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This might prove to be the foundation for a new, effective and efficient policing system in Nigeria. We will get there one day. It is certainly an improvement, forward-looking action and assures the public that it is doing its best to move with the fast-changing world of both environmental and technological changes. Whoever are the new breed of police officers in today’s Nigeria Police Force who are driving this change and movement into 21st Century policing need to be commended, but should also be reminded that the Nigerian police still remains in the Dark Ages (due to many factors, of course) and they have a lot of work and improvement to undertake to truly catapult this primordial police force into engaging with the international police community and regain the trust, loyalty, cooperation and assurances of the people they are employed and entrusted to police, in terms of service, security and safety of lives and property.
This is the current Nigeria Police official WhatsApp number: 0805 700 0003 for reporting and addressing infractions, complaints, concerns and queries regarding activities of officers and men/women of the NPF
They say it is fast and effective to deal with distress calls or when your rights are legitimately wronged by law enforcement officers. It is discrete and safe.
I have tried the Nigeria Police Force WhatsApp No for reporting and addressing infractions, complaints, concerns and queries regarding activities of officers and men/women of the NPF, and BRAVO, it is TRUE and it WORKS. I got instant response within a minute, chatted with an unseen officer, who seems to know his/her onions and is very respectful and polite, and I congratulated them on this initiative and idea.
To cap this good initiative, the officer I chatted with gave me TWO other numbers for the purpose of reporting Crime:
They are: 0805 700 0001 and 0805 700 0002 (these numbers are not for WhatsApp, but voice calls) which he/she explained are dedicated for expressly reporting criminal behaviours, crimes, felonies, etc. It is also discreet and safe.
Yet another good foundation, even if only three numbers for 160 million people, for now, so bear with them.
Just like a friend wrote to me, since they came up with the 999 in the UK or 911 in the US, those services had evolved through feedback, experiences, monitoring and re-appraisal into a formidable service. So peace-loving Nigerians should welcome the service even if it is not working up to scratch at the moment. We can all help the Nigeria Police to work for the improvement of that service if they are serious about it.
First we want a memorable and more user friendly phone number like 222 or 777. The service needs to be manned 24/7. There is technology in place to route calls to hundreds or thousands of call operators who are monitored. The members of the public must be able to register their displeasure or satisfaction with the service through customer satisfaction surveys and complaints. In addition to the service phone number, there is a need for a dedicated internet website where members of the public could register their encounter with corrupt, brutal and unruly police officers.
Even video evidence could be posted on such a website. I urge all contributors to use this opportunity to offer their advice on how the police live up to modern expectation. The Nigeria Police, Customs, Immigration and the civil services are currently a disgrace. We need the input of everyone to make those services be those the public could rely upon.
I am a Happy and Proud Nigerian.
BUT we should plead with the Nigerian public not to abuse this service, and to the Nigeria Police Force (why don’t we change the “Force” to “Service”) to sustain and improve on the service and strive to make it more effective , efficient, user-friendly and not to relent on their efforts to make our society better.
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.
Babatunde Fashola, minister of works, power and housing; and Ibe Kachikwu, state minister of petroleum, will join President Muhammadu Buhari on his trip to the third Gas Exporting Countries’ Forum (GECF) in Iran.
Femi Adesina, special adviser to the president on media and publicity, disclosed this in a statement issued on Friday. According to Adesina, the president’s delegation will leave on Sunday and return to the country on Tuesday.
“President Buhari and the leaders of Iran, Russia, Qatar, the Netherlands, Venezuela, Oman, Algeria, the United Arab Emirates, Bolivia and other member-countries of the GECF are expected to review the current market outlook on gas and discuss strategies for boosting gas production during their meeting in Tehran,” the statement read. “Nigeria and other GECF members currently account for 42 percent of global gas production, 70 percent of global gas reserves, 40 percent of pipeline transmission of gas and 65 percent of the global trade in Liquefied Natural Gas.
“President Buhari who is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with other participating heads of state and government on the sidelines of the GECF summit, will also meet with Nigerians resident in Iran.
“The president will be accompanied on the trip by the minister of foreign affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, the minister of power, works and housing, Babatunde Fashola, the minister of state for petroleum resources, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu and the national security adviser, Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno (retd.). “The delegation is due back in Abuja on Tuesday, November 24, 2015.”
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.
A wise man once told me: “Nigerians are mules, everyone who can, kicks at them.” The thing is, the more things change, the more they feel the same. In 1984, Major-General Muhamadu Buhari as military tyrant diagnosed “indiscipline” as Nigeria’s national malaise. Buhari
The sexy power word in those days was “summarily.” Buhari promised that the military government of which he was head would “summarily” deal with any Nigerian who was found wanting in “discipline.” He quickly launched a “War Against Indiscipline.” It caught on fire.
Nigerians were pressed to “behave.” They began to queue for buses and other services in places like Lagos, notorious for jumping queues. That was the greatest achievement of WAI: Nigerians learnt to queue. Military governors sometimes arrived the gates of government secretariats very early, and waited for government workers who arrived late.
Late-coming civil servants were humiliated, made to kneel down irrespective of their office or positions, or age, and frog-jumped as punishment for coming late to work. In some cases, they were “summarily dismissed.” Buhari’s government authorized armed soldiers to raid warehouses, and seize the goods of traders accused of “hoarding essential commodities.” That was in a period, of course, when “ESSENCO”was very scarce. Buhari’s War Against Indiscipline, stemmed from his genuine convictions that Nigerians were an undisciplined lot, and had to be forced to obey the simple laws of the land, and of courtesy.
Recent evidence suggests that Buhari continues to believe this as a fundamental problem with the Nigerian character. Last week, our friends, Dr. Barry and Claire Mauer had us all over for a party for Claire’s birthday at their College Park, Orlando, home. We were all going at it, with a little wine and sherry, and that good stuff, when Shanti, another friend of ours said, “I hear your president say all you Nigerians are unruly, and you need to stop being unruly!” I too had heard that the previous day on the BBC.
It was big news for the BBC that president Buhari’s Independence Day message to Nigerians was that Nigerians were “unruly.” It triggered their fancy so much that they made such an event of it. They brought a Nigerian, whose name I do not now recall, and Ghana’s Elizabeth Ohene, to talk about the “unruliness” of Nigerians as claimed by a president who increasingly seems really disconnected from the Nigerian reality. In the symbolic moment of Nigeria’s 55th anniversary as an Independent nation, more sober considerations should have been made regarding the trajectory of Nigeria’s journey, the transitions that have been made, and the true reasons for the failures of Nigeria.
We should rather celebrate the hardiness and resilience of Nigerians in the face of a terribly confused administration as Buhari’s is turning out to be.Ordinary Nigerians must not be made to carry the can for failed political leadership this past fifty-five years, of which Buhari has been a distinct part. The President had not much to say to Nigerians except that Nigerians are unruly and discourteous, and must change, in order to achieve development. Actually, this is the worst Independence Day speech I have heard of any Nigerian president. It had no concrete facts. It simply was high on the weed of self-indulgence. On such a symbolic day, President Buhari should have celebrated Nigeria, and offered it hope.
There are ordinary Nigerians laboring heroically to turn the disadvantages of being Nigerian into something hopeful, and meaningful. Nigerians are not unruly. The Nigerian child I know is taught, right from the home, to be courteous, and respectful of people, especially, older people. Nigerians know to “throway salute” when they meet you. They say, “Afternoon, sir!” “Enlee ma!” “I boola chi e!” and so on. Nigerians are not, by their very nature, or even by acculturation, unruly or discourteous.
Our political leaders have been unruly and discourteous. Those are the real culprits and makers of our national malaise. They have very little regard or respect for the civil and economic rights of Nigerians. Anyone who suddenly arrives at political office, begins immediately to see the rest Nigerians as adversaries and enemies; people who must be contained and repressed, and garrisoned.
Nigerians are constantly infantilized in the minds of the men and women who arrive at power. That is the true meaning of unruliness: to ride rough-shod on your county men because you have the privilege of the protections of public office.
It is unruly of public office holders to capture the road on a hot, uncomfortable, tropical day, with sirens and a long convoy, and horse-whip people to the sideways, and travel freely while the rest must deal with congested traffic. It is unruly to shield political power holders behind the barricade of high walls inside government buildings, while the rest of Nigerians are left to the vagaries of crime. I think President Buhari must first, look inward.
As president, propriety demands that he be accompanied by no more than his police orderly in public, while the secret service organize his security with unseen and invisible agents, who mingle with the crowd, without harassing Nigerians with an overwhelming image of armed power. It is the image of overwhelming force, especially modeled by the military that has created the psychological crisis that has reduced Nigerians to its current social miasma. Nigerians, subjected to force rather than governance, since 1966, are suffering from the trauma of social violence, and are reproducing that violence. They know nothing else but the unruliness modeled by the makers of the public system: the government, and political leadership. It will not do merely to preach order, curtsey in society, when the conditions in which Nigerians live make it possible.
If there was a well-organized public transport system, Nigerians would have no need to “rush.” But in a city like Lagos, with a population over fifteen million, to have only one means of moving that population is madness in itself. It is nightmarish, and the social pressure of moving about in Lagos which ought to, like cities even half its size, have an underground system, a surface metro system, a water transport system, as well as well-kept roads that do not clog up movement, makes courtesy difficult, and unruliness only a means of survival.
A man who has no access to clean public toilets, must defecate, and if he cannot find any will be forced to the indignity of relieving himself in public. To prevent that, it is incumbent on governments to provide clean public toilets in strategic places, to prevent such unruliness. The government itself must model the meaning of courtesy, by treating the public with the highest respect in public.
A government officer, like a policeman or soldier or tax collector, who harasses any member of the public is modeling unruliness; a government who keeps armed soldiers and police on the highways and streets where they harass Nigerians, is an unruly administration, and will reproduce an unruly nation.
A government that offers, not work, but whips to Nigerians, will create the kind of social pressure that will make civilized conduct impossible. So, President Buhari should for a moment, get off the back of Nigerians. Nigerians did not elect him merely to preach, they elected him to act. So, to make Nigerians more courteous, the government should begin a work program, strengthen internal regulations and enforcement codes in the public service, provide public infrastructure, enough to make an aggressive search for it redundant. That will reduce the kind of social pressures that make Nigerians unruly.
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.
In their attempt to cover up the setback suffered by its troops in a recent battle with the extremist Boko Haram sect and discredit PREMIUM TIMES exclusive report on the matter, senior officials of the Nigerian Army have made at least four contradictory statements in the last 24 hours.
Nigerian Army spokesman, Colonel SK Usman
PREMIUM TIMES had exclusively and authoritatively reported that at least 105 soldiers attached to the 157 battalion went missing after they came under intense attack from Boko Haram insurgents in Gudunbali, Borno State, on Wednesday morning,
Reliable military insiders also told this newspaper that the terrorists captured a T-72 tank as well as several artillery weapons from the unit.
When PREMIUM TIMES contacted the spokesperson of the army, Sani Usman, before the story was published, he directed us to forward our enquiries to officials of 7 Division in Maiduguri.
However, the spokesperson of the 7 Division, Tukur Gusau, a colonel, also declined to comment on the matter saying the commander of the division would address a press conference on the issue later on Thursday and that it was improper for him to pre-empt his commanding officer.
However, after our story ran, Mr. Usman called our reporter to officially confirm that the attack indeed took place as reported.
“I want to confirm the incidence at Gudunbali but the details you provided were not correct. “The unit attacked is within the area of responsibility of the MNJTF and troops are now organising to counteract the attack,” he said.
However, he did not give contrary details of the attack to counter PREMIUM TIMES account of the incident. He merely added that the theatre of command would provide details during a press conference in Maiduguri later on Thursday.
During that press briefing, attended by our reporter in Maiduguri, the commander of 7 Division, Yushau Abubakar, also admitted that the troops were involved in a major clash with the insurgents. He further stated that several causalities were recorded on both sides.
“Our troops were attacked in Gudumbali where we dislodged the Boko Haram there. We had an attack and we are sorting it out. But I have not heard anything relating to what is being reported in the media, he said.
He however became evasive when pressed further for details of the attack by journalists.
“I have spoken with the CO (commanding officer) there even this morning and I have not heard anything of such from him. Yes, we went to Gudumbali and we were attacked and we repelled them and we are currently sorting out the situation. In war anything can happen and the operation is ongoing.”
However, later on Thursday evening, the military issued a statement describing the report of the attack as a product of “the imagination of those sympathetic to Boko Haram ways of life.”
“The attention of the Theatre Command Operation Lafiya Dole was drawn to an online media publication saying troops of 157 Task Force Battalion were overran by the Boko Haram terrorists in Guzamala axis of Borno state and that several personnel were killed and several others cannot be accounted for including the Commanding Officer of the Unit, the statement signed by Mr. Gusau read.
At no point in our two reports on the matter did PREMIUM TIMES say the soldiers were killed. We merely reported that they were missing.
“The Theatre Command wants to state clearly that the story is a fabrication from the imagination of those sympathetic to Boko Haram ways of life.
“Although the location of 157 Battalion was attacked last Wednesday and was subsequently repelled by the gallant troops of the Unit, the Commanding Officer of the Unit is in contact with his Brigade Commander.
“However, the unit suffered some casualties which is normal in military operations. The affected personnel sustained minor injuries but no gunshot wound was sustained by the troops.
“The number of casualty and equipment lost as being circulated is not correct. The situation was unnecessarily blown beyond proportion to give terrorists the type of propaganda they desired,” he stated.
Also later on Thursday night, Mr. Usman, circulated another statement, describing the incident in Gudunbali as a “slight setback”.
“The situation is being stabilised,” he said. “The troops have rejoined their unit for further action. The earlier media reports were exaggerated. The CO is right now with his soldiers. It is just a minor setback and such are common in military operations,” he said.
However, in all its comments on the incident, the military failed to say whether soldiers went missing at any point during the operation or not.
PREMIUM TIMES Managing Editor, Musikilu Mojeed, said Friday morning that his paper was standing by its story.
“We are not surprised by the army’s desperate attempt to confuse Nigerians,” Mr. Mojeed said.
“We understand they were shocked that we got to know about the incident. We stand by our story, and we will provide further details as necessary.”
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 Rivers State Chapter of All Progressives Congress, APC, has received the sad report of the destruction of the secretariat of APC non-indigenes in Bonny located on Hospital Road, Bonny by one Mr. Asinyetogha Jumbo a.k.a Oboaja, who is also the landlord of the said property legally rented by the occupants.
According to the report lodged with the State Secretariat of the APC in Port Harcourt Monday, trouble started after Mr. Asinyetogha Jumbo, a staunch member of the PDP in Bonny after the inauguration of the Bonny CTC over the weekend. Straight from the event, he went and attacked and destroyed the billboards, flags and other signage of the APC around the secretariat that serves as APC non-indigenes’ Secretariat in Bonny.
The landlord then descended on the secretariat, defacing and destroying parts of the secretariat beyond use. All attempts by eyewitnesses to restrain the assailant reportedly proved abortive.
The tenants were eventually forced to report the matter to the Bonny Divisional Police who reportedly arrested Mr. Jumbo. However, the APC later learnt that the culprit was released by the Police under hazy circumstances that have left the complainants asking many questions than they are getting answers.
If the landlord wanted to eject the tenants from the building, we believe that there are laid down course of actions clearly outlined by law for the landlord to follow and not take the law into his miserable hands. We are surprised that Mr. Jumbo, a PDP member is still in the past and does not know that the pernicious days of impunity and resort to brutish might are over. It seems to be lost on him that change is here.
Therefore, the APC urges the Rivers State Commissioner of Police to urgently and vigorously intervene in the matter and ensure that Mr. Asinyetogha Jumbo is immediately arrested and prosecuted. The APC would like to count on the resolve of CP Musa Kimo to nip violence and criminality in the bud and, in this case, personally get the Bonny Divisional Police office to do the needful by making Mr. Jumbo face the law without delay to forestall our members from the temptation and lure of self-help.
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 Endorsed Oronna Ilaro Festival 2015 begins today with a Road Show around the town of Ilaro Yewa and other Yewa communities in the environ.
The weeklong festival starting from today will culminate in a grand finale on Saturday November 21 at Asade Agunloye Pavilion, Empire Field Ilaro- Yewa with Senator Ibikunle Amosun, the governor of Ogun state as special Guest of Honour.
The chairman of the Grand Finale of the festival is Barrister Biyi Otegbeye, the Managing Director of Regency Alliance Insurance Plc while other top dignitaries expected at the occasion includes Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Senators and other federal and state lawmakers.
The Chairman of the planning committee for the fourth year running, Chief Kayode Odunaro said the over two decades annual cultural festival which was endorsed as a tourism festival on national tourism calendar by Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) in 2012 is celebrated in honour of the legendary warrior Oronna as a unifying developmental platform for the display of cultural practices of Ilaro and Yewa people of Ogun state.
Among the regular activities highlighting the festival are tributes to Oronna and other deities, Egungun and Gelede Masquerade display, Sisi Ilaro cultural beauty pageant, Poosu Night in celebration of food tourism and the all-white attire Onigba Aje ceremony. Others are a three day medical checkup programme, Festival 50 Kilometer race, Jumat and Thanksgiving service as well as the grand finale where over 70 clubs and societies will pay homage to HRM Oba Kehinde Olugbenle, the Olu of Ilaro-Yewa and paramount Ruler of Yewaland.
As in last year, sons and daughters of Ilaro and Yewaland in Diaspora as well as other foreign tourists from United Kingdom, USA and Barbados with cultural origin traceable to Ilaro-Yewa are participating in the festival geared toward eco-tourism.
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 attention of the Rivers State Chapter of All Progressives Congress, APC, has been drawn to surreptitious and illegal attempts by the annulled Rivers State Government led by Gov. Nyesom Wike to obtain another N10billion loan from banks under the false pretence of using such a loan to provide infrastructure.
This development was brought to the attention of the APC by the Rivers Progressive Forum [RPF], an organisation that pursues the advancement of Good Governance in Rivers State and the advancement of the welfare of Rivers people.
The APC is shocked that despite the outcry against the incessant borrowing by the Wike-led administration in Rivers State, this time around the governor and his people have written, pressurising banks to ‘waive all legal and regulatory provisions designed to prevent abuse of the process and the use of the State’s Monthly Excess Crude Account allocation as collateral.’ The Rivers State Government is defying all known decency in financial discipline by particularly asking the banks for a waiver of the State Fiscal Responsibility Laws amongst others.
The APC is happy that the RPF has in its possession and is about to publish copies of the ROGUE LETTERS written by the Wike government to banks requesting for the loan and pressurising them for various waivers in what the RPF refers to as ‘borrowing Rivers people into perpetual penury.’
The APC condemns this obvious act of criminality by the Rivers State Governor and his clique of co-travellers. We believe that no one will still be in doubt that the Wike administration in Rivers State is only out to defraud Rivers people of their commonwealth because this cannot be an auspicious time for a government whose existence has been annulled by the tribunal to embark on borrowing even when Federal allocations have significantly shot up since President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office.
The APC joins the Rivers Progressive Forum [RPF] to warn the Wike-led government and those who have chosen to travel this road of perfidy with them, to be conscious of the fact that they will all be held to account for the mindless fraud they have chosen to perpetrate against the good people of Rivers State as the APC joins to report this criminal collaboration to relevant agencies of the Federal Government for necessary action and prosecution of those found culpable.
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.
“A doubtful friend is worse than a certain enemy. Let a man be one thing or the other, and we then know how to meet him.” – Aesop
Say what you want to say about Kabiru Marafa, the distinguished Senator representing Zamfara Central constituency in the 8th National Assembly, but never call him a shy one. Since the emergence of Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki as the President of the Senate, Senator Marafa has continually and consistently made himself an attempted visible thorn in the side of the Senate President.
Just a few weeks ago, in the days leading up to the submission of the first ministerial list to the Senate, Senator Marafa’s veins became visibly protruded at the Senate plenary as he flashed handsigns of ‘Waka!’ at a few of his colleagues that opposed his point of order on the Vote of Confidence passed on the Senate President.
In the days following the announcement of the Senate Standing Committees by the Senate President, Marafa granted a well-publicized article stating that he thought Saraki had done right in the constitution of the Senate committees, and there would be no cause for alarm.
Many like me thought that this development spelled out that peace would once again rein in the Senate, and the Unity Forum and Like Minds camps, would again merge back to being one strong and united majority party. However, this was too much to ask for.
Flash-forward to Tuesday, November 10, 2015, Marafa began to (for lack of a better phrase) ‘change mouth.’ The same man, who had previously been content with his selection as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Identity & National Population – Grade A committee, given the population census is set to occur next year, came to the floor of the Senate armed with a new argument; he was changing his mind from his earlier statement. According to Marafa’s new point of view, Saraki had skewed the numbers of committees in favour of certain interests.
Now, given his earlier belief that Saraki had done well by the Senators in the constitution of the committees, it is difficult to take Marafa seriously anymore. As it stands, the math is clear, and the masses of Senators seem satisfied with the composition of the Senate committee leadership. However, as we have seen recently in the House of Representatives, with Femi Gbajabiamila’s immature strongman tactics, it is clear that the role that Marafa is playing is not to point out the orders that have been breached, but to constantly ‘chook’ Saraki – regardless of whether he is at fault for an issue or not.
I mean, common, with the Unity Forum frontman, Ahmed Lawan set to Chair the Committee on Defence, while George Akume, his lieutenant, set to head the Committee on Army, and other Unity Forum stalwarts like Remi Tinubu set to head the Committee on Women Affairs, it is clear that at this point, obstructionism by any means necessary is the main tactic and agenda of Marafa.
If Marafa wants to be taken seriously moving forward, he must be a spokesman of his Senate pressure group who says what he means, means what he says, and stands by what he says. Otherwise, observant Nigerians will begin to question if all the noise that Marafa makes at the Senate is for personal gain (i.e. assignment of juicy committees), or, if he is actually and truly concerned about the Senate. Only time will tell.
However, Marafa’s first words on the Senate Committee assignments still stand. And the politics that he intends to play on the floor of the Senate regarding this issue, must be monitored by Nigerians. This is because, more than six months into this APC-led government, some of our lawmakers have elected to work, while others have chosen the path of making noise, getting loud, and slowing Nigeria down through their petty squabbles at the Apex legislative chamber in the country.
John Elias is a young journalist/writer with a deep love for Nigeria.
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 sack of the former Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Lamorde, has been linked to his handling of the Corruption case against the Chairman of the CCT, Dan Ladi Umar, who was being investigated for taking bribes from Mr. Rasheed Taiwo, a former Comptroller of Customs.
Based on documents signed by Former Attorney General, the EFCC’s investigation revealed that Dan Ladi Umar, did not only meet the accused he also accepted the bribe through his PA, he also allegedly kept on pestering Taiwo for the balance of the N10million that he had requested. Helpless to meet up with the balance, Mr. Taiwo petitioned the EFCC in the case against Dan Ladi. The EFCC then launched a case against Dan Ladi and found out that:
· Dan Ladi then texted Taiwo his account number using his own phone: 0807 445 5022;
· Dan Ladi also sent Taiwo the details of his PA, Ali Gambo Abdullahi to Mr. Taiwo’s number: 0803 336 7814;
· Taiwo paid N1.8 million into Dan Ladi’s account, and Dan Ladi’s PA withdrew the money on the same day 12/12/12.
After reviewing the facts of the bribery case, Bello Adoke (SAN), the former AGF, wrote to President Jonathan on the 7th of May, 2014, stating: “In light of the foregoing therefore, Your Excellency may wish to initiate the necessary steps for the removal of the Chairman.”
Lamorde wrote back to the AGF stating that there was in-fact strong evidence to suggest an attempt by Dan Ladi to “cover up” the bribery scandal. It is believed that the Chairman of the EFCC may have dropped the charges against Dan Ladi, because the Senate started investigating him on the 26th of August, 2015
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.
Any careful observer of the interaction between Nigeria’s justice system and the political attacks on non-conformists will immediately surmise that Nigeria’s justice system is under attack. Similarly, as democracy is aimed at enshrining institutions and precedents for the common good, and not to serve vested interests, people have started to notice that the way and manner our investigative bodies and our courts are handling certain legal cases, does not bode well for the future of our great country in the long-run.
During the 2015 general elections, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presented its manifesto to Nigerians with promises of fighting corruption and prosecuting those found guilty of corrupt practices irrespective of class, status, and party affiliation. Nigerians had high expectations of having a corruption-free society in no time. Now that the present government has been sworn into power, things are now taking a different turn from what was earlier promised.
The rise to power and the subsequent intended-purging of chosen targets in the political space, one by one, group after group, has become the order of the day.
So far, we have witnessed arrests, re-arrests, court cases, court hearings, EFCC invasions of private properties, public harassment and embarrassment of Nigerians both in power and out of power. It has also become apparent that only members of the opposition party (PDP), and people who supposedly do not bend to the whims of the present government have been through this ordeal time and time again. Now, I ask: “Is the promised War on Corruption?” Also, “Can corruption be used to fight corruption?”
First, it was the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki. Having been alleged to have orchestrated President Buhari’s arrest over three decades ago, the Department of State Security (DSS) violated the law by harassing him when the case against him was already before a court. Even after Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High court ordered his passport returned to him to enable him to go abroad for medical treatment — an order from some highly placed people was given to the operatives to effect his arrest at the airport.
Godswill Akpabio, the former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, and the current Minority Leader in the Senate, was then next on the target list. We all saw how he was being tossed around like a child — arrested one day, released in the evening of that same day, then re-arrested again the next morning. Have we lost our value for human rights? Whatever happened to due process?
And now, the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) has subjected itself to being used as a tool by some highly placed and masked puppeteers to persecute the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, who many seems to pose a threat to the future ambitions of some nameless 2019 contenders. According to Comrade Shehu Sani, the Senator representing Kaduna Central, the people going after Saraki think that by pinning him down with a case of corruption, he will be discredited, thus, making him unsellable for the future.
Saraki is not just being tried by an incompetent court, but by an incomplete tribunal. Constitutionally, the CCT should have a three-man panel. However, given the need by the political interests to expedite the case against the Senate President, perhaps to remove him before he becomes even more of the ‘perceived threat’ that they think that he is, the court has been sitting with only two members – a breach of Paragraph 15 (1) of the Fifth Schedule of the Nigerian Constitution. Furthermore, to add insult to injury, the court has insulted the superiority of the Supreme Court by going ahead with the trial, even after Saraki’s lawyers made it known that they had filed a case before the apex court of the Federal Republic.
In addition, with the way and manner in which Saraki’s case has been handled, his fundamental human rights are being trampled upon as well. In respect to this, Saraki has sought for the intervention of the High Court, Appeal Court, and now the Supreme Court with a bid to halt the proceedings of the CCT and annul the decision of the Court of Appeal. Will the Supreme Court also subject itself to be used by some puppeteers?
Under Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the rights of an accused person standing trial for a criminal offence are fully guaranteed. The relevant sections are sections 35 and 36. Such rights include: the right to be informed promptly in the language that he understands and in detail the nature of the offence; the right to be given adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his defense; the right to defend himself in person or by legal practitioner of his own choice; and the right to be presumed innocent until he is proven guilty.
The trial judge must also ensure compliance with the fundamental rights of the accused in Section 36 (6) of the constitution and there cannot be a fair trial, when any of the constitutional rights of the accused are violated.
With what has been happening in the CCT for the past few months, it is evident that Section 36(6) of the constitution has been bridged without fear or consideration of the law.
Furthermore, the constitution also states that the accused must be given adequate time and facilities to prepare his defense. In this area, the court should grant adjournment to the accused person either to obtain the service of a counsel where necessary or call a witness that will be material to his case.
During the last hearing at the CCT, Saraki’s legal team walked out of the court in protest of the CCT’s defiance of the case already filed at the Supreme Court which left the Senate President with the option of either defending himself or hiring new lawyers to defend him.
When he was asked how long he would need to get a new set of lawyers, he responded by saying one month. However, the counsel to the Federal Government, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, asked the CCT Chairman, Danladi Umar, to rule for one week which he did, and then Rotimi Jacobs checked his calendar and realized that the date will not favor him, he then went ahead to ask Justice Danladi Umar to rule for two weeks and just like a puppet, the CCT Chairman ruled as he was asked. This was done to the amazement of all present in court and against the wishes and convenience of the accused. Are these not enough pointers to the fact that justice in Nigeria has taken a new turn for the worse?
With all this presented, it is clear that there is more than meets the eye in the cases against Dasuki, Akpabio, and Saraki. At this point, we must all pay attention, and we must all begin to ask about the other APC-stalwarts that have been accused of corruption. Why is no one banging on Amaechi’s doors seeking his arrest at night? Why has Fashola not been invited in for questioning by the EFCC? Why is Fayemi sitting in the comfort of his own home — waiting to be sworn in as a Minister?
The official status and relationship ties of these perpetrators with The Presidency shields them from sanction, creating a culture of impunity in which the most inhumane corrupt acts can be carried out without fear of repercussions.
Everyone seems to be shutting the doors of justice against Bukola Saraki right now. Let us not forget the famous saying from Martin Niemöller:
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
Slowly, the three arms of government are beginning to lose their independence and the executive wants to take us back to dictatorship.
Now they have come for the Legislature and the Judiciary is not speaking out. Someday, when they come for the Judiciary, there may be no Legislature left to speak for them.
If we allow this current government to violate the rights of Saraki, Dasuki and Akpabio today, you do not know who it might be tomorrow.
– Chima Chime is a Writer and Activist from the East –
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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