Festus Keyamo, a Lagos based lawyer has written a protest letter to Nigerian Prison Service authorities complaining about an attempt by warders to sodomise his client, Charles Okah.

Okah is standing trial at the Federal High Court, Abuja in relation to the October 1, 2010 Independence Day bombing in the federal capital has been in prison custody since 2010 when he was arrested.

In March, Okah’s senior brother, Henry, was sentenced to 24 years in prison for masterminding the octber1, 2010 bombing incident.

In a letter dated July 30 and addressed to the comptroller general of prisons and copied to the minister of interior, Keyamo alleged that a prison warder with the aode of others tried to sodomise Okahin his cell in Kuje prison.

“On Wednesday, 3^rd July, 2013, at about 6.30 am, some Prison Warders, specifically Mr. Isah Musa (the Chief Clerk), Mr. TankoGokuje, (the Assistant Yard Master) and three (3) other Prison Warders (hereinafter referred to as the culprits) entered our client’s cell (No.1) and demanded to search his anus because they claimed they had information that he was hiding “incriminating” materials therein. Before entering his cell, they made sure all other inmates were locked up in their various cells,” the lawyer stated.

He said that Okah initially resisted the body search having been warned that it would lead to a forced sexual act on him but was forced to succumb by the five warders.

Rather than search him however, Keyamo alleged that “Mr. IsahMusa pulled off his clothes and sustained erection and attempted to carry out the acts of sodomy on him.”

“To achieve this, our client was then held to the ground by Mr.Tanko Gokuje and three (3) other warders. Our client had to intensify his struggle and resistance to prevent the completion of the criminal act. Our client screamed for help and this was heard by other inmates,” the lawyer alleged.

He said further that when Okah reported the incident to the prison authorities, they pleaded that he should not make any formal complaints and “further suppressed the incident.”

In his letter, Keyamo demanded an investigation of the incident and asked that the culprits be appropriately sanctioned.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, today registered the All Progressive Congress, APC, as a political party in Nigeria.

A statement signed Abdullahi Kaugama, INEC secretary, and made available to journalists in Abuja by Kayode Idowu, spokesman of the chairman of the commission, indicated that the transformation of three existing political parties into the APC had met with approval.

“The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has approved the application by three political parties – the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) – to merge into one, to be known as the All Progressives Congress,”the statement announced.

The commission said that “applicant-parties have met all statutory requirements for the merger” and consequently “approved the withdrawal of the individual certificates of the applicant-parties, and the issuance of a single certificate to the All Progressives Congress.”

Today’s official announcement lays to rest speculations that theAPC would be denied registration because of its choice of name as another political association is said to have also applied to INECusing the same name and acronym.

Full text of the INEC statement is below:

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has approved the application by three political parties – the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) – to merge into one, to be known as the All Progressives Congress.

On considering the application, the Commission found that the applicant-parties have met all statutory requirements for the merger, and has accordingly granted their request.

Consequently, the Commission has approved the withdrawal of the individual certificates of the applicant-parties, and the issuance of a single certificate to the All Progressives Congress.

The on – going judicial commission of inquiry  into the killing of security men in Alakio set up by Nasarawa State governor, UmaruTanko Al-Makura, has run into a hitch following the withdrawal of counsels representing the Eggon people from its proceedings.
The withdrawal notice was served on the commission yesterday by the lawyers who alleged that they “have been whimsically refused the right of cross-examination of presenters of memoranda despite the provisions contained in Chapters 7.1, 7.2 and 7.3 of the rules of procedure which the commission itself made to guide the conduct of proceedings”.
Addressing journalists in Lafia at a press briefing Wednesday,  counsel representing Bassa Zarangi district, Aliyu Anze, in company of other legal practitioners representing the various Eggoncommunities, expressed dissatisfaction over the “gross bias” of the chairman in restricting counsels to the Eggon people from cross-examining persons who present memoranda which adversely affect the interest of their clients.

Anze observed that the commission had ordered counsels to file their memoranda of appearance to enable each party’s lawyer study and evaluate the submissions for purposes of cross examination, but lamented that counsels to the Eggons had been “refused access to the memoranda presented by Nasarawa State government, the Nigeria Police Force and the State Security Service.”
“These three memoranda are at the heart of this commission of inquiry having regard to the terms of reference of the judicial commission.Having circulated the memoranda presented by our clients, it confounds all reasoning why these memoranda could not be given to us,” the counsel stated.
He also complained of the chairman’s inability to hear and speakHausa language and his reliance on interpretation by other members of the panel who are of Hausa /Fulani origin, instead of making use of the commission’s interpreter.
“It is in the light of the foregoing that we have come to a painful but inevitable conclusion that further participation in the judicial commission of inquiry cannot in good conscience be justified. After repeated attempts to have the above anomalies rectified unsuccessfully, we have our clients’ instructions to withdraw further participation in the proceedings of the commission as to do otherwise will be to lend credence to a process that is programmed to achieve a predetermined end,” Anze said.
Another lawyer representing one of the Eggon communities, ZakariAlumaga, said that “there are indications that we are not likely to get justice from this commission from the beginning.”

“We thought the government instituted a commission that will be open so that we can clearly state our case, but now it is clear thatthecommission has been hired to indict some people. We are not bordered whatever the outward of this commission may be,” he said.

Alumaga regretted the manner in which Eggon communities are being treated and said the people had lost confidence in the commission’s ability to guarantee a fair hearing to all concerned.

There are indications that the Eggon communities may likely go to court to stop the commission of inquiry from further sittings

Meanwhile, the retired Justice Joseph Fola Gbadeyan –  led Judicial commission of Inquiry could not sit on Wednesday following an attack on witnesses who were expected to testify before it on Tuesday.
The witnesses who were to represent the Miyetti Allah CattleRearers Socio-Cultural Association were ambushed late on Tuesday by unknown men.
One of the witnesses is lying critically ill at the Dalhatu ArafSpecialist Hospital in Lafia the Nasarawa State capital.

The Borno State government has asked for the deployment of more troops to the state to facilitate a speedy stamping out of the menace of Boko Haram insurgents from the state.

The Borno State deputy governor, Zanna Umar Mustapha,made the call Wednesday in Maiduguri whilereceiving the assistant inspector general of Police, Zone 12, Edgar Tam Nanakumo, in his office.

Mustapha lamented that the insurgents still had strongholds inBama and two other local government areas in the state, adding that more troops need to be deployed to the affected arrears to dislodge them.

While assuring the police authorities of the state government’s readiness to support the efforts to provide security, he noted that many police stations in the state are prone to attacks by BokoHaram members because they were not fenced or well secured.

According to the deputy governor, the casualties recorded by the police might have been reduced had their stations been fenced and well secured.

“Most of the police stations in the state and country generally are not secured and this made it possible for the hoodlums to penetrate and wreak havoc. It is sad and regrettable that we’ve lost quite a number of policemen in the state and other parts of the country. The federal government should do something about it,” Mustaphapleaded.

The deputy governor also canvassed for a better welfare and more training for policemen, reasoning that only a well-equipped officer can effectively fight crime.

“We have seen policemen in other countries; well-equipped and being properly taken care of. That is why they do their work with passion because their welfare is guaranteed. It is when we take care of our policemen and women that they can in turn protect us and police our communities well,” he added.

AIG Nanakumo in his brief remarks during the visit said he was in the state to assess the condition of police personnel and to condole the families of the policemen who were killed in Bama and other parts of the state.

A former local government chairman in Ogun State, Gboyega Bakre, along with his administrative officer, Mohammed Adeyemi Oke, have been jailed six months without an option of fine for misappropriating millions meant for the security of the community.

The accused persons were alleged to have collected the sum of N4 million weekly from the month of September, 2005 to February, 2006 for the upkeep of mobile policemen drafted to restore peace to two communities involved in communal crisis within the Waterside local government area of the state.

Investigations revealed that the policemen drafted to contain the crisis were taken care of by the Nigeria Police Force, Ogun State Command and that the convicted persons merely used the crisis as a means to siphon public funds for their private use.

Accordingly, they were charged jointly by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, ICPC, on six counts charge  of conspiracy to confer corrupt advantage upon a public officer contrary to Section 26 (1) (c) and punishable under Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.

Oke was charged separately on six counts for conferring corrupt advantage upon himself contrary to Section 19 of the Act and equally charged on three counts  for furnishing false returns contrary to Section 16 of the Act.

The court convicted the accused on all the counts of the charge and sentenced them to six months imprisonment on each of the counts without option of fine. However,  the sentence is to run concurrently.

At least 29 people are feared dead and many others injured as multiple blasts rocked the Sabon Gari area of Kano State on Monday night.

The Sabon Gari area, where four blasts were reported, is replete with outdoor bars and eateries and known for its bustling nightlife.

According to reports, the first blast occurred at  about 9:12 pm atEnugu/Igbo road near International Hotel, while the second blast followed three minutes later, at exactly 9:15 pm.

The spokesman of the Joint Task Force, Ikedichi Iweha, confirmed the Kano multiple blasts and asked residents to remain calm while assuring that heavily armed security operatives had cordoned off the area.

“We have had some explosions in Sabon Gari this evening. The explosions happened at open air beer parlours, where people were playing snooker,” Kano State police commissioner, Musa Daura, told AFP.

He said that six persons were confirmed dead and six others injured in the blasts but added that the cause of the explosions remain undetermined.

Other residents said that a small church sandwiched between two bars had been among the targets.

The blame for is blasts likely to fall on Boko Haram, the Islamist insurgency group which says it is fighting to create an Islamic state in northern Nigeria.

The group, which has carried out waves of bombings across northern Nigeria, was responsible for coordinated suicide blasts at a bus park in Sabon Gari in March that killed at least 41 people.

Kano has been among the cities hardest hit during the Boko Haram’sinsurgency, even if in recent months it had seen a lull in attacks.

Following a massive coordinated gun and bomb assault in January of 2012 that killed at least 185 people, security forces blanketed the city, setting up checkpoints at many roundabouts and intersections.

Nigeria launched a massive offensive against Boko Haram in May, specifically targeting three states – Adamawa, Borno and Yobe.

Since then, the military Joint Task Force, JTF,  has succeeded in clamping down and rooting out the insurgents, thus easing the siege on major cities in the affected states.

The insurgency is estimated to have killed more than 3,600 people since 2009, including those allegedly carried out by the security forces.

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Monday has annulled the  de-registration by the Independent National Electoral Commission,INEC, of Fresh Democratic Party and other political parties in December, 2012.

The court declared that Section 78(7) (ii) of the Electoral Act on which the INEC action was premised as unconstitutional, invalid, null and void, saying it is offensive to the provisions of Section 40 and sections 221-229 of the Constitution.

The court ruling was outcome a suit filed by Fresh Democratic Party and its presidential candidate in the 2011 general elections, ChrisOkotie,  protesting the de-registration of political parties.

Okotie and his party approached the court through their counsel, Fred Agbaje  seeking for a declaration that section 78 (7) (ii) of the Electoral Act, 2010 is unconstitutional, invalid, null and void to the extent that if offends the provisions of Section 40 and sections 221-229 of the 1999 Constitution.

They asked the court to hold that INEC cannot deregister the party except in accordance with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution and faulted the alleged reliance by INEC on section 78 (7) (ii) of the Electoral Act 2010, as amended, in deregistering Fresh Democratic Party without first hearing from the political party and insisted that the action violated the provisions of sections 36, 38 and 40, as well as sections 221-222 of the 1999 Constitution, and paragraph 15 of the 3rd schedule (part 10 of the Constitution) among others.

The plaintiffs also asked the court to make a declaration that INECcannot deregister the party except in accordance with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution.

The presiding judge, Justice Gabriel Kolawole, in his judgment held that the concept of deregistration of political parties is strange to the 1999 Constitution.

“I am worried that Section 78(7) (ii) of the Electoral Act, 2011, does not appear from my understanding to have any constitutional precedence. It was a product of legislative despotism which will only encourage political parties to become desperate to win election at all cost.

“The section is from all intent and purposes inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution. To that extent of inconsistency and in line with Section 1(3) of the constitution, it is hereby declared unconstitutional and shall cease forthwith to be part of the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2011, as amended,” the judge ruled.

He noted that the criteria by which the National Assembly delimitedderegistration to failure to win seats in state and National Assembly elections appears like nothing but legislative arbitrariness, sinceINEC has powers to conduct other elections.

According to him, “INEC would not have lost anything by issuing the1st plaintiff, FDP, with a query to enhance the integrity of its decision.

“The statutory powers conferred on the 1st defendant, INEC can be described as ministerial but when such power concernsderegistration of a political party it becomes a quasi judicial power because after registration a political party becomes a legal entity and acquires a legal right and a decision to take away such legal rights cannot be taken without according the political party a hearing,” Justice Kolawole said.

He declared invalid and set aside INEC’s decision dated December 6, 2012 purportedly de-registering the 1st plaintiff, Fresh Democratic Party, FDP.

However, the court denied the party one of its prayers that the court should order the defendants to pay them the sum of N10m as compensatory damages.

African journalists are to benefit from the 13th edition of the Highway Africa New Media Awards as part of programmes for 17thHighway Africa Conference taking place in South Africa on September 1 and 2.

The awards sponsored by Telkom aims at rewarding and enhancing innovative use of Information Communication technology, ICT, in journalism that serves Africa and its citizens.
The awards have become one of the major highlights of recognition, reward and celebration for creativity in using new technologies in media in Africa.

Entries should come from newsroom across Africa showcasing innovative use of digital media including online, social and mobile media.

Bloggers may also nominate an African-based or diasporic African blog based on its coverage, debate and use of ICTs within the African context.

Members of communities, organisations, or supporters may nominate an organisation based on their innovative use of technology within a community in Africa. The organisation does not have to be African based, but the community in which they operate must be.

Submissions are to be sent electronically to awards@highwayafrica.com . The Closing date is July 31.

Winners will be announced at the Telkom- Highway African New Media Awards ceremony during the Highway Africa Conference.

READ ALSO:

• Borno Govt. Opposes Restoration Of GSM Services
• Borno Government Demands More Troops
• Former LG Chairman Jailed For Diversion Of Security Funds
• 29 Feared Dead In Kano Multiple Explosions
• Court Annuls INEC’s De-registration Of Political Parties

Esteemed and competent judges including Michelle Atagana, OryOkolloh, Brenda Zulu and Ndesanjo Macha have been selected to adjudge the 13th edition of the awards.

The judges will consider the use of new media technologies to  advance newsroom operations, increase reach and diversifying content; encourage social empowerment amongst marginalisedcommunities through relevant topical community and/or African issues and innovative use of online media interactions platforms; highlight innovative and creative applications of technology for the benefit of the continent’s overall media development

The wide range of organisations and individuals that have won include journalists and students, NGOs and profit makingorganisations.

These individuals and organisations have made information and communication interventions that are critical to genuine free flow of information and participatory communication.

Among the previous winners are Citi 97.3FM (Ghana) (http://radio.gjoy24.com/online/Citi_FM_973), Global Voices (http://globalvoicesonline.org/), 3 Bute (Nigeria) (http://3bute.com/), African Women & Child Feature Service (Kenya) (www.awcfs.org), Simon Dingle (South Africa) (www.zatechshow.co.za), Zoopy.com (www.zoopy.com)
Click here for more information, contact VimbaiChikukwa at awards@highwayafrica.com  or visit: http://www.highwayafrica.com/?page_id=8.

Closing date is 31 July 2013, 16:30, Pretoria Time. Winners will be announced at the Telkom- Highway African New Media Awards ceremony at the Highway Africa Conference. Finalists will be contacted.

The minister of aviation, Stella Oduah, on Monday debunked accusations that contracts for the remodeling and rehabilitation of airports in the country were awards without recourse to due process or shrouded in secrecy.

Oduah said none of the 22 airports contracts awarded by the ministry could be linked with corruption as they were done within the provisions of the law.

Speaking through her special adviser on media, Joe Obi, the minister said all contracts were awarded in accordance with the Public Procurement Act (PPA) 2007.

“It would be misleading to insinuate that the contracts were awarded without normal and due process, through a Selective Tendering Process. To be sure, all contracts in the ministry for the remodeling of the airports and other critical infrastructure and equipment followed due processes,” she said.

Oduah stressed that the selective tendering process which was used to award the contracts is a lawful procurement procedure as enunciated in the Act, noting that the decision to opt for this method was informed by the fact that the present administration met aviation infrastructure, especially the terminals, in a dilapidated state.

According to her, a state of emergency was therefore required to rehabilitate the infrastructures and the selective tendering provision in the Act was the only option to follow.

She said further that security-related contracts were not announced because they were not subject to open competitive bidding in order not to compromise the entire process is not.

The minister also said that the security equipment ordered by the ministry was not an off-the-shelf item but is custom-made and manufactured specifically to suit the purposes of the ministry.

“We re-state that all contracts were awarded in accordance with the provisions of the PPA and received Certificates of No Objection from the Bureau of Public Procurement,” Oduah said.

The federal ministry of environment has predicted heavy rainfall in the north this week and beyond, which may result in flooding.

According to a statement issued on Monday in Abuja by the deputy director in charge of erosion, flood and coastal zone management,Ekong Ekanem, the heavy rains are expected in 14 states between July 30 and August 6.

Many towns are expected to be flooded in Benue, Kebbi, Gombe,Zamfara, Yobe, Jigawa, Borno, Katsina, Bauchi, Kano, Sokoto,Kaduna, Taraba and Adamawa.

Specific towns in these states likely to be affected include: Beli,Donga, Lau and Yorro in Taraba; Kachia, Kauru, Jema’a andSaminaka in Kaduna State; Kangiwa, Shinkafi, Silame, Sokoto andWamako in Sokoto state; Kano, Bebeji, Wudil, Tudun-Wada,Sumaila, Kunchi, Karaye, Gezawa and Gwarzo in Kano State.
Others are: Bauchi, Katagum, Azare, Bajoga, Yelwa, TafawaBalewa, Itas, Misau, Darazo and Jama’are in Bauchi State; Katsina,Bakori, Funtua, Daura and Kaita in Katsina State; Dutse andGwaram in Jigawa State; Potiskum, Kanamma, Damaturu, Dapchiand Gashua in Yobe State; Kaura Namoda in Zamfara; Nafada andGombe in Gombe State; as well as Bungudu in Kebbi State.

The ministry appealed to governments and people of the prone areas to take all necessary precautionary measures to avoid any disaster.

It added that adherence to similar warnings in the past had saved lives and property.