The Nigerian Navy in Bayelsa State on Sunday handed over 23 suspects it arrested for alleged complicity in oil theft to the Nigeria Police for interrogation.

The hand over was sequel to the seizure of two vessels laden with 250,000 litres of illegally refined diesel.

Nine of the suspected oil thieves were arrested aboard MT Favour1, along the Akassa River, while the remaining 14 were arrested on board MT Rica along the Nun River both in Bayelsa.

The flag officer commanding, Central Naval Command, Sidi Usman, handed over the suspects to assistant superintendent of police, Chris Nwogu, who represented the police commissioner in Bayelsa.

Usman was also represented by the command’s operation officer, Commodore Emmanuel Enemor.

He said the two vessels were intercepted by the Nigerian Naval patrol team, FORMOSO which has its operating base in Brass @ocalgovernment area of the state.

“Instead of purchasing original products at certified loading points, the vessels were said to have diverted to the creeks to patroniselocally refined diesel,” he said.

Usman said investigations carried out by the navy revealed that MT RICA was operated by Alcylios Ltd located at 25 Warehouse Road,Apapa, Lagos.

“The MT FAVOUR 1 before its arrest operated under the business name of Petrol Marine Trading and Shipping Company located at 60Emekuku Street, D Line, Port Harcourt, Rivers. The laboratory analysis of the product samples from the vessels indicated that the AGO found on board was of low quality, thereby confirming that it may have been illegally refined,” the naval officer said.

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According to him, the captains of both vessels confessed that they lifted over 150,000 and 100,000 litres respectively of illegally refined AGO at Akassa.

“At the time of their arrest, they could not tender their ship’s documents, logs, NPA bunkering permits and certificate of registration with the Joint Task Force, Operation Pulo Shield,” he said.

Usman said the arrest of the suspects by the command had confirmed its renewed efforts to completely eradicate all forms of illegal activities and criminality in the maritime environment.

Two minors and an adult were crushed to death at the Bukan-sidiarea, of Nasarawa State, when a Toyota Camry rammed into them after veering off the road.

The Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, Sector Commander in the state, Francis Udoma, who confirmed the incident said a fourth victim was critically wounded and is receiving treatment at an unnamed hospital.

Udoma said the driver of the Camry car with registration number Lagos FST 931 AR, was drunk at about 8:45pm and was over-speeding when he lost control of the car, causing it to divert from the road,killing the three victims.

The sector commander said two of the deceased were brothers, aged 9 and 16 years.

“The car veered off his lane to the other side of the road where he crushed the three people, who died instantly and leaving another in a critical condition,” he said.

An eyewitness told the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN that the incident happened opposite Investment House at Bukan-Sidi, around 8:35 p.m.

The eyewitness, who pleaded anonymity, attributed the accident to over speeding.

“Suddenly the car veered off his lane and ran into the pedestrian path on the other side,” the eyewitness said.

The bodies of the dead and injured victims it was gathered, were taken to a nearby private hospital by a good Samaritan before the arrival of FRSC officials.

Lagos State witnessed another mishap as a two story building under construction collapsed at Ishaga area of Surulere, on Sunday, claiming the lives of at least three  people.

According to the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, three people have been confirmed dead, three are receiving treatment at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, where one of the victims is said to require a surgical operation.

Initial reports from NEMA stated that two people died but another body of a 13 year old girl recovered from the scene has taken the death toll to three people.

Sunday’s building collapse comes barely two weeks after a three-story building located at Olota Street, off Herbert Macaulay Way,Ebute Metta, Lagos collapsed, killing about seven people.

Finally, after nearly a two month ban, telecommunication services have been restored in Borno State.

The defence headquarters spokesperson, Chris Olukolade, told Reuters that the telephone services were restored “in reaction to the improved security situation and to relax the environment and ease tensions,”

GSM services were suspended in Adamawa Borno and Yobe states in May following the declaration of a state of emergency there, but the other two states got their no service ban lifted in the last seven days.

While restoring network service in Adamawa State Friday last week, the defense headquarters said that as soon as the security situation in the other states improve, network service would be restored.

Telecom services were also restored in Yobe State on Thursday.

The national publicity secretary of Afenifere, the pan-Yoruba Socio-political organisation, Yinka Odumakin, says his views do not reflect those of the Muhammadu Buhari, leader of the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, as he is no longer his spokesman.

“I ceased being Buhari’s media advisor shortly after the Supreme Court ruled on the 2011 elections which brought us together for a period of about 8 months,” he said.

The statement came in response to one earlier made by the CPC in which it disowned certain comments made by Odumakin, which was erroneously published by the a newspaper as reflecting the views ofBuhari.

“Our attention has been drawn to a Nigerian Pilot newspaper story of Wednesday, July 17, 2013…We are not aware of the mischief embedded in the reporting that was meant to achieve very politically capricious purposes” the party said in the statement.

It added: “Much as the story was embarrassing to our amiable National leader, General Muhammadu Buhari, we wish to disabuse the minds of our friends, teeming supporters and merger partners that this hogwash was a cynical display of un professional journalism.”

Odumakin however said that his views expressed in the said edition of the newspaper were not made on Buhari’s behalf, adding that the disclaimer by the CPC was unnecessary.

“In the said view written under my name as I have done several years now, I stated that the corruption going on in the South West States under ACN is far greater than what we witnessed underPDP,” he said.

Odumakin stated that he had expressed critical views about politics in the South west before in a personal capacity, wondering why his last comment would be seen as Buhari’s.

He buttressed his point by recalling that he dragged the former governor of Oyo State, Adebayo Alao Akala, to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in 2010 for asking each local government in the state to award five kilometers of road at N250mto a particular contractor.

“The newspaper quoted me correctly but mistakenly referred to me as “Buhari Spokesman” but never said I spoke for General Buhari. I had expected those who want to provide leadership for the country to read the publication they are reacting to before rushing to the media to “disown” who they don’t own,” Odumakin said.

The federal government says it has begun investigation into the petition against the Rivers State commissioner of police, JosephMbu, following the crisis that erupted Tuesday last week at the state House of Assembly.

Minister of Police Affairs, Caleb Olubolade, a retired Navy Captain, disclosed this on Friday at the inauguration of 200 units of three-bedroom flats at Goodluck Jonathan Police Housing Estate in Idimuarea of Lagos State.

He said the “weighty” allegation was receiving adequate attention, adding that Mbu would be given an opportunity to defend himself before any disciplinary action could be taken against him.

The minister said if he is found guilty, Mbu would be dealt with accordingly.

He stressed that the force had no room for erring and undisciplined policemen and officers, saying they were expected to be alive to their responsibilities and stay away from partisan politics.

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Olubolade noted that the duty of a policeman as spelt out in the constitution is that of safe-guarding lives and properties of the citizenry.

“When any policeman goes out of his or her way to abuse the constitution and the constitutional rights of others, such officer should get ready to face the wrath of the law,” he said.

The Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, had written a petition to the President and the National Assembly accusing the commissioner of incompetence and partisanship in the political crisis in the state.

The police in Lagos State have rescued two Chinese from alleged  kidnappers following a distress call, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.

The victims, Song Jiang, a 56-year-old woman and a man,Zhangwen Xue, 45, who are workers in Supper Engineering Company, Odogunyan, Ikorodu.

Police spokesperson in the state, Ngozi Braide, said in a statement on Saturday that one person has been arrested in connection with the kidnap.

“On July 15, at about 2.50 p.m., the policemen attached toShagamu Road Division in Ikorodu, responded to a distress call and arrested a kidnapper at Shotumu village, near Shagamu, Ogun,” the statement said.

It said further that one locally-made pistol and a BMW car, with registration number CK 737 LND, were also recovered from the suspect.

The statement did not give further details about the kidnap attempt.

In a related development, the spokesperson said four armed robbery suspects were arrested in different parts of the state.

Braide said that two were arrested at about 1.55 p.m. on July 16 by policemen attached to Dolphin Estate Division, who responded to a distress call at the Estate.

She also said two others were arrested during a patrol on the same day at about 9.30 a.m. by policemen attached to Igando Division.

She said all the cases had been transferred to the state Criminal Investigation Department for further investigations.

The federal government has directed that N1 billion worth of foodstuffs be distributed to the three states currently under emergency rule – Adamawa, Borno and Yobe – to alleviate the sufferings of residents and in the spirit of the Ramadan fast.

Minister of state for agriculture, Tijjani Bukar, who is to supervise the distribution of the food items, said that President GoodluckJonathan was very concerned about the sufferings of the people in the region and has insisted that the food items get to everyafftected Nigerian regardless of their political, religious or tribal leaning.

Bukar said that in Borno State, the foodstuffs would be shared across 3928 units and would be coordinated by the Kanem BornoFoundation with voluntary supports from religious bodies, civil society organizations, the security and the Civilian JTF.

The minister said each of the units are expected to get at least 45 bags of the assorted grains ‘depending on the size of the units’.

“We have put a mechanism that would minimize diversion that is why we are involving the Civilian-JTF, to monitor the exercise to ensure that it is not abused or hijacked,” he said.

Boko Haram insurgents have driven about 19 000 rice farmers fromBorno State, while a military crackdown is preventing others from working on their fields and over 20,000 residents have been forced to flee to neighbouring countries like Niger and Cameroon

The senator representing Borno Central, Zannah Ahmed, had raised an alarm over acute shortage of necessities such as food, medical facilities and water in Barga and Gwaza areas and had appealed to the federal Government to intervene.

A delegation of eight opposition governors has advised their River State counterpart,  Rotimi Amaechi, to visit President GoodluckJonathan and brief him on the poor security situation of the state.

The governors from the ACN, ANPP, APGA and CPC, said this when they paid solidarity visit to their Rivers state counterpart on Thursday, three days after four Northern governors who visited the state were pelted with stones at the airport.

The eight governors are Kayode Fayemi, Ekiti; Babatunde Fashola, Lagos State; Ibukunle Amosu, Ogun; Rauf Aregbesola, Osun andAbiola Ajumobi of Oyo State. Others are  Rochas Okorocha, Imo;Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, Nassarawa and Abdul’aziz Abubakar ofZamfara State.

After a closed-door meeting with Amaechi, Fayemi who acted as spokesman for the governors, told newsmen that their mission was to stress the importance of their concern for the security of Rivers State as the issue of security in the country was far more of a major concern to Nigerians.

“We have met with our brother and chairman of our forum in an extensive discussion and he has briefed us on the situation on ground here. We do feel strongly, having listened to him, that it is quite important for him to actually go and brief Mr President, who is our leader and the chief security officer of the country on the very challenging security situation here in Rivers,” the Ekiti Governor said.

He said they also discussed the importance for the hierarchy of the police authority, as well as the need for the Inspector General of Police, to help in restoring the lost confidence the people of Rivers have in the police.

“For us, we believe that this is a matter that requires the moral authority of Mr President as well, it is about saving the democracy, it is about ensuring that peace reigns in Rivers. The tension in Rivers is avoidable and we want all parties to sheathe their sword and to help restore the peace and security of the state,” he added.

Investigation carried out by the National Judicial Council, NJC, has found ex-Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Justice Hassan Gunmi, guilty of judicial corruption.

According to a statement issued by the acting director of Information of NJC, Soji Oye, at the end of a two-day crucial meeting in Abuja on Thursday, the council said it had been proven that the former Chief Judge perverted the course of justice in a case involving a company, Nestello Gateway Group and the governor of Zamfara State, Abubakar Yari.

The NJC described the conduct of Justice Gunmi in the case as “most unethical and highly reprehensible,” but said it had decided not to take punitive measures against him considering that he had voluntarily bowed out of office.

Gunmi voluntarily resigned from the bench in May, barely three weeks after the council concluded plans to investigate the case against him and has since been crowned Emir of Gunmi town inZamfara State, to replace Aliyu Abara who died on May 7.

The council, however, warned that “henceforth, any similar misconduct by any judicial officer will be visited with severe sanctions.

It also issued a stern warning to Justice M.A. Onyetenu of the Federal High Court for granting ex-parte order without hearing the pending motion and applications in a suit between one CharityAkah, an evangelist and Alpaca Price Nigeria Limited.

The council said it had adjourned hearing on petitions against other judicial officials across the country accused of involvement in acts of corruption till its next sitting.

Part of the statement reads:

“The committee investigated the petition forwarded to it byNestello Gateway Group in Suit No. FCT/HC/CV/486/10 against Justice Hassan Gummi, former Chief Judge of High Court of FCT,Abuja.

“At the end of deliberation, council accepted the findings of its committee that Justice Gummi, interfered with the execution of the judgment delivered by Justice Jude Okeke of the FCT High Court,Abuja, in the suit between Nestello Gateway Group and AlhajiAbubakar Yari, a former National Assembly member and current Governor of Zamfara State, in which execution had already been levied in favour of the petitioner.

“Council found the interference by Justice Gummi in the execution of the judgment as most unethical and highly reprehensible.”