A Senate Of Fools, Blockheads, Ignoramuses And Idiots By Bayo Oluwasanmi | Sahara Reporters

A Senate Of Fools, Blockheads, Ignoramuses And Idiots By Bayo Oluwasanmi | Sahara Reporters

18 Critical Things Former President Obasanjo Said About President Jonathan In His New Book

Due to the nature of the content, an ally of President Jonathan attempted to use a court order to block the publication of the book. President Jonathan also personally contacted the former president to appeal that the book not be published until next year, after the 2015 presidential election. Despite this My Watch launched yesterday, Dec. 9, in Lagos, in the presence of prominent political figures and officials. 

Review of the three-volume text by SaharaReporters noted that the elder statesman holds nothing back, characterizing Mr. Jonathan as weak, callous and incapable of managing Nigeria.

He also criticizes the handling of the Boko Haram insurgency crisis, the PDP, and the Governors Forum, among other things. Excerpts from some of the most significant critiques are below. 

On President Jonathan's character:

Jonathan is lacking in broad vision, knowledge, confidence, understanding, concentration, capacity, sense of security, courage, moral and ethical principles, character and passion to move the nation forward on a fast trajectory. Although he might wish to do well, he does not know how nor does he have the capacity to. To compound his problem he has not surrounded himself with aides sufficiently imbued with the qualities and abilities to help him out. Most of them are greedy hangers-on or hungry lacklustre characters interested only in their mouths and their pockets 

President Jonathan can still make amends to save himself, many of his associates in government, his government, and the nation. If, in the end, he fails he will have no one but himself to blame. He has great opportunities, many of which only come once in a lifetime; and if he misses them it will only be due to his inadequacy, myopia, personal interest and self-aggrandisement, lack of sagacity, wisdom. I hope he can and will avoid having any cause for regret.

The longest period that I have met one-on-one with the president was for one hour and ten minutes. That whole time, the president talked about nothing that was in the interest of Nigeria; instead he kept pointing out his supposed enemies and various matters that would not serve his interests. I could not stop myself from blurting out: “Mr. President, no Nigerian should be your enemy. You have to rule over all of them whether or not they like you. Please, you have to be like rain falling on good and bad people alike.”

An elder statesman who formed a close relationship with President Jonathan very early in his presidency came to the conclusion, after six months, that the president has not got what it takes to lead. It was the same elder statesman who reportedly tried to jolt the president into action by telling him that there were five presidents in Nigeria, and these were his wife the first lady, Deziani, Oduah, Ngozi and the president himself, and that he was the weakest of the five.

On corruption:

In the area of corruption, we have been going back steadily from the inception of Yar’Adua’s administration when the ‘hunter’ became the ‘hunted’. But under Jonathan we seem to have gone from frying pan to fire. If in the past corruption was in the corridors of power, it would seem now to be in the sitting room, dining room and bedroom of power.

If what is called ‘corruption’ is stealing, under the watch of Goodluck Jonathan, then government has become legalised and protected robbery.

The presidency had instructed EFCC to remove a vital document in Gbenga Daniel’s file in their custody, to assist getting Gbenga Daniel off the hook. All these cases were reported to the president and were known to him; but because they involve the president’s interests, directly or indirectly, no action has been taken.

With the 2011 elections, heavy financial prices were paid to Lagos and Ondo State opposition political leaders to secure the vote for the president, against the interest of PDP at the state level...The situation where the president surreptitiously invited Bola Tinubu, lifting him at night by presidential aircraft from Lagos to Abuja to hatch a plan for Bola to support one PDP presidential candidate at the expense of all other PDP candidates for any office in Lagos, can only be described as obscene, unethical, corruption-ridden and a show of bad leadership...Whatever amount of money was given to Bola Tinubu to procure votes for the 2011 presidential election in Lagos was, to say the least, unnecessary. What made this phenomenon particularly bad was that government had raised the money from government transactions which fuel corruption.

I got a warning that this administration was attempting to induce two of my daughters, including Iyabo, to do a dirty job. I warned them both against it, but because of her character, the influence of her mother and her attitude, Iyabo succumbed; the other daughter did not.

On the Boko Haram insurgency, the insecurity crisis, and #BringBackOurGirls:

I was in Sierra Leone on the day Boko Haram [bombed] the UN building in Abuja. As soon as I returned to Nigeria I called the inspector-general of police to hear his views on the issue. I was not impressed with his explanation. I also talked to the then national security adviser and his explanation was substantially blank. I went to Jonathan, the president, on the same issue. His reaction, and his view that Boko Haram were ‘a bunch of riffraffs’ left me even colder.

The one incident that overtly and graphically exposed the ineptitude, ineffectiveness, inefficiency, carelessness, cluelessness, callousness, insensitivity and selfishness of Goodluck Jonathan was the abduction of about 276 school girls from Chibok in Borno State by Boko Haram. The reaction and attitude of our president and his household was non-belief, to the extent that 18 days passed before he grudgingly concede to accept the reality of the abduction. If serious action had been taken within 48 hours, the story could have been different.

I was not surprised that the president went dancing twenty-four hours after the Nyanya explosion that took seventy-five lives. I also found believable the statement allegedly credited to the president after both the Nyanya explosion and the Chibok school girls abduction to the effect that since some people in the North had said that they would make Nigerian ungovernable, they could keep on killing and abducting each other.

If these girls are not released, it will be a big dent on the presidency of Goodluck Jonathan, and a dark blot on Nigeria’s reputation and history; and, for years and indeed decades, Nigeria will continue to live with the agony and memory of the action and inaction of leadership regarding the Chibok school girls. But what is more, a bad precedent would have been created; Boko Haram has tasted blood and will always want more… Who knows, another group of terrorists might have learned from Boko Haram. This time it is Chibok; next time it could be Ibogun or Otueke.

Vice-President Biden had categorically told Jonathan during the African Summit in Washington in August 2014 that with the state of his governance and the level of the destruction of the military, they would not be able to help Nigeria. 

On PDP and party politics:

A political party, and its leadership, that condones corruption and engages discredited people to abuse and insult genuine, authentic and objective critics is a political party on the path of ruin and destruction. The PDP must be rescued from that path, otherwise it will soon fade into history. Criticism, particularly objective criticism, is an indispensable element of democracy and a democratic dispensation. 

PDP would need to be brought back to being a well-led, disciplined and respected, harmonious party that can easily win elections, rule and govern, and not one sacrificing the party’s interest for personal gain, setting governors of the party against each other, supporting candidates of other parties against candidates of the party as it happened in Lagos, Edo and Ondo States, and harassing credible leaders of the party and seeking to replace them with criminals and dubious characters in order to further presidential interests.

On the Nigerian Governors Forum election crisis:

Two governors from the [PDP] - Liyel Imoke of Cross River and Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta States - and Godswill Akpabio from Akwa Ibom State by himself, came to me in Abuja, appealing to me to intervene in the situation of the Governors’ Forum, particularly in the disagreement within the PDP governors. Akpabio said starkly in his frank and outspoken manner: “We have messed up and don’t leave us alone. For me, I don’t want to go to jail and my children are too young. I will report our meeting to the President.” Nobody, including President Jonathan, would like to go to jail, and he knew he could, depending on how things turned out or failed to shape from then on.

I have always seen the Governors’ Forum as a type of trade union as they behave that way most of the time. [Jonathan] told the story of how Obong Atta was relieved of his position as chairman and Lucky Igbinedion was enthroned by less than fifty percent of the governors, and of how Bukola Saraki manoeuvred the Forum to serve his presidential ambition.

Russian marine kills Ukrainian officer— Kiev

A Russian marine has shot dead a Ukrainian naval officer in Crimea, the Ukrainian defence ministry said Monday, the second reported death since Moscow claimed the Black Sea peninsula last month.

The defence ministry said the incident occurred late Sunday in a military residence hall in the eastern Crimean village of Novofyodorovka, where Ukraine has an air base.

The Ukrainian officer was killed “at point-blank range by two shots fired from an AK-74 machine gun,” the ministry said in a statement.

It added that another officer in the residence hall “was brutally beaten and arrested by Russian soldiers.”

Russian officials did not immediately comment on the Ukrainian defence ministry’s report.

The death is the second reported since Russia seized the region last month in a lightning swoop that led to its annexation by the Kremlin.

One Ukrainian soldier and a member of the pro-Kremlin militia in Crimea were killed last month during an exchange of gunfire in the region’s main city of Simferopol.

Both Russian and Ukrainian defence officials denied opening fire in that altercation, and the incident remains unresolved.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously taken credit for absorbing Crimea without any loss of life in a military operation he said was meant to protect the safety of ethnic Russians who comprise the majority in the region of two million people.

Sultan bestows traditional title on Speaker Tambuwal

SPEAKER HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AMINU TAMBUWAL

The Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar, on Monday bestowed the traditional title of Matawallen Sokoto on the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal.

Mr. Abubakar announced the title at the turbanning ceremony of 21 new District Heads recently appointed by Governor Aliyu Wamakko.

According to the Sultan, the title will be formally bestowed on Mr. Tambuwal at a later date.

“This is in appreciation of the credible style of leadership of the Speaker at the House of Representatives.

“It is also in recognition of the sterling contributions of Tambuwal to sustainable peace and unity of Nigeria,” he added.

Mr. Abubakar warned the new district heads to steer clear of politics, urging them to carry everybody along.

“You should discharge your duties diligently; employ your wealth of experience to complement the efforts of the government and the Sultanate council of Sokoto.

“You should also give priority to the welfare, security and the socioeconomic prosperity of the people,” the Sultan charged them.

Mr. Abubakar urged the district heads to always be guided by the fear of God in the discharge of their duties.

“This position is bestowed on you based on merit and sequel to the absolute trust reposed in you,” he said.

The Sultan commended Mr. Wamakko for creating the new districts, saying that the gesture would help in bringing government closer to the grassroots.

The event was attended by Mr. Tambuwal and his colleagues from the state.

A former President, Shehu Shagari, was also among several dignitaries who attended the event.

MEND Says Kidnap Of Ebikeme, Son of E.K. Clark, Was Stage-Managed

Ebikeme Clark

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) today declared that last week’s kidnap of Ebikeme Clark, the son of Chief E.K Clark, was actually ‘a clever orchestrated fraud’ masterminded by the “victim,” whom it says stage-managed his own abduction.

For his release, the Delta State Government paid a ransom of 500 million Naira from its security vote, MEND said in a statement, which was shared amongst all those involved in this scam.

“Mr Ebikeme is following in the footsteps of his father where the Senior Clark is amongst those that hatched the fraudulent Niger Delta Amnesty Programme which has only made billionaires of a few thugs and him, at the detriment of millions of impoverished indigenes and the peace and security in the region,” the group said.

“It is rather unfortunate that in a desperate bid for relevance and extra funds to maintain a private jet, certain unscrupulous persons, including the Delta State Police will conspire to deceive Nigerians with a phantom abduction, release of the so-called hostage, influence over kidnapers and arrest of suspects and denying the payment of a ransom which has already been shared.”

Apo 8: Army, DSS, Indicted for unlawful killing

The Nigerian Human Rights (NHRC) Commission in Abuja Monday afternoon indicted the Nigerian Army, the Directorate of State Security, DSS and the Attorney General of the Federation, saying they had “no credible evidence” to tag the 8 youngsters killed last September as agents of Boko Haram terror group.

In an 83-page final report and decision, NHRC indicting the federal security agencies, and said last September 20, an army-DSS detachment stormed an uncompleted building in the Apo/Gudu district of the Federal Capital Territory on a presumed operation to flush out a Boko Haram sleeper cell.

The claims remain unfounded said the NHRC which added that security forces apparently did not put their stories together well when they claimed at the time that over 100 inmates of Boko Haram fighters led by one Suleiman, also known as “R Kelly” were hiding and coordinating an attack on Abuja from the building, and had buried arms at the nearby Gudu cemetery.

After a 30 minutes military operation at the building, 7 of the inmates were killed, one later died in the hospital,  4 were arrested and later detained, while some of the inmates escaped during the operation and some of the arrested inmates were “expelled”  never to return to Abuja.

In its report, the NHRC said it investigated the contending claims and based its resolutions on three very questions.

· Whether security forces applied proportionate force to the alleged threat.

· Whether those killed were lawfully denied their lives

The NHRC slammed the security agencies declaiming their argument that the victims were Boko Haram combatants. There is “no credible evidence” to reach such a conclusion and for that reason, the victims remain in the face of the law, “protected civilians” under the Geneva Convention act that governs the rule of law.

The NHRC also rebuked the security forces for being trigger happy, saying their testimonies of “self-defence were inconsistent and could not be accepted.

Security forces acted without proper amount of case in the prevention of death, said the NHRC, describing the killings as unlawful violations of right to life of the deceased.

Still on the question of proportionality of force, the NHRC said not only did security agents violate the right to life of the victims, even the survivors suffered non-lethal violations of right to life, physical integrity and livelihood.

The Army DSS and the Attorney General’s office were asked to pay 10million naira to each of the deceased family and 5million naira to the eleven injured youths.

Regarding the order to banish some of the youths in Abuja, the NHRC said the security forces had no legal backing to exclude or internally banish citizens.

The NHRC gave two months to the three agencies to review and harmonise rules of engagement governing the operations of security agencies and bring them into compliance with international standards governing armed conflict.

NJC Member’s Bid To Make Sister Rivers Chief Judge Behind Crisis

O C J Okocha was NBA President and currently a member of the NJC

A member of the National Judicial Council (NJC), O.C.J Okocha (SAN) has been accused of being behind the leadership crisis in the Rivers State judiciary.

Okocha, a former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President, is said to have been plotting relentlessly to ensure that his immediate elder sister, Justice Daisy W. Okocha, emerges as the Chief Judge of the state.

According to sources, Okocha is using his position as a member of NJC to tailor the selection and appointment process to produce his sister.

The Chief Judge, Justice Peter Agumagu, has been suspended by the NJC after his choice by the Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

The popular thinking is that Okocha influenced the NJC to recommend his sister to Amaechi for appointment as the Chief Judge, contrary to the recommendation of Justice Agumagu by the Rivers State Judicial Service Commission to the NJC.

But Okocha told The Nation on telephone last night that he lacked the power to make his sister the Chief Judge, adding that he was not even at the meeting where NJC recommended her to Governor Amaechi for appointment after the government sent her name to the council.

A source said last nigt: “The State Judicial Service Commission clearly recommended Justice Agumagu to the NJC as its first and most qualified choice to be appointed as the Chief Judge of Rivers State.”

The criterion that only the most senior judge must be the Chief Judge, and that a President of the Customary Court of Appeal cannot be a Chief Judge, are creations of the NJC, said the source who pleaded not to be named because he is not permitted to talk to the press.

According to the source, the Constitution prescribes only 10 years’ post-call to the bar as qualification to the office of the Chief Judge.

“Okocha’s partisan and parochial schemes to install his sister as the Chief Judge of Rivers State led him to write a ‘Confidential’ letter to the President-General of Ogbakor Ikwerre Convention (the umbrella body of the Ikwerre ethnic group), Prof. Augustine Onyozu. Governor Amaechi and the two Okochas are from the Ikwerre ethnic group.

“In the letter dated February 3rd, Okocha clearly called for the intervention of the President-General to advise Governor Amaechi to make his sister the Chief Judge of Rivers, principally because she is from the Ikwerre ethnic stock like the governor.”

But Okocha said his sister was being denied her entitlement. His words: “That is a matter that has been dealt with by the National Judicial Council. A recommendation was made to the governor since the 17th of July 2013 and the governor and his advisers with other intentions do not want to make an appointment that has been legitimately recommended to them.

“If they don’t want to make the appointment, as they say, we watch and see the persons and the institutions suffering as a result of their breach of the Constitution. If they think they’re causing any detriment to me, they’re mistaken and misguided.

“What power do I have to make my sister Chief Judge? They forget that they recommended my sister’s name to the NJC. I didn’t send my sister’s name there. My sister is the most senior judge in the High Court of Rivers State, and she has been duly recommended for appointment, and those who don’t want to appoint her should please themselves.

“Those who deny other people what is their legitimate right and entitlement will also be denied their own legitimate right and entitlement at the appropriate time. There is the law of karma. There is retributive justice.

“I’m just a member of the NJC, which has 22 members. At the time when the recommendation was made I was not even in the meeting, because I have honour; I have integrity. I excused myself from the meeting and stepped out, and within 10 minutes they had concluded with the matter.”

 SEE OCJ OKOCHA's LETTER BELOW:

Mark, Tinubu, Akande, others attend Atiku son’s wedding in Dubai

SENATE President David Mark, former Lagos State governor and National leader of All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, APC interim National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande honored the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Saturday in Dubai where his son, Abubakar Abba Atiku, wedded his heartthrob, Mariayana Silver Abubakar, an American.

Also present at the event were other leaders of APC, senators, business and top shots of various state governments, former Governor Ali Modu Sherif, just as Senate President, Senator David Mark was represented by Senator Mohammed Bindawo Jibril.

Also present were Senator Ahmed Barata, former Senators Musa Adede and Rufa’i Hanga; Mrs Aishatu Buhari, the wife of former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari, Governor Murtala Nyako, represented by his Chief of Staff, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abba and the Secretary to the Borno State Government, Ambassador Baba Ahmed Jidda.

According to a statement issued yesterday and signed by Atiku Abubakar’s media office, the a gala event took place at the prestigious Conrad Hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (U.A.E), where prayers were said for Nigeria in the hope that it overcomes its current difficulties.

The former Vice President in a short speech, described the day as one of the most significant in his life. He congratulated Mariyana for “pinning down Abba.”

The statement continued, “Other high profile guests included the wife of the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Hajiya Amina, that of Governor Nyako, Hajiya Zainab; the wife of former Governor Ibrahim Shekarau, Hajiya Zainab, as well as the Speaker of the Adamawa State House of Assembly, Ahmed Fintiri, who was accompanied by six members of the House.

“Other guests include the Nigerian Ambassador to the U.A.E, Alhaji Ibrahim Awwalu, former Ambassador Yahaya Kwande, former Attorney-General Michael Aadoakaa, the former Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service and Sardaunan Adamawa, Ahmed Aliyu Mustapha and Professor Ishaq AKINTOLA of the Muslim Rights Concern MURIC.

“The groom family’s main event is scheduled for the coming Saturday in Atiku’s hometown, Jada in Adamawa State.”

UPDATE: How Omisore emerged Osun PDP governorship candidate

A former deputy governor of Osun State, Iyiola Omisore, has been declared winner of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship primaries in the state.

Mr. Omisore, who is also a former senator, defeated Akinlabi Olasunkanmi, a former Minister of Youth Development; and Oluwole Oke, a former member of House of Representatives to win the party ticket.

Mr. Omisore was announced on Saturday as winner of the primaries by the chairman of the Organising Committee, Adamu Aliero, a former governor of Kebbi State.

Mr. Aliero said Mr. Omisore polled 1,128 votes to beat Mr. Akinlabi, who polled 35 votes and Mr.  Oke, who got five votes.

Isiaka Adeleke, a former governor of the state, had on Friday withdrawn from the contest.

Mr. Aliero said that 18 void votes were recorded in the election.

He advised the aspirants to come together and rally round the candidate in the interest of the party.

“The PDP is one big family and we should all pull resources together to ensure victory for the party in all elections.

“I want to thank all the delegates who participated in the election for their good conduct and sportsmanship,’’ Mr. Aliero said.

Also speaking, the Chairman of the party in Osun, AGani OlaOluwa, said it was determined to make the primary generally acceptable to all the stakeholders.

“With the successful conduct of the primary, the party is in a better stead ahead of the general elections,” Mr. OlaOluwa said.

In an interview with journalist after the declaration, Mr. Omisore said he was humbled by the outcome of the election.

“The next step is to reach out to my brothers who also participated in the race; this victory is for us all. The party will be made stronger through sincere reconciliation in the interest of all.

“The party will explore all democratic means to win the general election. We will not be provoked to violence,” Mr. Omisore said.

There was a heavy presence of security personnel drawn from the police, civil defence, road safety and State Security Service during the election.

Mr. Omisore is from Ile-Ife in Osun State and represented Osun East, made up of Ife and Ilesha, in the Senate from 2003 to 2011 on the PDP ticket.

Before then, he was deputy governor on the platform of the Alliance for Democracy between 1999 and 2002, when Bisi Akande was governor of the state.

Mr. Akande is now the acting national chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC; the ruling party in Osun.

In 2002, Mr. Omisore was accused of being responsible for the murder of Bola Ige, then Nigeria’s Attorney General and Justice Minister, who was murdered in his Ibadan home on December 23, 2001. Mr. Ige was from Ilesha.

Mr. Omisore was detained for almost two years and won his 2003 senatorial election while in prison. He was eventually cleared by the court and freed.

Mr. Omisore is expected to be the main opponent to Governor Rauf Aregbesola of the APC in the August 9 governorship election in the state.

Zamfara Massacre: Death toll hits 200; 18 APC supporters, 7 others also killed

DEATH toll in weekend’s massacre in Unguwar Galadima community in Zamfara State, yesterday, hit 200.

This came as governor of the state, Abdulaziz Yari, who visited the village, yesterday, broke down in tears on sighting corpses of women, children and other residents of the village littering every part of the village. Our correspondent said the governor and other officials participated in the burial of 79 people killed in the attack by the cattle rustlers.

A Zamfara community burnt down by the rampaging Fulani herdsmen

A survivor of the weekend’s massacre, yesterday, confirmed counting 61 bodies even as the corpses were buried in mass graves.

This came as no fewer than 25 people, including politicians who were on their way to Maiduguri, the Borno State capital to attend the All Progressives Congress, APC, stakeholders meeting/congress were slaughtered by suspected Boko Haram terrorists in separate attacks in Gwoza council area and along the Maiduguri‑ Biu road.

A Nigerian soldier has also alleged that some military commanders were mercenaries of the Boko Haram sect and were paid by its sponsors. Military spokesman, Major General Chris Olukolade, however denied the allegation.

30 people killed —Police

On the Zamfara massacre, Police spokesman, Mr Lawal Abdullahi, said that “30 people were killed and several others injured” in the attack.

According to him, “the incident happened in Galadima  during a meeting of community leaders and representatives of vigilante groups who were discussing ways to thwart armed robbers and cattle rustlers.

One of the survivors who simply gave his name as Babangida from neighbouring Kaduna, said more than 61 people died in the attack.

According to him, “we counted 61 bodies from the scene of the attack last night, while many people were wounded and I was lucky to escape.”

He implored the security forces to stem incessant attacks by Fulani rustlers on villages in the area.

Our reporter, however, said he counted up to 250 bodie that littered the community.

How the community was attacked

Vanguard gathered that the attackers were said to have obtained an intelligence report of a meeting being held in the community by vigilante teams and the community stakeholders on how to contain the invaders.

While the meeting was ongoing, they invaded the town on motorbikes with each bike carrying three  men clutching guns and other dangerous weapons.

On arriving the town, the attackers started shooting at anyone in sight including women and children. Many victims were shot from behind.

Hundreds of bodies littered the town as those who could run escaped in to the bush. The gunmen also set a number of houses and shops ablaze.

After the attackers had left, members of the community embarked upon the unpleasant task of retrieving the bodies and burying them in mass graves.

The Emir of Dansadau, Alhaji Husaini Adamu, told our reporter: “This is not the first time the people of the area would be facing such problem but today’s attack was the worst of its kind in the history of killings in this area.”

The Emir, therefore, called on the authorities concerned to, as a matter of urgency, take immediate measures to address the problem.

Assistant Inspector‑General of Police (AIG) Zone 10, Mamman Sule also in his remarks warned the vigilante groups to desist from holding such meetings which he described as illegal.

He said the gunmen invaded the town because they perhaps got the information that the meeting was to find a way of attacking them.

Gov Yari visits, weeps

Zamfara State Governor Abdulaziz Yari, who visited Unguwar Galadima, yesterday, broke down in tears on sighting corpses of women, children and other residents of the village littering every part of the village.

The governor who was received by the Emir of Dansadau, Alhaji Hussaini Adamu, explained that they counted more than one hundred dead bodies on the sport   and more are still been counting.

Boko Haram kills 18 APC suppoters,  7 others

In a related development, no fewer than 25 people including politicians who were on their way to Maiduguri, the Borno State capital to attend the APC stakeholders meeting/congress were, weekend, slaughtered by suspected Boko Haram terrorists in separate attacks in Gwoza council area and along the Maiduguri‑ Biu road.

Sources said: “About 18 delegates of the APC who were on their way to attend a second stakeholders meeting slated for Sunday (yesterday) were ambushed by suspected terrorists.

Our correspondent also learnt that seven motorists and passengers were shot dead by suspected terrorists along the Maiduguri‑Biu road a few metres away from Gwargube village.

The Maiduguri‑Biu road has become a death trap in the past few weeks, as hardly a day passes without cases of road attacks by the terrorists, despite the presence of security operatives patrolling the road.

A member of the vigilante youth, a.k.a Civilian JTF, who did not want his name to be mentioned, in a telephone call said: “A group of terrorists, yesterday, laid ambush to some motorists and passengers along the Maiduguri‑Biu road and killed many people before they invaded Gwargube village and solicited support from the villagers or risk deadly attacks.

On the 18 people suspected to be APC delegates who were ambushed in Gwoza, a survivor who attended the meeting, yesterday, told our correspondent after the meeting that 18 of his kinsmen were slaughtered by terrorists few minutes after their vehicle had passed the scene of the attack.

Nigerian soldiers are B’Haram mercenaries  —Soldier

Meanwhile, a Nigerian soldier has alleged that some military commanders were mercenaries of the Boko Haram sect. In a report published by the VOA Hausa Service, an unnamed Nigeria soldier narrated how corruption and shortchange of soldiers’ funds  by commanders pushed Nigerians soldiers to partner with Boko Haram against their nation, resulting in the deaths of thousands of Nigerians since 2009.

In an exclusive interview with the VOA’s Hausa Service, the unnamed soldier described how his military unit, based in the Borno State was ambushed by Boko Haram fighters.

The soldier said the commander of a nearby military unit, based in the town of Bama, recently sought assistance from his unit in carrying out a raid.

He said when the two military units joined up, they were given different uniforms. The Bama unit commander gave his own troops green uniforms. The soldier said his unit received “desert camouflage” uniforms.

When the troops reached the battle area, the soldier said the commander of the better‑equipped Bama unit suddenly withdrew his forces, leaving the remaining troops to fend for themselves against Boko Haram fighters.

Speaking in Hausa, he said: “We had only light arms and our men were being picked off one after the other.”

The soldier also said he recognized some of the Boko Haram fighters as his former military trainers in Kontagora.

“We realised that some of them were actually mercenaries from the Nigerian army… hired to fight us.”

This soldier and others have said that too often, commanders have pocketed money that was supposed to be used to help equip units.

The unnamed soldier is an impostor —Olukolade

Denying the allegation of collaboration between some military commanders in the North-East and Boko Haram insurgents, the Director of Defence Information, Maj-Gen. Chris Olukolade, argued that a case of impersonation cannot be ruled out to create wrong impressions for the public.

He, however, assured that the military was probing the purported confession of a soldier which alleged that some army commanders were working together with Boko Haram.

According to Olukolade, “Ordinarily, the Nigerian soldier is too disciplined to be involved in that kind of utterances on radio. Let no terrorist propagandists hide under the guise of not wanting to disclose their source to present impostors as representing Nigerian soldiers.

“We do not agree that he is our soldier; we believe very strongly that he is not our soldier. We are still studying the interview to confirm the motive. At the moment, we suspect that the intention is to create wrong impressions and cause disaffection.”

“A case of impersonation cannot also be ruled out. We are taking the information seriously despite the fallacies contained in it. We do not believe he is one of our soldiers.”

Falana Petitions IG of Police, Police Commission, Human Rights Commission Over Emeka Offor’s Use Of Police To Intimidate Towns Folk

Emeka Offor

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and leading human rights crusader, Femi Falana, has petitioned the Inspector General of Police, the Police Service Commission (PSC) and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) over the alleged scandalous use of police officers attached to the Special Armed Robbery Squad (SARS) by a controversial prominent government contractor, Emeka Offor, against his people of Oraifite in Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State.

In a petition written last week and signed by Sam Ogala, a lawyer in Mr. Falana’s law firm, the human rights lawyer accused Mr. Emeka Offor of “using the police hierarchy to commit monumental and scandalous human rights abuses against his own kinsmen.”

The letter was addressed to Police Inspector General Mohammed D. Abubakar, NHRC Chairman Anselm Odinkalu, and PSC Chairman Mike Okiro, a former Inspector General of Police.

Mr. Falana’s law firm stated that Mr. Offor’s latest gross abuse of his folks’ basic rights took place last weekend when some officers and men of the Anambra State SARS headquarters at Awkuzu in Oyi Local Government Area arrested Eugene Nworah, an Onitsha-based businessman from Oraifite. Mr. Nworah’s arrest reportedly followed his public complaint to the Oraifite people that Mr. Offor had deliberately caused the Customs Service to seize his nine 40-foot containers with goods worth N970 million on trumped up charges.

“As a result of this seizure,” wrote Mr. Nworah in an online report, “I was crippled financially through the machination of someone I confided in as a brother, friend and townsman.”

According to the petition against Mr. Offor, he had earlier caused SARS officers to arrest three brothers named Ifeanyi, Chinedu and Tochukwu Igboanuzue, all businessmen in Lagos, over a family disagreement following the death of their sister, Joy, a devout Anglican Christian who died in controversial circumstances on December 5, 2013, and was buried in their hometown on March 21.

“Offor’s interest in the matter is that these siblings dared to disagree with their brother, Sunday Igboanuzue, who is Offor’s Man Friday.

“SARS personnel not only arrested these brothers who were mourning the tragic loss of their dear sister who died at an early age, but also went after a popular and charismatic pastor, Agu Udor, from neighboring Ozubulu town whom they consulted for spiritual succor, and even forced him under duress to admit that the three brothers were in error in opposing their brother.”

All three men were arrested in December and were held till March when the Anambra State High Court in Nnewi ordered their release.

But soon after they breathed the air of freedom, Mr. Offor caused the police to re-arrest them, charging them with murder at the Ozubulu Magistrate Court, according to the petition from Mr. Falana’s law firm.

The petition also alleged that Mr. Offor had masterminded the SARS arrest and torture of Comrade Bonny Okonkwo, an international businessman from Oraifite, who was reportedly abducted in Lagos on July 17, 2013, and detained in Abuja till August 23 when Chief Magistrate Dahiru of the Kubwa Court in the Federal Capital Territory ordered his release.

Mr. Okonkwo’s offence was the “publication of a so-called disrespectful article against Emeka Offor in an online website of Oraifite people called Mbala Obodo.”

Mr. Falana’s law firm accused Mr. Offor of instigating SARS officers in Nnewi to arrest one Ifeanyi Nwokolo, an Nnewi-based businessman, and his cousin, Muozube, also based in Nnewi, who were feuding over the ownership of a piece of land near Offor’s country home at Oraifite.

The petition stated that Mr. Offor, “a supposed knight of the Anglican Church who acquired a third wife only last January 3 at a public show in his village, caused SARS men to arrest in January four members of the Ayaka Cultural Group, accusing them of cultism and detaining them till March, 2014, when the court ordered their release.”

The petition noted that Mr. Offor had two years earlier used the police to disrupt the annual New Yam Festival of the Ezumeri community under the pretext that the feast was being held without police permit, but the real reason was that he wanted to humiliate certain distinguished people from the area, especially Chuks Muomah, the first SAN from Oraifite.

The petition added that Mr. Offor, a mere private citizen, has been able to use the police so blatantly against his own people since Mr Abubakar assumed the leadership of the police.

“This reckless and unconscionable use of the police to commit gross human rights abuses and other heinous crimes tends to give both Nigerian citizens and the international community the impression that Nigeria is a weak state, if not a failed one,” the petition stated.

The petition asked the police authorities not to accept the area command office which Mr. Offor is allegedly building for the police in his hometown because “the facility will definitely end up as a house of torture for everyone in Oraifite who may disagree with the controversial government contractor on any issue.

“If he could currently use SARS so recklessly to hound, harass, detain and torture a number of his people over civil issues,” the petition argued, “no one can imagine what will happen to innocent and law abiding citizens when an entire police command is located in his own house through his so-called benevolence.”

Ondo By-Election: INEC’s Ad Hoc Staff Reveals How They Were Held Hostage, Bribed With N8,000 To Thumb Print Ballot Papers

Ismail Lawal, a member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) who served as a presiding officer and an ad hoc staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has stated that he and other members of his team were held hostage for several hours at Ese Odo local government area by thugs suspected to be working for a political party during last weekend’s bye election for a seat in House of Representatives. The bye election was held in the Ilaje Ese Odo constituency to replace Raphael Oloye Nomiye, a member of the House of Representatives who died last year whilst having sex with a woman who was not his wife.

In his confession, Mr. Lawal disclosed that, when it got close to the end of the voting, armed thugs stormed the booth and threatened to burn down the ballot boxes and other electoral materials if he and his co-workers refused to cooperate in rigging the election.

Mr. Lawal said the illegal act was carried out at Polling Unit 005, Roman Catholic Mission Primary  School in Kiribo. He added that he and his fellow workers were so scared for their lives that they thumb printed numerous ballot papers to avoid been killed by the armed thugs.

“When we got to the end of the voting exercise they threatened to burn and kill us. We had no option other than to do their wishes by thumb printing lots of ballot papers,” he said.

He added that the thugs gave them eight thousand naira after forcing them to carry out the fraudulent task.

Speaking at the venue of the final collation of election results at the Civic Centre in Igbokoda, Bode Okoriko, a professor who served as the collation officer for Ese Odo Local Government, told party agents, INEC officers, security agents and others that the corps members were held hostage and threatened to carry out illegal acts that contravened electoral laws.

Mr. Okoriko confirmed that the corps members were given the sum of eight thousand naira after they had been compelled to carry out the illegal work of rigging. He said the money was later attached to the report written by the presiding officer who served as the team’s head.

It was not confirmed the party that hired the alleged thugs. An INEC officer told our correspondent that he could not reveal the identity of the party that reportedly hired thugs so as not to hamper investigations.

Our correspondent could not obtain an interview with Mr. Lawal as a source close to the youth corps member said he had gone underground to avert being attacked for confessing to what transpired.

Some party agents had accused INEC of collaborating with some political parties to rig the election in their favor.

President Jonathan’s Frontman, Jide Omokore, Suffers Heart Attack

Jide Omokore, a shady businessman linked to Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan, early in the week suffered a heart attack shortly after a meeting with Mr. Jonathan.

Family sources said this evening Mr. Omokore has been stabilized and is recuperating at home in Abuja.

Omokore is at the center of a variety of financial deals involving the President and the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke.

Some of the deals involve a revelation by the ousted governor of Nigeria’s Central Bank, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, that some businessmen took $6 billion from the proceeds of crude oil sales and shared it amongst themselves.

Omokore is also at the center of a scam in which the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) Ltd, a fully-owned subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), was used as a conduit by Omokore’s Atlantic Energy.

In 2011, Mrs. Alison-Madueke caused the NNPC to sign strategic partnership agreements through NPDC to engage in managing OML 4, 38, 41, and 30, 34, which had been sold by Shell to the NPDC.

Omokore’s firm was supposed to get 30% of the profit from the deal but NPDC officials told SaharaReporters that all the sale proceeds were taken by Omokore on behalf of President Jonathan and Alison-Madueke.

Mr. Omokore is also heavily involved in the kerosene subsidy scam which runs in the billions of Naira.

Confirmed that he is also in possession of at least two private jets he is believed to be holding in trust for Mr. Jonathan and the oil minister. In 2012, the French police briefly detained a private jet conveying Mr. Omokore from Paris to Monaco.

Bayelsa Gov’t Shuts Down Markets, Projects Suspended, For Marriage Ceremony of President Jonathan’s Foster Daughter

Faith Sakwe Jonathan

The Seriake Dickson-led administration has shut down several facets of the state government following the announcement of a marriage ceremony of a foster daughter of the president. The announcement compelled the government to close down markets in the Bayelsa capital in Yenagoa.

The development and announcement jolted thousands of traders in the state, and motions surrounding it took effect on Thursday. President Goodluck Jonathan arrived in the state capital Thursday evening to prepare for the event scheduled for Friday and Saturday.

The traders were asked to move away from the markets from Thursday to Saturday to honor the President. The traders who lamented the economic loss of the market closure, said that the government unilaterally took the decision without concern, or to discuss the effect the ceremonies would have on their private business transactions.

“We are shocked at this level of insensitivity of the people in government, with the level of hunger in the land. It is very cruel for anyone to order thousands of people to close their businesses from Thursday ‘till Monday, just because a foster daughter to the President is having a traditional marriage,” said one trader who asked not to be identified.

“All the roads are closed,” said another, “while trucks, cargo and commercial vehicles have been barred from Yenagoa. The whole state capital has been shut down, and this is happening at the end of the month when salaries have just been paid, and we enjoy some patronage from civil servants,” said the infuriated trader.

Sahara Reporters learned that Lawrence Erujakpo, Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, had said in a radio announcement of Bayelsa owned Grory FM, had ordered all contractors handling government projects to suspend work until Monday. The radio announcement by Erujakpo was stunning news on such short a notice.  Erujakpo emphasized that the suspension of business was “in respect for the President, whose foster daughter is getting married on Friday and Saturday.”

Residents in the Kpansia area of Yenagoa, where the President has a house had been complaining of being molested by soldiers who have taken over the street from Nikton junction down.

It was near that area where members of President Jonathan’s family had become targets of kidnappings.

Chief Nitabai, Jonathan’s uncle, was recently abducted in one kidnapping case, and later freed for N500 million ransom. On the day he was freed another member of President Jonathan’s family, a cousin, was rescued from a failed kidnapping attempt.

The planned wedding ceremonies are expected to go on as planned despite grumbling from many in the local business community.