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Army Kills Terrorist Commander In Jos

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Army Kills Terrorist Commander In Jos

The Nigerian military says it troops have killed a terrorist commander identified as Mallam Hussaini, on the Jos-Bauchi road.

In a statement posted on its official website, the Defence Headquarters said the suspect was killed during a gun battle between his group and a military convoy.

It said that the suspect was billed to launch mayhem in Jos before he was killed by an operational patrol team in the area which the terrorists attacked.

The troops, however, repelled the attack and captured the insurgents’ operational vehicles and some Improvised Explosive Devices, IEDs, arms and ammunition.

“The terrorist gang had attacked a military convoy while on an operational patrol between Jos and Bauchi. At the end of the encounter, the Ford bus used by the terrorists was captured, eight primed Improvised Explosive Devices, rifles, pistols and about 70 rounds of ammunition,” the statement said.

It said that the killed terror suspect had led an attack on the headquarters of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad in Abuja in November 2002.

It further stated that he had also carried out another attack on a military convoy on Lokoja-Abuja road where two soldiers were killed in January.

The statement said that security forces on the trail of some terrorists who attacked a police station at Malamfatori, Borno, had recovered a vehicle from the insurgents who abandoned it and fled into Niger Republic.

The troops also recovered uniforms of security organisations, protective gears, boots and other goods stolen by the insurgents from various locations along the Nigeria/Niger border from the suspects, the military said.

Agony, As Government Renders Hundreds Homeless For Estate Developer

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Agony, As Government Renders Hundreds Homeless For Estate Developer

By Kevwe Ebireri, Abuja

Thursday June 19, 2014 seemed like a normal day for Ezekiel Bitrus, a slender, dark skinned man in his mid-thirties who had lived in Alungu-Lungu, a remote village in Gwarinpa Estate, Abuja, for the past six years with his family.

With his household, he had breakfast and then left for town in search of his daily bread.

However, at about 10 am his normal routine was cut short as he got calls from his wife and neighbours that demolition agents from the Development Control department of the Federal Capital Development Authority, FCDA, were demolishing houses in his area.

On March 4, officials from the FCDA had visited the village and marked several houses for demolition, claiming that the land had been bought and now belonged to a new owner.

They returned the following day to effect demolition of the marked houses, shops and shanties but were resisted by the residents of the area who subsequently filed a case at the Federal Capital City, FCT, High court in Kubwa.

The residents who spoke to our reporter said that the court issued an order compelling both parties to maintain the status quo until the determination of the suit, and so they were taken by surprise when the bulldozers arrived and started demolishing structures on Thursday.

When Bitrus returned home at about 11am, the bulldozers where already close to his house and together with his wife, he was able to salvage a few of his possessions before everything else came crashing down.

gwarinpa demolitionSince then, he said, he has slept in the open with his family and is still at a loss how to raise close to half a million naira to get a decent place for his household in another location.

He is however mostly pained that he could be treated so shabbily in his own country without a thought to how he and his family as well as those of many other would survive.

“My worry here is this thing that was done to us cannot be done to foreigners. We are citizens of this country just as Mr. President and we don’t see any reason why we cannot enjoy our country. I don’t know where to start because I am drawn back to 10 years ago,” he said sorrowfully.

In all about 150 houses were demolished and over 500 persons rendered homeless; the demolition drew wide protests and caused a traffic gridlock on Thursday that lasted over four hours and left many commuters stranded.DSC_0521DSC_0518

Ikechwukwu Anih, who pastors what was described as the biggest Deeper Life Bible Church in the area, is another victim who recounted the bitter experience of Thursday.

Anih said the church was the first point of call for the demolition agents who did not give them the privilege of carrying out their belongings before destroying the church.

gwarinpa demolition 3On the spot where the church stood, only a heap of broken plastic chairs, a destroyed satellite dish and a broken plasma TV among the rubble remained.

Apart from the church, Anih also lost his house and was only able to rescue a few personal belongings before the rest were destroyed.

Two members of staff at the Kelina Hospital, Gwarinpa, not too far from the village, who would not like to be named, were also affected by the demolition exercise but were luckily assisted by their employer who assisted them relocate to the hospital where they are temporarily residing.

One of them who welcomed our reporter to her new room said although the houses were marked to be brought down about two months ago, the chief of the village, Zanya Easy Zakka, had assured them that the matter was being sorted out and that there was no cause for alarm.

In an interview with Zakka, he confirmed that indeed the matter was before the court and that he was shocked to see the demolition team on Thursday pulling down structures against the court order issued.

gwarinpa demolition (Chief of Lungu) 1“We have been existing here even before the FCT, so why will they say that the chief cannot have land to give to his people. We can’t be refugees in our fatherland,” he said.

The chief debunked stories that the land which had been cleared by an estate developer was encroached upon, adding that the development control department did not hold any discussion with them over the legality of the land before showing up on March 4, for marking of buildings.

He said that the Gbagyi people were peace lovers but could become violent if pushed to the wall and urged the federal government to ensure that people are not pushed to a state of hopelessness where they become willing tools for evildoers.

Zakka also confirmed a widely reported account that a baby was killed during the demolition exercise and that its mother committed suicide afterwards.

But the public relations officer of the development control department, Kalu Emetu, said that the report was not true but was made-up to attract public attention.

Emetu said that the case with Lungu village had been in court for some months and that judgment was recently delivered in favour of the department.

“Squatter settlers encroached on Plot 64, Kafe District, in Lungu Village, which was meant for an estate. Development Control marked the area for demolition since March 2014 and the villagers went to court; the court finally struck out the case.
Fifty four illegal structures, 17 shanties, 5 shops and one church were removed and I am not aware of any death,” he said.

The reported death could not be independently confirmed either as none of the residents available could identify who the baby’s mother was or where she lived but kept pointing in different directions.

A resident who gave her name as Peace said she only heard the rumour and later saw an ambulance with Kelina Hospital inscribed on the sides drive into the area.

When our reporter called at the hospital, she was told by the receptionist on duty that from the records no ambulance left the hospital on Thursday and that there was no record of a patient that was stabbed.

The deputy director, legal and special assistant to the executive director of the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, Harry Ogwuche Obe, who visited the scene to ascertain the legality of the operation, said the aim of the visit was to find out the human rights issues that emanated from the demolition.

“We have to go and interview the other side to find out what actually happened. We are interested in due process. We are not saying that there should be no demolition, but there are processes that must be followed before this should happen. What we want to ascertain is whether those steps were actually followed,” Obe said.

It was gathered that the land had been bought by a private estate developing company, HolyField, after beating two other real estate developers – SunShine and Deltahan – in the struggle for the purchase.

Advocacy Groups Criticise Dropping Of Corruption Charges Against Abacha

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Advocacy Groups Criticise Dropping Of Corruption Charges Against Abacha

Civil Society groups working on anti-corruption and good governance in Nigeria have strongly criticised the federal government for dropping the N100 billion corruption charge against Mohammed Abacha, son of late head of state, Sani Abacha.

The Attorney General of the Federation, AGF and minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke, said on Wednesday that the federal government had withdrawn the corruption charges filed against the Abacha family accused of receiving stolen property worth N100.38 billion.

The money is believed to have been stolen by the late head of state during his tenure from 1993 to 1998 and the office of the AGF had on behalf of the government filed a nine-count charge against Mohammed during President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration.

The coalition of civil society groups, under the umbrella of the Zero Corruption Coalition, said the manners in which the administration perpetuates immorality, impunity and lack of transparency puts a question mark on the sincerity of the administration in battling corruption and sends a wrong signal that perpetrators of such crimes are likely to get away with fraudulently acquired public funds.

The coalition recalled that only a few months ago, the administration also pardoned the former Bayelsa State Governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, indicted for looting and stealing of public funds.

“This action of the Jonathan administration raises further concerns about its commitments to the acclaimed fight against corruption. It is a naked dance in the public place, especially when weighed against the arrogant and contemptuous manner with which the Presidency has told Nigerians during his media chat that, there is difference between theft and corruption,” it said.

The coalition said it is convinced that the focus of the whole dropping of charges is mainly because the ruling party is now trying by all means to favour those corrupt people who are decamping to People’s Democratic Party from other political parties.

It noted that “the concerns of the civil society are that besides the national embarrassment that President Jonathan’s action depicts, it also shakes the moral foundation of the Presidency as well as portends grave implications for the myriads of corruption cases in the country. Indeed, it has the potential to de-motivate Nigeria’s anti-corruption institutions – i.e. Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) – to effectively deliver on their mandate of fighting corruption.”

The groups also stressed that incidents of corruption are traced to be the forerunner of insecurity, poverty, unemployment and infrastructural decay which the country is currently facing.

It demanded that the President Jonathan administration immediately directs the office of the AGF to continue with the case against Mohammed with the view to recovering the stolen money and that it tenders unreserved apologizes to Nigerians and the international community for its pro-corruption stance.

It said the administration must re-strategise the international campaign to press Liechtenstein, a small but very rich country in Europe, into returning the $185 million (N38.85 billion) of ill-gotten gains linked to the late military head of state, which is still being held nearly 16 years after recovery proceeding began.

The groups also called on the international community to join Nigerians in condemning the Jonathan administration and take practical steps to demonstrate its anger towards the Nigerian government.

INEC Expresses Readiness For Ekiti Governorship Election

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INEC Expresses Readiness For Ekiti Governorship Election

With just few hours to the Ekiti State gubernatorial poll, the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, says all necessary arrangements for a successful election have been put in place.

Ekiti State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Haliru Pai, gave the assurance in an interview with journalists on Friday.
He said all sensitive and non-sensitive materials had been distributed to the 16 local government areas for the smooth conduct of the election.

Pai urged the electorate to come out and exercise their franchise as adequate security have been provided.
According to him, the electoral body will remain impartial and provide a level playing ground for the 18 candidates participating in the Saturday’s poll.

“The election is taking place in Ekiti State, all processes must be completed in the state, the rumour that election result would be announced in Abuja is not true,” Pai stressed.

He said of the 732,165 voters that registered to vote, 476,870 had collected their permanent voters’ card, representing 65 per cent.

The electoral commissioner reiterated that no voter would be accredited to vote without The permanent voter’s card.

About 1, 900 local and foreign observers and journalists have been accredited to observe and cover the election.
Security has been beefed up within and around the INEC secretariat, as election monitoring materials were being distributed to local observers.

Eighteen candidates from the various political parties are contesting in the poll, the major contenders being the incumbent governor, Kayode Fayemi of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Ayo Fayose of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and Opeyemi Bamidele of the Labour Party, LP.

Jubilation As Stolen Benin Artefacts Return Home

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Jubilation As Stolen Benin Artefacts Return Home

Caption: Mr Walker presenting a diary of his great grand father on the British  invasion to Benin kingdom in 1897 to the Oba

From Jefferson Ibiwale, Benin

The palace of the Oba of Benin, Oba Erediauwa, was agog with jubilation on Friday, as two bronze artefacts looted by British soldiers from the palace during British invasion of Benin in 1897 were returned.

The great grandson of Philip Walker, a captain of the US army who participated in the invasion, Adrian Mark Walker, let the team that returned the bronze works to the Palace.

The elated Benin monarch, while receiving the treasured items, described Walker’s gesture in returning them as the best birthday gift he has ever received, as the historic event was just a few days to his birthday.

He called on Britain and other countries still in possession of Benin Bronze works to emulate Walker’s gesture and return them to their home of origin.

Speaking later at a reception held for him and members of his entourage, Walker said he had no idea the return of the works would cause so much excitement.

“Seeing this, I feel this is the right thing to do,” he added.

In his remarks, the Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, equally commended Walker for the move and expressed joy that the historic event was taking place during his time as governor of the state.

The minister of Culture and Tourism, Edem Duke and officials of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, NCMM, were absent at the event.

It would be recalled that there had earlier been disagreement between NCMM and the palace of the Benin Oba over arrangements for the return of the items, with the commission insisting that they be presented at Abuja, with the minister receiving them.

However, it was gathered that Walker chose to present them in Benin, the original home of the items.

FG Moves To Ground Adamawa State, Orders Accounts Frozen

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FG Moves To Ground Adamawa State, Orders Accounts Frozen

By Iro Dan Fulani

Barely a day after the Adamawa State House of Assembly served Governor Murtala Nyako and his deputy, Bala Ngilari, with notices of impeachment over allegations of “gross misconduct”, the federal government has reportedly frozen all bank accounts being operated by the state government.

Sources say that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has been given the arduous task of ensuring that the directive from the Presidency to close the accounts is adhered to strictly.

In a telephone interview, the director of press and public affairs in the Adamawa Government House, Ahmad Sajoh, confirmed the development.

Sajoh said that the Presidency’s action has exposed the desperate efforts by President Goodluck Jonathan to witch hunt officials he perceived as enemies even if it means subjecting the electorates to hardship.

He said the closure of accounts would affect workers salaries and social services especially during Ramadan fasting.

“President Jonathan has made it clear that the impeachment plan against Gov Murtala Nyako must sail through and has also mandated security agents to be on the trail of the governor, who will immediately be arrested by the EFCC once he is impeached and he loses his immunity,” Nyako’s spokesman said.

Also reacting to the development, publicity secretary of the All Progressive Congress, APC, in Adamawa State, Phineas Padio, said the governor was being persecuted for constantly challenging the federal government for not doing enough to assist victims of the Boko Haram insurgency in the state.

“The president is not comfortable with the posture of Nyako who have fired salvo at the FG for not doing enough to protect the citizens. He also incurred the President’s wrath when he decamped to the All Progressive Congress (APC) alongside 5 other former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),” Padio stated.

The EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, could not be reached to comment on the development as he was said to be out of station. However, a reliable source told our reporter that, indeed, “the accounts of the government of Adamawa have been frozen by the EFCC.”

Our source could, however, not disclose if the freezing of the account was ordered by the government or if it arose from investigations being conducted by the commission.

Oshiomhole Spends N30 Million On Chartered Flights Monthly – PDP

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Oshiomhole Spends N30 Million On Chartered Flights Monthly – PDP

From Jefferson Ibiwale, Benin

The Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has accused governor Adams Oshiomhole of spending at least N30 million every month and N360 million annually, on chartered flights.

State chairman of the party, Dan Orbih, made the accusation on Thursday in Benin in reaction to the grounding of the governor’s aircraft by the federal government on Thursday, to prevent him from attending the All Progressive Congress, APC, campaign rally held for his Ekiti State colleague, Kayode Fayemi, preparatory to Saturday’s governorship election.

“He uses the state’s resources to fund his personal trips. What bearing has his trip to Ado-Ekiti got to do with the development of Edo State. We must ask why he chose to charter helicopter for a journey that is less than three hours,” Orbih said.

The chairman noted that the action of grounding the aircraft brings to light the extravagance of the governor through chartered helicopters over which the PDP had constantly raised alarms.

“We received the news with great delight. For some time now, we have raised the alarm over the governor’s penchant for extravagance in the form of chartered flights. We challenged him to submit his international passport so that the people can see but he declined,” he said.

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The party appealed to governor Oshiomhole to stop this social jamboree for the good of Edo State.

The airport in Akure, Ondo was shut down on Thursday, preventing the landing of private planes and chartered aircraft bringing dignitaries to Akure, from where they will make the 30 minute journey to Ado Ekiti to attend the rally.

It was reported that governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State who landed in Akure before the closure was arrested by soldiers in Odudu as he made his way to Ado Ekiti by road.

Governor Oshiomhole’s helicopter was never allowed to leave Benin by airport officials who said they were working on orders from above.

Commander of the 81 Air Maritime Group, Benin City, Soji Awomodu, an Air Commodore, told the governor that he received “a call from above” that no private jet or helicopter be allowed to fly out of Benin City to either Akure or Ekiti.

It was learnt that the helicopter with registration number 5NBQ8 later flew out of the Benin Airport at 1:20pm without its intended passengers.

Special adviser to the governor on media, Kassim Afegbua confirmed the incident and described it as strange.

Jonathan Appoints Bode-George’s Wife To Head Drug Administration Agency

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Jonathan Appoints Bode-George’s Wife To Head Drug Administration Agency

President Goodluck Jonathan has appointed Roli Bode-George as the director-general of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.

Roli is wife to Peoples Democratic Party, PDP chieftain, Olabode George, who was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment in October 2009 for charges that included contracts splitting and inflation while he was chairman of the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA.

The Supreme Court, however, on December 3, 2013, discharged and acquitted the Lagos of all charges preferred against him.politician

Roli takes over from Olufemi Ajayi, who is now the executive secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund, PTDF.

Special adviser to the President, media and publicity, Reuben Abati, said the appointment is with immediate effect.

Contractor Threatens Adamawa Assembly With Defamation Suit

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Contractor Threatens Adamawa Assembly With Defamation Suit

By Iro Dan Fulani

Chairman of Hydro Source and Resources and owner of M. A. Bello & Com., Maiwada Baba, whom the Adamawa State House of Assembly on Wednesday accused of allegedly absconding after collecting the sum of N300 million for the construction of the Mubi byepass, has threatened to sue the parliament if the claim is not publicly retracted.

Baba who was speaking through his counsel, Sunday Joshua Wugira, said the allegation by the House that he refused to mobilize to site after collecting N300 million was false and tarnishes the reputation he has built for over 20years in the construction industry.

Baba said although the Speaker of the Assembly, Ahmadu Fintiri, had already tendered his unreserved apologies for the accusation through a letter of retraction, he may still file a defamation suit if the House fail to publicly apologise.

He said it was wrong for the Assembly to blame the construction firm for the failure of the Adamawa State Works ministry to demarcate a portion for the said contract job and that until that is done, he cannot be said to have abandoned the job.

The contractor further claimed that he was still being owed N500 million by the Adamawa State government.

Members of Adamawa House of Assembly on Wednesday also levelled 26 allegations of “gross misconduct” against Governor Murtala Nyako and his deputy, Bala Ngilari, and served the duo an impeachment notice.

Some of the allegations against Nyako included diversion of N2.3 billion workers’ salary for September and October 2011, illegal deductions and diversion of N142 million emoluments of workers in May 2014.

The governor was also alleged to have squandered N4.8 billion and N7.1 billion in 2012 and 2013 respectively, through the office of the secretary to the government against budgetary approvals.

The legislators also accused the deputy governor of diverting N50 million released to him by the Ministry of Finance to acquire license for the exploration of solid minerals in 2008.

They accused Ngilari of misleading Nyako to invest in mineral exploration that turned out to be a bad investment, adding that the deputy governor was involved in extra-budgetary expenditure to the tune of N397 million as overhead cost in 2013.

The governor and his deputy were in Abuja on official assignment when the legislators served them the impeachment notice.

Kaduna Govt Rips Off Traders At Central Market

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Kaduna Govt Rips Off Traders At Central Market

State government officials make quick money off poor traders in stalls allocation at the Kaduna Central Market.

By Ahmed Musa

Greedy officials of the Kaduna State Market Development and Management Company, MDMC, have turned the allocation of stalls at the Abubakar Gumi Market, otherwise known as Kaduna Central Market, into a goldmine, charging poor traders as much as N800,000 instead of the official N80,000.

The Kaduna state government mandated the company to rebuild a part of the popular market which was destroyed by a fire outbreak in 2011.

But indications that the traders who lost goods worth millions of naira to the fire incident would be given a rough deal emerged even before work started on the reconstruction of the market as the company gave hints that it would give the new stalls to anybody who could buy them.

But that is contrary to the original noble intention of the government which was to rebuild the affected side of the market along Broadcasting Road and allocate them to the displaced traders who were making do with makeshift stalls outside the market.

The government had given the affected traders in the makeshift stalls at the subsidized rent of between N15,000 to N30,000, depending on the size and location of the stall.

Although the situation was not perfect, the traders were still happy because the arrangement accorded them some advantages, including provision clean and serene market environment, security as well as lower prices of goods.

But, hardly had the reconstruction work been completed than greedy officials at the helm of affairs at the Kaduna Market Development and Management Company hijacked the process of allocation for personal gain.

Investigations by our correspondent in Kaduna revealed that the displaced petty traders for whom the stalls were built have been denied allocation as the N800,000 being demanded by officials is way beyond them.

Our investigation shows that senior officials of the MDMC use a middleman, the secretary to chairman of the market traders’ association, who is popularly called Dangote, to make the illegal sale of allocation papers.

It is Dangote who scouts for buyers, concludes negotiation, issues allocation papers and collects money which he gives to officials of the company.

On most working days, Dangote can be seen clutching allocation papers and holding negotiations with buyers before retiring to the offices of the general manager of the MDMC.

A petty trader from the South western part of the country, who refuses to be named, said that she begged the company’s officials to collect N500,000 from her but “ they refused insisting on collecting N800,000 because there are many others willing to pay the amount.”

Another trader told our correspondent that she paid N800,000 to a senior official of the company and that she was given an allocation paper but got no receipt.
Our investigation showed that the stalls are meant to cost only N160,000 only as this is the amount written on the allocation paper.

It was gathered that some of the affected petty traders who have rejected the sale of the stalls to other persons and at exorbitant costs have already written a petition on the matter to the Kaduna State House of Assembly which they copied the commissioner of Commerce and Industries as well as the secretary to the state government. So far, the petition has not yielded any results.

One of the aggrieved traders who spoke to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity for fear of being ejected from the market said that their leader, Auwal Garba, had appealed to the management of the company to collect N80,000 from the traders to no avail.

According to the source, instead of agreeing to their plea, the management allegedly asked the traders to withdraw their petition before the state Assembly first. If they agreed, the source said the company’s officials offered to give 7 stalls at the official price to the estimated 50 affected petty traders.

The 50 traders, the source said, are expected to resell the stalls at up to N800,000 and share the money.

Besides, he also alleged that the management also offered to give two stalls to Garba and his deputy, who were both appointed to represent the affected displaced traders. Garba, it was gathered, has collected his own stall, a situation which his colleagues see as a betrayal.

When confronted, Garba bluntly refused to answer questions on the allocation of stalls in the market.

The general manager of the MDMC, Yusuf Maikwari, also declined commenting on the allegations, insisting that our correspondent speak with the chairman of the company’s management board, Yahaya Tanko.

“I am just a mere general manager, I cannot speak to you. So you have to speak to the chairman or write a letter to the management,” said Maikwari in a phone conversation.

Prodded further to defend himself and the company, the general manager said that he could not address the issues raised on the phone.

When asked if he could respond to them by email, Maikwari said simply that he would not be available as he was travelling abroad.

When contacted by phone, Tanko also declined speaking on the matter on the phone, insisting on seeing our correspondent in person.
Tanko also declined responding to our queries by email or other electronic means, suggesting that we use the chairman of the Nigerian Union of Journalist in the state to interview him and get relevant documents, an offer that was rejected.

It would be recall that the same trend led to the near dormant state of the Kaduna Central Market which was rebuilt by government after it was destroyed by fire in 2000.

The reconstructed market was hijacked by a group of racketeers who devised more profitable ventures for the stalls and sold them at exorbitant rates or charged outrageous rent for them.

Today, most stalls in the Kaduna Central Market remain closed since 2002, while traders who are supposed to be using them are scattered in the surrounding streets.

 

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