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September 29, 2005
Nigeria governor 'laundered' cash
The governor of an oil-rich Nigerian state has appeared in a UK court charged with laundering £1.8m ($3.2m) found in cash and in bank accounts.
The magistrate denied bail to Bayelsa State Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, because of fears he might leave the UK, as another governor did last year.
The governor has accused the UK authorities of acting in a bigoted and neo-colonialist manner.
Mr Alamieyeseigha says he is innocent. He is due in court again next month.
He was originally arrested on 15 September as he passed through Heathrow Airport in London. Detectives found almost £1m in cash in his west London home.
Nigeria's anti-corruption body has been investigating the governor for more than three years.
Under Nigerian law he enjoys immunity from prosecution while in office.
However, such immunity does not extend beyond Nigeria's shores, our correspondent says.
Last year, another Nigerian state governor was arrested in London.
Joshua Dariye from Plateau state was quizzed by police on money laundering allegations involving more than £1m.
He was freed on bail and returned to Nigeria, and is still wanted for questioning by British police.
Nigeria is considered one of the most corrupt countries, but President Olusegun Obasanjo has vowed to fight the problem.
He set up the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after his election in 1999.
Although a number of senior officials have been put under investigation for alleged corruption in recent months, there has not been any significant conviction during his six years in power.
Posted by Publisher at 11:20 AM | Comments (0)
Falae to Obasanjo: You Have Wasted Yoruba’s Chance
Former presidential candidate of the old All Peoples Party (APP) and a chieftain of the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, Chief Olu Falae yesterday in Ibadan said President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration had failed to live up to the expectation of the Yoruba people in particular and the entire Nigerians in general. He said the opportunity given to the race to put things in the right place had been wasted.
From Ademola Adeyemo in Ibadan, 09.28.2005
Falae who contested against Obasanjo in the 1999 Presidential election yesterday at the lecture organized to mark the 3rd Hon Babatunde Oduyoye Annual Birthday Lecture said Nigeria waited for seven years for Obasanjo to correct the misrule foisted on the nation by the Military.
“But what we have on the ground today is worse than the military governments in insensitivity,” he said.
The chance given to the Yoruba people was wrongfully given to Obasanjo and we have to wait for seven years without any positive change except hardship, corruption and lack of focus.
“This is the chance of the Yoruba being wasted. The mistake has been made to choose Obasanjo and Nigerians are paying dearly for that. It will be long before Yoruba can get the chance again, nobody will trust us again. We have been rubbished,” Falae said.
He also scored Obasanjo’s administration very low in the area of poverty alleviation, provision of good roads, education etc while calling on Nigerians to reflect on the performance of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government and vote for the progressives in future elections.
Falae also praised Oduyoye for being among the youths who are busied themselves critically analyzing and proffering perspectives and illuminating solutions to various problems militating against Nigeria.
The guest lecturer, Dr Abubakar Momoh of the department of political science, Lagos State University said there was need for Nigeria to move beyond "culture talk” and the indigenes/ settlers claims.
He said Nigeria have a common history of colonial exploitation and waged struggle of resistance.
“ For the past 105 years, there have been cultural mix, social interaction and political engagements. We need to pursue this positively,” he said.
Posted by Publisher at 11:15 AM | Comments (0)
NLC rally holds in Abuja today
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and civil society groups will today hold the grand finale of the mass rallies to protest the recent increase in the pump prices of petroleum products by the federal government. Today’s demonstration marks the end of the anti-fuel price hike rallies which have taken place in major cities across the country such as Lagos, Benin, Kano, Maiduguri, Yola, Asaba, Owerri and Jos.
By Abdullahi M. Gulloma & Rakiya A. Muhammad
The Jos rally, which commenced in the early hours of yesterday, paralysed activities in Plateau state capital city, leading to the closure of banks, shops and other commercial centres. The rally made it impossible for motorists to use the major roads in the city.
The president of the NLC, Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole, told newsmen yesterday that the Abuja procession will be set in motion at the Life Camp area and pass through Wuse Zone 5, Wuse Zone 6, Central Area, the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), and the Federal Secretariat.
The NLC president, who disclosed this when the acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Sunday Ehindero, visited the national headquarters of the congress in Abuja, said that the rally was intended to create awareness and show those in government that Nigerians cannot cope with the arbitrary increases in the pump prices of petroleum products.
He commended the police for the maturity they displayed during the previous rallies and urged them to do everything possible to make today’s rally as peaceful as the preceding ones.
Our correspondent in Jos reported that the rally, which was headed by the national vice president of the NLC, Comrade Julius Adekola, was successful. The protesters marched peacefully to the Government House and handed over a protest letter to the state governor for onward delivery to President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Responding, Governor Joshua Dariye, admitted that the survival of democracy depends on labour and civil societies. He promised to deliver the protest letter to the President as demanded by the protesters.
Posted by Publisher at 11:13 AM | Comments (0)
Jail-break in Auchi, 120 inmates escape
AUCHI—A HUNDRED and twenty inmates of the Auchi Prisons in Edo State, yesterday, descended on prison officials, attacked them with dangerous weapons and then threw open the prison gate for a massive jail-break. The attack had begun as a protest by the inmates against alleged poor feeding and poor conditions.
By Osaro Okhomina, Simon Ebegbulem & Tony Edike
Posted to the Web: Thursday, September 29, 2005
A bizarre drama also played itself out yesterday at the Enugu Prisons when about 15 prisoners beat up a female Assistant Superintendent of Prisons and her inspector husband, allegedly on the order of a superior prison official.
No life was lost in the Auchi jail-break, but a combined team of policemen and prisons officials was deployed to the area to quell the riot and fish out fleeing prisoners. Their efforts yielded some fruits with the arrest of 10 of the prisoners.
The Acting Comptroller of Prisons, Mr Okwara Uche Kalu, yesterday relocated to Auchi to meet with the Comptroller of the Auchi Prison, Mr Kingsley Otutu, and other top officers of the prisons, declaring that the incident would be investigated by the authorities. Those found wanting would be dealt with, he vowed.
Vanguard gathered that the jail-break occurred around 3p.m. during the call for lunch within the prison yards. It lasted only a few minutes. It was gathered that the authorities of the prisons were caught off guard by the irate prisoners who attacked them with dangerous weapons reportedly stolen from the workshop.
Among the fleeing inmates were four men on the death row. Vanguard observed that security was yesterday beefed up at entry and exit points in Auchi town, as armed policemen embarked on a stop and search operation.
Speaking with Vanguard on telephone, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Muktar Abass, confirmed the incident and said the Police were still trying to unravel the mystery behind the jail-break. He said plain cloth police officers had been deployed to the area to assist in the search for escaped prisoners.”We can confirm now that the incident happened and we have sent out appeals to community heads and youths in the area to assist in the re-arrest of the prisoners.”
Prisoners beat up ASP, husband at Enugu prisons
Meanwhile, an Assistant Superintendent of Prisons at the Enugu Prisons, Mrs. Francisca Okoli, and her husband, Inspector Gabriel, were beaten up yesterday by over 15 prisoners allegedly on the orders of a superior prison official after ordering the eviction of the couple from the barracks.
The incident which occurred at about 10a.m., caused panic in the barracks located opposite the prisons headquarters as passers-by who did not understand what was happening scampered for safety, fearing that it was a jail-break.
Household items including furniture, kitchen utensils as well as make-shift houses within the barracks were either thrown out or destroyed by the stern-looking prisoners who were led by the Chief Superintendent of Prisons, Mr. Mike Iroegbu.
ASP Okoli whose uniform was torn and with blood stains all over her body, narrated her ordeal to Vanguard, saying the prisoners who acted on the instruction of a superior prisons officer invaded her three-bedroom quarters in the barracks and started throwing her belongings outside.
Okoli, who is the Secretary to the Commandant of the Nigerian Prisons Training School, Enugu, said an attempt by herself and her husband to stop them attracted serious blows from the prisoners who also used clubs to inflict injuries on them, adding that her husband was beaten into unconsciousness.
She said: “At about 10a.m. today (yesterday), I was coming from my office at Prisons Training School, Enugu. When I got to my house, I saw about 15 prisoners led by an officer shouting at my husband. When I got there, I told him that the quarters was allocated to me by my boss, the Commandant of the Training School, Enugu, who has the authority to allocate quarters meant for the Training School to the officers.
“After narrating this to him, he went ahead and ordered the prisoners to beat me and my husband up and to throw our property outside. They beat the two of us mercilessly to the point that my husband became unconscious. I also sustained severe injury with blood all over my body. I later fainted and some sympathisers rescued me.”
Displaying her digital Sony video camera valued at N150,000, which she claimed was smashed during the attack, Okoli alleged that N80,000 cash was stolen from her house, adding that her property thrown out by the prisoners were still scattered outside the premises as she had no other place to move them in.
“I have made a formal complaint to the Deputy Commandant of the Prisons Training School over the matter. Many senior officers from the training school had gone to the officer to ascertain if he actually ordered the prisoners to beat them up. He showed no remorse. Rather, he admitted that he ordered that our property be thrown out.
“I am surprised by the action of the officer. How can the prisoners we are meant to reform be turned to thugs and weapons against the Prisons officers? I call on the Prisons authorities to intervene and call the officer to order because it is completely wrong to use prisoners as weapons against prisons’ wardens. If they are being used as weapons, what kind of reformation and rehabilitation are we giving them? This officer must be called to order,” she said in tears.
But when contacted yesterday, Chief Superintendent of Prison Iroegbu, who led the operation, said the action was in line with the directive by the Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs to various prisons commands across the country to sanitise the barracks following the recent jail-breaks in Port Harcourt and Lagos.
He said Mrs. Okoli and her husband illegally occupied the quarters which was meant for senior officers of the command, adding that they (Okolis) forced their way into the apartment shortly after the occupant vacated it on Monday. According to him, the couple had been living in their official apartment within the barracks from where they parked into the senior quarters “through the back door.”
Posted by Publisher at 11:11 AM | Comments (0)
...A QC’s Impassioned Plea Fails to Faze Magistrate; Court: Immunity for Head of State only
Barrister Fidelis Odittah, a Queen's Consel and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, yesterday made an impassioned plea to secure the release, on bail, of Bayelsa State Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha who was arraigned at Bow Street magistrate court, London on a three-count charge of money laundering to the tune of about £1.8 million.
09.28.2005
Odittah, whose defence team include Damola Adere-mi, a barrister and Tayo Arowojolu, a solicitor and chairman of Society of Nigerian Lawyers in the United Kingdom, however, failed to persuade the magistrate to release Alamieye-seigha on bail.
In his submissions, Odittah said that Alamieyeseigha has only recently undergone a major medical operation in Germany, noting that a prison custody is not a condusive environment for his speedy recovery. He urged the presiding magistrate to release on bail the Bayelsa State governor so he could attend to his health.
To support this plea, the defence team brought out a medical report from Alamie-yeseigha’s doctor, saying the wounds on his surgery have not healed and may have been infected. “If my client’s health is not attended to, his life may be endangered,” Odittah told the court.
He said there is no risk whatsoever that the Bayelsa governor would jump bail, noting that he is a man in position of authority, a good person who has no criminal record and a governor overseeing a state of at least five million people, elected not once but twice. He even tendered a letter from Bayelsa State attorney general and commissioner for justice that Alamieyeseigha would be brought back to court whenever he's needed.
Odittah said that Alamiey-eseigha's allegedly expensive lifestyle has not so much to do with his salary but his income. “A man who contested election to be governor and won twice has enough income to finance his lifestyle,” he said.
The defence counsel also said that as a state governor, Alamieyeseigha's functions are constitutional and as such cannot be delegated.
"Any inability on his part to perform his constitutional duties could throw Bayelsa into a major constitutional crisis. His being held here in London will deprive five million Nigerians of his services. Indeed it could even result to unrest," Odittah said.
He argued that the Bayelsa governor is being held on suspicion, particularly as the prosecution has said investigations have not been concluded, and expressed the fear that his political enemies may capitalise on this to cause his removal from office.
According to Odittah, "My client's political enemies can go and impeach him, a terrible price to pay on mere suspicion. What if afterall he's not found guilty?" He accused the Crown prosecution of persecuting Alamieyeseigha because he is from a developing country. "Can they do that to a governor from a US state?" he asked.
In concluding his submission, Odittah said that Alamieyeseigha has not been accused of stealing funds belonging to the British government. He said if the money he alleged stole belonged to a Nigerian government, he should be allowed to return to Nigeria so he could be prosecuted by the appropriate Nigerian authorities.
The presiding magistrate in his ruling said Alamieyeseigha should be remanded in prison custody. He said because the Bayelsa govenor has too much resources, "there is the likelihood of failure to surrender."
The magistrate also ruled that because the Bayelsa governor is not a Head of State, he is not covered by immunity from prosecution. In the same vein, the magistrate said that Alamieyeseigha cannot plead diplomatic immunity because he is not a diplomat. He adjourned the case to October 6 when he promised to transfer the matter to a higher court.
Posted by Publisher at 11:10 AM | Comments (0)
FG bans tokunboh spare parts; To buy 15 war planes
IMPORTATION of used vehicle spare parts popularly called tokunboh, has been banned with immediate effect, by the Federal Government.
LERE OJEDOKUN, Abuja
Government also approved the purchase of 15 new war planes, valued at about N32.7 billion ($251.4 million), as part of efforts to boost defence operations by the Armed Forces.
The ban on used vehicle spare parts importation, according to government, was meant, among others things, to protect the country from becoming a junkyard, ensure road safety and vehicle worthiness, protect local industries as well as widen capacity of employees in the sector.
Briefing State House correspondents after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting yesterday, Information and National Orientation Minister, Mr. Frank Nweke Jnr. said decision to impose the ban followed council’s approval of the draft white paper on the report of a presidential committee on spare parts production.
He said government was bothered about the absence of first-class maintenance system, as in past decades, where vehicles could be taken to garages and refurbished with genuine parts.
"It’s common knowledge that in the not-too-distant past you could go somewhere, take your car for maintenance and you are told you need this or that kind of spare parts. Then you procure it at great cost, fix it but one or few days after they tell you it has gone bad.
"Government is also of the view that there is a more recent development in the context of the fact that we used to have garages by Leventis, UTC, Peugeot, Leyland, BEWAC. Government thought it would be appropriate to try and find out what has gone wrong," he said.
Mr. Nweke further stated that other recommendations of the committee, upheld by council include the formulation of policies that could encourage local production of spare parts within two years and the privatisation of Nigerian Machine Tool (NMT) Factory, Osogbo, Osun State.
The company, when privatised, he stressed, would spearhead development of machinery and equipment industry for local production of spare parts while a National Metallurgical Laboratory will be established to widen calibration services necessary for self-sufficiency in local production.
On the fate of Igbo spare parts dealers, the ministers said government was concerned about them and has therefore, planned to encourage them to form cooperative to enjoy economy of scale and have access to easy bank loans and institutions dedicated to the promotion of small and medium enterprises.
His words: "we are aware, for instance, that there is a whole lot of people in this country, especially in the South-Eastern part whose livelihood depends on incomes from their trade in spare parts. Government is also concerned about protecting this category of people.
"However, government is of the view that they will be encouraged to form cooperative associations so that they can leverage or consolidate their businesses and enjoy economy of scale to help them prosper, rather than go under," he said.
On the new war planes, Mr. Nweke explained that the step was aimed at making the three services of the Armed Forces combat-ready and well-equipped for the task of protecting the nation’s territorial integrity.
He said the planes comprise 12 units of F7NI multi-role combat aircraft and associated equipment, awarded to China National Aero Technology Corporation at a negotiated price of $251.4 million.
Posted by Publisher at 11:08 AM | Comments (0)
EFCC detains Hamisu Mai Rago
A political associate of Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s and former Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), Alhaji Yusuf Hamisu Abubakar, popularly called Mai Rago, is being detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFFC) because of his previous roles as commissioner of finance in Kaduna state and the PTDF.
By Abdullahi M. Gulloma
A dependable EFCC source told Daily Trust yesterday that Mai Rago, who was said to have been arrested by some operatives of the commission for questioning since the weekend, was still being detained as of 7:30pm yesterday when our reporter spoke to the source.
The former PTDF scribe was recently embroiled in a legal battle with the Kaduna state government over allegations of fraud in the award of contracts for the supply of equipment to Barau Dikko Specialist Hospital in Kaduna town, which is owned by the state government.
But in a swift reaction to the issue when contacted by Daily Trust yesterday, the Director General in charge of Media and Publicity in the Kaduna state government, Alhaji Mukhtar Sirajo, stated that the current probe of the ex-PTDF boss “has nothing to do with the Kaduna state government.”
The Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi government had earlier set up an administrative commission of inquiry which investigated the contract controversy and subsequently indicted Mai Rago. But while the Makarfi government was allegedly planning to issue a white paper on the report of the commission of inquiry, Yusuf Hamisu, who is a lawyer by profession, pre-empted the government by challenging the panel’s ruling in a Kaduna high court seeking an injunction to restrain it.
After several months of legal tussle, the former PTDF executive secretary emerged victorious as the court granted his request by restraining the government from carrying out further action on the matter.
Barely three days after the ruling however and while the Makarfi government was planning to institute a judicial commission of inquiry to re-try the matter, Mai Rago was removed from his position as executive secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund in very controversial circumstances.
It would be recalled that in May 2002, Governor Ahmed Makarfi had in a letter addressed to President Olusegun Obasanjo requested the removal of Mai Rago as the PTDF scribe. In a letter titled “Replacement of Executive Secretary Petroleum Technology Development Fund,” the governor requested that Mai Rago should be replaced by the then Secretary to Kaduna State Government, Charles Bonat, who is currently a director in the office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (HOCSF).
The one-page letter dated May 14, 2002 with reference number T/SU/K/14/02 reads in part: “I respectfully refer to our discussion on the need for the above change and wish to respectfully forward the CV of the current Secretary to the Kaduna State Government, Mr. Charles Bonat, as a replacement for Yusuf Hamisu Abubakar as Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund
“He is a seasoned, trustworthy and honest administrator and will meet federal government’s desire to redress the issue of fairer representation raised by the senatorial zone from the state.”
Reacting to the issues yesterday however the Kaduna state spokesman reiterated that “we have nothing to do with his ordeal at the EFCC. And let me state clearly that Governor Makarfi had nothing to do with Alhaji Yusuf Hamisu’s removal from office by the federal government as executive secretary of the PTDF.”
When reminded that Makarfi had in 2002 written to the President requesting for Mai Rago’s removal from office, a copy of which letter Daily Trust has, Alhaji Mukhtar said: “Well, if you are talking of 2002, there were two letters actually. Let’s be fair to ourselves. One (of the letters) asking for his (Mai Rago’s) removal and the other asking that he should be retained.
“Yes, there was a letter asking that he should be removed. But shortly afterwards, when all the disagreements were resolved, His Excellency swiftly wrote another letter requesting that the president should disregard the earlier one”, he said. He reiterated that “we have absolutely nothing to do with his sack and predicaments at the EFCC”.
Posted by Publisher at 11:06 AM | Comments (0)
Nigeria to buy Chinese fighter jets
THE arsenal of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) will soon receive a boost as the Federal Executive Council (FEC) yesterday approved the procurement of 15 F-7NI and FT-7NI Chinese multi-role combat and trainer aircraft.
From Madu Onuorah, Abuja
NAF will take delivery of 12 F-7NI multi-role combat jets and three FT-7NI trainer aircraft. The contract also has provision for the supply of the aircraft associated training equipment and spares.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr. Frank Nweke Jnr., said that the contract is worth $251,377,395.
If the plan goes as planned, Nigeria will start receiving both versions of the aircraft next year. Already, the 2005 Appropriation Act passed has provision of N3 billion for the "procurement of Chinese aircraft" for the NAF.
Sources said that though the amount in the budget looks small, the jets would be delivered in phases. And because they are not picked off the shelf, the manufacturing and modifications requested by the NAF will begin once the initial agreed deposit is paid.
Nigeria last took delivery of such new inventory of combat jets in the late 70s and early 80s. But these combat jets are now mothballed. They include the MiG (Mikoyan-Guverich) -21 and the Sepecat Jaguar. Currently, Nigeria's lead fighter is the light combat-trainer, the Alpha jets.
The Guardian had in May exclusively reported that the jets were being manufactured by a consortium of aircraft manufacturing subsidiaries under the Aviation Industries of China I (AVIC I), which is a part-owner of the China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC), China's military aircraft manufacturing conglomerate.
AVIC I & II each hold 50 per cent of CATIC shares. The subsidiaries under AVIC I include Chengdu Aircraft Company, Xian Aircraft Company, Nanchang Aircraft Company, Shenyang Aircraft Company (SAC) and their National Trade Bureau.
Officially, the contract is awarded to CATIC.
A modern fighter jet, the test flight of the aircraft was completed by the Chinese in January 1998. Already, the Minister of Defence, Alhaji Rabiu Kwankwaso has paid a visit to the Chinese firm.
The jet was produced as the ultra seven / FC-1(Fighter-China) 1. Designed by AVIC I after studying international market demands, it meets the need of various military environments. It is an all-weather, multipurpose, single-seat, multi-duties light fighter aircraft. Its equipment has the advanced aviation electronic systems that can launch medium-range missiles while realizing the ultra apparent distance attack and the precise opposite attack capability. It can also carry out spatially double duty. The size length is 14.0 metres with height of 5.1 metres. Its wingspan contains wing tip missile, centreline total wingspan of 9.0 metres.
The fighter jet was developed with a total investment in excess of $500 million, including support from the CATIC, primarily for export to replace the 120 F-7M/P fighters currently in service in the Pakistani Air Force. Initially, it was anticipated that the jet would be a high- performance, low-cost fighter plane to supplement the F-10 air superiority fighters developed for the Chinese Air Force. But the improvements in performance affected the programme's costs. And if the final production order is fewer than 300 aircraft, the unit price will rise from the original $10 million to $15 million. And with the modifications the Nigerian Air Force is requesting from the manufacturers, the cost of weapon systems, spare parts and other ground equipment, the prices would obviously go higher.
The company's website puts the price of one unit without the combat components at $11 million.
Discussions on the new jets began in 2003. And to prepare the grounds for the acquisition of the aircraft, pilots and aircraft engineers have been to the manufacturer's base in China. The pilots were sent for combat and advanced training on the use of the F series while the engineers went to get a hold on its maintenance. Earlier, the manufacturers had visited Nigeria and made presentations on the jets to the end-users - the NAF. Following this, a team from NAF then went to inspect the aircraft, coming back with their report.
As a follow-up, the manufacturers again visited Nigeria and met with officials of the NAF. The Air Force authorities tabled their observations about the aircraft including the modifications they want on it. And these modifications in the avionics and weapon systems are being included in the final product to be delivered.
Nweke said that the approval for the procurement showed government's commitment to ensuring that the armed forces are combat ready, adequately equipped and capable of defending the territorial integrity of Nigeria."
He said that while the provision in this year's budget is not enough to pay for the jets, "subsequent payments will be anchored in the annual budgets as they fall due."
On the choice of China for the destination market for the jets, Nweke said that with the end of the cold war, nations now "shop for platforms, equipment and spares where they feel they will get a better deal. But there was competitive process and they won."
Resuscitation of the Machine Tools Company, Osogbo and establishment of a National Metallurgical Agency to stimulate manufacture of motor parts was also approved by the FEC.
Nweke said the Council had studied and approved the draft White Paper of the Presidential Committee on Spareparts headed by Dr. Ahmed Joda, Chairman of the Board of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). The committee recommended a ban on further importation of fairly used motor spareparts, popularly known as "tokubo" although the FEC did not state when it would take effect.
According to him: "The ban is to encourage local production of motor spareparts. It is about protecting our local industries and our lives, encouraging people to be more productive and more creative. Even at that, there are so many spare parts manufactured here in our country."
The government, he stressed, was aware the effects of the ban would have on people currently engaged in it sales and importation, but noted that it was encouraging them to form co-operative societies to get loans from banks to enable them improve on their capital base as well as take advantage of the services of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN).
He said: "Basically, the white paper recommended an outright ban on the importation of used spare parts. The white paper also recommended the formulation of policies to encourage the production of local spare parts within three years and the privatisation of the Nigerian Machines Tools Manufacturing Company, Osogbo with a view to having that company spearhead the local production of the parts in our country. Further more a national metallurgical laboratory is to be established by Government to render calibration services necessary for self-sufficiency in local production of spare parts."
The FEC also approved a new tariff structure for Nigeria. Expected to last till 2007, it replaces the last Customs Tariff Act of 1995, which expired in 2001.
Minister of State for Finance, Mrs. Nenadi Usman, said the new structure would help businesses in their long-term planning.
In the absence of the new structure, government has been issuing ad-hoc executive orders, which the World Customs Union has been frowning upon.
According to her: "The new structure is simple, will ensure low rates for raw materials and machineries. It will also create a greater level-playing field and make Nigeria closer to the ECOWAS tariff regime."
The new tariff regime, which becomes effective from October 1, 2005 reduced the number of tariff bars to four.
Under it, industrial plants and machines, which hitherto attracted 2.5 per cent would now attract zero percentage tariff. Raw materials and spareparts will attract five per cent tariff, intermediate goods - 10 per cent; finished items - 20 per cent and luxury goods - 50 per cent.
Cigarettes, which hitherto attracted a tariff of 150 per cent would now attract 100 per cent. Cigarettes manufactured in Nigeria which attracted 40 per cent excise duty was increased to 60.
Rice would continue to attract 100 per cent tariff plus 10 per cent Rice levy.
Fertilizer would continue to attract zero per cent, including zero charge on VAT.
On the fate of Nigerian Engineers in the nation's industrial and construction sectors, Nweke said that government approved the white paper on Presidential Committee on Strategic Plan for Engineering Development and Control in Nigeria.
He said: "Government wants Nigerians to enjoy. So, the existing Act setting up the Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria (COREN) would be overhauled and COREN made the sole regulatory body. Also, the Expatriate Quota Act of 1990 is to be reviewed and all requests for expatriate quota routed through the COREN. This is to find out if we have qualified Nigerians who can do what the expatriates are coming to do."
Posted by Publisher at 10:54 AM | Comments (0)
September 28, 2005
Alamieseigha Faces £1.8m 3-count Charge; London police arraign him today
The Metropolitan Police will formally prefer criminal charges against Alamieyes-eigha today, 49 days before the November 15 date when he was billed to appear in court, as a way of securing a court order to hold him in detention or impose conditions that will prevent him from jumping bail.
By Yusuph Olaniyonu, Moses Jolayemi in Lagos and John Iwori in Yenegoa, 09.27.2005
Money Laundering
Alamieyeseigha's lawyers led by Barrister Fidelis Odittah, a Queens Counsel and Senior Advocate of Nigeria had yesterday got a ruling of the Redbridge Magistrate Court in London declaring that the police had no powers to attach conditions to the bail granted the governor after his arrest at the Heathrow Airport on his way from Germany.
A two-paragraph statement from London Metropolitan Police emailed to THISDAY yesterday showed that Alamieye-seigha, a resident of Water Gardens W2 in London, will today be arraigned at Bow Street Magistrate Court on a three-count charge of money laundering.
He will be charged with two counts of acting contrary to Section 93C(1) of the Criminal Justice Act of 1988 for being in possession of £420,000 and another £475,000.
Also, the governor will be charged with yet another one count of money laundering totalling £920,000 contrary to Section 327(1) of Proceeds of Crime Act 2000.
He was yesterday re-arrested by the police.
The application filed yesterday by Alamieyeseigha's counsel was meant to nullify the condition which required him to submit his travel documents and report everyday to the Desk Officer at the Ilford Police station in London
"The condition technically kept Alamieseigha in London and ensured he could not travel out of the country (UK). The design was to prevent a situation like that of Plateau state Governor Joshua Dariye who when he was released on bail for the same offence as Alamieseigha returned to Nigeria and has refused to report back to the police," a source in London said.
But Odittah and other counsel, Damola Aderemi, a barrister and Tayo Arowojolu, a solicitor and chairman of Society of Nigerian Lawyers in the UK contended before the magistrate that the police did not have the powers to attach condition to Alamieseigha's' bail and thus , the bail condition is unlawful.
THISDAY gathered that at yesterday's hearing of the application , the counsel representing the London Police also agreed that the police ought not to attach condition to the bail as they were still investigating the money laundering allegations.
The magistrate therefore ruled that the bail condition was unlawful and therefore null and void
But the police sensing that on the strength of the ruling Alamieseigha may return to Nigeria since he would have to retrieve his travel documents before the November 15 date, when the police had planned to formally charge him to court accosted him outside the premises of the Redbridge Magistrate court and rearrested him.
The police said he was rearrested based on fresh evidence , the only true ground on which such action could be taken.
Today's arraignment may therefore be a move in form of a holden charge which will enable the police secure a court order to detain the governor.
But a source close to Alamieseigha’s legal team told THISDAY that when the police rearrested the governor, they had no fresh evidence. '" It was while they took him to the station and kept him there that the police went again to conduct a fresh search in his home, in his absence. Nobody knew what they took away but they must have taken away some documents. Those documents are what they would say are their fresh evidence on which basis the governor's rearrest could be lawfully based" the source said.
"Why did they wait until today when the magistrate said they had no power to impose conditional bail before they are now claiming they have fresh evidence against him? The man has been reporting on a daily basis to the police station and they never raised the issue of fresh evidence. We will call this persecution, abuse of powers and trampling on the sovereignty of Nigeria by holding him. Surprisingly, the federal Government is assisting them in doing so," he added.
Alamieseigha was on September 15 arrested by officers from the Specialist and Economic Crime Unit of the London Metropolitan Police at London Heathrow on his way from Germany where he had gone for surgery. From the airport where he was arrested, he was led to his London home in Water Gardens W2 for a search which reportedly yielded the discovery of £1 million cash.
The governor claimed that his ordeal was masterminded by his detractors back home in Abuja. But the British High Commissioner to Nigeria Mr. Richard Grozney said the arrest was the fallout of a request two years ago by Nigeria seeking the assistance of the British Government in the war against money laundering.
" The police will let matters take their course in London. They (Alamieseighas supporters back home) can be assured that the governor is under no special persecution or anything like that. The Police investigation that led to his questioning was entirely routine and normal," he had said.
Meanwhile, a spokesman of Bayelsa State Government, Mr Preye Wariowei, yesterday in Yenagoa stated that consular services have still not been extended to Alamieyeseigha in London as promised by President Olusegun Obasanjo when elders, traditional rulers and opinion leaders of the state led by Deputy Governor Goodluck Jonathan visited the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Wariowei stated that it was puzzling that the governor was yet to get the consular protection since the promise was made last Thursday in Abuja.
“Our thinking was that even if Chief Alamieyeseigha were to be an ordinary Nigerian citizen enmeshed in a crisis of this nature, he would still have been entitled to those services”, Wariowei who is acting chief press secretary to the governor stated.
He said that it was a slap on the sovereignty of Nigeria for the governor to be denied consular services, and deplored misleading reports on the governor’s travails in London.
“For over a week now, especially since September 15, 2005, we have been battling with a terrible crisis to the effect that the State Governor, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeigha, was unlawfully arrested by the London Metropolitan Police and interrogated on allegations of money laundering. He was released without charge the following day.
“Between then and now, so much of that illegality has been published by a cross section of the media with a bias which springs mainly from a lack of understanding of the issues involved in the whole saga and also from the misleading belief that the allegations upon which the governor was humiliated in London have been proven,” he stated.
He, however, commended the people of the state for their “show of solidarity even at this trying moment and the philosophical calmness with which they have swallowed this bitter pill”, while urging them to remain peaceful.
Obasanjo had at a meeting with a delegation of Bayelsa State directed Nigeria’s High Commissioner to Britain, Dr. Christopher Kolade, to ensure that full consular services were provided for Alamieyeseigha in London and added that the governor remains innocent until it is proved otherwise.
Posted by Publisher at 02:03 PM | Comments (0)
Abacha Funds’ Repatriation Stalled; Swiss Govt: $178m in fixed assets
The Swiss Government may not be able to immediately repatriate about $178 million, being the balance of the $500 million stolen by the late military leader, General Sani Abacha, to Nigerian Government, Swiss Secretary of State, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Jean-Daniel Gerber has said.
From Ayodele Aminu in Washington D.C., United States, 09.27.2005
Switzerland had earlier released $290 million to Nigeria following a decision by the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland that the Abacha funds in some Swiss banks be repatriated to the Nigerian Government.
Speaking yesterday in Washington D.C. at a press conference on the Abacha funds, which also had in attendance Nigeria’s Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, Gerber said the balance of the Abacha funds were in fixed assets and needed to be converted to liquid assets before release to Nigeria.
“The funds are going to be released as soon as possible because they have to be converted from fixed to liquid assets. I cannot give a specific timeframe,” the Swiss Secretary of State said in response to a question at the briefing.
“Repatriating illegally acquired funds, such as the Abacha funds in the case of Nigeria, is an important tool in the fight against corruption and at the same time a significant potential source for developing financing,” Gerber added.
On her part Okonjo-Iweala said some administrative procedures still needed to be followed before the funds are released to Nigeria.
“It is purely an administrative procedure and requires no legal issues. It takes time to convert fixed assets to liquid assets. We (Nigerian Government) are currently working hard with the Swiss Government to ensure that the remaining $178 million will be returned as soon as possible,” she said.
She commended the Swiss Government, saying that by returning the funds, it has sent a message to corrupt government officials all over the world that there is no safe haven for stolen funds.
She assured that the funds would be judiciously used to boost education, social infrastructure, healthcare, reduce poverty and create wealth for Nigerians.
She reaffirmed that the Obasanjo administration was ready to fight corruption and has tried and jailed government officials found wanting in this regard.
“The return of this money is the result of years of hard work by the Nigerian Government. We appreciate the willingness of the Swiss to act on this issue. It is a first step.
“We are committed to ensuring that all funds stolen from Nigeria are returned and all potentially corrupt people are aware there are no more safe havens. I feel that this process has taken too much time and appeal to the international community to put in place mechanisms that would facilitate the fight against international corruption,” she said.
Wolfowitz commended Nigeria for its strong commitment to fight corruption and improve accountability and transparency, and the Swiss Government for making a significant contribution to the campaign against the misappropriation of public funds.
“The message is that there is no safe haven for looted funds or corrupt activities. We welcome the opportunity to play a supportive role as facilitator and adviser in a process that restores these assets to the Nigerian people and helps channel more resources to poverty reduction programmes,” he said.
Meanwhile, Nigeria and the World Bank have agreed to proceed with a Public Expenditure Management and Financial Accountability Review (PEMFAR). This review, jointly conducted by Nigeria and the World Bank, aims to support the Government’s efforts at reforming and strengthening its expenditure system.
Posted by Publisher at 02:02 PM | Comments (0)
Oil Sector Gets N8.6 Trillion 3-Year Investment Plan; FG targets 10,000 new jobs
Nigeria yesterday laun-ched an aggressive investment drive for the petroleum sector, where it planned to spend $67.1 billion (N8.6 trillion) on oil and gas projects between now and 2008.
From Mike Oduniyi in Johannesburg, South Africa, 09.27.2005
The Federal Government said the investment plan carries the potential of creating over 10,000 new jobs in the sector.
Unfolding the government’s three-year investment strategy for the nation’s oil sector at the ongoing 18th World Petroleum Congress (WPC) in Johannesburg, South Africa, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Engineer Funsho Kupolokun, said oil exploration and production would gulp a total $34.4 billion while $32.7 billion would be spent on gas production, supply and distribution.
A further breakdown of the investment plan in Kupolokun’s presentation which attracted widespread commendation for its depth and graphical illustrations, showed that engineering design for oil and gas projects will gulp $500 million per year over the next three years, fabrication in the upstream sector ($8 billion), and procurement of materials ($25 billion).
According to the NNPC GMD, the objectives of the investment plan include maximizing oil and gas sector value to the national economy, improving the Nigerian capacity and content in the sector, growing the nation’s oil reserves and production capacity to 40 billion barrels and 4.5 million barrels per day (bpd), respectively, creating as much revenue from gas as oil within this decade, and transforming the nation’s energy sector from just an oil industry to an integrated oil and gas industry.
At present, Nigeria’s oil output is 2.4 million bpd while reserves totalled 35 billion barrels.
A significant increase in Nigeria’s oil production capacity, according to Kupolokun, is key for global energy stability, adding that the steady growth in the country’s oil reserves and production capacity, is an indication of Nigeria’s prospectivity.
He said the gas sector was also evolving rapidly, with the demand for the commodity projected to record the fastest growth in the world from present 1.5 billion cubic feet per day to 25 billion cubic feet in 2025.
The government is keen to having the energy initiative contributed to doubling the GDP over the next 10 years, he said.
“A lot of the spending will be in the upstream, some in the downstream, some in the gas sector,” said Kupolokun, adding however, that a greater percentage of the funding for the projects would come from the private sector.
He said that Nigeria offers attractive opportunity for investment to fill refined products gap both at the domestic level, (totaling some 300,000 bpd) as well as in the West African sub-region and other markets totaling another 300,000 bpd.
“We put in a number of initiatives to provide enabling environment for these opportunities. The fiscal system is simple, straight forward, progressive and creates a level playing field.
“There is stability of agreements. Even during the military years, agreements were stable in Nigeria. Now under the current dispensation they can only be better,” he said.
The NNPC, he added, has already begun a massive multi-faceted transformation to enable it respond more effectively to the challenges associated with the expected growth in oil industry.
Speaking to newsmen shortly after Kupolokun’s presentation, Deputy Senate President Ibrahim Mantu said the Federal Government was already planning a major restructuring of the nation’s oil sector, with the aim of creating a strong and virile regulatory agency to back the investment drive.
Mantu said the National Assembly was prepared to provide legislative backing to every policy initiated in this regard.
“We have never really had any problem in giving them legislative backing because nobody will invest in an environment where he is not sure of law protecting his investment,” said Mantu.
The proposed regulatory body for the oil sector, he added, would take the form of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), which had helped in revolutionalising the communications sector by creating a level playing field for public and private sector operators.
Posted by Publisher at 02:01 PM | Comments (0)
Kwara Govt, Lawal Trade Blame
Three days into the crisis that has, according to official sources, claimed, three lives in Ilorin over chieftaincy disputes, the Kwara State Government and former governor of the state, Alhaji Mohammed Lawal, yesterday traded accusations on causes of the disturbance.
From Tunde Sanni in Ilorin and Ndubuisi Ugah in Lagos, 09.27.2005
Lawal at a press conference accused Dr. Olusola Saraki and the incumbent governor, Bukola Saraki of masterminding the deposition of some kingmakers by the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Gambari, a development which allegedly caused the violent clashes. Lawal's family house and his campaign office in Ilorin were on Monday torched.
The State Government, however, blamed Lawal for trying to return the state to violence and disorder, the hallmark of his administration.
Lawal said the governor and his father instigated the Emir to depose the kingmakers so that they can replace them with their own candidates.
"Surprisingly and interestingly, it is not the Afonja house that is causing this riot, I want to make it very abundantly clear that it is from the palace and adequately aided and abated by the government of Kwara State. After turbanning who he wanted to turban, he wanted to come and parade the person in front of the Afonja family and they were bringing him home, literally. The people would refuse and therefore, there was commotion between the people that were bringing him and the members of the Afonja family. I think we lost about three to five people", he said.
While accusing the State government of pursuing a personal vendetta mission, the former governor said the action of the governor has factionalized the State and created unnecessary tensions.
According to him, "someone phoned me that Bukola went to my family home to go and see the havoc. Let me tell you the truth, about five months ago, I lost my dear father, Bukola has not said anything to me, he has not sent any emissaries to me till now. About three weeks ago, my mother passed away, we went through the same process, he didn't talk to me, he didn't say anything to the family, he didn't send any emissaries to me. After the havoc, what is he looking for in my father's house? I am not impressed by his visit to my family house, if not for the fact that I am a man of peace, it would have been a great mayhem as a result of his visit to my family house if not for the control I have on my family. I want the whole world to know that it was just a political gimmick, it was only a press show otherwise what did he go there to do?," Lawal maintained.
On the Emir of Ilorin, Lawal said Gambari has always remained a royal father he respected but was however, surprised at the turn of event.
"There is no need to fight. I love peace and I am a lover of peace. The Emir should know that we are all under him as our father and should be able to reflect on the causes of the crisis that have plagued the State. He is the 11th Emir and should know that there has been 10 other Emirs before him", he added.
Lawal said he was instrumental to Gambari's selection as the Emir of Ilorin, and that this was made possible due to the Emir's long time relationship with him, especially during his days at the Appeal Court in Ibadan.
"When the stool of the Emir became vacant, I was one of the people that saw him to the throne. But today it is a different story. I am surprised that one of those loittering around with him today was even against his being selected as the Emir but today, that person is his friend.
"The vacant seat of the Mogaji Aare of Ilorin which was last occupied by my late father is what they are after. In the procedure, we have one Mogaji Aare and one Baba Isale and they were both from the lineage and descendant of the great Afonja; and whenever each one is vacant, the other becomes the chairman of the selection committee of the king makers. We created our own Mogaji Aare and Baba Isale and they are taken to the palace for the Emir to turban; so this is the procedure.
He accused Governor Saraki of allowing politics to take undue position over governance.
"He should leave 2007 politics out of this whole thing. There is no point creating tension when there is no need for that," he said.
In a statement signed by Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Bisi Abodoye, the government stated that since the inception of the Saraki administration in 2003, the violent crimes and disorder that was the hallmark of Lawal’s administration had given way to peace and order, "and Kwara State has reclaimed its status as the state of peace and harmony."
The government said it was preposterous for anyone to suggest or insinuate that the state government would instigate, foment or participate in a situation that would breach the peace and distract the attention of the government in its efforts to transform the economy of the state and empower its people.
"We want to assure all Kwarans and friends of the state that the competent authorities have contained the unfortunate attempt by a few unscrupulous persons to re-introduce chaos into the state of harmony and disrupt the good governance for which Kwara State has now come to be known," it stated.
Meanwhile, the police have deployed men to screen people entrying into Ilorin from all entry points. Also, the police command has vowed to deal with any perceived sponsor of the crisis.
THISDAY checks at the entry points indicated that mobile policemen are now guarding such entrances as Lasoju along Ilorin/Ogbomosho federal highway and Omupo/Koko end of Offa/Omu-Aran federal highway,
It was gathered that the decision to guard the points might not be unconnected with the reported threat of invasion of Ilorin by members of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC)s to avenge the police attack on Idi-Ape, a Yoruba settlement area in Ilorin.
Adetachment of anti-riot police have been noticed along the highways since the crisis broke out on Sunday.
The effect of the crisis on the state capital was still very obvious yesterday as THISDAY's visit to the crisis areas revealed burnt shops and houses as well as spent pellets.
Though normalcy appeared to have been restored, but the police said they would not withdraw their men because they were not sure the perpetrators of violence would not resume their trade.
Residents still moved around with raised hands but were disallowed from going through the troubled area of Idi-Ape with an armoured tank stationed in front of the Oja branch of the Trade Bank while a van conveying mobile policemen was seen moving round the area for security purposes.
Some other residents were still holed in their houses with the mobile policemen warning them not to show their faces outside their houses for fear of any eventuality.
The spokesman of the Kwara state police command, Marcus Gideon, a Deputy Suprintendent said yesterday it had beefed up security on all entry points to the state following a recent statement allegedly made by leader of the OPC to intervene in the Ilorin crisis.
It also vowed to arrest anybody indicted in the investigation into the three days of violence in the state capital.
"Yes we have increased surveillance at all entry points due to the threat from Gani Adams. There is a threat by the OPC leader that they would invade the state. We want to check every vehicle because we don’t know who is our friend or who is carrying arms,” he said.
"The people have turned against us. They are against us because they misunderstood the mission of the police in the area. They should have enlightened their people about our mission at that place such that the people would not turn against our men," he said.
Security around the newly appointed kingmakers has also been beefed up to forestall any untoward incident as the police warned stakeholders in the dispute against making statements that could compound efforts by security agencies to restore peace in the affected area.
The police spokesman told THISDAY that the people had turned against the police in the course of the conflict because they completely misunderstood the command’s mission in the area.
He denied that the police were responsible for the arson witnessed in the area pointing out that the command invited fire fighters to come and douse the inferno in the area.
The development came against the backdrop of speculations that the Emir had been invited by the Presidency.
Principal Secretary to the Emir, Alhaji Sani Ade Lawal however dismissed the speculation as he told newsmen that he had just come out of a conference with the royal father.
A news bulletin on the local Radio Kwara, had reported last weekend that the Emir had claimed that the deposed kingmakers were relieved of their positions for an alleged act of disloyalty, character assassination and rank insubordination against him.
The deposed traditional kingmakers included Alhaji AbdulKareem Laaro Buhari (Balogun Gambari), Alhaji Shuaib Adio Mahmud, (Balogun Alanamu) and Alhaji Saka Alesinloye, (Baba Isale). They are the surviving kingmakers out of the six that ratified the choice of Gambari as Emir in 1995. The other three are the Balogun Ajikobi, Alhaji Sulaiman Tukur, Balogun Fulani, Alhaji Oba Fulani and the initial Mogaji Are, Alhaji Ibrahim Zubair.
In a move aimed at forestalling any legal tussle over his action, Gambari immediately announced replacements for the deposed chiefs.
The replacements are: Alhaji Mahmood Durisinlorun Atiku, (Balogun Fulani), Alhaji Usman Baba Olobi, (Balogun Ajikobi), Alhaji Muhammad Aliyu Adebayo, Balogun Gambari and Alhaji Abubakar Akanbi Jos, (Balogun Alanamu). In the same vein, Gambari announced Alhaji Shuaib Aremu Zubair as the Mogaji Are in replacement of Alhaji Busari Alabi Alasa, who passed on a fortnight ago.
Posted by Publisher at 02:00 PM | Comments (0)
Assembly Removes Ekiti Deputy Gov
Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Mr. Abiodun Aluko yesterday lost his seat as number two citizen of the state following his impeachment by members of the State House of Assembly who voted overwhemingly in support of his removal.
From Dipo Okunmuyide in Ado-Ekiti, 09.27.2005
At the sitting of the House which began at 4.25 p.m. yesterday, the majority leader, Hounourable Kayode Babade moved the motion for the adoption of item 2 in the rules of proceedings which dealt with the report of the judicial panel set up to investigate the allegations of gross misconduct levelled against the Deputy Governor and called on the Acting Clerk to circulate copies of the report to members.
After the report was circulated, the Speaker of the House, Honourable Friday Aderemi called for the constitution of the executive section to debate and study the report and asked observers at the gallery and journalists to stay outside the chambers for the period the deliberation would last.
The pressmen were recalled into the chambers after 20 minutes after which the Majority leader of the House, Honourable Kayode Babade again moved for the impeachment of the Deputy Governor, saying the report of the panel indicted and found him guilty of the 16 allegations raised against him by the lawmakers
The Speaker eventually called for vote on the matter with 22 members voting in favour of the motion, 2 against, 1 member absent and the Speaker who is the 26th member abstaining from voting.
At the end of voting, the Speaker pronounced the Deputy Governor removed from office with immediate effec.He said Aluko was guilty of the 16 allegations levelled against him and stands removed as the state's Deputy Governor in accordance with section 188 sub section 9 of 1999 constitution.
Aderemi said members of the House collectively and individually have tried at various occassions to call Aluko to order and told him the need to be loyal to his boss, saying it is sad that all efforts in this direction were to no avail.
He recalled that the act of disloyality started as a mustard seed during the period that the Alliance for Democracy [AD] took the governor to the election petition tribunal to contest his educational qualification when Aluko started mobilising people with view to take over as governor if his boss eventually lost the case.
The Speaker also accused Aluko of clashing with party leaders at his home town, Ikere-Ekiti on several occassions, saying he has equally been guilty of circulating confidential documents to the press and the opposition.
Meanwhile, the PDP in Ikere-Ekiti local government has suspended the former deputy governor.
Posted by Publisher at 02:00 PM | Comments (0)
Nigeria ‘ll Be Japan of Africa – Ashimolowo
Pastor Mathew Ashimolowo, founder and senior pastor of Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC) London, declared in Lagos yesterday that the current economic travails of Nigeria would be overcome and the country would assume the position Japan currently enjoys in Asia in the African continent.
By Godwin Haruna, 09.27.2005
Ashimolowo added that Nigerians bent on seeking greener pastures abroad would have to return when the country picks up economically in the not too distant future.
Speaking at the annual public lecture of Adeleke Adejobi Foundation at the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs on the theme: "Christianity Within the Contemporary World System: What Prospect?", he said Nigeria has no business with poverty considering the abundance of human and natural resources.
According to him, a leader is a person who creates a path for the current generation to follow adding: "It will be a person who puts the needs of others above their own. A leader is a person others naturally want to follow".
The fiery pastor noted that those who tend to present themselves as leaders were often a distant image away from those they lead.
"It becomes a case of the poor versus the prosperous, the desperate and the angry versus the complacent and comfortable", Ashimolowo stressed.
He said another challenge black leadership poses is that oftentimes, the people who elect themselves as leaders hold views that are illiberal, non-accommodating and very narrow.
He declared that the message of Christianity today has relevance to all facets of an individual or a nation's life.
"Christianity has prospects because it is the only basis for sanity in our world today. Were it to be withdrawn from the world, there is nothing which calls for the degree of morality, ethics, integrity and accountability which it demands. To be without Christianity is to create a world without values", he concluded.
In his welcome address, Reverend Olu Ayeni, secretary of the Foundation noted that it was established to promote democracy, freedom, human rights, justice and the rule of law in a non-partisan approach.
He said besides the lecture, so many programmes aimed at promoting ecumenism have been lined up for the annual remembrance of the late Dr. Emmanuel Adeleke Adejobi, who was the second primate of the Church of the Lord (Aladura) Worldwide.
Posted by Publisher at 01:59 PM | Comments (0)
$242m Scam: Nwude Told Me to Lie – Indian Witness
An Indian prosecution witness, Mr. Naresh Asnani, yesterday told an Ikeja High Court judge, Justice Olubunmi Oyewole, how Chief Emmanuel Nwude, currently standing trial in an advance fee fraud scam involving $242million, urged him to deny ever meeting or having anything to do with him (Nwude) in the fraud matter when the witness (who helped accused person launder $127m) accosted him after discovering he had been used to perform money laundering acts.
By Abimbola Akosile, 09.27.2005
Asnani, crown witness in the newly resumed trial (after being stalled for11 months) revealed that Nwude's Switzerland-based counsel sent him (witness) an e-mail which contained an affidavit to be signed by accused person, wherein Nwude was to acknowledge that he never met the prosecution witness, or ever knew him. "He informed me that I should inform my lawyer or anyone else that I did not know Chief Emmanuel Nwude and that I only know Chief I.K. Anajemba since he was no longer alive. Chief Emmanuel said, "dead men do not speak".
Accused persons include Chief Emmanuel Nwude (a.k.a Paul Ogwuma Odinigwe) 1st accused, Mr. Nzeribe Edeh Okoli (3rd accused), Emrus (Nig.) Ltd., Ocean Marketing Co. (Nig.) Ltd. and African Shelter Bureau (Nig.) Ltd. (5th-7th accused). However, both Amaka Anajemba (Mrs.) and Fynbaz (Nig.) Limited (2nd & 4th accused respectively), initially charged alongside above suspects, pleaded guilty to a fresh 4-count charge on July 15, and were subsequently sentenced to prison terms and fines, with their names deleted from an amended information filed by the prosecutor, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In an emotion-laden voice, Asnani, who concluded his evidence-in-chief yesterday (after 13 hours marathon testimony in 3 days), told court that Nwude frequently used his (Asnani's) phone at his home in Victoria Island to make calls to Brazil, a process which spanned June 1996 to May 1997. He added that though he only had one involvement with late Chief Ikechukwu Anajemba (Nwude's alleged previous partner in the fraud) when he paid him N47million out of the converted first $1million paid into his account at Uco Bank, Hong Kong in 1995, he never met or heard of Edeh-Okoli, 3rd (now 2nd) accused person in the matter.
"The only time I knew Chief I.K. Anajemba was when I wrote cheque in his favour, and the other time was when I saw his obituary in the newspaper (Anajemba, 36 years old husband of Amaka, died in 1998 while returning from his village Achi in Oji Local Government Area of Enugu State, after he was waylaid and shot by assassins). I have never met or heard about Mr. Edeh-Okoli".
On his reaction after learning about the fraud, he said, "I contacted Chief Emmanuel (Nwude) when I learnt my account has been used for fraud. He told me that he could not understand what was happening and that he was not aware of anything. A few months later, I received an e-mail from his lawyer in Switzerland and it was in form of an affidavit with a clause that he (Nwude) did not know Naresh Asnani. I printed the e-mail and rushed to his house at Osborne Road and asked him, how could he swear an affidavit denying me". He went on to relate the above incident.
The witness, who concluded his evidence-in-chief around 3.00pm, was scheduled to be cross-examined by defence counsel in the matter, led by Chief Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, and Mr. Adeshina Ogunlana. However, continuation of trial was adjourned by trial judge, Justice Oyewole, till Friday, September 30, for cross-examination of Asnani.
First arraigned in Abuja on February 4th, 2004, accused persons, were alleged to have defrauded a Brazilian banker, Mr. Nelson Sakaguchi of a sum of $242million over a three-year period, from April 2, 1995 to January 20, 1998 at Opebi, Ikeja, Lagos State, contrary to Sections 1(1)(a) and (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud Act of 1995 as amended by Act 62 of 1998.
Obtained amount was said to represent payment due to the Federal Government on the alleged contract No. FMA/132/019/82 for the construction of Abuja International Airport, Nigeria. Penalties for each of the counts range between seven and ten years. The accused persons are facing an amended 91 count charge.
Posted by Publisher at 01:59 PM | Comments (0)
Dokubo: N/Delta Youths Appeal for Calm
Coalition of Niger Delta Youths under the aegis of the Coalition of Niger Delta Youth Groups has appealed to President Olusegun Obasanjo through Governor Rivers State, Peter Odili to intervene and ensure that the detained leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteers Force, Alhaji Asari Dokubo was released from Police detention.
From Chuks Okocha in Port Harcourt, 09.27.2005
Also, the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) has appealed to the federal government to ensure that adequate infrastructural developments are provided within the Niger Delta areas as a bid to curb youth’s restiveness.
In a statement signed by the Niger Delta Youths by the following groups; Famous Daunemigha for the Ijaw Youth Federation, Engema Jumbo for Bayelsa Youths for Good Government, Sgt. Weri Digifa for the Supreme Egbesu Assembly, Dr. Emma Otiari for the Consolidated Youths of Rivers State, Barrister Edward Cobhan for the Niger Delta Peace Project, Calabar, Ms. Ednah Otomewo for the Niger Delta Women Assembly, M.D. Ago for the South South Youths Assembly, and MCJ Opu for the Old Rivers Youths, they said that they are appealing to the governor to intervene by ensuring that Asari is released from detention.
According to the statement, the Niger Delta Youths also denounced violence saying
“We the Niger Delta Youths strongly condemn all sorts of violence as it is does not bring any form of development, rather it destroys our God given rich environment”, and appealed to President Olusegun Obasanjo to ensure the release of Asari.
“This appeal is a product of the resolution reached at an emergency delegate conclave of responsible, law abiding and peace loving Niger Delta Youths. The assembly of course cuts across the plethora of ethnic, social and cultural persuasions particularly in the Niger Delta States of Rivers, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Delta and Edo states.” The Niger Delta Youths said in their statement.
The youths who said that they recognized the importance of peace, hence the need to under take the part of peace and dialogue for the resolution of the Niger Delta crisis and subsequent release of Asari.
Accordingly, the Niger Delta Youths said “We implore you our President to intervene in the issue of the alleged charges and incarceration of Alhaji Asari Dokubo. This appeal which we are routing to you through the Rivers State Governor who is your dear son is borne out of the fact that we know that our Governor does not show insensitivity to the unfortunate plights of his subjects.”
As part of their plea, the youths assured all foreign nationals, their investments, property would be protected, as no violence would be visited on them.
In the same manner, the President of MOSOP, Ledum Mitee in a reaction to the arrest of Asari called on government to ensure that there is adequate infrastructural development in the Niger Delta areas, as that would be a panacea towards peace in the zone.
“The security response we have seen in the last week, including the arrest of Asari Dokubo cannot form a stand alone solution to the situation in the Niger Delta. In fact, if the frustration in the Niger Delta are not addressed this takes us onto the road to disaster where people perceive that the government is only interested in eliminating focal points of resistance.” The MOSOP President stated.
Accordingly, the MOSOP President called on the people of the zone “to avoid being stampeded into crisis which appears designed only to benefit those who gain from welfare. There are myriads of opportunities from non violent resistence and civil disobedience which we urge people to consider before stepping down a very difficult path about which we have been warning for years.”
Also, the MOSOP President called on government and the international community to recognize that much of last year was wasted by lack of commitment to peace building and addressing the concerns of people across the Niger Delta.
Ledum Metee therefore called on the major beneficiary of the oil from the Niger Delta to show that they have a radical commitment for the improvement of the lives and welfare of the residents of the zone.
Posted by Publisher at 01:58 PM | Comments (0)
Ehindero Takes Over Pipeline Vandals' Prosecution
Acting Inspector General of Police, Mr. Sunday Ehindero has decried the involvement of some men and officers of the police in the vandalisation of oil pipelines and said henceforth, prosecution of pipeline vandals would be initiated from his office.
From Funmi Peter-Omale and Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja, 09.27.2005
This came against the background of the arrest of four suspects arrested early yesterday morning in Lagos for vandalisation of oil pipelines. According to the IG, policemen were among the ones arrested but said they would be paraded today at the Force Headquarters in Abuja.
In the last few weeks, men and officers have been indicted in a number of criminal activities that ranged from extra judicial killing to robbery and sexual abuse/misconduct.
But at the inauguration yesterday, Ehindero said the former task force was disbanded for ineffectiveness, unprofessional conduct and outright connivance with vandals in the perpetration of the crime which they were supposed to prevent.
“It was alleged that some members of the erstwhile task force became too familiar with the communities and rather than prevent vandals from tampering with the pipelines, they even provided cover for the pipeline vandals.
“Let me remind you that the advent of information technology has enabled us to have access to information more than ever before. Early this morning, I received a phone call that there was vandalisation of some pipelines in Lagos. I directed the commissioner of police to get the culprits arrested and four of them were arrested. Unfortunately, some of them included our men. I have directed that their baron should be arrested.”
According to him, the ineffectiveness and unprofessional conduct of the members of former task Ffrce not only emboldened criminals, but led to colossal loss of revenue to government.
“Let me remind you that vandalisation is an economic crime. The consequence of vandalisation is life imprisonment. Any person or persons caught aiding or abetting the commission of the crime will be charged along as an accomplice. Hence forth, we will do everything we can to ensure speedy prosecution of suspects.
Infact, prosecution will be inititiated from this headquarters. It is possible within two weeks to get the exhibits and get the suspect here and they will be charged to court.”
He noted that He sounded a note of warning to the 557 Task Force saying there was no spirit de corps in vandalisation, stressing that they should carry out their duties without fear or favour even as he called on them to report any member of the team suspected to be involved in vandalisation.
Acting Managing Director Pipeline Product Marketing Company (PPMC), Engr. Martins Oti commended the show of patriotism exhibited by the Nigeria Police in its determination ton wipe our incidence of pipeline vandalisation in the country.
He said the activities of the vandals was costing Nigeria a huge amount of money.
“What is destroyed by these vandals is costing FG billions of naira to replace” he said.
While expressing the readiness of PPMC to work with the police task force, Oti said the organisation would not hesitate to report cases of connivance by any of the officers to the IG for discipline.”
Posted by Publisher at 01:57 PM | Comments (0)
Govt Houses: FG May Evict Occupants
Federal Government may consider forced evacuation of occupants of property it sold if the present occupants continued to be recalciltrant.
From Andy Ekugo in Abuja, 09.27.2005
The government yesterday reiterated its resolve to evacuate occupants of its sold high rise buildings in Lagos and warned that those who were still recalcitrant would have their selves to blame.
Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko told newsmen in his office yesterday that the deadline for total evacuation was till September 30 and insisted that occupants had been informed and that it would be foolhardy for anyone to take the decision lightly.
Mimiko said despite attempts to help the residents have a seamless relocation, some had put in place resistance to vacate the premises and insisted on being given the right of first refusal.
These offers which had been communicated to the occupants at various meetings as well as their representatives, included locating other houses in Lagos and Abuja in order to relocate.
These included the Abesan 1, built by FHA; Odo-Nla Estate Ikorodu and Isheri North Estate built by LSDPC. Those in Abuja were Efab City Estate, Mbora as well as Shelter Concepts all built by public private partnership (PPP).
In addition to this, Mimiko said he had arranged with “Union Homes Savings and Loans Limited, accelerated packages for 100 percent mortgages for the legal residents of these high rise properties at the statutory rate of interest under the National Housing Fund Scheme” and also instructed the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria to guarantee the loans created in the course of the exercise.
The two mortgage banks he assured had worked to cushion the effect of the relocation of the 677 out of 747 occupants who were legal tenants of the houses.
The loans accruable for this exercise Mimiko said, was N5 million but in any case where any of the occupants was not satisfied with the houses identified for them, such occupants were free to make a choice themselves w hile he instructedt he Union Homes to accommodate them by offering loans more than N5 million.
In addition, residents who do not wish to buy a house are to receive a grant of N250,000 from the buyers.
He decried that despite a meeting of September 8, with the executive committee of the various high rises and another meeting with residents on September 17, some people were still reluctant to move and wished that the federal government would have a rethought that they hoped to gain through blackmail.
He said that there was no going back from the sales, as the companies that bought the buildings had already paid for their properties. These were the 1004 Housing Estate sold to UAC Properties Limited for N7 billion, Mulinner Road Towers sold to Union Homes Savings and Loans Ltd for N600 million, Awolowo Road Towers Ikoyi sold to Union Homes also at a cost of N520 million, Alagbon Towers Ikoyi sold to Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund for N1.2billion and Eric Moore Towers sold to Dock Management Ltd for N570
million. However, Blocks D and E Reeve Road Towers Ikoyi, Legico Towers Victoria Island and Bar Beach Towers have been reserved for military use.
Posted by Publisher at 01:48 PM | Comments (0)
Nigeria regains more Abacha cash
Nigeria says it has recovered $458m (£257m) found in Swiss bank accounts linked to the country's late military ruler Sani Abacha.
Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz and senior Swiss officials broke the news on Tuesday.
So far, $290m has been returned and the remainder is set to follow.
Mr Abacha was in power from 1993 to 1998 and is thought to have embezzled billions of dollars.
"We appreciate the willingness of the Swiss government to act on this issue," said Mrs Okanjo-Iweala.
"It is just a first step. We are committed to ensuring that all the funds stolen from Nigeria are returned."
Slow process
Once the payments are made, Switzerland will have returned all the money linked to Mr Abacha that has been found in its banks.
Following Mr Abacha's death in 1998, Nigeria started trying to claw back money that had been deposited outside the country.
Nigeria says it is still searching for funds he may have sent to other countries, but has not named them.
As well as Switzerland, money has been found in the UK, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein and Austria.
But it has not been a quick process. Although Swiss authorities froze the funds in 1999, they refused to return them until they were given guarantees about how the money would be used.
Posted by Publisher at 01:47 PM | Comments (0)
Ivory Coast's leader snubs summit
Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo will not go to a regional summit on Ivory Coast to be held in Nigeria on Friday.
By James Copnall
BBC News, Abidjan
The talks are a fresh attempt to find a solution to the three-year old Ivorian crisis but South Africa's role as the mediator is coming under scrutiny.
South Africa says Mr Gbagbo has done everything asked of him, in contrast to the armed and unarmed opposition.
The New Forces rebels, who seized the north of the country in September 2002, are refusing to work with South Africa.
Row
Mr Gbagbo's spokesman did not explain why Mr Gbagbo would not show his face in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, but the reasons are not hard to guess.
The summit has been called, on the wishes of President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and it is possible that South Africa, the current mediator, will be asked to withdraw from the role, or at least take a back seat.
The Ivorian head of state has - unsurprisingly - expressed his full support for President Thabo Mbeki's mediation.
He also said last week that he would reject any mediation in Ivory Coast's problems by the West African regional body, Ecowas.
Mr Gbagbo accused Ecowas countries of interfering in the Ivorian crisis.
This was a reference to Mali and Burkina Faso, who the presidential camp accuses of supporting the New Forces rebels.
If Ecowas takes a more active role in mediating in Ivory Coast, it is likely to be to Mr Gbagbo's disadvantage.
It remains to be seen if Mr Gbagbo will also boycott the African Union security council meeting on Ivory Coast, which will be held on 6 October.
Another unknown is the effect Mr Gbagbo's no-show will have on the way he is viewed in the sub-region.
Back in Ivory Coast, Mr Gbagbo's image has been poor in the eyes of many, starting with the opposition.
On Monday, the opposition Le Patriote newspaper printed an unflattering photo of him with his tongue hanging out.
The National Press Council reacted by condemning this photo, which lacked respect according to the regulatory body.
The National Press Council also banned any future photos of Mr Gbagbo - or other prominent personalities - which show them in an unflattering light.
Posted by Publisher at 01:46 PM | Comments (0)
September 27, 2005
Nigeria acts on police sex abuse
Eleven Nigerian policemen, including a senior officer, have been suspended after they were accused of sexual abuse in Democratic Republic of Congo.
The entire unit of 120 officers was sent home from its peacekeeping mission earlier this month.
Nigeria's police chief said the punishment would serve as an example to other police officers.
The UN mission in DR Congo has been hit by repeated accusations of sexual abuse against local girls and women.
As a result, a new code of conduct was introduced for the peacekeepers, which banned any sexual relations with Congolese women.
"Investigations so far conducted have established corroborated cases against 11 officers, including your commander who breached the UN Code of Conduct," said Nigerian police chief Sunday Ehindero.
"You all have brought shame to this country," he said in a speech to the entire unit.
Explaining the decision to pull out the whole group two weeks ago, Nigerian police spokesman Haz Iwendi said: "When one is contaminated, the whole bunch is contaminated."
The UN mission in DR Congo is the world's largest peacekeeping operation with some 19,000 staff trying to shore up a fragile peace deal.
Implementing a peace deal since the end of a five-year civil war, in which an estimated three million people were killed, has proved difficult.
Posted by Publisher at 11:32 AM | Comments (0)
Uwais drops Pinheiro from list of new SANs
SUPREME Court yesterday may have dropped Mr. Oluwakemi Adekunle Pinheiro from the list of 15 lawyers conferred with the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
MALACHY UZENDU, Abuja
Pinheiro was appointed Receiver/Manager of MOBITEL Limited, a telecommunications company, and was at the firm to effect the take over when the company’s Managing Director, Mr. Charles Alaba Joseph, was found dead.
The lawyer, who would have been conferred with the highest professional honour in the legal profession, had his name struck off a list of 15 already approved for the elevation.
Though Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mohammadu Uwais did not state categorically why he dropped Pinheiro from the list, a source close to his office said controversy over Joseph’s death stopped Pinheiro’s elevation.
However, Justice Uwais, while swearing-in the new silks, explained that "this year, 150 legal practitioners and academics applied for the rank of SAN, of those, 82, who are legal practitioners, met the basic criteria for conferment. 24 others applied as academics.
"The other criteria they met is based on their appearances and performances in court. Comments by the Justices of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal; the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) and Chief Judges of the state and other high courts on the character of each of the qualified applicants.
Posted by Publisher at 11:30 AM | Comments (0)
Protests rock distribution of PDP membership cards; Senate President, governor, others storm party office
PROTESTS once again greeted the distribution of registration cards by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday.
From John-Abba Ogbodo (Abuja), Simeon Nwakandu (Makurdi) and Isa Abdusalami (Jos)
Aggrieved members in thousands stormed the Wadata Plaza, Abuja national headquarters of the party, to lodge their complaints and protests.
Those at the national headquarters included Senate President, Ken Nnamani, Governor Sam Egwu of Ebonyi; former Sports Minister, Damashi Sango and former Aviation Minister, Isa Yuguda
They were there to protest the manner the cards were being distributed.
Scores of lawmakers from the National Assembly were also at the office of the national chairman of the party, Ahmadu Ali, to register their grievances over alleged marginalisation in the cards' distribution.
The first group that came to the PDP secretariat was the Bauchi State contingent numbering over 500. It was led by the former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Mustapha Ahmed.
Their arrival at the secretariat at about 11.00 a.m. coincided with that of Yuguda who is also from the state. The group carried placards alleging the hijacking of the registration exercise by the state governor, Alhaji Adamu Mu'azu.
Ahmed said despite that the cards arrived in the state last week, most party members and especially the state executive members, were yet to know anything about the registration exercise.
He alleged that "the governor has hijacked the cards and threatened to dissolve the state executive and bring on board only those who were willing to do his bidding."
The former Aviation Minister and some members of the National Assembly from the state held talks with the national chairman and other members of the National Working Committee (NWC) behind closed-doors.
Governor Egwu also led a delegation from his state to the secretariat at about 4.18 p.m. He met with the party's leadership.
Sources told The Guardian that at the meeting, he complained that even as a governor on the platform of the party, he did not know anything about the movement of the cards in his state.
Shortly after the governor left, Senate President Nnamani came to lay a similar complaint that the cards had been hijacked in Enugu.
As at press time last night, the Senate President was still meeting with the leadership of the party over the matter.
Mrs. Iyabo Anisulowo, a Senator from Ogun State, similarly complained that many members were being marginalised in her state. The Senator told reporters: "I am also affected."
Two members of the House of Representatives from Edo State, Abdul Oroh and Abubakar Momoh, also presented a written petition to the national chairman.
The petition, also signed by the 15 members of the Edo State House of Assembly, said that they had expected that the cards would be delivered to chairmen of the party in the local councils but "unfortunately, this is not to be in all the local government areas of Edo North Senatorial district.
In the zone, they added, the materials were given to loyalists of a prominent national officer of the party, whom they said went ahead to exclude all other party members adjudged not to be loyal to him.
Apparently due to the pressure mounted on him yesterday, the PDP national chairman made himself inaccessible to some of the protesters.
A meeting was scheduled for the Conference Hall of the secretariat with the party's links-men in the card project, but Ali after entering the hall at about 4.30 p.m., saw the crowd at the gate and quickly changed the venue.
The protest started last week when a group supporting the presidential ambition of Vice President Atiku Abubakar in 2007 alleged that his supporters were being schemed out.
The group, Turaki Vanguard led by Nasir Ngala (co-ordinator) and Lanre Tayemi (secretary), urged all the supporters of Atiku nation-wide to embark on harmonisation process with a view to forming a new political organisation that can accommodate them.
The national Publicity Secretary of the party, John Odey, admitted that there was a barrage of complaints but assured that the crisis management committee set up by the NWC would adequately address all of them.
"There were complaints but I can assure you that they would be adequately addressed. We are about addressing the links men who would go to the states tomorrow (today) and I can assure you that all would be treated well," he said.
Crisis has also broken out in the Benue State chapter of the PDP over the distribution of its new membership cards.
The Plateau State PDP yesterday also criticised the distribution of the cards.
Briefing journalists in his office, the state secretary of the PDP, Dr. Samuel Ortom, alleged that the Managing Director of Lower Benue River Basin Authority (LBRBA), Bisibi Ati, had hijacked the registration materials in the state.
He said that the hijack of the registration materials for Benue State by Ati was meant to exclude certain principal members of the state from the registration.
Ortom disclosed that the failure to access the registration materials forced the party secretariat to start registration of eligible party members in exercise books.
According to Ortom, the state police commissioner had to be involved before Ati released the registration materials to the police state command for safekeeping.
When The Guardian visited the Benue State police command, the bus bearing the PDP registration materials was sighted.
The bus belonging to Shallom Express had XB478 MKD as its registration number and bore several cartons or registration materials.
Contacted, Ati denied hijacking the registration materials of PDP. He said that he only assisted the Benue PDP registration officer, Mr. Victor Kpande, to transport the said materials from Abuja to Makurdi.
Ati further declared that he personally involved the Benue State police command to ensure that the materials did not get into wrong hands, as the PDP secretary, Dr. Samuel Ortom, become very restless and wanted the materials in his custody.
Posted by Publisher at 11:28 AM | Comments (0)
OPC, Police clash in Ilorin ・Two more killed, 10 arrested ・Lawal's houses burnt
Two more people were feared killed on Monday in Idi-Ape area of Ilorin, Kwara State, following a clash between suspected members of the Oodua Peoples Congress and the Nigeria Police.
Doyin Adebusuyi, Ilorin
Two houses belonging to a former governor of the state, Alhaji Mohammed Lawal, and a part of a house owned by his father, the late Mogaji Are of Ilorin, Alhaji Busari Alabi Alasa, were also burnt in the renewed violence, which started around 4.30am.
The affected houses are located in Idi-Ape and Amule quarters in Ilorin.
Attempts to torch the courtyard of Magaji Are were resisted by Afonja descendants.
But the mayhem left the always bustling Oja-Oba market deserted.
The Police Public Relations Officer of the state command, Mr. Markus Gideon, confirmed the death of one person. The other, whose identity could not be ascertained as at press time, was said to have died during a cross-fire.
Gideon, who claimed that dangerous weapons and charms were recovered from one of the victims, also said that only a part of the house belonging to Lawal痴 father was burnt.
He said, 典he problem we have now is that these people regrouped and attacked our men. After the attack of yesterday (Sunday), they regrouped and by 4.30am today (Monday), they attacked our men again but no casualty.
典his morning by 5am, they came calling with OPC inscription, ammunition, bulletproof, and hand bags containing charms to attack our men, but we responded and as God would have it, we were able to kill one of them and we recovered some dangerous weapons from him.・
The PPRO said that 10 people arrested on Sunday in connection with the crisis were helping the police in their investigations.
Gideon said two people, including a riot policeman, Corporal Obatayo Obatoke, were killed on Sunday
It was gathered on Monday that there was sporadic shooting on Sunday night between the police drafted to the area and the suspected OPC members.
Riot policemen patrolling the major streets around 11.30am on Monday prevented people from going beyond the junction leading to Idi-Ape.
They thoroughly searched the people and made them raise their hands before allowing them in and out of the area.
Shops, markets and filling-stations remained closed.
Bonfires were still smoking when our correspondent visited the area on Monday.
A source told our correspondent on phone that, 鍍hey (residents of Idi Ape area) were surrounded by the police; nobody can venture out.・
It was also gathered that supporters of the deposed chiefs disallowed the new Balogun Gambari, Alhaji Mohammed Adebayo, and Balogun Alanamu, Alhaji Abubakar Akanbi, from entering their palaces.
The state Chairman of the OPC, Mr. Bayo Ifabiyi, denied that the police killed one of his men.
In a telephone interview with our correspondent, Ifabiyi said the OPC was not involved in the crisis.
哲obody should drag the OPC into this crisis,・he said, adding that the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, should take the blame.
The OPC Coordinator, Chief Gani Adams, had on Monday cautioned the monarch against acts that could worsen the crisis in the city.
Adams said the only way bloodshed could be avoided was for Sulu-Gambari to honour the wishes of Yoruba-speaking people of Idi-Akpe in respect of the office of Magaji Are.
The crisis broke out on Sunday following the installation by Sulu-Gambari of Alhaji Shuaib Zubair as the new Magaji Are of Ilorin against the choice of the Afonja family.
The PUNCH, Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Posted by Publisher at 11:20 AM | Comments (0)
$242m Scam: Trial Adjourned for Security Reasons
An Ikeja High Court, presided over by Justice Olubunmi Oyewole, yesterday adjourned continuation of trial till 12 noon today, after five hours of exhaustive examination of Mr. Naresh Asnani, a key prosecution witness in an advance fee fraud scam involving two Nigerians who allegedly obtained a sum of $242million from a Brazilian bank, Banco Noroeste over a period of three years (1995-1998).
By Abimbola Akosile, 09.26.2005
Above adjournment, which the judge ordered at 5.10pm, was granted after a defence counsel expressed concern over safety of his client should the matter be allowed to proceed further.
Accused persons include Chief Emmanuel Nwude (a.k.a Paul Ogwuma Odinigwe) 1st accused, Mr. Nzeribe Edeh Okoli (3rd accused), Emrus (Nig.) Ltd., Ocean Marketing Co. (Nig.) Ltd. and African Shelter Bureau (Nig.) Ltd. (5th-7th accused). However, both Amaka Anajemba (Mrs.) and Fynbaz (Nig.) Limited (2nd & 4th accused respectively), who were initially charged along with above suspects, pleaded guilty to a fresh four-count charge on July 15, and were subsequently sentenced to prison terms and fines, and their names deleted from an amended information filed by the prosecutor, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Meanwhile, in continuation from where the matter ended on Friday, September 23, Asnani, who earlier revealed that he left Nigeria in December 2002, after which he was convicted and detained in Switzerland for 18 months on money laundering charges, told Court how his wife Payal and his mother Ishwari Asnani, only signed the bank account opening statement to the Uco Bank, Hong Kong account, which was the first used to launder the scam proceeds in 1995.
In a marathon evidence-in-chief session, which began around 12.00 noon, the lead prosecution counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, led Asnani, albeit punctuated by regular objections from defence counsel, through a rigorous examination process, wherein the witness outlined the different procedures and processes undertaken by him to launder the money (a total of $127miilion) through different accounts in Hong Kong, Switzerland, and Nigeria.
He also spoke about his conviction in Switzerland, where he was initially tried after being extradited from Miami, USA, in 2002.
When asked about his records of the money laundered, Asnani replied that most of the documents had been thrown away by his staff, both in Hong Kong and Nigeria, after his arrest. "Originals of the bank debit and credit advices and statements were stored in my offices in Royal Crest, Lagos, Nigeria, and Sherina Limited, Hong Kong. They were thrown away by my staff after my arrest and detention".
"I was judged and convicted by a Swiss court in Geneva for the funds I received by order of Stanton Development Company and for laundering the funds that I received on instructions of Chief Emmanuel (Nwude) in my accounts in Switzerland. I was not convicted for the approximately $6m that I received in my Hong Kong account at Uco Bank. This judgment only relates to the approximately $122million that I received in my accounts in Switzerland. The judgment was given in French in the court at Geneva and communicated to me by an interpreter in English".
Although defence counsel, led by Mr. Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, and Mr. Adeshina Ogunlana among others, raised objections as to the new documents being tendered and the admissibility of the Swiss Court judgment, Justice Oyewole overruled their objections on the grounds that the documents were relevant, and gave Ogunlana a 15-minute stand-down to enable him go through the new evidence. Matter continues today, with further examination of Asnani by Jacobs.
First arraigned in Abuja on February 4th, 2004, accused persons, were alleged to have defrauded a Brazilian banker, Mr. Nelson Sakaguchi of a sum of $242million over a three-year period, from April 2, 1995 to January 20, 1998 at Opebi, Ikeja, Lagos State, contrary to Sections 1(1)(a) and (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud Act of 1995 as amended by Act 62 of 1998.
Obtained amount was said to represent payment due to the Federal Government on the alleged contract No. FMA/132/019/82 for the construction of Abuja International Airport, Nigeria. Penalties for each of the counts range between seven and ten years. The accused persons are facing an amended 91 count charge.
Posted by Publisher at 11:19 AM | Comments (0)
How Obasanjo, Atiku Can Make Up, By Gana...President, VP are talking
The Political Adviser to the president, Professor Jerry Gana, has asked Vice President Atiku Abubakar to apologise to President Olusegun Obasanjo if the face-off between the two is to be easily resolved.
From Jide Orintunsin in Minna, 09.26.2005
Speaking to newsmen in Minna yesterday after attending an all stakeholders meeting of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Niger state, Gana said the President was willing and ready to forgive his deputy when they meet one on one.
Gana who said that the misunderstanding was blown out of proportion by the public, noted that the differences would be resolved through the on-going one-on-one meeting between the two leaders.
Though, he said that the substantial part of the dispute was being expanded beyond its scope, Gana maintained that the President was willing to forgive anybody that offended him in the course of discharging his duties, when such a person asks for forgiveness.
“I want to assure you that the President is a highly responsible leader. He is a leader with tremendous respect for unity of purpose. He is willing and able to forgive any of those working with him, who made mistake,” he said.
Gana said that aside from the party’s efforts at resolving the differences, he was aware that there have been several one on one fence mending meetings between the two leaders, saying that “like they have done before, this matter will be resolved amicably.”
He said “the party is handling the matter maturely. It is being handled in such a way that it will not destroy the party.”
Advising the two leaders to sheathe their swords, Gana called for caution among supporters of Obasanjo and Atiku, saying, “ the two leaders are talking . We don’t want to give the reconciliation effort undue publicity, because we don’t want to cause any feeling of humiliation.”
He also said that the call on the Vice President to resign or be dropped was not the position of the PDP, adding “it was an individual opinion, which they are entitled to. I want to assure you that the party will be constitutional in resolving the issues”.
The cold war between the President and his deputy blew open recently when in a television programme, Obasanjo accused Atiku of disloyalty. This followed an interview Atiku had with THISDAY Board of Editors, where he said Obasanjo swore that he had no plan to succeed himself.
It, however, got to a head two Fridays ago when at THEWEEK leadership award ceremony in Lagos Atiku made remarks that were considered critical of Obasanjo.
In an apparent allusion to the public outcry against the recent hike in the prices of petroleum products which culminated in the mass protest march in Lagos and other state capitals, Atiku had said that it behoves a good leader to listen to the peoples outcries against bad policy.
He had said "we have had political leaders all these years but for most of our history we have not had good leadership...we must deepen democracy, we must move away from arbitrariness and impunity that are the hallmarks of military regimes."
Loyalists of President Obasanjo had interpreted this to mean that the Vice President had drawn the battle line with the President.
A PDP presidential aspirant, Brig-Gen Buba Marwa had on account of this called on Atiku to honourably resign as he had demonstrated that he "no longer owes any allegiance to the government he was elected to serve in".
Posted by Publisher at 11:18 AM | Comments (0)
Daukoru seeks producers’ pact to end rising oil prices
• World finance ministers worried over rising oil prices
• Nigeria plans to host OPEC meeting in 2006
By Bassey Udo
(Johannesburg) and
Chinedu Offor
(Washington D.C.)
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Edmund Daukoru, has called for closer cooperation among oil producing nations in Africa to contribute to the global consensus on resolving soaring prices.
His plea coincided with the worry expressed in Washington by world economic policy makers that unabated oil prices could hinder growth.
Daukoru said in Johannesburg, South Africa, that if solutions are not found Nigeria may be deprived of the benefits of its recent debt relief as well as the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
He spoke at the opening of the 18th Congress of the World Petroleum Council (WPC).
He later told journalists that the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreed last week to hold a meeting in Nigeria in January 2007, although a strong case is being made for it to be in 2006.
Daukoru said at a time when the global oil market has come under severe volatility, deliberations at the Congress would focus on how African countries could use their assets and experience to resolve the impact of energy prices on the world economy.
“The prevailing market realities are that prices are moving beyond the control of producing countries”, he said, and urged cooperation between consumers and producers on ideas that would remedy the situation.
“Nigeria and other producing countries in Africa have the responsibility of contributing towards a healthy and dynamic global industry, able to secure a stable oil and gas market, particularly on the supply side in the global energy equation”.
WPC President, Eivald Roren, explained that participants at the five-day event would dialogue on problems affecting Africa’s oil industry development.
Besides issues that would promote the proper management of the resources to the benefit of the people, Roren said deliberations would focus on new technologies to boost productivity, revenue transparency and accountability, research and resource allocation, HIV/AIDS, sustainable exploration and product