Suspected Boko Haram Members Attack Police In Kumo, Gombe State

Suspected fleeing members of Boko Haram sect in the early hours of today attacked a police station in Gombe State.

A source said the incident occurred in Kumo, in Akko Local Government Area, the suspected sect members in their dozens opening fire on the policemen in a local police station in the town.

The policemen engaged the attackers in a gun duel that lasted almost 30 minutes, the source said, adding that one officer was critically wounded and rushed to an undisclosed hospital.

One of the suspects was said to have died during the attack, but it has not been able to verify that information with the Police Command in Gombe.

 No information is available about the rest of the attackers.

Junaid Muhammad Blasts ‘Illiterate’ Patience Jonathan For Role In Rivers Crisis, Issues Dire Warning About 2015 Elections

Dame Patience Jonathan

Well-known political critic, Junaid Muhammad, has called fresh attention to recent developments in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the national level, warning that they are snowballing into a full blown governmental and security crises in Rivers State.

And he brought the First Lady under the hammer for her role in the chaos.

In a press statement issued today in Kano on Wednesday, Dr. Muhammad described Rivers as “coming to the limelight because of the irresponsible, unconstitutional and bizarre, illiterate actions, of the so called first lady Mrs. Patience Jonathan, who hails from the island village of Okrika in Rivers State and who sees not only Okrika but the whole of Rivers States, as her personal domain to exploit, abuse and destabilize as she sees fit because her husband Jonathan happens to be the president.”

He noted that the Nigerian constitution makes no provision whatsoever for the post of First Lady and confers no rights, privileges and/or responsibilities on spouses of our president or heads of governments.

“It is therefore illegal and completely ultra vires the constitution for any citizen, president or his spouse to usurp executive powers, and go about throwing their weight, as if they were legally recognized holders of such offices according to the law,” he warned.  “ As at the time of writing, the commissioner of police in Rivers, his command structure and other security services are at the command of Patience Jonathan, and by her and presidential orders, most security facilities due governor, the speaker and others so entitled, have been withdrawn. Mean-while professional thugs and all manner of criminals are being recruited and pressed into service to destabilize the elected government of Rivers State.”

Stressing that those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat its mistakes, Dr. Muhammad pointed out that current developments in the PDP and especially in Rivers State bear an uncanny resemblance to the old Western Region, which led to the collapse of the first republic, with very serious and bloody consequences. Then and now, the popularly elected leaders of those parts of the country were prevented from exercising political power and control, and the operations of the police, the army and the rump of security services were interfered with in a brazen political manner.

“The current CP Rivers, is bending over backwards to accommodate the president, his cronies and his illiterate wife, to ignore or pervert the law and the constitution and norms of decent political behavior,  to harass, intimidate Governor Rotimi Amaechi, and thus destabilize, a strategic state like Rivers. Those in the PDP who imagine that this serious and fundamental crisis can be contained by some band aid or artificial cordon sanitaire, have a shocker awaiting them,” he said. 

He noted that the overriding attitude of PDP leadership, the PDP president, his cronies etc. is an open invitation to anarchy, for his party, his tottering crisis prone government and most unfortunately for Nigeria.

“The preponderance of the PDP in the governing processes is a clear and present danger to democracy,” the statement said.  “Add to that the dictatorial proclivities of the party leadership and penchant for hand picking illiterates and corrupt thugs into key and sensitive positions; you have the making of an inevitable disaster.”

Dr. Muhammad stressed that the latest developments throw into doubt the very possibilities of elections in 2015, those elections being the very reason for the desperate manouvres now being undertaken.

“If the de-facto commander–in-chief, the de-facto defence Minister and army commander Gen. Ihejirika who is an in-law to Patience [Jonathan], and his police and S.S.S. counterparts, are behaving in openly political partisan manner as heads of Jonathan’s personal militia, it goes without saying that Jega’s INEC will hold no elections worth the name,” he declared, calling on all Nigerians who cherish democracy to stand up and be counted.

He stressed that Rivers State and the fate of its governor must be of enormous concern to all democrats and patriots, pointing out that within Rivers State and beyond it, evil thrives when good and decent people take their eyes off the ball or pretend it is of no concern to them or is unrelated to neighborhoods.

“Personally I do not know and have never met Gov. Rotimi Amaechi in person, in Port Harcourt or anywhere else on earth,” he declared.  “I have not been to Rivers State since the expiry of my national service in the defunct OMPADEC (now NDDC) in 1996. I am however invested in Amaechi’s struggles because I believe democracy is the only way to govern a free people rationally, and to exercise legitimate power over a free people. If the PDP and its incompetent president treat this country like a conquered and vanquished people, they must be cured of their delusion, soonest.”

N25.7 Billion Bank Fraud: Atuche and Wife Seek Acquittal as EFCC Insists Couple is Culpable

Atuche

Francis Atuche, the sacked Managing Director of Bank PHB (now Keystone Bank), and his wife, Elizabeth Atuche, today asked Justice Lateefat Okunnu to quash fraud charges instituted against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The anti-corruption agency filed a suitaccusing the couple of siphoning N25.7 billion from the bank.

Anthony Idigbe, counsel to the Atuches, told the court that the couple has “no case to answer.” He argued that the prosecution has no evidences linking his clients to the fraud. Even though Mr. Idigbe conceded that Ms. Atuche owns substantial shares in Gasali Yakubu Nigeria Limited, a client of the bank to which account much of the stolen funds was believed to have been diverted, he still contended that there was insufficient “prima facie” evidence linking the woman to the fraud.

Urging the court to acquit the defendants, Mr. Idigbe sought to discredit testimonies by the prosecution’s key witnesses,pointing to what he argued were significant discrepancies in the accounts of the different witnesses.

A similar application to dismiss was moved by counsel to the third defendant, Ugo Anyanwu, a former Chief Financial Officer of the bank. His counsel, Sylva Ogwuemor, told the court that Mr. Anyanwu only signed documents as dutifully required of him but did not receive any share of the stolen money.

In responding to the applications, however, EFCC counsel,Kemi Pinheiro, asserted that the evidence the commission presented before the court was “potent, cogent and very forensic,” adding that the evidence clearly linked the defendants to the alleged crime.

Mr. Pinheiro told Justice Okunnu that counsel to the couple was merely using the “no-case” submission to raise a cloud of doubt. He added that the prosecution had placed enough evidence before the court which the defense must prepare to answer.

In insisting that the Atuches have a case to answer, Mr. Pinheiro said the troubled couple has to explain how the huge amount disappeared from the bank.

“We have also demonstrated before the court that the first defendant was the sole beneficiary of this huge fraud in Bank PHB. The defendant in his statement stated that PW2 and PW3 (Elizabeth Ebi and Desmond Uji respectively) had admitted that they had oral agreement with the bank MD,” the EFCC counsel said.

“The second defendant must explain how N2.8 billion was transferred out of the bank. This was the same defendant who was asked: what was your business? She said she deals in Christmas decorations. Afco Associates will explain better being[the] recipient of stolen N1.9b to N5.7b which was done through abuse of government policy,” Mr. Pinheiro continued.

Justice Okunnu adjourned ruling on the dismissal applications to July 1, 2013.

Oil discovered in Lagos

Nigeria’s commercial capital, LAGOS, is on the verge of joining the country’s oil-producing states with the discovery of crude oil in commercial quantities in the coastal state.

Yesterday, Afren Plc and its partner, Lekoil Limited, announced significant oil discovery offshore Dahomey Basin in Lagos, according to the London Stock Exchange.

In separate announcements, the partners said they discovered a significant light oil accumulation based on the results of drilling and wire line logs from a high impact Ogo-1 well, located on the Oil Prospecting Licence, OPL 310 offshore Nigeria.

Afren is optimistic that the discovery is likely to be significantly higher than the anticipated 78 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe), which encourages search to further high potential zones.

The discovery is subject to the authentication of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), which is expected in two weeks.

If certified and the partners produce the first barrel of oil, Lagos will become the 11th oil producing state in Nigeria, a club Anambra State joined recently. It will also boost the economy of Lagos, which currently generates about N29 billion internally every month.

The other oil producing states are Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta, Ondo, Abia, Imo, Edo and Cross River.

Geological studies indicate that the Dahomey Basin is a combination of inland/coastal/offshore basin that cuts across some West African countries including Lagos, Nigeria as well as Southeastern Ghana, Togo and the Republic of Benin.

The basin is said to be separated from the Niger Delta by a surface basement popularly called the Okitipupa Ridge.

“The Ogo-1 well has been drilled to a total measured depth of 10,518 ft (10,402 ft true vertical depth sub sea), and has encountered a gross hydrocarbon section of 524 ft, with 216 ft of net stacked pay.

“The well was targeting 78 mmboe of gross P50 prospective resources, but based on evidence to date, targeted resources are likely to be significantly in excess of previous estimates,” Afren said in a statement.

The company added that “further evaluation using wire line log analysis is currently underway prior to extending the well to a total measured depth of 11,800 ft (11,684 ft true vertical depth sub sea) to target further high potential zones.”

DPR yet to authenticate discovery

However, the DPR said authentication of the discovery could only come after side-tracking (ST) verifications.

OPL 310—Map showing the location of OPL 310 , along the Dahomey Basin.

A top management source in the upstream unit of the regulatory agency, said: “As far as we are concerned, the discovery for now is very speculative. The side track will indicate whether the resource they have found is actually crude, and this verification takes about two weeks. Thereafter, the company will communicate the tracking result to us, after which we will certify the discovery.”

Partners plan side track

Ahead of the planned ST, Afren expressed confidence that estimated reserves of about 124 mmboe have a better than 50 per cent, P50, chance of being technically and economically producible.

“Partners intend to drill a planned side-track, Ogo-1 ST, which will test a new play of stratigraphically trapped sediments that pinch-out onto the basement high targeting 124 mmboe of gross P50 prospective resources,” it confirmed in the statement.

Commenting, the Chief Executive of Afren, Mr. Osman Shahenshah, said: “The discovery of oil in the Ogo-1 well opens up a new oil basin in an under-explored region and represents a possible extension of the West African Transform Margin.

“Based on evidence to date, targeted resources are likely to be significantly in excess of previous estimates, with some high-potential zones still to be drilled.  We look forward to working with our partners to realise the full potential of Ogo 1 and our additional prospects on the licence.

“The Ogo-1 exploration success follows a series of recent discoveries, Okoro Field Extension, Ebok North Fault Block and Okwok in Nigeria and Simrit-2 and Simrit-3 on the Ain Sifni Block in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.”

On his part, Lekoil CEO, Mr. Lekan Akinyanmi, said: “The discovery of oil in the Ogo-1 well opens up a new oil basin in an under-explored region and represents a possible extension of the Cretaceous play along the West African Transform Margin. The discovery is a clear validation of Lekoil’s technical analysis and of our extensive studies on the Dahomey Basin.

“Results to date indicate that the discovered resources could be significantly in excess of P50 estimates prior to drilling. While Lekoil notes these results are preliminary, we believe there exists substantial scope for upward revisions to the data announced today (Wednesday) as drilling and interpretation continues.

“We look forward to working with our partners to realise the full potential of Ogo and the additional prospects on the licence.”

Equity participations

The Ogo-1 well is being drilled by Afren, as technical partner, under a farm out to Lekoil, as announced on May 14, 2013.

The operating licence for OPL 310 acquired in 2009, is valid till February 2019. But equity participation and economic interests on the bloc now stands as follows below:

Gov Obi gives N62.2m to 2,500 ex-Biafran soldiers, 64 ex-Rangers players

NO fewer than 2,500 ex-Biafran soldiers and 64 former players of Rangers International Football Club of Enugu have so far received about N62.5 million upkeep allowance from Anambra State governor, Mr. Peter Obi.

While the ex Biafran soldiers received N5,000 each, former Rangers players, many of them who are down with ill health, received amounts ranging from N200,000 to N1 million to enable them obtain medical treatment either locally or abroad, in addition to monthly stipends they received from the state government.

Anambra State Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Chief Joe Martins Uzodike, while handing the cheques to chairman of former Rangers players, Mr. Luke Okpala, for onward distribution to his colleagues on behalf of the governor, said Obi’s gesture was to further recognize the heroic roles played by the footballers immediately after the Nigerian civil war.

Uzodike said: “Governor Obi has observed that these people cannot be left to suffer after their enormous contributions in helping to reintegrate Igbos into Nigeria through sports after the war.

“The ex Rangers players who receive the monthly stipend are not limited to Anambra or Igbos alone, but all the former players, whether they are from the old Bendel State, South West or the North.

“In addition, the governor has secured an office space for the former players at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu for their meetings and social activities.”

For the ex Biafran soldiers, the commissioner said the N5000 was to give them a sense of belonging as many of them could no longer fend for themselves.

He recalled that only last month, the governor donated about N2 million to the inmates of Oji River Leprosy Center in Enugu State and socialized with them.

Only undemocratic govs support Jang – Amaechi

EMBATTLED Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum and Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, yesterday, maintained that only undemocratic governors were supporting his rivalry and Governor of Plateau State, Jonah Jang.

Amaechi who spoke at a symposium on Review of the 1999 Constitution and its impact on the much needed judicial reforms, organized in Abuja by the Rule of Law

Amaechi

Foundation, said he was surprised that even Governor Jang, who he said participated in the election that saw his re-emergence as the NGF chairman, turned around to thwart a process he said was impeccable and highly transparent.

He further stressed that aside Jang, all the other governors that attended NGF meeting on the day the election was held, voluntarily participated in the exercise. In attendance at the symposium were two former Chief Justices of Nigeria, Muhammadu Uwais and Dahiru Musdapher, the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, Justice Sylvester Nguta of the Supreme Court and the Attorney General of Ekiti State, Wale Fapohunda.

Besides, Amaechi, wondered why Jang, after voting during the election, made a volte-face to claim that he was ab-initio endorsed to take over the leadership of the NGF.

He said: “NBA cannot afford to lose their voice. NBA has lost its voice. For NBA to see a free and fair election where 35 governors that govern 35 states and make decisions for hundreds of millions of people and for NBA to say ‘if you cannot organize yourselves dissolve. Then you have lost your voice.

“I want to say it and I want to be put on record, anyone who supports the Jang faction is undemocratic. We chose who should be the returning officer. We appointed our director general to be the returning officer for the election. And we voted. Everybody voted including Jang.

In fact, Jang was among the first persons to vote. And when I won, they were there. We were to commence voting for the chairmanship when my brother and colleague from Akwa Ibom got up and said there was a document I had where 19 governors had signed for us.

And Jang said northern governors forum supported him but the same northern governors voted and they should have, therefore, voted for him. He said PDP governors supported him at a meeting before the election, so they should have voted for him.

What Jang is leading is another faction of PDP governors forum and not the NGF, because there are no two governors forum.”

“Therefore anyone, NBA, or government that supports Jang’s faction is undemocratic.

“Let us put it on record that the way things are going, 2015 we should be careful it does not end in this manner where people we win democratic election and those in power will not accept the result of a free and fair election. My lords be prepared because we shall soon be coming to your court.

“We must defend democracy. We must defend  Nigeria because we don’t have any other country.

“My Lords we must be prepared. As you did in 2007. We must be prepared.

“We have started again with tyranny and oppression. We must be prepared as a people to defend our rights. We must be prepared as a people to hold government accountable.

“We must be prepared to demand for accountability

“We must resist a situation where public officers without statutory authority would call the Inspector General of Police to change commissioner of police, we must resist it.”

How I was kidnapped, raped for rejecting love advances – UNILAG student

Policemen attached to Adeniji Adele division have arrested a 22-year-old man who alleged kidnapped and raped a student of the University of Lagos, UNILAG, Akoka, for turning down his advances.

The suspect, Babajide Bashorun, was also alleged to have taken nude shots of his victim (names withheld) and pasted them on the internet with her real name, school, department and age.

The victim with bruises

But the suspect in an interview claimed that the lady was his girlfriend. He admitted to have taken her nude pictures and gave them to his friends whose identities he gave as Aje Mayowa and Babajide Ademuyiwa, both final year students of  Architecture also of UNILAG.

The incident, as gathered, occurred two months ago at 1, Ajose Street,  Enu-Owa area of Lagos Island.  But the female undergraduate was silent over the matter until her relations abroad who stumbled on the nude pictures on the internet contacted her mother in Nigeria, last week.

How it started

Narrating how the incident occurred, the female undergraduate said: “Babajide  came to our house to treat our dog. In the process, he requested  for my phone number and I reluctantly gave him. He started calling me and told me he would like to go out with me.

“But I told him I already had a boyfriend whom I loved. Yet, he kept calling me, saying he was not interested in just going out with me but wanted to  marry  me. Aside that, he kept monitoring my movements and at a point, I deleted his contact on my phone.

“I was returning home for a weekend in April , a car stopped by my side at Idumota bus-stop. Jide was sitting beside a driver who was unknown to me.

“On sighting him, I walked past. But the next thing he did was to hold me by the hand, dragged me into the car and drove to his house.

“When he got home, he started beating me and tore my clothes, asking what  I wanted that he could not give me. He instructed me to unlock my phone and when he discovered that I used my boyfriend’s name as password, he resumed the beating.

“At a point, he gave me his phone to speak with some of his friends who told me I was in for trouble, for turning down a member of their unnamed cult, threatening that they would kill me for treating him shabbily.

“Thereafter, he raped me and when he was done, his friend took his turn despite my plea. When he saw I was bleeding, he stopped and started begging me. At that point, he brought out  his phone and started taking my nude pictures.  I made attempt to cover my face but he hit me on the head with a bottle and continued taking the shots.

How I escaped

“I begged him to allow me call my mother to give him some money for my release but he refused. I also appealed to him to delete my pictures when he started begging me.

“I stayed in that room all night till the next day when he went out to get me some drugs. Immediately he stepped out, I tried the door and discovered it was  not locked from outside. I quickly changed into one of my dirty clothes in my bag and escaped.

“But I could not tell anyone at home. When my elder brother asked what the problem was on seeing the blood stained clothes, I told him I was involved in  an accident and when my mother insisted on knowing what the problem was, I told her I fought with a course mate. She insisted on going to school with me on seeing the magnitude of the injury but I prevented her.

“Barely had I settled down than Babjide called, threatening to kill me if I disclosed what happened to anyone. As if that was not enough, his friends also called and threatened me as well.”

She is my girlfriend — Suspect

However, on his part, Babjide claimed that the undergraduate was his girlfriend, adding that they only had a fight on that fateful day.

Expressing shock over his arrest, he said: “She is my girlfriend. We only fought in April and have resolved the matter.

“What led to the fight was her request for money to buy an IPad which cost over N100,000. Because of my love for her, I managed to raise N70,000. She visited me on that day and I advised her to change her way of living which included going  to club .

I also accused her of flirting with other men. Along the line, we started fighting and I used a mop stick to hit her and in the process , took shots of her and sent the pictures to my friends. But I did not tell them to paste the pictures on the internet.”

Police sources hinted that efforts were on to arrest Mayowa and Ademuyiwa alleged to have pasted the victim’s  nude pictures on the internet, while  Babajide had been charged to court  for kidnapping, rape, conspiracy, attempt to commit murder, indecent assault, and assault occasioning harm.

I didn’t attempt to flush my baby – OAU student

When news spread that Oyinlola Diana Rotimi, a 400 level student at the Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, allegedly attempted to flush her child down the toilet, there were criticisms and counter-criticisms. This prompted this reporter to unravel the circumstances that led to the incident.

The Public Relations Officer of the University, Mr. Abiodun Olanrewaju, in a release, had debunked the rumour, saying that the lady never intended to terminate the baby’s life but gave birth before due date as she was said to be ignorant of child delivery.

”The truth,” the image maker said, “is that there was a delivery of a baby boy by an inexperienced mother who, in her naivety, thought she was pressed by call of nature while she was actually in labour pains.

”Prior to the child’s delivery, the young, inexperienced mother was bleeding and went to the toilet only to discover that something expelled into the water closet.

”It is overwhelming, it’s unexplainable; I can’t explain it. I don’t know how I feel but it’s really great and wonderful.” Those were the words of Oyinlola Rotimi, when our correspondent sought to know how she felt about the birth of the baby boy. She said the allegation that she wanted to flush the baby was untrue.

”It is not true at all. It is blatant lie. I was purging through out the night and I had no idea what labour pain was. Actually, I can’t call it labour pain because I was going to the toilet throughout the night till that fateful morning.

”I went through pain going to the toilet all through the night. I went to the toilet that morning to defecate. There was this force that just came out and the baby came out and entered into the closet. I was just there standing and bleeding. People came out when they saw blood coming out of the toilet to help me. It was a friend, Satope, who approached the toilet and found the baby that called an elderly cleaner for assistance.

Oyinlola said she was scared because she was not expecting the baby that day. “Seeing the baby was terrifying because I was not expecting the baby to come out yet.

She debunked insinuations that she attempted running away when one of the cleaners saw her. “That is untrue! Moremi hostel’s toilet is a public place where everybody comes in almost at the same time. People were everywhere while I was in the toilet. Just like me, everybody was scared when they saw me and they had to call the cleaner for help because she is an elderly person.

EFCC arraigns 14 suspects for illegal oil bunkerring

FOURTEEN suspects,  arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC,  for illegal bunkering were, Wednesday, arraigned before Justice James Tsoho of the Federal High Court in Lagos.

The suspects identified as Abu Ali Jibia, Akume Surprise, Boglo Babatunde, Umar Mohammed, Nafiu Hussain, Ibrahim Yakubu, Calvin Ajike, Alhassan Oseni, Kenneth Osei, Korlee Uebari, Habourpoint Nigeria Limited, Chidodo Access Oil & Gas Limited and Millennium Jetty and Marine Services Limited  pleaded not guilty  when a five-count charge of illegal oil bunkering were read to them.

The suspects at the court premises.

One of the charges against the suspects read: “That you Abu Ali Jibia, Akume Surprise, Boglo Babatunde, Umar Mohammed, Nafiu Hussain, Ibrahim Yakubu, Calvin Ajike, Alhassan Oseni, Kenneth Osei, Korlee Uebari, Habourpoint Nigeria Limited, Chidodo Access Oil & Gas Limited and Millennium Jetty and Marine Services Limited on or about the 22nd day of May, 2013 at Liberty Jetty, Marina, Lagos within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court of Nigeria conspired to commit a felony to wit: carry out an act for which a licence is required under the Petroleum Act without lawful authority or appropriate licence contrary to section 516 of the Criminal Code Cap 77, Laws of the Federation 1990.”

The prosecuting counsel, A. B. C Ozioko, asked for a trial date and prayed the court to remand all the accused persons in prison custody with the exception of the second accused who is the captain of the ship. Ozioko prayed the court to remand him in EFCC custody so that he could lead investigators to the vessel.

Defence counsel, Nelson Ohaji, while opposing the prayer of the EFCC counsel, informed the court that all the defendants had filed applications for bail and pleaded that they be remanded in EFCC custody if their applications were not considered.

Justice Tsoho adjourned the case to June 28, 2013 for hearing on bail applications and ordered that all the accused persons be remanded in Ikoyi prison with the exception of the second accused person who was ordered to be remanded in EFCC custody.

I killed 23 people in 2 days, Boko Haram member confesses

A member of Boko Haram Islamist sect shocked the people of Ngomari Airport Ward ‘Bakin Borehole’ area in Maiduguri, Borno State capital, when he confessed to have killed 23 people in two days, including a village head and Police officers in the area.

The Boko Haram member, who was arrested Tuesday evening, was said to have rented a room in the area about a year ago.

A resident of Ngomari, who pleaded anonymity, told newsmen yesterday in Maiduguri that the sect member was arrested wearing a jeans trouser and vest at a borehole, where he went to fetch water.

*Boko haram

According to him, the sect member who was arrested by vigilante youths, called ‘Civilian JTF’ was a resident of Gwange, a stronghold of the sect.

He said the arrest was made possible when the youths went looking for him and arrested his younger brother, who took them to Ngomari where the suspect had been hiding.

The resident said: “We were shocked when we heard that Civilian JTF came and arrested a sect member in our area. We never imagined we could have somebody like that in our area because we have been living peacefully.

“We were most shocked when the sect member confessed that he killed 23 people in two days. That is horrible and unimaginable but a reality.”

He added that while members of the youth group were beating the arrested sect member, they also asked him of one Idris Musa, who they believed was one of the sect members.

Meanwhile, over 50 detained members of the sect have appealed to Federal Government to give them a second chance as they were ready to assist the government in bringing the crisis to an end.

The sect members made the appeal when the presidential committee on dialogue and peaceful resolution of security challenges in the North visited one of the detention centres in Maiduguri on Tuesday.

One of the detainees, Adam Konto, introduced himself to the chairman of the committee, Kabir Turaki as the Amir (Commander) of the Bayan quarters, one of Boko Haram’s stronghold in Maiduguri.

He said he was speaking on behalf of the other detained members of the sect and that they would not take up arms against the government again.

Konto said: “We pledge to assist the authorities if given a second chance as most of us were brainwashed and recruited into the sect and given instructions to carry out dastardly acts without our full understanding of what we were doing.”

Another detainee, who identified himself as Babagana Saje, said that he was ready to denounce the sect and that the Police should be commended for keeping them alive.

He said: “The police have been treating us fine. We have been allowed to take our bath and have been well fed.”

Chairman of the presidential committee, however, promised the detainees that their cases would be looked into.

He said: “If you are sincere with this information we have gathered, we will bring you into the proposed amnesty agenda.”

UPDATE: NEMA Says Lagos Jetty Explosion Came From Boats Used By Oil Thieves

A vessel carrying imported gasoline has exploded in Lagos killing and injuring yet- to- be determined   number of people according to Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

The explosion occurred around 1 am Nigerian time at the Atlas Cove jetty in Apapa area of Lagos. The raging fire is still ongoing as at 10 AM as firefighters and the NNOPC battle to shut down pipes at the jetty.

UPDATE:   NEMA Says Explosion Came From Boats Used By Oil Thieves

A spokesperson for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has said the fire incident near the Atlas Cove jetty in Lagos came from a pipeline explosion caused by oil thieves at Akinbo jetty.

Mr. Ibrahim Farinloye, NEMA spokesperson  in the South West, sent fresh text messages discounting earlier report that claimed the explosion was a barge carrying gasoline.

He said his crew members have now put out the fire and recovered 200 jerry cans in three boats completely razed by the fire.

Ijaw Youth Council Aspirant Files N500 Million Suit Against Governor Dickson

Neghi Inkiba, a presidential aspirant in the forthcoming Ijaw Youth Council election, has filed a N500 million lawsuit against the Bayelsa State government and the police.

Mr. Inkiba is asking the Federal High Court in Yenagoa to order the respondents to pay him N500 million as damages for his unlawful arrest, detention and torture.

In a motion filed by his lawyer, Ayei Okpa, Mr. Inkiba is also seeking an order directing the respondents to release him from detention as well as a declaration by the court that his continued detention and torture were unlawful. In addition, he wants the court to grant him bail and to restrain the respondents from further arresting him pending the determination of the merits of his case. The lawsuit states that Mr. Inkiba has been in police detention since June 19.

Justice Lambo Akande, who is presiding over the matter, ordered the police to either arraign the suspect or grant him bail unconditionally. He gave the police 48 hours to obey the order and warned them against disobeying the court.

In his ex-parte motion, Mr. Okpa told the court that his client was a victim of political harassment. He also accused the police of acting out the script of the state government.

According to the lawyer, the government and its agents were bent on stopping his client from contesting the presidential election of the IYC scheduled to hold in three weeks. He said his client was forced to languish in the “dingy, unkempt and smelly” cell of the police, adding that Mr. Inkiba’s health was deteriorating as he is held under “absolutely cruel and inhuman conditions.”

“The applicant is the leading aspirant in the forthcoming IYC elections and it is apparent that the respondents have cooked up the allegations against him in their desperate efforts to fabricate grounds upon which he can be unlawfully held back from contesting the election,” the lawyer alleged. He continued: “Prior to the arrest, the fourth respondent (Kenebai) has made several failed efforts to get him to step down in order for the fifth respondent’s (government’s) anointed candidate to carry the day.

“His arrest, detention and torture are a gross violation of his rights to personal liberty and dignity of the human person as enshrined in Chapter Four of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended.”

A copy of the lawsuit was made available to newsmen in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital. In it, Mr. Inkiba said he had arrived at the police headquarters to honor an invitation by a police officer attached to the Security Intelligence and Investigation Bureau. He stated that he was immediately arrested and detained by the officer.

He said the officer who bundled him into the cell refused to disclose his identity and did not disclose the nature of the offence warranting Mr. Inkiba’s detention.

The plaintiff also alleged that the detaining officer and other police officers tortured him and forced him to sign a prepared statement, ignoring all his demands to be allowed to contact his lawyer.

He further alleged that he was forced under duress to admit that he was a “retired cult member” and friend to Ateke Tom, a former militant commander.
 

Among the respondents named in the suit are the Bayelsa State Commissioner of Police, the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Colonel Bernard Kenebai (ret.), the special adviser on security to Governor Seriake Dickson, and the government of Bayelsa State.

UNILAG: Students Sack Leader of ‘Faculties Council’

The Chairman of the Council of Faculty Presidents at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Seun Lari-Williams was stripped of the office by executives of the faculties' union earlier today due to his alleged irregular conduct during their recent protest against inflation on campus.

  He was immediately replaced with the President of the Faculty of Arts, Nelson Emmanuel Fisayo.  

In a statement, the Council of Faculty Presidents accused Mr. Larri-William of attending a meeting with the University Management alone without the consent of other Faculty Presidents, who were at the time either negotiating prices with retailers on campus or out protesting. The clandestine meeting, which was held as betraying the students, was said to have lasted over four hours. The statement said nothing about the outcome of that particular meeting.

The council alleged that Larri-Williams also boasted about being single-handedly responsible for the protest, as well as peddling false information with intent to deceive the public.

The Council of Faculty Presidents is a union set up by the students following Unilag’s proscription of the Students Union Government.

APGA: Long road to peace

A fresh move to heal the multiple crises in the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, has gained pace with the inauguration of a Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Committee headed by Chief Reagan Ufomba, the party’s erstwhile gubernatorial candidate in Abia State. But given the vested interests, finding truth and applying justice would be an arduous task.

It was one political party that came out boldly to promote the place of Ndigbo in the polity. At the height of its glory just two years ago, the party was in firm control of two States in the southeast with enthusiasts bubbling to expand the frontiers even beyond the zone.

However, today, the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, is enmeshed in intractable crisis that enthusiasts are afraid that the two states under the control of the party would sooner than later slip from the control of the party. Already, Imo State governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha who came to power through the party has all but left the party for the emerging All Progressive Congress, APC.

Governor Peter Obi who was the first governor to emerge on the platform of the party, according to political speculators is on the way to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP at the end of his tenure.

At the centre of the crisis now ravaging the party is the dispute over the national chairmanship of the party with Chief Victor Umeh and Chief Maxi Okwu as contenders.

Obi: I didn’t create the crisis; Umeh: I will do my party job

Okwu who was one of the founders of the party exited the party during the first major crisis that faced the party when Umeh and some others with the assistance of Governor Obi, shoved the major founder of the party, Chief Chekwas Okorie out of office as national chairman. The Umeh led rebellion was remarkable in that he succeeded in pushing Okorie out despite the fact that Okorie’s name was engrained in the constitution of the party as the eternal national chairman!

The coup against Umeh was, however, not less significant, given the general impression of his assertiveness.

The dispute nonetheless, the warring parties who are still in court continue to canvass peace with one another. Few weeks ago, the Umeh faction inaugurated a peace committee with the task of reconciling the warring factions.

Okwu has also established his own peace committee. Last Friday, Okwu’s peace emmisaries arrived Lagos after what was said as successful outings in Anambra where they met Umeh and Governor Obi.

The committee styled as Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Committee is led by the impressionable former governorship candidate of the party in Abia State, Chief Reagan Ufomba as chairman with 13 other members including national vice-chairmen from the various sections of the country and major party stakeholders.

The committee secretary, Barrister Obi Okafor, national vice-chairman (NW), Alhaji Tijani Idris, national vice-chairman, (NE), Alhaji Abubakar Adamu, Deputy National Auditor, Chief Peter Orji, party chieftain Hajia Zainab Nnenna Abdullahi among other members of the committee were present at the Lagos peace parley.

Following a meeting with  stakeholders from the Southwest, the committee led by Ufomba drew questions from newsmen on their mission.

In responding to questions from the newsmen, Ufomba and his committee members tried to walk the delicate path of peace makers by restraining themselves on some issues concerning Umeh, but they could not be totally restrained.

On their quest  
We have been going round the country and we started with Southeast where we met with Chief Victor Umeh, the very first day after our inauguration. We also met with the deputy national leader of our great party, Sir Peter Obi, we met with another leader and statesman, Chief Nwogbu Alor.

Our train moved to Imo State where we met with one of our Igbo leaders, Chief Ralph Uwazerike, the MASSOB leader. We have also been talking on phone to many stakeholders including the wife of our late leader, Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu.

As it is always said, a problem known is half solved. We have in our data base, a collection of issues, that are treatable, that are solvable, that we are solving and that we are going to solve so that we will have a one family APGA in the nearest future. That is why we are in Lagos today to talk with our stakeholders who include Barrister Obinna Obiegwe, Martins Agbaso one of our leaders from Imo.

On meeting with Umeh
We met Sir Victor Umeh, the following day after our inauguration and that alone is a remarkable success. I want to also inform that we are very hopeful that everybody is willing to make concessions in the interest of our party, in the interest of democracy in Nigeria and in the interest of Igboland where APGA is very, very dominant. People see APGA as their religion in that part of the country and we are drumming this to their very consciousness and it is making sense to all the people we have spoken to.

How Umeh received the team
We were well received. We were inaugurated on Monday (penultimate week) and on Tuesday we were in his house at about 12 noon. He waited for us, he met with us and everybody saw the need for unity in the party and everybody saw the need to make concessions because as far as this committee is concerned, there is no way we can bring about peace and unity unless people are willing to concede one thing or another and that is what we have been telling them and I think they are going to abide by that.

But Umeh is standing his ground
We were not expecting an automatic answer or concession from him. This committee will also bring other stakeholders who have interest in Igbo land, in democracy and democracy in Nigeria to prevail on them and already we have picked some people that will help us broker peace. But to the best of our knowledge, I think peace is near.

Is Okorocha out of the peace train?
We will see the governor as soon as we successfully book appointment with him. You know he is a very busy governor and the moment we track him down, we will talk with him. For now, we have not been able to track him down.

This committee is about truth and injustice. So, what truth has emerged and what injustice has been complained about?

The truth as so far catalogued are being put together. We will not reveal everything all at the same time. But the truth is that there is need for us to recognise that there is a leader in the party and that there is party leadership.

Political office holders
So, if we are able to note and reckon with the fact that parties do not exist in a vacuum, that parties exist for purposes of electing political office holders whom we must respect, that peace is near.

So, who is that leader?
Our leader as agreed in the party is Dim Odimegwu Ojukwu. He remains our leader, it is agreed it is written and Governor Peter Obi remains our deputy national leader. We owe him allegiance whether as party chairmen or as political leaders in the party.

We found also from Umeh that he assumed his position as the chairman by virtue of affirmation and that there was no ward congress, no local government congress, no state congress that elected the national delegates and he admitted that it was mere affirmation.

But I put it to you that some of your members are already holding talks with other parties?

But so are other parties holding talks with us. As we talk to you, we have recorded 70% success in this assignment. I am talking to you factually. APGA has no problem with its members except the national chairman.

On the allegiance of state chapters?
Let me tell you, in most of the meetings I have attended, I saw them with Maxis Okwu and for your information, if you check out the members of the NWC that were with Umeh, Umeh has only three of them. Let me tell you that besides this committee, there is another reconciliation committee (constituted by Umeh) and the chairman of that committee is allegedly a member of APGA. He is from the same state with him (Imo Chairman) and he knows that he is not a member of APGA.

So, when you set up a structure outside the party because you have lost so much ground where you cannot agree with the BoT, you do not agree with the wife of our leader, you do not agree with the governor produced by the party, you do not agree with your deputy north, your deputy south, your national youth leader, your national women leader, and all these zonal vice chairmen and what you do is that you are alone and you are bringing people to answer APGA…

I was the candidate in Abia State, I know where I stand even as the chairman of this reconciliation committee and most of the stakeholders are here. So you can see where one man is almost becoming the forest and we are saying no to that. While we must tell the world the truth, we are still amenable to reconciliation, to peace anchored on this truth as revealed to you.

Why PDP is unbeatable in Delta

MR George Ushere is a chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP in Delta State. In this interview, he spoke on the achievements of Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, the forthcoming local government election in the State and other burning issues. Excerpts:

How do you rate the implementation of the three point agenda of the Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan administration?

I want to say that in terms of peace, for those who know Delta State, it is one of the most complex states in the country and that is because of the terrain and there are a lot of tribes too.  The governor has done so well to build peace in the state. Before now there was the problem of militancy, waterways were difficult to ply, but now you can use the waterways without any problem.

Ushere

But there is still kidnapping in the area?
The issue of kidnapping is a national problem and it is not peculiar to Delta State. As regards to kidnapping, I will say Delta State has the lowest rate.  A law has been passed in the State House of Assembly to that effect to ensure that the issue of kidnapping is discouraged in totality.

The governor has also encouraged the Nigeria police so well to fight kidnapping in this state and for some time now the issue of kidnapping has dropped so low that we hardly hear of kidnapping in Delta State unlike a year or two ago and this because the government has put a lot of things in place to ensure that kidnapping gets out of Delta State. Also, one of the measures he took was to ensure that the youths are engaged in meaningful and gainful ventures, so the governor has also done very well in this area.

The governor’s critics, however, flay the delay in the execution of the Independent Power Plant. Do you think the government is doing enough to make the IPP a reality?

Yes, the issue of IPP is more of a technical issue. Establishing a power plant is not something you can achieve overnight and it has to do with a lot of technical partnership. The government is sincere with the IPP. Very soon, the IPP in Oghara will be commissioned, the equipment are there. The initial problem was the issue of the access road to the place, but the governor has fixed that. It is unfortunate that people make criticism without looking at what is on ground to score cheap popularity politically.

Given the strength of the Democratic People’s Party, DPP particularly in the central senatorial district, do you think the PDP will be able to make a headway in this area in the forthcoming local government election?

Definitely, I am convinced that the PDP will make headway. The mistakes of the PDP in the central senatorial district are being corrected and a lot of those who moved from PDP to DPP are coming back, because they now know that there is no light in that tunnel.

Delta State is a PDP state. It is just that those who were carried away with sentiments left but they now know that politics has nothing to do with sentiments and they are back to PDP and we have welcomed them and some of them are also part of the transition committees some of them are even chairmen, so you see how generous Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan is.

What is your view on claims that the present administration is marginalizing the Urhobos?

Well in this present administration, I want to agree with my Urhobo people that we are seriously marginalized at the federal level, and Urhobo is the fifth largest ethnic nationality in this country and in terms of resources, the Urhobo nation also produces a large percentage of oil. So, it is so funny that our amiable President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan has not looked inward to also carry the Urhobo nation along in his administration. I want to appeal to the President to look inward and also make the Urhobos to be part of his administration.