Leadership Newspapers Group has been facing financial challenges leading to its inability to pay salaries of staff for months leaving those working in the outfit to find other sources of income to sustain their operations.
Many of the Journalists affected could not understand the rationale behind the decision to remove them from the regular payroll of the media outfit. Sources within the newspaper house indicated that the decision was taken to reduce the liability of the company after failing for months to pay salaries.
A copy of the letter issued by the newspaper read in part: “As part of the on-going reorganisation of the company to reposition it on the path of progress in the face of the mounting economic challenge in the country, it has become necessary to change the status of some staff members.
“Management has decided to change the status of your employment from regular staff to Freelance, with effect from October 1, 2016.
“In this new status, you will keep your beats and perform your normal duties, as your ID Card will not be retrieved from you.
“As regards your outstanding salaries, concerted efforts are being made to pay off all the backlogs as soon as possible.
“Management wishes to deeply appreciate your various contributions to the company and looks forward to reabsorbing you as regular staff as soon as the fortune of the company improves”.
Sources within the company had informed ICIR that the publisher of Leadership Newspaper, Sam Nda-Isaiah, a former Presidential aspirant, had wished to reduce the company’s wage bill which is said to be close to N30 million monthly.
It was also learnt that an earlier decision by the publisher to cut down the staff strength of the struggling media outfit, was dropped for fear of litigations that may arise as a result of the unpaid salary arrears.
Some of the affected Journalists are said to be uncomfortable with their new status as they fear their salaries may never be paid them.
Leadership Newspapers in 2015 converted all its advert executives to freelancers on the same assurance that their backlogs of salaries will be paid soon but they are yet to be paid one year after.
Some of the staff also expressed worries that their conversion to freelancers is a ploy by the management to ease them out of the company without paying their salaries and other entitlements.
National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, John Oyegun, has finally articulated a formal response to accusations of corruption leveled against him by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, a national leader of the party, on the controversial governorship primary election in Ondo State.
In a statement released on Friday, Oyegun stated that he wished to clear the misinformation and falsehood that have characterized the outcome of the primary election, as well as set the records straight.
The result of that election had thrown the APC into a serious leadership crisis, notably between Oyegun and former Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu, with the latter calling for the former’s resignation.
The APC national chairman said Tinubu’s claim that he (Oyegun) overruled the NWC’s vote of “six against five” in favour of cancelling the primary election results and conducting another primary, was false, as no such vote was held during the NWC meeting.
“There was absolutely no meeting which I chaired that voted in the manner alleged. Clearly, the report on which the media office of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu acted was a figment of someone’s wild imagination,” he stated.
Oyegun explained that he had only ruled to uphold an earlier decision of the NWC not to cancel the Ondo primaries.
He also denied Tinubu’s allegation that “over 150 valid delegates (in Ondo State) were excised to make room for an equal number of impostors”.
“The Ondo State approved delegates list was compiled in strict compliance with the Party’s constitution. Only qualified delegates were included in the list,” he maintained, adding that even the appeal committee could not prove otherwise.
On the allegation that he had used a “prayer interlude” to “secretly excuse” himself from the NWC meeting in order to submit Akeredolu’s name to INEC, Oyegun said that the claim was “high fiction and an insult to the intelligence and sensibility of the respected NWC members present at the meeting.”
“We do not and have never engaged in prayer interludes/sessions outside the usual opening and closing prayers,” he clarified.
Tinubu in his letter to Oyegun had also implied that the national chairman must have been bribed when he stated that “Oyegun has dealt a heavy blow to the very party he professes to lead. It is an awful parent who suffocates his own child for the sake of a few naira.”
To this Oyegun replied: “This reckless and baseless corruption allegation levelled against me is unfortunate and an insult to my person and my hard-earned reputation which I have strongly maintained.
“Nobody has the kind of money that can buy my conscience or make me do injury to an innocent man.
“In all the primaries conducted under my watch as National Chairman, I have strived to ensure a free, fair, transparent and credible process. The 2016 Ondo State APC Governorship Primary Election was not an exception.”
The APC chairman further explained that “The NWC in its four-point resolution rejected the Appeal Committee’s recommendation (to cancel the Ondo Primary polls) on the grounds that the report was fundamentally and fatally flawed.”
He wondered why the Appeal Committee, after admitting in its report that ‘there may have been substantial compliance in the conduct of the exercise’, still proceeded to recommend the nullification of the Primary election.
Also, Oyegun said the Appeal committee, during its hearings, did not invite the party’s National Secretary to authenticate the delegate list used in the primary election, neither did it invite the chairman or members of the Primary election committee, which was headed by Governor Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa State.
Oyegun also said that the NWC could not have called for a fresh primary as time could not have permitted that.
“By the timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), all governorship primaries and issues related ended on September 19, 2016,” he pointed out.
He urged leaders of the party to “explore internal dispute resolution mechanisms in addressing their perceived grievances” before going to the media, adding that the party’s leadership was committed to the task of winning the Ondo state governorship election so as “to save the people of the state from the misrule of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.”
