Impeachment threat not over Lawan, contracts – Reps

THE House of Representatives on Monday said the ultimatum given to President Goodluck Jonathan to either achieve 100 per cent budget performance by September or face impeachment procedures, was borne out of genuine desire to move the country forward.
The lawmakers condemned insinuations that the impeachment threat had to do with their desire for contracts and the fight to protect Farouk Lawan, a Rep currently involved a $620,000 bribery scandal.
Spokesman for the House, Zakari Mohammed, on Monday said such insinuations were wicked and a ploy to intimidate the lawmakers out of their genuine concern for the nation’s economy.
Mohammed said, “The 7th Assembly has distanced itself from the Hon. Farouk (Lawan) and (Femi) Otedola case as evident in the bold steps we took in suspending him (Lawan) as chairman of both the committees on fuel subsidy and education in addition to encouraging the law enforcement agencies to do their work according to the dictates of the law.
“To now conclude that our resolution for Thursday is borne out of selfish motives is terribly out of place.”
Otedola, a billionaire oil marketer, had recently blown the lid over an alleged $3m bribery deal between himself and Lawan. He said the deal was made in order to remove the name of his firm, Zenon Oil and Gas Limited, from the list of firms indicted in the N1.7tn short-changing of government during the fuel subsidy regime.
He confessed to have given Lawan $620,000 as part-payment but refused to pay the balance because, according to him, the lawmaker forced him into the deal. After initial denials, Lawan had also confessed that he collected the money but not as a bribe but as evidence that Otedola had tried to influence him unduly.
Mohammed said any attempt to connect the ultimatum given to Jonathan to the Lawan/Otedola case already under investigation would fail. He said the lawmakers would refuse to be intimidated.
According to him, lawmakers have a constitutional responsibility to ensure that the Executive takes the right decisions that will improve the lives of Nigerians.
He stated, “We will continue to raise our voices to the highest ebb where we sight injustice or impunity.
“No amount of blackmail or intimidation will cow us to abdicate our constitutional responsibility, which we signed with our employers (the Nigerian people) to stand firm and protect their interest.”
Mohammed said that the House moved against Jonathan because in spite of the impressive revenue posted by revenue-generating agencies, there was no commensurate performance of the budget in terms of the execution of capital projects.
He added, “We are aware that all revenue generating agencies have surpassed their annual targets by June this year.The House is worried that this positive development did not reflect the implementation of the budget for the benefit of the Nigerian people.
“This trend, if not arrested, will worsen the already fragile state of the nation, hence the need for our quick intervention.”
He denied that the impeachment ultimatum had anything to do with “pressure from a political party” or anger over constituency project contracts.
The House spokesman stated that the role of lawmakers in constituency projects was to nominate the projects, while it was the duty of the Executive to select and award the contracts.
Mohammed also denied that members were unhappy with the manner the Lawan bribery case was handled.
Meanwhile, the Senate on Monday said it should be counted out of the impeachment threat against the President.
Senate spokesman, Senator Eyinnanya Abaribe, told one of our correspondents in a telephone interview on Monday that the Senate never took any decision to join the House in the call on the President to implement the budget.
He said reports linking the Senate with the agitation in the House were false.
Alaribe said, “We never took any decision to join the House of Reps, the reports are false.
“If we have to take any decision it will be at plenary, but the Senate has gone on recess and no such decision was taken.”
Although senators have not threatened the President with impeachment, they had at different times criticised the executive for poor implementation of the various Appropriation Acts.

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Nigerian breaks academic record at John Hopkins University

 

A 22 year old Nigerian has emerged the best graduating student of John Hopkins University in the US. Emmanuel Ohuabunwa from Arochukwu, Abia State obtained a Grade Point Average of 3.98 out of a possible 4.0 to earn a degree in Neurosciences. Emmanuel is the first black man to make this Grade in the university.

For his efforts, he has won a scholarship to Yale University to pursue a degree in medicine. He has also been inducted into Phi Beta Kappa Society, a prestigious honour group that features membership of 17 US Presidents, 37 US Supreme Court Justices, and 136 Nobel Prize winners. (Punch)

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Ibori: Nigeria has no reputation to lose – Lawyers

former Delta State Governor, Chief James Ibori
| credits: File copy

Prominent lawyers have said the recent report that a British Metropolitan Police officer collected a £20, 000 bribe from former Governor of Delta State, James Ibori, who is serving a 13-year jail term in the United Kingdom, is not a problem for Nigeria, since the country is known for corruption.

The lawyers, who spoke to SUNDAY PUNCH, said while Ibori’s action was highly condemnable, it was the UK government that has to work hard to clean up its reputation tainted by the bribery.

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Prof. Itse Sagay, said the bribery would not affect Nigeria’s image.

“Nigeria has no reputation to lose in this case. The country is already known worldwide for corruption. Nigeria is close to the top on the list of corrupt countries. It is the UK that has something to lose. It is a stain on their reputation that one of their police officers could take bribe from a suspect who comes from a developing nation,” he said.

Similarly, Emeka Ngige, (SAN) said the bribery case showed that corruption was a worldwide phenomenon.

“It is not a Nigerian problem. It is the UK’s problem. This goes to show that corruption is a global phenomenon. There is no country that does not have corrupt people. It only depends on how the government of each country handles it. In the Nigerian police, corruption is the norm; it is the culture.

“And I’m sure if Nigerians hear it in the news that a Nigerian Police officer collected bribe to reveal information to a suspect, it would not be news to them. But in the UK, they would shudder, and you will see how their government would handle this,” he said.

Also, Mike Igbokwe (SAN) said the bribery case showed that Nigerian politicians were in the habit of using public fund to bribe their way through.

“I’m not in support of corrupt practices in anyway and what Ibori and his agents did was very wrong and illegal. But I believe this has shown that corruption is everywhere. Nowadays, the British Metropolitan Police can no longer be said to be ‘saints’.

“The noise that the British police and their government make about African countries being corrupt no longer has any basis. British police have to redeem their image.

“This is also an indication that this is what Nigerian politicians do with public funds; bribing their way in and outside the country,” he said.

Similarly, human rights activist, Femi Falana, said the continued revelation of the corrupt practices of Ibori was a shame on Nigeria.

Falana said, “He was allowed to become a governor- the judiciary in Nigeria has been exposed to unprecedented ridicule. It is a shame that a man that was convicted in 1991, 1992 and 1995, for fraud and related offences, became a governor in defiance of the Constitution. As the Ibori story is not concluded, the leading ambassador of a kleptomaniac ruling elite is going to continue to shame the country,” he said.

Source: SUNDAY PUNCH

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Canadian: Nigerian Lawmakers Are Touts

Nigerian lawmakers have again come under attack after former president, Olusegun Obasanjo called them armed robbers at a function in Lagos.

Jenkins

The latest verbal missile is coming from a Canadian who described members of the Cross River State House of Assembly as touts.

The lawmakers in the Cross River State House of Assembly were derided by Mr. Peter Jenkins, a Canadian Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) worker appointed to head the Cross River State Committee on Anti-Deforestation by Governor Liyel Imoke.

The Canadian did not only describe the lawmakers as touts, he has also refused to heed the seven-day ultimatum handed his committee by the House of Assembly asking him to return the timber confiscated from a timber dealer called Mr. Samuel Ukim Awosa.

Jenkins said the Assembly is an amalgam of corrupt touts brought in from motor parks, adding that “some of them cannot even tie their shoes” and therefore have no authority to compel him to obey their resolution.

He told P.M.NEWS that the Assembly members were looking for money from him but would not get a kobo as bribe because most of them are not qualified to be in the Assembly in the first place.

“These people were in the motor park some five years ago and somebody just thought that let’s send these idiots to the Assembly. They are causing so much trouble here for us that is why they are in the Assembly,” he said.

According to him, the Assembly passed “what may probably be the best forestry law in the world without even reading it.”

It was on that score that the lawmakers are regretting passing the law that gave Jenkins the powers to function exclusively without checks from them.

The lawmakers who are now on a tour of South Africa, had on 8 May ordered Jenkins to appear before the House within seven days and to return the timber seized from Awosa following a petition to the Assembly by Awosa.

The directive contained in a recommendation of the House Committee on Judiciary and Public Service Matters, accused Jenkins of “despicable and unconscionable conduct” and accordingly called on him to return the timber.

Barrister Ogana Lukpata, the chairman of the Committee, said the Task Force invaded the home of Awosa and allegedly made away with the sum of N2.5 million naira and three lorry loads of timber.

Lukpata called on the Task Force to return the money and the timber within seven days from the date of the resolution. But Jenkins said the lawmakers were looking for money and would “not get a dime from me.”

While contributing to the debate on the floor of the House earlier, the Deputy Speaker, Itaya Nyong said the task force was acting outside its mandate and called on Governor Imoke to ban the Task Force and hand over its function to the Cross River State Forestry Commission.

Senator Imoke is yet to respond to the call by the Assembly to stop the Task Force from operating.

Meanwhile, Lagos lawmakers have reacted to the statement credited to former president Olusegun Obasanjo that legislators at the state and national assemblies are robbers and rogues. They have equally called him the father of armed robbers and rogues.

Two of the lawmakers, who spoke with P.M.NEWS, accused the former President of training the set of lawmakers he described as armed robbers and rogues and fixing them at the legislative arm of government.

They added that it was unfortunate that Obasanjo, who should be hiding his head in shame for plundering the nation’s resources, could make such statement despite knowing that his boys and party faithful make up a large chunk of the National Assembly and most state Houses of Assembly.

The Chairman of the House Committee on Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mufutau Egberongbe, said: “such volatile statement coming out from the mouth of a former leader is uncalled for in the sense that you don’t generalise persons on issues of morals and fraudulent acts.

“The amount of money that passes through the executive arm which he headed three times far, far surpasses what is found at the legislative arm which has no budget of its own.”

Egberongbe asked the former president needs to have a rethink and his comments should not go unchecked.

Though he agreed that there is corruption almost in every sector of the country, he, however, said the problem should be looked at holistically.

“Most of the people at the National Assembly, which is dominated by his party, are those who had, at one time or the other, passed through his own tutelage either as a former president or as a former head of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party.

“So if he begins to see fraud now, I would believe what he invested in eight years ago that is manifesting now,” he said adding that such comments could give Nigeria a negative image among the comity of nations thus adding to the problems facing the country.

He asked Obasanjo to realise that it was his harvest time since his children have shown that they were truly invested in judging by his statement.

Another lawmaker, Abdulbaq Balogun, described Obasanjo as a drowning man who was seeking some relevance .

“It is an unfortunate statement from an elderstatesman of his status because he had been saddled with the responsibility of serving this nation on three occasions,” Balogun said, adding that as a result of the privileged position, he created the avenue for those he called rogues to take over the legislature.

“It was during his time as president that we had an ex-convict becoming the governor of a state. That person came from his party and what did he do about it?

“I could remember a Senator who raised concerns on the floor of the Senate that he was sitting with people who had bad records and that he had investigated and interrogated some of them and that they do not have any business in the National Assembly, but the report was killed.

“Those he has accused belong to his party and what are their credentials and antecedents?

“I can put it to you that Obasanjo contributed in no small measure in making those people who they are today,” he said while advising the younger generation to learn from the former President’s mistakes.

He recalled that while at the helm of affairs, Obasanjo never respected the rule of law, adding that he should be somewhere lamenting rather than shamelessly speaking in public against the country that he ruined through the selection of the wrong leaders.

Source: PM News

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Gov Chime Floors Opponent

Moves by forces within the Enugu State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to sack the state governor, Sullivan Chime, collapsed Monday morning as a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja declined jurisdiction to interfere in the matter.

Gov. Sullivan Chime, Enugu.

The suit was instituted by one of the governorship aspirants in the party’s primary election held last January, Chief Alexander Chukwuemeka Obiechina.

He challenged the validity of the party’s primary election through which Governor Chime emerged as the party’s flag bearer in the last governorship election which the governor went on to win.

 The Independent National Election Commission, INEC, during the trial had agreed with Chief Obiechina to the effect that the governorship primary of PDP in Enugu state which produced the governor as the party’s flag bearer did not comply with the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act, 2011.

 Specifically, INEC faulted the January 11 and 12, 2011 governorship primary of the party in the state where Sullivan Chime was nominated as the flag-bearer of the PDP for the April 16, 2011 governorship election.

 INEC, in its written address filed before the court, said: “With respect to the primary election said to be conducted on January 11 and 12, 2011, it can be said that what was passed as the ‘Notice’ to the Resident Electoral Commissioner at Enugu, which most certainly is not the same as INEC who, by the clear terms of section 85(1) of the Electoral Act, 2010 must be the Commission itself. This apart, the letter is dated January 10, 2011 and apparently was received on January 11, 2011, the very next day. It gave notice of primaries scheduled for the same day. Certainly no one should be left in doubt that the envisaged notice of 21 days was not complied with in obvious violation of section 85(1).”

 INEC also posited that it stands to reason that a notice of primary election dated January 10, 2011 for the events to be held on January 11 and 12, 2011 has the potentials of violating the right to equal opportunity to be voted for.

 However, the court in its decision held that what transpired at the party’s primary election can best be considered as an intra party affair which the court has no power to interfere with.

 The court further held that it lacks the requisite jurisdiction to wade into the matter and subsequently upheld the preliminary objection filed by Governor Chime and the party, challenging the competency of the suit.

 According to Justice Adamu Bello, “The Supreme Court has made it clear that the court has no power to interfere in such matters. I hold that this court has no jurisdiction to interfere and resolve the issues raised in the case. I hold also that the preliminary objections filed by the 2nd and 3rd defendants (PDP and Governor Sullivan Chime) have merit.”

 He subsequently dismissed the suit but awarded no cost.

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Nigeria’s problem didn’t start from my regime – Jonathan

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, declared that the numerous problems confronting the nation did not start from his regime which commenced only two years ago.

He asked Nigerians to reassess their journey from independence till date with a view to ascertaining the areas where the nation had gone wrong in order to make amends.

President Jonathan Commiserating with Gov. Sullivan during the Funeral Service for Late Mrs. Theresa Chime Mother of Gov. Sullivan Chime of Enugu State Friday at St. Mary's Pro-cathedral Catholic Churc, Udi, Enugu State. Photos–state House.

The President spoke at Udi in Enugu State during the funeral service in honour of Governor Sullivan Chime’s Mother, Chief Mrs. Theresa Chime, whose remains were laid to rest yesterday.

According to the President, something must have gone wrong along the line from 1914 when the Southern and Northern Protectorate amalgamated till date, stressing that the problem of Nigeria did not start today.

He said: “Sometimes when critics are lambasting the government, my self as President and the governors sometimes begin to think that yes it is starting today. But what we promise Nigerians is that this country must change.

“When the Priest was speaking, I started asking myself – what must have gone wrong from 1914 that the Northern and Southern parts of the country were amalgamated? They were under colonial rule since 1960 when we started governing ourselves. From 1960 to date it is about 50 years.

“I don’t think it is the two years that President Jonathan assumed the office that these problems came up. So something must have gone wrong and all of us citizens of this country must reassess ourselves, our journey from independence till date, the areas that we have not done too well in order to effect a change.

“Let us not play politics with the development of the country. Let us work hard to change our country for the better. We have no other country to go to. There was a time we had a television play where Andrew wanted to check out of the country; we are not checking out of this country, we will all stay, we will all work together, do our best to change the country for our children.”

While commiserating with Governor Sullivan Chime and members of his family over the demise of their mother, the President noted that the woman contributed enormously to the successes recorded by her children.
Emphasizing the role of  parents in the upbringing of their children, Jonathan recalled that when he was growing up, his mother warned him “that if I smoke, I will die” stressing that it was that advice that kept him away from smoking till date.
Governor Chime had earlier in his speech thanked the President for attending the funeral ceremony and prayed God to continue to give him courage and vision to carry out his reform agenda for the nation.
In his sermon at the funeral ceremony, the Principal of College of Immaculate Conception (CIC) , Enugu ,Rev. Dr Nnamdi Nwankwo  stated that  the late Mrs. Theresa Chime  was so fond of her children, adding that she was a devoted christian.
Describing the deceased as a naturally born lawyer and symbol of love, the cleric stated that she also showed love to all children within her environment.

Fr. Nwankwo recalled that the late community leader demonstrated her transparency when she produced the money she saved for Udi Women at the end of the war exactly as they were and refused to change them into Biafran money, a development, he said, earned her the nickname “Bank of Women”.

President Jonathan read the first lesson from the book of Wisdom 3:1:9 while Governor Sullivan Chime read the second lesson from the second letter of St Paul to Corinthians chapter 4:16 and 5:10.

President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife Patience, Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, Former Governor of old Anambra State, Senator Jim Nwobodo, former Senate President Chief Ken Nnamani, former Vice President, Dr Alex Ekwueme, National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Babanga Tukur, Governors of Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi, Anambra, Cross River, Abia, Benue and Rivers states, some members of the Federal Executive Council and the National Assembly among others witnessed the funeral of Mrs. Chime, who died at the age of 87.

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Drama as Hembe’s arraignment is stalled

The anticipated arraignment of two members of the House of Representatives, Herman Hembe and Ifeanyi Azubuogu, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission before a Federal High Court, Abuja, was stalled amid drama on Thursday.

The development was due to a number of factors, including Azubuogu’s absence from the court, as well as a motion by the accused persons challenging the jurisdiction of the court granting leave to the EFCC to try them.

Also, the lawyers told the court that they were served with the opposing party’s motion on Wednesday, and that they had not had enough time to respond.

The development prompted, Justice Abubakar Umar, to adjourn till May 28.

Hembe and Azubuogu were until recently, the chairman and deputy chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Capital Market and Institutions, respectively.

They were in charge of the probe of the near collapse of the capital market until a bribery allegation brought against them by the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Ms Arunma Oteh, led to their ouster.

However, the planned arraignment turned into a drama on Thursday.

At the commencement of the sitting, counsel for Azubuogu, the second accused person, Emeka Etiaba, informed the court that his client was not present in court.

Etiaba told the court that Azubuogu travelled to Nnewi, Anambra State, as a result of the kidnap of a relative.

He went ahead to inform the court that he had filed a preliminary objection challenging the leave granted to the EFCC to arraign the lawmakers.

The defence counsel maintained that the proof of evidence filed by the EFCC did not disclose that any crime was committed by his client and questioned the proprietary of the leave granted by the court.

However, the judge frowned on Azubuogu’s absence, noting that it was shameful for a lawmaker to disrespect the law.

Umar said, “The accused is not here and decided to travel to wherever.

“It is a shame if a lawmaker chooses not to respect the law.”

The drama continued as Hembe’s counsel, Jibrin Okutepa, also toed the line threaded by Etiaba by informing the court that he had filed a preliminary objection to the charge preferred against his client on the ground that the proof of evidence before the court did not disclose any prima facie case against him.

Thereafter, a heated argument ensued between Okutepa and EFCC counsel, Mr. O. Uket, who insisted that Hembe must enter the dock, a move which was spiritedly opposed by the defence counsel, who said his client could not be put in the dock.

After Hembe refused to enter the dock on the prompting of his counsel, the judge asked him to stand up to indicate his presence in the courtroom.

Hembe stood up, and the judge further directed that he should come and stand at the front of the court.

Okutepa argued that Hembe should not enter the dock because he was challenging the jurisdiction of the court to grant leave to the EFCC to prefer criminal charges against (Hembe).

The EFCC counsel argued that the issue of jurisdiction should be determined after the accused persons had taken their plea, an argument which was opposed by the defence counsel.

After listening to all the submissions, the judge ruled that it was premature to dock Hembe, saying the issue of jurisdiction should be determined before the EFCC could arraign the accused persons.

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Government to release list of Boko Haram sponsors

A list comprising of names of suspected backers of the Islamic sect, Boko Haram has been prepared by the federal government.

A local newspaper reports that the list was compiled by top security chiefs at a meeting on ending the the ceaseless attacks unleashed by  the sect.

The security chiefs were said to have worked on an intelligence report highlighting that “some top politicians are financially backing backing up the Islamic sect so as to de-stabilize the present administration.”

One of the security officials disclosed that the decision to compile the list was born out of the belief  that the anti-terrorism battle could be won sooner than expected if people linked with violence were exposed.

According to the official,”this confirms the claims of the National Security Adviser, Gen. Owoye Azazi, that some undemocratic practices within the ruling Peoples Democratic Party in the build-up to the 2011 general elections fuelled the violence…the alleged politicians include those who don’t want Nigerians from outside their region to rule the country.”

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CAN issues “final call” to the Federal Government to stop Boko Haram

The Christian Association of Nigerian has asked the Federal Government for the last time to find a permanent solution to the insecurity situation in the country or faces further breakdown of laws and order in the country. In its statement, CAN say it is last advice to the government on the matter.
CAN President, Pastor Ayo Oritsejeafor,  disclosed this at a press conference on Wednesday stating that the  association would no longer be able to guarantee the continuous patience of its members and other aggrieved Nigerians if government failed to live up to expectation in tackling the menace.
He said, “As President of the Christian Association of Nigerian my first call to all peace loving Nigerians is remain calm in the face of all the insecurity challenges as I am aware that the greater part of the overall design is to instill fear in the populace.
“I will now make final call to Nigerian Government to use all resources available to it to clearly define and neutralise the problem as other nations have done.
“The Church leadership has hitherto put immense restraint on the restive and aggrieved millions of Nigerian but can no longer guarantee such cooperation if this trend of terror is not halted immediately.
He stressed on the groups continuous talk with the government on ways to stop the violence, yet nothing good had come out of the situation, asserting that the “the step by step escalation of violence against innocent citizens with the Christian and the Church suffering the greatest loss.”
“We also said the killings and bombings were being done according to their plans in order to instil fears with the subsequent aim of eradicating religious freedom, democratic liberties with the church and Christianity as its primary target,” he buttressed.

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Dozens killed by attackers in Nigeria

At least 34 bodies "deposited at hospital" after raid on a cattle market in the country's northeast.

At least 34 people have been killed by armed men after an attack on a cattle market in northeastern Nigeria, an emergency source says. "Thirty-four bodies were deposited at the hospital," the official said, adding that the toll is likely to climb. Emergency workers say the attackers used explosives in the attack on Wednesday night in the city of Potiskum. The attack was believed to be in reprisal for an incident earlier in the day, when a gang sought to rob the market but was fought off by traders who caught one of the attackers, police said. The man who was caught was doused in petrol and a tyre was placed around his neck before he was burnt to death, according to police and residents. "A group of gunmen armed with around 20 explosives and assault rifles attacked the Potiskum cattle market," Toyin Gbadegesin, a police spokesman, said. "They threw explosives and shot indiscriminately, setting fire to the market, killing lots of livestock and wounding many people, mostly cattle dealers." Higher toll expected Officials said the toll was likely to be more than 50 dead because families were also burying relatives' bodies without bringing them to the hospital. Residents described a terrifying scene at the market usually crowded with traders, with scores of cattle burnt, the market razed and dozens of people killed. One resident said firefighters were at the scene on Thursday morning searching water wells out of fears that residents had fallen in and drowned while trying to flee. Residents crowded a local hospital to determine if their relatives were among the dead. Gangs often seek to provoke panic at markets, forcing traders to flee so they can steal their wares. Source: Al Jazeera

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Jonathan Denies Okah’s Allegation

The president yesterday, denied the allegation leveled against him by Mr. Henry Okah, the formal Nigerian Militant who is currently facing trial in South Africa for the Independence day bombing in Nigeria. Henry Okah had in an affidavit sworn that Jonathan was behind the Independence Day bombing, also disclosing that the Petroleum Minister, Maduekue called him 20 times to lobby for the ministerial post before she was finally appointed.
A statement signed by Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati said “the Presidency categorically affirms that these allegations are false in their entirety and without any factual foundation”.
The statement further affirmed , “as the case of Mr. Okah’s involvement in the plotting and execution of terrorist attacks in Nigeria is already before a court of competent jurisdiction in South Africa, the Presidency does not intend to say anymore on the matter for now and will, in accordance with due process and international law, make a full representation on the matter to the court when the trial opens.
“The Presidency also advises the Nigerian media to respect the sanctity of the legal and judicial processes in this matter and avoid becoming willing tools in the hands of Mr. Okah and his agents in an entirely diversionary trial by the media aimed only at falsely impugning the character and integrity of the President and officials of his administration”.

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Star Actress, Patience Ozokwor Takes Son To Court

Reports say that popular Nollywood actress, Patience Ozokwor otherwise known as Mama G is in a legal battle with her son, Chuka.
The actress was reported to have taken Chuka to court to stop him from claiming his father’s inheritance as the Igbo tradition demand of him as a first son.
Trouble started when against his will, Mama G forced one lady named Ada on Chuka after Mama G made him dump his former girlfriend, Joy who Mama G said wasn’t good for him.
When Mama G felt Ada was growing wings, after both Chuka and Ada falling in love with each other years after, she called Chuka to end his relationship with her, a move he kicked against.
This led to a tug of war between mother and son as Mama G was bent on her wish done.
Matter was said to become worse when Mama G realised that Ada was pregnant for Chuka.
Mama G reportedly threatened to deal with Ada but both lovebirds have solidified their union by going to court to marry.
She was said to have taken the matter to some family members but lost to her son. She also lost in the customary court some weeks ago where she sought court’s injunction to deny Chuka from claiming some of his father’s properties as the first son.
Mama G’s husband died some years ago.
Mama G’s second and favourite son, Nduka is set to wed later this month. She has sworn to make it one of the biggest in town.

Source: DailyPost Nigeria

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Mass massacre:JTF kill 9 Boko Haram members, arrest 2 in Kano

Hell was recently let lose in the camp of Boko Haram at Tudun Wada Local Government Area, Kano, Wednesday when the JTF and the Islamist sect engaged in a gun battle leaving nine of its members and killed and two others arrested.

It was exclusively gathered that the group invaded the armoury of Tudun Wada Police station with three vehicles at about 2 a.m., bombed the station and made away with some arms and ammunition.

According to the Brigade Commander of 3 Brigade (Bukavu Barracks), Brigadier-General Illyasu Abbah who briefed newsmen on the incident, no life was lost on their side, except nine Boko Haram that were wasted by the security operatives in a gun battle that lasted for hours.

His words: “They did not succeed in breaking into the vault containing about N2 million.

“Within the hours of 2 and 7 a.m. on Wednesday, hoodlums went to Tudun Wada which is about 100 kilometers from Kano. They used explosives to blow up the police station in the area.

“They destroyed the DPO’s house, went to the police station and did the same. They also used explosives to blow up Unity Bank adjacent the police station,” the Army Chief told journalists, adding that the Islamic militants carted away rifles from the bombed police station.

“On getting the information, at about 1:30 a.m. security operatives mobilised, blocked Falgore, Jos and Kano axis because definitely, they came from Kano to operate and move back.”

Abbah further disclosed thus: “Only God knows what these weapons would be used for if they had succeeded in carting them away. This hoodlums lack arms and they have been in desperate mood to get these items. That is why their best place of attack are police stations.”

600 rounds of 5.6 mm bullets, 176 cartridges of Pump Action gun, 147 rounds of 9mm bullets, two AK 47 rifles, three pistols, two assorted rifles, two smoke guns, 21 magazines, two dane guns, one Pump Action gun, six containers of Improvised Explosive Devices (IED), 70 Canisters of Tear Gas, one Lap Top, police uniforms and helmets were items recovered from Boko Haram after the clash.

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Perm sec caught with N2bn cash

A serving federal permanent secretary (names withheld) has been arrested over a N18 billion scam uncovered in the police pension scheme with N2 billion cash found in his residence.

The matter has been handed over for prosecution to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
The permanent secretary was a director in a federal ministry from where he was seconded to one of the newly-created ministries.



Two other accomplices, who are also a serving director (names withheld) in two federal ministries but who had earlier worked with the Police Pension Fund office, have also been arrested and handed over to the EFCC and ICPC for more investigation. EFCCs spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed the report, saying that apart from the permanent secretary, there are four other top civil servants involved.

Sources in the Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT) told Daily Sun that investigation showed that there is a syndicate which operates in the ministry. A cheque of N300 million was used to clear money from an account which is being kept for that sole purpose.
The permanent secretary and his accomplices have been handed over to the EFCC and ICPC but investigations are still ongoing. On conclusion, we expect ICPC and EFCC to take the matter to court...

EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde, had earlier confirmed the investigation at a parley with newsmen last week.
Meanwhile, indications emerged at the weekend that PRTT Chairman, AbdulRasheed Maina, has rejected fraud allegations leveled against his team by Assistant Chief Accountant in the Police Pension Office, Mr. Toyin Ishola.
Ishola had earlier testified before the Senate Joint Committee on Establishment and Public Service and States and Local Government Administration investigating pension management and administration.
He told the committee that Maina allegedly distorted the existing Police Pension Account by transferring N21 billion into three different accounts domiciled in three different banks.
The Joint Committee Chairman, Senator Aloysius Etok, and his co-Chairman, Senator Kabiru Gaya, thereafter issued a warrant of arrest against Maina.

The warrant, which was dated March 8, 2012, pursuant to Section 89 of the 1999 Constitution.
But in a 50-page written submission to the committee, Maina insisted that the PRTT has so far saved and recovered N151.6 billion and 6 million for the country from 2010 to date, out of which N74 billion was appropriated as part of the N4.877 trillion 2012 budget.

Another N24 billion was reportedly earmarked as contingency for harmonization of arrears particularly with police, where officers in the cadre of AIGs/Commissioners of Police are paid monthly pensions between N84, 000 and N101, 000.
The documents showed that the two accounts in two different banks were opened with the authorization from the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation vide an August 9, 2011 letter. The new mandate showed that Yakubu Kolawole Adeyemi, Edwin Ementa Nwokoye are the new signatories as at September 5, 2011, replacing Ishola and one Mike Okoro.

Furthermore, the PRTT noted that it discovered that there were illegal withdrawals by staff of the Police Pension Office, using multiple cheques in fictitions names in excess of 30 cheques per day to withdraw cash from their bankers.
Such illegal withdrawals amounted to N14 billion. The PRTT, assisted by the law enforcement agencies, have made substantial recovery of the said stolen monies. A staff of the Police Pension Office (names withheld) turned in N1billion cash.

Another surrendered three luxury estates with about 27 blocks of deluxe flats he built in Abuja and many others...
Maina equally indicated in the documents submitted to the committee that while he is from Biu in Borno State, Danjuma Zubairu is from Kabba in Kogi State; in a direct response to allegations that the account in a bank in the Central Business District branch, was domiciled in the account of his younger brother.
Zubairu, Maina maintained, is the Group Head, Private Banking, Abuja region of the bank. Repeated calls and text messages to Etok and Gaya were unanswered.

source: http://sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/ ... 2-001.html

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Policeman shoots tanker driver over N20k bribe, kills painter with stray bullet

An unidentified police sergeant attached to Area ‘C’ Police Command, Iponri, Surulere, Lagos, allegedly went beserk and shot a truck driver on his left hand and a stray bullet he fired killed another person while he was making efforts to escape from the scene of the incident to avoid being lynched by an angry mob.

An eyewitness said that trouble started when the cop with about five others who were operating in a (danfo) commuter bus blocked the truck with a Lagos registration number RV538 EKY driven by Saheed Mufutau (pictured above). The incident occurred at Jimoh Odutola Street, by PHCN office, Surulere, Lagos on Friday.

According to the source, the policeman, after checking the truck’s particulars and they were up to date, demanded for a N20,000 bribe which the driver pleaded he could not afford because he was in the area to off-load empty containers.

During the ensuing argument, the sergeant allegedly shot the driver in his left hand. Sensing danger, his colleagues in the danfo bus sped off and left the sergeant to his fate.
In his desperate bid to escape from the scene, the cop fired several shots into the air to scare the mob from lynching him. One of the bullets he fired hit Dotun Alawiye, a motor spray painter at a nearby workshop. He died instantly.
The erring sergeant still managed to escape with the help of a motorcyclist he forced to ferry him away from the area.

He was later arrested at Bode Thomas Police Division and handed over to the Area ‘C’ Police Command where he was serving.
Chairman of Artisans Association at Doyin bus stop, where the deceased painter had his workshop, Mr. Gbenga Shoneye, said they heard the gun shots at the bus stop but did not know one of them had been hit by a stray bullet.

“We are appealing to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police to ensure that justice is done because the deceased had a wife and four children,” he said.
Wife of the deceased Mrs. Omolara Karounwi, 30, said she was shocked to hear that her husband was killed by a stray bullet because he was an easy-going person who never got involved in any trouble.
“We had been married for 15 years and blessed with four children. How am I going to cope with the upkeep and training of the children?” she wept.
She called on the authorities to ensure that justice is done on the murder of her husband, while also soliciting for the assistance of kind Nigerians on the upkeep of her four children.

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Certificate forgery: 37 police recruits arraigned in Ilorin

Thirty-seven newly recruited policemen, who were undergoing training at the Police College, Ilorin, Kwara State, have been arraigned for allegedly presenting fake certificates.

Our correspondent learnt on Friday that the suspects had spent five months at the college before they were discovered to have allegedly presented fake certificates and other documents which had aided their recruitment into the force.

It was learnt that the suspects were discovered on March 12, 2012 when a screening team of detectives from the Monitoring Unit of the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters, Abuja, led by Deputy Superintendent U.C. Chika, arrested them for presenting fake documents for recruitment.

Chika alleged that the accused were recruited into the police with various certificates.

The certificates included Senior Secondary School Certificate, National Certificate of Education and university degrees, which were said to have been allegedly forged.

They were also accused of falsifying their ages.

Police First Information Report on the matter said that after

investigation at the State Criminal Investigation Department, it was confirmed that the suspects committed the alleged offences. On discovery of the alleged fake documents, the suspects, who included eight females, were arraigned before three separate magistrate’s courts in Ilorin on charges of criminal conspiracy, forgery, impersonation and using as authentic certificates known to be fake.

The alleged offences contravened sections 97, 363, 132, and 163 of the Penal Code Law of the Federation of Nigeria.

The prosecutor, who had informed the court that the alleged offences were not ordinarily bailable, objected to their bail applications.

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Putin wins Russia's presidential poll

MOSCOW - Vladimir Putin claimed victory in Russia's presidential election before tens of thousands of cheering supporters Sunday, even as the opposition and independent observers insisted the vote had been marred by widespread fraud.

At a massive rally just outside the Kremlin, Putin thanked his supporters for helping foil plots aimed at destroying Russia, sounding a nationalistic theme that has resonated with the prime minister's core supporters amid a wave of unprecedented protests.

"I have promised that we would win and we have won!" he shouted to the flag-waving crowd, which responded with shouts of support. "We have won in an open and honest struggle."

He said the vote showed the majority of Russians has rejected "political provocations" by his opponents aimed at "destroying Russia's statehood and usurping power."

Putin tallied 58-59 percent of the vote, according to exit polls cited by state television. Communist Party candidate Gennady Zyuganov received about 18 percent, according to the surveys, and the others — nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky, socialist Sergei Mironov and billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov — were in single digits.

Official vote results from the far eastern regions and Siberia where the count was already completed seemed to confirm the poll data. With about 48 percent of all precincts counted, Putin was leading the field with 64 percent of the vote, the Central Election Commission said.

If thousands of claims of violations made by independent observers and Putin's foes are confirmed, they would undermine the legitimacy of his victory and fuel further protests by Russians exasperated with corruption, rising social inequality and tight controls over political life.

The opposition is gearing up for a massive rally in downtown Moscow on Monday.

"These elections are not free ... that's why we'll have protests tomorrow. We will not recognize the president as legitimate," said Mikhail Kasyanov, who was Putin's first prime minister before going into opposition.

Golos, Russia's leading independent elections watchdog, said it received numerous reports of "carousel voting," in which busloads of voters are driven around to cast ballots multiple times.

Alexei Navalny, one of the opposition's most charismatic leaders, said observers trained by his organization also reported seeing extensive use of the practice.

Putin's campaign chief, Stanislav Govorukhin, rejected the claims of violations, calling them "ridiculous."

Evidence of widespread vote fraud in December's parliamentary election drew tens of thousands to protest against Putin, who was president in 2000-2008 before moving into the prime minister's office because of term limits. They were the largest outburst of public anger in post-Soviet Russia.

Putin has dismissed the protesters' demands, casting them as a coddled minority of urban elites working at Western behest to weaken Russia. His claims the U.S. was behind the opposition protests appealed to his base of blue-collar workers, farmers and state employees, who are suspicious of Western intentions after years of state propaganda.

"Putin is a brave and persistent man who can resist the U.S. and EU pressure," said Anastasia Lushnikova, a 20-year-old student who voted for Putin in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don.

Authorities gave permission to Putin's supporters to gather just outside the Kremlin walls, and tens of thousands flooded the big square immediately after the vote ended. Some participants in the demonstration, including employees of state organizations, said they were forced by management to attend it under the threat of punishment.

The authorities denied the opposition's bid to hold the rally at the same place Monday, but allowed them to gather at a nearby square.

An honest election would have seen Putin failing to score an outright victory and facing a runoff, said Sergei Udaltsov, one of the organizers of Monday's protest, saying its participants will protest the outcome. "Dirty technologies have been applied, and they have become more subtle," he said.

A first-round victory was politically important for Putin, serving as a proof of majority support in the face of opposition protests.

He has given generous social promises during his campaign and also initiated limited political reforms in a bid to assuage public anger. His spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Putin will seek to modernize the nation's political and economic system, but firmly ruled out any "Gorbachev-style liberal spasms."

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, has become increasingly critical of Putin's rule. "These are not going to be honest elections, but we must not relent," he said after casting his ballot.

Putin has promised the vote would be fair, and authorities apparently have sought to take the steam out of the protest movement by allowing more observers to monitor the vote. Tens of thousands of Russians, most of them politically active for the first time, had volunteered to be election observers, receiving training on how to recognize vote-rigging, and record and report violations.

Golos said monitors have recorded fewer obvious violations than during the December election, but they still believe that violations were extensive. This time, election officials are using more complicated and subtle methods, Golos deputy director Grigory Melkonyants said.

According to data based on official figures from polling stations attended by Golos observers, Putin still garnered about 55 percent of the vote, while Zyuganov won about 19 percent.

Zyuganov told reporters after the polls closed that he will not recognize the vote, calling it "illegitimate, unfair and intransparent."

His campaign chief, Ivan Melnikov, claimed authorities set up numerous additional polling stations and alleged that hundreds of thousands of voters cast ballots at the ones in Moscow alone in an apparent attempt to rig the vote.

Prokhorov said on Channel One television after the vote that authorities kept his observers away from some polling stations and were beaten on two occasions.

Oksana Dmitriyeva, a Duma deputy from Just Russia party, tweeted that they were witnessing "numerous cases of observers being expelled from polling stations" across St. Petersburg just before the vote count.

Unlike Moscow and other big cities, where independent observers showed up en masse, election officials in Russia's North Caucasus and other regions were largely left to their own devices. The opposition said those regions have seen the most blatant examples of vote rigging in the past.

A webcam at a polling station in Dagestan, a Caucasus province near Chechnya, registered unidentified people tossing ballot after ballot into boxes. The Central Election Commission quickly responded to the video, which was posted on the Internet, saying the results from the station will be invalidated.

Web cameras were installed in Russia's more than 90,000 polling stations, a move initiated by Putin in response to complaints of ballot stuffing and fraudulent counts in December's parliamentary elections.

Opinion polls before the vote had shown Putin positioned to win easily. He presided over significant economic growth and gave Russians a sense of stability that contrasted with the disorder and anxiety of the 1990s, when Boris Yeltsin led Russia's emergence from the wreckage of the Soviet Union.

"Under Boris Nikolayevich, life was simply a nightmare, but, you know, now it's OK. Now it's good, I'm happy with the current situation," said 51-year-old Alexander Pshennikov, who cast his ballot for Putin at a Moscow polling station.

The police presence was heavy throughout Moscow and other Russian cities Sunday. There were no immediate reports of trouble, although police arrested three young women who stripped to the waist at the polling station where Putin cast his ballot; one of them had the word "thief" written on her bare body.

In the province of Dagestan where attacks by Islamic militants occur on daily basis, gunmen raided a polling station, killing three police officers. One of the assailants was also killed, according to the local police.

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Pictures of Nanka N1.1Billion Gully Erosion Project

The New entrance into Isiakpuenu Gully Site in Amako

The Nanka Gully Erosion landslide of August 2008 which saw the loss of properties and livelihood appears to have finally received the approipriate attention. Work has finally begun at the site – Isiakpuenu Gully Erosion Site in Amako village. The Engineer on site [Hybron based in Port Hacourt] has begun to slowly mobilize to site. The Consultant – Isa Abdulahi – has yet to report to site. But the pictures below show the ongoing progress at the site as indicative of activity involvement by the contractor and the community.

The Gully Site according to an [NGO] Rural Community Development Outreach measures 64,000 linear feet in lenght by 9,000feet in width by 4.500ft in depft. It is expected that when the construction beginnings in full steam that a Tree Planting Campaign will be used to supplement the battle again the gully.

Nanka Students Union [NSU] in their effort has begun preparations for the launch of a 100,000 Tree Planting Campaign for the major gully erosions in Nanka. The Tree Campaign is slated for April 7, 2012.

To help the Tree Campaign call :- 0813 669 7979

See more photo.........

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