How Boko Haram Operated In Adamawa Community For Six Hours [PUNCH]
Fresh revelations have emerged on how Boko Haram insurgents attacked Garkida town in Gombi Local Government Area of Adamawa State for six hours on Friday night. The town is located on the Gombi-Biu – Damaturu Road, which shares proximity with Southern Borno and Sambisa Forest.
Reports say police barracks, churches and a house belonging to Gen Paul Tarfa (retd.) were among several buildings burnt by the terrorists during the attack.
Meanwhile, the Islamic State’s West Africa Province is said to have claimed responsibility for the attack, alleging that they killed three soldiers and took some worshippers in a church hostage in addition to other villagers in the community.
Personnel of the Nigerian Army were said to have engaged the terrorists in a fierce gun battle. But a native of the town, Mr. Joshua Malgwi, told Sunday PUNCH that many persons were feared killed by the invaders who announced their entry into the town by shooting aimlessly.
There were also reports that the residents sighted the terrorists and warned the soldiers in the vicinity of the impending attack before they (insurgents) eventually overran the town and started shooting.
Meanwhile, a source in the town also told Sahara Reporters that the insurgents came in their numbers with several vans to ransack the town, looting pharmaceutical shops and homes for foodstuffs.
The source said, “They had unfettered access because a battalion of troops in the town was withdrawn sometime back, leaving behind just a few soldiers who could not repel the insurgents. After looting, they burnt down a police barracks, police station, two churches; Living Faith and EYN, and a shopping mall.
“People were also killed but I have no record as of now. They also razed General Paul Tarfa’s residence, among other important buildings in the town.”
A tweet by @tntmagazinenigeria also showed a church that was eventually burnt by the insurgents. It read, “Where several houses, which included those of prominent sons of Garkida, market, churches; EYN, Living Faith and Anglican burnt. Rural health centre, two ambulances burnt while another two taken by the insurgents.
“Two soldiers lost their lives, civilian casualties yet to be ascertained, the police station and barracks burnt. The attack left a devastating little town of Garkida. News from sources in the village says the insurgents came in about nine truckloads of their men and more than 50 motorcycles carrying at the least, two persons.
“The saddest part is that some people from the very town of Garkida who were recruited by the insurgents were the ones selectively showing the insurgents which properties to set ablaze. My heart bleeds for this nation we call Nigeria.”
Also, the Cavell Group, a consultant in intelligence, risk, crisis and expedition, in a series of tweets via @TCG_CrisisRisks, noted that many of the villagers were able to escape into the bush while some were abducted.
The tweet added, “A group with hostages left in a large convoy in the North-East towards Borno. There was still sporadic fighting well after midnight. ISWAP (has) now claimed responsibility with claims they killed three soldiers. No word on hostages. At least two soldiers confirmed killed and three Christians were taken from a church. However, many more reported taken. Significant damage to town, hospital and police barracks.”
It was also gathered that there was a military aircraft that flew in the airspace but that it wasn’t seen firing any shots.
According to sources in the community, a military contingent used to be in the town and nearby villages but was withdrawn recently leaving a small contingent of soldiers.
Atiku condoles with victims
Meanwhile, a former vice-president and presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party in the 2019 elections, Atiku Abubakar, on Saturday decried the attacks on his Twitter page, while lamenting the increasing attacks by the insurgents.
In his verified Twitter handle @atiku, he also condoled with the affected families in Garkida.
He wrote, “The attack by Boko Haram against lives and properties of innocent Nigerians is unbecoming. My prayers are with the people of Garkida in my home state of Adamawa over the cowardly attack that happened over the weekend. May God give the affected families fortitude to bear the loss.”
Bandits, terrorists kill over 268 in Katsina, Zamfara, Borno, others
Meanwhile, after the Federal Government’s announcement in December that it would withdraw troops from areas where peace had been restored, no fewer than 268 persons had been killed by bandits and Boko Haram terrorists since January 2020, as reported in Saturday PUNCH on February 22, 2020.
Apparently shocked by the spate of killings by the insurgents in recent times, the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) had said when he received a delegation of Eminent and Respected Citizens of Niger State, led by Governor Abubakar Sani Bello, to the State House, Abuja, that the recent activities of the terrorist group were surprising.
He had said, “During our campaigns, we knew about the Boko Haram. What is coming now is surprising. It is not ethnicity or religion, rather it is one evil plan against the country. We have to be harder on them. One of the responsibilities of government is to provide security.”
Meanwhile, about a week ago at the burial of the 18-year-old seminarian, Nnadi, killed by gunmen, renowned Bishop of Sokoto Catholic Diocese, Matthew Kukah, had recalled Buhari’s promise during the 2015 electioneering when he stated while campaigning that if he was elected, the world would not have to worry about insecurity in Nigeria.
Kukah, however, pointed out that five years after Buhari had brought nepotism and clannishness into the military and the ancillary security agencies.
Also, on Wednesday, Buhari’s convoy was booed in Maiduguri, in apparent protest against the level of insecurity in the state. Buhari had headed straight to Borno on his arrival from Ethiopia, where he attended the 33rd Ordinary Session of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union.
Meanwhile, there are fresh concerns that the Boko Haram insurgency may grow into a global crisis following the collaboration between groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State to take control of territory “across a vast stretch of West Africa”.
A Washington Post report on Saturday pointed out that the United States and local officials gave the hint. The report added that a coalition of al-Qaeda loyalists, called JNIM, had as many as 2,000 fighters in West Africa, citing a US report released this month.
The report quoted Secretary General of Mali’s Ministry of Defense, Ibrahim Fane, as saying, “This cancer will spread far beyond here if we don’t fight together to end it.”
According to the report, the warnings of an impending global crisis come as the Pentagon weighs withdrawing from West Africa, where about 1,400 troops provide intelligence and drone support, among other forms of military help.
On Friday, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Tukur Buratai, expressed belief that the insurgency would soon end.
Troop deployment based on B’Haram threats –Military sources
Meanwhile, top military sources have faulted the call by Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State for the Federal Government to recruit 100,000 soldiers to face the insurgents. It said deployment of troops in the North-East was based on “a threat analysis of the insurgents and not on a bogus number.”
The sources told one of our correspondents on Friday that the deployment of troops were done in relation to the strength, weapons and capacity of the enemies.
One of the sources said, “The armed forces conduct recruitment based on policies and needs and not on a state governor’s comments. The authorities have, however, heard the governor and if there is any need for recruitment, the Presidency can order such and the armed forces will comply.
“Only the governor knows how he arrived at the figure.
“The military strength deployed to any location is not done haphazardly. There must be a thorough analysis to determine the number of personnel you need in a location for any operation and not just a bogus number. You also look at the strength of the adversaries and their weapon system.
“Then, you look at the deployments of the adversaries. These are the things that determine the strength of the troops you are going to deploy.”
The Director, Defence Information, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, could not be reached for comment on the matter.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Air Force said it had neutralised some key leaders of the Islamic State of West Africa Province at Jubillaram and Alinwa in the northern part of Borno, as they assembled for meetings.
NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, made the disclosure in a statement on Saturday in Abuja.
Daramola said the ISWAP leaders were neutralised in operations conducted on Thursday.
He said the airstrikes were carried out by the Air Task Force of Operation Lafiya Dole, under the auspices of Operation Rattle Snake III.
“The mission was executed on the heels of credible intelligence reports indicating that some key ISWAP leaders had assembled for meetings, which were being held simultaneously at two separate venues, at Jubillaram and Alinwa in Marte Local Government Area.
“Accordingly, the ATF scrambled its attack aircraft to engage both locations, damaging the meeting venues and neutralising the terrorists,’’ Daramola said.
He said NAF, operating in concert with surface forces, would sustain its air campaign to shape the battle space in the North-East for the effective conduct of further ground and air operations.
Certificate forgery: We Can’t Remove Sacked Bayelsa Deputy Governor-Elect, Says Senate [PUNCH]
The Senate has clarified that Senator Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo remains a member of the upper chamber for now despite the certificate forgery which denied him a chance to become Bayelsa State deputy governor.
The Supreme Court stopped David Lyon of the All Progressives Congress from being inaugurated as Bayelsa State governor, along with Degi-Eremienyo, on the eve of his inauguration after the latter submitted forged certificates to the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Spokesman for the Senate, Godiya Akwashiki, said on Friday that Degi-Eremienyo’s place in the upper chamber was not under threat.
Akwashiki told one of our correspondents that the Supreme Court did not address the issue of his senatorial status while delivering judgment on the Bayelsa governorship election.
He said the process to recall a senator could only start if they were dead, had a recall demand from his constituency or through a court pronouncement directing INEC to withdraw their certificate of return.
Akwashiki said, “The process of declaring somebody’s seat vacant is in three stages based on the provisions of the law.
“It is either by death; If his constituents demand his recall, or if any court of law, (tribunal, appeal, or Supreme Court), ordered that INEC should withdraw their certificate of return.
“In this situation, the judgment did not say anything about his (Degi-Eremienyo’s) senatorial seat.
“The judgment only addressed the issue of the Bayelsa State governorship election.
“Also in the case of Degi-Eremienyo, he has not taken any oath of allegiance.
“The oath of allegiance that he took in the Senate still subsists since the Supreme Court did not mention his seat at the Senate in its judgment.
“For now, the Senate cannot do anything about his seat. He is still, a democratically elected member of the Senate.”
Akwashiki justified the decision of the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, to declare the seats of the governor (Douye Diri) and deputy governor (Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo) of Bayelsa State vacant.
Obaseki, Oshiomhole Allies Trade Accusations As Police Save APC Chair [PUNCH]
Police in Edo State on Saturday foiled an attempt by protesting youths to attack the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Adams Oshiomhole, in Benin.
Governor Godwin Obaseki and Oshiomhole have been locked in a bitter battle for the control of the state.
Oshiomhole was in Benin for the burial of the mother of a leader of the party in the state, Ehiozuwa Agbonayinma.
The former governor of the state was about to enter his waiting car after his arrival at the Benin Airport when protesting youths forced their way into the airport, heading for the VIP area chanting war songs and booing him.
The police officers at the airport were forced to fire shots into the air after the protesters resisted their efforts to stop them.
After successfully dispersing the protesters, Oshiomhole’s convoy drove out of the airport under tight security.
Earlier in the day security at the airport was tight, with a police Armoured Personnel Carrier stationed close to the VIP area. There were also armed police officers and soldiers, as well as Department of State Services and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps at strategic locations around the airport.
However, the placard-carrying protesters started arriving at the airport around 2pm chanting anti-Oshiomhole slogans.
As soon as Oshiomhole arrived at the venue for the burial, the situation became rowdy as many of the guests struggled to get his attention with shouts of ‘Oshio and comrade.’
Henry Idahagbon, who served as Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice under the APC national chair, condemned the development.
Protest As SARS Officer Kills Remo Stars Captain [THE NATION]
There is palpable tension in Sagamu town, Ogun State, following the alleged killing of a footballer, Tiyamiyu Kazeem, the Assistant Captain of Remo Stars Football Club, a Nigerian National League side, by policemen attached to the State Anti-Robbery on Saturday afternoon while returning home from the club’s weekend training session in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital. Eyewitness accounts at the scene of the incident alleged that the footballer, popularly known as Kaka, was allegedly chased by the SARS operatives before he was shot.
“The SARS operative labelled him as a Yahoo boy and started chasing him. Even when people who know him intervened and told them he is a footballer, they refused to let him be. They chased him until they shot him, wounding him fatally,” an eyewitness claimed. After shooting him, the officials ran away, leaving Kazeem to his fate. He was later rushed to Fakoya Hospital, Sagamu, by sympathisers, where he was pronounced dead.
The Remo Stars Football club announced Kazeem’s sudden passing away on their official Twitter handle. The Nigerian National League side stated that they are doing everything to investigate the cause of his death. “We regret to announce the departure of our assistant captain and defender, Tiyamiyu Kazeem (Kaka). The club is doing everything possible to investigate his ultimately death. May his soul rest in perfect peace.”
Angry residents took to the streets across the town to protest the murder of the footballer who many described as talented and hard working. A close friend of the deceased, Bolaji Soluade, who spoke with our correspondent, confirmed his untimely death and blamed the SARS operatives for the incident. According to him, one of the officers was apprehended by residents after the shooting but was rescued by other policemen before the mob could do him much harm.
Youths in Sagamu went wild with rage when the news filtered to them that the young man who was earlier in the day arrested in Sagamu alive without resistance, and taken to Abeokuta, was allegedly shot dead later by the police halfway into their journey to Abeokuta. It was learnt that quick intervention of senior police officers who moved in quickly to douse the tension saved Sagamu from turning into chaos. This is coming barely 48 hours after a similar protest broke out in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, on Thursday following the shooting of two Hausa traders in Olomoore Market by operatives of the Anti – Cultism Unit of the Ogun State Police Command.
Condemning what it called the unbearable excesses of the SARS operatives in Sagamu, the Pan Remo Forum (PRF), an umbrella body for socio-political groups in Remoland, said the death of Kazeem was “avoidable and needless.” In a release signed by its Organising Secretary, Lookman Banjoko, the forum called on concerned authorities to ensure that the killers of the promising footballer are fished out and punished appropriately.
2023 Presidency: PDP Leaders At Loggerheads Over Zoning [THE NATION]
- Commence talks on coalition
Discordant tunes are growing in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the party’s 2023 presidential ticket as prominent members intensify consultations on which part of the country deserves to fly the party’s flag in that election.
The ticket was zoned to the north in 2019 with Alhaji Atiku Abubakar emerging as its candidate.
Party leaders, The Nation gathered, are coming under intense pressure from different parts of the country on the shape of the zoning formula for 2023.
The agitation revolved round whether the presidential ticket will be zoned to a particular section of the country or will be thrown open to aspirants from any part of the country.
More of the pressure is coming from party chieftains from the South.
Reliable party sources said a decision to insist on the zoning of the PDP presidential ticket to the south has already been taken by a group of party stakeholders from the region at a meeting held recently in Abuja.
According to sources, the meeting was called following concerns that the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) under Prince Uche Secondus and the Board of Trustees (BoT) headed BY Senator Walid Jibrin appear to be less committed to the zoning principle of the party and may jettison it for 2023.
In attendance at the meeting were former governors, ex-ministers, top party officials including members of the NWC and the BoT.
The meeting, according to reliable sources, resolved to ensure that the opposition party presents a worthy candidate from the south in the 2023 elections to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
But this position is in contrast to agitations in other quarters within the party that the PDP presidential ticket be given to a candidate from the north or thrown open for all aspirants to contest.
The Nation gathered that most PDP governors from the south are in favour of the group’s moves and are supporting its activities.
“Majority of our federal legislators too are part of this,” one source said.
Prominent party leaders including Chief Edwin Clark, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, among many others, are said to be solidly in support of the move to ensure that the party leadership does not jettison the zoning arrangement that will see the PDP presidential ticket ceded to the south in 2023.
Some southern PDP leaders had met late last year to review statements credited to both Secondus and Jibrin, and resolved that a delegation of its members will meet with the national chairman and BoT chairman, as well as some identified stakeholders from the northern part of the country, to express their dissatisfaction with some of their utterances, and caution them against deviating from the zoning arrangement that the party has kept faith with since its creation in 1998.
Abuja, sources added, was designed to send a signal to the national leadership of the party that the south is not going to wait and “allow some people within and outside the party shortchange it by retaining the PDP ticket in the north come 2023.”
A member of the Board of Trustees of the party, from Osun State, confirmed that the meeting was held a few days ago as a follow up to two earlier parleys called by PDP leaders he described as “worried stakeholders”, to ensure that the party is not thrown into another avoidable crisis.
The highly placed source also said that the parley wanted the Southwest, Southeast and Southsouth to form a coalition that will be used to agitate for the zoning of the presidential ticket in 2023.
“We are responding to certain worrisome signs, emanating from the utterances and body languages of certain people within and outside our great party, as the 2023 presidential election draws nearer,” the source said.
He added: “that we are coming together to protect the zoning principle that has been the guiding spirit of the PDP is a fact.
“Secondly, since power is not served a la carte anywhere in the world, we will have ourselves to blame if we do nothing to show our dear friends and fellow party men from the three zones of the north that we are not going to agree to any arrangement that threatens our right to produce the next presidential candidate of our great party.
“When people jokingly tell you they will trample on your right, you need to frown and tell them you will resist any attempt to take away anything that rightfully belongs to you.”
Another source, who claimed to be part of the movement, said that at another of its meeting, the group decided that southern members of the party who worked with northern presidential aspirants during the last presidential election are to be approached formally and informed of the zoning arrangement in case they are planning to continue in their support for their northern aspirants.
“We have started doing this and that explains why some of them have even joined our ranks now. This is a collective struggle and I can tell you that at the end if this process, the south will be united in our quest for the PDP ticket,” he added.
The Nation gathered that the southern stakeholders are also considering a tour of the zones of the north to press home their demand for zoning.
“We are not just asking that the ticket be given to us; we are saying it is the right thing to do. Of course, we recognise the fact that we need the support of other zones to actualise this and we plan to go round soon to tell them the need for us all to avoid crisis by sticking to zoning. We expect them to see reason with us and stop fanning the embers of crisis with certain utterances,” another source said.
Last December, the PDP said it was yet to decide on the zone it would allot its 2023 presidential ticket.
The PDP national Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, who spoke on the issue at the time, described reports in a section of the media suggesting that the party would zone its presidential ticket to the south, as merely speculative.
“For the avoidance of doubt, our party is yet to discuss the 2023 presidential election, overtly or covertly, at any time whatsoever,” he said.
Speaking on the presidential ticket of the party recently, Senator Jibrin hinted that every interested and eligible member of the party from any part of the country, including the party’s candidate in the last election, Atiku Abubakar, is free to aspire on the platform of the party.
His words: “Atiku is a Nigerian. Has he really failed in that (2019) election? The case went from the tribunal to the Appeal Court and up to the Supreme Court. If Atiku wants, he has the right to do so and other people have the rights to do so.”
However, Iwuanyanwu wants the party to be categorical and announce the zoning of the 2023 ticket to the south.
He said: “We agreed politically that the presidency should rotate from north to south – that means eight years in the north and eight years in the south. The South-East has not tasted it since 1999 and everybody says it is only fair that power should come to the Southeast.
“I don’t think that any honest Nigerian will want the power to be retained in the north. I think equity, honesty, justice and fair play demands that it should come to the south and when it comes to the south it should come to the Southeast.”
Abacha Loot: FG Won’t Pay $100m To Bagudu, Says Malami [THE NATION]
Abuja working with Washington to recover funds looted by Diezani, Ibori, others
CSOs, others to monitor management of repatriated cash
PDP, Southern/Middle-Best leaders demand probe
Nigeria is not deviating in any way from the agreement it reached with the United States of America on the $308million recovered from the family of the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, Federal Attorney-General and Justice Minister Abubakar Malami (SAN) said on Saturday.
He said there was no plan to concede either $100million or €98.5million to Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State, who was implicated in the stashing of funds abroad for the Abachas.
Malami was reacting reports that Nigeria appeared to be on a collision course with the US after agreeing to hand over about $100m of the recovered Abacha loot to Bagudu.
The governor himself dismissed the US position as a ploy to frustrate Nigeria’s recovery of the Abacha loot while the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) called for a probe of the alleged plan to hand over $100 million of the money to the Kebbi State governor.
Malami, in a statement in Abuja by his Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Dr. Jubrilu Gwandu, said no third party’s interest was captured in all the agreements between the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari and any foreign nation on the recovery of looted funds.
He also explained that all negotiations and agreements relating to the repatriation of looted funds were tabled before the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and decisions taken accordingly.
He said Bagudu and his family are in courts in the United Kingdom and the United States on a different agreement with the US Government.
He however said the Federal Government is negotiating the recovery of assets from several countries.
He said the government was working with the United States on the recovery of several other assets including corruption proceeds linked to former Petroleum Minister Deziani Alison-Madueke and her associates, and a former Delta State Governor, James Ibori as well as several others.
He said: “It is well known that the USA and the Bagudu family have been in court since 2014 over assets already rescinded under the 2003 Agreement. The matters are to be determined in the United Kingdom and the United States courts.
“The Bagudu family assets in contention, which constitute a distinct and separate cause of action, do not have anything to do with the assets already recovered and being recovered under the Abacha 2014 non-prosecution agreement.
“It is therefore mischievous and pedestrian for anyone to seek to turn the law and the facts on its head on the matter of repatriation whose terms are clearly spelt out and agreed among the parties.
“The government of Nigeria remains fully committed to continued cooperation with the United States of America and other countries in a reciprocal manner.
“We urge the media and the general public to wait for the outcome of the court decisions and ongoing settlement efforts in this matter.”
The AGF said no third party interest had ever featured in Nigeria’s negotiation with other jurisdictions on the recovery of assets.
He also explained that all negotiations and agreements on recovery of assets were always tabled before the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for approval.
“The FGN is also negotiating the recovery of assets from several countries and the agreements for the recoveries and the procedure for recoveries are always presented to Federal Executive Council for approval and duly made public once the processes have been concluded.
“No third-party interest was captured in the Council memo that was approved by the Council,” he added.
Malami said the government was working with the United States on the recovery of several other assets traced to a former Petroleum Minister Deziani Alison-Madueke and her associates, and a former Delta State Governor, James Ibori as well as several others.
He said: “Nigeria is also cooperating with the United States in the recovery of several other assets including corruption proceeds linked to former Petroleum Minister Deziani Alison-Madueke and her associates, and former State Governor James Ibori as well as several others.
“The government of President Buhari remained committed to the recovery of whatever funds are owed Nigeria and the government in that regards has gone to court in different countries to assert its rights as victim of corruption in order to have those assets returned to Nigeria.
“In the same manner that Nigeria is asserting its rights to the assets, there are others, including individuals, entities and countries who have rights and who have gone to court to contest the legality or otherwise of Nigeria’s claims against their assets.
On the $308million recently recovered, the AGF said the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari will stick to the agreement reached with the United States and the Island of Jersey.
He said the cash, which will be managed by Nigeria’s Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), will also be monitored by civil society organizations.
He said: “The Federal Government of Nigeria is strongly committed, in principle and practice, to fighting the menace of corruption. A core component of Nigeria’s anti-corruption efforts includes the transparent management and utilization of returned assets as well as independent asset recovery efforts in a manner consistent with its domestic law, national interest and its obligations under international law.
“President Buhari remains the first President of Nigeria to make this commitment and has never and does not plan to deviate from these commitments contrary to statements in the media.
“To achieve the President’s objectives, the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) has engaged and continues to engage with international partners, including the United States of America, in the recovery and return to Nigeria of stolen assets.
“Nigeria and the United States of America are continually cooperating in the recovery and return of those assets.
“This long-standing cooperation recently culminated in the successful signing of memorandum of understanding for the repatriation of over $300 million looted assets associated with General Sani Abacha.
“It is pertinent to recall at this juncture that prior to the 2020 agreement with the United States and Island of Jersey; the Federal Government has signed an agreement for the return of over $300 million in 2017 which was effectively deployed for the purpose for which it was agreed to be applied without any issue of reputation.”
“The 2017 repatriated funds were deployed to the implementation of the Social Investment programme and are being monitored by civil society organizations across the country.
“The 2020 Agreement which will be managed by Nigeria’s Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) will also be monitored by civil society organizations and will be used to support the completion of critical road infrastructure namely the Abuja-Kano Road, the Second Niger Bridge and the Lagos – Ibadan Expressway. These projects will support socioeconomic development across the country.”
Bagudu: ‘I did no wrong’
Governor Bagudu was quoted yesterday by Daily Trust Newspaper as saying that he did no wrong on the Abacha loot matter.
According to him, the U.S. was playing a media game with a view to frustrating Nigeria’s recovery of the money.
He said the loot in question was frozen in the UK and not the U.S.
He added that his name was only joined as an associate of the Abacha government and though he signed an agreement with the Obasanjo Administration in 2003, none of his assets was frozen in Nigeria up to 2013, and therefore he did not admit criminal liability
PDP to N/Assembly: ‘Probe alleged diversion of looted funds’
Reacting to the US fears over alleged plan to hand over $100m of the recovered Abacha loot to Bagudu, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) asked the National Assembly to commence a forensic probe of the Buhari Presidency.
Chief spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, said reports that the Buhari Government has been “blocking attempts to recover part of the looted funds traced to Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Bagudu, the Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC) Governors Forum, who was reportedly indicted by the US for allegedly helping in transferring billions of dollar out of the country during the military era, speaks volumes of the corruption and concealments going on in the Buhari Presidency.
“Moreover, further revelations in the report that instead of recovering the stolen money, the Federal Government is even in the process of funneling $100 million (N36.3 billion) out of the looted funds to Governor Bagudu, highlights the humongous sleaze, duplicity and treachery that pervade the Buhari administration.
“From the report, it is clear that the Buhari Presidency has further smeared itself, and no longer commands the trust and confidence of stakeholders within and outside the country in its fight against corruption.
“There are already apprehension in the public space of huge complicity and patronizing of corruption under President Buhari’s watch, which is directly responsible for our worsening corruption rating, a comatose economy, hardship and untold suffering which have turned our nation into world’s poverty capital.
“The PDP holds that the failure of the Buhari Presidency to give a direct response to the issues raised by the US Department of State only validates the widely held position within and outside our country that the administration is not only irredeemably corrupt but also serves as a haven for corrupt individuals”.
The party called on the National Assembly to immediately redeem the image of the nation by invoking its statutory instruments to order a forensic investigation into the handling of repatriated funds given the huge corruption that has pervaded the Presidency.
Southern, Middle Belt leaders seek judicial probe
In a similar statement on Saturday, the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) advocated a judiciary inquiry into the U.S. allegations.
It said: “The feeble denial by the presidency does not cut it for us. We do not accept the Americans Government can be declined as ‘corruption fighting back.’
“Only 48 hours back we learnt that the Excess Crude Account (ECA) which used to be in billions of dollars is now down to $70m.
“The administration has plunged Nigeria to un-payable debt borrowing in 3 years more than what we previously borrowed in 30 years with no deliveries in town. We recall how the former Finance Minister, Mrs Kemi Adeosun queried the EFCC Chairman of having no record of what EFCC recovered from corrupt politicians.”
Security Operatives Bar Youths From Harassing Oshiomhole [THE NATION]
- We have no hands in the incident, says state government
Security operatives yesterday barred protesting youths from getting close to the convoy of National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.
Oshiomhole was in Benin to attend burial ceremony of mother of Hon Ehiozuwa Agbonyinma, late Cecilia Agbonyinma.
Heavily armed security personnel were mobilised to the Benin Airport following reports that youths were at the airport to boo Oshiomhole.
At the Airport entrance gate, there were soldiers and two police vehicles while others comprising officials of the Department of State Security, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps were stationed at various points of the airport.
The airport exit gate was also manned by soldiers and policemen.
An armoured personnel carrier was seen at the airport parking lot.
The youths chanted anti-Oshiomhole songs and used other unprintable words.
At the airport to receive Oshiomhole however were Dr. Pius Odubu, General Charles Airhiavbere and other APC chieftains.
Some APC chieftains who refused to be named accused Governor Godwin Obaseki for activities of the youths.
The chieftains said it was wrong for Obaseki to always mobilise thugs to harass Oshiomhole.
It was gathered that the heavy mobilisation of security personnel was to forestall any attempt to boo Oshiomhole or prevent him from leaving the airport.
Responding yesterday, the Edo State Government said it has nothing to do with the booing of a former governor of the state, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, in Benin City yesterday.
In a statement, Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie, said the Edo State Government has no connection with the crowd that was reported to have booed Comrade Oshiomhole.
According to him, “It has come to our notice that Comrade Adams Oshiomhole arrived Benin today and was booed by a crowd of people. We are not directly or remotely involved in the act. We condemn insinuations that the Edo State Government is in any way involved in such an act.
“The series of anti-Oshiomhole protests across the country in the last couple of days, including those who jeered and booed Comrade Oshiomhole in Benin City, on Saturday have nothing to do with the government in Edo State. Oshiomhole, just like any other law-abiding person is welcome into the state as long as he does not engage in any activity capable of disrupting peace and safety.
“We categorically state that we are not in whatever guise involved with those who engaged in the act against the former governor.”
Why We Set Up Shege Ka Fasa –Suleiman, Spokesman, Coalition of Northern Youth [SUN]
■ Berates Northern govs, elders
Spokesman of the Coalition of Northern Youths, Alhaji Abdul Aziz Suleiman, in this interview revealed the reasons his group is in support of the Western Nigeria Security Network code-named Amotekun, saying that their Shege Ka Fasa is literally a direct reaction to Amotekun, but not a negative one. Excerpts:
We would want to know much about the Coalition of Northern Youths. The last time we heard about this coalition was a few years ago when it issued an ultimatum to the Igbo to move out of the North. What can you tell us about this coalition and what is the link with other youth organizations in northern Nigeria?
There have been splinter groups that have been in existence for quite long. For instance, the Arewa Youths Development Foundation has been there since 1999 and the Arewa Citizens Action for Change has also been there and run by some people. We also have the Northern Emancipation Network also run by some people. You also have Arewa Youth Consultative Forum run by Shettima Yerima. There are a host of others pursuing different agenda all along. I was part of the Arewa Youth Development Foundation. We were known to have fought the case of Halliburton and third term and so forth. So, you see these groups have separate leaders, separate ideologies and separate agenda. If you take a look at our politics in 2014, the Northern Emancipation Network, which I led was not pro-North; it was not pro-Buhari. In fact, we fought vigorously for the continuation of Jonathan while some others were in support of a shift to the North. So, you can see we have different ideologies. But when we have critical issues affecting the North we come together, discuss it and take a common stand. After that we all go our separate ways and pursue our agenda. So, the Coalition of Northern Youths is not a political platform. It is just a platform meant for the protection of the North when it faces a critical problem and where it is obvious that the northern leaders are not ready to take action. As at now there are about…we started with about 16 groups spread across the North. We have the North Central Youth Vanguard or so. I can’t remember all of them off-hand because I am not with the list here. The first time we came into prominence was when we confronted the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, in 2016 where we gave what came to be known as quit notice. That was when the activities of the coalition really came to the limelight. From then we were outspoken on the issue of RUGA and others that had to do with the North and northerners, not northern politics. People should get this clear. We have been engaging our counterparts in the South that so long as their opposition to the Buhari government would be extended to his tribe, his religion and his entire region, they will have opposition from us. Let them engage Buhari on the basis of his personality, his politics and other things because we are also not comfortable with him and his government. But so long as they talk of Islamisation and Islamisation, we are not going to take it kindly with them. We have been telling them. They are all our friends, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the Yoruba Youth Council and others. We all have friends there. And we have been telling them that we are not going to succeed in getting this government to change its manner of governance if we keep trivializing issues.
Would you be surprised today if one of the youth groups in the North disagree with you on this issue of Shege Ka Fasa because there is the need to know how widespread your consultation was among your groups before the announcement of your security outfit?
Why should we be surprised? We are not government and, in fact, before we even make any pronouncement we come together and discuss the issue first. We consulted with all the groups involved, not the entire North. We cannot cover the entire North, but all the groups that are involved with the coalition. When we were launching Shege Ka Fasa in Arewa House, the people representing groups from the North Central, Northeast and the Northwest were there.
Who are the financiers because the launching of that your outfit was done with fanfare and accompanied by a display of smartly dressed young men in uniform and the impression was that so much money must have gone into it?
You see people really need to know the background of why we went to that extent. The circumstances in the North are quite different from what prevails in other regions. The South speaks with one voice. Its religious, traditional and political leaders speak with one voice. You can see how it was not difficult for it to come out with a united front on the issue of Amotekun. You can see how it is not difficult for the South easterners to come up with something that is embraced by their leaders. But in the North there is a huge disconnect between the leaders or the elite and the ordinary people.
With such a disconnection how was it then possible for you to fund Shege Ka Fasa such that you have uniforms and vehicles for your operatives?
That’s what I am saying. It is not about funding. It doesn’t require funds. We talked to the people, the people concerned. Those were just volunteers. They are all volunteers, not more than 10 or 15 and some people volunteered to donate vehicles. What you saw during the launching was just a display to get northern leaders to take up the idea. There were about 20 people or thereabout because I was not at the place. After the press conference I was busy chatting with some media men. We have only about three vehicles.
We‘ll like to have your perspectives on this issue of regional security. If you think it is not a reaction to Amotekun as being touted by some of your elders who see the outfits springing up as invitation to anarchy, why not campaign for community policing just like your governors and other northerners are doing. Do you think the regional approach is better than the community policing system?
It is because government has been foot dragging on this issue of community policing and it has been politicizing the issue of state police. Now, you can see the regional securities are children of necessity. Nobody can say that there is no relation between Amotekun and our initiative. You see Amotekun came up as a necessity in order to protect the Southwest against killings. The reality is that when they are able to flush out the hoodlums they are going to come to the North. So Shege Ka Fasa is literally a direct reaction to Amotekun, but not a negative one. We welcome it. So, it is a question of we are forming our own here in the North so that while they work there we also work here so we can block the entry and exit routes of the hoodlums. What we are saying about state police and community policing is the sincerity of government. You see something is happening here; maybe other people don’t know what is happening in the North. Let me tell you the government is not sincere with this its idea of community policing because it is not prepared and that is why the Southwest governors took that step further. If it was clear that government was sincere they would have keyed in. Everybody wants security, peace and order. If the government had done what it is supposed to do nobody will think of floating regional security outfit. People would have been pursuing other things. There are so many other things to think of. For instance, the North is bedeviled with poverty and so many things, yet we have these daily killings and attacks. If the government will be sincere and the regional leaders will also be sincere to turn a new leaf whatever approach that is better is welcome. I think this new regional approach may force the agenda of state police up to the nation’s political agenda. This will force people to speak up. I do not see any reason we would have a Unified Police Force.
There have been several meanings of Shege Ka Fasa and, therefore, many interpretations. What did you have in mind when you coined the wordShege Ka Fasa? Your governors are saying they did not support your initiative because the code-name is derogatory. Do you think there are other reasons they have refused to support your initiative?
The northern governors are opposed to not only Shege Ka Fasa, but any initiative that has direct links with the people. Any time you come out with an initiative that would benefit the ordinary man in the North the elite feel threatened. That is the position in the North. We se it as trivializing the issue of people being killed on a daily basis just because of the name you say is derogatory. Why don’t you bring an alternative name and we move ahead if really you are concerned about the plight of innocent and poor villagers who are daily bearing the brunt. You have not suggested a different name. We suggested the name Shege Ka Fasa because of two considerations. One, when you are in a conflict situation you don’t say you are water or you are a stick. You should say you are a big tree or you are thunder or you are lightening and so on. So, we chose Shege Ka Fasa as the only way to send the message to these bandits because the practice has been they will come from the bush, attack communities, kill people, rape their women, adopt children and burn down houses. So, we are saying we are now ready; if you fail to come out and attack us you are bastards. Now, these governors are insisting that we should have a different name for bandits. This makes it suspicious. You see there are already sufficient concerns that some leaders have a lot of things to do with the insecurity bedeviling us in the North. For them, to now insist that they should be given a different name is worsening the situation. Shege Ka Fasa is not even sacrosanct. We did not even say that the outfit has come to stay. What we said is that it is an initiative to impress it on our governments and leaders that it is now necessary to do something like this. Let them take it up, change the name if they want, but what we want is security.
Your leaders say such a reaction to Amotekun would cause anarchy because while Amotekun is a leopard, your outfit goes by the name of a lion and they felt since a leopard is a class of a lion it is an invitation to anarchy. Would they be wrong to entertain such fears? And is it a mere coincidence that some of your elders are thinking the same way with your governors?
You see they are the same class of elite. We have different categories of elders here in the North. The Northern Elders Forum is not thinking that way. The Northern Elders Forum is also agreeing with the necessity for people to protect themselves. They said they welcome Amotekun, Shege Ka Fasa and any other initiative so long as they would be regulated by law. Let me tell you the categories of elders in the North. There are elders that are bankrupt and there are elite that are reasonable and liberal. Actually, nobody will tell you that there is no relationship between Amotekun and Shege Ka Fasa. We see Amotekunas a wake-up call because if the Southwest that is not really affected, so to speak, by these attacks as much as the North can go to the extent of having a security outfit that would protect their people we feel we are much more entitled to have our own. The people of the Southwest did not say they set upAmotekun to fight the North. So why should we challenge Amotekun. In fact, we welcome Amotekun. We even foresee a situation where we will have reasonable cooperation between Amotekun and the Southeast initiative if they set up their own.
You spoke of the disconnection between the governors, leaders of the North and the people who are those they govern. The natural question would be how disconnected are they really?
You see there is the bankrupt class of northern elite who call themselves northern leaders. They do not care about what is happening and pretend they do not know what is happening because I do not see why our leaders would wait for the Southwest to take that initiative when they are the ones who are mostly at the receiving end of these attacks. Have you heard that bandits sacked a whole village in the Southwest? But it is happening here and they are keeping quiet waiting for government at the centre to do something they have been unable to do. A few days ago, two villages were sacked in Katsina State and 30 people killed, houses burnt. What have the governors done? What have our so-called leaders done?
How confident are you that the initiative you proposed would have brought or can bring to an end the insecurity in the North?
I am confident because if you involve the people who are at the receiving end, those who are being attacked, the communities that are being attacked it is just a question of encouraging them, giving them people who are more enlightened and put up resistance. That is what we are saying. You encourage the people by telling them you are there to support them. We need information from you and pass it on because right now the people have developed suspicion for security agents. They don’t trust them anymore. The villagers know where the bandits are coming from and where the drugs the bandits take are also coming from and where arms and ammunitions are being distributed; but they can’t talk. They are afraid to talk. But they can talk to us. They will relate to us more than they relate to the security agencies. So, that will help because what we need is to gather information and prepare a community defense system. It is the people in the villages that will do the fighting of their attackers not us. It is getting to a point where people will fight back because there is no point running. That is why the Federal Government has quickly warned that there should be no reprisals. Bandits come from the bushes to kill you and when the same government has not done anything to protect you they are telling you don’t fight back.
For the purpose of realizing your dream of this security outfit that you so much cherish, have you been in touch with your governors and elders? How far have you gone?
We have been in touch with some elders, the reasonable ones. But the governors, without even giving us the opportunity to reach out to them, have daily been criticizing us on the pages of newspapers. Yet they do not have any alternatives. Meanwhile people are still being killed. They do not have any alternatives other than setting up committees that don’t even sit. What we are going to do now is to press for formalization of our initiative by relevant authorities. We are sure there must be windows of opportunities for self-protection. We cannot continue like this in the face of the danger facing the North.
State Of The Nation: Nigeria Sitting On Keg Of Gunpowder –Edwin Clark [SUN]
Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark is a respected elder statesman. The 93-year-old and quintessential national leader of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) has remained forthright given the way he dissects critical issues, not minding whose ox is gored. Of course, the former Federal Commissioner for Information under the military administration of General Yakubu Gowon said he has seen it all and owe it as a duty to tell the whole truth and help chart a way for the future of the country.
But he expressed worry during a chat with Sunday Sun, stressing that the leadership of the country has been insensitive and not ready to do what is right as far as development and nation-building are concerned. He, therefore, warned that unless the leadership embarks on the restructuring of the country, it would continue to work in circles.
He also observed that the way the country is being run, makes Nigeria to be sitting on a keg of gun-powder that would explode if priority is not given on security of lives and property, which he said should be tackled through restructuring of the system. Excerpts:
Looking at the way and manner the courts are upturning election results, do you think that what is happening could be seen as an indictment of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)?
It is a combination of so many things because you cannot just single out INEC, the electoral body. The presidency is not free from the blame or are you not aware that INEC is to a large extent being influenced? The judiciary has not helped matters in recent times and our lawyers, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), our Senior Advocates should hide their faces in shame given what is happening. Look at what is happening in Imo State and the way Emeka Ihedioha was removed. I watch some of our lawyers putting up their arguments and you are ashamed. The show of shame coming out from some of our court rulings are becoming embarrassing. They have to watch it because they are destroying the judiciary that is supposed to be the last hope of the masses, those denied justice. I expect the INEC chairman given his strong profile to rise above the challenge, but on second thought you know that to some extent their hands are tied. In some countries like India the security, particularly the police are controlled by the electoral body during the election. In Nigeria the security agents are used even to rig the election, here security operatives are used to intimidate and harass perceived political opponents. President Buhari has not shown statesmanship given his actions. There is political deception and Nigeria has never been badly divided as it is today. Some people and groups are treated as sacred cows as if they own Nigeria. You cannot build a country, a nation the way we are running this centralised structure we deceive ourselves as a federal structure. We are running a bad structure, a structure that discriminates, that robs Peter to pay Paul. As I have said at different fora if we don’t restructure and abandon this centralised structure we can never witness any genuine development. You cannot be sponsoring injustice and expect unity.
Given your observation so far in recent time, especially on critical issues, it appears this is not the Nigeria of your dream, the one our heroes past foresaw when they battled the colonialists for independence?
Of course, no, this is far from the Nigeria of our dream, the Nigeria our heroes envisaged. If I will recall, in the First Republic, even though we had some problems, the unity of Nigeria was very much guaranteed. During the pre-independence era, we worked together until 1953 when Tony Enahoro moved the motion for the independence of Nigeria and the Northern Region walked out of parliament. The British government invited Nigerian leaders to London for the 1954 and 1957 conferences and so on which led us to independence in 1960. During the period, one could notice there was peace and each of the regions was developing at its own pace. Then the revenue allocation was based on what you produced in your area. You keep 50 per cent of the allocation while the remaining 50 per cent goes to the Federal Government. And of the 50 per cent that goes to the Federal Government, 20 per cent is kept by the Federal Government while the remaining 30 per cent is shared, among other regions. Until 1963, when the Mid-West Region was created, each of the regions had its own Constitution and Agent-General in London. You will even find out today that one of the houses acquired by the Western Nigerian government in those days is part of the Nigeria High Commission in London. Then, there was neither envy nor hatred. Both Muslims and Christians were living in peace and harmony. But today, you can see that we are deeply divided and you can see the partiality injected in our politics, you can see the celebration of nepotism. Looking back, one can say that it was when the army struck that the problem started. Perhaps, those who fought for independence in 1960 when we got it never envisaged that almost 60 years after, Nigeria will still be so much divided with the type of many challenges that we are witnessing today. Now, there is hunger; unemployment has risen astronomically; the Fulani herdsmen now carry AK 47 around and we were told they are from Libya, Mali, Burkina Faso, as well as from other countries and these people have been allowed to come into Nigeria untouched, killing and maiming people.
Different zones have started to strategize for the 2023 presidential election despite that the time is still far. Where do you think, I mean the region, that should be considered for the presidency?
I have always made my position very clear on the issue of where or the zone that should produce the next president. I have said it during my interview with the Channels TV that it is the turn of Ndigbo. If we are talking of equality, if we are talking about justice then we should not deny the Igbo the opportunity of producing the next president for Nigeria. They have made great sacrifices also in our national development, even since the demand for independence from the colonialists. We had great Igbo minds like Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Dr Michael I. Okpara, Chief K.O. Mbadiwe, Prof Chuba Okadigbo, name them, they have had great diplomats and have contributed immensely to the development of this country in any area you can think of, so you cannot deny them a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction if you are sincere with running a country where all will have a sense of belonging. The way the country is today, Nigeria is drifting towards anarchy and we have to watch it, watch what we are doing, our actions and inactions. We had a civil war; the civil war does not make the Igbo man a second-class citizen. If they are to be second-class citizen then allow them to go. I have said this point several times to the Federal Government even when I was in government as the Minister of Information under General Yakubu Gowon. Nigeria is now a four-legged pot: the Northern leg, the Western leg, the Eastern leg, and the Mid-west leg, so Nigeria cannot stand on three–leg pot today. Look, the Igbo have only five states whereas Northwest has seven, South-south has six, Southwest has six, we recommended in the 2014 National Conference that we should create 18 more states, out of this 18 more states because of viability, all of them take care of themselves, so that Nigeria will be a country of equality whereby Northwest will have nine states, create two for them, create four for the Southeast so that they will make up to nine states, all the others give them three each, making 18, then we will have a stable country. This was part of our recommendations. So, I am not going to talk about rotation or no rotation. The Igbo should be allowed to present the next presidential candidate, nobody is more superior to the others in this country, we are equal. We must consider the Igbo for 2023 Presidency if we want a harmonious, united and a country built on justice.
What could you say is your greatest fear today for Nigeria?
I fear that we are moving towards anarchy and if nothing is done and quickly too nobody is safe. The fear has also been expressed by many people, by other well-meaning Nigerians. Let us not pretend, we must do the restructuring of this country. We cannot continue to delay the doomsday. Some people are saying that they don’t understand what restructuring is all about, those people are just being vicious, they know what restructuring means, but are pretending and playing the ostrich. We have been restructuring Nigeria before and after independence, we have not stopped restructuring, when you restructure everybody will become equal, nobody will go to Abuja to queue to collect money, the states will be independent, there will be the state police. Now the Federal Government is talking about the state police, community police etc, you can’t get all this unless there is restructuring, the Federal Government cannot do it alone, that is the position. Unless we have a leadership that is concerned and have the welfare of the people at heart we will continue to work in circles. My position has always been very constant, that we have taken a very dangerous and unprecedented security path in the country. It is time and I repeat, it is time for the president to convene a meeting of all stakeholders, former President Olusegun Obasanjo did that some years ago when he was in office and I was one of those who attended, various sectors of the country were summoned to that meeting with all security sections involved, governors involved. You can imagine a situation when you call a governor, the chief security officer of the state yet he has nothing to fight with them. Look at what happened in Nassarawa State recently where the deputy governor’s convoy was attacked by unknown gunmen and some policemen killed. So, what are we waiting for? Are we waiting for us to be overrun before we know that insecurity has taken over everywhere? The solution to the prevailing security challenges in the country lay only in restructuring. The truth is that the centralised security architecture in the country could not avert or respond swiftly to security issues in all parts of the country, so we must, therefore, restructure to allow for the creation of state police and other grassroots policing options, to tame the security issues in the country. The security challenges the country is currently facing will be overcome if we adopt restructuring. This is because the issue of security is local and we cannot have effective security cover when everything is done from the centre. We must know that a major ingredient of restructuring is state police and it is when we have this and other community policing options that we can have proper security. The restructuring would also promote effective governance and development if adopted by the country. But more importantly, it would ensure that power devolved from the centre to the other federating units, quickening decision-making and bringing development faster to the people.