The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Media houses’ bomber has case to answer – Court

    Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Tuesday held that Mustapha Umar, being tried for alleged involvement in the bombing of a building occupied by three media houses in Kaduna State has a case to answer.

    The judge, in a ruling, dismissed the no-case submission made by the accused person after the prosecution closed its case.

    Umar, had in his no-case submission, argued that the prosecution failed to make out a prima facie case against him.

    He also argued that all evidence led by the prosecution did not link him to the charges preferred against him

    His lawyer, Nureini Sulaiman prayed the court to set his client free.

    The judge upheld the prosecution’s counter argument that it has sufficient evidence establishing a prima facie case against the accused person.

    The judge called on him to open his defence.

    Umar, a suspected Boko Haram member, is charged with terrorism related offences over the explosion which partly damaged the building -SOJ Plaza.

    The building on Kontagora Road, Kaduna, is occupied by Thisday, the Sun and the Moment newspapers.

    Following the judge’s ruling, Umar testified as the only defence witness. He denied the allegations against him.

    He denied the confessional statement he made in a video evidence tendered by the prosecution.

    Umar said the video, where he admitted the charge, was doctored by his interrogators, who he accused of excluding where he was tortured and compelled to confessing to the crime.

    Justice Ademola adjourned to September 30 for parties to adopt their final written submissions.

     

  • Jonathan to NASS: Restore N72.4b budget cut

    Jonathan to NASS: Restore N72.4b budget cut

    President Goodluck Jonathan has said the reduction of budgetary allocations by the National Assembly will undermine the implementation of the 2013 budget.

    Jonathan in a statement entitled: “Re: 2013 amendment budget” asked the lawmakers to restore the deductions to promote national development.

    He warned that failure to restore the deductions would exacerbate the unemployment situation as well as make it difficult for government to meet its obligations to its workers.

    Though Jonathan did not say where the National Assembly put a total of N72.4 billion it reduced from the budget, some observers noted that some of the cuts made by the lawmakers were uncalled for.

    The observers said the National Assembly should not have tampered with allocations made for construction of roads, amount voted for creation of jobs, health facilities and power projects.

    The President recalled that he had transmitted the 2013 amendment budget proposal to the National Assembly on March 14.

    He noted that following further consultations, he had forwarded a new version of the categorized 2013 amendment budget proposal indicating changes proposed across the expenditure categories.

    He said, “The Capital Projects have now been designated as follows: “critical” is designated as (i); “important” is designated as (ii) and “others” designated as (iii).

    ”Some Capital Projects, the allocations of which were reduced and which we seek your cooperation in restoring so as to promote national development, include the following:

    ”Ministry of Works: Abuja- Lokoja Road reduced by N4 billion; Kano-Maiduguri Road reduced by N3.5billion; Dualization of Ibadan-Ilorin Section 2 reduced by N5.5billion; rehabilitation of Jebba Bridge reduced by N1.25billion; rehabilitation of burnt Marine Bridge and Iddo Bridge reduced by N1billion; Special Intervention Funds for Emergency Roads and Bridges washed out across the country reduced by N6.28billion; Dualization of Obajana Junction to Benin reduced by N4billion, etc.”

     

  • Senate, Presidency on war path over budget

    Senate, Presidency on war path over budget

    …Warns Okonjo-Iweala over ‘incisive comments’

    The Senate and Presidency may be on war path as the upper chamber on Tuesday pushed consideration of the 2013 budget amendment to October.

    The upper chamber also warned the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Nogozi Okonjo-Iweala, against making unguarded comments that tends to pitch it with the Executive arm of government.

    Okonjo-Iweala was reported to have warned that the country’s economy would shut down in September if the National Assembly failed to consider and approve the 2013 budget amendment.

    The Chairman, Senate Committee on Information, Media and Public Affairs, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said at a press conference in Abuja that the Senate will only consider the proposed amendment after its annual vacation.

    The Senate annual vacation begins an eight-week annual vacation on August 2 and ends on September 30, according to Senate’s amended legislative calendar.

    Abaribe said that Senators were at a loss when they read comments attributed to Okonjo-Iweala that the inaction of the National Assembly on the 2013 amendment budget will cripple the national economy.

    Okonjo-Iweala’s comments, he said, did not go down well with the Senate.

    He said that the Senate does not expect any minister or an appointee of the President to make comments which could set the Executive and the Legislature on a collision path.

    He said the implication of the minister’s comment is that the two arms of government are on a collision course.

    President Goodluck Jonathan is expected to send the 2014 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly in September.

    If the 2013 amendment budget which Abaribe described as “humongous” is not considered before the end of September, it means that the National Assembly will have two sets of budgets to consider and approve.

    Abaribe said, “Let me say that we were very perplexed when we read comments allegedly made by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy with respect to the budget.

    “First of all, the Senate does not view the comments made kindly.

    “The feeling of the Senate and indeed the National Assembly is that we do not expect ministers of the Federal Republic and appointees of Mr. President to make comments that tend to give the impression of a collision course between the Executive and the Legislature because we are all working towards the same purpose and our purpose is to make sure that we take care of the welfare of Nigerians.”

     

  • SSS parades Supreme Court judge wife’s abductors

    Security operatives on Tuesday paraded the suspected abductors of Mrs. Adedoyin Rhodes- Vivour, wife of the Supreme Court judge, Bode Rhodes-Vivour.

    Mrs. Rhodes-Vivour was kidnapped in May this year.

    The three paraded suspects are – Austine Umuroko, Wisdom Ovwigho and Oghenero Ogheneriwe, all of whom confessed to the crime.

    They were arrested by a joint team of the Nigerian Army and the State Security Service at the Benin City hideout.

    Parading the suspects before the Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, Bello Barkori, the state director of the SSS, said that sequel to the abduction of the judge wife, her daughter and driver, security operatives were able to rescue the victims and apprehend some of the kidnappers.

    “The three suspects who are members of the kidnap syndicate that abducted the Supreme Court judge’s wife were arrested at 77 Norouwa Street, off 3 House, Upper Sakpoba Road, Benin City,” he told the governor.

    According to Barkori, other members of the gang who lived at Zomi Zomi area of Upper Sakpoba were alerted by Umukoro about the presence of security men at their premises when they escaped with the victims.

    The fleeing members of the gang are – Kelly, Koto, Shaggy, Maxwell and Afoke.

    He said the suspects are currently moving from Ugheli and Warri in Delta state, adding that measures had been put in place to get them arrested.

     

  • HRW to committee: Reject amnesty over ‘atrocities’

    Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday called on the Presidential Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the North to exclude serious crimes that violate international human rights law from the proposed amnesty arrangement.

    In a letter to the committee, the rights group urged it to demand accountability for these crimes.

    The group noted that Boko Haram had carried out a brutal campaign of violence across northern Nigeria, citing its October 2012 report that indicted the sect for murder of civilians and the persecution of Christians.

    The group said these crimes would likely amount to crimes against humanity under international law.

    “HRW has documented serious human rights abuses carried out by government security forces in response to Boko Haram attacks, including dozens of extrajudicial killings, burning of civilian property, and detention-related abuses.

    “Those responsible for these crimes should also be held to account,” the group said.

    Specifically, the Africa Director at Human Rights Watch, Mr. Daniel Bekele, said “Justice for the gravest abuses, whether by Boko Haram or security forces, is essential for victims and building long-term peace in Nigeria.”

    Bekele recalled that the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) had announced in 2010 that it had opened a preliminary examination of the situation in Nigeria.

    He said in November 2012, the office concluded that there was “reasonable basis to believe” that Boko Haram had committed crimes against humanity.

    He, however, noted that the preliminary examination may or may not lead to an ICC investigation.

    “The ICC – of which Nigeria is a member – has the authority to intervene when the domestic authorities are unable or unwilling to investigate or prosecute serious crimes in violation of international law.

    “International law more generally provides that such crimes should be prosecuted, and rejects amnesty for the gravest crimes,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria quoted HRW as saying on the matter.

     

  • Obasanjo canvasses agric-business for Africa

    Obasanjo canvasses agric-business for Africa

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has called on African leaders to attract more youths and women into agriculture to increase food production.

    He made the call in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital on Monday at a Development Round Table for Partnership to end Hunger in Africa.

    Obasanjo said the private sector and other stakeholders must play key roles to make the proposal to work and succeed.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the roundtable session was moderated by Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina.

    The African Union, Food and Agricultural Organisation and the Lula Institute convened the meeting with the theme “Unified approach to end hunger in Africa by 2025.”

    Obasanjo said for Africa to eradicate hunger and poverty, “agric-business must replace farming.’’

    He explained that the sector needed more financing, modern equipment, research and business approach to increase food production.

    He said such an approach would yield the required dividends with only a few hectares of land that would add value to Africa’s staple foods.

    “The fight against hunger must involve every stakeholder, including the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).

    “This effort should not be left to the governments alone; it should include the traditional institutions, the CSOs, the private sector as well as religious leaders and everybody, “the former Nigerian leader said at the forum.

    Former President of Ghana, Mr. John Kufuor said there was need for research to modify and add value to food production on the continent.

     

  • Boko Haram: Military carried out extra-judicial killings, torture – Watchdog

    Boko Haram: Military carried out extra-judicial killings, torture – Watchdog

    A Nigerian government rights watchdog said it had credible reports that the special military force carried out extra-judicial killings, torture, rape and arbitrary detention in efforts to quell the Boko Haram insurgency in the northeastern part of the country.

    In an interim study compiled over June and seen by Reuters on Monday, Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission also said the violence had forced thousands of farmers to flee their land and warned the exodus could trigger a food crisis.

    Reuters says the military authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other campaign groups have made similar allegations over the past three years, but it was unusual to see them in a report compiled by a government organization.

    In May the military began its most concerted effort yet to end a four-year-old insurgency by Boko Haram, a shadowy sect that has killed thousands in a campaign to revive an ancient Islamic caliphate in the northeast.

    The commission’s report said it had received credible “allegations of gross violations by officials of the JTF (Joint Task Force) … summary executions, torture, arbitrary detention … rape,” without saying exactly where or when the atrocities took place.

    The military says its offensive – which started when President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States has driven Boko Haram fighters out of camps near the border with Chad, Niger and Cameroon.

    But the rights commission said that since it began, “thousands have been forcibly displaced both within Nigeria and beyond; a farming season has been lost, threatening the region with a food security crisis.”

    “These consequences threaten a foreseeable humanitarian crisis on the region,” it added.

     

  • Italy grabs Confeds Cup bronze

    Italy claimed third place at the Confederations Cup with a 3-2 penalty shootout victory over Uruguay after a 2-2 draw in an entertaining third-fourth place play-off at Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador.

    Davide Astori slotted home Italy’s opener after an unfortunate deflection off the goalkeeper, before Edinson Cavani’s fine finish restored parity, Goal.com reports.

    Two brilliant free-kicks, from Alessandro Diamanti and Cavani late in the second half added to the score, before an entertaining match was settled on penalties after a competitive extra-time period.

    In the shootout, Diego Forlan saw his effort saved by Gianluigi Buffon, and further misses from Walter Gargano and Martin Caceres handed Cesare Prandelli’s men the bronze medal.

  • Many things are wrong with Nigeria, says Sultan

    Many things are wrong with Nigeria, says Sultan

    The Sultan of Sokoto and President General of the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), Alhaji Mohammad Sa’ad Abubakar said on Sunday the country has stagnated because leaders have refused to allow things to work.

    The Sultan spoke just as the Kaduna state governor, Mukthar Ramalan Yero admonished Islamic scholars to refrain from using the Muslim holy month of Ramadan to cast aspersions on people without proper investigations.

    Speaking at a national conference on the role of Muslim Scholars in fostering unity, peace and security in Nigeria organized by Jama’at Nasril Islam (JNI) in Kaduna, the Sultan said that the nation cannot move forward when leaders are made to believe that they are always right.

    “We cannot move forward when we tell a leader he is always right. No leader is ever right in this circumstance. So many things have gone wrong in this country, and they are still going wrong. So many things are not working because the leaders refused to allow them to work”.

    While noting that the Muslim world was facing  daunting challenge, the Sultan said  “we are very aware just like any other people across the world of the challenges facing us as Muslims, not only in Nigeria; we believe somebody somewhere is pulling the string”.

    The Sultan who is also the Co-Chairman of the Nigeria Inter-religious Council also said “we will not allow anybody to stop us from being Muslims because that is what God brought to us and that is what we chose to be, we will not allow anybody to turn our lives upside down, and whatever anybody does that affects Islam and Muslims.”

    He expressed concern over the level of disunity among Muslims saying “if there is unity among Muslims, there will be peace, and if there is peace, there will be development and progress in our country and there will be total security in Nigeria.

    “If there is security, definitely, there will be development. What is happening in the Northern part of the country is an unfortunate incident which has been forced on us, may be for so many reasons, may be the Almighty Allah (God) wants to correct our ways.

    “I believe it is high time all of us come together and discuss those things that have been pestering our lives as Muslims in this country. I want to state here that our main problems have been lack of unity, lack of consensus in whatever we do, and of course, viz-a-viz so poor in our lives as Muslims in this country.

    “We are begging Allah for constant prayers from all of you, you are all distinguished Ulamas, we need constant prayers from the downtrodden to any other person, we shall overcome all these challenges and move to greater heights by the special grace of God.

    “We are committed to ensuring justice in whatever we do, we are committed to ensuring that whichever leaders God Almighty blessed on us to do what is right, and we must tell them when they go wrong”.

    While lamenting the failure of leadership in the country to provide purposive leadership, he said “as Muslim leaders, we know what the holy Koran said about leadership, we know how our noble leader lived his life which we are all striving to copy in the minutest way, and I believe totally that if we imbibe the virtues of the holy Koran and the virtues of our noble leader, nobody will go wrong.

    “I believe it is high time we put aside so many differences in understanding of Islam, put aside so called promise of big manism, put aside hatred that permeated people’s heart, and put aside personal interest. Put Islam above all, and if you do so, we will find the end of all the problems facing us that we will enable all of us to observe our religious obligations and duties in a peaceful manner.

    “We refuse to accept time without number whenever any violence take place anywhere in the world, if committed by a Muslim, you will hear Islamic terrorist, or Muslim terrorist or Islamic fundamentalist. But when worst violence is perpetrated by somebody who is not a Muslim, we don’t hear the same coinage, or the same factionalization of the same criminal activity linking it to that particular religion.

    “And we believe so many criminal activities have taken place in the name of so many other religion, but Islam has been singled out and it is a challenge for us to wake up, stand together, stretching our hands of unity and face such problem squarely. We can only do that if we put aside our personal differences.

    “I don’t want to talk so much, but I really have so much in mind on such issues, but suffice to say, today we have an opportunity to bare our minds to the President, Commander-In- Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who set up a committee to look into insurgency activities particularly in the North.

    “I believe that committee should also look at other things that are happening in other parts of the country. But this is the first step.  Let us stabilize north in particular, then move to other places, ” the Sultan stated.

  • Senator Ewherido is dead

    Senator Ewherido is dead

    Senator Akpor Pius Ewherido, representing Delta Central  is dead.

    Ewherido, a member of the Democratic Peoples Party ( DPP) died on Sunday at the National Hospital in Abuja.

    President Goodluck Jonathan in a condolence message on behalf of himself and members of the executive expressed  heartfelt condolences to Senator Ewherido’s family, the Senate President, Senator David Mark and all of the late Senator’s colleagues in the upper chamber of the National Assembly.

    He noted that the 50-year old  legislator served commendably as a member and deputy speaker of the Delta State of Assembly before his election as the Senator representing the Delta Central Senatorial District in the 2011 general elections.

    Jonathan prayed that God  will comfort Senator Ewherido’s family, relatives, colleagues in the National Assembly and all the people of his constituency.