President Erdogan (centre) welcomed by cheering supporters
Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has flown in to Istanbul, after an army group said it took over the country.
The group had declared that a “peace council” now ran the country and there was a curfew and martial law.
Erdogan was seen surrounded by cheering supporters, saying in a live TV speech that the coup attempt was an “act of treason” and the army must be cleansed.
More than 160 people are dead, 1,440 are wounded and some 2,800 soldiers are under arrest.
Prime Minister, Binali Yildirim said the situation was largely under control.
He has ordered the military to shoot down aircraft being used by coup plotters.
Earlier, one of the helicopters being flown by forces involved in the coup attempt was shot down over the capital Ankara.
In a statement, the Turkish foreign ministry said the coup attempt “was foiled by the Turkish people in unity and solidarity. Our president and government are in charge”.
“Turkish Armed Forces was not involved in the coup attempt in its entirety. It was conducted by a clique within the armed forces and received a well-deserved response from our nation.”
Meanwhile, the whereabouts of the military chief of staff, Hulusi Akar, are still unknown as he is reported to have been taken hostage by rebel soldiers, but another Army General, Umit Dundar, commander of the 1st Army, has been appointed acting chief of staff.
Reports also say rebel soldiers in some areas have been surrendering their weapons to police loyal to Mr Erdogan.
The surrender of one unit of 60 soldiers, who had taken control of one of the Bosphorus bridges in Istanbul, was shown live on TV on Saturday morning.
Istanbul’s main Ataturk airport is now under army control, and flights which had been interrupted for some hours were due to resume.
Some Communities in Bayelsa and Rivers States within oilfields operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, on Friday, reported witnessing vibrations described as Earth tremor and urged the government to probe the cause.
Residents in Igbogene and Akenfa in Bayelsa as well as Akinima, Akie-Oniso(Oruama), One Man Country and Mbiama in Rivers, say they are yet to come to terms with the incident and are still in fear.
According to them, they noticed heavy vibrations that lasted for some several minutes during the incident which occurred on Sunday night.
Chief Etekpe , a house owner and retired School Principal in Igbogene , Bayelsa on Friday said it was a frightening experience.
“We were about to go to bed when I heard a heavy vibration. I thought it was something else so I quickly went into prayers’, the 60 year old stated.
Victor Idieto who also resides in the area described it this way: “In fact, there was a kind of quake, very serious quake that lasted for over minutes.
“At first I thought it was armed robbers that were removing my roof, so I started shouting, only to realise that others had similar experience”.
At Akie-Oniso in Oruama in Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers, a resident, Paul Kio said the tremor caused a crack in his building.
“This vibration was something unpredictable, look at the cracks on my wall’, Kio explained.
Also Paul Harrison, who also resides in the area, said it was the fourth time the incident had taken place, vowing to take his family away from the community if another occurs.
At Akinima, headquarters of the Local Government Area, a house wife, Animason Emeka-Mark pointed out that it was a traumatic experience she had on Sunday night.
“Everywhere was shaking. It was something else. I thought the world has come to an end’, the house wife recalled.
Officials of the environment-based Non Governmental Organisation, NGO, Friends of the Earth in Bayelsa, who were also on an assessment tour of the affected areas said the incident had occurred previously.
Alagoa Morris, Head of Field Operations at the NGO said the last occurrence took place two years ago in Freetown, Ikarama 1 & 2 in Okordia clan in Yenagoa Local Government Area in Bayelsa.
Although what triggered the tremor has yet to be established, some indigenes and environmentalist have linked it to intense seismic and oil exploration activities undertaken by SPDC in the area over the years.
Residents have called on government and relevant agencies to look into the incident with a view to ascertaining the real cause and prevent future occurrences to avert any disaster.
Joseph Obari, an SPDC spokesman, who was contacted said that he was on vacation and hence cannot respond.
Also Precious Okolobo, Media Relations Manager at SPDC declined comments on the development.
Military jets and helicopters are reported to be flying in the skies of Ankara, the Turkish capital, while gunfire is reported in the streets of Istanbul and Ankara.
Gunfire has also been reported around the Police Headquarters in Istanbul.
A group within the Turkish military has attempted to topple the government of Prime Minister, Binali Yildirim.
A statement read on TV said a “peace council” now ran the country and there was a curfew and martial law.
The coup plotters issued a statement claiming to have taken over the government to protect democracy and re-unite Turkey with the world.
But the Turkish Prime Minister has said the coup plotters acted without the support of the Turkish military command, and threatened that the mutineers would pay “the heaviest price.”
Yildirim said in a TV broadcast that “There was an illegal act by a group within the military that was acting out of the chain of military command.”
But he declared that “The government elected by the people remains in charge. This government will only go when the people say so. Our people should know that we will not allow any activity that would harm democracy.”
Meanwhile, there are reports Turkey’s top general has been taken hostage at the military HQ.
Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has been released from EFCC custody after meeting his bail conditions.
Fani-Kayode was released at about 6:30pm in Lagos on Friday after over two months in detention.
The former Aviation Minister, shortly after his release told journalists that he was grateful to God for setting him free “after 67 days in detention.”
“This was the worst experience of my life but God was with me all the way. I suffered immeasurably but I count it all as joy,
“I am innocent of all charges and I look forward to defending myself vigorously in court. These charges are politically motivated and I have been severely punished for my political views and criticisms of the government,” Fani-Kayode said.
The former Aviation minister was arrested by the Economic and financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, over alleged 1.5 billion Naira fraud and has been charged alongside a former Minister of Finance, Nenadi Usman and one Jimoh Yusuf.
The Federal High Court had granted them bail in the sum of 250 million Naira each.
The trial judge, Justice Sule Hassan, had ruled that there was no evidence that the defendants would interfere with trial if granted bail, and that denying them bail, especially as the courts’ vacation was near, would not serve the interest of justice.
Justice Hassan said the accused persons must provide two sureties who must own landed properties within the court’s jurisdiction and must present to the court, evidence of tax clearance.
The defendants were also ordered to deposit their international passports in the custody of the court pending the determination of the case.
Owing to the courts’ annual vacation which commences on Monday July 11, 2016 Justice Hassan adjourned commencement of trial to October 19, 2016.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will represent President Muhammadu Buhari at the African Union, AU, Summit formally opening on Sunday in Kigali, Rwanda.
Laolu Akande, the Senior Special Assistant, Media & Publicity, to the Vice President made this known in a press release on Friday.
He stated that a retreat of African Heads of State and Governments will precede the summit proper on Saturday, July 16, while the 27th Ordinary Session of the AU summit is scheduled to hold from 17 to 18 July, 2016.
“The Session has been preceded by the 32nd Ordinary Session of the Permanent Representatives Committee, PRC, and the 28th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the Union at the ministerial level ending today (Friday),” Akande stated.
The theme of the summit is “African Year of Human Rights with a particular focus on the Rights of Women.”
2016 is also being celebrated by the Union as the year of Human Rights with the aim of raising awareness on human and peoples’ rights, particularly women’s rights, on the continent and taking stock of progress or efforts made, including major challenges and/or obstacles encountered.
Vice President Osinbajo, accompanied by Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun and Babagana Kingibe among other functionaries, leaves for Kigali Friday evening and is expected back in the country on Monday, July 19.
The www.icirnigeria.org can reveal that the press statement issued on Friday by the Ministry of Information on the recent arms panel report is misleading as it contained factual errors.
In the statement signed on behalf of the Minister of Information, Lai Muhammed, by Segun Adeyemi, his spokesman, the minister said the report by the Presidential Committee on the Audit of Defence Equipment Procurement, which indicted former army chiefs, Azubuike Ihejirika and Kenneth Minimah, both retired Lieutenant Generals, and 52 others covered only 2011 to 2015.
“What has been released so far is the report of the audit covering the period 2011 to 2015… When the documents regarding procurement from 2007 to 2010 are available and scrutinized, the committee will then issue its report on that,” the ministry said.
However, details contained in the panel’s report contradict this statement.
According to the report released on Thursday, “In continuation of its assignment, the Committee on Audit of Defence Equipment Procurement (CADEP) in the Nigerian Armed Forces, analysed procurement contracts awarded by or for the Nigerian Army between 2007 and 2015.”
It added that within this period, 2007 to 2015, N185,843,052,564.30 and $685,349,692.49 were spent on procurement for the Nigerian army. This shows that contrary to the claim by the ministry that procurement documents for the previous four years were not available, the panel actually had access and perused necessary documents to be able to determine the amount of money spent in that time.
Furthermore, the panel provided proof to show that it covered 2007 to 2010.
“Between 29 April 2005 and 19 October 2010, the MOD awarded 2 contracts to Progress Limited for the supply of 42 units of BTR-3U Armoured Personnel Carriers and spare parts for the Nigerian Army. However, neither the MOD nor the NA could provide the contract agreements to ascertain the cost of the APCs. Although 26 of the APCs were delivered in 2007 and immediately deployed for Peace Keeping Operations in Sudan, the APCs scandalously broke down on induction. The Committee observed that the APCs did not meet the operational requirement for the Army, caused Nigeria international embarrassment and deprived her appropriate reimbursement from the United Nations,” it stated.
When the minister’s spokesman was contacted to clarify the statement, he could not make convincing clarifications. He said the mention of 2007 in the report referred to the scope of the committee’s work.
“It was talking about its mandate, that its work covers 2007 to 2015. That is the overall mandate. This is an interim report (and it only) covers 2011 to 2015 but the mandate of the committee covers 2007 to 2015,” Adeyemi said.
Our reporter however pointed out to him that the report stated with examples, that the committee analysed documents from 2007 to 2015.
“That does not also mean that all the contracts awarded by then for the Nigerian army have been treated. However, there are also still documents on the Nigerian army contracts that are still pending. When they get those documents, they will also still send out another report covering Nigerian army,” Adeyemi stated.
It is important to note that the panel has not said it does not have all the documents it needs. In fact, contrary to what the information ministry said, the panel has access to all necessary documents it needs.
This was evident in the first interim report it submitted to President Muhammadu Buhari, where it was stated that documents from the Office of the National Security Adviser, Defence Headquarters, Nigerian army, Nigerian navy, and Nigerian Air Force were studied.
“So far the total extra budgetary interventions articulated by the committee is Six Hundred and Forty Three Billion, Eight Hundred and Seventeen Million, Nine Hundred and Fifty Thousand, Eight Hundred and Eighty Five Hundred Naira and Eighteen Kobo (N643,817,955,885.18).
“The foreign currency component is to the tune of Two Billion, One Hundred and Ninety Three Million, Eight Hundred and Fifteen Thousand US Dollars and Eighty Three Cents ($2,193,815,000.83),” Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President, said on November 17, 2015.
So far, the arms probe panel, inaugurated in August 2015, to probe weapon procurement by the military from 2007 to 2015, has submitted three interim reports, revealing shocking details of how individuals brazenly looted funds meant for the purchase of weapons and ammunition.
The first report, released on November 17, showed how the Office of the National Security Adviser awarded contracts worth billions of naira without due process or evidence of work done.
The second report, released on January 15, 2016, focused on the Nigeria Air Force. It indicted very senior Air Force officers, including former Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh, a retired Air Chief Marshall.
The latest and third report was released yesterday showing how senior army officers helped themselves to funds meant for weapons procurement.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has arraigned one Olugbenga Obadina before Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court Abuja on an eight-count charge of criminal breach of trust, corruption and money laundering to the tune of N2.4 billion.
Obadina was alleged to have collected N2.417 billion paid into his company’s account in tranches, between 2013 and 2015 from the account of the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, under Sambo Dasuki, without contract award.
The accused person pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to him.
Counsel to EFCC, Aso Peters asked the court to fix a date for trial to commence and urged the court to remand the accused in prison custody.
But Chris Uche, SAN, representing the accused prayed the court to grant the defendant bail as he had a pending application to that effect which had been served on the prosecution.
Responding, Peters said that the prosecution was served on July 13 and he had the right of 48hours to respond.
Peters also told the court that the defendant had refused to cooperate with the Commission in the course of investigation, adding that his profile had not been taken.
“My Lord, he (Obadina) refused giving his fingerprint and biodata; he is a flight risk. He claimed he was advised by his lawyer”, Peters added.
Justice Dimgba adjourned the case to July 18 for ruling on the bail application and ordered the accused person to be remanded in Kuje prison.
Governor El-Rufai Receiving the report from Justice Garba
The Judicial Commission of Inquiry set up by the Kaduna State Government to investigate the clash between soldiers and members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria in Zaria on December 12, 2015, has submitted its final report to the State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai.
Chairman of the Commission, Justice Mohammed Garba, submitted the report on Friday at the Government House, Kaduna.
Garba said that the panel received over 3,000 memoranda from different groups and individuals both within and outside the state.
He explained that the panel gave all warring parties right of fair hearing in line with its mandate, noting, however, that the Islamic movement failed to appear before the Commission to give their own account of the incident.
Receiving the report, Governor El-Rufai assured the panel that it would be diligently studied and implemented in order to prevent a future occurrence of such ugly incident in any part of the state.
The also said that the commission’s report will not be made public for the time being.
Meanwhile, Ibrahim Musa, Spokesman for the Islamic movement, has reacted to the claim by the Commission that they refused to make submissions.
Musa said that by the continuous detention of their leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, and other members of the movement, the Nigerian government showed it was not willing to give the group fair hearing, and thus would not get justice from the Commission of Inquiry.
He maintained that the only way to ensure peace was to release the Shiites leader and other members of the group from detention.
Recall that Femi Falana, SAN, lawyer to El-Zakzaky had initiated a N2 billion suit against the Nigerian government for what he described as the violation of his client’s human rights as a result of his continued detention.
But FG said El-Zakzaky was taken into custody following intelligence report that he was going to be attacked and killed.
Ayodeji Ibitoye, an operative in the legal services department of the DSS, said Zakzaky was evacuated to the medical facility of the service where he is being attended to by the best doctors and his treatment has gulped millions of naira at the expense of the state.
The suspects: Ojonimi Negedu, Awodi Ezekiel and Micheal Sule
The Nigeria Police Force says it has continued to record successes in the operations to rid the country of dangerous gangs specializing in armed robbery and kidnapping, especially in Kogi State and its environs.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Don Awunah, made this known in a press release on the Force’s website on Friday.
Awunah said that the Intelligence Response Team, IRT, again smashed some notorious kidnap gangs that have terrorized Kogi State and its environs and rescued four kidnapped victims.
He said “In a special intelligence led operation conducted by the operatives of the Intelligence Response Team of the IGP’s Monitoring Unit at different black spots in Kogi State, three members of a notorious kidnap gang that has for a while operated in major cities in Kogi and neighbouring States were trailed and arrested at their hideouts in the outskirt of Egume and Anyimgba Towns in Kogi State.”
“The leader of the gang who gave his name as Ibrahim Nasarawa led the operatives of Intelligence Response Team to their den where Edward Abutu Amedu was held hostage. On sighting the Operatives, the armed guards who were stationed by the gang to keep watch over their victims opened fire on the Police and the operatives responded and overpowered them in a tactical operation that saw three members of the kidnap gang suffer fatal injuries while their victim was rescued unhurt,” Awunah stated.
He added that two policemen sustained gunshot injuries during the confrontation and are currently responding to treatment in the hospital, while the other members of the gang escaped with bullet wounds.
Awunah also stated that another intelligence-based operation led to the arrest of three members of a dare-devil kidnap gang that had abducted three persons in Egume area of Kogi State and were demanding a ransom of N20 million.
Their confession led to the rescue of the victims who had sustained various degrees of injuries in the hands of their abductors, but are now receiving treatment in the Hospital.
The arrested suspects include: Ojonimi Negedu, Awodi Ezekiel and Micheal Sule, aged 32, 26 and 21 respectively.
The FPRO said the renewed onslaught on criminal elements in Kogi State is designed by the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to stem the tide of kidnapping for ransom, armed robbery and other criminal activities and shall be sustained until all the criminal elements are flushed out of the State.
“IGP Idris warns all criminal elements operating in any part of the federation to turn a new leaf and be counseled or ignore the warning and end up in the arms of the law,” Awunah stated.
He assured the general public of the police’s determination to continue to provide community-oriented service that will ensure active community partnership in crime prevention and control.
The world is outraged at the terror attack in Nice, France that left not less than 84 people died, including women and children.
A suspected terrorist who posed as truck driver slammed his lorry through a crowd celebrating Bastille Day – France’s National Day – in the southern French city of Nice.
The driver ploughed on for 2 kilometres on top speed, swerving and zigzagging in an apparent attempt to hit more people, before he was shot dead by police.
Police reportedly found in the lorry “an ammunition magazine, a fake pistol, a replica Kalashnikov rifle, a replica M16 rifle and a grenade that had no explosives.”
The attack in Nice began shortly after the end of a firework display on the seafront.
French President, Francois Hollande, condemned the attack which he described as one of “an undeniable terrorist nature”. President of the United States, Barack Obama, called the attack “horrific” and ordered the national flag to fly at half-mast.
Many world leaders have continued to offer condolences to the French President and families of the terror victims.
No group has so far said it was behind the attack.
A state of emergency, which has been in place since November’s Paris attacks carried out by militants from the so-called Islamic State group, in which 130 people died, has been extended by three months.
The Attacker was identified as 31-year-old French-Tunisian, Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, who has a record with the police in connection with drugs and alcohol-related offences but never with terrorism-related offences.
A three days of mourning has been declared in France beginning from Saturday.
