President Jonathan’s ADC sues EFCC, demands N100m damages

Atiku-Abubakar-5 — Nigeria's Former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar

BARELY 24 four hours after writing a comprehensive letter to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, exonerating himself of any infraction in the controversial Malabu Oil scam, the immediate past Attorney General , Mohammed Adoke, has been asked to face his problems and stop dragging others in the mud. Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, issued the warning in response to Adoke’s claim in the letter that he (Atiku) was among those behind his travails for not helping them to get a share of the $2 billion as ‘shareholders’ of Malabu. In the letter to Osinbajo on Monday, Adoke had alleged that the aggrieved individuals including Atiku, who is posing as Lawal Abba were behind the smear campaign against him for not extending the proceeds of the deal to them. Adoke said: “I was also informed that these individuals had enlisted a notorious online media to smear my name with allegations of corruption and bribery and that some agents of the Abacha family and one Lawal Abba acting for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, a former Vice President were behind the scheme.

“They claim that they were shareholders in Malabu Oil and Gas Limited and had been short-changed by the main shareholder of the company, and that I had refused to use my official position as Attorney General of the Federation to help them get their dues from the main shareholder. “It is apparent from these publications that the intention is not necessarily the clarifications sought by the EFCC but a carefully orchestrated plan for my assured unjustified persecution, humiliation and disgrace by a known group with interest in the Malabu matter that are aggrieved over my official role in the resolution of the case.

$24bn Oil Contracts Extension: The latest claims are ”fabricated tissues of lies” – Diezani

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Culled From Vanguard

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February 24, 2016

Former Minister for Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, has described the narratives of her former group managing directors, GMDs, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, with regard to the ongoing legislative probe of the oil swap and OPA deals as fabricated tissues of lies. Mr. Andrew Yakubu and Mr Austen Oniwon. The embattled former minister’s denial comes as she strongly refuted claims that she approved $24 billion for Renewal of the Crude Oil/Refined Products Exchange Agreement, otherwise called oil swap deals without contracts. From the inception of the deal in 2009, Federal Government was meant to realise about $1.82 million per 60,000 barrels per day, bpd, against the then losses of $1.47 million being recorded by the corporation.

It is uncertain if all the proceeds from the deal were remitted to the federation account. During their appearances before the legislators last week, Mr. Austin Oniwon, who was GMD, NNPC, from May 17, 2010 to June 12, 2012, and Mr. Andrew Yakubu, June 12, 2012, to August 2, 2014, said Alison-Madueke had granted them approvals for contracts extension. In a statement meant to set the records straight yesterday, she rejected some newspaper and online reports, which claimed that she granted an “extension” instead of ‘Approval for the Renewal of Contracts’ for the swap arrangements. Alison-Madueke, who is currently undergoing extensive cancer treatment in London, was quoted as describing the latest attack as “fabricated tissues of lies deviously concocted to sustain the escalating evil narratives against her person.” Contracts approvals The embattled former minister, who spoke through her spokesman, Mr. Clem Aguiyi, recalled that she gave the following approvals for renewal of contract: one-year term each for both Messrs Trafigura Beheer BV, and Messrs Societe Ivoirienne de Raffinage (SIR), in August 2010; two-year term in August 2011 for the same companies, and one-year term to NNPC subsidiary, Duke Oil, in January 2011. She added: “Two other approvals were consequently sought by the GMD, NNPC, the first of these on August 29, 2014, seeking to ratify all three aforementioned approvals, which had apparently variously expired during the course of 2013.” She said she approved all three “in view of the criticality of the situation.

Expiry of those terms was put at December 31, 2014, following assurances to the minister that the contractual obligations of the parties to NNPC had, in fact, been fully met, despite the regrettable lapse in renewal time.” In her narrative, the lapses in expiration to renewal dates were put at seven months for Duke Oil, 10 for SIR, and 12 months for Trafigura. OPA approvals Furthermore, Alison-Madueke recalled that she had given fresh approvals for Offshore Processing Agreements, OPA, on October 28, 2014, following the recommendation of the then Group Managing Director, GMD, NNPC. The approvals included a new term of two years commencing from January 1, 2015, for Sahara Energy Resources Ltd; Aiteo Energy and Duke Oil. According to her, “NNPC strongly recommended and outlined the benefits of the OPA over the swaps and put forward the case for migration from the OPA and crude exchange (SWAP) contracts to OPAs fully. “NNPC posited that the ‘experienced benefits of the OPA to the Federation’ would be much greater. All approvals were due process-driven and were only given by the Minister, following formal statutory written requests, which contained the technical basis for the renewal and were sent to the Minister by the GMD-NNPC, as is the normal practice. “NNPC had clearly requested for the approval of the Minister for ‘Renewal of the Crude Oil – Refined Products Exchange Agreement’ and ‘Renewal of Offshore Processing Agreement’ on all the various occasions outlined earlier in this press release.” Her spokesman further noted that “whereas, it is the Minister’s responsibility to either give or refuse ‘approval’, it was not within her purview as Minister to draft, initiate or conclude the processes of signing the final contracts. “It is the statutory responsibility of NNPC to ensure that all technical areas are duly covered and all requisite due process parameters are duly implemented.”

Will Diezani appear, as House of reps summon her on contracts extension worth $24bn?

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February 23, 2016

The House of Representatives on Monday despatched a letter to a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, asking her to explain how she extended contracts for crude oil worth $24bn without valid agreements.

The Chairman of the House Ad hoc Committee on Crude Oil Swap, Mr. Zakari Mohammed, confirmed on Monday that a letter had been sent to Alison-Madueke to appear before the committee on March 2.

“Yes, she has been asked to come on March 2. The letter left the secretariat today, February 22 (yesterday),” Mohammed stated.

He said the letter was routed through the office of the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu.

Two firms, Duke Oil and Tranfigura, were given the swap contracts in 2011 under the controversial crude-for-refined products (swap) deals the NNPC executed between 2010 and 2014.

The NNPC was allocated 445,000 barrels of crude daily to refine for domestic consumption.

However, owing to the failure of the country’s three refineries to function, the corporation resorted to exchanging part of the crude for refined products by engaging Duke Oil and Tranfigura.

Incidentally, Duke Oil is a subsidiary of the NNPC while Tranfigura is an offshore firm trading in Nigeria’s crude but does not pay tax to the Federal Government.

The Mohammed-led committee, which is investigating the deals, heard last week that Duke Oil and Tranfigura got an initial swap contracts in 2010 to last one year.

However, after the contracts expired in 2011, the former minister reportedly ordered an “extension” of the contracts, to run till 2014, but did not sign any valid agreements with the firms.

Three former GMDs of the NNPC – Mr. Austin Oniwon, Mr. Andrew Yakubu and Mr. Joseph Dawha – had appeared before the committee last week in Abuja to admit that the crude exchange took place without formal contracts.

“There was an approval for the extension by the minister; I believe the records are with the NNPC,” Oniwon, who was the first to appear before the panel, told the committee.

On his part, Dawha revealed that Duke Oil lifted 210,000 barrels of crude daily, while Tranfigura loaded 90,000 barrels” per day.

“Thus, as of August 2014, when I assumed office, the contracts were being run long after they had expired,” he added.

For Yakubu, he disclosed how he sent a report to Alison-Madueke on the need to review and formalise the contracts, but that the report “never came back to me from the minister.”

Speaking on the documents the committee had directed the former minister to produce, Mohammed said they included “full brief on all swap arrangements, a proof of Federal Executive Council’s approval, the NNPC board resolution on the contracts, evidence of the approval limit of the board and that of the minister of petroleum resources and that of the GMD.”

Mohammed explained that the FEC approval was necessary because by regulations, the approval limit of a minister was N100m, while higher amounts like the controversial $24bn would require the approval of FEC.

Dawha, who was the last GMD to serve under Alison-Madueke, had explained how he later ended the swap deals because they were “abnormal.”

He admitted that in the 27 years he served as an employee of the NNPC, there was never a period in the history of the corporation that such arrangements were allowed.

Dawha told the committee that his immediate decision was to seek a legal opinion on how to correct the anomaly following which he wrote Alison-Madueke on the need to sign legally-binding contracts with the companies.

The former GMD said Alison-Madueke approved his proposal to formalise the contracts.

“Upon receipt of the minister’s approval granted in August 2014, the contracts were formally extended to cover the periods from their respective dates of expiry until the end of December 2014,” he added.

Dawha explained that incorporated in the new contracts was an agreement to end the swap arrangements on their expiration, and migrate fully to Offshore Processing Agreement, which involved the direct processing of crude for refined products.

New PDP Chairman, Ali Modu Sheriff still under N300bn Borno allocation probe –EFCC

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Culled Form Punch

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February 23, 2016

Sheriff was arrested by the commission in June last year for alleged embezzlement of public funds during his eight years as governor of Borno State but was granted bail.

His government was said to have received over N300bn from the Federation Account between 2003 and 2011, an amount alleged to have been mismanaged by Sheriff.

The ex-governor of Borno State was subsequently detained from June 3 to June 4, 2015 and released on administrative bail without being charged to court.

The EFCC spokesman, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, had said at the time, “We can ask him to come back anytime we need him.”

Speaking with our correspondent on Monday during a telephone interview, Uwujaren said, “Sheriff is still under investigation.”

When asked to explain how far the commission had gone in the probe, Uwujaren said, “I cannot disclose the details of the investigations for now but the matter is already in the public domain.”

A reliable source within the anti-graft agency told one of our correspondents that Sheriff’s probe was not a witch-hunt but a normal criminal investigation.

He said, “Criminal matters do not have statutes of limitation. If a crime took place 30 years ago, we can re-open it at any point in time and that is what is happening.”

Meanwhile, the EFCC has arraigned one Valentine Orji, the Managing Director of Naxpro Energy & Shipping Company Limited before Justice A. A. Onojovwo of the Delta State High Court, sitting in Warri, on six counts bordering on issuance of dud cheque to the tune of N60m.

According to a statement by the commission on Monday, the petitioner, ARC Marine & Civil Construction Company Limited, alleged that sometime in September, 2013, Orji approached it along with one Mr. Bimbo, requesting to buy a vessel, MV DOLA, marked IMO H. 6826793.

After the negotiations, the parties agreed on the sum of N140m.

The two parties reportedly agreed that the vessel would be handed over to Orji’s company after the sum of N80m was deposited for the vessel and issuance of post-dated cheque, covering the balance sum of N60m.

Upon the payment of the initial amount, the vessel was handed over to the defendant’s company and it was agreed that if by April 1, 2014, he failed to pay the balance, the vessel should be returned.

However, on presentation of Orji’s cheque at the bank, it was dishonoured on the grounds of insufficient funds.

Efforts made to recover the vessel or money, the commission stated, proved abortive.

However, when the charges were read to him, Orji pleaded not guilty.

Prosecuting counsel, M. T. Iko, urged the court to fix a date to commence trial.

The defence counsel, Erikefe, prayed the court to grant the accused person bail.

Justice Onojovwo granted the accused person bail in the sum of N5m and two sureties in like sum.

The judge said the sureties must be resident in the Warri or Effurun jurisdiction with a landed property to be verified by the court bailiff.

The judge ordered Orji to be remanded in prison pending the perfection of his bail.

The matter was adjourned till March 22, 2016, for the commencement of trial.

Meanwhile, Sheriff, on Monday, dared his opponents, who had called for his resignation, to perish the thought as he was not ready to vacate office or step down.

The former governor of Borno State, who spoke with journalists shortly after taking over from the Acting National Chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus, at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, said those calling for his resignation were not as popular as himself.

He specifically mentioned a former Governor of the old Gongola State, Mr. Wilberforce Juta, who asked him to resign from office immediately.

Juta was the arrowhead of a group known as the PDP Rescue Group, who had asked him to leave.

Some prominent members of this group include a former President of the Senate, Adolphus Wabara, and a former Deputy Governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Muktar Shagari.

Sheriff said Juta presented himself for the selection process and wondered why someone, he said he defeated, would turn to the media and demand his resignation.

He said, “I saw the person who was reading the press statement, Amb. Wilberforce Juta. He submitted himself to the National Working Committee of this party, aspiring to be the chairman.

“Mohammed Wakil that you saw on the television also submitted himself to the working committee, to be appointed chairman.

“And votes had been cast. The man that was reading the press statement got one vote and he’s asking me to resign. Therefore, I will not resign.”

He said he would only tender his resignation letter if he was asked to leave by members of the National Executive Committee of the party.

Sheriff said, “The leadership of this party, in their wisdom, asked me to lead. If the NEC of this party collectively asks me to leave, I will leave; but not somebody who contested an election and got one vote. I think if there is morality, he should not even go to the television.

“In the midst of everybody, you got one vote and you go outside and asked the chairman to resign. My brother, where is the credibility? Where is the justice?

“I would have listened to him better if he did not aspire to be one. Therefore, I did not plan to resign, I will not resign, I will reposition this party and take it to election within a time frame decided by the leaders of this party to conduct a credible, effective congress that will stand the test of time.”

He nevertheless asked his traducers to forgive him and join hands with him to build the party.

On those accusing him of being a sponsor of terror group, Boko Haram, Sheriff said it was wrong to tag him as either a sponsor or the creator of the sect.

Sheriff said, “No one has ever accused me of supporting Boko Haram, no court of competent jurisdiction has ever linked me with Boko Haram.

“I will do one thing this time round. People like Femi Fani-Kayode will not go scot-free this time round. Now that I have been given the opportunity to talk, let me say that I have nothing to do with Boko Haram.

“They killed my brother, same mother and same father. They said they were going to kill me because I refused to allow them to Islamise northern Nigeria.

“Boko Haram (members) are criminals. My friends are all over the world. The real sponsors of Boko Haram will be caught and I have nothing to do with Boko Haram.”

He however said he didn’t know when his tenure would end as the national chairman of the main opposition party.

Sheriff, who was responding to questions on his tenure, some having claimed that he was asked to serve the remaining tenure of the former National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, said he was not told when his tenure would end.

By the party’s constitution, his tenure and other members of the National Working Committee ends in March.

But he said, “I am here to rebuild the party. What time we need to do this job will be determined by the leaders and owners of the party when they sit down collectively to discuss.

“For me, taking over office today, I cannot tell you when I am leaving. I will only tell you when the party leaders sit down and see what is the immediate time to do this job; if they decide, I am ready for it.”

But the Board of Trustees of the PDP on Monday joined some members of the party to demand the resignation of Sheriff, saying the new party chairman was not credible enough to lead the party.

Also, a former Minister of Transport and member of the BoT, Ojo Maduekwe, said he had never expressed opinion anywhere to leave the party.

The BoT said Sheriff was not an option to lead the party.

The Acting Chairman of the BoT, Senator Walid Jibril, stated the position of the board at a press briefing after its meeting in Abuja.

Walid added, “We, as the conscience of the party, are still of the strong view that Senator Ali Modu Sheriff is not an option to be the national chairman of the party.”

The BoT acting Chairman, who declined any further comment, said members of the board were still consulting amongst themselves.

Also speaking with journalists on the occasion, Maduekwe said he would not leave the PDP.

He explained that the PDP made some mistakes, and that it did not build on its success in the past.

The party, he added, also did not check impunity, which eventually led to the its downfall.

He said, “This is not the time to leave the party. This is the time to regain the trust of Nigerians. All we need to do is to reorganise the party.”

Ambode okays FC Barcelona Academy in Lagos

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February 23, 2016

new-diplomat default image

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State says the decision of the Barcelona Football Club of Spain to establish its first African football academy in the state was in sync with his administration’s philosophy for sports development.

Ambode, who spoke at the Lagos House in Ikeja while receiving senior management staff of the football club, pledged the support of the government in ensuring the successful take-off of the project.

The governor added that the academy was a thing of joy coming at a time when the state was still basking in the euphoria of successfully hosting an international marathon.

Ambode said, “This visit by FC Barcelona is coming at a time when we just hosted an international marathon. I want to assure you that we are committed to this partnership because we know it will give us the firstFCBEscola in Africa. I was made to understand that this is the first of its kind in Africa and so Lagos is priding itself as a major receptor of your first academy to be established in Africa.

“I know that this will create a very good platform for youth development and grass roots empowerment. We share the same values with FC Barcelona which are respect, courage, humility, social integration and community service.

“Whatever it is that we need to do to ensure that this project takes off as quickly as possible; we are ready to support you in the interest of all of us.”

The governor said sport was the future of service to create a platform for youth employment and youth engagement in Lagos.

The governor also pledged the support of the state government to the Nigeria Football Federation in hosting the first Beach Soccer African Nations Cup in Lagos, which will hold between December 10 and 23, 2016.

The Director of Business and a member of the FC Barcelona Management Board, Pau Vilanova Vila-Abadal, who led the team to the state house, said FC Barcelona decided to establish its academy in Lagos due to the impressive population of the state, and the opportunity to share the philosophy of the team with the state.

The Worldwide Director of Barcelona Academy, Oscar Grau, said players like Lionel Messi, Andre Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Gerard Pique, among others, all started from academies, adding that the club had a unique methodology of instilling great virtues in footballers.

The NFF President, Amaju Pinnick, pledged the support of the football body in ensuring the success of the academy, especially in terms of facilitating the necessary approvals.

Amaechi set 500b target for the maritime sector Throws jibe at Jonathan…says if his administration had remained in power, there won’t be money to feed

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Lekan Okeowo

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February 23, 2016

The Minister for Transportation, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi has set a revenue target of 500 Billion Naira for the Maritime sector and lampooned the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan for running the economy of the country into a lurch.

Speaking at the Nigerian Shippers’ Council/ Tell Maritime Summit, Amaechi disclosed that; ‘My target is 500billion and I am sure that some people will be laughing in their minds that this man must be joking, you will see changes in the sector if we are unable to meet that target, the only way there won’t be change in officers in the sector is if we meet the target. If we achieve it we will set another target for ourselves, because we can’t achieve the target if there is no reform in the sector.

Nigeria is like a mother who is breastfeeding, everybody is sucking the breast-milk without replenishing the mother so that the mother can continue to produce more milk. Now the breast-milk is finished.

The Nigerian maritime sector must bring some of the milk that will be used to replenish the mother, and for me the target is N500b, if we don’t meet the target, I will ask the president to allow me hire new men that will help me achieve it. If we can achieve N500b target this year, then there must be reform in the sector, whatever is not working to help achieve the target will be removed.

If the past government had continue, by now you wouldn’t have even had money to continue, if you have all agreed that we need to embrace change, then by June or July we need to have another of such meeting on how to move the maritime sector forward.

If you think that the corruption in the maritime sector has stopped with the emergence of this new government, the answer is no, if you think that corruption in the transportation sector has stooped with the emergence of this new government, again the answer is no, we all need to sit and agree on the right thing to do to allow those who van make legitimate money to come into the system and make the money.

The kind of change I am looking for is the change that will generate revenue for the maritime sector for the interest of Nigerians and not for a few Nigerians to be carting away our resources.

Commending the management of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Amaechi said it is a good thing that the council was able to partner with Tell Magazine to bring the event to life.

‘Today’s meeting is good and is key, I must thank the management of Tell and the Shippers’ Council for this laudable project, and it is commendable’ he said.

I am looking forward to a stakeholders’ meeting where there will be a serious discussion on how to move the maritime sector forward. The railway sector is moving forward, we are commissioning the Abuja-Kaduna rail line in June, we will test run it by March when the coaches would have arrived. Before the end of the year, we would have commenced the construction of the Lagos to Kano standard gauged Rail-line.

Amaechi said that before the end of 2016, there would be normal operation of rail line between South-South and South-West.

He said that this would reduce traffic on the road.

The minister said that the Federal Ministry of Transport was working with the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) to move cargoes through Lagos to Calabar, Akwa-Ibom, Lokoja and other seaports in the country.

He said that there was need for practical steps in formulating a holistic policy that would address a number of issues and difficulties facing the industry across the board, including ineffective laws.

Amaechi bemoaned poor infrastructure, human capacity challenges and lack of political will to engineer fundamental reforms.

Hopefully we should also be able to commence the Lagos-Calabar Rail-line, if we are able to do those two rail lines, we would have taken care of half of the country transportation woes by rail as the movement of goods and services would have improved.

We are also in talk with some Chinese companies to see how we can be able to move products from either Lagos or Port-Harcourt to Onitsha-Lokoja by sea and to a sea port that is completed in Niger.

Tompolo makes u-turn…..denies giving President Buhari any ultimatum as Rita Lori calls for him to surrender

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February 23, 2016

Former militant commander in the Niger Delta region, Government Ekpemupolo, popularly referred to as Tompolo, has denied giving President Muhammadu Buhari any ultimatum to withdraw soldiers from the region.

The Niger Delta warlord had reportedly given the president an ultimatum to withdraw his soldiers from their region or they would continue blowing up oil pipelines in the area.

A reports had also surfaced where Tompolo allegedly asked his boys to blow up pipelines if the soldiers remained on his heels following a court order to ensure his arrest. But according to reports, Tompolo, on Monday, February 22, denied issuing any ultimatum to President Buhari to withdraw military from the region or he would blow up oil pipelines.

Paul Bebenimibo, who spoke on behalf of the former militant, said the purported statement was trending on social media, adding: “We wish to state categorically that the said publication is not from Tompolo, rather it is the work of those that have sworn to kill him by all means, but Jehovah God forbid.

“Tompolo has stated before now, that he will not resort to violence or destroy oil facilities because of the issue he is having with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

“No amount of provocation and persecution can make him to destroy the country that he has helped to build in recent time. He will wisely continue to pursue his course legally.”

The media adviser to Tompolo also added that, “It is his (Tompolo) prayer for those that are pushing for his death to have a re-think as he believes fervently in Jehovah God, who sees the heart of every human being, knows that he has no evil intention against Nigeria or any individual.

Therefore, he will come out stronger in the face of these temptations and trials.” Meanwhile, there is trouble in the Niger Delta region over the recent moves by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to confiscate assets belonging to Tompolo.

Over the weekend there were divergent views regarding the verdict of a federal high court in Lagos. The court ordered the confiscation of assets belonging Tompolo, the ex-General Officer Commanding (GOC), Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND). And some Niger Delta activists declined to speak on the matter saying Tompolo should have complied with the order to appear before the court, especially after a bench warrant on him was renewed.

This even as the Igba of Warri, Chief (Mrs) Rita Lori Ogbebor has called on the warlord to turn himself in to security agents.

Speaking at a Maritime Summit held by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council in conjunction with Tell Magazine, she called on the ex-warlord to turn himself in to the country’s security operatives’

‘Of course he knows he has to come out, I am not the kind of leader that says because he is from my area and I will support him, he need to come out of hiding to come and state his own side of the story, the Federal Government has asked him to come out so he need to come out’ she said.

Jonathan, Clark war gets messier……duo not on talking terms

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Lekan Okeowo

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February 22, 2016

The once rosy relationship between Former Federal Commissioner for Information and South-South leader, Chief Edwin Clark and his ‘adopted godson’, former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is assuming a worse dimension as both are said not to be on talking terms reports LEKAN OKEOWO

At the height of their friendship, they were inseparable, with Chief Edwin Clark calling former President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, his ‘adopted political god-son’. Where it all began to go wrong is still a subject of debate.

The trouble could probably be traced to when Clark disclosed that he was quitting the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and partisan politics, adding that his adopted godson lacked the will to fight corruption.

“Jonathan meant well for this country, but the will power to fight corruption was not there,” adding, “being a gentleman is not enough to govern this country.”

Clark reiterated his support for Buhari’s anti-corruption crusade, urging Nigerians to stop alleging about sectional or selective justice.

“It is not everything done by the opponent that is wrong. I will therefore support the policies that are for the good of the country because Nigeria belongs to all of us.

“We are all to support him, particularly in his determination to eradicate corruption in Nigeria. For eight years, Obasanjo legalised corruption. Yet, he’s the one talking about corruption. If your brother is arrested, did he give you money? If your sister was arrested for corruption, did she give you money?

“Jonathan didn’t have the political will-power to fight corruption. He’s too much a gentleman. Drivers of yesterday are living in palatial buildings now under his government. In advanced countries, when you are living above your means, people query you. That’s not so in Nigeria. Former governors and lawmakers are now asking for immunity.

“Jonathan meant well for this country, but the will power to fight corruption was not there.

“In an ideal society, when a man who earns N20,000 as his monthly salary and all of a sudden he acquires something that is worth N100,000, he should be questioned, but here in Nigeria, immunity has covered those that should be questioned.”

While Jonathan was still in power, Edwin Clark had gone as far as insulting, threatening to deal with every “Okeke, Okafor, Okorie and Okonkwo” in this country if Jonathan was not allowed to continue in office.

”Any person fighting Jonathan is fighting God. Whatever God said you will be that is what you will be and whoever want to remove him (Jonathan)

God will fight him. Under the grace of God Jonathan became the acting President and later President. What is yours nobody can take it from you.

“Some people said that they must rule and if Jonathan run there will be bloodshed. Majority of the Northerners believe in Jonathan and wants him to continue. Whoever want to split this country will fail.

Clark also made it clear to every “Shehu, Mohammed, Ibrahim and Adamu” that there was no corruption in the government of President Jonathan.

Jonathan in return, was reported to have deployed over 20 armed security agents to protect Chief Edwin Clark over his call for the removal of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC boss, Prof. Attahiru Jega.

These security personnel include soldiers, mobile policemen, and civil defence agents, all armed to the teeth.

Clark was also reported to have gotten numerous contracts from his god-son while the relationship lasted. He has however released a letter refuting the claim: “With all modesty, I am at this age contented. I state publicly therefore, that I never sought nor obtained any contract, oil block, oil lifting allocation or financial gratification from the ministries, departments and agencies, MDAs, during his (Jonathan) years of administration.

“It is, therefore, ludicrous and totally ill-motived for these wicked and mischievous persons to sell to the public that my decision portends a plan to seek any special favours from President Muhammadu Buhari and his government, or to protect those gains which I acquired from Jonathan’s government, which never existed.

A very reliable source squealed to the The New Diplomat that the duo no longer pick each other’s calls as Jonathan has sworn never to have anything to do with Chief Edwin Clark.

It is hoped that in the interest of the Niger-Delta where both are key players, they will sheath their swords and reconcile.

$2.1bn Arms Deal: Investigate Jonathan First Before Prosecuting Me – Metuh

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Culled From The Will

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February 22, 2016

The National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh last Thursday challenged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to first interrogate former President Goodluck Jonathan before prosecuting him over the source of the N400m alleged to be part of monies meant for arms purchase.

Chief Onyechi Ikpeazu SAN, who led Metuh’s defence team for the charges he is facing at the Federal High Court in Abuja, argued that EFCC’s Prosecution Witness (PW5) evidence that presentation for which money was paid was made to Jonathan makes the investigation of his role as well as his evidence vital and indeed crucial without which no prima facie case can conceivably be said to have been made out.

“Dr. Jonathan, to whom the presentation was made for which the payment was made, is therefore a material and indispensible person in order for a prima facie case to be present. Where the prosecution failed to call such a vital witness, a strong presumption will arise that the evidence, if called, would be unfavourable to the prosecution.”

Metuh consequently filed a no case submission asking the court to discharge him of the seven- count money laundering charge preferred against him and his company, Destra Investment Limited, by the anti-graft agency. He argued that the EFCC has not established a prima facie case against him in line with Sections 302 and 357 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, 2015 since the prosecution has not made such case against him and his company.

“In any case, the “mens rea’ of the defendants to the effect that former NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd) committed a criminal offence cannot be inferred, but must be established by a competent evidence which must come from the prosecution.

“It is the case of Metuh that no evidence was laid out by the prosecution that N400 million was the proceed of alleged criminal conduct committed by Dasuki, adding that if anything, all the documents presented by the prosecution in the case only point out that the former NSA complied with due process and the contrary has not been pronounced by the court of competent jurisdiction.

“In this case, by the evidence of PW3 who works in the Office of the National Security Adviser [ONSA], the NSA is answerable to the then President Goodluck Jonathan only,” he stated.

While stressing that Section 15 [2] [d] of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act requires the proof that the money must be proceed of an unlawful act, the PDP spokesman said: “In this case, it has not been established that the defendants knew that the ONSA engaged in any unlawful acts, adding that an unlawful act must be an act which is not authorised or approved and which has been found to be illegal.

“There was no evidence that the defendants were involved in any forged documents to create a contract where none was in fact, in existence. Pw8, the investigator was emphatic that he found no relationship of any kind between the defendants and Col. Sambo Dasuki.”

Politicians Supported Boko Haram in Their quest for Power – Soyinka

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Culled From Thisday

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February 22, 2016

Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has alleged that there are politicians in Nigeria who supported the activities of the Boko Haram sect in their lust for power.

Soyinka, who said this in an interview on television network, Channel 4, aired recently in the United Kingdom, stated that these set of politicians were ready to sacrifice anything in their pursuit for power.

According to him, today, the terrorist group has turned against the forces that supported its emergence.

He explained: “This is what is happening right now: in Nigeria, and I think that many people are admitting it today, there were politicians who actually supported what Boko Haram was doing.

“They supported them for various reasons because in their lust for power and pursuit for power, they were ready to sacrifice anything or to ally with anything, and of course they found that they have been turned against (by) the very forces that helped them.

“This is how Boko Haram really acquired its power, its nuisance value, and its effect on the society, because it had backing from even what we call mainstream Islam.

“That is not the situation today: most people are beginning to realise that we are dealing with a party of death, their ideology is death and there is only one way to deal with people like that. If you say you disagree with their ideology, you ensure you hit them before they hit you.”

Soyinka described the issues surrounding the disappearance of over 200 Chibok girls as a grievous dereliction of responsibility on the part of the Goodluck Jonathan administration, which was in government at the time of their abduction.

He recalled that when the girls were first declared missing, there was a cynical approach to the information on their kidnapping.
“The government refused to accept this fact until it was too late… For at least two weeks, it would have been possible from all reports to rescue those girls,” he added.

Soyinka, who was defeated in his bid to become the Professor of Poetry at Oxford University in the UK, attributed his defeat to inexperience on his part.

“I think this is the first time I have really been involved in a serious contest. I was nominated by people and I felt that was a marvelous idea to retire into poetry. I like what some of my detractors said; I took it quite seriously.

“When things got a bit tough, I said listen, we are experienced in Nigeria in electioneering, let me bring our experts, they would rig this election and I would emerge victorious overnight. But they won’t listen to me and we lost,” he responded to his interviewer tongue-in-cheek.

Responding to a question on the agitation by some students in Oxford University for the removal of the statue of Cecil Rhodes, the 19th century mining magnate and British imperialist who once served as the Prime Minister of the Cape Colony (present day South Africa and Namibia) and later founded Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe and Zambia), at the Ivy League university, Soyinka said: “For me, I am not prone to one side more than the other. I believe very much in history.

“History is not just what is written down, it is also culture. The painful part of history is how a people or a community came to be.
“I told a story when I was a Fellow in Churchill College, Cambridge, and I was there for about a year. Every time I came down to have a drink or go for breakfast or dinner and I saw the statue of Winston Churchill, I had to overcome the feeling of giving it a sharp blow to send it crashing.

“For me, that is perfectly natural and at the same time I must confess that academically speaking, that this is part of the shameful and embarrassing history.”

The Nobel laureate said he disliked Churchill because he was a “master colonialist”, but acknowledged that the British would never subscribe to the feelings that he held against Churchill.

“I am looking at that history from my point of view. But he is part of that history of the United Kingdom,” he said. When asked on his views on racism, Soyinka said: “Globally, Britain, America, Europe and even their “poorer European cousins”, all amounts to colour.

“I think we are going backwards. There was a time when the sense of humanity became globalised. What Martin Lurther King fought for is not yet over.”

Oil Swap Deal: House Committee Summons Alison-Madueke

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Culled From Thisdaylive

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February 22, 2016

The House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee investigating the Refined Product Exchange Agreement/Crude Oil Swap between the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation/Petroleum Pipelines Marketing Companies (NNPC/PPMC) has summoned the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, to explain her role in the award of contracts worth $24billion without valid agreements signed with the befitting companies.

Three former Group Managing Directors (GMDs) of the NNPC, Mr. Austin Oniwon, Mr. Andrew Yakubu and Mr. Joseph Dawha, who appeared before the committee last week, indicted the former minister, accusing her of extending the oil swap contracts for Duke Oil Company Incorporated and Trafigura B.V, without valid agreements.

The contracts for both firms had expired in October 2011, but they had continued to lift crude without formal contract extension for 20 months, lifting crude worth $24billion.

The contracts were formalised in December 2014 and backdated to cover the period from when they earlier expired.

The Chairman of the ad hoc committee, Hon. Zakari Mohammed (Kwara APC) in a telephone interview with THISDAY disclosed that the former minister would be invited by the committee.

“The former oil minister’s invitation will definitely go to her tomorrow (Monday). We are going to invite her, because contracts expired for 20 months, there was no renewal of contract, but the GMDs wrote to her, and she, on her own, approved the contracts,” he said.

It remains unclear how the former minister would be expected to honour the invitation following reports of her arrest in the United Kingdom, where her passport was also seized as part of her bail conditions.

Mohammed however explained that her not being able to appear is not a matter for the commitee, which has to have it on record that she was informed “that we need her attention…if we are now saying she will not show up, that is a matter of speculation.”

The lawmaker however debunked insinuations that the probe was targeted at the former minister, insisting that the House is determined to avoid a repeat of the sort of happenings that have been revealed in the course of the oil swap deals investigation.

“We need to know where she got her authority from, especially knowing fully well that the threshold of a minister is N100million, and these transactions were above N100million, so they ought to have gone the Federal Executive Council. These are the issues under which context we would invite her,” Mohammed added.

Speaking further, Mohammed disclosed that the Committee has directed Trafigura B/V to furnish it with its tax status in Amsterdam where the firm is registered.

Trafigura, between 2010 and 2014 lifted 12.5 million Metric tonnes of crude as part of the deal, but never remitted a kobo as tax to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). It’s Managing Director, Mr. James Juslin had told the committee that his company is not required to pay tax in Nigeria, as an international company, with no representatives in Nigeria.

“We are determined to ensure that every Naira and Kobo owed to the Nigerian government by Trafigura and erring companies, are recovered. We have written to them (Trafigura) to tell us their tax status in Holland where they are registered, and they replied that it is taking them time to get it. We have given them the next four to five weeks, and we told them if there is no reply by then, we would presume their status,” Mohammed told THISDAY.

The investigations continue as the former Managing Director of the PPMC, Mr. Haruna Momoh is expected to appear before the committee next week tomorrow.

Rickey Tarfa sues MTN, EFCC, Falana, others for N5bn

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February 22, 2016

Embattled Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Rickey Tarfa, has filed a fresh fundamental rights enforcement suit against telecommunications company, MTN Nigeria Communications Limited, for the alleged violation of his right to privacy.

Tarfa is seeking a court declaration that his right to privacy was violated when the call records/log on his phone with mobile number 08034600000 was allegedly accessed without his authority and made available to our source and other online news media without any reasonable cause or a lawful court order.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had on February 5 arrested Tarfa and confiscated his two mobile phones and his Mercedez Benz SUV with Registration No. KJA 700 CG, on the allegation that Tarfa hid two alleged suspects of economic and financial crimes in his car to prevent their arrest.

Joined as respondents in Tarfa’s second fundamental rights enforcement suit are the EFCC, its Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, Mrs. Rashidatou Abdou and Mr. Femi Falana (SAN).

Among other reliefs, Tarfa is urging the court to hold that it was unlawful for his iPhone 6 with mobile number 08034600000 to have been used in calling one Alhaji Ado in Kaduna on mobile number 08061272929 on February 9, 2016 while the said phone was with Magu and the EFCC without any reasonable cause or any court order.

He is also urging the court to hold that it was unlawful for the EFCC to access his bank details, clients information, private and confidential information contained in his iPhone 6 with number 08034600000 and Samsung 6 phone with number 08077341616 without any reasonable cause or any court order.

He is urging the court to order the respondents to pay him N5bn for the alleged violation of his rights.

The suit was backed with a 134-paragraph affidavit, wherein Tarfa chronicled how the relationship between his client, Ghanhoue Nazaire, and the 3rd respondent, Mrs. Rashidatou Abdou, broke down in 2011 leading to the filing of a suit for the winding down of their company, Rana Prestige Industries Nigeria Limited.

Dismissed MD approves multi million loan for allies; backdates records

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Culled From Vanguard

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February 20, 2016

One of the managing directors sacked on Monday by the Presidency, has played a fast one on the government by approving multi-million loans to his cronies and associates before stepping aside. He is said to have gone into hiding shortly after handing over to one of he top officials of the agency, which has been plunged into huge avoidable debts incurred by reckless spending by the sacked board and management. The man is said to have gone under to avoid being taken in the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, which had been trailing him even before his sack last Monday. Among other crimes allegedly committed by the man, was the huge sum of N1 billion, which he claimed to have donated towards the re-election campaign of former President Jonathan and the N300 million bribe he demanded from a popular farming group in Lagos as a condition for approving a N1.5 billion expansion credit to a popular Lagos farming entity recommended by a former president of Nigeria. The dismissed official, who headed one of the development financial institutions, reportedly ignored the directive of the presidency to hand over immediately to the next most senior official but worked for two additional days to achieve his inordinate mission.

Insiders, who are upset with the way the sacked official carried on in the establishment, said he reluctantly handed over on Wednesday after tampering with vital official documents. The extra three days spent in the office by the disgraced official, was to enable him to sign off many controversial ‘deals’ and backdate them to prevent auditors from questioning them. In particular, the former MD is said to have used most part of Tuesday and Wednesday to approve huge loans to his favourite allies and backdated them to show that the approvals were given last year. A top source said, that in one case, the sacked MD approved a personal housing loan of N27 million to one of the heads of departments on Tuesday and backdated it to 2014 to avoid being detected as fraudulent, null and void. “I can tell you that the beneficiary of the fraudulent approval, which took place on Tuesday, two days after the MD had been removed from office, is the head of corporate department of our bank,” a senior staff of the institution said. It was gathered that apart from illicit approval of loans for close allies within the establishment, the sacked official also hurriedly granted approvals for external loans believe to have also gone to his cronies.

It was learnt that after appending his signatures to the paper, the sacked official packed away many vital official documents in several bags known locally as Ghana-Must-Go and drove off in many trucks. Aggrieved staff and external customers are said to have reported the top sacked bank boss to the Finance Minister and the EFCC, which has indicated readiness to probe the cases listed against the former official.

FG may further cut petrol price – PPPRA

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February 19, 2016

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The continued fall in crude oil price may lead to a further cut in the pump price of petrol by the Federal Government any time soon, the outgoing Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, Mr. Farouk Ahmed, has said.

The PPPRA is the agency of the Federal Government that regulates and fixes prices for petroleum products in the country.

The agency had late December 2015 stated that the pricing template for petroleum products would be reviewed occasionally to reflect fluctuations in the price of crude oil in the international market.

While handing over to the most senior officer of the PPPRA, Mr. Moses Mbaba, in Abuja on Thursday, Ahmed noted that as of February 3, 2016, about one month after the review of the pricing template of petrol, the country had saved N2.6bn as over-recovery on the product.

He was, however, quick to state that the value was low because some of the over-recoveries were still arriving.

He stated that the decision on the review of the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, would be taken next month by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, after due consultation with stakeholders, and based on the price of crude oil in the international market.

When asked if the price could be reduced in the future considering the fall in crude oil prices, Ahmed said, “Yes, but wait till March and you will see. Because the minister is fair in the decision he will take, and because he will take the decision pragmatically.”

He added that due to the current state of over-recovery, the PPPRA was recovering some money from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and oil marketers.

Ahmed also noted that as of February 16, 2016, the country recorded over-recovery of N13.81 per litre of petrol, stating that this meant that the landing cost of PMS was lower than the selling price by N13.81.

However, as of the close of business on Thursday, the over-recovery had dropped to N11.74 per litre.

Ahmed explained that on instances of over-recovery, the PPPRA usually sends notes to affected marketers to refund the excess money to the government, adding that the fund was being kept in an account that was recently opened at the Central Bank of Nigeria.

He said, “There has been an account launched at the CBN and being managed by the Accountant-General of the Federation where the over-recovery funds are deposited. So, there is no question of where the money goes to.

“As of February 3, 2016, the estimate in that account, because we are verifying based on what was imported, is just a small amount of about N2.6bn. But this is just the beginning, because some of them were just arriving in December; that is why the subsidy over-recovery is low.

“The fact is that whatever money that will be put into that account, one day, which is our hope that the price of crude oil will go up, there will be more revenue inflow to the Federation Account. The oil sector will benefit. That excess, before you go to the government for any intervention, you go to that account and pull some money and compensate.”

He, however, noted that the over-recovery might disappear if the price of crude oil rises by next month.

Ahmed stated that the process of the review of the pricing template would likely commence by March 15, 2016, and the committee to undertake the review would consist of all the stakeholders in the petroleum industry, including major and independent oil marketers as well as depot owners.

The outgoing PPPRA boss stated, “The recent price modulation mechanism and review of the agency’s pricing template, which took effect from January 1, 2016, has ushered in the much-needed efficiency and cost-saving as far as subsidy payment exposure is concerned.

“This has partly led us to a regime of over-recovery, enabling the government to collect money back from the marketers into the designated over-recovery account at the CBN.”

We cannot afford to fail, says Buhari

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February 19, 2016

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President Muhammadu Buhari has said that Nigeria cannot afford to fail in view of her vast human and natural resources.

Also, former President Olusegun Obasanjo described Nigerians as “not a reading people.”

Speaking at the launch of a book, “The Nigerian Century,” edited by a seasoned journalist, Dare Babarinsa, at the Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, on Thursday, the President, in his prologue to the book, noted that the nation needed to nurture writers, scientists and statesmen.

Buhari, who was represented by a former Ekiti State Governor and the Vice-Chairman, South-West, the All Progressives Congress, Chief Segun Oni, said that Nigeria had been in adversity, but was nurtured by the furnace of colonialism.

He paid homage to the founding fathers of Nigeria who “hoisted the banner of freedom we are enjoying.

“Nigeria is indebted to the founding fathers of the anti-colonial struggle who hoisted the banner of freedom we are enjoying. Each of our past leaders had modulated and moderated the turbulence of power and Nigeria has no reason to fail,” the President, who was the special guest of honour, said.

The presenter of the book, the APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, said knowing little about the nation “is a peril we cannot afford,” adding that he had read the book and found that Nigeria had justified its position as the giant of Africa.

He lamented that youths were no longer studying History, noting that foreign schools in the country were teaching young Nigerians the histories of foreign countries at the expense of Nigerian history.

He said, “Most youths don’t know Nigerian history and in 40 years, some of them could be governors. History should be restored to the school curriculum and this book (The Nigerian Century) should be available in all schools and Nigerian missions worldwide.”

Tinubu observed that the nation was grasping with the challenges of change, stressing that through history, she could learn how she got to its current position and the way out.

The Chairman of the occasion, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, stated that the book captured the essence of the nation and its people, describing the compendium as a gift to the younger generation.

The former President, who was represented by a foremost pharmacist, Prince Julius Adeluyi, admonished Nigerians to learn about the nation’s history, noting that people below 40 years were becoming more ignorant.

“The author has done everything to produce a unique book, but it is sad that Nigerians are not a reading people,” he noted.

The book reviewer and publisher, Ovation Magazine owner, Dele Momodu, described the book as an encyclopedia of Nigerian history.

According to him, the book is a repository of information and knowledge on the first 100 years of Nigeria.

The author said the book was conceived in 2013 and slated to mark Nigeria’s Centenary in 2014, adding that he received encouragement from the last administration, but no financial support.

5 ships laden with petrol to discharge in Lagos ports

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February 19, 2016

Five ships have arrived Lagos ports, waiting to discharge Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol. The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) stated this in its publication – `Shipping Position’, – a copy of which was made available on Friday in Lagos. The document noted that 33 other ships laden with petroleum products, food items and other goods are expected to arrive Apapa and Tin-Can Island Ports in Lagos from Feb. 19 to March 9. NPA explained that the expected ships contained buck wheat, bulk salt, bulk sugar, bulk coal, general cargoes, vehicles, containers, Rubber Tyred Gantry (RTG) cranes, gypsum, petrol, kerosene and Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK). 16 other ships are at the ports discharging general cargoes, soda ash, bulk rice, containers, steel products, diesel and petrol.

Fuel subsidy to go in 2016 – Minister

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February 19, 2016

The minister of state, Petroleum Resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu has revealed Federal government plans to spend zero amounts in petroleum subsidy in 2016 and its intention not to remove the subsidy while in periods of high oil prices.

He revealed this while delivering a lecture titled ‘the petroleum industry and the future of the Nigerian nation’ at the 45th convocation ceremony of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka adding that government has started pumping oil from two out of the three refineries in the country which would be used to provide oil and gas needed for the country.

The minister noted that it may sound unbelievable to people, explaining that it is part of the change mantra of the present administration of President Mohammadu Buhari, meanwhile, 70 per cent of vandalized pipelines has been recovered which will supply more crude to the refineries.

Dr Kachikwu said that the objective of Buhari reform agenda in oil and gas industry in the country centered on having the right people doing the right thing at the right time for the purposes of moving the country forward.

“With the right people in petroleum sector there will be increase in revenue for the country via sales of petroleum products. The products will be affordable at lower prices that will encourage economic growth and international competiveness.

The reform agenda in the oil and other sectors will also provide more employment opportunities in the country, ‘he said.

The minister pointed out that what the country suffers now was poor management of the oil sector in the past twenty 25 years, adding that in the past the cost of production of crude oil as well as importation of fuel remained the highest in the world while weakness in the fiscal administration of the oil sector led to inadequate allocation and collection of oil and gas revenues for the government.

‘’In recent past, the oil and gas industry has emerged from the scourge of militancy in the Niger Delta when production was at a low of 1.6 million barrels per day in 2009 to its current levels of about 2.2 million barrels per day.

Over the years, little attempts was made to diversify revenue base from huge oil and gas resource income’’ he minister noted. He also said that the mainstream and downstream have witnessed challenges which was why government has focused its reforms on liberalizing the sectors, explaining that Nigeria has three refineries with nameplate capacity of 445,000 barrels per day, 5,120 km of products and crude pipelines, 21 storage depots and one petroleum products import terminal at Atlas Cove all of which have suffered from vandalism and poor maintainace over the years because of lack of a commercially viable framework for cost recovery.

He explained that the oil boom of the 70’s, the country experienced large public spending and fiscal deficits that fuelled macroeconomic volatility, noting that the country’s budget increased from the 70’s onwards as expenditure rose faster than revenues.

Kachikwu urged Nigerians to support president Buhari in his fight against corruption in order retrieve the looted funds in the country as the fight would restore the dignity of the county and banish poverty.

“The aim of the present administration is to leave a good legacy through fighting corruption and making judicious use of the country’s resources. Nigerians should give the president maximum support in his determination to rid the county of bribery and corruption’’ he said.

He expressed appreciation to University management for finding him worthy to present the 45th convocation lecture, adding that as an alumnus of the university he would continue to contribute meaningfully to the University.

In a welcome address, the Vice-chancellor of University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Prof Benjamin Ozumba said that the 45th convocation lecture was a unique one for the fact that the lecture was delivered by an icon in petroleum industry who had within a period of time transformed the oil sector. Prof Ozumba said that the Nigerian National petroleum corporation (NNPC) has witnessed series of transformation within a short period of time the minister assumed duty in the industry.

Biafra: Try Kanu publicly, counsel dares FG

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February 19, 2016

The detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, who is facing a six-count treason charge, has opposed an application by the federal government to conduct his trial in secret.

FG had in the application it filed before the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, decried that all the witnesses billed to testify against Kanu and two other pro-Biafra agitators, Benjamin Madubugwu and David Nwawuisi, who are facing trial with him, have declined to appear in court.

It said the witnesses insisted that they would not testify against the defendants unless their safety was guaranteed. Consequently, government lawyer, Mr. David Kaswe, ‎ prayed trial Justice John Tsoho to issue an order protecting the identities of the witnesses by ‎allowing them to either wear facial mask or to testify behind screens.

FG equally applied for an order excluding persons except journalists from witnessing the proceedings. “The measure is to safeguard the lives of prosecution witnesses who live in the geographical region where the defendants come from.

Since their arrest, there has been violent protests for the defendants to be released. “The witnesses have already indicated fear to give evidence in view of perceived backlash. My lord, they have categorically informed us that unless they could be guaranteed some form of protection by the court, they would not come to testify.

“In the light of this, the case of the prosecution will be greatly affected should there be any reason for the witnesses not to come to court”, Kaswe submitted.

Meanwhile, Kanu, through his lead counsel, Chief Chuks Muoma, SAN, vehemently opposed the application which he said grossly lacked merit. He argued that section 36(4) of the 1999 constitution made no provision for masquerades to testify in a trial ‎involving an alleged act of treason.

“An accused person under our jurisprudence and justice administration must be confronted with his accusers eye-ball to eye-ball.

“My lord we operate an accusatorial‎ system of procedure under the common law. Justice must not only be done but must be seen to have been done.

“It is not within common sense to malign and accuse someone in public and apply to try him in the bedroom. Having been accused in public we want to also be tried in public.

“We therefore urge this court not to allow masquerades to testify before it. We want to see their faces and ask them questions. As masquerades, how will the court be able to gauge their demeanor and body language?

Is it by the rhythm of their dance steps? “The tenets of justice outweigh this application and we urge my lord to reject it. It has no merit whatsoever. Secret trial is for terrorism charge, it is not for the type of offence for which these defendants were charged.

“Secret trial does not apply in a case of treasonable felony or involvement in alleged ‎unlawful society. During the trial we will prove to them that we are not an illegal organization”, Muoma added.

After listening to the parties, Justice Tsoho stood down ruling on the matter till 2pm. Kanu who was hitherto the Director of Radio Biafra and Television, ‎has been in detention since October 14, 2015, when he was arrested by security operatives upon his arrival to Nigeria from his base in the United Kingdom.

The defendants were alleged to have committed treasonable felony, an offence punishable under Section 41(C) of the Criminal Code Act, CAP C38 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.

FG alleged that they were the ones managing the affairs of the IPOB which it described as “an unlawful society”. Specifically, Kanu was alleged to have illegally smuggled radio transmitters into Nigeria, which he used to disseminate “hate broadcasts”, encouraging the “secession of the Republic of Biafra”, from Nigeria.

However, the accused persons, pleaded not guilty to the charge on January 20, even as the court ordered their remand at Kuje prison ‎in Abuja.

Court authorises EFCC to seize Tompolo’s assets over N45.9bn fraud

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February 19, 2016