President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday ordered the immediate dismantling of military checkpoints in the country by the Chief of Defence Staff and the Inspector- General of Police.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, the order was handed down to the defence chiefs when the President had a meeting with officials of the Ministry of Defence at the State House.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Aliyu Ismail, disclosed this when he briefed State House correspondents on the outcome of the meeting with the president.
“The President has instructed the Chief of Defence Staff to get the Chief of Army Staff and the Inspector-General of Police to remove all the military men along the roads across the country,’’ he said.
Ismail also said the officials came to brief the president on arrangements made so far in the implementation of decisions reached at the meeting of members of the Lake Chad Basin Commission.
“Nigerian armed forces are very ready, we have briefed him but one most interesting thing about it is that we are going out much happier because he has shown us he is still a soldier. He has updated and enriched our strategic plan and we are happy,” he added.
He noted that the meeting also discussed the relocation of the military command centre in Nigeria to Borno, adding that the centre would soon be fully operational.
The Governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode, has said that tolls will no longer be collected at the second toll point on the Lekki- Epe Expressway.
Ambode gave this assurance during an interactive session with journalists at the Banquet Hall of the Lagos House, Ikeja.
Also the governor, in a press statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Habib Aruna, said he would ensure the speedy completion of the road.
The statement also quoted the governor as saying there would be an International Airport in Epe, an Export Processing Zone in Lekki and a Deep Seaport also in Lekki.
Ambode noted that once the highway is completed, the communities aroud it would be opened up for business activities.
He also said his administration would make careful efforts to develop the tourism potentials of the state.
“Should we not start thinking about how we will improve and create a 10-lane road between Ikorodu, Itoikin, Epeand Ijebu Ode so that people can go out from there? There is no point constructing the road, paying tolls and in five years’ time, the road is gone,” Ambode said.
Heat waves in Pakistan’s city of Karachi and neighbouring communities of southern Sindh province have killed at least 122 people.
Health official, Saeed Mangnejo, said on Sunday that 114 people have died in Karachi and eight others equally passed away in three districts of Sindh.
He said that the provincial government has imposed a state of emergency and has cancelled leave applications by doctors and other medical staff.
He said the government is increasing stocks of medical supplies to assist the sick.
Seemin Jamali, the head of the emergency department at state-run Jinnah Hospital, said more than 100 people have died at the hospital.
“They all died of heat stroke,” she said.
According to Aljazeera, the southern port city of Karachi saw temperatures rise to 45 degrees Celsius on Saturday, just short of an all-time high in the city of 47 C in June 1979.
A large number of the deceased were old people.
Officials said most of the deaths occurred Saturday evening.
A few weeks earlier massive heat waves also killed hundreds in India
The Queen of England will, today, Monday at Buckingham Palace, present the inaugural Queen’s Young Leaders Awards to four Nigerians.
The four Nigerians expected to receive the prestigious recognition are: Isaiah Owolabi, Kelvin Ogholi, Nkechikwu Azinge and Oladipupo Ajiroba.
Apart from the Nigerians, countries like Canada, India, Cameroon and South Africa have three winners each.
According to a statement released to the media, the awards were in recognition of young people who have beenperformed exceptionally well in their various fields around the globe.
The recipients were selected from Commonwealth nations.
Also according to the statement, the recipients are between the ages of 18 and 29.
It added that the beneficiaries are to be awarded on the ‘initiative of supporting others, raising awareness and inspiring change in areas like education, gender equality, mental health and disability equality.’
The old and the new: Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari
By Samuel Malik
Corruption has become so steeped in Nigeria that it has become the only thing that seems to always work, a special report by The Economist of London has said.
Corruption: The only thing that works, Saturday’s caption, was derived from a quote from Mathew Kukah, the catholic Bishop famed for his willingness to speak truth to power, no matter who is involved – “This is not a country that is morally convinced about [the evils of] corruption: corruption is the only thing that works.”
The report narrates how corruption has virtually become a norm in a country so wealthy and yet poverty stares one in the face, with all arms of government, from local government to the presidency, involved and making the task of changing the trend daunting.
However, there have been attempts to end the scourge and improvements have been made. Officials at airports are now more conscious of being caught asking for bribe. The usual “what have you got for me” or “what did you bring for me” are no longer prevalent due largely to technology and social media, the report pointed out.
“In one video, viewed more than 100,000 times, policemen demand cash from an American of Nigerian parentage. When their victim says he has no dollars, they amiably point him to a place where he can change money,” the report said of progress made in the fight against corruption. In addition to social media, there are websites dedicated to exposing corruption, for instance, stopthebribes.net and Nigeriapolicewatch.com.
But as corruption in small places waned, the publication said, it increased in huge proportion in government circles, including the presidency. There have been reports in the local media of aides demanding thousands of dollars from people who wanted to see the immediate past president or his wife. “Don’t bring $20,000, bring $200,000,” The Economist quotes a businessman, who was asked to bring money, as saying.
While former president Goodluck Jonathan was not accused of corruption, he was blamed for overlooking, pretending not to know what members of his cabinet were doing. One way of washing corrupt money was to acquire properties and pay in cash, while some prefer to take the money out of the country. “There was a chartered plane flying cash to Lebanon and Cyprus,” a business man said, according to the report. Some stored the money in their houses.
The past government’s record in fighting corruption, The Economist reckon, was poor. When former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, said $20 billion was missing from government coffers, he did not last long in office, as he was unceremoniously ushered out.
Due to public outcry, a forensic audit was done, on the behest of government, by PriceWaterhouse Coopers and the revelations were mindboggling, including the subsidy on kerosene, a commodity that sells for as much as three times the official price at many filling stations.
Oil theft, or bunkering, as Nigerians prefer to call it, also increased under Jonathan, with as much as 500, 000 barrels of crude stolen daily, despite the contracts awarded to local militias worth billions to secure oil facilities and guard the country’s waters. President Muhammadu Buhari recently cancelled the contracts for securing pipelines, ordering the military to take charge.
There has been a controversy, recently, surrounding a consultancy contract worth more than N900 million given to a legal firm for the liquidation of the ineffective Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, which shows how most government contracts are awarded. The Bureau of Public Procurement, BPP, complained that it did not give the mandatory certificate of “No Objection” before the contract was awarded by the Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE.
Government contracts are easy ways of getting kickbacks, which usually mean inflation of the contracts’ worth. “The bigger the project, and the longer it takes to complete, the greater the opportunity to divert cash,” the report states.
Extravagant lifestyle is also one way sleaze thrives. Private jet travels, bullet-proof cars, etc. are the ways of government officials. Stella Oduah, former aviation minister was fired after acquiring two armoured cars without budgetary allocation. She is now a Senator.
The legislature also does not lag behind in the act. To get smooth sails during hearings or budget passage, lawmakers want their palms greased. Arunma Oteh, the former Securities and Exchange Commission boss, Femi Otedola, an oil magnate, Abdurasheed Maina, the former pension reform taskforce boss, etc. all accused lawmakers of demanding bribes. Nothing happened to the accused.
The government also used its powers to shield and pardon corrupt individuals. Former governor of Bayelsa State, Depriye Alamieyeseigha, who jumped bail in the UK, where $1 million cash was found in his house, was pardoned by Jonathan, despite his conviction by a Nigerian court. Bode George, in prison for corruption, was celebrated and welcomed into the fold by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, upon his release. He became a decision maker in the party.
President Buhari, who came to power on the back of his modest lifestyle and abhorrence for corruption, has promised to fight the scourge but many say he has his battle cut out for him. Some of his party stalwarts, who helped bankroll his campaign and expect to be part of his cabinet, have been accused of corruption.
How he deals with them, some say, will show whether Nigerians can take him for his words, even though he has said a line would be drawn to put the past in the past.
The Nigerian army has accused Amnesty International of a lack of cooperation in investigating allegations raised by the human rights watchdog, saying it has consistently refused “invitation” to be part of the army investigation.
The army spoke through its Chief of Administration, Major General Adamu Baba Abubakar , who, on Friday addressed a press conference in Abuja to respond to AI’s June 3, 2015 report that indicted some members of the military hierarchy.
According to Abubakar, the military decided to invite Amnesty International to be part of its panel of investigation in order to ensure fairness and show that it has nothing to hide, but the invitation was not honoured.
“The military requested Amnesty International to provide a member for the investigation panel to look into the allegations but the invitation was not honoured by Amnesty International. The essence of offering Amnesty International membership of the investigation panel was to guarantee fairness and justice while proving to the world that the military has nothing to hide or cover up.
“The Nigerian Military has also allowed the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to visit the detainees and other locations at the shortest notice without hindrance and even talk to the detainees and locals. Certainly if the Nigerian Military has or had any reason to hide anything it could not have allowed International Committee of the Red Cross access to its facilities and operational area,” Abubakar stated, adding that most of the allegations raised in this year’s report were a repetition from previous report.
The army chief said the military does not condone abuses of human rights and explained that following Amnesty’s previous allegations, the military took decisive steps to address them, including releasing detainees and giving them N100, 000 stipend each to start life.
“Sequel to the report of the investigation panel, 42 detainees were handed over to Borno State government on Thursday 6th November 2014 and another set of 124 persons were also handed over to the state Government on 8th November 2014 respectively,” he explained.
Explaining further how the military responds to allegations of atrocities, Abubakar said the military code of conduct is meant to guide troops in the battle field and that trainings are organised for troops to understand how to deal with situations. He also said investigative panels are set up with recommendations implemented.
“Some investigations have turned in their preliminary reports, which have been acted upon. Some of the investigations could not be concluded due to the inaccessibility of the terrain due to the activities of Boko Haram terrorists,” Abubakar stated.
“Similarly the Defence Headquarters set up 2 Joint Investigation Teams (JIT) to investigate, screen and categorize suspected insurgents in detention. Out of the 504 suspects screened prima facie cases was established against 350 suspects and were recommended for trial the Federal High Court, their case files were forwarded to the office of the attorney- general and ministry of justice.
“Additionally, Code of Conduct for troops in the North East and other Internal Operations and Rules of Engagement clearly spelt out guidelines for troops. Therefore the Nigerian Military does not in any way condone indiscipline or breach of such regulations, let alone wanton killing or destruction. The Nigerian Military collaborate with the International Committee of the Red Cross on training of personnel on laws of armed conflict and humanitarian law regularly.”
The Chemical, Biological Radiological and Nuclear Unit, CBRN, of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, formed to tackle emergency situations relating to chemical, nuclear and biological poisoning has carried out simulation exercises after a week of intensive training of its personnel.
The exercise was planned and carried out in conjunction with the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA and Nigeria Nuclear and Regulatory Agency, NNRA in preparation towards countering nuclear disaster in line with the international best practices.
According to the commandant of the unit, Felix Oke, the simulation exercise is anchored on the operational code of “Transportation Accident involving a Radio Active Source.”
He said the corps was preparing its personnel ahead of their responsibilities as the country gears towards the possible establishment of nuclear energy in the upcoming years.
The commandant general of the Corps,Ade Abolurin, while appreciating the efforts of the unit, added that he was aware that people were not always conscious of the implications of the destructive tendencies of weapons of mass destruction which are capable of creating enormous damage, bringing calamity and untold hardship to nations.
He noted that the essence of establishing the CBRN unit is to raise the sensitize the public to the different dimensions of the crime .
He said the use of guns and other conventional weapons has changed to the use of chemical and biological warfare. Therefore, there is the urgent need to train personnel sufficiently to face the challenges ahead.
Leader of the IAEA delegation, Pablo Jerez expressed great satisfaction with the Corps CBRN unit, saying that both his organization and the NNRA will keep partnering and supporting the unit with all necessary tools and equipment needed to carry out their assignment.
He, however, called for constant training and retraining of the personnel at all levels.
He equally advocated for continued synergy between the unit and NNRA as well as other stakeholders in disaster management, mitigation and response.
The investigation into corrupt practices in Brazil’s state-run oil company, Petrobras, has led to the biggest ever arrest of an executive in a scandal involving $2.1 billion paid in bribes, according to Reuters.
Marcelo Odebrecht, the head of Odebrecht SA, Latin America’s biggest engineering and construction company, with presence in 21 countries, including in Africa, was arrested on Friday, raising hopes that the mighty may not be immune to prosecution.
The arrests also saw Otavio Marques, the head of Brazil’s second-biggest construction company, Andrade Guitierrez, and 10 others.
Some companies and individuals are suspected of overcharging Petrobras for work done, with the excess money allegedly finding its way to company executives and politicians, among who are members of President Dilma Rouseff’s ruling Workers’ Party. Investigation has indicted more than 100 people, several politicians and companies.
“The objective of the operation is to bring a clear message that the law applies to everyone, no matter the size of the company, its place in society or its economic power,” Reuters quoted federal police agent, Igor Romario de Paula., as saying.
The investigation, which also involves former president Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva, who is under probe to determine if he favoured Odebrecht while in office, has not implicated Rouseff, who chaired Petrobras board during de Silva’s presidency.
The probe has been linked to Brazil’s drift into recession as a result of the companies fingered prevented from doing business with Petrobras since 2014.
Odebrecht, 46, is the third generation leader of the private company that has over 200, 000 staff and lucrative contracts in several countries, particularly in Latin America.
Nigeria’s leading investigative newspaper, PREMIUM TIMES, was among a host of media organisations around the world, including the U.S.-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, ICIJ, French Le Monde, and The Guardian of U.K., that on Thursday won the ‘Investigation of the Year’ award at the Global Editor’s Network Data Journalism Awards in Barcelona, Spain.
The award was for the cutting-edge investigations that resulted from painstakingly sieving through massive data from the Luxembourg Leak and Swiss Leaks project, leading to exposures of corruption involving highly placed organisations and individuals, including Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote.
“In the Luxembourg Leaks investigation, ICIJ and its partners used secret documents to report and expose the backroom deals that allowed more than 370 companies – including Disney, IKEA, Shire and Deutsche Bank – to avoid billions of euros in taxes on profits they channeled through Luxembourg.
“The Swiss Leaks project was based on a trove of 60,000 leaked files that revealed how the Swiss branch of one of the world’s biggest banks, HSBC, profited from doing business with tax dodgers and criminals around the world,” a press release issued by the ICIJ and PREMIUM TIMES” said.
PREMIUM TIMES, which began publishing in 2011, was the only Nigerian media organisation invited to participate in the projects. The newspaper is reputed for ground-breaking and investigative journalism and has over the years exposed corruption in high places in both private and public sectors in Nigeria.
“(We) felt honoured and privileged to be part of a group of intrepid and committed journalists and publications around the world holding the rich and powerful to account,” Musikilu Mojeed, the paper’s managing editor, said on Friday.
“ICIJ has found in PREMIUM TIMES a worthy partner. So far, we have worked together on three ground-breaking investigations and we are poised to do more in the months and years ahead.”
The Nigerian military has refuted claims that Chadian troops carried out air strikes on Boko Haram camps inside Nigeria.
Defence spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, said the Nigerian Airforce located the insurgents’ hideout in Bosso, which is outside the country, and alerted the Chadians.
“The fact is that the Nigerian Airforce surveillance mission identified targets tagged as Camp 6 around Bosso town which is not within Nigeria’s territory and alerted the partners accordingly. The places reported to have been struck by the Chadians are therefore most likely to be in Niger Republic and not Nigeria as widely reported in the international media,” Olukolade said, adding that although the terms of the joint force allowed for “some degree of hot pursuit against the terrorists,” the Nigerian territory was not entered.
“The Nigerian military will continue to cooperate with partners in the mission to exterminate or contain terrorists strictly in conformity with existing terms of the Concept of Operation at strategic, operational or tactical levels.
“It is however important that issues are accurately reported while avoiding misleading or unnecessary sensationalism from any quarter,” Olukolade stated.
