Boko Haram: Army goes tough on infiltration in Niger Delta

THE fear of Boko Haram creeping beyond its base in the north into the south, especially the South-South may be extant as the Nigerian Army has said it has deployed strategies to tackle the infiltration of the sect to the region, beginning with the inauguration of operation Quick Response Group (QRG) on Thursday at 3rd Battalion, Nigerian Army, Effurun, Delta State.
This is just as traditional rulers and elders of communities where criminalities such as oil bunkering, armed robbery and kidnapping and militancy are being perpetrated will be held accountable henceforth.
The QRG, which is deployed under the platform of “Operation Power Storm,” beside the aforementioned duties, is saddled with the responsibility of quashing the rising wave of crime such as terrorism, kidnapping, oil bunkering, armed robbery and the like in the region.
Eleven new Hilux vans were provided and inaugurated by the Delta State government for the mobility of the soldiers at three designated routes in the state.
The routes to be patrolled include Eku-Ererokpe-Osubi-Effurun route, Obiaruku-Abraka-Eku-Amukpe route and Ughelli-Uwheru-Bumadi and Ughelli-Uwheru-Patani route.
Governor of the state, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, who was represented by the Secretary of State Government, Comrade Ovuozorie Macaulay, who was accompanied by Commissioner for Land and Urban Development, Mr Patrick Ferire, inaugurated the squad, as well as launched the patrol vans.
Speaking during the inauguration of the soldiers detached for the purpose, Brigade Commander, 4th Brigade, Nigerian Army headquarters, Benin, Edo State, Brigadier General Patrick Akem, said the arrangement was fallout of the State Security Council meeting held recently to identify and man some key routes which were flashpoints for criminality.
He said the body came to the conclusion that some special security arrangements were necessary to stem the tide of crimes on the routes, hence the launching of the squad, which operations’ logistics would be maintained by the state government.
For the state to return to its lost glory as an investment hub, Akem observed that security was everybody’s business and therefore urged members of communities, especially the elders to furnish the army with information about criminals or criminal activities lurking in their domain.
He sounded a note of warning to militants warming up to build one militant camp or the other to drop the idea as the Sector 1, Joint Task Force would not tolerate it, saying that was why, last Tuesday, it destroyed a mushrooming Egbesu camp at Adagbrassa in Okpe Local Government Area of the state.

PDP members are rogues, says Oshiomole

Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State on Tuesday held closed-doors meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa on the recently held local government election in the state.
Fielding questions from State House correspondents after the meeting, the governor said it was necessary for him to give the President the true picture of what transpired during the election.
He accused the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state of painting the picture of a state in crisis as a result of the local government election, saying the people were wise enough not to have
voted for “rogues.”
The governor however expressed delight that the Action Congress of Nigeria that won the local election has been able to dismantle the PDP rigging machine in the state. He also accused the police of partisanship, alleging that they looked the other way even when the PDP members were perpetrating criminal acts during the election. He said: “Edo people are not fools. “How will they vote for rogues?
“People whose philosophy is share the money.
“Those days are gone.
“All they have tried to do in this election is clear and that is what I went to tell the President.
“The word rigging is synonymous with PDP, which is why they predicted they will rig for the next 60 years.
“Although Nigerians are waiting to see how that is going to happen.
“So, I ask you the media to recognize that what the PDP leaders have done here is to give the impression that rigging is inevitable, preparing for the future.
“But they will be shocked that Nigerians are not in the mood for any rigging to take place.
“So, let me assure you I remain committed to the principle of one-man-one-vote because that is irreducible minimum.
“They tried to create the impression of a state that was out of control.
“They tried to use some criminals, some armed gangs to create trouble here and there and the police was looking the other way.
“But I don’t need to be best friend of police.
“What I need is to be loved and to be appreciated by the Edo people.
“And when Edo people are on.
“No force external to Edo can rig election there and that is what has happened.” Speaking further on the election, Oshiomhole said only the PDP members were complaining.
He added: “The first question to ask is who is complaining?
“If an armed robber is complaining of being robbed, it is your choice as to how much weight to place on his complaints.
“The history of rigging election in Nigeria is as old as PDP.
“They have lived on it, they have perpetuated it, they have deepened
it, they have feast on it and they have even celebrated it.
“I Thank God, He has used me and all other patriotic people to dismantle PDP rigging machine in Edo State.
“And do recall that last July 16, 2012, I contested election in Edo State and I won in all the 18 local government areas, including Chief
Tony Anenih’s local government.
“I defeated him in his local government.
“I defeated him in his ward.
“Mike Onolomemen, the Minister of Works, I defeated him in is polling booth.
“I defeated him in his ward.
“The Hon. Itulah, a member of the House of Reps, former Speaker of Edo State, I defeated him in his ward.
“I defeated him in his unit.
“Where are the PDP guys?
“This is the height of the PDP godfather.
“So, God has used us to dismantle.
“If it is evil, it can’t stand.
“Now, this was July 14.
“So in that election, and your colleagues were there, and everybody said that was the best election ever conducted in the whole of Edo South.
“We won in all the wards in Edo South.
“It account for 53 per cent of voting population of Edo State.
“In the entire Edo North, accounting for about 33 per cent, I won in all the wards.
“In Edo Central, which accounts for about 17 per cent to 18 per cent, I won in all with the exception of three.
“So where is the PDP?
“Now, we conducted local government election, which have followed this pattern.”

Governor Fashola builds first suspension bridge in Nigeria

The Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola has finished building the first suspension bridge in Nigeria, making it another landmark in the history of the Federation.

According to reports, the 1.358km bridge, which will link Ikoyi (Alexander Street) to Lekki (Admiralty Way), cost about N29 billion and toll would be collected to recover the money expended on the project. Lagos State Government led by the Governor had awarded the construction of the bridge to Julius Berger.

Julius Berger Nigeria Plc began the construction of the bridge in October, 2008. The total length of the main bridge is 466m. The length of Cable Bridge is 170m (the suspended section), the height of Pyron is 87m from water level navigational requirement while the clearance average 9m above high water level. The width of the bridge (carriageway) is 8m by 2; walkway of the bridge, 2.0m by 2; road works at Ikoyi End is 338.7m, while the road works at the Lekki End is 311.5m.

The new bridge that will soon be formally commissioned by Governor Babatunde Fashola is expected to decongest traffic in Lekki area of Lagos and will become a cynosure of all eyes because it was aesthetically and architecturally built.

Baga: Military, NEMA fault reported number of casualties, houses burnt

President Goodluck Jonathan has commended the Military High Command, the National Emergency Management Authority and the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development for their swift response to his order for immediate action to investigate the incident in Baga, Borno State, assist and rehabilitate the victims and make all necessary findings available to the government.
President Jonathan gave the commendation after receiving preliminary reports of the investigations carried out by the Military High Command and NEMA into the incident.
President Jonathan also welcomed the plan by the National Human Rights Commission to carry out independent investigations.
Thanking the Military High Command and NEMA for the reports, President Jonathan said that investigations must continue and assured them of his fullest support.
He further reiterated his earlier position that where any kind of misconduct is established, the Federal Government will not hesitate in ensuring that due sanctions are enforced and that justice is done.
The President, according to his spokesperson, Dr. Reuben Abati, said that what happened in Baga was most regrettable and unfortunate.
He reaffirmed his full commitment to doing all within the powers of the Federal Government to speedily end the intolerable threats to national security, which have necessitated such confrontations.
President Jonathan said he will continue to work with the Borno State Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, whom he conferred with last week, to ensure that the people of Baga receive every possible relief and support to facilitate their speedy rehabilitation.
In its preliminary report to the President, Abati quoted the Defence Headquarters to have stated as follows:
(a) That the military team involved in the confrontation with Boko Haram elements was the Multinational Joint Task Force. The MNJTF’s initial mandate was to conduct military operations in the Lake Chad Region and to facilitate free movement of the member states of the Lake Chad Basin Commission across their common border. The mandate was expanded in April 2012 to include the fight against terrorists. The Task Force’s activities are therefore legal and needs to be sustained.
(b) That whereas media reports averred that the incident of the alleged confrontation between the MNJTF and the Boko Haram Terrorists occurred on April 19, 2013, the incident actually occurred on Tuesday, April 16.
(c) On April 17, MNJTF troops carried out mop up operations at the scene of the attack and recovered the following items abandoned by the fleeing Boko Haram terrorists: rocket-propelled grenade launchers, rocket-propelled grenade bombs, AK 47 rifles, assorted ammunition, several improvised explosive devices and damaged Land Cruiser jeeps.
(d) That whereas it was alleged that 185 people were killed by the soldiers of the MNJTF in Baga, Borno State, the assessment team received a briefing from the Commander of the MNJTF on April 24, 2013, during which he stated that 30 terrorists were killed in action. However, six bodies were recovered in Lake Chad about 3 km away from the action spot.
(e) Furthermore, some locals were asked if they could take the assessment team to the mass graves where 185 people were allegedly buried, but the people denied knowledge of such graves. The Chairman of Kukawa LGA was approached on the same issue, he also did not know of such graves.
(f) The Chairman had earlier informed the team that Muslims do not bury more than one body in a grave.
(g) The media also announced that about 3, 000 houses were burnt. However on the spot assessment revealed that though some houses were burnt, but they were certainly not up to the number quoted. It is pertinent to note that the houses in question are mostly thatched roof houses that could easily catch fire. It is on record that the terrorists employ the tactics of arson wherever they attack.
(h) There was also the allegation that aid workers were denied access to Baga. This is incorrect as the Red Cross and NEMA officials were already in the town before the Defence Headquarters team arrived. The officials of the two organizations interviewed by the team confirmed that no one prevented them from moving into Baga.
The National Emergency Management Agency, in response to the President’s directive, sent a team to Baga to pave way for immediate humanitarian relief.
According to Abati, NEMA reported as follows:
(a) That the agency identified and set up an Internally Displaced Persons camp in Baga where 642 persons were registered as at April 25, 2013. More people who had earlier fled the community are returning due to improved security and the establishment of various IDPs by the Agency.
(b) To provide immediate succor to the affected persons, the agency distributed relief materials.
(c) That the 185 deaths being speculated in the media cannot be substantiated.
(d) The NEMA team visited the two graveyards in the town, and could only identify in both places, a total of 32 fresh graves.
(e) That a number of buildings and business premises were destroyed in the affected area, but the total number of houses in the town is far less than 1,000.
(f) That there is a lot of misinformation being peddled about the situation in Baga.

$4,095 scam: EFCC insists Hembe, Azubogu have case to answer

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has told a Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Apo, Abuja and presided over by Justice Peter Kekemeke to disregard the no-case submission by Hon. Herman Hembe, former Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Capital Market, and his deputy, Hon. Chris Azubogu, insisting that the federal lawmakers have a case to answer in the $4,095 estacode scam.
At the resumed hearing of the case on Tuesday, EFCC’s counsel, Chile Okoroma, observed that the arguments canvassed by defence counsel in support of their applications are immaterial at this point.
Okoroma said that the fundamental issue remains that a prima facie case have been established against the defendants to warrant explanation from them before the court.
He said from available indications, the accused were deceptive, which amounts to dishonesty and punishable under the relevant laws.
He therefore urged the court to refuse the application.
Earlier, counsel to the accused persons, J.S. Okutepa, SAN, and Onyenchi Ikpeazu, SAN, while moving their separate motions for a no case submission, contended that estacode is money meant for a public servant who travels overseas.
They said once the money is approved and the officer embarks on the journey, the money becomes his.
The duo of Hembe and Azubogu are being prosecuted by the EFCC for allegedly converting the sum of $4,095 paid to them as estacode for a conference in the Dominican Republic, which they failed to attend, thereby committing an offence contrary to section 308 of the Penal Code Act Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1990.
After listening to arguments from both sides, the presiding judge adjourned ruling to June 19, 2013.

Senate indicts Obasanjo, Yar'Adua, Jonathan over misappropriation of N1.5t

The Senate on Tuesday alleged executive recklessness as it uncovered gross misappropriation of funds by three successive regimes in the region of N1.5 trillion from the Special Funds Account.
According to the Chairman of Public Accounts Committee, Dr. Ahmed Lawan, who read the report at plenary, the regimes of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, late Musa Yar’Adua and the incumbent, Goodluck Jonathan, were indicted.
Senators, who contributed to the debate on the report, alleged sheer executive recklessness and misappropriation of funds contrary to Section 80 (2) of the 1999 constitution as amended.
Consequently, they called on the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to investigate accordingly.
The accounts discovered to have been misappropriated were: Development of Natural Resources Account, Derivation and Ecology, which belongs to the Federal Government as well as the Stabilization Account, which belongs to the three tiers of government.
Of particular concern to the committee was the Special Account Funds, which it noted was misappropriated 100 per cent.
It noted that rather than use the funds for the purpose it was intended, the then presidents converted it to a special purse where loans were given to government agencies, states and local governments as well as private companies.
For instance, it uncovered that out of the total funds that accrued into the special account funds, a whopping N580 billion was released as loans during the regime of Obasanjo between 2002 and 2007.
Also, N2 billion was granted to Gitto construction company in 2005 while N3.7 billion was granted to the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the purchase of a Chancery in Tokyo, Japan in 2004.
In the same light, a N5.7 billion loan was granted to the Ministry of Power and Steel as payment of disengagement benefits of steel workers in 2005.
The sum of N10 billion was given as loan for payment of October to December 2005 arrears of monetized fringe benefits in all Federal Government parastatals in 2006 and another N750 million released for development of Abuja Downtown Mall on 2007.
Other gross abuses observed included the N864,725,036.00 loan granted to National Health Insurance for National ID Card production on April 18, 2005 amongst others.
Under the Derivation and Ecological Accounts, N10 million was given to the Niger State Government for building of an abattoir in Bida in March 2003, and N800 million used for resurfacing of the runway in Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano in January 2003.
From the Stabilization Account, N12 billion loan was granted to Ghana and Sao Tome & Principe on September 22, 2004 and May 7, 2007; N142.6 million given to Gong Publishing Company as loan of the debt owned by local government councils; and N2.8 billion loan granted to pay Federal Government’s 50 per cent contribution to the Phase 1 of the pioneer car finance scheme for public servants in para-military agencies on May 22, 2007.
Unfortunately, the sum of N347.997 billion is yet to be recovered from various loans beneficiaries.
In his remarks, the President of the Senate, David Mark, blamed the misused of the fund on lack of clear guidelines for disbursement of the funds, adding that the disbursement of the fund has been at the discretion of the President.
Contributing, Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, posited that the public should not read meaning into the probe as it goes beyond partisanship, insisting that funds were not to be spent for purpose other than specified without a recourse to the National Assembly.
In his submission, the Leader of the Senate, Senator Ndoma Egba, said that the report indicted both the executive and the legislature.
Ndoma-Egba opined that it should serve as a wake up call for the National Assembly to be more serious in its oversight activities.
The Deputy Leader, Abdul Ningi, also had this to say: “As for me, this is crass executive recklessness and legislative indifference.
“As a Nigerian, this is our commonwealth that was mismanaged.
“This is a sad day for Nigeria.”

Salary arrears: NUJ to picket affected media houses May 1

The National Executive Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists has mandated the leadership of the union to liaise with labour and civil society groups in the country to begin the picketing of media houses owing journalists salaries.
The NEC-in-Session gave the directive during its quarterly three-day meeting held in Umuahia, the Abiia State capital.
In a communique issued at the end of the meeting and signed by the President of the Union, Mallam Mohammed Garba, and the National Secretary, Shauib Usman Leman, the NEC gave April 31 as the deadline for the payment of all outstanding salaries, after which picketing of defaulting media houses will commence from May 1, 2013 in Lagos before it is extended to other states of the federation and Abuja.
Already, all the affected media houses in Lagos and Abuja have been duly notified by the national secretariat of the union.
NEC also re-affirmed its commitment to the welfare of its members.
While decrying the spate of arrests of journalists, especially the four journalists of Leadership newspapers, the union said it views such arrest as a siege on the media, describing it as undemocratic and uncalled-for.
Noting that the union will not shy away from its responsibilities in protecting its members, the NUJ urged members to discharge their responsibilities in line with the ethics of the profession.
The union, while clearing the air on the Good Governance Tour, said the leadership embarked on the tour based on the conviction that it was a genuine assessment of projects executed by different state governments in the country and not as a jamboree as speculated in different quarters.
The meeting-in-session however disclosed the need to review the Code of Ethics for Nigerian journalists in order to be in tandem with global media practices.
The union appealed to the Federal Government to ensure security of lives and property of Nigerians by addressing security challenges in the country.
The NEC-in-Session also congratulated Mohammed for emerging as the first Nigerian to be elected President of the Federation of African Journalists as well as Fatimah Abdulkareem, who emerged as the Vice Chairman, Gender Committee of FAJ.
While appealing to state governments to implement the 22 per cent weigh-in allowance for journalists in their employ, the union urged the Federal Government to also pay arrears of the allowance to members.