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.
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.
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.
Former Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, Emmanuel Ayoola has called on stakeholders in the legal profession and the judiciary to work towards improving the quality of legal education in the country.
Ayoola, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, made the call while delivering a welcome address at the Regional Dialogue on Legal Education with the theme: “Beyond the NUC Bench mark” held at the Ayoola Institute and Resource Centre, Ibadanon Thursday.
He said: “My urgent appeal to the nation is that more attention should be paid to legal education in all its ramification.
“Law teachers should not only be well remunerated but also well equipped.
“Every sector of legal education should be better funded than it is now. A nation can only be as great as the vibrancy and quality of its laws.”
Ayoola noted the aim of the dialogue was to “generate best practices and approaches that can be employed to redesign legal education and make it responsive to contemporary realities and needs of society.”
According to him, the content of legal education in the Nigerian university system needs to be evaluated in order to prepare the students to be able to adequately respond to the needs of the legal profession, public sector and society at large.
Ayoola said: “In particular, it will review and evaluate existing curriculum for legal education in Nigeria with a view to advocating the improvement of not only teaching methodology but also the introduction of new subjects.
“This would also involve the identification of key skills that the law students should acquire in the course of legal education to enable a smooth transition from the university to the law school and eventually to the service of all sectors of society.”
He added that a sound legal education system would not only benefit the legal profession and the judiciary but also the larger society.
“The quality of law we apply and administer can only be as good as the quality of education imparted to law students,” explained the former ICPC chairman.
“If there is no creativity and critical thinking in legal education the legal practitioner and the judge are retarded from achieving excellence, nationally or internationally.”
Participants in the dialogue included key stakeholders from the legal profession, the judiciary and prominent law teachers in leading Nigerian universities as well as undergraduate and post graduate students from selected institutions.
Denmark has offered to help in clearing farmlands in Borno State of land mines planted by Boko Haram terrorists so that displaced Persons returning to their homes can safely engage in farming activities.
A delegation of the Danish Refugee Council, led by the country director in Nigeria, Shah Luton, made the promise during a meeting with Governor Kashim Shettima in Bama.
Luton said: “We have seen serious destructions here in Bama.
“We also know that as people prepare to return they will be concerned about going back to means of livelihood, one of which is their farms.
“We will offer to bring specialists to remove mines planted in those farms to make it possible for people to use the farms.
“We will also want to know your other priorities so as to know where to intervene.”
Governor Shettima had appealed to the Danish delegation for assistance in the rebuilding of the state devastated by terrorists, saying that the financial burden was way beyond the state’s capability.
Shettima said his office had been temporarily relocated to Bama so that he could better supervise ongoing reconstruction works in the area.
He promised donor countries and agencies that his government will continue to be transparent with regard to donations and charities towards the rehabilitation and resettlement of displaced Persons.
The governor criticized those who he said were in the business of peddling falsehood about the situation of IDPs or destruction in their midst in order to get donations.
He said: “Here in Borno State, we have two million IDPs, the issue of IDPs has become big business that every state would claim they have over 700,000 or 500,000 as the case may be.
He pointed out that some of the IDPs in Yola, are from Borno.
“Borno was the nerve centre of the uprising; we have suffered more than any other community or any other state in the federation.
“The population of Maiduguri has swollen from about a million to three million now,” Shettima said.
He insisted that his government was not asking for cash donations rather it requires assistance in the form of building materials.
Shettima said the areas of need include the ongoing reconstruction including schools destroyed by the insurgents, intervention in agriculture to create jobs, and gender empowerment with particular interest in education and economic empowerment of women.
The late Minister of State for Labour and Employment, James Ocholi
Daniel Makolo, a legal practitioner has taken President Muhammadu Buhari to court for failing to appoint a minister from Kogi State to replace the late Minister of State for Labour and Employment, James Ocholi.
Makolo filed the suit at the Federal High Court, Lokoja on Thursday, praying the court to declare that the President’s failure to appoint a qualified indigene of Kogi as a Minister after Ocholi’s death was “wrongful, unlawful and unconstitutional.”
Recall that Ocholi died in a road accident on his way to Abuja from Kaduna, alongside his wife and son on March 6 this year.
Makolo said the president had “denied the people of Kogi state representation at the statutory mandatory regular meetings held by the president with his vice and ministers”.
He asked the court to issue an order compelling the president to appoint a minister representing the people of Kogi.
“This is not an optional responsibility; it is mandatory which our beloved President has deliberately failed, neglected or refused to do in respect of Kogi State and her people,” Makolo said.
The legal practitioner also wants the court to declare every decision or resolution reached at statutory meeting(s) held as void “to the extent of its effect on the life and property of the people of Kogi.”
Makolo asked the court to void the resolution reached at subsequent meetings to be held by the president and his cabinet without a representative of Kogi People,
He is also seeking for an order to compel the president to respect and apply Section 14 (3) of the Constitution in all his appointments including those of the “heads of coercive forces of the sovereignty of Nigeria, the paramilitary agencies, and all arm-bearing institutions of Nigeria.”
In addition, the applicant sought an order directing the Attorney-General of the Federation to initiate and carry out a corona inquest into the Sunday, March 6, death of Ocholi on Kaduna-Abuja road to uncover and make public the actual and remote causes of the accident.
The Senate President and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice were also joined in the suit.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, ICPC, has charged a senior staff of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, to the Federal High Court, Abuja, for collecting money to give employment to some Nigerians.
Adeyemo Samson Sunday, a Senior Corps Assistant with the NSCDC, was accused of allegedly collecting the sum of N420,000 through another officer of the corps, Bosede Faloye, to facilitate employment for people into the corps.
The two count charges read: 1) “That you, Adeyemo Samson Sunday (m) sometime in May 2015, or thereabout, in Abuja, while being in the employment of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Abuja, as Senior Corps Assistant, did confer corrupt advantage upon yourself when you received the sum of N420,000 via your Skye Bank Account with account number 1040068828, to secure fresh employment for unsuspecting Nigerians into federal government agencies and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.”
2) “That you, Adeyemo Samson Sunday (m) sometime in May 2015, or thereabout, in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, being entrusted with the sum of N420,000.00 which you received via your Skye Bank Account with account number 1040068828 from one Mrs. BOSEDE FALOYE for employment, did commit criminal breach of trust by dishonestly misappropriating the said sum of N420,000.00 and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 323 of the Penal Code CAP 532 Laws of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja 2006.”
The ICPC, in the charge document, said it acted on a petition it received on March 10, 2016, from one E.I. Okani and Associates on behalf of their client, Ike Innocent Nduka, against one Mrs C.O. Chukwura, also a staff of NSCDC.
The petitioner alleged that their client had paid the Sum of N350,000 to the said Chukwura in “November/December 2012”, for the purpose of securing employment into the NSCDC.
However, Chukwura failed to secure the job for Nduka and has refused to refund him the said amount.
The anti-corruption agency pointed out that the main petition was not directly against the accused person, Sunday, however investigations revealed that he received the sum of N420,000 from Faloye who is also linked to Chukwura in the main petition.
The ICPC stated that the accused person received the money “sometime in May 2015 or thereabout” through his Skye Bank Account with account number: 1040068828.”
It was while scrutinizing the account statements that investigators found that Faloye had paid in a total of N420,000 into Sunday’saccount, leading to the suspicion that the initial petitioner may not have been the only victim of the NSCDC syndicate.
A list of four witnesses was provided by the ICPC to prove its case, consisting of two of the commission’s investigators, Bosede Faloye and a representative of Skye bank. The case was charged on September 20.
President Muhammadu Buhari and the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon
President Muhammadu Buhari has told the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, that Nigeria will welcome intermediaries from the global body in swapping the over 200 abducted Chibok schoolgirls with Boko Haram prisoners.
In a statement by Femi Adesina, Presidential Spokesman on Thursday, Buhari was quoted to have made this request during a bilateral meeting with the UN scribe at the sidelines of the 71st UN General Assembly in New York.
He said this was a show of Buhari’s administration’s commitment to swapping the abducted schoolgirls from Chibok with Boko Haram fighters in custody.
President Buhari said the Nigerian government was willing to bend over backwards in order to get the Chibok girls released from captivity.
“The challenge is in getting credible and bona fide leadership of Boko Haram to discuss with,” the President said, adding that, “The split in the insurgent group is not helping matters. Government had reached out, ready to negotiate, but it became difficult to identify credible leaders. We will welcome intermediaries such as UN outfits, to step in,” he stated.
Buhari reiterated that the teachings of Boko Haram were far from being Islamic, as neither Islam nor any other religion, advocates hurting the weak and innocent.
“The fact that they kill men, women, children, and other people wantonly, and shout Allahu Akbar (God is great) shows that they do not know that Allah at all. If they did, they would not shed innocent blood,” the president said.
Buhari thanked Ban Ki-moon for the moral and material support given to Nigeria which, he acknowledged, had enabled the country surmount many of the challenges facing her.
Responding, the UN Secretary General congratulated Buhari on the anti-corruption war.
Ki-Moon declared: “You are highly respected by world leaders, including myself. Your persona has given your country a positive image.”
The United Nations’ scribe stated that the the global body recognised President Buhari’s government’s achievements against the Boko Haram insurgents.
He, however, urged that human rights be upheld always in order to prevent a repeat of the scenario being witnessed in Syria.
Ki-moon also thanked the Nigerian leader for his commitment to issues on climate change, adding that the government should “own the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” for the good of its citizens.
President Muhammadu Buhari delivering his speech at the US/Africa Business Forum in New York
President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday called on international investors to take advantage of the diversification of the economy currently taking place in Nigeria and invest in the country.
Buhari made the call when he addressed the US/Africa business forum on the sidelines of the ongoing UN General Assembly in New York.
The forum was organized by the United States Department of Commerce and the Bloomberg Philanthropies and is aimed at providing the opportunity for African leaders to meet and parley with potential investors.
President Buhari noted that the US has been one of Nigeria’s top trading partners; for decades as the biggest importer of its crude oil, adding that many American companies, like Exxon-Mobil, Chevron, Microsoft, Procter and Gamble, Coca-Cola, Pepsi Company, etc, are thriving in Nigeria’s business space.
He acknowledged that the country is going through challenging times economically, but added that his administration sees the challenges “as an opportunity to set the economy firmly on the path of true diversification, sustainable economic growth, and shared prosperity.”
Buhari told participants at the forum that successes are being made on the three major policies of his leadership namely: security, fight against corruption and economic diversification.
The President said investment opportunities abound in various sectors of the economy, including Infrastructure, Industry, Agriculture, Mining and the Digital Economy.
He said: “We are working hard to bridge an electricity deficit of several thousands of megawatts, which will require substantial private sector investment, especially in Transmission.
“Our railway system is being opened up after decades of a government monopoly that has hindered the needed private sector investment.”
On Industry, Buhari said “investments and partnerships are being directed to leather and leather products; sugar; palm oil processing; food processing, specifically tomato and fruit processing.”
“Automobile assembly and manufacturing are important to the diversification of the Nigerian economy. Industrial zones and parks are being established. This is work in progress.”
The President further said Nigeria is ready to partner with and support willing private investors in the agriculture sector by creating an environment that is stable, safe, and competitive.
“I am pleased to note that Coca Cola has recently invested substantially in one of Nigeria’s best-known dairy and fruit juice companies, and is looking to increase its stake over the next few years,” he said.
In the mining industry, Buhari said that his administration is determined to build a world class minerals and mining ecosystem designed to serve a targeted domestic and export market.
He said the country’s digital economy also holds huge promise for potential investors.
He stated that “Young Nigerians are increasingly demonstrating that they have the talent and the passion to leverage the digital economy for solving our most pressing challenges.
“There are currently 150 million active mobile phone lines in the country – sixty percent of which are connected to the Internet.
“I can confidently say that Nigeria is in the early stages of a domestic technology revolution, and the government is paying serious attention and offering its full support.
Buhari informed the gathering that a few months ago Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, “had invested $24 million in Andela, a technology company that has Iyin Aboyeji, a 25-year-old Nigerian as one of its co-founders, and maintains its main campus in the city of Lagos.”
He urge the American businesses to take advantage of the investment opportunity that Nigeria represents, adding that the country “remains the number one investment destination in Africa, with total FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) inflow of about US$3.64 billion in 2015.”
“Apart from our domestic market of 170 million,” Buhari said, “the largest in Africa, we are also the main gateway to a combined West African consumer market that is about as large as ours.”
“With a median age of 19, and with 70 percent of the population below the age of 35, Nigeria’s greatest potential lies in the talent and energy of her youth.”
“In order to encourage private capital inflow, we have packaged some fiscal investment incentives which include the following: up to 5 years of tax holiday for activities classified as ‘pioneer’; Tax-free operations; no restrictions on expatriate quotas in Free Trade Zones; among others.”
He used the occasion to announce the U.S. Nigeria Commercial and Investment Dialogue.
“This Dialogue, which will focus on Infrastructure, Agriculture, the Digital Economy, Investment and Regulatory Reform, will be jointly led by the Nigerian Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, and the US Commerce Secretary, and will include business executives from both countries,” Buhari noted.
He enjoined investors to take advantage of the forum in order to build synergies that would translate to increased trade and investment flows between Nigeria and United States of America.
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed poses with representatives of the NCWS
The National Council of Women’s Societies, NCWS, has committed to partner with the federal government on the newly-launched national re-orientation campaign “Change Begins With Me.”
National President of the group, Gloria Shoda, announced the decision in Abuja when she led a delegation on a courtesy visit to the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed.
She said, “We crave the indulgence of the Minister to direct the NOA (National Orientation Agency) at the federal and state levels to co-op members of the NCWS during the advocacy campaign, ‘Change Begins With Me’.”
“This is important to us because a lot of Nigerians tend to view the campaign as having a political undertone, whereas it is meant to provoke Nigerians to change from negative behaviours and embrace discipline and patriotism; it is meant to be a value added initiative for a better Nigeria.”
The NCWS president also appealed to the government to set up a special task force to curb the cases of rape and child molestation, which she said have become rampant in the country.
In his reply, the information minister pointed out that the “Change Begins With Me” Campaign was not meant to put a burden on Nigerians, rather it is a deliberate effort to change citizens’ attitude for the good of the country.
“We are particularly pleased that you have stretched your hand of fellowship to our new campaign ‘Change Begins With Me’,” Mohammed said.
“It’s laudable that you want to join us because from the way you spoke, you understand that this ‘Change Begins With Me’ Campaign is about national rebirth; it’s about going back to those values that made women to be able to bring up their children in a godly manner.”
The minister noted that the truth about the Campaign is that it started from the top to the bottom, contrary to criticisms from some quarters.
He said, “People have criticized the campaign; some have said the campaign ought to start from the top and we agreed simply because they have not even followed the campaign.
“The campaign actually started from the top because the best campaign is that campaign that you do what you are preaching,
”This government is leading by example, especially Mr. President, the Vice-President and Ministers.
“This is the least ostentatious cabinet you can ever have. We are all living and showing good examples. We obey traffic rules, queue up at airports and public places; we get to work early and close late,” he said.
Mohammed expressed optimism that despite the criticism, Nigerians will soon imbibe the tenets of the campaign and make it a huge success.
“This campaign is going to succeed. The campaign is not asking Nigerians to do anything extra; we are not putting any burden on any person. What is our campaign? We are saying Nigerians must first of all resolve that the change we are looking for is in each and every one of us; that all of us must change what we are doing from the negative to the positive,” he said.
The NCWS, an umbrella body of women’s societies in Nigeria, was formed in 1958 to promote gender-related issues.
