The Nation Newspaper

Tag: National Intelligence Agency

  • Buhari meets Security Chiefs in Aso Rock

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday met behind closed doors with Service Chiefs and security heads at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    The meeting was expected to deliberate on the security situation in the country.

    The security heads are also expected to present regular briefing to the President, who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigeria Armed Forces.

    The Service Chiefs at the meeting were Chief of Defence Staff General Gabriel Olonisakin; Chief of Naval Staff Ibok-Ete IIbas and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadiq Abubakar.

    Read Also: Buhari pledges to restore dignity of retired public servants

     

    The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Yusuf Buratai and the Director of National Intelligence Agency, NIA, Ahmed Abubakar were represented at the meeting.

    Also present were the National Security Adviser Major Gen. Babagana Monguno; Director General, Department of Security Service DSS Yusuf Bichi; the Acting Inspector General of Police IGP Mohammed Adamu; Chief of Defence Intelligence and the Minister of Defence, Brigadier Gen. Mansur Dan-Ali.

    The meeting was still in progress at the time of filing this report

     

     

  • FG files charges against Babachir Lawal, Oke, wife, others

    *Oke, wife to be arraigned in Lagos Friday
    *Lawal to be arraigned in Abuja

    The Federal Government has filed separate charges against former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, former Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ayodele Oke and his wife, Folashade.

    A 10-charge was filed against Lawal and five others before the Federal High Court, Abuja by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in which the defendants are charged with diversion of public funds.

    Another four-count charge filed before the Federal High Court, Lagos has Mr. Oke and his wife as the only defendants. They are charged in relation to the huge funds discovered in a private building in Ikoyi, Lagos last year.

    It was learnt that they will be arraigned on Friday before Justice Aneke.

    Detail shortly….

  • Court asked to reverse sack of ex-NIA boss

    The National Industrial Court (NIC) has been urged to reverse the recent dismissal of acting Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ambassador Mohammed Duada.

    The request formed part of the reliefs in a suit filed before the court on his behalf by former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Kanu Agabi (SAN).

    Dauda, in the suit marked: marked NICN/ABJ/136/2018, commenced by originating summons, faulted the procedure leading to his dismissal and urged the court to declare it as unlawful.

    He raised some questions for the court’s determination, including whether the procedure adopted by the defendants in the process leading to his purported dismissal was in compliance with Article 8(1) and (2) of the National Securities Agency Act (CAPS 278) 1986.

    The claimant also seeks a determination whether in view of the extant provisions of Article 8(1) and (2) of the National Securities Ac (CAPS 278) 1986, retired Directors of NIA are competent to sit as members in the Senior Staff Disciplinary Committee (SSDC) and if not, whether the failure of the defendants to set up a competent Senior Staff Disciplinary Committee SSDC to look into the allegation levied against him constitutes a violation of his constitutional right to fair hearing.

    He equally urged the court to determine whether the purported ‎letter dismissing him issued by the defendants on March 6, 2018 is not unlawful, null and void and of no effect whatsoever.

    Dauda prayed the court to declare that the procedure adopted by the defendants in the process leading to his dismissal falls short of the provisions of Articles 8(1) and (2) of the National Securities Agency Act (Cap 278 LFN) 1986 and is null and void.

    He also prays the court for a declaration that by th virtue of the provisions of Articles 8(1) and (2) of the National Securities Agency Act (Cap 278 LFN) 1986, retired Directors and former members of the NIA are not competent to sit as as members in the Senior Staff Disciplinary Committee.

    Dauda also prayed the court to declare that the failure of the defendants to set up a competent Senior Staff Disciplinary Committee to look into the allegations levied against him is a violation of his constitutional right to fair hearing.

    He urged the court order his reinstatement and declare that the purported letter of his dismissal issued by the defendants on March 6,2018 is unlawful, null and void and of no effect whatsoever.

  • NIA crisis: Root cause of brothers’ macabre dance

    THE question people have continued to ask back home in Biu is what may have necessitated close allies of former Acting Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ambassador Muhammed Dauda, to join in a bitter fight against him?

    It was rather curious and intriguing to many people that the duo of Mustapha Shehu, a publisher and media consultant from Biu in Borno State and Mustapha Betara Aliyu, a retired Deputy Director of NIA, also from Biu, who were close allies of Daura for more than 50 years, could join to fight their brother, Dauda, also from Biu.

    Those who know the three gentlemen are still piqued at what could have gone wrong to the hitherto cozy relationship between them. I know as a matter of fact that MB Aliyu, Muhammed Dauda and Mustapha Shehu were pals from the cradle, and not only contemporaries, but were always together when Dauda was still the Acting Director-General.

    I understand that while Mustapha Shehu was seeking to be engaged as a media consultant, M B Aliyu wanted his premature retirement from the NIA reviewed, so that he could enjoy the benefits of a director.

    It is common knowledge in the service that MB Aliyu has petitioned virtually every National Security Adviser from the time of General Aliyu Gusau and has tried to cajole every Director General since that time, including Muhammed Dauda, to have his matter reviewed. Perhaps he had hoped that, Dauda, being his own kinsman, will do that for him, but the Acting DG declined, insisting it was a bad case.

    I must confess that I have a fair knowledge of what may have transpired as both Mustapha Shehu and Mustapha Betara Aliyu used to be my close allies too, until I found out that I was actually riding on the back of two tigers. Dauda may have also come to the same realisation and refused to appoint MB Aliyu as his SA, contrary to the expectations of many of us who were regulars around him.

    One may think that Dauda’s refusal to appoint MB Aliyu as an SA, coupled with the rapid progress Dauda made even as MB Aliyu’s junior: becoming a Director, an Ambassador and subsequently the Acting DG of the NIA, at a time MB Aliyu could not transcend the position of a Deputy Director, may be part of what came between MB Aliyu and Dauda.

    Also, his refusal to hire Mustapha Shehu as a media strategist could have angered Shehu. Beyond these, there could be more motives for the duo to move against Dauda.

    I would have dismissed the assertion that Dauda is also being fought by his own brothers as a mere hoax but for the allegation from an insider in the NIA to the effect that our own brothers are at the center of a campaign to further denigrate Muhammed Dauda.

    I learnt of a ploy to compel him to withdraw the suit in court challenging his purported dismissal: an issue that has become worrisome to NI authorities.

    Suffice it to say that the close affinity between Mustapha Shehu and MB Aliyu stems from their commonality of attitudes and characters. For Shehu, since his sojourn outside the shores of Nigeria for the Technical Aid Corp, which gave him the opportunity to also pursue other endeavors, he has technically kept all his friends, except M B Aliyu, at bay. In the same vein, MB Aliyu, since his career at the National Intelligence Agency became wobbly and eventually ended rather unceremoniously, he has been leading a life of exclusivity with friends and even relations. But there seems to be a good understanding between the two, the basis of which no one knows.

    After carefully analyzing what could possibly be their common grouse against Muhammed Dauda, I had the strong feeling that Dauda’s sins may be his refusal to play the nepotism card by drawing Mustapha Shehu and MB Aliyu into the system. Or what else could be the root cause of the worrisome brothers’ macabre dance?

    *Habu, a long-standing ally of the parties, writes from Abuja

  • Buhari returns to Abuja after AU Summit

    Buhari returns to Abuja after AU Summit

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday returned to Abuja after a successful outing at the 30th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he was conferred as the anti-corruption Champion.

    The theme of the 30th AU Summit was; “Winning the Fight against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa’s Transformation.’’

    The President’s aircraft landed at the presidential wing of the Nnamdi International Airport Abuja at about 2.20p.m.

    The Chief of Staff to the President, Malam Abba Kyari, Inspector-General of Police Idris Ibrahim, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Musa Bello, Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Mr Ahmed Abubakar and other presidential aides were at the airport to welcome the President.

    President Buhari had on Jan. 27 started his four-day engagement in Addis Ababa when he joined 14 other members of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union to discuss conflict and crisis situations across the continent.

    PSC is a standing organ of the AU for the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts.

    The meeting discussed the persistence of violent conflicts and crisis situations in some parts of the continent, the upsurge of Internally Displaced Persons ( IDPs ) and refugees, climate change and its consequences as well as the issue of the derailment of national development programmes.

    The meeting also reviewed the situations in Somalia, South Sudan, Libya, Guinea Bissau, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

    At the meeting, President Buhari had stressed the need to curb the flow of terrorism financing.

    The President, who spoke under the theme, “Towards a Comprehensive Approach to Combat the Transnational Threat to Terrorism”, maintained that “concerted efforts must be made to dismantle the network between transnational organised crimes and terrorist organisations, and also to block the payment of ransom to terrorist groups.

    Buhari expressed Nigeria’s grave concern over the increasing threats posed by transnational terrorism and the attendant humanitarian crisis.

    The president also condemned in the strongest terms the continued activities of the terrorist groups in Africa, and around the world and called for more concerted action by the African body and the international community to address the global scourge.

    According to him, in doing that, the conditions that are conducive to the spread of extremism, radicalisation and terrorism must first be addressed.

    He added that collaborative measures must be taken to disrupt the recruitment of terrorists, their financing networks and the movement of foreign fighters.

    Read Also:  Don’t ignore Obasanjo’s letter, ex-NANS president tells  Buhari

    Buhari disclosed that Nigeria had enacted domestic anti-terrorism laws that also deal with related issues such as kidnapping, drug peddling and gun-running.

    He, however, noted  “terrorism cannot be defeated only through military force and law enforcement measures.

    While formally launching the African Anti-Corruption Year 2018 during the Opening Ceremony of the 30th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union on Sunday, Buhari described corruption as “one of the greatest evils of our time.’’

    The President thanked his African colleagues for entrusting him with such a noble responsibility.

    He pledged to do his best “to ensure that the anti-corruption agenda receive the attention it deserves and make the impact we all hope for, during 2018 and beyond.”

    He said: “Corruption is indeed one of the greatest evils of our time. Corruption rewards those who do not play by the rules and also creates a system of distortion and diversion thereby destroying all efforts at constructive, just and fair governance.’’

    The President, who noted that Africa had made some significant strides in enacting legal and policy frameworks such as the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (AUCPCC) to address the vice, said the desired impact had been lacking.

    “Fifteen (15) years after the adoption of the African Union Convention, 2018 provides a good starting point to take stock of progress made so far, assess what still needs to be done and devise new strategies to address new corruption challenges,” he said.

    President Buhari and ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo had exchange pleasantries briefly before the opening ceremony of the 30th Ordinary Session of the Assembly.

    Their contact marked the first time both men met since the controversial special letter released by Obasanjo criticizing Buhari’s administration and advising him not to seek re-election in 2019.

    The latest reaction to Obasanjo’s letter came from a serving Minister of Communications, Alhaji Adebayo Shittu, who on Monday, advised the former president to allow Nigerians to determine Buhari’s eligibility or otherwise to re-contest the presidential election in 2019.

    Shittu told State House correspondents in an interview that, “Obasanjo as a Nigerian has the right to hold an opinion.

    According to him, if Obasanjo holds an opinion that Mr President has performed less than it should be, those of us who are in the position to know better has a right to also state the other side, which perhaps Obasanjo is ignorant of.

    “You see, there are some people who enjoy engaging in sensationalism.

    “With due respect to General Obasanjo, if you take his history over the last 30 years, there is hardly any regime other than his own that he did not criticize except Sani Abacha, who didn’t wait for Obasanjo to criticize him before he was sent to the gulag.

    “So many Nigerians know that Obasanjo enjoys this type of sensationalisation’’.

    President Buhari also attended the closing ceremony of the summit on Monday where the African Union inaugurated the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM).

    NAN

  • Buhari appoints substantive DG for NIA

    Buhari appoints substantive DG for NIA

    President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of a substantive Director General for the National Intelligence Agency ( NIA ).

    The new Director General is Ahmed Rufai Abubakar, a retired career Foreign Service officer, who till his appointment served as Senior Special Assistant to the President (SSAP) on Foreign Affairs/International Relations.

    A statement by the Special Adviser on Media and publicity, Femi Adesina, said that Abubakar had extensive experience working with the United Nations in peace support operations, mediation process, preventive diplomacy and good offices, as well as the promotion of good governance and respect for the rule of law and human rights.

    Read Also: DSS, EFCC, NIA, Senate panel meet over inter agency feud

    He also briefly served as Senior Adviser at the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), with headquarters in Ndjamena, Chad, before his appointment as SSAP.

    “Abubakar holds a B.A degree in French Language and Literature, and an M.A degree in Francophone Maghrebian Literature, both from Bayero University, Kano. He is also fluent in English and Arabic.”

    The appointment, the statement said, takes immediate effect.

  • Ikoyi cash haul: Bank kicks as EFCC seeks forfeiture of Flat 7B

    Ikoyi cash haul: Bank kicks as EFCC seeks forfeiture of Flat 7B

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday urged the Federal High Court in Lagos to order the forfeiture of Flat 7B in Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, to the Federal Government.

    Its lawyer Mr Rotimi Oyedepo prayed the court to refuse an application by Union Bank of Nigeria Plc which seeks to discharge an interim order forfeiting the flat.

    He said the bank’s application was designed to scuttle the forfeiture hearing and was in bad faith.

    Oyedepo said since the bank had admitted selling the flat to Chobe Ventures Ltd, it would amount to eating its cake and having it by asking the court not to order the flat’s forfeiture.

    Large sums of money were found in flat, including $43,449,947, N23, 218,000 and £27,800, which were forfeited to the Federal Government last June 6.

    EFCC accused former National Intelligence Agency (NIA) Director-General Ayodele Oke of fraudulently converting the agency’s funds and hiding them in the flat.

    It alleged that Oke’s wife, Folasade, used part of the funds to buy the flat.

    The court, last November 9, ordered the flat’s temporary forfeiture to the Federal Government.

    Justice Saliu Saidu ruled that it would permanently be forfeited if no one turned up to justify ownership within 14 days.

    Union Bank, through its lawyer Chief Ajibola Aribisala (SAN), filed applications praying the court not to order the flat’s final forfeiture.

    In a supporting affidavit, the bank said the flat was part of 16, Osborne Road, Ikoyi, belonging to a former two-term governor of Bauchi State Alhaji Ahmadu Adamu Mu’azu.

    The bank said Muazu mortgaged the property to it by virtue of a tripartite deed of legal mortgage of November 1, 2011.

    “The property was mortgaged to United Bank to secure a loan granted to Tripple A Properties & Investment Ltd by Union Bank,” the bank said.

    It said the original title deed was vested in it, adding that the loan’s tenor had expired but it was not liquidated.

    Union Bank said it sold the flat to Chobe Ventures, owned by Oke’s wife, with an agreement that flat’s owner would observe several “covenants”, including payment of service charges, land use charge and levies, among others.

    The bank said Flat 7B forms part of several flats and that it “cannot be severed from the other flats in the building”.

    It added non-observance of any of the terms of the agreement would “severely affect the other users of the property”.

    Union Bank said Chobe Ventures’ act of allowing “strangers” to stash illegally monies in the flat violated their agreement, which entitles the bank to nullify the flat’s sale.

    “The title of Chobe Ventures has not yet been registered and the legal title of the property still resides in Union Bank,” it said.

    Among others, the bank said granting the order of final forfeiture would prevent it from enforcing the terms of the agreement on which the flat sale was based.

    But, Oyedepo said based on Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Related Offences Act, any property that is reasonably suspected to be a proceed of crime is liable to be forfeited.

    “I urged your Lordship to grant this application, particularly in view of the fact that Chobe Ventures who allegedly used the proceeds of unlawful activity to acquire the property in issue did not oppose this application or controvert the facts,” Oyedepo said.

    Justice Saidu adjourned till January 19 for the ruling.

  • ‘Handover Babachir, Oke to EFCC, ICPC’

    ‘Handover Babachir, Oke to EFCC, ICPC’

    The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) on Monday welcomed the decision by President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the suspended Secretary to Government of the Federation, Mr Babachir Lawal, and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Mr Ayodele Oke.

    The organization also called on Buhari to “urgently handover Lawal and Oke to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for further investigation, and if there is relevant and sufficient admissible evidence, for them to face prosecution.”

    In a statement issued today by SERAP deputy director Timothy Adewale the organization said that “This is a positive development in the fight against grand corruption, although this decision is coming rather late. Buhari now has to go a step further by making sure that both Lawal and Oke are promptly brought to justice in fair trials.”

    Related: How Babachir Lawal got into trouble

    The statement reads in part: “Buhari also has to move swiftly to publish the report of the investigation into the secret reinstatement of the fugitive former civil servant, Abdulrasheed Maina, and without delay identify and bring to justice anyone suspected to be involved.”

    “This government now has a real opportunity to reassure a lot of Nigerians who may be worried about the direction of travel of the president’s anti-corruption agenda that there will be no sacred cow as far as the fight against corruption is concerned.”

    “What the government needs at this time is a revolutionary approach to the fight against corruption if Buhari is to show his commitment to ‘kill’ corruption before corruption ‘kills’ Nigeria.”

    Also Read: The denouncement of Babachir Lawal

    “Without effective prosecution of high-ranking public officials charged with corruption, this government’s fight against corruption may sadly turn out to be all motion and no movement, and this will eventually undermine the legitimacy of the anti-corruption efforts.”

    In a brief statement the presidency said that President Muhammadu Buhari has studied the report of the panel headed by the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), which investigated allegations against the suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, and the Director-General, National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ayodele Oke.

    The statement noted that the president accepted the recommendation of the panel to terminate the appointment of Mr. Lawal, and has appointed Boss Mustapha as the new Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

  • Expectations for the Week

    Expectations for the Week

    Senator Danjuma Goje of Gombe state claimed last week that men of The Nigerian Police Force took away documents containing the 2017 budget last week and this sent down cold down the spines of many concerned Nigerians.

    Quickly, the Nigerian police came out to clear the air, they said they found some millions (although, this is no longer news to many Nigerians) and some incriminating materials too. The masses were happy, they leaped for joy, and they wanted to see where the investigation will lead to.

    Alas, their expectations were cut short when all materials and monies gotten from the former Gombe governor were given back to him. Now, why were the monies and materials returned? We may never know the full truth but many suspect that it was settled “politically”. Is this good for our democracy?

    Well, some may argue that we can’t separate politics from governance and such settlements are bound to happen.

    On the other hand, Nigerians are hopeful that the budget will be thoroughly worked upon by the National Assembly and approved soon. Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adeshina has said that the budget for this year isn’t behind schedule yet because last year’s budget is to expire on the fifth of this month, therefore, we still have four days before we are due for a new budget.

    For the second time, the suspended boss of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ayo Oke will be interrogated by the Vice President Yemi Osibanjo-led panel to listen to his side of the story concerning the cash found in an Ikoyi private home recently.

    Hopefully, the truth behind the found billions will be exposed to the world and it will serve as a deterrent to other public office holders.

    In the last few weeks, President Muhammadu Buhari has not been seen at public functions, in fact, he didn’t go for the usual Jumaat service last Friday which further fueled speculation that the President is not in a good shape.

    He also wasn’t available for the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting last week which has gotten many people worried. Many people including Wole Soyinka have asked the number one man in Nigeria to release the detailed medical record of his health to the public.

    Will he proceed to release that? Time will tell but we can all continue to hope for the betterment of his health for the benefit of the country.

    By @Segun_Odunayo