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Jibrin Doubts Fair Hearing Before House Ethics Committee

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Jibrin Doubts Fair Hearing Before House Ethics Committee
Abdulmumin Jibrin
Abdulmumin Jibrin

The embattled former chairman of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Appropriations, Abdulmumin Jibrin, has said that he would not appear before the House Committee on Ethics and Privileges except it’s hearing is public, adding that he does not have assurances of a fair hearing.

Jibrin said in a letter written to the committee he was shocked that he was being probed for a “so called breach of privilege of members and misconduct by me” and not to probe whether the allegations he made against the speaker was true or not.

He said going by the actions of the committee members, it was clear that they were already one-sided and would not be fair to him

He stated: “Mr. Chairman, what further deepens my pessimism is the fact that in your letter, you indicated that you were inviting me to appear before your committee on Monday 26th September, 2016, but surprisingly you announced to the press that I shunned your invitation.

“This is clear indication that the outcome of your “investigation” is already predetermined.

“You also did not find it worthy to investigate the grievous allegations I made against Mr Speaker and few others or even why the Speaker is yet to address all the allegations I made against him and submit himself to the security and anti-graft agencies to clear his name two months after I submitted my petitions.”

In his letter, he told the committee members they must make a choice to either stand with Speaker Yakubu Dogara or stand with Nigerians.

“A stand with Dogara is a stand with fraud and corruption. I stand with Nigerians,” he said.

Part of the letter he wrote to the committee reads: “You will recall that when you called me on 21st, you tried to assuage my doubts and encouraged me to appear.

“I told you clearly I will appear under the condition that the proceedings will be public with access given to both print and electronic media, Civil Society Organisations, Non-Governmental Organisations, Nigerian Labour Congress, Nigerian Bar Association, Academic Staff Union of Universities, National Association of Nigerian Students and the general public.

“I made it clear to you that it is under such arrangement that I will feel comfortable that the investigation, proceedings and outcome will not be manipulated or compromised.”

Jibrin had accused the Speaker and four other principal officers of corruption with regards to the 2016 budget.

On resumption of the House plenary on Wednesday, Dogara mandated the Committee on Ethics and Privileges to investigate Jibrin, following a motion moved by another lawmaker who said Jibrin’s accusation had brought the entire House to disrepute.

The motion threw the House into a rowdy session with pro-Dogara lawmakers displaying mufflers and caps with the inscription: ‘I Stand with Dogara’.

The Kano state lawmaker maintained that his campaign is to “expose corruption in the House and push for reforms that will clean up the House for the Nigerian people” adding that “there is no going back.”

EFCC Arrests Own Personnel Over N15 Million Bribe

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EFCC Arrests Own Personnel Over N15 Million Bribe
EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Magu
EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Magu

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has arrested one of its officials for allegedly collecting a N15 million bribe.

Spokesman of the commission, Wilson Uwujaren, disclosed this in a statement issued on Friday.

Uwajuren stated that Uzodinma Agbazue, a deputy detective superintendent in the agency, was arrested after a lawmaker who is under investigation brought a complaint against him.

According to the EFCC spokesman, the complainant had alleged that Agbazue approached him, saying that he had been mandated by the officer handling the case to discuss and reach an agreement on how to “kill the case”.

“Following the approach, a sum of N15 million was given to Agbazue whose game plan collapsed after the Investigating officer, who was ignorant of his scheme, refused to do his bidding,” Uwujaren stated.

“With the investigation gathering increased momentum after parting with the hefty sum, the complainant became uncomfortable and demanded a refund.

“The complainant stated that, when he requested for the refund of his money, Agbazue only returned N5 million claiming that the balance of N10 million had been given to someone ‘to kill the case from the top’.”

Uwajuren also stated that the lawmaker claimed that Agbazue had on a different occasion collected N1 million from him as assistance to settle his wife’s medical bill.

He said the agent’s action contravened the commission’s “mandate and ideals as the EFCC will not solicit or accept gratification from a suspect to compromise a case under investigation,” EFCC said.

“The suspect will be subjected to administrative action as precursor to possible prosecution at the end of the investigation,” the statement concluded.

Yahoo Describes Hacking Of 500 Million Accounts As “Critical”

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Yahoo Describes Hacking Of 500 Million Accounts As “Critical”

yahoo-describes-hacking-of-500-million-accounts-as-critical

Yahoo has announced that the account information of at least 500 million of its users was stolen by hackers two years ago, describing the stolen data as “critical.” The attack is now being considered as the biggest act of hacking of a company’s computer network.

In a statement, Yahoo said user information  including names, email addresses, telephone numbers, birth dates, encrypted passwords and, in some cases, security questions was compromised in 2014 by what the company believed to be state-sponsored cyber-attack.

Experts in the Information and Communication Technology, ICT, industry remain baffled at why it took two years before the hack could be detected.

Yahoo remains one of the internet’s busiest sites with one billion monthly users, and recently one of America’s largest companies, Verizon Communications, began a process of acquiring it for $4.8 billion

It’s mail services, Yahoo Mail, is one of the oldest free email services, and many users have built their digital identities around it, from their bank accounts to photo albums and even medical information.

The company is advising owners of a Yahoo accounts to change their passwords and also ensure that passwords used on those sites aren’t too similar to what they were using on Yahoo.

Yahoo also said it was working with law enforcement in their investigation and encouraged people to change up the security on other online accounts and monitor those accounts for suspicious activity as well.

It stated: “The stolen Yahoo data is critical because it not only leads to a single system but to users’ connections to their banks, social media profiles, other financial services and users’ friends and family,”

“This is one of the biggest breaches of people’s privacy and very far-reaching.”

Yahoo said it learned of the data breach this summer after hackers posted to underground forums and online marketplaces what they claimed was stolen Yahoo data.

But what they eventually found was worse: a breach by what they believe was a state.

Two years is an unusually long time to identify a hacking incident.

According to experts it takes organizations to identify such an attack in 191 days, and the average time to contain a breach is 58 days after discovery.

Buhari Accuses Treasury  Looters Of Sponsoring Militants

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Buhari Accuses Treasury  Looters Of Sponsoring Militants
President Buhari in a group photograph with some of the Nigerian professionals in the US
President Buhari in a group photograph with some of the Nigerian professionals in the US

President Muhammadu Buhari has accused people he described as “past looters of the treasury” of supporting and sponsoring militancy in the Niger Delta region.

“Those who stole Nigeria dry are not happy. They recruited the militants against us in the Niger Delta, and began to sabotage oil infrastructure,” the president said.

“We lose millions of barrels per day, at a time when every dollar we can earn, counts. It is a disgrace that a minimum of 27 states, out of 36 that we have in Nigeria, can’t pay salaries.”

According to a statement by Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, the president made the remarks during a meeting with a select audience of Nigerian professionals living in the United States of America.

The meeting was put together by, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Diaspora Matters and International Relations, who described participants at the audience as“15 of the best people God ever created.”

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They include Top flight aeronautics engineers, physicians, I.T experts, a Judge, a top policewoman, entrepreneurs, an Import Specialist at Customs and Border Protection, professors, two straight A students, and others.

President Buhari briefed the audience on how and why Nigeria got into trouble, assuring them that together with Nigeria’s best brains in the Diaspora, the country’s economic challenges would soon be over.

He said: “We got into trouble as a country, because we did not save for the rainy day. For example, between 1999 and 2015, when we produced an average of 2.1 million barrels of oil per day, and oil prices stood at an average of $100 per barrel, we did not save, neither did we develop infrastructure. Suddenly, when we came in 2015, oil prices fell to about 30 dollars per barrel.

“I asked; where are the savings? There were none. Where are the railways? The roads? Power? None. I further asked; what did we do with billions of dollars that we made over the years? They said we bought food. Food with billions of dollars? I did not believe, and still do not believe,”he declared.

Buhari noted that failure to invest in infrastructure was one of Nigeria’s greatest undoing.

He reminded his listeners that the Nigerian military earned respect in places like Burma, Zaire, Sudan, Liberia, Sierra-Leone, “and then, suddenly, that same military could no longer secure 14 out of 774 local governments in the country.”

The president added that his administration has restored the pride of the military with help from some western countries, by changing the leadership, re-equipping and retraining them, which has culminated in the decimation of terrorists in the Northeast.

Buhari said he was committed to bringing positive change to Nigeria because “I prayed so hard for God to make me President.”

“I ran in 2003, 2007, 2011, and in 2015, He did. And see what I met on ground. But I can’t complain, since I prayed for the job.”

The president narrated that he rose from 2nd Lieutenant to Major-General in the army, and even became military governor in 1975 “over a state that is now six states”; got detained for three years, and headed the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF).

“After 16 years of a different party in government, no party will come and have things easy. It’s human. We need quality hands to run Nigeria, and we will utilize them. I will like to welcome you home when it’s time. But I’ll like you to be ready.”

The Nigerian professionals promised to do their best to help the government of the day in its efforts to return Nigeria to the path of growth.

Senator Calls Proponents Of Assets Sale Economic Predators

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Senator Calls Proponents Of Assets Sale Economic Predators
Shehu Sani
Senator Shehu Sani

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign and Local Debts, Shehu Sani, has strongly criticised those calling for the sale of the country’s national asset, describing them as “economic predators and profiteers who want to take advantage of the situation in the country.”

The Kaduna State senator told the media on Friday that capitalist forces who “raped Nigeria to recession” now want to “kill and bury it.”

The call for the sale of some of the Nation’s assets gathered steam following comments attributed to Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, suggesting that the federal government should sell off the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited, NLNG, and the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Joint Ventures, so that the proceeds would help the country out of recession.

The suggestion was supported by some prominent Nigerians including the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and the Governor of Central Bank, Godwin Emefiele; however majority of Nigerians seem to be against the idea.

Sani said the idea was clearly not in the best interest of the nation as experience had proven that privatization in Nigeria has only enriched a few of the so-called ‘big men’, but has not in any way benefitted the masses.

He said: “There is currently nothing to show for the sale of government houses, (and) firms.

“The advocates of sale of our collective national asset simply want to dispossess Nigerians and expand their business empire.

“They call themselves private sector and business men; they refused to invest in agriculture, solid minerals or science and technology, they simply want to buy off profitable public assets.

“There are no captains of industry in Nigeria other than crony businessmen, rent seekers, commission agents who depend on patronage from government,” he said.

The lawmaker accused Nigerian businessmen of preferring to buy off “ready-made” assets instead of investing in ventures that could potentially yield even bigger dividends.

“They don’t want to buy Ajaokuta steel company because it’s not profitable; they don’t want to invest in solid minerals, Agriculture or science and technology, they don’t want to invest in the exploration of oil in Chad basin or Benue trough; They want to buy NLNG and NNPC.”

“Selling our national asset to stem recession is like selling ones lungs to buy food,” Sani said.

“Recession should excite innovation and ideas and not justify roguery.

“Nigeria’s poor have always lived under systemic recession and depression and on the edge of extinction,” he added.

The Lawmaker called on all Nigerians to reject any attempt at selling any of the Nation’s asset.

Al-Makura Raises Alarm Over Influx Of Criminals Into Nasarawa State

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Al-Makura Raises Alarm Over Influx Of Criminals Into Nasarawa State
Governor Tanko Al-Makura
Governor Tanko Al-Makura

Governor of Nasarawa State, Tanko Al-Makura, has cried out to the Nigerian Military that criminals being flushed out by ongoing military operations in Zamfara State are settling in his domain.

Al-makura made this known during a visit of the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, to his office in Lafia.

He said, “Since the military operation in Zamfara that dispersed the criminal elements, we have noticed a gradual slipping of some of them into our vicinity and we have been able to identify about three areas as their hideout.

“Once we finalize our survey, we shall liaise with you to use your usual formula to defeat the miscreants.”

The governor commended the military for the efforts at defeating the Boko Haram and in joining hands with other security agencies to curb security challenges in Nasarawa state.

He promised to keep supporting the military authority and to ensure successful take off of the Command Science Secondary School located in the state.

Al-Makura thanked the Army chief for the role he played in decongesting the Abuja-Keffi highway.

He stated that he has set up a task force to relocate all hawkers and traders along the road, to ensure smooth flow of traffic.

Buratai replied that the military will keep working in order to make the country safe from criminal elements wherever they are hiding.

“We have more military exercises to carry out and wherever the criminals elements dispersed by our operations migrated to, we shall follow them and clear their doubts,” he said.

He reassured citizens of Nasarawa state that the army would continue to collaborate with other security agencies to ensure the safety of lives and property.

Jibrin Dares Dogara; Refuses To Appear Before Ethics Committee

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Jibrin Dares Dogara; Refuses To Appear Before Ethics Committee
Abdulmumin Jibrin
Abdulmumin Jibrin

Abdulmumin Jibrin, former chairman of the House of Representatives committee on finance and appropriation, failed to appear at the opening sitting of the hearing on his case.

The House of Representatives committee on Ethics and Privileges commenced hearing on the allegation of budget padding leveled against four leaders of the House by Jibrin. The committee commenced sitting on Friday.

Speaker Yakubu Dogara had on Wednesday referred Jibrin to the Ethics committee after a motion was moved by one of the legislators accusing Jibrin of bringing the house to disrepute by his scathing allegation of corruption against the speaker.

The motion had thrown the House into a rowdy session with one group chanting slogans in support of Dogara and another group insisting the speaker must step down.

The committee, headed by Nicholas Ossai was given one week to submit its report to the House.

But Jibrin in a statement maintained that he would only appear before the Ethics committee if the proceedings would be made public.

“I will take up the opportunity provided by the Ethics committee to state my case under the condition that the proceedings will be public and the Ethics committee will allow the Press, CSOs, NGOs, NLC, ASUU, NANS, NBA and the general public to witness the entire proceedings.

“This is the only way that I can have the comfort and confidence that the proceedings and outcome will not be manipulated or compromised. I am ready to appear before the committee even today if the proceedings will be public,” he stated.

Air Force Rotates Troops To Boost Morale

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Air Force Rotates Troops To Boost Morale
Airforce personnel about to be airlifted
Airforce personnel about to be airlifted

The Nigerian Air Force, NAF, said it has commenced rotation of troops deployed on OPERATION SAFE HAVEN in Plateau State.

Operation Safe Haven is the codename for a military special task force that is engaging armed bandits and cattle rustlers in Plateau and Bauchi States.

Information on the force’s social media page showed that the aim of the rotation exercise is to boost the morale of the troops by withdrawing those who have spent in excess of 6 months from the theatre of operation to reunite them with their families.

“The injection of fresh troops also adds to the efficiency and effectiveness of the internal security operation,” the post read.

The statement added that “troops were being airlifted by C-130H aircraft from Jos, and vice versa, to their various units located in different parts of the country.”

Locations covered by the ongoing airlift operation include Benin, Calabar Uyo, Port Harcourt and Enugu.

Others are Kaduna, Kano, Sokoto, Kainji, Minna and Makurdi, Ilorin, Ibadan and Lagos.

Buhari Signs Paris Agreement On Climate Change

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Buhari Signs Paris Agreement On Climate Change
President Muhammadu Buhari Signing the Climate Change agreement
President Muhammadu Buhari Signing the Climate Change agreement

President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged Nigeria’s commitment to the global efforts at reversing the effects of climate change and global warming.

Buhari made the pledge during his opening address at a meeting on Taking Climate Action for Sustainable Development in New York, co-hosted by Nigeria and the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP, as one of the Side Events of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, United states.

Shortly before the event, the President had signed the Paris Climate Change Agreement, which is aimed at reducing “Green House Gas Emissions unconditionally by 20 per cent and conditionally by 45 per cent.”

He described the agreement as historic, expressing confidence that with support from development partners, Nigeria will meet the targets stipulated in the agreement.

He also promised to ensure the ratification of the Paris Agreement before the 22nd Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Marrakesh, Morocco in November 2016.

Buhari commended President Francois Hollande of France for his “genuine efforts … in drawing global attention to reviving the Lake Chad Basin,” and for galvanizing the political will that led to the global consensus in reaching the Paris Agreement.

He pointed out the various steps taken so far by Nigeria to demonstrate commitment to the Paris Agreement.

They include the establishment of the Nationally Determined Contributions, NDCs, “that strive to build a climate resilient society across the diverse terrain of Nigeria.”

“We have instituted an Inter-Ministerial Committee on Climate Change to govern implementation of my country’s NDCs, thereby ensuring a strong cross-sectoral approach, coherence and synergy for Climate Action,” he said.

President Buhari, admitted that implementing the Roadmap will not be easy in the face of dwindling national revenues, however, indicated that both internal and external resources would be mobilized to meet Nigeria’s targets, adding that the 2017 Budget will reflect Nigeria’s efforts to accord priority to realizing its NDCs.

“In addition, we are set to launch our first ever Green Bonds in the first quarter of 2017 to fund a pipeline of projects all targeted at reducing emissions towards a greener economy,” he said.

President Buhari urged industrialized nations “to play their role and deliver on their commitments on access to climate finance and technology transfer and help with capacity-building.”

“Expectations are high for their leaders to deliver US$100 billion per year by 2020 in support of developing countries to take climate action, thus keeping the promise to billions of people,” he added.

The President thanked the Presidents of Chad, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo and Niger for attending the event, while calling on the international community to “give special recognition to the plight of Lake Chad and support our effort to resuscitate the livelihoods of over 5 million people in the region.

“This will reinforce our efforts to reintegrate the thousands of Boko Haram victims and returning Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).”

Buhari noted that his administration is paying attention to the Niger Delta region, which is highly prone to adverse environmental changes occasioned by climate change.

He promised that “through an integrated approach, implementation of the NDCs, and our efforts to clean up Ogoniland, we will improve livelihoods, protect the environment and take climate action, and ensure the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Ihejirika Denies Financing Boko Haram

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Ihejirika Denies Financing Boko Haram
Former Chief of Army Staff, Azubuike Ihejirika
Former Chief of Army Staff, Azubuike Ihejirika

Former Chief of Army Staff, COAS, Azubuike Ihejirika, has denied being a financier or supporter of the Boko Haram terrorist group that has ravaged Nigeria’s Northeast for a long time.

Ihejirika made the denial at an FCT High Court on Thursday, adding that his job as the COAS was to ensure that the terrorists were wiped out.

The embattled former COAS, had sued one Nduka Obaigbena, Leaders and Company Limited, and Stephen Davis, an Australian who claimed to be a hostage negotiator working for the release of the Chibok girls for alleging that he was one of the financiers of Boko Haram.

He is claiming N100 billion in damages from the defendants for defamation in the interview granted by Davis to a television station and published by a popular daily newspaper.

He also asked for a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from further defamatory comments concerning him.

Ihejirika wants the defendants to also publish a full retraction and apology in the front page of a Nigerian Newspaper for the said false and libelous publication.

Responding to cross examination by counsel to the defendants, Frank Chude, on Thursday, the former Army Chief said that his duties as an Army General was always in the public domain, adding that he fought Boko haram because they were terrorists and enemies of the country.

He admitted that his name was not mentioned in the said interview but said he was the only Chief of Army Staff that retired in January 2014 as mentioned in the tape.

Ihejirika also stated that he never granted any interview to the Newspaper that published the report but had read about the publication when his attention was drawn to it.

Justice Valentine Ashi adjourned the case till November 2 and November 3 for continuation of cross examination and defence.

It would be recalled that Davis, a self-acclaimed boko haram negotiator had sometime in 2014 granted an interview to Arise TV, which was aired in Abuja and published by some newspapers.

He told his interviewers that a former Chief of Army Staff who retired in January 2014 was actually sacked by the president because he was a sponsor of the Boko Haram sect.

Davis said that his source was a Boko Haram senior commander who named the sponsors.

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