MAIDUGURI—Some members of the Islamist sect, Boko Haram, arrested yesterday at Mairi ward behind University of Maiduguri by members of the Civilian JTF vigilante group, have confessed that most of them are fleeing the Sambisa Forest to areas across Borno State owing to what they believe is spiritual attacks from mysterious snakes and bees, which had killed many of their leaders.
According to Kolo Mustapha, one of the arrested insurgents, “most of us are fleeing because there are too many snakes and bees now in the forest. Once they bite, they disappear and the victims do not last for 24 hours.
“We were told that the aggrieved people who had suffered from our deadly mission, including the ghosts of some of those we killed, are the ones turning into the snake and bees.”
‘Our leaders fled, too’
He said some of their leaders have escaped to Cameroon because they are known to the Nigerian authorities and could be easily identified. According to him, those of them who lived all their lives in Maiduguri have nowhere to run to. So they returned and tried to sneak into town.
He said they came in last night and were trying to hide in some uncompleted buildings, when some members of the Civilian JTF saw them.
He said: “We are pleading with them to spare our lives. We were forced into the sect. But we know that it is not the right way. I personally have never killed anyone, but I have my friend here who had killed many people.”
Umar Abor, the other arrested sect member said Kolo Mustapha was lying as they had participated in all heinous acts of the sect.
He said: “We have fought together since 2010. We have fought in Marte, Bama, Buni Yadima and Gwoza. We were not in Chibok. We have not seen the girls, but we heard about the issue.
“Our leaders have been talking about it and we have been following all news from the radio. We decided to flee when almost all our comrades are leaving the Sambisa because of constant attacks by snakes and bees, which we were told was as a result of Chibok abducted schoolgirls.
“They (our leaders) told us that it was our enemies and aggrieved people that are hunting us through diabolical means. We were in the forest in 2010 and 2011. We left and came back last year but we have never experienced such attacks.
“That is why they believe the Chibok people are using juju to pursue us because of their children said to have been taken by our leaders.”
‘We‘ll reveal our hiding place’
According to him, they have realised their mistakes and repented, promising that if they are spared they would help the community in fishing out some of their comrades and will lead security agents where their comrades had fled.
One of the leaders of the Civilian JTF said many of the sect members had been fleeing the Sambisa Forest in the past two weeks and that most of them are being arrested and taken to the authorities, except when they resist arrest, in which case they are left with no option but to kill them.
He said: “These ones have not attempted to run or do anything bad. They promise to take us to where they hide their weapons. We are taking them to the chairman of our sector command before they are handed to security operatives.”
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
The passengers and crew of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 most likely died from suffocation and coasted lifelessly into the ocean on autopilot, a new report released by Australian officials on Thursday said.
In a 55-page report, the Australian Transport Safety Board outlined how investigators had arrived at this conclusion after comparing the conditions on the flight with previous disasters, although it contained no new evidence from within the jetliner.
The report narrowed down the possible final resting place from thousands of possible routes, while noting the absence of communications and the steady flight path and a number of other key abnormalities in the course of the ill-fated flight.
"Given these observations, the final stages of the unresponsive crew/hypoxia event type appeared to best fit the available evidence for the final period of MH370's flight when it was heading in a generally southerly direction," the ATSB report said.
All of that suggested that the plane most likely crashed farther south into the Indian Ocean than previously thought, Australian officials also said, leading them to announce a shift farther south within the prior search area.
The new analysis comes more than 100 days after the Boeing 777, carrying 239 passengers and crew, disappeared on March 8 shortly after taking off from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing.
Investigators say what little evidence they have to work with suggests the plane was deliberately diverted thousands of kilometers from its scheduled route before eventually plunging into the Indian Ocean.
The search was narrowed in April after a series of acoustic pings thought to be from the plane's black box recorders were heard along a final arc where analysis of satellite data put its last location.
But a month later, officials conceded the wreckage was not in that concentrated area, some 1,600 km (1,000 miles) off the northwest coast of Australia, and the search area would have to be expanded.
"The new priority area is still focused on the seventh arc, where the aircraft last communicated with satellite. We are now shifting our attention to an area further south along the arc," Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss told reporters in Canberra.
Truss said the area was determined after a review of satellite data, early radar information and aircraft performance limits after the plane diverted across the Malaysian peninsula and headed south into one of the remotest areas of the planet.
"It is highly, highly likely that the aircraft was on autopilot otherwise it could not have followed the orderly path that has been identified through the satellite sightings," Truss said.
The next phase of the search is expected to start in August and take a year, covering some 60,000 sq km at a cost of A$60 million ($56 million) or more. The search is already the most expensive in aviation history.
The new priority search area is around 2,000 km west of Perth, a stretch of isolated ocean frequently lashed by storm force winds and massive swells.
Two vessels, one Chinese and one from Dutch engineering company Fugro , are currently mapping the sea floor along the arc, where depths exceed 5,000 meters in parts.
A tender to find a commercial operator to conduct the sea floor search closes on Monday.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Manquba Parker Ngcobo, a 32 year-old South African, was arrested early this morning (June 20) in Patong on ATM-skimming-related charges, after a pile of cloned ATM cards was found in his room at the Horizon Patong Hotel.
Investigators from Phuket Provincial Police HQ tracked Ngcobo down to his hotel after receiving a complaint from Siam Commercial Bank officer about the fake ATMs being used at banks in Patong, Kata and Karon from Tuesday until Thursday this week.
After tracking hom down to his hotel, police waited until he returned to his room and then knocked on the door. A search of the room quickly turned up 72 cloned cards and a stack of cash.
Ngcobo admitted that he had bought the fake cards from friends in South Africa and had withdrawn money from many places in Phuket. All the victims were South African account holders.
Pol Maj Gen Krajang Suwannarat, Deputy Commissioner of Police Region 8, currently looking after Phuket, said that usually skimming gangs caught at work in Phuket were from Europe; this was the first time an African had been caught on skimming-related charges.
However, he added that he believed that there were other Africans probably engaged in this activity in Phuket
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
The Nigerian Army is struggling to flush Boko Haram Islamist fighters out of their forest fastness, but it seems snakes may be doing the job for them.
Two suspected Boko Haram gunmen captured by local volunteers in Maiduguri, northeastern Nigeria, said they had fled the Sambisa Forest because of "incessant snake bites", the Vanguard newspaper reports.
One of the suspects, Kolo Mustapha, said bees have also been known to join in the attacks, often leaving their victims fatally injured. Some of his fellow-fighters think there is a supernatural aspect to the attacks, fearing that Boko Haram's victims are wreaking vengeance on their killers. Mustapha said he was caught because, like many others, he was trying to sneak back into town "as we have nowhere else to go". "Our leaders have fled to Cameroon," he added, saying they had forced local youths to join the group.
The other captive, Umar Abor, said "almost all our comrades are leaving the Sambisa because of constant attacks by snakes and bees". Many accuse Boko Haram leaders of having brought the plague upon themselves by kidnapping and killing civilians. The Civilian JTF volunteers agree that fighters have been fleeing the forest in growing numbers over the past two weeks, and were helping the security forces find weapons caches.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
More revelations have continued to emerge as victims and eyewitnesses recount their ordeal and shock at the bombing of the city’s busiest shopping mall, EMAB Plaza, located side by side with Banex Plaza in the Federal Capital Territory.
It was revealed yesterday that the insistence by the private security personnel attached to the mall helped in reducing the number of casualties.
A victim who was caught up by the explosion told THISDAY that the bomber faked being drunk as a strategy to carry out his dastardly plan. The victim, Donald Chikason, who is receiving treatment at the Maitama General Hospital, explained that the bomber planted the bomb in his car before approaching the gate.
Chikason, a staff of Skye Bank opposite the plaza said "I went out to get corn for myself, so on my way coming out, I saw an Hausa man, he wanted to get into the plaza, but the security man stopped him and asked the bomber to follow the procedure by going through the right gate.
"The man started arguing, behaving as if he was drunk. At this point, the security men then asked him to park the car outside the plaza. So I decided to leave the place. Immediately I turned towards my direction, I heard an explosion and the next thing, I saw myself in the hospital," he told THISDAY
Sulieman Lukman Ademola also gave account of what happened at the scene: "I saw the car, the security men were arguing with the driver who was saying ‘I want to follow here’, but they told him not to follow there. The man then bent down and put his head inside the car, and the next thing was an explosion that threw me down and I became unconscious. The explosion also burnt my back. When I regained consciousness and looked around, I saw some people's heads and legs. It was then I started begging people to take me to the hospital."
Meanwhile, the death toll from the bomb blast has now increased to 22 as another victim, a Senegalese, died on Wednesday night.
The Public Relations Officer, National Hospital, Abuja, Dr. Tayo Haastrup confirmed the death of the Senegalese to journalists. According to Haastrup, the hospital tried contacting the Senegalese Embassy, while the victim, a male, was receiving treatment but could not get through; he later died as a result of the severe burns he sustained from the bomb explosion.
The death has brought the tally of those in the mortuary at the time of going to the press to eight, while those receiving treatment at the hospital are eight.
Some of the other victims were also being treated in other private hospitals in the FCT besides government hospitals like Maitama, Wuse, Garki and National Hospital.
Some private doctors and hospitals have also joined with government owned hospitals to give succour to some of the victims from the blast. A consultant orthopaedic surgeon and Medical Director, Alliance Clinics, Dr. Christopher Otabor, explained that the hospital sent well-equipped ambulances and staff to the scene of the accident immediately the news broke out.
Also, one of the victims, Mrs. Gloria Ejike, who was badly affected by the blast, was referred to the clinic where experts laboured to keep her alive. However, at the end of the day, the 32-year old married woman had her leg amputated to stay alive.
At Maitama General Hospital, eight of the victims were being treated, while two others who sustained minor injuries had been discharged. THISDAY checks revealed that a total of 43 injured persons were brought to the hospital immediately after the blast
The hospital also confirmed that they have ten wholesome corpses in their morgue, while the other ones were mangled, with their body parts in body bags. Also in Garki, some of the victims who were taken there were said to be receiving treatment.
A staff who, did not want his name in print told journalists that “one patient is still in the ICU and is being monitored. The one at the intensive unit is very serious as her two legs were cut off, she has burns all over her body, including her upper arms,” the source said.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
The federal government yesterday said the withdrawal of money laundering charges filed against Mohammed Abacha, son of the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, would facilitate the recovery of the sum of $380 million from the proceedings against Mohammed in Luxembourg and $550 million from forfeiture proceedings instituted by the United States Department of Justice.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke (SAN), said the charges were withdrawn because the Abacha family had not only undertaken not to contest the proceedings, but had also agreed to cooperate fully with the federal government in the recovery proceedings.
In a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the minister. Mr Ambrose Momoh, Adoke said the insinuation that government withdrew charges against Mohammed to enable him go scot free was false.
The minister explained that a key objective in the prosecution of corruption cases was the deprivation of the criminal offender of the proceeds of crime.
He said: "This is achieved by taking away of such proceeds of crime by the state (regurgitation and restitution).
"This principal objective has been achieved to a very significant degree in the Abacha proceedings."
Adoke said while the yearnings for criminal sanctions in form of custodial sentences against the Abacha family was understandable, it should be appreciated that this was a case that had lingered for over 16 years.
The minister said the Abacha's case was not a straightforward case where conviction was assured.
He said: "The standard of proof in criminal cases of this nature, which is “proof beyond reasonable doubt,” poses great difficulty for the prosecution as any shadow of doubt is resolved in favour of the accused person.
"This was appreciated by the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo, when it entered into a Global Settlement Agreement with the Abacha family.
"What the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan has done is to ensure that government gets the best deal it can get in the circumstance.
"To this end, this administration has worked closely and consulted widely with experts, international partners including global development agencies on these criminal proceedings and it is clear from the feedback received that there is no doubt that the Jonathan administration has, within the constraints imposed by this case, done its best to protect the interest of the country."
He said the blanket criticism by Transparency International (IT) which according to him had little bearing on the facts, was therefore unfortunate.
The minister also said the singling out of Nigeria for criticism by TI for adopting measures, which were globally used in cases of this nature and which had produced good results for the country was unfair.
He assured Nigerians that the federal government was being guided by national interest, the need to promote transparency and accountability and international best practices in its dealings with the Abacha family and indeed, all such recovery proceedings.
Adoke said the federal government of Nigeria was currently pursuing recovery proceedings against the Abacha family and its associates in Liechtenstein, Luxemburg, and the United Kingdom. He said the government had also made a request for Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal matters to the United States of America in respect of the stolen assets within that jurisdiction.
"Government is also working assiduously with the Department of Justice of the US in respect of the forfeiture proceedings it commenced against the Abacha family and its associates.
"The proceedings will make it possible for the Abacha family and its associates to forfeit over $550million and £95,910 Pounds sterling in 10 accounts and six investment portfolios linked to the Abachas in France, Britain, British Virgin Islands and the US," he said.
According to him, the criminal proceedings instituted against the Abacha family and their associates have forced them to back down from contesting the cases filed by the Federal Government of Nigeria to recover stolen assets in Liechtenstein, Luxemburg, the United Kingdom and the US. The Abacha family has also withdrawn their appeal before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasburg seeking to set aside the forfeiture orders made against them and their associates in Liechtenstein.
"The aforementioned steps have led to the recovery of 226.3 million from Liechtenstein in addition to the 7.5 million euros that was recovered from an associated company of the Abachas’ in Liechtenstein in 2011. It will also be recalled that in 2011, the federal government was able to recover and repatriate through negotiated settlement with the Jersey, the sum of 22.5 million pounds confiscated from an associate of the Abacha family by the Island of Jersey," he added.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Not certain of the actual cause of Wednesday’s twin explosions in Apapa, Lagos, police forensic experts, who are already investigating the blast are yet to rule out bomb explosion.
This is just as it was gathered that the anti-bomb operatives who stormed the scene of the blast in the early hours of yesterday to take the debris for forensic examination, had begun post-blast investigations to ascertain the cause of the explosion.
The forensic team had earlier encountered some hitches as security operatives attached to the Folawiyo Energy Limited (FEL), the tank farm, refused to allow men of the anti-bomb department access to the FEL premises.
The initial police explanation that the explosion was caused by gas cylinders and not bombs, further fuelled the suspicion of the anti-bomb disposal unit who were keen on establishing why and how a cylinder exploded around a petrol depot.
THISDAY gathered that the first thing the forensic experts set out to do was to look for the remains of the gas cylinders.
Although it was yet unclear if they succeeded in finding the cylinders that allegedly caused the blast, sources said its discovery would lead to uncovering whether the explosions were caused by bombs or whether it was triggered by faulty appliances.
While stressing that the Explosives Ordinance Depot (EOD) of the Lagos Police Command was yet to rule out the incident being a bomb explosion, the source told THISDAY that investigations had begun.
The source said: "We are yet to rule the incident out because certain factors must be cross-checked. Do not forget that gas is a major component of explosives.
"It is the gas that even makes the explosions worse because of the fragmentation in the gas. It would take EOD experts to ascertain what truly happened in this case.
"Because of the extent of the blast, the gas might have been used to fuel car air conditioning systems because gas makes a bigger effect. You can never underestimate the effect of gas.
"When our men are taken to the range for periodic training exercises, we are often set to task to construct a local bomb and we often use gas to make the effect louder."
He added: "We don't want to incite panic among residents of Lagos unnecessarily and that is why we are taking time to investigate. During investigations, if we see residue of explosives, we can then conclude.
"It is this post-blast investigations which would reveal if the components have explosive substances because the explosion might have been caused by carelessness in handling of the gas."
The management of FEL had denied that the explosion had nothing to do with their premises, claiming that the blast occurred around 200 metres away from the premises.
An official of the company had earlier told THISDAY that there was a “trailer spark” in the premises.
However THISDAY confirmed that while there was an explosion within the FEL premises, which claimed a life, there was another explosion on the opposite side of the depot, which claimed three lives. Yesterday, the premises of the FEL was cordoned off, and even its staff were not allowed into the premises.
The twin explosions had occurred first at Folawiyo Depot before it happened five minutes later at Alex Junction, killing four persons including a food vendor.
However, as at yesterday, the death toll from the blast may have increased to five following the search of a missing pineapple seller who was only identified as Folakemi, whom some believe, might have been caught in the blast. Eyewitness account said the teenager was hawking her wares at Alex junction minutes before the blast occurred.
THISDAY had on the night of the incident seen scattered wraps of pineapple on the ground near the blast scene but in the melee nobody apparently took note of her absence until yesterday when enquiries as to her whereabouts began.
Meanwhile, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PRO), Ngozi Braide, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, who was at the scene, said the explosion was caused by fuel-laden tanker and not a bomb as alleged.
Braide, who spoke after she was allowed entry into the depot said: “I may not be able to tell you the number of people that died but I will be coming up with a statement later. We have commenced investigation. In cases like this, you just do not go and be making statements up and down.
“After the investigation, we will come up with what transpired and make it known to the press. We don't know if the tank farm explosion was linked to that of the car.
“There is nothing whatsoever suggesting that it was a bomb explosion. It was a tanker loaded with fuel that burst into flames. Policemen are on ground there now and we cannot yet ascertain the casualty figures. But everything is under control."
Braide's statement conflicted with reports from the Commissioner of Police, Umar Manko, who later said it was too early to conclude if the explosion was a blast or not.
Manko said: "We don't want to create unnecessary tension for now but note that the EOD have begun investigations. If it is a bomb, we will begin enlightenment campaign to create awareness on ways to identify these people."
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Contrary to the argument in the political class that an elected official cannot retain his or her seat after defecting from the party under which he or she was elected when there is a crisis, the Federal High court sitting in Ilorin, Kwara State yesterday declared that the defection of 22 state lawmakers elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) was legal and constitutional.
The presiding judge, Justice Olayinka Faji, in his ruling stressed that the defendants would not lose their seats for another re-election because there was indeed an established case of crisis in their former party (PDP), which prompted their defection to APC.
However, the ruling of Justice Faji coincided with the recommendation of the ongoing Constitutional Conference which has suggested that any elected official who defects from the party on which he or she was elected automatically loses the seat.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) also recently warned that henceforth, politicians who cross-carpet while still in elective positions will have to lose their seats.
A member of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Hon. Ilyas Ibrahim, who stayed back in PDP and the leadership of the PDP had dragged the defendants to court that they should vacate their seats as they had dumped the party for APC.
Counsel for the plaintiff, Mr. Salman Jawondo assisted by O.J Adeseko, had urged the court to declare the seats of the speaker and 20 others vacant in view of the fact that they were elected on the platform of PDP, but defected to APC.
Jawondo argued that having left PDP for APC, the defendants’ seats should be declared vacant and that they must stand another election for them to retain their seats.
But counsel to the defendants, Wahab Bamidele, Tosho Yakubu and Bola Razaq Gold, argued that the defendants had the rights to defect to any other party because of the prevailing crisis in their former party. But Justice Faji in his ruling in suit no FHC/IL/CS/6/2014, PDP, Ibrahim Vs Razaq Atunwa and 20 others and INEC declared that the defection of the lawmakers was legal and constitutional.
The judge relied on the judgment by Justice Chukwu, which restrained Alhaji Kawo Baraje from parading himself as the INEC-recognised chairman of PDP.
Justice Faji explained that the mere ruling that Bamanga Tukur was recognised as the official chairman of the PDP then, showed indeed that there was a faction and crisis in the PDP. The ruling had also forbidden Baraje from parading himself as the chairman of the party.
The judge explained that at the time of the defection by the Kwara Assembly members, there was indeed a faction in PDP, which made the defection by the Kwara Assembly members legal and constitutional. Reacting to the ruling yesterday, former Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General in the state now a member of the House of Representatives, Dr. Ahmad Ali, said Justice Faji's judgment had laid to rest the constitutionality of defection by the legislators.
According to the lawmaker, "It is a landmark judgment on the issue of defection. This is the first final judgment, compared to various conflicting interlocutory orders by the Federal High Court in Nigeria. It supersedes all other previous non-judicial gratuitous statements. I urge PDP to quickly appeal this sound judgment if they so wish. We are comforted that in the Federal High Court there are still many judges who are bold and still stand as bulwark between the dregs of the society and the powerful forces.
"The judgment for the first time answered the question: was there a division in PDP when the legislators defected?. The court said yes. If it is yes (as any reasonable man already acknowledges) then any member can constitutionally defect."
However, the National Conference delegates yesterday approved the recommendation for independent candidates for any election in the country.
The conference further recommended that any elected official that cross carpets to another political party should lose his or her seat. Though, some members argued that the matter should not be discussed because it is still in court, but majority of the delegates insisted that it should be decided upon and when it was put to vote, members adopted the recommendation that whenever any elected politician vacates his or her office prior to the defection, the person loses his or her seat accordingly.
The conference also called for the amendment of the 1999 Constitution to allow for individuals who may not wish to contest election on the platform of any political party to be allowed to do so. The 1999 Constitution states that for anyone to stand for election he must be on the platform of a registered political party.
The conference also rejected the suggestion that government should fund political parties, while recommending that INEC should place a peg on campaign funding and expenditure.
On the issues of creation of local governments and funding, the delegates said it is the duty of the state governments and therefore the local government issues have been removed from the exclusive list to the concurrent list.
The delegates had agreed that the federal government should continue to fund the old 774 local governments, but no decision was taken on the creation of new local governments.
The delegates agreed that states should be allowed to create election tribunals. The conference adopted the recommendation that any person living above his means of office should be investigated by the anti-corruption agencies to determine the source of his or her wealth. The aim, the delegates explained, is to enable the person(s) concerned to explain his or her source of wealth.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Still hurting from the defeat it suffered at the Ekiti governorship poll last Saturday, the All Progressives Congress (APC) at its National Working Committee (NWC) meeting in Abuja, Thursday, resolved to go to court to challenge the outcome of the election which it said was marred by several constitutional breaches through harassment and intimidation of citizens by security forces.
The latest resolve runs counter to the party’s earlier position to respect whatever the defeated Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, decides concerning the outcome of the election.
Fayemi had, soon after the results were declared, conceded victory to Mr. Ayo Fayose of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and congratulated him. The duo have also held preliminary meeting on how to set up a transition committee.
Former Governor Fayose had polled 203,090 of the votes cast in the governorship election, to defeat the incumbent Governor Fayemi of APC who scored 120,433 votes.
Just as the meeting of the NWC of APC was going on, a group of women under the aegis of New Era Coalition of Nigeria (NECN) came protesting to the new national leadership to, as a matter of urgency, look into what they termed as some 'fraudulent imposition' at the convention, which has robbed their candidate, Hajia Zuwaira Sani Bakori, the chance of emerging as the Deputy National Organising Secretary.
Although the APC praised Governor Fayemi for being a true democrat by congratulating his opponent and not resorting to a do-or-die battle, the party said the processes of the election before, during and after voting were not entirely free and fair.
In a communique issued after the inaugural meeting of its NWC, the party noted that while voting on election day might not have been characterised by the usual brigandage and violence, the entire process was everything but free and fair.
"Therefore, in order to prevent a recurrence of what happened in Ekiti, especially the militarisation of the process, the harassment and intimidation of citizens, especially those in opposition, my party has decided to challenge in court some of these constitutional breaches and will also encourage our leaders and supporters, who were arrested, harassed and intimidated to seek the enforcement of their constitutionally-guaranteed fundamental rights that were recklessly abridged by the security agencies", it said.
The communique read out to journalists at the party's national secretariat in Abuja by APC's National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, said events of the voting day itself might have led many to believe that the election was free and fair, while the same could not be said of the events before, during and after the election.
The party said its decision to act is not only to ensure that irresponsible and unconstitutional acts are not repeated in subsequent elections, especially that of Osun in August and next year's general election. Giving reasons for faulting the conduct of the election, APC alleged that thousands of armed troops, police, state security and civil defence personnel deployed in Ekiti resulted in a shutdown of the state.
It also alleged that on the eve of the election and on election day, without any reason, security personnel arrested APC leaders and supporters across Ekiti, ferrying them far away from where they could vote or monitor the conduct of the election.
"In fact, the compromise by the security operatives became more obvious when a so-called Special Task Force comprising Military, Police, SSS and NDLEA officers were summoned to a meeting on Friday afternoon – a day before the election, near the Tantaliser fast food eatery at Ado-Ekiti.
"In the presence of AIG Bala Nasarawa, Mrs Florence Ikhanone (National Director of SSS) and Brig.-Gen. Momoh, who was the head of the military to the election, Mr. Ayo Fayose's Chief Security Officer, Kayode Adeoye, and Chris Uba addressed the curiously-named Special Task Force which included 67 SSS operatives, 30 soldiers, 30 NDLEA operatives and 70 mobile policemen.
"Adeoye and Uba reminded the officers of the Special Task Force of their duty to President Goodluck Jonathan, who was identified as their benefactor, and how the officers must ensure that their benefactor wins the election.
"This was the same team that went round the state from Friday evening and throughout the duration of the election picking leaders of the APC from across the state in specially-designated black buses with Presidency plate numbers," it said.
According to APC, the case of the Campaign Manager of Governor Fayemi, Mr. Bimbo Daramola, was particularly traumatic and saddening because his fiancee and aged father were harassed by armed soldiers who invaded his country home in the middle of the night with guns being pointed at them as if they were common criminals.
It said the campaign manager himself, an honourable member of the House of Representatives, was hounded into an unknown place by soldiers, all because of an election.
While defending the party's position, the former interim National Chairman of the APC, Chief Bisi Akande, said contrary to widely held perception that the Ekiti governorship was without blemish, the intimidation meted out to party members using security forces did much to flaw the exercise.
Speaking to journalists yesterday at the APC headquarters in Abuja, Akande said the massive deployment of soldiers, police and the SSS for last Saturday's election amounted to shutting down the state which is unknown to our constitution.
In the same vein, Secretary to the Edo State Government (SSG), Professor Julius Ihonvbere, has blamed the defeat suffered by APC in the last Saturday governorship election in Ekiti State on a tactical error, stressing that the said victory of the PDP was enhanced by military intimidation.
"The Ekiti election was successful because of the amount of intimidation and domination by the security forces. When you prevented APC governors from going there for a rally, what are you telling the people?”, he said.
Ihonvbere, who said this while fielding questions from journalists in Benin City yesterday, noted that the candidate of the APC, Kayode Fayemi, had good antecedents, both in governance and academics, which made him stand out of the crowd.
He said the election went the way of the PDP because of the amount of domination and intimidation by security forces, which was an indication that the presidency meant business.
Describing the statement by some analysts that Governor Fayemi lost because he did not extend his campaign to local restaurants and bars as “politically infantile analysis”. He said: “You can have a government that is responsive and responsible to the masses. But you definitely cannot reduce governance to eating Akara and drinking beer and ending up in 'bukas'. That is not what governors are supposed to do. It is not done anywhere on earth.
“Even those who preach democracy to us don’t have their governors behave that way. So, all those people pontificating on TV that he lost because he does not go to drink beer or ride Okada are politically infantile analyses. They do not reflect the truth.
“But we in APC have gone to the drawing board to analyse the situation so that we can draw lessons from it and prevent it from occurring again. “In politics, you win, you lose; after all, PDP lost many states to APC. So, we are not crying, gnashing teeth or breaking our heads over it.”
He dismissed the claim that the Ekiti election was a clear example of a free and fair election, noting that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had more to prove in the 2015 general election. According to him, the success of the Ekiti governorship election should not be used to measure the 2015 general election.
He said while the people appreciate improvement in the country's electoral body when compared with previous elections, INEC must be reminded that Ekiti is just one of the states in the country. According to him, "I don't think the same success will be replicated or recorded in the conduct of the 2015 general election.
"Ekiti is just one state and one of the smallest states in the country with about 2.5 million people, so you can bring in about 15,000 police with all other security agencies but can they try it in all the 36 states of the federation? Meanwhile, a protesting group, NECN, has appealed to the new national leadership of APC to as a matter of urgency look into what it described as 'fraudulent imposition' at the convention.
In a statement signed by the coordinator of the group, Musa Ahmad Abdulkareem, and made available to THISDAY, it alleged that the case of Hajia Bakori, "who is said to have been brazenly robbed of her clear chance of emerging the Deputy National Organising Secretary" should be revisited.
The group said: "It has since been confirmed that, Alhaji Suleiman Othman has not met the stipulated guidelines, as he was said to be out of the country and never made the obligatory screening because his attempt to be screened by proxy was turned down by the screening committee.
"On the contrary, Zawaira Sani Bakori entered the contest eligibly and got screened, including attracting enormous votes from the delegates during the convention."
The group therefore urged the party's NEC to immediately declare Hajia Bakori as the authentic Deputy National Organising Secretary.
PDP Tackles APC But in its usual brickbat relationship with the APC, the PDP has descended heavily on the national leadership of the APC for not accepting the processes and outcome of the last Saturday's Ekiti governorship election which was won by Fayose, the PDP candidate. PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, said the position of the APC national leadership over an election widely accepted as one of the freest, fairest and most credible elections in Nigeria, and in which their candidate, Governor Fayemi, had also conceded defeat, demonstrates their "preference for anarchy and blind homage to nihilism and destruction of the democratic order”.
“The APC has once again confirmed that it is nothing but a chaotic organisation, totally averse to democracy and orderliness. It has shown that it is a party of desperate, frustrated and violent individuals promoting a Janjaweed ideology.
“This is a party that is fully aware that it was trounced in all the local governments of the state and even lost in the polling units and wards of its campaign Director-General and that of its Deputy National Chairman, yet it is bent at fomenting trouble to disrupt the peace in Ekiti State apparently out of frustration that it did not get the chance to rig the polls.
“However we wish to alert of an orchestrated plot by the APC to now use the instruments of wild allegations and spurious claims to set the stage to unleash mayhem on Ekiti State using imported armed thugs. We therefore urge Nigerians to note this and hold the APC responsible should there be any breakdown of law and order in Ekiti State,” the party said.
Aregbesola Says Fayose is Intoxicated by Accidental Victory The animosity between the two rival parties yesterday got even deeper, when Governor of Osun State, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, described the outburst of the Ekiti State Governor-elect, Fayose, as an 'over-reaching euphoria of a coincidental victory.'
Fayose had said yesterday that Aregbesola is 'dangerous to Nigeria's democracy' for allegedly calling on his (APC) supporters to challenge security agents during elections.
Aregbesola, in a statement by the Director, Bureau of Communications and Strategy, Office of the Governor, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, said Fayose is only whipping a dead horse by referring to a media report which had been refuted with the retraction published by the same newspaper that published it.
A newspaper had last week published a news item claiming that Aregbesola asked his supporters to dare security agents during elections.
Okanlawon disclosed that the misrepresentation of what the governor said had been refuted the following day, in a well-explained response to the newspaper.
He said Fayose, in an over-joyous celebration of a victory, which subtly came through a yet-to-be ascertained mystery, need to demonstrate that his victory at the poll on June 21 is not a fluke.
The statement said: "We think that after his so-called victory, Fayose should be busy with and worry more on how his government hopes to contend with sustaining and surpassing the huge achievements recorded by the Kayode Fayemi administration before the people of Ekiti get impatient with him.
"But for the lopsided democracy entrenched in this part of the world, individuals like this, who have no business in front of a Government House, would have today through a sleight of hand find themselves in position of responsibility, which they once had and frittered away. "Whatever transpired during that election may be hidden today. Nothing can be hidden permanently from the people.
"But it is germane to say that what happened in Ekiti has no bearing or effect on Osun. Here, we are different; the terrain is different; so are the people and politics.
"We are not in anyway perturbed by the phyrric victory in Ekiti. Ekiti is Ekiti; Osun is Osun. The two are not the same neither are they comparable.
"Therefore the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Ayodele Fayose and their ilk should continue to dwell in their illusory world of 'as it is in Ekiti, so shall it be in Osun."
Okanlawon reiterated that the governor only called on the police to do their job of protecting rather than intimidating the people, who want to exercise their civic duties.
He stated that while the people are exercising their civic responsibilities including voting, soldiers and policemen and men of other security agencies have the constitutional right to protect and not to bully or cow them into submitting to the whims and caprice of some selfish politicians.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Unimpressed with the details of its new policy on the operations of Bureux De Change (BDCs), the House of Representatives yesterday kicked against the new requirements as stipulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for BDC operators in the country.
The lower chamber also set the ball rolling to enact a law that would provide for the lawful management of properties confiscated and forfeited by fraudulent Nigerians.
The House, prompted by a motion moved by Ibrahim Shehu Gusau (PDP, Zamfara), directed the apex bank to suspend the policy just as it invited the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to appear before its banking and currency committee to provide "full brief on the policy somersault".
According to Gusau, the CBN has raised the minimum capital requirement for the operation of BDCs in Nigeria from N10 million to N35 million.
He noted that the mandatory cautionary deposit was equally raised from N3 million to N35 million, which shall be deposited in a non-interest yielding account in the CBN along with the licensing fee, which was also increased from N500,000 to N1 million, adding that the annual renewal fee was also increased from N10,000 to N25,000, while the application fee of N100,000 remained unchanged.
Already, some banks like Zenith Bank have sent out notices to their customers intimating them of the new policy, preparatory for its full implementation.
The motion got the support of many lawmakers. Hon. Asita Honourable (APC, Rivers) described the new policy as "not only super-elitist", but one "intended to create more unemployment in a section of the country."
He emphasised that: "It's discriminatory. In fact, it'll increase Boko Haram killings."
Hassan Saleh (PDP, Benue) dismissed the policy as insensitive, saying it has the potential of worsening the unemployment situation in Nigeria. Expressing what might appear to be neutral views, Hon. Linus Okorie (PDP, Ebonyi), Nadu Karibo (PDP, Bayelsa) and Friday Itula (PDP, Edo) were of the view that the CBN should be allowed to take decisions that would better the country's economy.
Meanwhile, the forfeiture bill which passed the second reading yesterday seeks "to make comprehensive provisions for the confiscation, forfeiture and management of properties derived from unlawful activities".
Sponsored by House Leader Mulikat Akande-Adeola (PDP, Oyo), the bill would be the first of its type.
According to her, there have been concerns by Nigerians over the fate of seized properties, which are sometimes left to rot without being put to good use.
She also noted that often, the whereabouts of monies and structures confiscated by authorities from corrupt officials are not accounted for, thus the need for the bill which aims to provide a coordinated process of managing the properties.
She explained that when passed, the law would enable synergy between anti-graft agencies like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and other related agencies in the fight against corruption in the country.
In her contribution, Hon. Nkiruka Onyejiocha (PDP, Abia) said the bill's consideration came at the appropriate time as it would checkmate the subsisting practice of mismanaging forfeited assets.
However, Hon. Samson Osagie (APC, Edo) cautioned the House "not to place the cart before the horse" by passing the bill, without considering the implications of such a law.
"I want to ask: when will such seizure or confiscation be done? Is it before the trial or after, because individuals are hounded by security and their belongings seized even before charged to court," he inquired. The bill was unanimously adopted and referred by House Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal to the justice committee for further works.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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