The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • EFCC alone cannot fight corruption, says Lamorde

    The Chairman,  Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Lamorde has said that the commission cannot wage the anti-crime war alone.

    He stated this on his arrival from a two kilometer walk through some streets of Abuja , which was organized by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) for other para-military organizations such as the Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSDC), Nigerian Prisons Service and others.

    He explained that the road walk was designed for public and private sector workers in direct response to the mandate of the commission to prevent economic crimes such as corruption.

    His words: “The  Programme which we are flagging-off this morning is especially design for employees of  public and private institutions. The essence is to take the anti-graft campaign to workplace, and encourage workers to have a buy-in, as the EFCC alone cannot fight and win the war against corruption in Nigeria.”

    According to him, the sensitization Programme has come a long way as similar campaigns have been extended to the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, Ministry of Transport and other agencies.

    Speaking, the Comptroller-General of the NCS, Dikko Inde Abdullahi, noted that the event kicked off series of workshops to educate the service officers and men on the need for transparency and integrity in the discharge of their duties.

    He said in the campaign, NCS has found the EFCC a worthy partner to cooperate with in order to spread the message that together the two organization are united against corruption.

     

  • Edo bans Okada, to demolish kidnappers den

    Edo State Government has  banned the use of commercial motorcycles, popularly called Okada in three Local Government Areas of the state with effect from next Monday.

    Some houses used by kidnappers as hideout has also been identifies and would be  demolished  in the next few days.

    The State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole who disclosed this on Tuesday shortly after the state Security Council meeting in Benin City, said the affected local Government Areas are Ikpoba Okha, Oredo and Egor which constitute the Benin Metropolis.

    He said it was now increasingly evident that Edo state is gradually becoming a safe haven for all manners of bike riders.

    Oshiomhole said, “In fact there are confirmed Okada riders who have been involved in kidnapping and other forms of violent crimes including robbery. We have tried as a government over the years to take steps to counsel Okada riders to observe certain codes, to watch out and ensure that criminals do not infiltrate their ranks and hide under commercial vehicles to perpetrate crime. It is clear to me now that we have not been particularly successful. More and more Okada riders have been found to be involved in various acts of violent crimes.

    “Also, because of the influx of bike riders, arising from the decision of some of our neighbouring states where bike riders have been prohibited, Edo State has become a safe haven for all manners of bike riders and because they do not get enough commercial patronage, some bike riders have to resort to crime in other to sustain a living while posing to be bike riders,” he noted.

    Oshiomhole declared, “I am convinced that we cannot continue to allow this situation to continue. While I am very concerned about the fact of the level of unemployment in the country, and in Edo state we have our own fair share of unemployment, I am convinced that the long term interest of job creation requires that you attract investors and investment to the state. It is a settled issue that investors will not be in a hurry to go to any state that the level of crime has risen beyond acceptable level.

    “Therefore,  everything considered, we have resolved as a government,  effective from Monday next week, bike riders will not be allowed to operate in any part of Oredo, Ikpoba Okha and Egor Local Government Areas. These three local governments constitute the heart of Benin City. The law enforcement agencies have been informed accordingly and directed to strictly enforce this law,” he noted.

    The governor stated that for now the other fifteen local government areas in the state will not be affected by this law, adding that “should situation deteriorate in those areas, we will meet as a government and review the situation and take the necessary next step.

    Comrade Oshiomhole said that more than eighty percent of accident victims in the hospital are bike riders, noting that “we cannot continue like this. I therefore reached the painful conclusion that it is time to do something and we cannot postpone it further.”

    “I am not in doubt that there are many Okada riders who are not criminals and they have no criminal intentions. I am also convinced that there are many Okada riders who are into legitimate business, unfortunately there isn’t any mechanism for us to distinguish criminals who are also bike operators and decent citizens who are doing their very best to cope with the rigours of life, this is just one sacrifice we all have to make to make our state safer,” he added.

    The Governor therefore appealed to the Okada riders to appreciate the government’s efforts and advised them to abide by the law strictly because a violation will be severely dealt with.

    The Governor disclosed that the security meeting also resolved that all residents in the state, whether they are landlords or tenants should ensure that those they employ as private security guards or maids in their homes have been properly scrutinized and certified that they have the right to reside in Nigeria.

    “That is to say that it is the responsibility of every landlord or tenants to ensure that those they employ or hire as gatemen or security have got proper security scrutiny. The security chiefs have been directed to conduct random checks on security guards in various areas to establish their legal status whether they are Nigerians and if they are not Nigerians whether they have the right to reside in the state, and or have the right to engage in employment,” the governor added.

    While reiterating government’s resolve to demolish buildings used by kidnappers, Comrade Oshiomhole said some of such buildings have been identified and action will be taken on then in soon. He however announced that government will appropriately reward anybody who is able to provide useful information to any arm of the security agencies on criminal elements in the society.

     

  • Ribadu is an hypocrite- Presidency

    The Presidency on Monday described the comment credited to former Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nuhu Ribadu that Nigeria is ‘sinking ship’ as false, hypocritical and self-serving claim.

    Ribadu, at a lecture in Kaduna on Saturday, was said to have declared that Nigeria is a “sinking ship” under President Goodluck Jonathan with the yearnings of the masses being neglected by a tyrannical leadership.

    A statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati noted that there is no tyranny greater than the tenure of Ribadu at EFCC when governors were removed via undemocratic means and illegally barring some persons from contesting elections.

    Ribadu, the statement said, ought to be grateful to the President for saving him from self-imposed exile, restoring his rank in the Nigeria Police and converted his dismissal from service to retirement.

    The statement reads: “The Presidency totally rejects the false, hypocritical and self-serving claim by Mallam Nuhu Ribadu at a lecture in Kaduna on Saturday that Nigeria under President Goodluck Jonathan is a “sinking ship” in which the yearnings of the masses are being neglected by a tyrannical leadership.”

    “We find it very sad and utterly deplorable that Nuhu Ribadu has resorted to shameless wolf-crying, the peddling of arrant falsehood and the denigration of the elected government of his fatherland in furtherance of his selfish quest for continued national political relevance after his wholesale rejection by Nigerian voters in 2011.

    “It is very unfortunate indeed that the once highly respected former EFCC Chairman has now taken to political prostitution and developed a penchant for irresponsible and reckless utterances aimed at improving the electoral fortunes of his new friends and “leader”, who he once famously denounced as a crook who is “not fit to hold public office.

    “There can be no doubt that nothing else but blind ambition for an office for which he is clearly unfit is driving Ribadu to infer that an Administration led by a President who welcomed him back to the country after his self-imposed exile, restored his rank in the Nigeria Police to save him from the shame of demotion and converted his dismissal from service to retirement has now become tyrannical and anti-people. We take special note of his ingratitude.

    “If Nuhu Ribadu wants to talk of tyranny then he should talk of the days when he orchestrated the impeachment of governors with an illegitimate quorum of legislators who had been threatened by the EFCC under his watch. It beats the imagination that Nuhu Ribadu, a man who once presided over an  EFCC which in 2007 compiled a list of disqualified politicians aspiring for office without a court order or legal backing now has the guts to accuse the man under whom Nigeria has had the most credible elections in this Fourth Republic of being  the leader of a “sinking ship.

    “Can there be a greater tyranny than the tyranny of removing governors via undemocratic means and barring legally entitled persons from contesting elections?” The Presidency queried

    “Nothing else but misguided ambition could have driven Ribadu to urge Nigerian youth to rise up and save the country from an Administration which he willingly served recently, but which he now duplicitously and insincerely claims is “imposing private interests on the majority”.

    “It is certainly the height of hypocrisy for Ribadu who built his entire reputation as an anti-corruption crusader by completely disregarding the rule of law and recklessly trampling on the rights of perceived enemies of the government of the day, to now accuse an administration that has consistently upheld the rule of law and respect for fundamental human rights of being tyrannical.

    “It is only a shameless man that will turn around and accept to be the political lackey of a man he once openly accused of corruption at various times between 2004 and 2007. Now that he has been used and abused by the undemocratic overlords that reign over the ACN and fearing that he may soon be dumped now that that vehicle is about to be subsumed into the so called All Progressives Congress, Ribadu is  desperately seeking fresh relevance.

    “Ribadu’s descent into a moral abyss since leaving the exalted office of EFCC Chairman, his equally ethically-challenged new friends and his willingness to vituperate against any person or institution he perceives as a challenge to the fulfillment of his unattainable ambitions, have clearly exposed him for what he truly is – a thoroughly unprincipled attention-seeker whose entire career in the public service was built on bootlicking and doing the bidding of the powers of the day without a care for legality which should have been his primary concern as an officer of the law.

    “President Jonathan and his Administration will not be distracted from the diligent implementation of the agenda for national transformation by the falsehoods and vituperations of Ribadu and his new friends.

    “Far from being tyrannical as Ribadu falsely alleged in Kaduna, President Jonathan will, as he has consistently done since assuming office, continue to strengthen institutions of democratic governance in Nigeria, uphold the fundamental human rights of all Nigerians including the youth, and protect their right to elect leaders in free, fair and credible elections.” Abati  stated

  • Unilag shuts shops over protest

    The University of Lagos has shut all shops on the campus following protest by students against high prices of goods and services.

    The Director of Students Affairs in a text message to all students said the shops will remain closed until the issues raised against the owners by students  are resolved.

    Students of the institution had held a peaceful protest against what they described as expensive cost of living on the campus which they blamed on the high prices charged by owners of business outlets.

  • INEC warns politicians, parties to stop campaigns

    The National Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) has warned political
    parties and politicians in the country to stop all acts of electioneering campaign.
    The electoral body noted that the unbridled campaign towards the forthcoming General Election, which is contrary to the provision of Section 99(1) of the Electoral Act 2010 (As Amended),  is alsready heating up the polity.
    It has therefore called on security agents to apprehend violators, whose activities in this regard pose a threat to public order.
    Section 99(1) of the electoral law states that “For the purpose of this Act, the period of campaigning in public by every political party shall commence 90 days before polling day and end 24 hours prior to that day.”
    According to a statement issued by Mr. Kayode Robert Idowu, Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Political parties are advised to note that campaigning outside this provision is a violation of the law.
    The commission which observed that campaign posters are being indiscriminately displayed, while electioneering broadcasts are being aired outside the statutory provision also warned that it will not hesitate to apply appropriate sanctions against culprits as provided by relevant sections of the law.
    The statement reads:
    “The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has observed that some politicians and registered political parties have begun unbridled campaign towards the forthcoming General Election, thereby heating up the polity.
    “It is observed that campaign posters are being indiscriminately displayed, while electioneering broadcasts are being aired outside the statutory provision for campaigning towards elections into various elective offices.
    This trend is unhealthy and portends ill for the political process. Indeed, it is a threat to Nigeria’s democracy.
    “The Commission hereby reminds all players of the provision of Section 99(1) of the Electoral Act 2010 (As Amended), which states as follows:
    “For the purpose of this Act, the period of campaigning in public by       every political party shall commence 90 days before polling day and end 24 hours prior to that day.”
    “Political parties are advised to note that campaigning outside this provision is a violation of the law, and the Commission will not hesitate to apply appropriate sanctions against culprits as provided by relevant sections of the law.
    “Meanwhile, INEC calls on security agents to apprehend violators, whose activities in this regard pose a threat to public order.
    ” The Commission enjoins all parties to play strictly by the rules, as part of a collective effort to ensure the success of the 2015 elections.”

  • Police lied on slain UNIBEN student – Pathologists

    The preliminary reports of the pathologists who examined the exhumed remains of the University of Benin student, Ibrahim Momodu, showed that he was shot from the back with three bullets, which torn his heart, before exiting through the upper part of his chest.

    The reports, according to the Counsel to Momodu’s family, Barr. Jefferson Uwoghiren, showed that the police lied when they claimed that the deceased was caught with a Russian made cut to size gun.

    Uwoghiren, who rejected the irregular procedure of the police, demanded that the DPO of Ogida Police station, Mrs. Carol Afegbai and other members of her patrol team be immediately charged for murder and conspiracy to murder an innocent person.

    He said, “We the solicitors to the family of Ibrahim Momodu, the student killed by the DPO of Ogida police station, Benin note with concern and dismay attempts by the police authority in Edo State to obfuscate the legal process of bringing the accused DPO, Mrs. Afegbai and members of her patrol team to trial, by delivering report of the police investigation on the murder of Ibrahim Momodu to the Director of Public Prosecution without first charging the accused police officers to court.

    “The family also reject attempt by the police authority to exonerate the DPO because of her high rank and gender but is happy to sacrifice her orderly, even when the DPO had severally claimed to have personally pulled the trigger, an action that is consistent with her known sadistic conducts in the Ogida area of Benin City.”

     

  • IK Uche’s Villareal returns to La Liga

    IK Uche’s Villareal returns to La Liga

    Nigeria international striker, Ike Uche, has returned to play in the Spanish top flight with Villarreal.

    Villarreal beat Almeria 1-0 on Sunday to record 74 points and finish second behind second division champions Elche to make an instant return to La Liga after its relegation the previous season.

    Uche scored 14 goals to finish as his club’s top scorer in their successful campaign to return to the top flight, MTNFootball.com reports.

    The 29-year-old striker has played in La Liga with Zaragoza, Getafe and Granada, where he was on loan from Villarreal.

    Almeria, who parade former Nigeria U-20 skipper Ramon Azeez, and Las Palmas, who has Macauley Chrisantus, will play off for the final promotion slot from the Spanish Segunda Division.

     

     

  • Mourinho okays Omeruo for Chelsea

    Mourinho okays Omeruo for Chelsea

    Super Eagles defender, Kenneth Omeruo, has moved closer to joining Chelsea following a seal of approval by returning boss Jose Mourinho.

    Representatives of Omeruo specially informed MTNFootball.com that the young central defender is now “95 per cent certain” to join the English Premier League club after he earned Mourinho’s approval.

    “It is now 95 per cent certain that Kenneth will finally team up with Chelsea for the coming season. Mourinho has said he wants to work with Kenneth after watching him at the recent Africa Cup of Nations in South Korea,” disclosed a representative, who declined to have his name in print.

    “He watched him against Didier Drogba at the Nations Cup and he said he liked what he saw.

    “He will therefore not be heading back to Dutch club ADO Den Haag, where he has spent the last one and half seasons on loan.”

    Omeruo’s inclusion in Nigeria final squad for this month’s FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil has enhanced his chances of joining the London club.

    MTNFootball.com specially gathered that Chelsea officials plan to apply the special talent case to get the 19-year-old Omeruo to England, just as they did in the case of compatriot Mikel Obi.

    Omeruo will not qualify for a work permit in England as he has not played 75 per cent of his country’s games in the last two years having only made his full international debut against Cape Verde in January.

    The young Eagles defender, who has represented Nigeria at U-17 and U-20 levels, played a total of 26 matches and scored two goals in his time at ADO Den Haag.

     

  • South Africans pray for ailing Mandela

    South Africans pray for ailing Mandela

    Prayers have been said in churches across South Africa for former President Nelson Mandela, who is spending a second day in hospital for treatment for a lung infection, BBC reports.

    The presidency has so far provided no update on his condition although further details are expected later.

    His condition on Saturday was described as serious but stable.

    Mr. Mandela, 94, had been ill for some days before being taken to a Pretoria hospital early on Saturday.

    It is the third time this year he has been admitted to hospital.

    Hundreds of worshippers attended Mass on Sunday at Soweto’s Regina Mundi church, famous for its role in the anti-apartheid campaign.

    “I think it’s just a natural experience that everybody wants to hold on to him as much as possible,” acting priest Father Sebastian Rossouw said.

     

  • Atiku’s son pays N1m dowry for ex-gov’s daughter

    Mohammed Atiku Abubakar, son of Nigeria’s former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar on Saturday married Malama  Badariya, daughter of former Bauchi state Governor, Ahmed Adamu Muazu.

    He paid one million Naira and brand new luxury car as bride price for his wife.

    Mohammed Atiku Abubakar also broke a record and set a new one in bride price payment. The record is however, a marked contrast to common Fulani tradition to which Ahmed Adamu Mu’azu, a Fulani cultured man is known.

    The wedding fathia was held in the exclusive reception hall of the Emir of Bauchi’s Palace.

    Jigawa State Governor Alhaji Sule Lamido, represented Mohammed, while Mallam Isa Yuguda, Bauchi state Governor, and son-in-law to the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was the wali or representative of Mua’zu’s daughter, in accordance with the Islamic rites.