The Nation Newspaper

Category: Emeka Omeihe

  • NDA security breach

    NDA security breach

    Under the title, ‘A bandits’ Republic’, I had in this column in March expressed fears on the foreboding prospect of Nigeria sliding to a verity of the sovereignty of the bandits. In the introductory sentences, I wrote inter alia, “Call them by whatever name, the reign of the bandits or herdsmen especially in the north, is fast conveying the miserable impression that there exists a bandits’ republic within the federal republic of Nigeria”

    The bandits’ republic was characterized not in the mould of a classic republic where the rule of law prevails but one that shares common affinity with the Hobbesian state of nature where life has at once become nasty, short and brutish. But adjoining this jungle republic is a modern and legitimate republic which the bandits rebel against and invade at will with the leadership of the latter seemingly helpless.

    In the concluding sentences, the risk of spread of the bandits’ republic to the southern part of the country in the same fashion it thrives in the north was viewed as an emerging reality that must be avoided like a plague if this country is not to be overrun by an assortment of non state actors. The fears encapsulated in that article have been borne out by events in the last couple of months especially within the military circles.

    That is not to say that the reign of the bandits has not continued to leave in its trail, sorrow and awe in parts of the country as evidenced by the constant spilling of human blood in the plateau and elsewhere. But more than anything else, last week’s attack on Nigeria’s elite defense institution, the Nigerian Defense Academy NDA in Kaduna state touched at the very heart of those fears.

    Before the NDA onslaught, bandits operating within the Zamfara and Kaduna state axis had shut down a Nigerian Air Force alpha jet returning from a successful interdiction mission. The pilot, Ft. Lt. Abayomi Dairo escaped miraculously after hot pursuit by the bandits bent on capturing him alive. Elsewhere, it has been a tale of regular kidnapping and murder of school children whose parents were unable to pay ransom to the bandits. This has compelled the shutdown of some schools in the north. The situation is helpless and hopeless as bandits compete with the government for spheres of influence and authority.

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    The gunmen who invaded the NDA in their numbers adorning military uniforms were said to have made their way into the institution by breaking the perimeter fence after which they headed in different directions apparently taking the authorities unawares. They attacked five flats in the residential area, completed their devious assignments with quick precision and left before the people on guard could be of any help. The ensuing attack left two officers dead another abducted with yet another seriously injured.

    In its initial reaction, the Academy through its Public Relations Officer, Major Bashir Muhd Jajira confirmed the security architecture of the institution was compromised by unknown gunmen. He reassured the public that in collaboration with sister security agencies, the Academy had commenced pursuit of the unknown gunmen to track them down and rescue the abducted personnel.

    Many Nigerians and groups are in shock that a highly fortified elite military facility as the NDA could easily be assailed by the so-called unknown gunmen resulting in serious fatalities without any challenge or even being apprehended. If the NDA could succumb to such attack, it could then be imagined the perilous situation the citizenry face in the hands of the all powerful bandits, terrorists and sundry criminals who have become law unto themselves. All these invoke the prospects of a bandits’ republic in real terms.

    The successful execution of the NDA attack as disgraceful and worrisome as it is, has given rise to all manner of speculations. There is the theory that the attack would not have been successful without insider collaboration. Those of this view find it hard to come to terms with the reality that such a well fortified and impregnable institution would have easily succumbed to the attack without some people either compromising or failing in their duties.

    There have also been suggestions that the attack could be the handiwork of moles within the military propelled by some devious agenda. This school suspects some extremists within the military intent on proving some point. Claims that some repentant terrorists are being enlisted into the military; though denied by the authorities, come in very handy here. Events in Afghanistan where repentant Taliban commanders are now playing leading roles in that government are also being referenced upon to question the current policy of the government on de-radicalization and rehabilitation of surrendering or captured terrorists.

    One group that fears the attack is a rehearsal of an impending plot by extremist to capture power in this country is the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union SOKAPU. Its spokesman Luka Binniyat claimed in an interview that the attack denoted a plot by the president Buhari government to turn Nigeria into another Afghanistan. SOKAPU is not alone in this suspicion as many have drawn parallels between the   activities of the Taliban in that country and those of religious extremists in this country raising fears that we may be treading a perilous path.

    There is also a dimension intent on sniffing out possible correlation between the pattern of attacks, those killed, abducted and injured. Was the attack motivated by an agenda to eliminate some people or settle scores of a parochial hue? Though the Defense Headquarters DHQ claimed the officers were killed for resisting abduction, the identity of those killed, abducted and wounded suggests there is more to it than ordinarily meet the eyes. Why was it that only in the flats of those officers resistance came from? And why were they the only ones targeted for abduction since there are no records of other fatalities or abduction?

    All these posers need to be resolved. Good a thing, the DHQ has set up a board of inquiry to ascertain the circumstances that led to the security breach. The inquisition should unravel why the gunmen were able to penetrate the academy, carry out their devilish assignment and escape with relative ease. That could have been neigh impossible without the attackers having expert knowledge of the environment. This reality further suggests that the attackers knew their targets and went straight to their residences to confront them.

    The investigation should properly profile the victims, the positions they occupy in the institution, their career prospects and overall views on national issues to ascertain whether anybody was after them based on their personal achievements, belief or whether the attacks were propelled by ancillary mundane considerations. These are veritable leads that should aid investigations.

    Beyond these however, the attack on the NDA again, brings to the fore the sad reality of the festering insecurity that has reduced the worth of human life in this country. Ironically, the NDA assault is coming at the heels of claims by the federal government that it is winning the war against terrorism. Though we have been accustomed to such bogus claims, the Nigerian Army sought to justify them when it disclosed that 1000 terrorists and their families recently laid down arms and surrendered to them.

    That could as well be. But if Boko Haram insurgency is really waning, the assault on the NDA has opened our eyes to a new dimension to the complicated security challenges ahead. The message is getting clearer that we have been underestimating the complexity of the insecurity the country is caught up with. That is the exact message from Commodore Kunle Olawumi rtd who shocked the country when he disclosed that Boko Haram terrorists during interrogation gave out the names of some current governors, senators and Aso Rock officials as their sponsors.

    He said these facts are available to security agencies but the government has not been able to prosecute those fingered because of partisan considerations. Sheikh Ahmad Gumi made similar claims when he said security agencies know where the bandits are after he was accused of complicity for interfacing with them in the forests. That is where this country has unfortunately found itself. Is anybody still surprised about the fast decent to anarchy?

  • Taliban victory; Boko Haram surrender

    Taliban victory; Boko Haram surrender

    The victory of Islamic militant group, the Taliban and their declaration of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has heightened fears of global spread of terrorism. Though leaders of the new regime said there is a huge difference between Taliban now and 20 years ago, their disposition to terrorism is yet unclear not withstanding their promise that Afghanistan will not serve as a base for terrorism and attacks on other countries. One thing that remains certain is that the exit of the US from that country is bound to have negative effects on global campaign against terrorism.

    For the Taliban and their supporters, US hurried withdrawal is victory for resilience, opposition to foreign domination and occupation. It is also viewed as the triumph of the rights of a people to determine the type of government in which they want to be organized. The wider consequences of this realization for those currently pursuing one form of weird religious agenda or the other could be dire for world peace.

    Given that the Soviet Union made a similar incursion and withdrew after nine years in which the US supported the Mujahideen against them, the withdrawal of the US would seem the last of such foreign incursions from the major powers. It is bound to embolden the Taliban on their touted resilience, patience and uncommon courage to resist and wear out foreign powers despite their superior weaponry.

    The new leadership is not making any pretence about this. One of their commanders, Muhammed Afri Mustafa, apparently buoyed up by their success, told the CNN “America has their helicopters, weapons and tanks on the ground.  But we, Mujahideen, resisted very well. It is our belief that one day, Mujahideen will have victory. Islamic law will come to not just Afghanistan but all over the world. We are not in a hurry; we believe it will come one day. Jihad will not end until the last day”.

    These are weighty statements. And they sum up the disposition of the new regime to Jihad and the enforcement of Islamic laws across the globe. For a militant Islamic sect notorious for exporting terrorism, how they will go about this doctrinaire campaign across the world is an open secret.

    This gives away the group as an unrepentant lot not in a hurry to part ways with its old pasts. US President, Joe Biden captured the dilemma of the Afghan situation succinctly when he said he does not envisage a change of attitude from the new Taliban regime. Not when they see their victory as evidence of their resilience, doggedness and patience in wearing out super powers irrespective of their assortment of superior fighting armament.

    That is the clear message of the Taliban victory. If the Taliban could withstand both Soviet Union and the US despite their superior war technology, militant Islamic groups affiliated to that organization would be encouraged to stay on in their campaigns since victory will come someday. This will in turn, trigger off a domino effect for countries still battling terrorism. The consequences could turn out very devastating.

    For us in Nigeria confronting a variety of terrorism challenges, the message is clear. Tougher times lie ahead. Nigeria is home to Boko Haram/ Islamic State West Africa Province ISWAP insurgency, the insurgency of the herdsmen as well as that of the bandits.  Boko Haram/ISWAP is an affiliate of Al, Qaeda.  Parallels have been drawn between the ideological prompting of Boko Haram, Al Qaeda and the Taliban.

    All share common commitment to Jihad and the institution of Islamic state. They also share common aversion to western education. While Boko Haram sees education as evil, the Taliban is against female education and women freedom. Hundreds of school children have been taken into captivity by both the Boko Haram insurgents and the bandits apparently to discourage education in some states of Nigeria. Many other schools have been shut down in parts of the north in the face of constant attacks from Boko Haram and bandits.

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    The success of the Taliban would serve as a morale booster for this band of insurgents. There are palpable fears that Nigeria would be worst for it. Though the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed believes Nigeria will not go the way of Afghanistan because it is not a failed state, the way some public functionaries and groups responded to the development, shows there are elements within happy with the triumph of the Taliban. How this enthusiasm on Taliban success will rob off on the war against terrorism in this country is only a matter of time.

    But, the description of Taliban success as “an interesting development and a big lesson for Nigeria” by Ishaq Akintola of the Muslim Rights Concern MURIC should be instructive enough. He even celebrated the victory, chiding the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Matthew Kukah and those he said were harassing fellow Nigerians and intimidating the government with threats of reporting them to America, Britain or France to get what they do not deserve. Akintola is obviously happy with the triumph of the Taliban. Its message is not lost on any one.

    There are also people in the current government and elsewhere who had in the past identified with the Taliban and Al Qaeda. One of such is the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami who had said “this jihad is an obligation for every single believer especially in Nigeria. Oh God give victory to the Taliban and Al, Qaeda”. Though he was forced some months back to recant on this commitment, but his wish has come through. Will he be unhappy with the victory of the Taliban?

    Since he claimed youthful exuberance and poor understanding of contemporary events then, does it mean he has no sympathy for the victory of the Taliban now? And could he possibly come out to condemn the Taliban victory?  These questions expose the contradictions in the excuses the government gave for absolving him of glaring sympathy for terrorist organizations. Let him speak up since he now knows better.

    Events in Afghanistan have also brought to closer scrutiny, the policy of the Nigerian government on de-radicalization and rehabilitation of ‘repentant’ Boko Haram fighters. Just last week, the Nigerian Army denied plans to release some of the 1000 terrorists who reportedly laid down arms and surrendered. It said contrary to reports, they would rather be processed and passed on to the relevant agencies of the government for further assessment in line with extant provisions.

    Before now however, the military runs a 16-week course-Operation Safe Corridor OPSC to help low-risk defectors get integrated into the communities they left behind. But this policy has been under intense criticism as it has no room for the prosecution of the so-called repentant terrorists for atrocities committed by them. The argument is that without giving justice to those unjustly battered and displaced by the terrorists, it is difficult to secure forgiveness from them. This calls for the prosecution of ‘repentant’ terrorists irrespective of their surrender.

    It has also been argued that the loyalty of the ‘repentant’ terrorists cannot be guaranteed as some of them find it difficult to detach from their old ways. They could pose more lethal threat to their immediate communities as evidenced by the refusal of some of these communities to re-admit them in their fold.

    This fear draws support from current events in Afghanistan. Khairullah Khairkhwa, one of the five Taliban commanders held in Guantanamo Bay from 2002-2014, released in exchange for US army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is now one of the Taliban leaders in Afghanistan. That is the stark reality that confronts this country as it toys with OPSC.

    It also smacks of contradictory policy stance to haul sundry self-determination agitators into detention when those responsible for heinous crimes that brought sorrow and awe to many families are released to go home under the de-radicalization policy. The Taliban victory will redefine perception on the insurgency of the herdsmen especially, now the Buhari regime is striving to impose grazing reserves on some states.

  • MURIC advocacy for Zulum

    MURIC advocacy for Zulum

    Intervention by Islamic human rights advocacy group, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) in the controversy over the destruction of a Church in Borno State is as interesting as it is ludicrous.

    Officials of the war-torn state have been embroiled in a dispute over the demolition of the Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria Church, commonly known as EYN during which a 20-year old Ezekiel Tumba was killed and five church members seriously injured. Accounts of how the incident happened vary.

    But there is a convergence of views that the unfortunate incident happened when officials of the Borno Geographical Information Systems BOGIS went with bulldozers to pull down the church located in a suburb of Moduganari in the Maiduguri metropolis.  On arrival, they met workers on site and in an attempt to seize the phones of those recording the demolition, there arose some protest from the workers and church members on site. In the ensuing confusion, operatives of the Civilian JTF fired at the crowed resulting to the casualties witnessed.

    Borno State government said the EYN Church was one of those marked for demolition for allegedly carrying out expansion without approval from the government. It condemned the violence but blamed both sides for “throwing stones” and “shooting of guns”.

    Christian Association of Nigeria CAN, Borno State chapter condemned the incident calling for a judicial commission of inquiry on the killing and shooting to bring perpetrators to justice. CAN also demanded the “Rebuilding of demolished churches and reopening of all churches seized by BOGIS which include EYNLCD Moduganari, Jubilee Sanctuary Church, Pompomari bye pass, Total Gospel international Church, Mari-Baki Kogi, The Sanctuary Church behind AA Bappa filling station Tudun Wada and Christ Favor Land, Pompomari bye pass”.

    The incident has re-opened old religious wounds with CAN deploring the discrimination suffered by Christians in securing lands from the government to build churches. Also at issue is the alleged reluctance or refusal by the government to approve Certificate of Occupancy C of O for church buildings. In fact, Borno CAN claims the last time that government issued C of O to any church organization was in 1979, 41 years ago.

    CAN further contends that the inability of Christians to access lands for religious purposes leads to the conversion of residential buildings to places of worship as religious adherents must have a place near where they live to serve their creator. Such has been the intensity of the issues generated by the demolition of the EYN church.

    But a curious dimension to the crisis emerged when MURIC entered the fray. In a statement, the group claimed that “contrary to a coordinated propaganda over the demolition of an EYN Church in Maiduguri, the Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC can authoritatively report that the Borno State Geographic Information Systems BOGIS created by Governor Babagana Umara Zulum actually demolished 11 Mosques and four Churches in the metropolis”.

    MURIC claimed a team of investigators working with it visited each of the sites where the mosques were demolished; interviewed residents, gathered photographs and data that showed the locations of the 11 mosques and the dates of their demolition by officials of BOGIS for violating the purpose approved in residential title. They named the demolished Mosques.

    Curiously however, MURIC went ahead to commend Zulum describing him as a “wonderful performer… that should be allowed to concentrate on his good work”. Ordinarily, one would not have had an ax to grind with the showering of praises on Zulum. If his performance profile merits them, so be it.

    But there is everything untidy in the circumstance and timing of these praises. Showering praises on the governor on an issue that hinged on the destruction of churches and loss of life with many injured, is to say the least, very callous. It is unfortunate that a so-called rights group failed to show a modicum of sympathy for the life lost and the injured in its wild goose chase of entering defence for the Borno State government. As if that gaffe is not grave enough, the hidden impression conveyed by the statistics bandied by MURIC is that the Borno State governor is insensitive to the religious sensibilities of his people.

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    That is the unintended message MURIC has brought to the public domain. And it is a minus for Zulum whose image the group set out to launder. By claiming that the state government destroyed more Mosques than Churches, MURIC intended to portray Zulum as one not propelled by religious bigotry. Since he destroyed more Mosques than Churches, he cannot be accused of faith-induced discrimination, they may have reasoned.

    But that is not all that can be discerned from the comparison. The impression one gets is that of scant regard for the religious sensibilities of the people, notwithstanding the reasons adduced. Eleven Mosques and four Churches destroyed? That is a weighty statement on itself.

    Apparently realizing the futility of highlighting the governors’ skills in destroying Mosques and Churches, MURIC was quick to issue another statement a day after, disclosing that the same government had actually rebuilt nine churches destroyed by the Boko Haram insurgents. Now, they are on the positive side- rebuilding, not destroying. The purport of this is not lost on any one. But it exposes the gaps in the initial data on the number of Mosques and Churches destroyed. It was a needless comparison.

    To show that MURIC was not of the noblest of intentions in its current advocacy, they woefully failed to show how many mosques the state government also rebuilt. For the group to have claimed working with investigators (not that it did the investigations) whose identity was not disclosed to omit the number of Churches and Mosques rebuilt in its initial statement, fuels suspicion on the genuineness of the investigations.  What emerges is more of a promotional hand-out from the state government.

    Incidentally, it was poorly done. And when the hidden message of the first statement began to emerge, they had to issue with indecent haste, another to prove that Zulum is after all, not a destroyer of Mosques and Churches but a rebuilder. That is a better image for him.  Maybe MURIC will issue a third statement to pacify Muslims that Zulum is not propelled by reversed religious discrimination since they have not been told the number of Mosques he also rebuilt, if any.

    But more than anything else, the current entanglement of MURIC betrays its contradictory stance on issues of this nature. For a group that has acquired a devious technology for raising alarms each time the rights of Muslims to worship appear threatened, to now pitch tent with a government embroiled in a similar controversy is the height of hypocrisy. It stood better not getting involved in this matter at all.

    The position of the group when Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State was falsely accused of destroying a mosque, bears out MURIC’s unpardonable biases and inconsistency. Then, MURIC had launched all manner of invectives on Wike even with existing court ruling that the disputed land belonged to the state government. All efforts by Wike to show that no Mosque existed on that piece of land with several warnings on defaulters fell on the deaf ears of the MURIC leadership.

    MURIC embarked on vile propaganda and name-calling, alleging Wike was making good a grand agenda to convert the state to a Christian state having so declared. MURIC’s reaction to Wike’s strident explanation that no Mosque existed there was, “a Mosque is a Mosque, whether it is a completed structure, half or quarter completed. Muslims congregate there to worship”.

    It is an uncanny irony that MURIC turned this logic and burning passion to protect places of worship upside down now the faith of Christians is involved. It has created a monster by its handling of the EYN Church demolition that resulted in the loss of life and injuring of many. And it will continue to haunt it for a long time.

  • Abba Kyari: The turning point

    Abba Kyari: The turning point

    By Emeka OMEIHE

     

    Public interest aroused by the travails of Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari is not unexpected. This has nothing to do with envy stemming from a hyped brilliant career profile. Neither is it one of those occasions individuals or groups went out of their ways to plot the downfall of a man on a supposed road to stardom.

    It is also not a case of unsuccessful or poor people taking solace in the downfall or even death of prominent/wealthy persons even when such will in no way, improve their situations.

    Here is a police officer, arguably one of the best of his ilk. He has had a very brilliant carrier with stunning successes in bursting high profile crimes. His rare investigative prowess had come to confer on him, a tinge of magical image. Such was the high rating of this police officer for which he has been severally decorated. It is to this brilliant performance that he has come to be identified as the ‘Super cop’.

    This high career image is seriously threatened with fears of possible demystification. His entanglement could rubbish whatever credit he hitherto had to his name. He has been fingered in a high wire scam involving international fraud kingpin Ramon Abbas popularly known as Ray Hushpuppi.  Abbas who is standing trial in a case of wire scam in the US court in which he admitted guilt implicated Kyari in the sordid deal for which the court issued a warrant to the FBI to apprehend him.

    When the story initially filtered, Kyari had on his Facebook wall exonerated himself, claiming innocence. He claimed Abbas saw some of the clothes and caps he usually wears on his (Kyari’s) wall and sought his connection to purchase some from the tailor. He subsequently connected Abbas and had him pay directly to a bank account number accessible to that tailor. And when the clothes were ready, the tailor sent them to his office where someone sent by Abbas came to collect them.

    That was his story then. But transcripts of telephone conversations (including text messages and audio) obtained by the FBI from the District Court for the District of California, US came up with startling insights. Discussions from that transcript and their very nature did not lend themselves to that simplistic and dismissive handle Kyari gave the accusation.

    The transcript contained well detailed account of how Abbas reached out to Kyari to secure his support to arrest and detain an alleged co-conspirator, Chibuzo Vincent for a ‘business’ misunderstanding. He sent Chibuzor’s phone number to Kyari to enable him effect his arrest. After the arrest, Kyari sent biological identifying information of Chibuzor along with his photograph to Abbas.

    “That is him sir’, Abbas replied to which Kyari said, “We have arrested the guy…he is in my cell now”. Abbas then told Kyari, “I want him to go through serious beating of his life”, to which Kyari responded, Hahahaha. Kyari then asked for details of what Chibuzo did “on audio” so that his team will know what to do.

    Abbas forwarded an audio message to Kyari where he related how Chibuzo tried to steal away a fraud victim from him. “What he did is, I have one job. The job want to pay me 500 umm, 75,000 dollars. He went to message the job behind me because I told him to help me make one document for me to give the job”.  He told Kyari that Chibuzo made contact with the ‘job’ and tried to divert the money after telling the victim that Abbas and his team are fake.

    Then, Kyari wrote, “Ok I understand. But he has not succeeded”. Abbas said Chibuzo had collected some money and then sent Kyari two screenshots one of which contained the phone number Chibuzo used to contact the victim. Kyari’s response was “Yeah I understand”.

    What was it Kyari said he understood? Why did he not put Abbas to task on the nature of the job that will pay him that huge amount of money and why it was easy for another person to attempt stealing it? And why was his curiosity and investigative instincts not activated when Abbas told him Chibuzo alerted their contact that they are fraudulent? Or is it that Kyari fully understood the nature of the ‘job’ and decided to play along?

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    These are some of the searing questions. It is more worrisome that a well decorated officer; one ascribed uncommon investigative acumen failed to take advantage of the lead provided by Abbas to burst the dubious deal. The seeming inability or reluctance by the super cop to read in between the lines is behind his current predicament.

    The transcript further indicated that Abbas told Kyari he wanted to pay money for them to send Chibuzo to jail for a long time. “Please sir, I want to spend money to send this boy to jail, let him go for a long time”. Kyari’s response was “Ok bro I understand. I will discuss with my team who arrested him. We will do something about it”. Abbas’ reply was, “Let me know how I can send money to the team sir”.

    Barely six minutes later, Kyari provided the account information for a bank account at Zenith Bank, in Nigeria in the name of a person other than himself. Abbas replied “Ok sir, tomorrow by noon”. Elsewhere in the transcript were discussions between the two on the health status of Chibuzor in detention, Abbas satisfaction with the punishment he had in detention and an agreement to have him released.

    I have gone this far to show the issues involved especially against attempts in some quarters to trivialize them. Apart from the allegation of accessory to the wire scam and receiving bribe, there are other moral and ethical issues raised by the discussion between the two. Unless the transcript is proven to be faked, it did not depict Kyari’s credentials in the mould the authorities hitherto presented him. There was nothing in the discussions that conformed to the high standards of efficiency, performance and intelligence expected of a super cop. The image the situation conveys is that of a police establishment that is willing to do the bidding of the highest payer.

    Abbas throughout the discussions dictated how Chibuzo should be treated, the punishment he should be given and the duration he should stay in detention. He even had to give his nod for him to be released and the day he should be released. Is that how bad our justice system has degenerated?

    It is instructive that during the discussions, threat to life which Kyari claimed he was investigating, never featured. All we heard was a case of wire fraud and theft involving some fraudsters. It was a sordid narrative of how the police institution could be manipulated to settle scores in stinking shady deals. It stands as a huge dent to the image of the police institution and the Nigerian state, the outcome of the current investigations notwithstanding.

    The police leadership started well by suspending Kyari to enable the committee probing the allegations do a thorough job. There are many issues in the conversation that should be of help. Kyari’s view of the ‘job’ Abbas told him of is vital. Why he arrested Chibuzo after a call from Abbas even when the details of his offence were not clear is another lead. Bank accounts have been provided and monies transferred. A tailor into whose bank account money was paid was mentioned. Who is that tailor and is he the owner of the bank account?

    In this era of ICT, the issues traded are not hard to unravel. The ‘Nigerian factor’ which the Arewa youths and Miyetti Allah are trying to inject into an already internationalized scandal, must be avoided. Kyari’s fate has nothing to do with tribe, religion or plot to get even with anyone. It strikes as one of the tragedies of life; full of surprises, uncertainties and human error. It could also be a classic case of the corruption of power.

    This is not the first time the credibility of well celebrated and decorated police officers, has come into serious interrogation. Former acting Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu got entangled in similar integrity mess despite posturing as a no-nonsense anti-corruption czar. Is it a case of questionable assessment and reward parameters that supposedly well rated and trusted officials end up in integrity muddle?

     

  • Tale of two court trials

    Tale of two court trials

    By Emeka OMEIHE

     

    There are issues from the court trials of leader of proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu and Yoruba activist Sunday Adeyemo (Igboho) that should be of concern to the leadership of this country. These are inexorably at the heart of the conflict in government’s approach to extant challenges leading to the arrest and prosecution of the two campaigners.

    They also raise questions as to whether their trials and possible conviction (even with the most severe of terms) are all there is to the resolution of all issues to the agitations. It was obvious people outside the court premises were speaking a different language from the governments that are prosecuting the agitators. The implication of this should not be lost on anybody.

    Kanu is being tried at the Federal High Court, Abuja for alleged terrorism; treasonable felony, unlawful possession of firearms and management of an unlawful society. But the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami gave a hint of fresh charges that will incorporate new allegations against him.

    In the case involving Adeyemo which came up at the Court of Appeal Cotonou, Benin Republic, the charges by that government hinge on immigration offences even as the Nigerian government is said to be pressing for his extradition to face other charges. The Nigerian government is accusing him of arms stockpiling, inciting violence that could result in social disturbance and causing disunity in Nigeria.

    Central to the charges against the two are alleged illegal arms possession, inciting violence and actions that could lead to a breakdown of law and order. Kanu’s is distinct in the sense that it has terrorism as a key charge.  Both also share common objectives in pressing for self-determination for two of the three major ethnic groups in the country.

    While Igboho is spurred by the activities of the herdsmen that have been serially associated with killings, kidnapping, rape and despoliation of farmers’ crops in the southwest, Kanu is against the injustice of the Nigerian state against his Igbo ethnic group for which he is agitating for separatism. He also shares common concerns with Igboho on the menace of the herdsmen in the southeast for which he set up a security outfit to pursue them out of the forests.

    All the alleged offences for which they are facing trial were committed in the course of prosecuting this self-determination agenda. These are the two tendencies that shaped events during the court trials both in Abuja and Cotonou. And they will continue to influence perception of the entire trial process.

    Even as the prosecution failed to produce Kanu in court pleading logistic hiccups, the first thing of interest was the huge crowd that came from far and near to witness the event. Though security agencies had warned those having nothing to do with the trial to keep off, the crowd that thronged the venue was composed of an assortment of lawyers striving to gain entrance and representatives of the Ohaneze Ndigbo which had come to observe the proceedings.

    It was a rowdy situation. There were heated arguments at the entrance of the court as lawyers questioned the propriety of asking them to produce their identity cards as a condition for entry. One of the lawyers likened the court room to a market place for lawyers which required no identification. Such was the scene at the court premises.

    Of note also was the presence of a huge crowd of IPOB supporters who identified as such, singing solidarity sons in support of their leader. The security agencies tried to disperse them but later buckled down. It is to their credit that they eventually recognized the rights of law abiding citizens to peaceful gathering. The country is a democratic establishment that must be seen to be operating according to the rules.

    The show of solidarity and courage in identifying themselves as IPOB members at the seat of the government of this country is very instructive. Significant because, it raises a moot point on the terrorism accusation for which the IPOB was proscribed and its leader charged. Conceived this way, all those who identified with the leader of an organization accused of terrorism should have been considered suspects and thrown into detention.

    But nothing of such happened highlighting the contradiction in the terrorism allegation for which IPOB was proscribed. This point is of relevance given events in the southeast. At the heat of the killing of some security agents and attacks on governmental facilities, the government had laid the blame at the doorsteps of the IPOB which severally denied being violent.

    The government ordered a military operation in the zone to fish out the so-called unknown gunmen behind the heinous attacks. In the course of this military engagement, there arose allegations of profiling, arrest, incarceration and killing of innocent people especially the youths for alleged membership of IPOB. Since the course IPOB is prosecuting enjoys considerable sympathy in the zone, suspecting any and every person from the area became the order of the day.

    Even as relative peace has returned to the area, the public is regularly regaled with reports by security agencies of breakthroughs in the arrest of sundry IPOB members for criminal offences. It is either they are parading them in groups or as individuals with arms and ammunitions. The way the IPOB is now linked to sundry crimes has begun to convey the wrong message that there are no more armed robbers, Kidnappers and all manner of criminals in the zone. The impression we get is that all those sympathetic to the injustice the IPOB is campaigning against are terrorists; criminals that should be hounded and possibly eliminated.

    The Abuja court gathering has clearly shown the pitfalls of that position. Those that gathered, clearly identified themselves and were heard insisting in argument with security agencies that they had come in peace and were exercising their rights to peaceful assembly. They were defiant in asserting their rights to self-determination and the law enforcement agencies were left with no option than to allow them.

    Does that convey any message? Does it say something about the categorization of the group as terrorists-a label that has exposed innocent youths in the zone to all manner of mistreatment from security agencies? What of the appearance of the Ohaneze Ndigbo at the venue? Are they also sympathizers of a terrorist organization? The way these posers are resolved will give a clue to the efficacy of the responses of the government to all the issues that brought about the current pass.

    The case of Adeyemo also toed the same path. Hundreds of his supporters both from this country and Benin Republic had thronged the court premises to show sympathy over his travails. There was also a high-powered delegation from the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi and the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Saliu Adetunji to Cotonou to observe the court proceedings.

    Oba Adetunji said he took the step to assure those who had besieged his palace including protesters that he was not folding his hands over the travails of Igboho and his aides. Had the trial been in the Nigerian court, perhaps security agencies would have had rough time controlling an unprecedented crowd of supporters. That is also a veritable statement.

    Events from the two courts clearly indicate that Kanu and Igboho are not necessarily seen in the mould the authorities are framing them. They are seen as people fighting injustice, staking their lives for the good of their ethnic groups in a clime unable to manage its diversities. The grievances they seek to remedy are popular with the people. So their conviction (even the payment of the supreme price) cannot bring final resolution or closure to issues propelling the agitations.

    The government should go beyond court trials and engage the constituents for lasting solutions to the agitations. The trials are clear signals of a system unable to manage its challenges. They speak of system instability to the outside world and inherently investor unfriendly.

  • A pilot’s encounter with bandits

    A pilot’s encounter with bandits

    By Emeka OMEIHE

     

    The Nigerian Air Force and indeed the Nigerian Armed Forces had cause to celebrate last week. It was not one of those diary events. They were moved by high emotion to rejoice over the escape from the dungeon of murderous bandits of one of their own, Flight Lieutenant Abayomi Dairo.

    Dairo’s encounter and dramatic escape from bandits’ den, must have so excited the military that the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Oladayo Amao were on hand in Kaduna to receive the lucky officer and share in the joy. It was a case of ‘your gallantry has done us proud’

    The narrative by the Nigerian Air Force spokesman, Edward Gabkwet, was that: a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Alpha jet aircraft returning from a successful interdiction mission between the boundaries of Zamfara and Kaduna states came under intense enemy (bandits) fire leading to its crash in Zamfara State. As luck would have it, the pilot, Flight Lieutenant Abayomi Dairo successfully ejected from the aircraft.

    He recounted how the officer deployed his survival instincts to evade the bandits when he came under intense ground fire. Gabkwet gave a vivid account of Dairo’s maneuvering through the cover of the darkness deploying his phone set for navigation to elude several bandits’ strongholds until he was able to escape to a nearby army unit.

    It was really a close shave with death. Dairo in a social media post also gave lucid details of his travails in the forest; how the bandits trailed him as he ran, stumbled and trekked for over 30 kilometres under the cover of the darkness. He fell down many times from exhaustion and the injury he nursed both from his leg and neck. He had to contend with the harsh forest environment not knowing whether wild animals, dangerous beasts or pythons would complete the assignment for which the bandits were after him.  But each time he got weak and exhausted, his survival instincts and his faith in our creator spurred him on until he was able to enter a village where he met a ‘good Samaritan’ who gave him shelter, food and pain relieving medicine.

    His host was to organize a bike very early in the morning to take him to the palace of one traditional ruler who then arranged for the military to take over from there. In all, Dairo owes his successful return to divine intervention. That was the feat the military were celebrating. They were celebrating the gallantry of the air force pilot, his skills in ejecting from the Alpha jet aircraft and deploying technology through his phone to ace his way and evade the bandits. They had genuine cause to rejoice irrespective of the loss one jet aircraft.

    Before this incident, the air force had recorded three crashes in six months in which 20 officers were estimated to have lost their lives. Seven personnel of the air force died in February this year after a Beechcraft King Air B350i crashed on the way to Minna, Niger State. The crash occurred around the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

    An Alpha fighter of the unit also crashed in April in the war-ravaged Borno State while on interdiction mission while a passenger jet belonging to the air force also crashed last May, killing eleven military personnel including the former Chief of Army Staff, General Ibrahim Attahiru.

    For a unit that has had such ugly experience, the survival of Dairo especially in the very dangerous circumstance he found himself was not a mean feat. That could in part, explain the excitement of the armed forces. I share in the joy of his survival and wish him quick recovery. It was a very moving encounter that sounded like a fairy tale; but a real life situation.

    But, there are pertinent issues thrown up by the incident. This is the first time, the security agencies have come up to admit that bandits were actually responsible for the shooting down of an air force fighter jet. In previous incidents where there were suspicions to that effect, the military high command was quick to deny them. But not in this one! Happily, the pilot is alive with graphic account of how those bandits made to capture him alive and his final escape to safety.

    The first thing thrown up is the reality that bandits have grown in sophistication to acquire military hardware and capacity to shoot down aircrafts. That is the clear message. Gabkwet spoke of the fighter jet coming under intense fire power from the bandits leading to its demobilization. There were also accounts of efforts by the bandits to capture the escaping pilot but for the air and land support provided him by the military through their platforms. All attest to the sophistication the bandits have grown in assortment of weaponry. That changes preconceptions as to what the bandits are really up to.

    Now bandits have acquired anti-aircraft batteries with capacities to square up to the military, is anyone still in doubt that they are waging a war against the sovereignty of this country? Does it give a clue as to where the billions of Naira they get from ransom go? Is there still a difference between them and the Boko Haram terrorists? Or does that not inflict collateral damage on the claim by some of their veiled defenders that they are propelled by the desire to make money from kidnapping?

    Of recent, Kaduna State governor, Nasir El, Rufai and Islamic preacher Sheikh Ahmad Gumi had sought draw parallels between the bandits and groups agitating for self-determination in a manner that diminished the grave and potent danger which bandits pose to the corporate existence of the country.

    In response to a question by the BBC pidgin as to whether Boko Haram and bandits should be treated with the same swiftness that led to the arrest of Nnamdi Kanu, El-Rufai said No!, No!, No! People are comparing apples to oranges. He contended that Kanu, the leader of the IPOB is identifiable; in constant communication and everybody knows where he is.

    But Shekau, the leader of Boko Haram, he said, has been hiding for the past 10 years and not sitting in a particular place twitting about the break-up of Nigeria. He rationalized why bandits should not be treated with the same swiftness as IPOB on the puerile and laughable ground that they have no centralized leadership. He asked: who is the head of the bandits? “It is a business for them. It is not a case of Nigeria must break up” the Kaduna State governor asserted.

    El-Rufai’s analogy cannot stands on many grounds. First, the argument that Shekau is in hiding while Kanu is identifiable says little about the serious threat to the sovereignty of the country the Boko Haram terrorist group poses. Boko Haram went into direct war against the Nigerian state for the past 10 years to enthrone an Islamic regime and has no time for the luxury of twitting. They have continued to occupy territories despite denials and collecting taxes. Of recent, they appointed administrators for these territories. We have not seen anything near these in the case of the IPOB. Yet, El-Rufai would want them handled extra-judicially. But not Boko Haram, bandits or the killer herdsmen.

    His rationalization on banditry is even more troubling. The absence of a centralized leadership for the bandits does not in any way diminish the mortal threat they pose as the air force jet incident has shown. What is the business of the bandits in acquiring anti-aircraft missiles if they are not waging a war against the government? Maybe the aircraft was carrying billions of cash for them to loot.

    For a state that has shut down many schools including the withdrawal of the governors’ sons from schools for fear of the bandits; a state notorious for serial kidnapping and killing of students with ease, El-Rufai’s playing down of the serious threat bandits pose to the country is the height of hypocrisy and barefaced deceit. But his position is not entirely surprising.

    It is in harmony with the body language of the Buhari regime where two sets of laws seem to be governing the handling of Boko Haram, killer herdsmen and bandits on the one hand and self-determination agitators on the other. The near state of anarchy in the country is a logical consequence of this double standard or is it selective justice.

  • Lauretta Onochie as a metaphor

    Lauretta Onochie as a metaphor

    By Emeka Omeihe

    There is something untidy about the reason given by the senate for rejecting the nomination of an aide to President Buhari, Lauretta Onochie as national commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. The error of judgment or cover up was so obvious that the office of the senate president had to hurriedly issue a statement as a face-saving measure.

    Kabiru Gaya, senate committee chairman on INEC had in his report stated unambiguously that Onochie’s rejection was because she did not satisfy the provisions of the federal character principle. Though he duly observed that petitions against her were against the backdrop of her involvement in politics and alleged membership of a political party, the verdict of his committee was that she responded to these “accordingly including attesting that she is not a registered member of any political party”.

    The committee cited the case of a serving national electoral commissioner, Mary Agbamuche-Mbu who hails from the same Delta State with Onochie and concluded, “based on the provision of section 14 (3) of 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) on federal character principle and in order for the committee and the senate to achieve fairness to other states and political zones in the country, the committee is unable to recommend Ms Lauretta Onochie for confirmation”.

    In effect, Gaya’s committee absolved Onochie of allegations of political partisanship and membership of a political party when it did not cite them as one of the reasons for her disqualification. For the committee, she responded to them accordingly, including attesting that she is not a member of any political party.

    But in a curious twist soon after, the office of the senate president issued a statement through his special assistant (press) Ezrel Tabiowo quoting Gaya to have said the rejection was because of ‘partisanship and breaching of the federal character principle’. What partisanship, the allegation the committee had exonerated her of? That strikes as a contradiction of sorts. How could that be when she had attested that she is not a member of a political party? Or is the senate not well schooled on the proper meaning of the word to attest?

    It is a huge surprise that the senate could turn around so soon after and include partisanship as one of the reasons for her rejection after she had proved to the committee that she is neither partisan nor a member of a political party. Something definitely is wrong with the latter attempt to rationalize her rejection on the grounds of partisanship. Clearly, the committee displayed some bias in its assessment and recommendation obviously for the same partisan political considerations.

    It is curious that the committee treated the allegation of partisanship in an offhanded manner even with the weighty constitutional infractions which nominating a partisan political person for appointment into INEC entails. The constitution specifically stated that appointees into INEC must be non-partisan and also not a card-carrying member of any political party. The nominee is a special assistant to the president on New Media.

    Her call of duty mandates her to share in and defend the policies and programs of the president and his party. She regularly engages critics of the president offering media interventions and laundering the image of her employer. As one of the image makers of the president via the New Media, she is involved in media propaganda including twisting facts to suit the whims and caprices of her employer.

    It is inconceivable how such a loyal functionary can reasonably escape allegations of political partisanship. What else is left of her office if she is not there for partisan calling? Or is it being suggested that an adversary could be entrusted with such media jobs?

    The committee woefully failed to take into account other weighty evidence that put a lie to some of the claims bandied by Onochie when she was interrogated. In the course of her interrogation, she admitted being part of the Buhari’s campaign organization in 2015 before her appointment. She also admitted swearing to an affidavit at an Abuja Federal High Court that she is a member of the APC.

    But she still denied membership of a political party claiming that she had since learnt to stand with the constitution and due process, whatever that means. Onochie strove to justify her claims of non partisanship on the guise that she did take part in the current APC membership re-validation exercise. Who is deceiving who? Her non-participation in the APC re-validation exercise is obviously on purpose given her impending screening. The fact that she was nominated to the position in October last year, long before the re-validation exercise of the APC started on February 9, exposes the duplicity of her claims. Additionally, protests against her nomination predated the re-validation exercise.

    So the excuse of non-validation of party membership collapsed irretrievably on this ground. They are all contrived excuses propelled by desperation. The folly of her embarrassing outing lies in her inability to produce a counter affidavit denouncing her membership of the APC. Why these facts totally escaped the prying eyes of the Gaya-led committee remains a huge riddle, irrespective of the eventual rejection of the nominee by the senate.

    It is curious that a committee which found it expedient to copio usly quote the 1999 constitutional provisions on federal character infringement suddenly went numb on the equally dangerous and explosive constitutional violation inherent in appointing a partisan person into INEC?  Equally noteworthy is the fact that the committee has suddenly found its voice on the serial violation of the constitution on the federal character principle by Buhari in the instant case.

    Ironically, the very institution that ensures the enforcement of that principle; the Federal Character Commission FCC is presently in breach of that principle as both its chairman and secretary are both from the northern part of the country. This goes contrary to extant practices. The senate is yet to see anything wrong with that.

    Beyond this however, Onochie’s nomination denotes a paradox of all that is wrong with Buhari’s appointments. With widespread protests that trailed the nomination, one had expected the president who swore to uphold the constitution to have acted swiftly by withdrawing it. Nothing of such happened. He looked the other way only for the senate to prove his appointment contrary to the letters and spirit of the constitution. That is a sad commentary on the disposition of the government on appointments that pay scant regard to diversities of the country. It stands a big indictment that the president could make an appointment that ran against the letters of the constitution in two fundamental ways.

    The current turn of events is not entirely surprising. This is not the first time the president would make controversial appointments and stick to them despite genuine protests. The case of the former acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC, Ibrahim Magu stands out distinctly. Magu had a damning verdict from the Department of State Services DSS on his ineligibility for the EFCC job but the president insisted in foisting him on the country.

    The DSS had presented Magu as one who maintains a lifestyle that portrays him as an anti-corruption czar who harbors no friend but at another level, hobnobs with corrupt people. DSS wrote that Magu, “failed the integrity test and will eventually constitute a liability to the anti-corruption drive of the present administration”

    But the president faulted the DSS and went ahead to re-present him for the confirmation of the senate which rejected him for the second time. Magu continued to act in that capacity for many years until the predictions of the DSS came through. The disgraceful manner he was shoved out of that office is now history.

    Onochie’s appointment clearly runs against the constitution both in terms of her partisanship and the dictates of the federal character principle. She is clearly a partisan political appointee-an unmitigated liability to the electoral umpire. Her confirmation was bound to spell doom for INEC and imperil future elections.

  • Darkening cloud

    Darkening cloud

    By Emeka Omeihe

    An ominous cloud is obviously hovering around the Nigerian political atmosphere. Even with the touted patriotic claims by our leaders to peace, unity and indivisibility of the country, indications of an assailing self-fulfilling prophesy inundate the landscape.

    Diverse challenges evolve in quick succession in so many fronts that even the most incurable optimist is bound to worry whether the Nigerian state can really withstand this interminable systemic trauma? There is little in the posturing and dispositions of our elected and appointed leaders to give hope of an honest committed to building institutions and processes that will usher in a stable and enduring political order.

    What you find despite pretensions, is regular competition of cleavages of ethnic, sectional and religious hue with each constantly striving to outplay the other. Faced with this ferocious competition, the building of national ethos, values and consensus on irreducible decimals of our national existence is sadly pushed to the back seat. And we all claim commitment to the progress of the country?

    Even in issues there exist universally accepted standards and consensus on their heuristics for system stabilization, you still find our leaders pandering to self-serving and clannish predilections. Ours is a system that does not accord premium to rules, order, system survival and maintenance.

    It is a typical case of muddling tools. Such a system is primed for fatal consequences. That is the inevitable trajectory the ship of the Nigerian state is perilously sailing. Unless quick steps are taken to re-direct this ship from this tempestuous path, the prediction of some American scholars that Nigerian was primed for a failed state may become a reality even after the 2015 deadline had elapsed.

    That is the sad reality of a country that regularly grandstands on nationalism from both sides of the mouth. And the signs are quite perceptible. They are evident from the posturing of President Buhari on many of the nagging national challenges. They are discernable from the plethora of crisis assaulting the country without our leaders showing genuine commitment to their resolution. They are evident from many of Buhari’s appointments that run at cross purposes with the federal character principle and balance.  The virus has also crept into the National Assembly and about to tear its fabric. The insipient hands of enemies of progress masquerading as the conscience of Nigerian unity and indivisibility are at it again.

    Their target this time is to assault democracy, the democratic tradition and institution. They are primed to expunge direct electronic transmission of elections results from the polling units to the collation centres. Their target is to foist, perpetrate and perpetuate the decadent order of writing election results in the comfort of their homes and hotel rooms. They want to continue the military tradition of appointing administrators to states through result-fixing and assailing the sovereignty of the electorate.

    They claim theirs is a democratic organization and want to savor the appurtenances attached to it. Yet, they work assiduously to deprive it of the oxygen from which it derives life. How can such a system survive? That is the uncanny irony of devious attempts by some moles in the National Assembly to assail and rubbish the very principles that purportedly brought them into their current offices-free fair and credible elections.

    If the saboteur legislators behind the attempt to expunge clauses guaranteeing free and fair elections from the Electoral Act amendment bill came to their current positions through transparent electoral processes, they will not be found in the current shameful act. It is a big dent on the National Assembly for the plot to assail democracy to emanate from within it.

    Free, fair and transparent elections constitute the lynchpin on which the democratic wheel revolves. Representative democracy as opposed to other forms of governance framework, derives strength from its capacity to reflect the collective will of the electorate as expressed at the ballot box. What else is left of it if it cannot reflect the sovereignty of the electorate?

    That is the contradiction in the embarrassing attempt by some unpatriotic, selfish and clannish legislators and their collaborators in the corridors of power to subvert the very principles on which the democratic paradigm rests. The clear statement of those rooting to expunge electronic transmission of election results is that they prefer rigging and manipulation of election results. That strikes as clear vote of no confidence in the democratic process since it is nigh impossible to conceive of democracy in the absence of free and fair elections.

    By extrapolation, it is a preference for the dictatorship of the military-the other form of governance construct this country parted ways with since 1999. That is the next but degenerate level some of our legislators want to sink this country. Such prospects should send shivers into the spines of those who wish this country well.

    Those behind this destructive move ought to be fished out and identified as dishonorable members; a disgrace to their constituencies. Is that not retrogression; a death sentence to democracy? Election outcomes have been one of the greatest challenges assailing the Nigerian state. Elections have virtually degenerated to a matter of life and death as all manner of buccaneers and rogue politicians battle for the coercive apparatus of the state.

    With the disproportionate concentration of powers at the federal level, elections have assumed the biggest challenge to peace; progress and stability of the country. Sections, groups and individuals take advantage of poorly conducted and poorly organized elections to foist themselves on the people. The armada of litigations after each election is evidence of general dissatisfaction with their outcome. Agitations for improvement in the electoral process are primarily meant to stave off the suffocating crisis associated with flawed and rancorous elections.

    With improvement in electronic accreditation of voters and voting, manipulation shifted to the collation centres. It cannot be forgotten in a hurry the controversy INEC was mired for pulling down its website for the transmission of results of the 2019 polls. It is unfortunate that the version of the Electoral Act amendment bill now before the National Assembly is circulating without that clause. And you wonder what the intention is if not to rig and manipulate elections ahead of time. The same attempt to imperil the electoral process is evident in the current move by the president to foist one of his aides, Lauretta Onochie as a national commissioner of INEC despite clear evidence of her partisan political leaning.

    Are we now faced with the situation that compelled former governor of the old Imo State, Sam Mbakwe after the heavily rigged 1983 elections to call on the British colonial masters to come back? The scorching political temperature is also palpable from current altercations on the rotation of the presidency compelling southern governors to insist on power shift to southern Nigeria come 2023.

    Reactions from the north since after the southern governors’ communiqué’ are about to re-open old wounds. But we have treaded this path before with deleterious repercussions. It cannot be forgotten in a hurry, threats unleashed from the north on the dire consequences of any attempt to retain power in the south during the 2015 election campaigns. The allegory of baboons and donkeys soaked in blood is still fresh in mind. Though the north was on point to demand power shift then and had their way, it would be a great tragedy if after Buhari’s two terms tenure, we are again embroiled in acrimony on the desirability of power rotation.

    It does not depict a country desirous of progress; one that unites and makes sacrifice for collective good. Goalpost shifting; clear dispositions towards an unjust and inequitable system have all the trappings of a people not prepared for positive change. It is a case of perilous leaning towards learning the hard way. Where such hard lessons will take this country is anybody’s guess.

     

  • Beyond Nnamdi Kanu’s arrest

    Beyond Nnamdi Kanu’s arrest

    By Emeka OMEIHE

     

    The arrest and repatriation of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra IPOB, was for obvious reasons the biggest story of last week. And it will continue to dominate the media space especially given sketchy information on the circumstance, place of arrest and the agenda of the dramatis personae.

    Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami opened the gate for all manner of speculations while breaking the news when he said Kanu was ‘intercepted’ by security and intelligence agencies in collaboration with their foreign counterparts without details on where and how it happened. Not unexpectedly, the social media went into frenzy with all manner of speculations and reports purportedly issued by some organizations on the development. The nature of those conjectures and the indecent haste they emerged on the public scene could not but raise doubts as to who was behind them and what they were intended to achieve.

    One of those stories claimed Kanu was lured by a lady and arrested in a hotel room. Coming in the wake of the murder of the chief executive officer of Super TV Michael Ataga, the purport of that association was not hidden. But one thing that gave out that story was that it hit the media space even before many people got to know of the arrest proper. So when were the stories written and where did the faceless authors get their facts?

    The other was a statement purportedly issued by Ohanaeze Ndigbo on the same arrest. The issues traded as well as the timing also raised doubts as to whether that body could react in such a hurry when the situation was still hazy. And to compound the situation, the purported statement was neither attributed to any of those authorized to speak on behalf of the Ohanaeze nor was the source disclosed. They all struck as fake news designed to achieve some pre-determined agenda.

    It was not surprising that some other national media organizations came out the next day with reports that Kanu was arrested when he went to solicit support from some foreign countries. There was also the dimension that he went to collect funds promised him by an unnamed group for the prosecution of the self-determination agenda of the IPOB. But all these remain within the realm of conjecture in the face of the reluctance or refusal by the federal government to make such details public.

    Information minister, Lai Mohammed at a press conference last Thursday, made references to raging speculations on how Kanu was arrested and the country of the arrest but still left the matter hanging. The government prefers to hold the circumstances of that interception to its chest apparently to avoid stirring up another round of controversy. But the minister made it clear that security and intelligence agencies had been on the trail of the IPOB leader for more than two years.

    That says something about some of the speculations.  One thing that remains certain however is that Kanu was arrested outside the United Kingdom. It is also certain that he was captured in circumstances that were rather unconventional.

    That however, is beside the point. The issue is what to make of the arrest now Kanu is within the custody of the Nigerian government. Already, the government is beating its chest celebrating the success of the arrest. Even as Mohammed failed to avail the country with details of the arrest, he was quick to describe it as “one of the most classic operations of its type in the world”. That may as well be. He also said there would be fair trial for the IPOB leader.

    In the weeks ahead, we expect a long drawn legal battle as the government moves to prove beyond reasonable doubt many of the weighty allegations levied against the suspect. The trial which is expected to be open is bound to be very revealing and emotional given the issues in contention. And in an issue of this nature, the options are clear. It is either Kanu is convicted on some or all of the charges and sentenced or he is freed on all of them and set free.

    The judicial process will determine all the allegations against the IPOB leader and deliver judgment on all of them. That is in line with the statutory duties of the judiciary. It also goes with the assumption that diligent prosecution and conclusion of the case constitutes both the necessary and sufficient conditions for a lasting closure to all the issues to the IPOB agitation.

    The latter does not quite add up because it rests on the assumption that systemic inequity which fuels the agitation for self-determination in that part of the country is all about Kanu and the offences he allegedly committed. And his arrest, trial and possible sentence will see an end to the agitation. That is an oversimplification of a very complex issue. Not with the large following he has both outside and within the country. Not with the substance of some of his messages that strike a common chord with the existential realities of those it was meant for.

    In verity, his language of discourse, sometimes laden with insults and abuses may have alienated him from some segments of the Nigerian population. He may also strike as a bad messenger. But aspects of his message find great appeal on those they were intended for because of the systemic dysfunctions constantly assailing this country. That message will continue to find audience as long as our leaders exploit the imperfections of our federal order to serve interests of parochial and clannish hue.

    The clamour for justice, equity, a common sense of belonging and a governance framework that enables all citizens to realize their full potentials have nothing to do with the fate of Kanu and it is not tied to it. The solution lies in honest and realistic resolution of all issues that overtime accentuate centrifugal tendencies. Even then, the proscribed IPOB is just one out of the groups on the same agenda. Kanu may be commanding a larger following but he is by no means, the character that raised consciousness on the suffocating systemic injustice that serve as the oxygen for the agitations.

    Ralph Uwazuruike that originally founded the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra MASSOB has since been edged out of the organization. He now leads the Biafra Independent Movement BIM. There is also Biafra Zionist Movement BZM led by Benjamin Onwuka that was involved in a foiled attempt to hoist their flag and seize the Enugu State government. Unlike the IPOB, these three other groups are not under proscription. Sadly, in the military campaigns against the IPOB in the southeast for alleged attacks on government facilities and killing of security personnel, that reality was not factored in. The attendant stigmatization and profiling reduced every Igbo especially the youth to potential IPOB members. With that mind-set, allegations of extra-judicial killings, detention, incarceration and sundry rights abuses were freely traded.

    The fate of Kanu cannot offer solutions to the rising agitations for self-determination either in the southeast or across the country. He is not the only arrowhead of such campaigns either in the southeast or the southwest that has more than 24 of such groups according to Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu. Neither has the arrest of Kanu stopped the group from agitations and showing solidarity with the O’odua self-determination groups in the current travails of one of their leaders, Sunday Igboho.

    The judicial angle to Kanu’s case is relevant. But more relevant and more enduring is the political dimension to issues that propel groups to lose confidence in the capacity of the federal order to serve their collective interests. It should be of utmost concern that more than 60 years after independence, primordial units are still in ferocious competition with the central authority for the loyalty of the citizens.

    The thing to do is to engage the constituents and find lasting solutions to the challenges that erected a wedge on the country’s road to constructing a just and equitable federal order. Engage the agitators and the nationalities to move the country forward. Paul Robeson comes handy when he said “the answer to injustice is not to silence the critic but to end the injustice”.

  • Enugu shooting: Matters arising

    Enugu shooting: Matters arising

    By Emeka Omeihe

    There is something peculiar about last week’s killing of five people in Enugu and injuring several others by a police inspector attached to a company in that state’s capital.

    Given the weird nature of the incident, suspicions are rife that the offending policeman may have been under some toxic influence as he opened the trigger, mowing down people on sight including those he had lived with for quite some time. But that is not all there is to the matter as the conduct of the suspect would reveal.

    Reports had it that the policeman who guards a Lotto company located in the Golf Estate area of Enugu, suddenly around 9.30 am on the fateful Sunday morning began shooting indiscriminately at his neighbors without any provocation. The shooting which was principally aimed at those who lived within the vicinity of his work place, fell five people with several others critically wounded before he was taken into custody.

    The state police command has promised thorough investigations to unravel the circumstances of the incident. It has also asked residents of the area and relations of those killed and wounded to remain calm while urging those with relevant information to aid investigations to avail them.

    But eyewitness accounts including that of the widow of one of the victims have injected some complication to the possible motive of the killer police inspector. According to them, as soon as the police inspector opened his door, he started shooting indiscriminately. He broke the windows of his neighbors and shot some ladies still sleeping in their rooms. He also shot the steward of the house who was apparently doing his domestic chores and other people at sight.

    The steward who suspected the man was bent on killing him ran and hid in the toilet. Apparently presuming that the steward was dead and that he could now cover up his crime, residents said the offending policeman quickly called some of his colleagues. On arrival, he told them that the shootings were carried out by unknown gunmen and pretended to be searching for the unknown gunmen together with the police operatives that had arrived the scene. But a lie was put to his narrative when the steward, on seeing the arrival of other officers, came out from hiding only to reveal that the inspector did the shooting.

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    It was at this point that he was arrested even as he was heard telling those that arrested him, “I will confess”. In matters of this nature, the immediate task before the police is to unravel the motive of the killings. There is the temptation to narrow it down to alcohol, drug influences or depression. But these may not be all there is to the matter in view of the fact that the shooting took place early in the morning when people were just getting up from their beds.

    Even then, accounts of residents said the inspector has never been seen smoking or drinking since they have been living in the area with him. They believe he neither smokes nor drinks alcohol. They sometimes play with him and if he is known for any of such vices, they would have noticed it long before now. That is however, not to completely rule out these leads. He could be on some drugs that are beyond the prying eyes of residents. It is possible.

    But one lead that should come very handy is why the offending policeman sought to blame the incident on phony unknown gunmen. This is a very crucial question given the perilous times that part of the country is currently passing though. Why did the idea of a cover up by blaming the so-called unknown gunmen come of immediate appeal to him? Is it possible he had an agenda or he was swimming with the tide of the times to cover up his dirty tracks? And at what point did placing the blame for his action on unknown gunmen occur to him- before the killings or after them?

    These are the issues the investigation should largely focus on. Before now, suspicions have been raised about the spate of insecurity that suddenly engulfed the south East zone. Though the government had blamed the Indigenous People of Biafra IPOB and its security arm the Eastern Security Network ESN for the attacks on security agencies and governmental facilities, the clinical efficiency with which some of those criminal acts were perpetrated seem beyond what could possibly be ascribed to rag-tag elements.

    With the serial denial by the IPOB that it has no hands in the criminalities attributed to it, suspicions have been high as to whether the hands of fifth columnists were in those attacks and killings just to escalate the insecurity in the zone. It is further being suggested that the aim of such insider dealing is to provide reasons for the federal government to deploy the military in the zone. The current incident reinforces such suspicions.

    It is therefore vital that all leads and clues are fully and thoroughly investigated to get at the root of the bizarre outing of that killer policeman that early Sunday morning. It is not enough that the police have promised thorough investigations. The outcome of such inquisition must be made public including recommendations on compensation to families of victims.

    We recall that in November last year, another police inspector attached to the Abonnema Wharf in Port Harcourt, Rivers State similarly shot dead a civilian security guard who worked with him in the same company- Bulk Strategic Reserve Ltd. Promises of investigations were also made. But the outcome was not availed the public. This case should not be a victim of cover-up given the times we are into.

    And in Lagos a couple of years back, a police sergeant, Stephen James shot dead two brothers and one other person for failing to buy him beer in a hotel where he was attached to provide security. The sergeant, apparently unhappy that the men cautioned him when he approached them in the bar for a drink, waylaid them as they made to leave, raining a volley of bullets that fell them instantly. He later shot and killed himself.

    These incidents fit into the embarrassing culture of extreme lawlessness occasioning mortal harm on citizens by those paid with taxpayers’ money to protect lives and property. They expose the inadequacies of character checks on potential recruits into the police force and allied security agencies. Incidentally some of these excesses were among the factors that spurred the last EndSARS protests against police operatives. And much of those excesses and human rights abuses speak a lot of the police institution, the character and temperament of those paid to maintain law and order in our society. They mirror vividly the defects in the mental and psychological balance of those paid to protect the rest of us. Before now, much had been said on the imperative of serious medical fitness assessment for all enlistments into our security forces.

    Recurring accidental discharge at check points and unprovoked killing of innocent citizens demand urgent re-assessment of officers and men of the country’s security architecture. The grim reality of the inadequacies of mental checks during police recruitments was brought to the fore during the regime of Mike Okiro as the Inspector-General of Police.

    He had shocked the country when he disclosed that 24 top police officers had doubtful mental stability for the job they were doing. This included two deputy commissioners of police and one assistant commissioner who were referred to the Police Medical Board to determine their mental suitability. That was how bad the situation was then. The Enugu shootings and the killing of a Germany-bound man at the entrance of Imo Airport, Owerri in the presence of his son and child by men by the air force personnel do not imbue confidence of any positive change in the whimsical handling of the gun by our security agents.

    These frequent and unprovoked killings are sad reminders of the little value attached to human life on these shores. It is nigh impossible to expect positive human rights posting when detention camps are tagged ‘human abattoir’ and the police leadership sees nothing wrong with it. Such designations cheapen and desecrate human life. They also influence negatively, the attitude of policemen to suspects brought in there.  And we ask, what has become of the police reforms promised in the wake of the last nationwide protests?