The Nation Newspaper

Tag: delayed

  • Why trial of Boko Haram suspects is delayed, by Fed Govt

    Why trial of Boko Haram suspects is delayed, by Fed Govt

    • •2,321 suspects for court

    The trial of Boko Haram suspects is stalled by the absence of cooperation between investigators and prosecutors at pre-investigation stages, the Federal Government has said.

    Other reasons given by the office of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation Abubakar Malami, include poor investigation of cases due to pressure during the peak of conflict at the theatre, over reliance on confession-based evidence, and lack of forensic evidence.

    Besides, there are inadequate vehicles to transport defendants from detention to court, scarcity of skilled/trained forensic personnel to handle investigation of complex cases, inadequate security for lawyers and converting military intelligence to admissible evidence in court.

    A statement by spokesman to the minister, Salihu Isah, said the trial of about 2,321 Boko Haram suspects will begin on October 9.

    The trial, to be conducted by four judges chosen from the Federal High Court, it was learnt, is part of the strategy of the government to clear the backlog of Boko Haram suspects’ cases.

    Isah said yesterday that those to be tried include 1,670 being held in Wawa Barracks, Kainji, New Bussa, Niger State and 651 earlier held in Giwa Barracks, but now in Maiduguri prison.

    The four judges are to first deal with the cases of those in Kainji before moving to Maiduguri.

    The detainees in Kaniji are in four categories, the first being those against who no prima facie case was established and were to be handed to the National Security Adviser (NSA) for deradicalisation.

    The second consists of those against who prima facie cases have been established and charges filed against them in court, but were willing to plead gulty to lesser offences.

    The third category, Isah said, are those whose cases have not been fully investigated and no legal opinion made yet.

    The fourth, he said, are those against who prima facie cases have been established and who are ready to undergo full trial.

    Isah said as at September 11, 13 terrorism cases had been fully prosecuted by the government. Nine convictions were secured.

    He said 33 cases were pending at various Federal High Court divisions. Charges have been filed against 116 who are awaiting trial in Kainji.

    A team comprising representatives from the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), the Federal High Court and the office of the AGF was in Kainji from September 12 to 14 “to carry out the assessment and to discuss with relevant authorities and organisations in final preparation of the all-important national assignment”

  • Buhari delayed in dealing with Kanu, says Idahosa

    A chieftain of the All Progressive Congress in Edo State, Hon Charles Idahosa, has said that President Mohammadu Buhari delayed in dealing with several issues especially Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

    Hon Idahosa said current agitations across the country and the call for restructuring were diversionary.

    Speaking in an interview to mark his 64th birthday, Hon Idahosa stated that there was a plot to distract President Buhari from achieving his desire for the country.

    Idahosa insisted that Kanu was being sponsored by individuals who looted the country during past administration.

    He noted that it was absurd for Kanu to have money to buy equipment for radio stations thereby putting the lives of Igbos at risk.

    The former Edo Commissioner for Information and Orientation noted that the fight between APC leaders over irrelevances was because a cabal is fighting themselves for the control of power inside the system.

    His words, “Buhari missed it immediately he won and the whole world was giving him the accolade. The money stolen during the PDP time was so much. The money in the hands of individual is so much and you do not expect them to just fold their hands at the rate President Mohammadu Buhari is going, looking at his antecedents, looking at his records, he wants to set up special court to be trying corruption.

    “What you are seeing right now is corruption fighting back, nothing more, nothing less. It just that we are a country of very many unserious people. This thing could have been tackled in a way that nobody would even know that such a thing happened.

    “We made Nnamdi Kanu important. A 36 years old boy who never saw the Civil War. I saw war. I know what war is and I am sure none of you  here saw war. When you see war, mother will deny her child, father will be running to different direction while the children will be running to different direction.

    “You people do not know what is called war. Children like Kanu and his cohorts are talking rubbish because people are pumping money to them, even people that are supposed to be enlightened.

    “All these agitations here and there, they are being sponsored and stage managed to distract the APC federal government led by President Mohammadu Buhari of getting to where he wants to get Nigeria to.”

     

  • Justice delayed

    •That Dana Air crash victims’ relatives are yet to get full compensation is disheartening

    It is shocking and difficult to believe that families of the 153 dead victims of the Dana Airlines flight from Abuja which crashed in Lagos on June 3, 2012, are yet to receive full compensation, four years after the tragedy. They have reportedly been paid only 30 percent of the compensation while they are still in a quandary on when the balance of 70 percent will be redeemed by the airline.

    Addressing the media in Abuja last week, the leader of the families, Mr. Paul Okwulehie, demanded not only the prompt payment of the outstanding amount but also the immediate release of the final report of the accident investigation. This is certainly a case of justice delayed and thus denied.

    According to Mr Okwulehie, who lost his wife and two other relatives to the disaster, “ Some of them (families of victims) are not speaking about what they pass through because the whole issue of compensation is adding insult to injury, an injury that is so deep. What you have heard reflects the case in all the situations. The issue of compensation for nearly all of them that are not here has been a very frustrating experience. They are asking for tax clearance, bank statements and all kinds of multiple configurations of demands”.

    Mr Okechukwu Obi, who also lost his wife, Chinwe, a staff of the National Universities Commission (NUC) in the incident, also told a tale of pains and frustrations as a result of ceaseless demands and what the affected families understandably see as time wasting tactics by the management and lawyers of Dana Air. In his words “I have gone through so many demands with my lawyer on documents I have to present them. I have been doing that since 2012. The last request the lawyers of Dana Airline are requesting for is tax clearance certificate from a civil servant, which is not an issue to civil servants except business people”. The Dana Airline management is also reportedly requesting the families to present bank statements for three years since the death of the accident victims.

    While the presentation of relevant documents for the processing of compensation by the airline is in order, this should be handled within a reasonable time frame that will not further compound the trauma of the families. An inexplicable delay of four years before the full payment of compensation is clearly indefensible. The relevant regulatory agencies and authorities in the aviation sector have certainly not lived up to their responsibilities in this respect to ensure that the airline protects the interests and rights of the affected families. We urge that urgent steps be taken to ensure full payment of the requisite compensation. There should be speedy closure on this matter.

    We are also of the view that the release of the report of the investigation of the Dana Airline and other air mishaps should be released for public consumption without sacrificing the need for the thoroughness such investigations demand. Such reports should not be treated as confidential documents for the knowledge only of aviation officials. Transparency in such a sensitive matter is a necessary condition for continually improving air safety standards by helping to ensure all critical sectors in the industry live up to their professional and statutory responsibilities.

    The relatives of victims as well as the general public need to know the causes of air mishaps so that requisite remedies are effected to enhance safety of passengers and the level of confidence in the country’s aviation industry.

  • ‘Why infrastructural projects are delayed in Nigeria’

    Nigeria recorded over $93 billion in infrastructure deficit over the years, and for government to attract additional infrastructure financing for increased delivery of projects, it needs to renew its focus on delivering financial instruments, Managing Director of Hortigraph Nigeria Limited, Murtala Abubakar, has said.

    Speaking at the unveiling of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) Metrology Institute in Enugu, Abubakar said infrastructural projects in the country are often not delivered within the agreed timeline due to financing gap that often keeps contractors at sites beyond agreed period, while widening the budget of the project.

    Indeed, a recent report by PricewaterhouseCoopers Limited showed that Nigeria’s infrastructure projects are most times behind the scheduled date of delivery by at least two years, while budget estimates are double the original estimates.

    Abubakar noted that in addressing this key challenge of financing, cost of funds should be addressed, adding that financial instruments required to attract additional infrastructure financing to the country like, bridge equity, secured loans, refinancing/secondary transactions, as well as credit enhancement and other risk mitigation measures geared at attracting non-traditional funders such as institutional investors and international investment banks should be created.

    He explained that his company, with many years of experience in key mass housing and infrastructural projects, hopes to complete the metrology institute within the timeline of three years considering other major variables.  “As a civil engineering firm with at least 15 years experience in housing and government projects, the Nigerian Metrology Institute (NMI) is the first project that the firm would be executing for SON and we have commenced work to ensure that the timeline of three years is met while ensuring that the quality and standards of the project are not undermined.

    ”We are also working to ensure the sustainability and environmental friendliness of the project by ensuring that it complies with the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) requirements,” he added.

    Already, PwC in its report had stated that, “infrastructure plays a key role in economic growth and reducing poverty having a 5-25 per cent yearly return on investment as an economic multiplier.

    “Those countries that have been most successful in developing and maintaining infrastructure have established programmes of prioritised investment opportunities with a number of features, including clear political support, proper legal and regulatory structure, a procurement framework that can be understood by both procurers and bidders, and credible project timetables,” he said.

  • Presidency laments delayed 2014 budget

    Presidency laments delayed 2014 budget

    The Presidency yesterday lamented the continued delay in the passage of 2014 budget.

    Briefing State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Goodlcuk Jonathan, Information Minister, Labaran Maku, said it is becoming worrisome that almost midway into the year, the Federal Government has no budget in place.

    According to him, the distortions in what was transmitted to the National Assembly may work against the budget implementation.

    Maku explained that efforts are ongoing to reconcile the grey areas.

    He said: “The Minister of Finance briefed us today (yesterday) at the FEC relating to the progress on the budget. It is very sad that we have almost entered the middle of the year and we don’t have a budget.”

    “This indeed is sad that the budget has taken so long in coming and practically we have less than seven months to execute the budget.

    “We will do everything possible to reconcile the few differences that emerged in what was transmitted to the government by the National Assembly,” he said.

  • Why data on number portability is delayed, by NCC

    Why data on number portability is delayed, by NCC

    The data collated so far on the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) scheme will not be released until the regulator is through with the nationwide registration of subscriber identification module (SIM) cards, The Nation has gathered.

    Barring any extension, the exercise was billed to end yesterday, after which the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) would disconnect unregistered SIMs on the network.

    NCC’s Director, Public Affairs, Tony Ojobo, said it had received data of the number of ported numbers on the network. He, however, said the Commission had not released the figure to the public because NCC was waiting for the registration to end.

    “MNP is working. We are delighted by the result we are getting. Subscribers have real freedom to choose which network to use without the hazzles of losing their old number. It has engendered competition in the industry,” he said.

    Chief Operating Officer, Interconnect Clearing House Nigeria Limited, Uche Onwudiwe, said the firm, which is the clearing house for the ported lines, releases data to the NCC.

    He said it has, nonetheless, forwarded data collated from the exercise to the NCC, which it reports to.

    Ojobo said the Commission had been receiving reports from the public through responses from the subscribers, expressing intention to port their lines. He said on completion of the validation, harmonisation and scrubbing of the records of registered SIM cards, operators would be authorised to disconnect unregistered SIM cards from the networks.

    This will be followed by the release of MNP report, he added.

    The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NCC, Dr  Ikemefuna Juwah, said the data collated from the operators would be sorted out.

    “SIM card registration will come to an end very soon. We are collating data from the operators (and the agents commissioned by the NCC),” the EVC said.

  • Why Achebe’s burial is being delayed

    Why Achebe’s burial is being delayed

    THE immediate family of the late Prof Chinua Achebe is yet to agree on a date for his burial due to disagreements over some protocols.

    A source close to the family said, “it has been difficult for the immediate family to agree with the elders and titled men on certain fundamental issues, which they said must be settled before his death would be formally announced.”

    Soon after his death, his last resting place has been a source of speculation and debate. Initial reports that his immediate family may agree to his being buried abroad was widely criticised and rejected by his people.

    “He is a renowned promoter of the African culture. He cannot but be buried in his native home community,” Mike Udah, spokesman for the governor of Anambra, Achebe’s home state, had responded to the reports, pointing out that “the idea of him being buried outside his community is totally ruled out.”

    But when it seems every party has yielded to the demand that as an elder and a leader, he must be buried in his home in the village, the issue of protocol has also become another stumbling block, as his fellow titled men and elders in his community do not seem to be in agreement with some members of the immediate family in this respect.

    So, as at yesterday, the elders of Ogidi are not only determined to oppose alleged initial plans to bury him outside his community, they are worried that, weeks after his demise, his immediate family has not formally informed the entire community of his death as the custom demands.

    The Nation investigation however revealed that concerned elders, friends and community leaders have been holding meetings in Ikenga, Ogidi, other cities in Nigeria and overseas to iron out all the identified differences and plan a hitch-free burial for the author of Things Fall Apart.

    For example, we gathered that the Ikenga Ogidi family Union Meeting of Ogidi in Idemmili North Local Government Area of Anambra State, which has, on its own, commenced initial planning for the burial of Achebe, held a crucial meeting on the matter yesterday.

    Sources at the meeting complained that although the family and Ogidi community are preparing for a befitting burial for their late son, they have not been told about the death of their illustrious son and brother by the immediate family of the late sage.

    A source, however, confirmed yesterday that Achebe’s immediate family said they have concluded that his burial must be at home and not abroad no matter what it would take as Achebe is a titled man.

    When contacted to confirm the outcome of yesterday’s meting, the former National President of Ikenga Ogidi Family Union, Pastor Emmanuel Obianagha, affirmed that it was the immediate family of the late novelist that is delaying the formal announcement of the death and burial arrangement.

     

     

     

    Obianagha said, “We are in a meeting now and the issue was part of our discussion but the family has not briefed Ogidi community that our son is dead. The procedure was for the immediate family to communicate to us, the family Union, then we would formally inform Ogidi community. When this is done, all of us will communicate the governor and others involved even the president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan on the burial plans.

    Inside sources however told The Nation some unnamed members of Achebe’s family are still opposed to this winding protocol and other traditional requirements. “That is the problem,” the source said.

    Pastor Obianagha however said these disagreements have not stopped the community’s arrangements. ‘’But we are not relenting with our plans hoping that they would soon brief us on his death,” he said emphasising that Achebe was the last Ikenga man to be President-General of Ogidi in 1986.

    ‘’Achebe is a titled man and he is an international figure, so the whole world will be in Ogidi for his burial and I am happy that the Governors of South-East, led by Governor Peter Obi, have agreed on a state burial for him. He wrote Things Fall Apart in 1958 when I was born. His burial will be a carnival and all kinds of people will try to showcase their love for the great Iroko of our time,” said Obianagha.

    Obianagha, who is a cousin to late Achebe, further revealed that their kinsmen are rallying round to commence preparation for the official announcement of Achebes’ death and the funeral arrangement.

    In the same mood , the President General of Ogidi Development Union, Dr. Eric Obiakor, said though it has not been officially announced to the entire community, there are clear indications that he would be buried like a hero that he was.

    Obiakor further disclosed that the community would be waiting for an official announcement of the demise of Prof Achebe from his family members and disclosed that until that time, the community, though in mourning, will continue to behave as if nothing has happened.

    But barring any last minutes changes, The Nation learnt that the Ikenga village and Ogidi community in general are planning a huge cultural fiesta and masquerade regatta for the burial ceremony of the literary giant.

    National President Ikenga Ogidi family Union, Hon Amaechi Ekuma, announced this in an exclusive chat with The Nation in his country home Ogidi. He said over 1001 masquerades will be at display during his burial even as he admitted that discussions were going on awaiting announcement of his death to them in Ogidi by family members.

     

  • Why NEC meeting is delayed, by Tukur

    The national Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, has explained why the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting is being delayed.

    He said the leadership of the party would soon fix dates for congresses to elect a new national secretary to replace Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, who was sacked a few weeks ago.

    According to him, the congresses would throw up replacements for the leadership of the party in the Southwest, including its erstwhile Vice-Chairman, Mr. Segun Oni and Auditor, Mr. Bode Mustapha, who were also removed from office.

    The party chair, however, did not give a time frame for the congresses.

    Tukur, who addressed reporters at his home in Abuja yesterday, said certain things would have to be put in place before the meeting could hold.

    Said he: “You don’t just go into NEC meeting without having the necessary things in place. There must be things and issues to be presented before the NEC.

    “There must be something to put on the table for the NEC. For instance, we need to prepare reports on our activities, particularly our reconciliation efforts since we came to office.

    “We also need to make suggestions and recommendations on a wide range of issues as they relate to the party at all levels.

    “All these are being put in place and the NEC meeting will be convened as soon as these things are put in place.

    “I want to make it clear that nobody can deliberately delay the NEC meeting because we are mindful of the fact that the NEC is the supreme organ of the party.”

    The party’s constitution stipulates that the NEC meeting should be convened every quarter, at the instance of the party chairman. The meeting was last held in July 2012.

    Key stakeholders, particularly governors elected on the platform of the PDP, have been at daggers drawn with the party chairman over his reluctance to convene the meeting in the last eight months.

    A section of the leadership of the party has cited mutual mistrust as reason for the chairman’s ambivalence over the NEC meeting, despite the popular agitation by the various stakeholders.

  • Air France plane landing delayed

    Air France plane landing delayed

    An Air France flight into the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos hovered for about two hours before landing last night.

    A passenger on board told our correspondent that the delayed landing was as a result of poor lighting on the runway.

    Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) officials were last night battling with the generating set serving the E-wing of the airport.

    This roof of the generator house was blown off by the wind that accompanied last night’s rainfall in Lagos.

    “They are cleaning the generating set after water entered it. Everything will be okay”, said FAAN spokesman Yakubu Datti last night.

    Datti said he was not aware that the Air France plane did not land on schedule.

     

  • Justice delayed

    Justice delayed

    JUSTICE Aloma Mukhtar has demonstrated within seven months in office as Chief Justice of Nigeria, that she would do all within her power to restore the dignity of the third arm of government, She told the nation during her screening for the office by the Senate that she would not tolerate corrupt practices and would defend the integrity of the judiciary.

    Last month, the National Judicial Council (NJC) over which she presides recommended to the president the sack of Justices Charles Archibong and Thomas Naron for acts unbecoming of judges. Prior to her appointment, the petition against Justice Naron over his unethical conduct while presiding over the election tribunal in Osun State had failed to attract the necessary punishment. Now, it has been laid to rest.

    However, the Justice Ayo Salami case has cast a blight on the judiciary. The President of the Court of Appeal (PCA) was recommended for suspension by the NJC in August 2011, for allegedly failing to apologise to Justice Katsina-Alu whom Salami claimed strongly intervened in the Sokoto election petition in a manner that suggested he had more than a passing interest in the matter.

    It is time to lay the Salami case to rest in the interest of justice. It is unfortunate that the judicial authorities played into the hands of the politicians in the executive arm by referring the case to the president. The president’s party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was the beneficiary of the alleged involvement of Justice Katsina-Alu in the case. Therefore, referring the fate of Justice Salami to him (the president) was an indication that the NJC at the time was willing to sacrifice the integrity of the judiciary and invest in the president a power he clearly lacks.

    Nowhere in the 1999 constitution is the president empowered to discipline a President of the Court of Appeal. In case of gross misconduct, all that section 292 of the constitution and the Third Schedule to it allows is removal by the president, acting upon an address supported by two-thirds of members of the Senate. The manner the NJC adopted in referring the matter to the president and the consequent removal suggest that there might have been a meeting of minds between the heads of the executive and the judiciary and the ruling party, at the time.

    Since then, under one guise or the other, Justice Salami has been locked out of his office while the president chose to act illegally. Acting on powers purportedly derived from section 238 (4) of the constitution to appoint an acting PCA, President Goodluck Jonathan was very quick in appointing Justice Dalhatu Adamu to the office. However, he did not care to check the proviso that such an appointee who must be the most senior justice of the court should not act longer than a single term of three months. It is clear from the section that the constitution does not envisage that there could be any circumstances that would warrant the office being vacant for more than three months.

    Under Justice Mukhtar, the NJC has admitted that it acted in error in recommending the dismissal of Salami and actually getting him suspended from office. The body also confirmed the submission of senior lawyers that in exercising its power to discipline erring judges, Section 21 (b) of the Third Schedule to the constitution fully placed disciplinary powers in the hands of the NJC. It is not subject to the action or review of the president or any other public officer.

    As judges in Pakistan and Egypt showed courage in similar circumstances, the NJC must rise now to assert the independence of the judiciary and show that it is a temple of justice by forthwith giving effect to its decision to reinstate Justice Salami. All committees set up by the body so far have exonerated him. It will amount to a travesty of justice if he is allowed to stay in limbo until he attains the retirement age later this year.