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Tag: Mohammed abubakar

  • Sanusi’s suspension: Judge preaches amicable settlement

    The President of the National Industrial Court (NIC) Justice Babatunde Adejumo, on Friday advised President Goodluck Jonathan, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Lamido Sanusi to explore an amicable settlement of the dispute caused by Sanusi’s suspension from office.

    Justice Adejumo gave the advice at the resumed hearing of the suit filed by Sanusi to challenge the propriety of his suspension from office by President Jonathan prior to the expiration of his tenure.

    President Jonathan suspended Sanusi on February 20 following which he sued the President, the AGF and IGP at the Federal High Court, Abuja, challenging his suspension and seeking to restrain the defendants from arresting and prosecuting him.

    Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court, Abuja declined jurisdiction over the case and transferred it to the NIC. Parties were expected to argue their applications for stay of proceedings on Friday only for plaintiff’s lawyer, Kola Awodein (SAN) to inform the court of his intention to consult his client before taking any further steps in the case.

    Awodein noted that between the last date and Friday, some developments have occurred relating to the plaintiff to necessitate his lawyers taking further instructions from him. He applied for time to enable him consult with his client.

    Lawyers to the defendants, including Mike Ozekhome (SAN) did not object to Awodein’s application. He acknowledged being informed, before the court’s proceedings, of the plaintiff lawyer’s desire for time to consult with his client.

    Before adjourning, Justice Adejumo said he would adjourn for parties to seek ways of ensuring an amicable settlement in the case.  He said unlike any other conventional courts, his court was mandated to encourage disputing parties to ensure amicable settlement.

    “I will strongly commend, by virtue of the provision of this court’s establishment Act, that parties seek amicable way of resolving this dispute. In industrial and employment relations the court is not concern about the consequence of its pronouncement on parties alone, but on the entire society.

    “In consulting with their clients, counsel should know what to say to contribute to the effort to ensure amicable settlement,” Justice Adejumo said.

  • APC, others to Jonathan: don’t plunge Nigeria into crisis

    APC, others to Jonathan: don’t plunge Nigeria into crisis

    •Groups ask IG to transfer OC MOPOL from Ekiti

    The All Progressives Congress (APC), Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) and Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) yesterday led other groups and individuals in decrying the violence unleashed by the police on the party members in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital on Sunday.

    The APC alleged that indications showed that the police are acting out a script written by the Presidency and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to foment trouble in the Southwest ahead of the 2015 general elections.

    Its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in a statement issued in Lagos yesterday, blamed the Presidency and the PDP for the violence.

    Besides, the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, has been urged to redeploy the Ekiti State Mobile Police Commander, Gabriel Selenkere Michael, out of the state.

    A political pressure group, Ekiti Youth Emancipation Movement (EYEM) said Selenkere, by his attack on Governor Kayode Fayemi on Sunday, had demonstrated that he was out to either maim or assassinate the governor, hence the call for his redeployment.

    EYEM President, Mr. Taiwo Olatunji, in a statement, said: “Ekiti people no longer trust the OC MOPOL and are prepared to defend their governor against Abuja onslaught.”

    Also yesterday, the APC in Osun State said the killing was the actualisation of Vice President Mohammed Sambo’s promise to go to war in Ekiti and Osun states in order to seize political power in the two states.

    According to a statement by the party’s State Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy, Kunle Oyatomi, Sambo was still in Ekiti when police from Abuja allegedly shot the APC member and injured many others.

    “This callous and barbaric action of the police mobile unit, under the command of a Bayelsa-born officer, one Gabriel Selekere, signifies the Federal Government’s opening of a second war front in the Western part of the country, in addition to the war against Boko Haram in the North.”

    But Mohammed, in his statement, wondered why the police, who are paid by taxpayers to maintain law and order, would turn their weapons on the same defenceless citizens they are paid to protect.

    The statement reads: “But for the action of the police, led by the head of Mopol in Ekiti, Gabriel Selekere, the peaceful procession by the APC members would not have degenerated into violence, during which a harmless citizen was apparently shot dead by the police.

    “Our members were carrying brooms, not weapons, and were singing and dancing as they marched through the streets in the best tradition of political rallies. Their procession was peaceful and carnival-like until the police unleashed teargas and live bullets on them without provocation, killing one person and injuring many. Even the governor of the state was not spared by these trigger-happy policemen. This is unacceptable in any civilised society and must be condemned by all Nigerians,” APC said.

    The party, however, said it was not surprised at the ferocity of the attack by armed policemen on the peaceful members of the APC, as it fits perfectly into the desperation of President Goodluck Jonathan and his party to capture Ekiti State at all cost as a leeway to entering the South-west ahead of 2015.

    “The President, who said his ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian, has apparently forgotten he ever made such a comment.

    Otherwise, how does he explain the bloodied body of a peaceful protester who was apparently shot dead by policemen acting out a script? How does he explain that the blood-thirsty policemen, who behaved more like hooligans, were led by an officer (Selekere) who has consistently been hostile to the state governor?

    “Is it by coincidence that the killer policemen were led by no other than Selekere, who once unilaterally transferred all mobile policemen attached to the governor simply because he could not compromise them to set up the Governor, until he was overruled by the IG?

    “Is it also a mere coincidence that a new Brigade Commander,

    Brig.-Gen. Momoh, whom they believed to be pliable and willing to do their hatchet job, has been posted from Minna to Akure ahead of the Ekiti elections, to replace Brig.-Gen. A.B. Dikko who refused to be compromised and allow the PDP to rig the recent bye-election in Ondo State?

    “The Presidency and the PDP should know that Ekiti people will not allow a blood-thirsty and compromised Mopol Commander, a Brigade Commander or even the Presidency to pick their governor for them on June 21st. They will defend their votes to the hilt, whether or not the FG floods the state with security personnel in an attempt to intimidate and harass the people,’’ it said.

    APC said the orchestration of violence in Ekiti on Sunday, a day after President Jonathan hinted that he had deliberately stifled development in the state by saying he would develop the state once the PDP is voted into office, has shown that the Presidency and the PDP have no qualms about plunging the country into chaos just to realize their ambition of capturing the state and the region.

    “It is for this reason that we appeal to all the good people of Ekiti State in particular and all Nigerians in general to be vigilant in the days ahead. Whatever happens in Ekiti before, during and after the forthcoming election will be a barometer for measuring the desperation or otherwise of the Presidency/PDP ahead of the August election in Osun State and the general elections in 2015.

    “On our part, we will closely monitor and expose all the shenanigans of the Presidency and the PDP to set Ekiti ablaze, destabilise the Southwest and indeed plunge the entire country into crisis just because of an unbridled desperation for power. We urge our members in Ekiti to remain peaceful despite the provocation from the PDP and its cohorts,” the party said.

    The ARG, in a statement by its Programme Officer, Segun Balogun, said the police officer was alleged to have boasted that “he was carrying out orders from above”.

    The ARG said it had warned earlier that the President has a bounded duty to all Nigerians to ensure that the elections in Ekiti State and in all states of the federation are free and fair.

    “Our doubts regarding his capacity for fairness however deepened when Alhaji Namadi Sambo, the vice president, stated that his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was going to war in the Ekiti gubernatorial election.

    “Yoruba people would however not allow anyone, including the suppressive and oppressive central government, whose recent attack on the media nationwide, signals the return of the worst days of the Abacha military dictatorship, to subvert their will.

    “We stood in collaboration with other well-meaning Nigerians to see to the end of military rule in Nigeria. We will not under any circumstance allow the subjugation of any part of Yoruba land and space again. We demand free and fair elections, and we will join the good people of Ekiti State in resisting the planned subversion of their will,” the ARG stated.

    The CDHR also condemned the killing and use of state apparatus against APC members during their rally.

    CDHR urged the officer-in-charge and the Police Commissioner of the state to be brought to face the consequences of their actions against defenceless people.

    In a statement, the National Vice- President of the committee, Comrade Taiwo Otitolaye, said: “It is not surprised at the turn of events in Ekiti State over the governorship elections coming up on June 21, 2014.

    “The emergence of Ayo Fayose as the PDP candidate would have ordinarily thrown an atmosphere of violence to an average intelligent person, given Fayose’s antecedence.

    “We condemn the act of banditry, killings and the use of state apparatus against the All Progressive Congress members during their campaigns at Ado-Ekiti. This is the height of provocation and primitive acts of lawlessness in the polity.”

  • Police make u-turn on Bring Back Our Girls’ protests ban

    Police make u-turn on Bring Back Our Girls’ protests ban

    IG disowns Mbu

    Protesters seek N200m damages from Fed Govt

    Senator protests

    The Police yesterday made a dramatic u-turn on the Bring Back Our Girls protests ban which drew public outrage on Monday.

    Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Abubakar disowned Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Commissioner of Police Mbu Joseph Mbu, who authorised the ban.

    The police, Abubakar said, never issued any order banning the protests.

    He described Mbu’s order  as “an advisory notice enjoining citizens to apply caution in the said rallies, particularly in the FCT and environs”.

    Police spokesman Frank Mba, who spoke to reporters in Abuja on the IGP’s behalf, said Mbu’s action must have been informed by the prevailing security challenges.

    Mba said: “Coupled with a recent intelligence report of a likely infiltration and hijack of otherwise innocuous and peaceful protests by some criminal elements having links with insurgents, the police only issued advisory notice, enjoining citizens to apply caution in the said rallies, particularly in the Federal Capital Territory and its environs.

    “Reminding citizens of the earlier position of the Force on peaceful rallies, which the police high command regards as the constitutional and democratic rights of Nigerians, the Inspector-General of Police,  M D. Abubakar, stresses the need for the organisers of such rallies to ensure that they seek proper advice and guidance from the Police before engaging in any such exercise so as to avoid any unpleasant circumstances.

    “The IGP calls on the general public to see the present position of the Force as a necessary sacrifice for the peace our nation needs, as security is a collective responsibility.

    “Consequently, citizens are strongly advised to reconsider their positions on the issues of rallies and protests in FCT until the existing threats are appropriately neutralised and removed from our midst by relevant security agencies”.

    The IGP, Mba said, reassures Nigerians of the police commitment to the protection of lives and property and the advancement of democracy.

    The police statement appears a soft-landing for Mbu, the former controversial Rivers state police chief, whose directive may not have go down well with the Presidency.

    A highly-placed source said: “The government was not happy with Mbu for issuing a unilateral directive banning protests and rallies after the Presidency had sent a team to receive the Bring Back Our Girls team.

    “The international backlash of such a directive by Mbu at a period when the girls had not been found created more image crisis for the government.

    “Also, there were past pronouncements by the court which made peaceful protests legal. Banning protest in a democracy is illegal and an attempt to infringe on Freedom of Expression. So, the government asked the IGP to give a technical clarification.

    “The Presidency was just uncomfortable with Mbu’s directive and it decided to ask the IGP to take charge.”

    Also yesterday, the #BringBackOurGirls campaigners led by Dr. Oby Ezekwesili and Hadiza Bala Usman said they would remain resolute in their task.

    In a statement by Ezekwesili and Hadiza Bala Usman, the group said: “We are members of the #Bring Back Our Girls Abuja Family, a citizen’s movement advocating the speedy rescue of the over 200 girls abducted from Chibok Secondary School, Borno state.

    “Ours has been a single-issue campaign for the safe return of the abducted girls. In the last 34 days we have done so through peaceful daily sit-outs, and some marches to key governmental actors urging them to act swiftly to rescue the girls from the terrorists.

    “We received with shock the statement credited to the FCT Commissioner of Police Joseph Mbu that “…All Protests on the Chibok Girls is hereby banned with immediate effect…”

    “We wish to remind the Commissioner of Police Mbu that he cannot take any action that violates our Constitutionally guaranteed rights as citizens, particularly our rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, amongst others as enshrined in Chapter Four (Section 40) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

    “We are puzzled about the inconsistencies in the communication emanating from the Nigerian Police. We recall that on 12th May, 2014, the Nigeria Police Force on its website published a news item with the title: “Police Not Against Peaceful Assemblies” in which the Inspector-General of Police, M.D. Abubakar restated the commitment of the Nigeria Police Force to the protection and enforcement of the fundamental rights of citizens.

    “Over the last 34 days, we have been widely acknowledged, including by the Police and the Federal Government delegation, which represented President Jonathan at one of our meetings for the peaceful, disciplined, and decorous manner we have always conducted the activities of our movement.

    “In consonance with our approach, we shall be in court with our lawyers, Femi Falana SAN to file a suit challenging this purported ban by C.P. Mbu.

    “We hope to obtain an immediate restraint on this unconstitutional, undemocratic and repressive act. Our Movement is legitimate and lawful and cannot be arrested by the police whose responsibility is to enforce, not betray the law.

    “We, the members of the #BringBackOurGirls Abuja Family, remain resolute and will persist in using all lawful means to sustain our peaceful advocacy for the safe rescue of the Chibok Girls.

    “We, therefore, encourage all those in Nigeria and other Nations that have similarly taken a stand for the cause of the girls to continue to do so with the clarion call: BRING BACK OUR GIRLS, NOW AND ALIVE!!!”

  • Police didn’t ban protests on Chibok abduction – IGP

    The police high command on Tuesday attempted to modify the ban placed on individuals and groups protesting the April 14 abduction of the over 200 schoolgirls by Boko Haram insurgents.

    The Commissioner of Police in charge of the Federal Capital Territory, Mr. Mbu Joseph Mbu, had on Monday, issued an order banning protests and rallies within the capital territory.

    In a terse statement conveying the ban, Mbu stated:  “You will recall that the first peaceful protest on the “BRING BACK OUR GIRLS” (Chibok) took place on the 28th April, 2014 which I took part in the procession until when the Senate President and Speaker addressed them.

    “The protest continued and on the 22nd May, 2014, they were again addressed by over ten ministers, SGF and others. They are still unrelenting; the group has now shifted to Maitama Amusement Park. This area is very close to the residence of diplomats.

    “Again a new group, “RELEASE OUR GIRLS” suddenly emerged and started the same protest, it has degenerated to the extent that they are now selling and cooking at the Unity Fountain.

    “The trend is now posing a serious security threat to those living around and citizens who drive through. We are all aware of what happened on Monday – 01/06/2014 in Mubi, Adamawa State.

    “As the FCT Police boss, I cannot fold my hands and watch this lawlessness. Information reaching us is that too soon dangerous elements will join the groups under the guise of protest and detonate explosive aimed at embarrassing the government.

    “Accordingly, protests on the Chibok girls are hereby banned with immediate effect. I urge all to encourage our security agencies in this war and appreciate them for the sacrifices we have made and are still making.”

    But the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, said on Tuesday that the restriction order was only advisory.

    According to him, the police under his watch has not issued any order banning peaceful assemblies and protests in any part of the country.

    The Force Public Relations Officer, Mr. Frank Mba who addressed journalists in Abuja, on behalf of the IGP, said Mbu’s action must have been informed by the prevailing security challenges in the country.

     

  • National Conference is broke

    National Conference is broke

    Delegates to the ongoing National Conference in Abuja have not received their allowances for accommodation and transportation in the last six weeks, it was learnt yesterday.

    Aides to delegates have also petitioned Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Abubakar for permission to hold a rally over alleged refusal of the Federal Government to make financial provisions for them.

    Deputy Chairman of the conference, Prof Bolaji Akinyemi, drew the attention of delegates to the petition of their aides, including the drivers to the IGP.

    Prof Akinyemi urged the delegates to call their aides to order.

    He warned that if they failed to restrain their aides, security agents would ensure that nobody or anything would be allowed to disrupt the proceedings of the conference.

    Hardly had the deputy chairman concluded his speech than Dan Nwanyanwu asked the conference leadership to look inward.

    The delegate alleged that the secretariat workers were behind the plot of the delegates’ aides to disrupt the proceedings of the conference.

    He said the investigation showed that the secretariat workers were complaining that their allowances were not being paid as at when due by the conference leadership.

    Nwanyanwu said the transport and accommodation allowances of the delegates had also not been paid in the last six weeks.

    He said: “Look at the empty seats you see there. They are the seats of delegates who can no longer cope. Hotels are no longer accommodating some delegates because of the failure to honour their daily obligations. Something should be done urgently to address the situation.”

    Prof Akinyemi, who appeared jolted by Nwanyanwu’s statement, said even the secretariat workers had not been paid their allowances for six weeks.

    “We also have not been paid,” Prof Akinyemi said.

    The deputy chairman noted that it could not be true that the secretariat drivers were behind the threat to disrupt the conference.

    According to him, it was not that funds had not been approved for the conference, but “it is just that we have not received the paper to collect the money”.

    Prof Akinyemi said the Deputy Secretary (Finance) had been chasing the funds at the Ministry of Finance.

    Mrs. Felicia Sani, the representative of Market Women, blamed the development on corruption.

    The women’s leader said she had been trying to liaise with other delegates under the platform of Market Women.

    She said if funds had been released to the delegates, they should be paid to the delegates without further delay.

    Mrs Sani said: “Mr. Chairman, what is happening is corruption. That is what we have been trying to stamp out of this country. There is a fat rat in your house. You must fish out the rat.”

     

  • Police launch terrorism enlightenment campaign

    The Nigeria police on Monday launched counter-terrorism enlightenment campaign nationwide to sensitize members of the public to their roles in the fight against the raging terrorism in the land.

    The public enlightenment campaign rolled out distress telephone numbers of the Police, the Department of State Services (DSS) and that of the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA).

    The campaign outlines how to identify terrorists’ subterfuge and other known modus operandi of criminals. This is expected to help in protecting citizens from falling victim to crime and improving overall sense of communal safety.

    A statement issued by the Force Public Relations Officer, Mr. Frank Mba, said fact sheets on the campaign had been translated into major Nigerian languages for wider reach.

    “Consequently, the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, has called on the citizenry to partner with the Force and support it in the ongoing counter-terrorism enlightenment campaign.

    “The IGP further urges the citizens to pay rapt attention to the security and safety tips contained in the counter-terrorism leaflets being circulated by the Force.

    “Reiterating the commitment of the police and other security agencies to winning the war against terror, the IGP enjoins the general public to insist on frustrating every step of the terrorists by remaining vigilant all the time,” the statement said.

    The IGP was quoted to have thanked Nigerians for their patience and resilience in the present circumstance, adding that the challenges could only strengthen a collective resolve to preserve peace in the land.

    “The campaign is expected to be sustained until every citizen of Nigeria is well informed of their responsibilities in this age of terrorism,” the statement added.

  • IGP orders security threat analysis in boarding schools

    IGP orders security threat analysis in boarding schools

    The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Abubakar, has ordered police commissioners to begin security audit and threats analysis of boarding schools across the country.

    The measure is aimed at assisting the police and other security agencies to design security strategies for the safety of students and teaching staff.

    The exercise is coming amid threats of attacks and abduction of secondary school pupils in certain parts of the country by Boko Haram insurgents.

    A statement yesterday by the Force Headquarters’ spokesman, Mr. Frank Mba, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (ASP), said the exercise would reduce the vulnerability of the schools to terrorist attacks.

    The police said the measure was also part of deliberate and proactive efforts to bolster security network around boarding schools nationwide and ensure the safety of students and other stakeholders in secondary schools.

    The statement added that the police commissioners would work with other security agencies, the Ministry of Education in the states and the management of the schools.

    Other partners include the parents/teachers associations, the host communities and other stakeholders working together in intelligence gathering.

    The police called for the support and cooperation of the public, adding that the team would protect the lives and property of the citizenry.

  • Alleged threat: IGP orders tight security in Benue schools

    Alleged threat: IGP orders tight security in Benue schools

    The Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, has ordered the strengthening of security in all boarding schools in and around Makurdi, Benue State.

    This is contained in a statement issued by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Frank Mba, in Abuja.

    The order is coming on the heel of a recent threat letter, purportedly issued by elements claiming to be Boko Haram members to two all-boys secondary schools, Government College and Mount St. Gabriel College, Makurdi.

    “Consequently, Benue State Police Command, working in conjunction with the State Ministry of Education and the affected school authorities, has strengthened surveillance in the schools and other boarding schools within Makurdi metropolis,” the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the statement as saying on Monday.

    It said the police had begun investigations to determine the “authenticity or otherwise of the hand-written letter (threat) now in possession of the force”.

    The statement advised residents of communities where boarding schools were located to “remain perpetually on the alert and report any suspicious movement to the appropriate authorities.”

  • Police debunk IGP ‘terminal leave’ rumour

    Police debunk IGP ‘terminal leave’ rumour

    The Police High Command has denied reports that the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar had been asked to proceed on pre-retirement leave.

    A statement issued on Thursday in Abuja by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Frank Mba, said Abubakar was“ fully on his desk.”

    The Police High Command had not received any official communication from appropriate government quarters informing the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, of retirement from the force,” the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the Force spokesman as saying in the statement.

     

  • IGP okays Bring-back-our-girls protests

    IGP okays Bring-back-our-girls protests

    THE Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, has given the green light to individuals and civil society groups to stage peaceful protests to demand the release of the 234 girls abducted from the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State on April 15

    The Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) group complained that their sustained peaceful protests in Abuja were being disrupted by policemen.

    In a statement yesterday by the Force Public Relations Officer, Mr. Frank Mba, the IGP restated his commitment to providing security for the protesters anywhere in the country.

    The statement said in recognition of the rights of the protesters, as enshrined in Chapter 4 of the Nigerian Constitution, the IGP  ordered the police to give protection to the protesters.

    The IGP was quoted to have insisted that the law enforcement agencies are duty bound to enforce the rights of the protesters.

    “To this end, the IGP has charged his zonal and state command officers to ensure that citizens embarking on rallies and other peaceful demonstrations are provided adequate security in line with the standard operational practice of the Force.

    “The IGP, however, called on leaders and organisers of such rallies to work in concert with the police to ensure the safety of participants and orderliness of the exercise. He further urged them to take measures to deter hoodlums from hijacking the assemblies.

    “While calling on the citizens to provide the police and other law enforcement agencies with useful information in the fight against terror and other related crimes, the IGP reassured them that all necessary steps are being taken towards ensuring that the abducted Chibok school girls are rescued and returned to their loved ones.”