NJC suspends two judges for misconduct

Nigeria's first female Chief Justice,
Mariam Aloma Mukhtar

Two judges, Justice Gladys Olotu of the Abuja Federal High Court and Justice U. A. Inyang of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, have been suspended for gross misconduct after the National Judicial Council forwarded a recommendation for their dismissal to President Goodluck Jonathan.

The President is expected to approve the sacking of the two judicial officers.

A statement from the Acting Director of Information in the NJC, Soji Oye, explained that the council, headed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mukhtar, took the decision at a meeting on Wednesday, where the two judicial officers were suspended, pending the approval of their dismissal by the President.

“The National Judicial Council, under the Chairmanship of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mukhtar, at its meeting which was held on February 26, 2014, recommended the compulsory retirement from office of Justice G.K. Olotu of the Federal High Court and Justice U. A. Inyang of High Court of Justice of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, respectively for gross misconduct,” the statement said.

The recommendation for compulsory retirement of the two judges was based on findings made by the NJC after investigations into allegations contained in petitions brought against them.

The NJC found that Justice Olotu “failed to deliver judgment on Suit No. FHC/UY/250/2003, 18 months after the final address by all the counsel in the suit, contrary to the constitutional provisions that judgments should be delivered within a period of 90 days.”

Also, Justice Olotu “admitted before the Fact Finding Committee of the Council that investigated the allegations that she forgot she had a pending ruling to deliver in an application for joinder.”

The NJC equally found that she “entertained a post judgment matter in Suit No. FHC/UY/CS/250/2003 in Port Harcourt, after delivering judgment, which made her functus officio.”

It was also established that “in another case, Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/505/2012, Justice Olotu failed to deliver judgment twice.”

On his part, Justice Inyang was recommended for dismissal after the NJC Fact Finding Committee established that he “included in his judgment, references to the Garnishee Proceedings, which came after the judgment had been delivered on December 20, 2011.”

He “also included the name of the counsel for Federal Road Maintenance Agency, Chief Chukwuma Ekomaru, SAN, who came into the matter after the judgment of December 20, 2011 was delivered.”

The NJC stated that Justice Inyang “recklessly signed a Writ of Execution, a day after delivering his judgment of December 20, 2011, the same day a notice of appeal and motion on notice for stay of execution were filed.”

“The judge continued with the Garnishee Proceedings despite application for stay of execution; and before delivering his judgment of December 20, 2011, Justice Inyang ignored a properly filed motion on notice for leave to file additional witness statement on oath,” the NJC added.

“In the meantime, the National Judicial Council has in the exercise of its disciplinary powers under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended, suspended the two judges from office with immediate effect,” the statement said.

Besides recommending the dismissal of the two judges, the NJC at the meeting also issued warning letters to other judicial officers.

The council issued warning letters to Justice Dalhatu Adamu, CFR, the Presiding Justice of Court of Appeal Kaduna Division, Justice A. A. Adeleye of High Court of Justice, Ekiti State and Justice D. O. Amaechina of High Court of Justice, Anambra State, respectively.

Justice Dalhatu Adamu, a former Acting President of the Court of Appeal, during the period the former PCA, Justice Ayo Salami, who was on suspension, received a warning letter “for deliberately absenting himself from duty, which is an act of gross misconduct contrary to the provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended and the Code of Conduct of Judicial Officers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
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2014 World Cup: Jonathan Approves Extra N1.6billion for Eagles

President Goodluck Jonathan

Super Eagles 2014 FIFA World Cup preparation and participation has received a massive boost with the approval of N1.6 billion extra budgetary allocation to the team by the Federal Government.

THISDAY checks revealed Thursday that President Goodluck Jonathan who is looking forward to a good outing in Brazil from the senior national football team, the Super Eagles, has approved the funds expected to be released any moment from now.

A top government source in Abuja confirmed to THISDAY yesterday that the money is mainly for the preparation and participation of the Super Eagles at the Mundial in the South American nation.

“The Federal Government is committed to the Super Eagles doing well at the World Cup in Brazil that is why President Jonathan has approved N1.6billion for the team. The money is different from whatever the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) may have appropriated for the team in their 2014 budget,” revealed the reliable source Thursday.

Although the money is less than the N2.3billion the Presidential Task Force on the last World Cup in South Africa had hope to raise for a successful outing for the Super Eagles four years ago, football officials who spoke with THISDAY on the Federal Government’s magnanimity were full of praises for President Jonathan.

“The president has demonstrated his love for the country’s senior football team by approving the money. This will take the pressure away from the National Sports Commission and NFF officials who have been wondering how they were going to fund Eagles preparations and participation in Brazil 2014,” observed the official who would not want his name in print because of his post in the nation’s sports sector.

Sports Minister, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, is believed to have played a part in getting the Presidency to approve the money for the Eagles.

Abdullahi who had earlier voiced his resentment with setting up another task force like the 2010 committee headed by Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, in the drive to raise funds for Nigeria’s participation at the Brazil 2014, is likely to approach Corporate Nigeria for their support to what the Federal Government has provided for the Eagles. The left-over of the funds raised by the Amaechi committee was used to fund the new NFF secretariat in Abuja.

NFF had earlier tabled a budget of over N5billion for the busy year 2014. It is far greater than the N1.2billion it received to run 2013 in which Nigeria won the Africa Cup of Nations after 19 years of waiting for the trophy and a fourth FIFA Under-17 World Cup title in the United Arab Emirates. Eagles also won the bragging rights to the World Cup in Brazil same year.

Apart from the Africa Nations Championships (CHAN) in January where the home-based Eagles returned from South Africa as the third best nation of the tournament and Nigeria’s campaign in Brazil next summer, all three cadres of the women’s national teams – Falcons, Falconets and Flamingos have equally booked their passages to both continental and world tournaments.

As part of Nigeria’s preparation for the World Cup in Brazil, the Super Eagles are scheduled to play Mexico in Atlanta, USA next week Wednesday.

Also, the NFF has announced that the Super Eagles intends to play a friendly match with a yet to be disclosed country in London on May 28 before heading to their World Cup training camp the next day. Two other friendly matches on June 3 and 7 have also been lined up for the Eagles before they branch out to Sao Paulo, Brazil on June 11 for the World Cup campaign.
Eagles are going to battle Argentina, Iran and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the group state.

Duro Ikhazuagbe

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Sanusi: Now, we know why!

Sanusi Lamido Sanusi

THOSE in the legal profession knew from the outset that the 2007 Act of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, was basically flawed by allowing the Governor of the Bank to also occupy the position of Chairman of its Board of Directors.
We foresaw the dangers of a power-drunk governor exploiting this structural weakness in wreaking havoc on the nation’s financial system. That was one of the major reasons why the 7th National Assembly tried in 2012 to amend the CBN Act.
The lawmakers were convinced that the law, as it was (and still is) neither contained enough checks and balances, nor promoted transparency and accountability.
The process of amendment, currently kept in abeyance, was being fiercely resisted by the suspended Governor of the Bank, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who continued to mobilise public sentiments through media campaigns and, in several cases, by donating cash and projects, using public funds. What many Nigerians did not know, and are just finding out, rather painfully, is that Sanusi has been abusing the national treasury over which he was appointed to watch.
When on Thursday, February 20, 2014, the Presidency announced the suspension of Sanusi from office, his immediate reaction was rather curious. “I am surprised, it took Government so long to take this action”, he was quoted to have said.
The suspended governor knew what he was talking about.  Indeed, he was inadvertently drawing attention to the fact that he had been under investigation for quite some time now; that, as far back as June 2013, the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, FRCN, had submitted a report to the President which indicted him of various acts of fraud and mismanagement of the CBN, found him guilty of “financial recklessness and misconduct” and recommended, among others, that the President should, by evoking Section II(2) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act 2007, “cause the Governor and the Deputy Governor to cease from holding office in the CBN”.
But before going into some of the shocking revelations of the FRCN report, the question is: Why are some Nigerians shedding tears for the suspended governor? The answer is simple. First, we, Nigerians, are a very gullible people.  We hardly learn by our experiences.
Even those of us who proclaim, with confidence, that we can never be tricked by conmen or money-doublers or such fraudsters find ourselves, every now and then, victims of these men and women. The suspended CBN governor wears the appearance of an innocent professional; he is articulate and always sanctimonious in talk.
Until the revelations, by the FRCN report, of the sordid and shameful events that led to the President’s decision to suspend Sanusi, many Nigerians believed that he was a man who could never contemplate anything indecent, not to talk of fraud.
The truth, however, is that Sanusi plotted and strategised for everything right from when he was appointed governor of the CBN in 2009. From that time, he knew where he was going and what he wanted. His main strategy was to attack, weaken or circumvent all those he thought might stand in his way – his professional colleagues in the banking industry, the National Assembly and then the President.
Rather fortunately for Sanusi, the flawed 2007 CBN Act was an effective weapon in his hands. With it, he combined the tactics of intimidation, harassment and blackmail in combating all possible obstacles in his way.
Soon after assuming office, Sanusi attacked the nation’s commercial banks and removed their Managing Directors, an action which many described as an unlawful intimidation. But the CBN governor defended his decision by citing provisions of the CBN Act which gave him the powers to do so.
Then Sanusi moved on to the National Assembly and applied a different strategy, that of blackmail. He announced to Nigerians that 25.41 percent of the nation’s budget was expended on legislators’ salaries and allowances.
It is needless to say that the lawmakers were embarrassed to the core. Senators struggled to convince Nigerians that only 3.5 per cent was spent on legislators’ salaries and allowances. But, how many Nigerians listened to them? Sanusi’s figures had stuck to their memories and that, for them, was the end of the matter.
Sanusi also took up President Jonathan. When the CBN governor accused the NNPC of failure to remit $49.8 billion to the Federation Account and deliberately leaked his letter to the press, there was pressure on him from Nigerians and the Presidency to resign his appointment.
It was reported that Sanusi, not only refused to resign, but also challenged the President on a heated telephone conversation that he could not be removed by the President except by two-third of the Senate, as required by law.
As Sanusi tackled his perceived opponents, using one strategy or the other, he operated as a sovereign and parallel government, committing a series of illegal acts as listed in the FRCN report. While by law the President cannot and does not spend money unless duly appropriated for by the National Assembly, Sanusi claimed that he had no such constraints and hence was able to dole out funds for projects without appropriation and outside the CBN mandate.
The style of the CBN governor has been that of an unrestrained spendthrift who moves from one launch occasion to another dishing out public funds.
When all the smoke and gimmicks have evaporated, Sanusi must be made to face the reality that he has committed serious breaches of the law for which he must be brought to book. That brings to the fore one remarkable thing about President Jonathan.
Although the President may appear slow in acting his machinery of justice and fair play, like the wheel of the law, will certainly always catch up with all those who have transgressed against the nation. Sanusi should not escape justice.
Mr. JOHN AINOFENOKHAIi, a political analyst, wrote from Benin City, Edo State.
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Man dies in romp with commercial sex worker in Aba

…had N200,000 cash on him

A man, identified as Ogadinma Chukwu, has lost his life while having sex with a commercial sex worker at a popular brothel located on St. Michael’s Road, Aba, Abia State.
Sources said the deceased, whom they alleged to be a regular visitor to the brothel, died while romping the prostitute.

It was gathered that immediately Chukwu slumped and died, the prostitute contacted her colleagues and the manager of the brothel who moved his corpse to a sanitary lane at the back of the brothel.
As a result of the development, shop owners around the area quickly closed business for fear of police arrest.

Those who spoke anonymously to our reporter disclosed that some staff of the brothel at about 5 p.m. brought out the corpse through their back door, dropped it at the sanitary lane and disappeared.
When our correspondent visited the area, the brothel was deserted as people were gathering at the adjoining St. Michael’s Road by York Street junction and Hospital Road.
A cross section of sympathisers said the deceased might have died of a cardiac arrest or exhaustion as white foam gushed out of his mouth.

Policemen from the Aba Central Police Station, who conducted a search at the scene, recovered an ATM card, a cheque book, cash of over N200,000 and a Man O’ War Association of Nigeria identity card, bearing the name, Ogadinma Chukwu.

Contacted, the Commander, Man O’ War Association, Aba, Uche Egbuziem, identified Ogadinma Chukwu as a former member of the association, stressing that the deceased and some other members of the group still use their old identity cards.

Abia Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, ASP Geoffrey Ogbonna, could not be reached for comments at press time, but a senior police officer said the corpse had been deposited in a mortuary.
He said an autopsy would be conducted to determine the cause of the man’s death.
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Activists demand sacking of Jonathan’s social media aide

President Goodluck Jonathan

Online activists have called for the sacking of the Special Assistant to the President on New Media, Mr. Reno Omokri, over a controversial article traced to him. The article had linked suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Lamido Sanusi, to Boko Haram activities.

Tech-savvy individuals complained that the electronic mail circulated to bloggers and written with the address wendellsimlin@yahoo.com had the digital footprints of the presidential aide.

The property of the Word document in the email was discovered to have conspicuously contained the name of the presidential aide as its author.

The first paragraph of the article entitled, ‘Increased tempo of Boko Haram/terrorist activity in the wake of the Sanusi Saga,’ which has now circulated widely online reads, “In the wake of the saga involving the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, there has been an increase in the tempo of terrorist activities carried out by the Islamic terrorist sect, Boko Haram.”

The development has sparked anger online, especially on Twitter, with many calling for Omokri’s head. They accused Omokri, a pastor, of spearheading a smear campaign at a time when dozens of Nigerians are being massacred in the north.

Political blogger, Kayode Ogundamisi, in a message posted on his Twitter page, described the write-up as “sad.”

“How devilish for a man like Omokri to keep screaming Jesus and then author documents trying to link an innocent man with Boko Haram? This is sad,” Ogundamisi said.

As the online outrage against Omokri gathered momentum, one Edward Ayide accused him of using the tragic loss of children and other Nigerians to terrorist attacks to score cheap political points.

Ayide argued that the circumstances surrounding the e-mail was a dent on the Presidency, adding that the President should not hesitate to fire him immediately.

 “This is a disgrace. Shame on this man! He apparently has no conscience or personal integrity. Rather than grieve, he’s hurling stink-bombs. The President will do well to disavow men like Omokri and his ilk by firing him for this fiasco,” Ayide tweeted.

On her part, Ivy Sarumi asked Omokri to desist from parading himself as a cleric, as his behaviour he allegedly exhibited online betrayed the qualities expected of a pastor.

 “Let no one call him (Omokri) a pastor. Even, an herbalist won’t jump into an abyss of shame as deep as that. It is a shame. I’m sure the Presidency won’t do a thing about this. After all, he who pays the piper dictates the tune. In climes where leaders are sane, he would have been called in for questioning,” she wrote on Twitter.”

Corroborating Sarumi’s views, Raymond Eyo also tweeted, “This scandal just highlights Omokri’s insensitivity towards Boko Haram’s latest victims. It also shows his clumsiness at his job. As Nigeria mourns, a presidential aide is busy slandering critics for cheap political gain. Shame on you, Omokri.”

Online critic, Mwalimu Chukudebelu, slammed Omokri for allegedly using tax payers’ money for “fabricating tales,” even as he urged the President to disengage the services of Omokri and employ a more tech-savvy and responsible digital media aide.

“Dear Jonathan, your next special assistant on new media should know a bit about IT stuff like metadata and digital signatures. It is really sad. He cooked up a story linking Sanusi to Boko Haram, but wasn’t smart enough to know his signature is on Microsoft Word docs.

“Too many blunders from Jonathan’s media team over the past one and a half weeks; and along comes Reno. This is a disaster! At a time like this, the President’s media team should be re-assuring the nation, not fabricating tall tales to implicate Sanusi.”

Gbenga Sesan, an IT consultant, says if Omokri retains his job in spite of the scandal rocking his office, then it might be concluded that he was doing the bidding of his employers.

“If you will write an article to discredit anyone, make sure you are at least not too dumb to leave digital footprint all over the place. If Omokri still has his job by this time tomorrow, then he was doing the bidding of his employers,” Sesan tweeted.

Efforts made to reach Omokri on Thursday were unsuccessful. Several calls placed to his telephone were unanswered, while a text message sent to him was also not replied.

Besides, an electronic mail sent to his two e-mail addresses renoomokri@yahoo.co.uk and reno@renoomokri.org, seeking his response, was not responded to as at 9pm press time.
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How we spent Abacha’s loot — Okonjo-Iweala

Minister of Finance and Co-ordinating Minister for the Economy and , Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala , said yesterday that the $ 500 million recovered Abacha loot was used to develop the nation’s rural areas.
ABThe minister was reacting to an article by Mr.  Sonala Olumhense who claimed that $2.5 billion was recovered from the funds looted by the then maximum ruler, Gen. Sani Abacha but that the money disappeared under the minister’s watch.

According to the minister, $ 500 million, not $2.5 billion was recovered and had been spent development projects in rural areas as agreed with the Swiss government.
A statement by Mr. Paul Nwabikwu, Special Adviser to the minister said that the claims by Mr. Olumhense were unverified and largely false.

“The problem I have with Mr Sonala Olumhense’s articles on the Coordinating Minister and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala is the general absence of verified facts and the basing of opinions on gross inaccuracies.

“For instance, Mr Olumhense writes that $2.5 billion of Abacha money was recovered during Dr Okonjo Iweala’s time as Finance Minister under President Obasanjo and that the money disappeared implying some involvement in the disappearance by the Minister. This is absolutely false. First, the amount recovered was $500 million, not $2.5 billion.

“The recovered amount was channeled into rural projects and programmes as per the agreement with the Swiss government which repatriated the funds. A combined team of Nigerian and Swiss NGOs with the World Bank later verified the use of this money on the ground in the projects cited and they certified the money had been accurately utilized.

“The World Bank had written about this in a 2007 2008 Handbook on stolen Asset Recovery where the case was cited as a best practice example of how to deploy returned proceeds of looted assets. Readers of Mr Olumhense would benefit more if his passionate writings on Dr Okono Iweala are supported by a bit more research as opposed to sweeping, unverified statements”, the statement read in part.

On the NNPC oil accounts issue, Mr. Nwabuikwu said that the minister has been at the forefront of the anti corruption crusade and had called for an independent forensic audit to establish the facts of any unaccounted for money and ensure that all every Naira owed the treasury was returned to the Federation Account.
“This is the best way to proceed given the conflicting claims by Mr Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and the NNPC. After all the speeches and comments like that of Mr Olumhense, the fundamental problem of determining the facts as a basis for action must still be tackled. Is there room for more action on corruption? Of course the answer can only be yes. But action is needed to achieve change. Talk is cheap, action is crucial.

“The clean up of the fraud in the subsidy payments regime to oil marketers for which she paid a heavy personal price in the form of the abduction of her mother by paid kidnappers in November 2012 is one clear example”.

“Another example is the clean up of the pension fraud with the establishment now of a new institution under the Federal Ministry of Finance – the Pension Transition Administration Department to ensure that pensioners under the old defined benefits scheme are not defrauded anymore”, he said.
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Boko Haram: Mass protests imminent over terrorist attacks —Gov Nyako

Gov. Nyako

Piqued by the in-cessant attacks by insurgents in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, Governor of Adamawa, Murtala Nyako, has asked the Federal Government to take more proactive measures to stem the tide.

Nyako told newsmen in Yola, yesterday, that the Federal Government needed to do more to allay the fears of the public who have started getting tired of excuses.
He also said that people were agitated and might start coming out to demonstrate their displeasure with the ways things were deteriorating in the affected areas.

According to him, the authorities needed to know who were funding the insurgency and why the steady attacks on the populace even with the state of emergency in place.
Nyako wondered why soldiers in some of the places were either a little bit late in arriving at the scene of such attacks or completely absent to the dismay of the people.

”In Yadi-Buni of Yobe State, the  Army withdrew from check-point some hours before the attack, who ordered the withdrawal?
”We also have the case of General Shuwa in Maiduguri who was killed by the so-called Boko Haram. There is an Army unit there, but they did not respond during the attack, who told them not to respond?

”The Nigeria Air Force base was raided in Maiduguri. There was a military base nearby, who gave the base order not to respond during the raid on the Airforce base?” Governor Nyako asked in anger, pointing out that it was ‘’either this thing is controlled by unknown fellows or unknown Boko Haram strategic commander in the defence system or is being stage-managed.”
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S’West to demand regional autonomy at National Conference

•L-R: Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi; Chief Reuben Fasoranti;
 and Sir Olaniwun Ajayi,
during the presentation of the
Yoruba Agenda for the
2014 National Conference in
Ibadan, Oyo State ...on Thursday.

The Yoruba Assembly has said it will demand regional autonomy and an ideal resource management system when the 2014 National Conference holds in Abuja later in the year.

The assembly, which is a coalition of thoughts and socio-cultural groups in Yoruba land, held a grand summit in Ibadan on Thursday, where the Yoruba agenda for the conference was formally presented and adopted at the House of Chiefs, Oyo State Secretariat.

Among those present at the meeting were the Chairman of the committee, Chief Olu Falae; vice-chairman, Gen. Alani Akinrinade (retd.); secretary, Mr. Kunle Olajide; and a former Chairman of Punch Nigeria Limited, Chief Ajibola Ogunshola.

Also present were the Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee on the National Conference, Chief Femi Okurounmu; a former Governor of Lagos State, Alhaji Lateef Jakande; and a former Governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba.

Others were former Commissioner for Health in the old Western Region, Sir Olaniwun Ajayi; and a former judge of the International Court of Justice, Prince Bola Ajibola; monarchs from the region, leaders of various Yoruba groups, representatives of South-West state governments and the host, Governor Abiola Ajimobi.

While reading out the summary of the 15 issues on the Yoruba Agenda, Akinrinade said, “When the conference holds from March 10, 2014, the Yoruba people will make a proposal for a new Nigeria, consisting of a central union/Federal Government and six regional governments based on the current six geo-political zones, including all other Yoruba outside the imposed artificial boundaries; that is to say, in Edo, Delta, Kogi and Kwara states; and operating federal and regional constitutions, respectively.”

He further stated that the Yoruba would agitate for regional autonomy for the South-West within a united Nigerian federation.

Akinrinade added that the conference offered an opportunity for the ethnic group to actualise its agenda, especially with the “expiration of the amalgamation by mistake of 1914.”

The agenda is also seeking to bring to an end the presidential system of government in the country and ensure the return to the parliamentary system, and the right to self determination by each region, including the right to secede.

“The regional constitution will allocate functions to the three tiers of government in the Yoruba federation or region. States will be responsible for the creation of local government councils. However, any ethnic group or groups within a state wishing to align with any other state or to belong to a new region shall be allowed to do so if confirmed in a plebiscite by the affected people,” the agenda document reads in part.

Speaking on the agenda, Okurounmu appealed for unity among the Yoruba, warning that no state in the region must present a separate agenda.

He said, “We have a Yoruba Agenda already and if any state presents a separate agenda, we will lose our unity.”

The group also said that it would propose a new exclusive list that would address procurement of arms, ammunition and explosives; award of national honours; right to citizenship; issue on currency; defence; deportation of persons; diplomatic and consular matters;  and external affairs.

The status of Lagos State is also on the agenda. The state is recognised as a mini-Nigeria and because of the pressure on its infrastructure and the role it plays as the economic nerve centre of the country, it was proposed that a budgetary provision that would be part of the first line charge in the Federation Account should be made for it.

On the taxation system, the group is proposing an ideal resource management system for a true federation with fiscal federalism and resource control, whereby a substantial part of the proceeds accruable from every region will be domiciled in the region and an agreed percentage will be contributed to the centre by the federating regions.

While it called for the establishment of a constitutional court to have jurisdiction over inter-government cases and election petitions, it also proposed the creation of a regional policing system because the present structure and system had failed to guarantee security of  the citizens.

Speaking at the event, Ajimobi supported the call for regional autonomy, and also called for resource control system for each region.

He said, “We must ask that Nigeria becomes again a union of federated regions where each of us will be at liberty to restructure the current artificial state structure that we have. The sub-set of this is that we must canvass a return of the regions of the federal union to their separate constitutions as was present in the 1950s and 1960s.

“There is also the need for the ethnic groups to canvass that each of the regions should exercise control over their resources and only pay an agreed meagre percentage to the Federal Government.”

The Afenifere leader, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, who called for the support of the South-West delegates at the conference, also endorsed the agenda.

However, while prominent Yoruba obas and politicians like Okurounmu endorsed the agenda, some representatives of groups and government pointed out some grey areas and contradictions in the agenda.

Sola Ebiseni, who represented the Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko, faulted the resolution of the Yoruba group  that the new constitution should be submitted to the electorate for a referendum. He argued that Nigeria was currently operating with a fraudulent population figure, which would not be ideal for such an historic task.

“The registered voters we have today do not represent the true state of voters’ population in Nigeria,” he said.

However, the Yoruba in Kwara and Kogi states resolved to ask for boundary re-adjustment that would unite them with the South-West region.

The Yoruba people in the two states include the Ekiti, Igbomina and Bolo in Kwara State; and the Okun and  Yagba in Kogi State.

The Chairman of the three-man committee, which drafted the agenda, Falae, said his committee held several meetings with the people in the two states in order to reflect their wishes in the generality of the Yoruba agenda at the national conference.

Falae, who is a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, said, “We decided to visit our kiths and kins, who are in what I call the domestic Diaspora in Kwara and Kogi states, they are all here.

“We held several meetings with the Yoruba in Kwara — the Ekitis in the two local governments,  the Igbomina and the Bolo people; and in Kogi, the  Okun people and the Yagba people.

“We held several meetings with them singly and jointly to ensure that whatever we put in the agenda represents their own wishes.”

Falae  added that the Ijaws in parts of the South-West zone were at liberty to canvass to be united with their people in the South-South zone.

The representative of the Kogi people at the conference, Mr. J.O. Yusuf, expressed delight over the initiatives of the Yoruba in the South-West to re-unite with their counterparts in other parts of the country.

He said at various levels, the Okun people in Kogi State had demanded that a state should either be created for them or they should be allowed to merge with Ekiti State in the South-West.

Yusuf said, “We want a state for the Yoruba in Kogi State and if this cannot be done, we want the boundary to be adjusted.

“This decision has been taken by the Okun Development Association; the Okun Elders Forum has met and resolved on this issue; that if we cannot get a state, we will like to be excised from Kogi State and merged with Ekiti State.”

The Itsekiri people of Delta State also used the occasion to restate  their ancestral link to the Yoruba people.

They declared that they were an extract of the Yoruba race and also expressed their intention to work with the South-West people at the forthcoming National Conference.
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Cops torture driver, handcuff him over alleged disrespect

Falomo Road. Inset: Obinna

A cab driver operating on Falomo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos State, has said a Deputy Superintendent of Police, identified simply as Okon, assaulted and chained him to a rail for allegedly disrespecting him.

The cab driver, who identified himself as Obinna, claimed he was tied to a rail that was used to guard a pumping machine in the Falomo Police Hospital for over one hour and pummelled by another policeman on Okon’s instruction.

He added that the torture left him hospitalised.

Obinna, who has been discharged from the hospital, told our correspondent on Thursday that it took the intervention of an unidentified superior police officer for him to be released.

He said, “On Tuesday, I had just got diesel from a fuel station. I was about reversing my car to join the main road when DSP Okon, who was standing with another officer in mufti, asked me to stop.

“He said I should give him my key, but I refused. He then asked the man to enter my car and ordered that I follow him.

“I told him I wanted to know what I did wrong and would not release my car key to him. He asked why I parked in a place not designated for us, but I told him I didn’t park in the wrong place, but trying to reverse.

“He dragged me into the police hospital. I was seriously beaten up. I was chained to the machine rail, while the man in mufti kicked me. I was told that I disrespected the rank of the man by not giving him my key.”

He said the cop vowed to dump him in the Ikoyi Prison, adding that as he was preparing the necessary papers for his detention, the superior police officer saw him where he was chained, and queried Okon.

He was said to have been released by the officer after it was discovered that he had not committed any offence.

The Anambra State indigene said after he was released from the hospital on the second day, Okon still came after him and deflated his car tyres.

Luke Gum, a graduate of Mass Communication from the Lagos State University, who also operates a cab business in the Falomo area, said cab drivers were usually harassed and extorted by policemen.

Gum alleged that officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority were also fond of impounding their vehicles on flimsy excuses.

“I can only compare myself to a criminal when it comes to the kind of treatment we get as cab drivers on this route. Most of us here are graduates, but we became drivers to survive because there is no job. I managed to save money and buy this cab pending when I will get a better job and yet, see what they are doing to us.

“We are arrested at least two times in a day, and made to cough out between N7, 000 and N9, 000 on each occasion.”

Nicodemus Nicolas, who has been driving for about a year in the area, said he was once arrested three times in a day by LASTMA officials for driving slowly in a traffic jam. It was learnt that the cab drivers embarked on a strike action for two days last year to protest their continuous harassment.

The Chairman of the cab drivers, Alhaji Danlami Gana, said his men were usually the target of policemen and agencies of the state government because they did not have a permanent motor park.

He said, “For now, we do not have a permanent park. We are just hustling to survive. We have appealed to the government to give us a space, but we have not got any good response.”

Our correspondent entered the police hospital where DSP Okon is said to have been attached.

He was directed to the office of a senior police officer, who wore the tag, N.D Oki.

After listening to our correspondent, Oki said, “I am not aware of any such thing here.”
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Soldiers flee as B’Haram kills 37 in Adamawa

Last Tuesday it was Yobe State where 59 schoolchildren were massacred. On Wednesday,  the bloodletting extended to Adamawa State where Boko Haram terrorists, armed with rocket-propelled grenades  nearly sacked  four  communities.

An official  death toll in the attacks  was  not available as of 9.40pm on Thursday. But  the  British Broadcasting Corporation Hausa Service put it at 37 while the Agence France Presse  reported 33.

 Banks, shops, part of a local government secretariat  and houses were  reported to have  been  looted and burnt during the six-hour  simultenous  raids  on  the three communities –  Michika,         Gulak , Shuwa  and Krichinga – by  the militants.

It was gathered that  in Shuwa, Madagali Local Government Area,  a repeat  of the Yobe massacre was averted  when the  insurgents attacked the  Christians Teacher College,  Christian Secondary School    and a Catholic Convent.

A resident told The PUNCH that the head of the Christian Secondary School, on hearing gunshots in the community,  advised his  pupils to run into  nearby bushes to avoid being killed by the terrorists.

The resident, who declined to give his name, added that when the  hoodlums eventually  arrived and saw the school deserted,   they  burnt down almost all the structures on  the premises.

He however did not say if all the pupils came out of the bushes unhurt since the incident took place at night.

A pastor in Shuwa told the AFP that soldiers retreated when the armed insurgents invaded the community.

“When the soldiers at the military checkpoints saw the number of the attackers, they retreated into the nearby bushes as the gunmen operated without challenge during the operation that lasted throughout the night,” the  cleric said.

It was also  gathered that among the over 20 persons killed in Shuwa, was a priest at St. Augustine Catholic Church.

The home of a former commissioner in the state,  Idris Nuhu, was among those burnt in the community.

 In Michika, Michika LGA,   another group of Boko Haram gunmen burnt three banks, a police station,   part of the Michika  LGA  secretariat  and shops.

A  resident, who identified himself simply  as Fide, told the News Agency of Nigeria, that   the attackers,   who arrived in  nine vans firing guns and throwing explosives, killed a banker and a villager.

Fide said, “They burnt three banks, a police station, shops and part of the Michika LGA  secretariat.

“One of the dead body is that of a  member of  staff   of the Bank of Agriculture.”

Some other  residents of Michika said they slept in the hills and nearby bushes  during  the mayhem that lasted for about five hours.

The  BBC Hausa Service quoted witnesses as saying that some of those killed in Michika and Shuwa either had gunshot wounds or   had their throats slit.

The Chairman of  the Michika LGA, Ulama Maina, confirmed to journalists that banks, police station, shops and some houses were torched.

Maina  however did not give  the  casualty figure.

The  spokesman  for the 23rd Armoured Brigade, Yola, Capt. Ja’afaru Nuhu, who also confirmed that    communities in Madagali and Michika LGAs were attacked, told NAN that  details of the incident  would be released at a later stage.

Grace Hassan, an indigene of  Michika,  told   The Punch that the attacks that started at about 8pm  lasted till 2am,   adding that information at her disposal indicated that the mayhem  sent fears into the hearts of residents of Lassa,  a neighbouring town in Borno State.

According to her, the  residents  of the community    fled   into the bushes to avoid being killed.

A resident of Lassa, Peter Satumari, said many of them  fled  their homes into the bushes when the sound of gunshots and explosives were  becoming unbearable.

Satumari said, “No  one could sleep because of the sound of gunshots which we thought were  being fired from   our village. We   had to  run into the bushes believing they might come to attack our houses.

“It was later  on Thursday  morning    that we  saw smoke billowing from afar and got to know there were  attacks in Shuwa, Gulak and Michika, all in  Adamawa State.”

It was also gathered that the sect attacked Krichinga, a village about five kilometres east of Shuwa. There,  four people  lost  their lives  and many were injured.

A furious  governor of the state Gov. Murtala Nyako  suggested there must be collusion with the Boko Haram terrorist network.

Nyako, a former navy chief of staff, said the attacks ridiculed President Goodluck Jonathan’s insistence that the military was winning the war against Islamic militants.

When Borno state Governor  Kashim Shettima  claimed  that Boko Haram fighters were  “better armed and better motivated,” than the troops fighting them,   Jonathan  upbraided him.

The Defence Headquarters  has however    launched what it described as   specialised campaign against the Boko Haram insurgents.

The Director of Defence Information, Maj.-Gen. Chris Olukolade, said during a  news  conference in Abuja on Thursday,   that the  campaign had  already taken off in  Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states  which are under emergency rule.

He explained  that   part of the arrangement  was  to pursue and  prevent the insurgents  from escaping from the country.

The Defence spokesman said that  terrorists fleeing towards Nigeria’s borders with Cameroun  had severely  attacked  some communities in desperation for food and money.

He said, “The purpose of this briefing is to intimate you with the elevation of counter terrorism campaign in the country. The new approach marks another phase in the operations designed to further contain the terrorists and their activities.

“The specialised campaign which has commenced is being undertaken simultaneously in Yobe, Borno and Adamawa states. This operation is also in furtherance of efforts at apprehending the terrorists and ensuring they do not escape out of Nigeria as they are now desperate to do.

“Unfortunately, however, they have in the course of their flight towards various borders, continued to perpetrate mayhem as noticed in some parts of Adamawa State yesterday (Wednesday), where they attacked communities.

“In desperation for money and food, they looted and burnt banks, shops and filling stations along their way through Michika as they headed for  the Camerounian border.”

Olukolade said that three civilians and a soldier were killed in the attacks on the Adamawa communities  while six insurgents were gunned down and two captured alive.

He said that  the DHQ believed  that the insurgents who attacked   the Federal Government College, Buni Yadi in Yobe State were the same people behind the Michika  onslaught.
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Emotion, outrage greet killing of pupils

One of the burnt hostels of the
Federal Government College,
Buni Yadi in Yobe State... on Tuesday

In about six months, Boko Haram insurgents have killed no fewer than 83 pupils, and this has elicited emotion and anger, writes SAMUEL AWOYINFA

A deluge of emotion and anger has trailed the killings of 43 pupils of the Federal Government College, Buni Yadi, Yobe State by the Boko Haram insurgents.

This is coming barely six months after the members of the sect killed another 40 students of the College of Agriculture in the town of Gujba, also in the same state in September last year.

The attacks on the schools followed a similar pattern   – many of them were killed while they were fast asleep in their hostels.

In the latest attack, the insurgents reportedly arrived at the college at about 2.0am in 11 Hilux vans.

They were said to have set locked hostels on fire, before shooting and slitting the throats of those who tried to climb out of the windows. Some were burnt alive.

Reacting to the killings, the principal, King’s College, Lagos, Mr. Oladele Olapeju, said it was unfortunate that the future generation were being wasted in this most dastardly manner.

He said, “My heartfelt sympathy goes to the parents and guardians of those children killed. It is barbaric and cruel that some people are wasting the future Nobel Laureates.”

Another educationist, Mrs. Jennifer Okoli, shared the emotions of  Olapeju, and stated that the moment children’s lives were being wasted no one was safe anymore.

She called on the Federal Government to provide security for schools, by installing surveillance cameras and posting of military men to guard the institutions.

She said, “Before they were targeting worship centres, churches and mosques, now it is the schools. The government must rise to the occasion by providing security for these children. This can be in form of surveillance cameras being installed in these schools and or the posting of military men to these schools.

“I am not talking about boarding schools alone, but day schools too.”

On his part, another educationist, Mr. Esan Oladapo, also raged with emotion, describing the killings as a callous and devilish act. He also called for the deployment of soldiers to man schools, to prevent such occurrence in the future.
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NNPC accounts too difficult to probe – ICPC

ICPC Chairman, Ekpo Nta

The Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission on Thursday told the Senate that the accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation were too sophisticated for it to investigate.

The anti-graft commission said it would require the services of  financial experts to investigate the government oil corporation’s accounts.

 “The account of NNPC is so sophisticated that it would require hiring financial experts to study it for needed investigation, the cost of which however cannot be afforded by us due to underfunding, ” chief executive of the ICPC, Prof. Olu Aina, said while defending the commission’s budget before the Senate committee in charge of the nation’s anti-graft agencies.

Aina said the ICPC had refrained from investigating the NNPC accounts over the years because doing so was beyond its capacity.

The oil corporation has always been at the centre of suspicious management of funds derivable from the nation’s oil wealth, including a recent allegation of the suspended Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Lamido Sanusi that the corporation failed to remit $20bn oil money to the Federation Account.

Meanwhile, ICPC’s sister outfit, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said it was awaiting the report of the on-going probe of the alleged missing oil funds by the Senate before beaming its searchlight on the NNPC accounts.

Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Lamorde, told the senators during the defence of his agency’s 2014 budget that the issue relating to the alleged NNPC missing oil revenue was already being investigated by the National Assembly and that his agency would have to wait for the report of the investigation.

Lamorde explained that his agency commenced the fuel subsidy investigation and charged  many people to court after the National Assembly had concluded and forwarded its report to his office.

He said, “For every investigation, once the National Assembly is on it we have to wait until they conclude.

“We can’t just jump into something that is still being investigated by the National Assembly. It would be a mob kind of thing. There must be a sequence of events that would lead us to taking decision.

“Let the hearing of the National Assembly be concluded. Normally when it is concluded it is forwarded to us for investigation. I think people are in a hurry. We know that is what people want to hear but we don’t do investigation based on media reports.

“When we are ready to charge the individuals to court we would do so. But when the investigation is going on let it be concluded. Otherwise we will jump into a market place situation where everybody is shouting at the same time.

“Law enforcement investigation is not like that. It’s supposed to be systematic and you work towards getting evidence to sustain your case if eventually you go to court. You can’t just go to court based on assumptions.”

Lamorde explained that his officers had gone very far with some of its investigations on oil subsidy and that “very soon when we are ready you will see us in court.”

He noted that various figures emerged when the oil subsidy controversy started and that his agency was faced with about three figures.

He said, “One figure would emerge today, it would change to another figure tomorrow and we will arrive at another figure the next day. Now we have settled more or less on $20 bn.

“The Minister of Finance said that they wanted to commission an audit firm to do a forensic auditing of the finances of the NNPC. You need a professional firm to handle this. This is not a common investigation.”
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National conference: Nwabueze, Ekwueme apologise to Ndigbo

Prof. Ben Nwabueze

Constitutional lawyer, Prof. Ben Nwabueze, on Thursday apologised to Ndigbo, as well as on behalf of former Vice President Alex Ekwueme, for their rejection of the appeal to lead Igbo delegates to the proposed national conference.

Nwabueze rendered the apology at a public presentation of a booklet, “The position of the Igbo nation at the National Conference for a renegotiated Constitution.”

The Concerned Igbo Leaders of Thought, group of eminent Igbo think-thank led by Nwabueze compiled the booklet.

Nwabueze said that he agreed with Ekwueme that both of them would not be delegates to the conference due to age. “More so, to give the younger ones a chance to participate,” he said.

He said the Igbo Leaders of Thought advocated for the right of the zones to form the basis for the federating units and the rights of self-determination, including the right to secede.

He argued that with himself at 83 and Ekwueme at 81 or 82 years of age they would be too old to participate at the conference.

Besides, he said the two of them had taken part in previous constitutional conferences and made their contributions.

He said, “But we also agreed that we owe a duty to Ndigbo, that we are not going to abandon our people. That we are not going to be delegates sitting in the hall exposed, taking all abuses, bombardments, but we will stand behind; our role should be that of guidance.”

He added that they would reach out to Igbo governors and other prominent Igbo sons to provide a meeting place in Abuja, where Igbo elders like himself and Ekwueme would be meeting with Igbo delegates to the conference twice a week.

 “The meetings would help guide and educate them on the Igbo position as contained in the document,” he said.
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Centenary Celebration - Obasanjo, Buhari, Mark shun event

Olusegun Obasanjo

THREE of President Goodluck Jonathan’s successors-ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo; ex-Heads of State, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) and Gen. Ibrahim Babangida – as well as President of the Senate, David Mark, were on Thursday absent from the country’s centenary being held in Abuja.

They did not attend the international conference held as part of activities marking the centenary, which was attended by about 30 heads of governments and international organisations.

But another three former leaders, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, Alhaji Shehu Shagari and Chief Ernest Shonekan, as well as ex-Vice President Alex Ekwueme and a former Chief of General Staff, Lt.-Gen. Oladipo Diya (retd.) attended the event.

The conference tagged, “Human Security, Peace and Development: Agenda for 21st Century Africa” was held under tight security at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.

Other dignitaries in attendance included the Speaker of the House of Representatives,  Aminu Tambuwal; Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha; state governors; security chiefs; former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku; National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Adamu Muazu; the chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih; members of the diplomatic corps, members of the National Assembly, members of the Federal Executive Council and other top government officials.

The heads of governments in their goodwill messages commiserated with the Federal Government and Nigerians on the Tuesday killing of schoolchildren in the Federal Government College, Buni Yadi, Yobe State.

They urged Nigerians to unite against terrorists, saying no nation could develop in an atmosphere of violence.

Meanwhile, civil servants and other workers with offices located on Herbert Macaulay Way, Central Business District Abuja, the same neighbourhood with the venue of the event  had difficulties accessing their offices on Thursday because of the tight security.

Many of them were forced to park away and trek to their offices as traffic was diverted.

Armed security operatives were deployed at strategic points in the area.
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Ex-Gov Nnamani returns to PDP; Declares for Senate

Chimaroke Nnamani

A former governor of Enugu State, Chimaroke Nnamani, has formally returned to the Peoples Democratic Party.

He has also been issued with PDP membership card.

Nnamani was a PDP governor between 1999 and 2007 and represented Enugu West zone in the Senate between 2007 and 2011.

He left the PDP in late 2010 to form his own party, People for Democratic Change, ahead of the 2011 general elections.

Nnamani’s return to the PDP on Thursday was amid tight security manned by mobile police officers.

The event held at his Agbani Ward in the Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu State.

Nnamani’s aides said the presence of security personnel was inevitable as there were reports that the state government had concluded plans to stop the occasion.

The PDP Chairman in Agbani ward, Mr. Monday Ngene, alleged that the former chairman of Nkanu West council, Mr. Ekene Okenwa; and Nkanu West council PDP Chairman, Mr. Vincent Nnaji, had summoned him to the Government House, Enugu, and interrogated him for registering Nnamani.

“They also demanded to know the number of party membership cards in my possession,” he said.

“I replied that the cards issued to me by the state Chairman of the party, Mr. Vita Abba, had been used for the registration and the rest were still at Agbani. I was ordered to return the remaining cards the next day to the local government party chairman and I was asked to go,” stated Ngene.

He said he did not return the cards as directed and rather continued to register more members in the ward.

Meanwhile,  Nnamani said he was happy to return to the PDP.

“As I answered the clarion call in 1996/99, I thank God that a day like this has come again and you can count on me. You can stand and count me as an Nkanu man; proud and tall, unconquered, undefeated and unintimidated,” he said.
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Family rejects centenary award for late Fawehinmi

Gani Fawehinmi

Members of family of the late human rights icon, Gani Fawehinmi (SAN), have rejected an award meant for the deceased Senior Advocate of Nigeria as part of the country’s centenary.

The family said the late legal icon would not have received any award at a time that insurgents are killing innocent citizens in the north and when the nation is in the throes of debilitating corruption allegations as in the case of missing $20bn oil funds.

In a letter dated February 27, 2014  and addressed to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Anyim Pius Anyim, the family also said it could not receive the award because of the inclusion on the list of recipients  a  former dictator, Ibrahim Babangida, “who as military president, severally detained and tortured our late father.”

The letter was signed by the son of the late legal icon, Mohammed.

Fawehinmi is one of the one hundred individuals who have been billed to receive awards in various categories during the celebration, which marks the 100 years of amalgamation of Southern and Northern Nigeria.

The family letter read,  “For reasons stated here under, our family has decided it would be inexpedient to accept the award:

“1. In the list of the awardees published by the Federal Government was the name of former military dictator, General Ibrahim Babangida, who as military president, severally detained and tortured our late father. In the course of one of such illegal and inhuman detentions, our late father’s cell was sprayed with toxic substances while in Gashua prison (Yobe State) in 1987.

“The cumulative effect of that dastardly action led to our father, a non- smoker, contracting lung cancer, which eventually led to his death on September 5, 2009. We, therefore, find it morally incongruous and psychologically debilitating for our family to stand on the same podium with General Babangida to receive awards.

“2. Our late father was empathetic to the sufferings of our people, particularly students. In the last 72 hours, 43 innocent students were mowed down by the blood- thirsty Boko Haram terrorists in Yobe State, while 20 other girls were similarly abducted by this same band of terrorists. These girls are still in captivity while their fate is unknown. If our late father were to be alive, would he be wining and dining with all the glitterati at a Centenary under these circumstances? Certainly no.

“3. In the past few weeks, the polity has been assaulted with putrid odour of corruption with the alleged $20bn missing in NNPC, a development that became the Achilles heel of Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the suspended Governor of Central Bank. As an anti-corruption activist, if he were to be alive, our late father would have confronted the issue headlong and possibly gone to court.

With the issue still raging, would our late father have accepted this award at this critical moment? Certainly no.

“4. Our late father was unrepentantly for the unity of Nigeria. However, with the level of profligacy in some of the events celebrating Nigeria’s Centenary, our late father would have preferred these multi- million Naira expenditures channeled to our decrepit Teaching Hospitals, than unproductive razzmatazz that do not improve the socio-Economic well being of our people.

“Sir, for these reasons, our family respectfully declines to receive the award about to be conferred on our late father by the government.”
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