The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigeria newspaper

  • BREAKING: FBI mum on Nigerians’ involvement in $1.2bn global fraud

    The United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has declined comment on the percentage of Nigerians involved in a $1.2 billion global Cybercrime-related fraud.

    It said the fraud involved nationals of several countries around the world, but that the US does not identify crime according to nationalities.

    Read Also: N92m, $169,850 recovered from Yahoo Boys in 38 days, say EFCC, FBI

    “Wrong is wrong” Legal Attaché of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, (Embassy of the United States of America), Ahamdi Uche, said in response to a question from The Nation in a joint press briefing with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    Details shortly…

  • ‘No corrupt judge will go unpunished’

    Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad spoke with reporters on the sidelines of the 59th Annual General Conference (AGC) of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).The theme of the conference was “Facing the Future.” He shared his thoughts on the events that led to his emergence as CJN, the perception that the judiciary is corrupt and his vision for the judiciary. ADEBISI ONANUGA and ROBERT EGBE were there.

    Ex-CJN Onnoghen’s exit and CJN Tanko’s emergence

    The only thing that is permanent is change. There must be changes.This is universal. Change is very necessary. If things must move properly, there must be change. Even in the application of the law, nothing is static; the law is applied to suit the society.

    Non-lawyers and retired judges as National Judicial Council (NJC) members?

    Those who are making such proposition or suggestion do not know a lot of things. They are completely ignorant of a lot of things regarding the National Judicial Council (NJC). The composition of the NJC, as they are suggesting, is what it is. We have lawyers in the NJC. When it comes to the discipline of judges, those concerned were asked to recuse themselves. The law does not permit non-lawyers to be part of the NJC, but if the law changes today to say they should be there, it will be so.

    CJN’s power to appoint persons to the NJC

    Well, if those in authority think that the powers given to the CJN is too much and that it should be reduced, I have no issue with that, after all I have no stake in anything. What we are doing is executing the law as it is.

    Perception that the judiciary is corrupt

    Well, anybody can say whatever he likes. But, what we are saying is that if the judiciary is corrupt, those who are saying it should come up with proof. They should be particular about it and mention the individuals involved. This must be proved and when this is done, the law will take its course on anybody. This is what we are saying. You can’t just wake up and be making blanket allegations of corruption against the judiciary. Case or cases of corruption must be established and whoever is involved will not go unpunished.

    Lack of funds for judicial projects

    There were lots of complaints, particularly from Chief Judges of states across the country that state executives are not making funds available. Judiciary is an arm of government but, unfortunately, some states are not financially independent. Some of them have gotten what is due to them but others are yet to do so. But, certainly, whatever needs to be done has to be done, particularly as regards availability of funds because projects cannot be executed when there are no funds. In a situation where the judiciary has to go cap in hand for funds from either the state or Federal Government, a lot of things will have to wait. I believe these are part of the reasons why those projects are yet to be completed. Besides, most of these projects are handled by the Federal Ministry of Works and my view is that enough money should be made available for the purpose of executing the projects.

    Relationship between Judiciary and Executive

    Well, as far as I am concerned, the relationship, let me generally say among the three arms of government, is cordial. Each of the arms is carrying out its functions in line with the dictates of the Constitution. The Judiciary does not involve itself in making the laws, except when court’s pronouncements are deemed to be laws. There are situations where we make pronouncement and they are seen as law. Otherwise, we inter-relate. But, none of the institutions interfere in the roles or responsibilities of the other. That is how we are going. The Judiciary relates very well with both the Executive and the Legislature. That does not mean that we should not tell the truth if the Executive and the Legislature have issues to settle in court. We don’t mind whose ox is gored. That is what we stick to and this is what we have been doing.

    The place of technology in moving the Judiciary forward

    It is welcome. Technology will certainly make our job easier. Do you know that judges are still taking proceedings in long hand in almost all our courts in Nigeria? We still write judgements in long hand. If technology is introduced, I am telling you I will fully accept it because, like I said earlier, it eases a lot of work. If I tell you that in a day, I hardly sleep for the required eight hours, you may not believe me. This is because I have to study files of cases before me and I have to do this and other related works every day.

    $9.5 billion arbitration award

    I cannot specifically comment on this issue as well as what process will be involved in the investigation to be carried out by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation. This is because the case may eventually appear before me in court. Normally, we don’t give advice and we don’t make suggestions when cases are likely to be in court for us. We must keep our mouth sealed until the case gets to court. Besides, the Attorney General may also have made one or two comments on the issue, but I cannot make any comment on the issue for now to avoid any contradictions.

    Agenda for the judiciary

    We want to take Nigeria’s judiciary to a very high status. We want the nation’s judiciary to be first among equals and the first on the African continent. However, if government can give us all we require in terms of finance, a lot of things will be done. A lot of facilities will be made available for our operations. I am so optimistic that the judiciary will soon be financially independent because the Federal Government has been taking steps in that direction. I will also work towards achieving holistic independent for the judiciary in terms of everything.

  • BREAKING: Buhari, IGP, NSA, NIA DG meet in Aso Rock

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday met behind closed doors with the heads of some security agencies.

    The meeting was held at the President’s office, in Abuja.

    At the meeting were the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu; National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno; and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Rufai-Abubakar.

    Read Also: Buhari committed to workers’ welfare, says Ngige

    The meeting, according to sources, may not be unconnected with security situation in the country and the xenophobic attacks against Nigerians in South Africa.

    The DG of NIA, who led the President’s special envoy to South Africa over the xenophobic attacks, had submitted his report.

  • Seven ‘killed’ in Ajah cult war

    Seven persons were at the weekend feared killed following cult clashes that occurred in Ajah, Eti-Osa Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of Lagos, residents have said.

    They said four people were killed on Friday night and three others yesterday, claiming that cult wars were a daily occurrence in Ado, Badore and Oke-Ira areas of Ajah.

    But the police denied any life was lost on Sunday night, noting that the gunshots residents talked about were fired by policemen to scare the gangsters who were planning to strike.

    The Nation gathered that the police have arrested about 70 suspected cultists in the affected areas in the past three months, most of whom have been charged to court.

    Already, 12 suspects identified as Juwon Abdulahi, 22, Ibrahim Ismaila, 32, Aliyu Abdulahi, 25, Kehinde Ajiwon, 29, Wale Yusuf, 34, Monsuru Muazu, 25, Umar Ali, 15, Jeremiah Ezekiel, 25, Isaac Ibrahim, 22, Haggai Sylvanus, 25, Emmanuel Samuel, 28, and Bernard Abosede, 40, have been arrested in connection to Sunday’s clash.

    Our correspondent learnt on Monday that the cultists usually came out around 8pm armed with cutlasses, guns and axes.

    A resident who appealed to the state government and police authorities to put an end to the cult wars, said it had claimed over 25 lives since it began months ago.

    He said, “The cult boys come out daily once it’s 8pm with guns, matchet and other weapons to fight. Four people were killed on Friday night. Two are innocent and two cultists.

    “Yesterday (Sunday) they shot for about one hour on the road unchallenged.

    This is a known fact on Oke-Ira, Ado. Despite that it happens daily, you will never see the police there,” he said.

    At Addo Road, it was learnt that one person was murdered last Tuesday in front of bar.

    “Even at Badore Roundabout where police are stationed, the police disappear before 8pm the time the cultists start their war.

    “The Inspector General of Police (IG) and Govenror Babajide Sanwo-Olu should come to our aid. We live in fear of being killed. People close their businesses around 6pm out of fear.

    Read Also: Lagos council bans NURTW activities

    “Any vehicle parked on the road will have their widescreen broken or damaged and anyone seen would be robbed.

    “I am worried because I left Port Harcourt two years ago for this same reason. I sold all my properties and moved to Lagos but this same problem has continued for many months now.”

    Contacted, police spokesman Bala Elkana, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), said 12 suspects were arrested on Sunday, insisting that no death was recorded.

    He said: “On September 8, at about 2pm, team of policemen were deployed to Adoh village based on credible information received that cult members were gathering by the transformer in Baale Adoh’s house in a bid to disturb the peace of the community.

    “On sighting the team of policemen these street urchins took to their heels while policemen shot in the air to disperse them.

    “They later regrouped and came out through Okeira Nla in a bid to start robbing passersby. Some of these boys were seen wielding dangerous weapons.

    “They were given a hot chase and in  the process twelve of these street urchins were arrrsted. Exhibits recovered include cutlass, jack knife, an expended ammunition and stolen handsets.

    “Investigation is still ongoing and further development will be

  • BREAKING: N92m, $169,850 recovered from Yahoo Boys in 38 days, say EFCC, FBI

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has recovered $169,850, N92 million and four exotic cars from 167 Yahoo Boys in 38 days in a joint operation with the United States’Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

    The operation, tagged ‘Operation Re-wired & Cybercrime-related Fraud’, was initiated following the indictment of 77 Nigerians for alleged cybercrime in the US.

     

    Details shortly…

  • Edo people opposed to Obaseki’s second term bid, says former aide

    A former Chief Press Secretary to Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo state, John Maiyaki has said that it was the people of Edo state and not the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Comrade Adams Oshiomhole that is opposed to a second term for Governor Godwin Obaseki.

    In a statement made available to The Nation in Abuja, Maiyaki said those who worked for the election of the governor in 2016 were disappointed that Obaseki abandoned the developmental agenda on which he was elected and has subjected the people of the state to abject poverty.

    He said the recent interview by Comrade Oshiomhole, that he has nothing to gain by opposing Obaseki’s second term should be enough to dismiss speculations surrounding the issue of Obaseki’s second term.

    He alleged that it was indisputable that Governor Obaseki has refused to implement the continuity agenda promised to the Edo People in 2016, describing it as a needle to the bubble of lies created by agents of underdevelopment and poverty in the state.

    Maiyaki who also headed the media campaign team of Gov. Obaseki said: “That the National Chairman said he, personally, has nothing to gain if Obaseki is denied a second term is nothing new. The opposition to Obaseki’s attempt to railroad everyone into endorsing him for another term, even though the present is doomed to end in abject failure, was never hinged on personal bitterness or enmity.

    Read Also; Obaseki signs bill establishing Edo College of Agriculture

    “On the contrary, it is a decision made after a clear evaluation of the competence, actions, and intentions of Godwin Obaseki who, although admitted to the success of the administration he succeeded, has merely reversed the gains recorded in a futile attempt to create a political dynasty founded on nepotism, ethnic division, corruption, and disregard for the rule of law.

    “Certainly, no right-thinking member of society would support this. It is therefore not a surprise that Edo citizens, high and low, young and old, have abandoned personal sentiments or affiliations, and resorted to logic and core hard facts in their collective rejection of the Governor.

    “This simple truth is backed by the fact that Godwin Obaseki is presently fighting to earn the approval of his own family members who have since embraced the party and the Edo People’s Movement in the mission to kick out the inept leader from office.”

  • Photos: Three killed as Shi’ites hold Ashura procession in Kaduna

    There was pandemonium in Bakin Ruwa area of the Nnamdi Azikwe expressway, bypass of Kaduna State capital on Tuesday, as Police and members of the Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky led Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) clashed.

      

  • ‘Mum did nothing when I told her dad was raping me’

    A 14-year-old girl (names) withheld on Monday narrated how her mother Mrs. Florence Ifelaka lifted no finger after she reported the sexual abuses her father was putting her through.

    The victim who was brought to the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Lagos command headquarters in Alausa said the sexual assaults started when she was 11 and her mother knew about it.

    According to her, the last of the incestuous rape occurred on August 9, at their Mapowu Street, Ojo residence while her mother was away.

    She added that she has not seen her period since August, raising suspicions she could be pregnant.

    She said: “It happened twice when I was 11 years and I reported to my mother but she did nothing about it. Then, on August 9, he woke me up around 2:25am and started touching me inappropriately and then he raped me.

    “My mother was not around. She went to my grandmother’s place. I reported it to her still but she did not do anything,” the teenager said.

    Read Also: Teacher ‘rapes’, ‘impregnates’ 12-year-old pupil

    Asked why she did not take steps to protect her daughter from her husband, the woman said she was scared, adding that he threatened to deal with them should anyone hear of it.

    She further claimed she did not belief her daughter when she told her in 2016 that her father was molesting her.

    The woman said: “I was not around because I lost my child and went to my mother-in-law’s house. It was when I came back that my daughter again said her father had slept with her. I confided in my sister and she insisted we must report it.

    “It was my sister who reported the matter at Ojo Division of NSCDC on Friday.

    The suspect, Chinedu Ifeleka, 46, confessed to raping the girl once claiming he was influenced by alcohol.

    He said he had a faint picture of what transpired, adding that he saw his daughter lying down with a whitish substance showing in her private part.

    “I woke her and asked what that was. I told her she has started sleeping with men. She denied it and said she was having Candida.

    “I asked her how she knew it was Candida and that I wanted to inspect it.

    That was how I put my hand in it and then I penetrated her. It was only on August 9 that I did it, I have not done it before. It was alcohol that caused it,” he said.

    Parading the suspect, Commandant NSCDC Cyprian Otoibhi said he would be handed over to the Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT) for further investigation and prosecution.

    He said: “The suspect will face the full wrath of the law and will be

    handed over to DSVRT for further investigation and prosecution.

    “Rape and incest are heinous crimes and perpetrators of such, when caught, will be made to pay dearly.”

    Otoibhi, who took over headship of the command from Tajudeen Balogun, said the NSCDC would continue in its core mandate of protecting critical infrastructure, lives and properties in the state.

  • Buhari, Major-Gen. Mamman meet in Aso Rock

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday met behind closed doors with His Royal Highness, Major-Gen. A. B. Mamman (Rtd.)

    The meeting started at the President’s office around 12.30pm.

    The meeting, according to sources, may not be unconnected with the proposed African Security Leadership Summit.

    It was still in progress at the time of filing this report.

     

  • PHOTOS: IMN Ashura procession in Yobe