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  • CJN advises judges on transparency

    The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Mohammad, has advised judicial officers to always be transparent and uphold their oaths of office.

    Mohammad particularly urged judges of the Federal High Court, the court with the broadest jurisdiction among High Courts in the country, to redouble their efforts in view of the large volume of cases pending before the court.

    Represented by Justice Mohammed Shuaibu of the Court of Appeal, the CJN spoke yesterday in Abuja at the 35th annual judges’ conference of the Federal High Court.

    The CJN stressed the need for judges to always be transparent, live above board and be guided by their oath of office in the discharge of their responsibilities.

    The court’s acting Chief Judge (CJ), Justice John Tsoho, restated his plan to ensure that more judges were appointed for the court.

    The Federal High Court, with headquarters in Abuja and presence in all states of the federation, currently has 80 judges.

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    Justice Tsoho urged his fellow judges of the Federal High Court to improve on their efforts in a bid reduce the current high volume of pending cases.

    This, the acting CJ said, was necessary to bridge the existing gap pending the appointment of more judges.

    He hailed his predecessor, Justice Adamu Kafarati, for his thoughtfulness, which reflected in his directive to judges to be introspective in granting ex parte injunctions in pre-election matters before, during and after the last general elections.

    The directive and the way judges of the court adhered to it, Justice Tsoho noted, assisted the court in avoiding being linked with unnecessary controversies.

    The acting CJ, who said the conference was intended to prepare the judges for the task ahead, added that the court had engaged experts in various fields to interface with judges and to bring them up to date in most aspects of their operations.

    He said medical experts had also been engaged to counsel judges on health issues, which he noted were of great importance to all heads of courts.

    Justice Tsoho thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for considering him worthy of being appointed the court’s acting Chief Judge.

    He also hailed the CJN for his exemplary support to the Federal High Court.

    The acting CJ assured the National Judicial Council (NJC), the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) and his colleagues of his commitment to duties with a pledge that he would not to let anyone down.

    Justice Tsoho also assured the nation that he would not be involved in anything that would make them regret their support for him.

  • Osinbajo raises panel to recover N5tr AMCON debts

    Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday inaugurated an inter-agency committee to recover the N5 trillion debts owed the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).

    A statement by his Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, announced this in Abuja.

    The statement said members of the committee include heads and representatives of agencies, such as AMCON, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) and the Federal Ministry of Justice.

    “One of the terms of reference is for the committee to prepare a report, giving us a sense of what the time lines will be,” Osinbajo said.

    The statement added that “about 67 per cent of the outstanding N5 trillion debt is said to be owed by just 20 individuals/entities”.

  • JAMB Registrar gets Exam Ethics Africa Leadership Impact Award

    A non-governmental organisation (NGO), Exam Ethics Marshall International (EEMI), has voted the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, as winner of this year’s Exam Ethics Africa Leadership Impact Award.

    The organisation’s Founding Chairman Ike Onyechere announced this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Abuja.

    Onyechere said that the independent award committee of EEMI unanimously voted Oloyede as the winner of the award, following assessments of nominations from various African countries.

    According to him, exam malpractices have become a serious challenge which calls for collective responsibility and action, in the best tradition of inter-agency and multi-stakeholder collaboration.

    He said: “The award of recognition of his (Oloyede’s) outstanding performance was due to his implementing best practices in the conduct of JAMB examinations.

    “His performance, which has motivated and inspired reforms in admission, teaching, examination, certification, registration and regulation processes across Africa, is also a basis for assessment.”

    Onyechere added that Oloyede, with his initiatives, had effectively demonstrated that the epidemic of examination malpractices ravaging the education sector could be caged, if stakeholders in the sector could demonstrate courage and political will to confront the monster.

    Read Also: JAMB to use NIN for 2020 UTME registration

    “The committee took special cognisance of Oloyede’s steadfastness, strong nerves, strength of character and supreme self-confidence in introducing and sustaining reform initiatives.

    “This is in spite of the diversionary campaigns of misinformation being mounted by perpetrators to prevent the plugging of loopholes that had served as the facilitator of examination malpractices.

    “His insistence that only candidates with biometric verifications should be allowed to sit for JAMB examinations, for example, blocked one major loophole through which impersonators, exam mercenaries and organised exam fraud syndicates infiltrated exam halls,” he said.

    The founding chairman said that the performance of the registrar had enhanced the integrity and credibility of administration, supervision and monitoring of JAMB exams, especially by engaging vice-chancellors and other top professionals as chief external examiners.

    He said Oloyede had also helped in eliminating extortion of candidates by cyber cafes and touts by making it possible for them to check their results through their mobile telephone, using the same telephone numbers that were used for registration.

    “Another thing he does that earns him the award is the efforts through which the names, locations and identities of blacklisted computer-based (CBT) centres were released promptly.

    “He provided timely warning to candidates to stay away from such centres. By so doing, he has shattered the usual conspiracy of secrecy that enabled the protection and recycling of rogue institutions, supervisors and invigilators indicted for aiding and abetting mass cheating.

    “By working with security agencies to swiftly secure the conviction of exam fraudsters, the JAMB registrar has demonstrated that the judiciary has the capacity to deploy quick legal sanctions against exam fraud as in other parts of the world,” he maintained.

    Onyechere said that the committee assessed Oloyede’s leadership impact against the background of the fact that exam malpractices were the source of pervasive and systemic corruption in all sectors of the society.

    According to him, through exam malpractices, seeds of criminality are being sowed in the fertile minds of children and youths, preparing them as ready and willing recruits for corruption and equipping them with undeserved certificates and licences.

    He said that the award would be presented to the JAMB registrar at the 23rd EEMI conference scheduled for between Sept. 24 and Sept. 27 in Abuja.

  • Buhari backs PSC in tussle with IGP over employment

    President Muhammadu Buhari has pitched his tent with the Police Service Commission (PSC) in the tussle between the commission and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) over appointments and promotions.

    He said the PSC mandates include the task of appointment and promotion in the NFP.

    The President stated this yesterday when he received the 2018 Annual Report of the PSC at the State House, Abuja.

    He added that the PSC mandate also included the disciplinary control of officers of the Nigerian Police Force, except the Inspector-General of Police (IGP).

    “By the mandate of the Commission, the task of appointment, promotion and disciplinary control of officers of the Nigerian Police Force, except the Inspector General, fall under it,” he said.

    President Buhari urged members of the PSC to redouble their efforts at ensuring that the NPF delivers on its responsibilities.

    He said: “The Commission has the most challenging responsibility of carrying out oversight responsibilities of the Police Force.

    Read Also: Buhari, Atiku: What next after judgement?

    “The people that comprise this commission are mostly personally known to me and some of them have been through the mill, as it were. Therefore, I expect them to put the police in order.

    “I personally believe that the Inspector General is doing his best …the police are always in the frontline and unless we get the police working effectively, the security of this country will remain in doubt.”

    President Buhari noted that the commission’s assignment was enormous and called for sacrifice and commitment, “especially now that almost every country is faced with severe internal security challenges. Nigeria is no exception”.

    He praised the Commission for new ideas introduced into the workings of the Force.

    “I am aware that you have put policies in place to reposition the Police Force in the areas of merit-driven promotion and prompt disciplinary actions.

    “Government will require that you redouble your efforts and ensure that the Police Force receives the required assistance for optimum service delivery,” the President said.

    He also urged the Commission to ensure harmonious working relationship with the Police Force.

    “I wish to see close communication and understanding between you and the Nigeria Police. This is necessary for the overall efficiency and effectiveness in securing the country,” President Buhari added.

    PSC Chairman Musiliu Smith, who led other members to the State House, told the President that in line with his (President’s) specific directives, the management was gradually putting together a productive Nigeria Police Force.

    According to him, this will attract the endorsement of all Nigerians and receive the acclaim of the policemen themselves.

    Smith also requested for the intervention of the President in overcoming the funding constrains of the Commission as well as securing better office accommodation.

  • ‘Our facility can beat Boko Haram’s drone’

    The National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) has said its facility is capable of beating Boko Haram insurgents and their new set of drones, as reported by the New York Times.

    The agency said it had mapped out Sambisa Forest while the data it generated had been used by the military to enhance their activity on how to combat insurgency.

    The agency’s Head of Media and Corporate Communications, Dr. Felix Ale, spoke yesterday in Abuja in an interview with The Nation.

    Read Also: Air Force strikes Boko Haram Facilities, neutralises occupants

    The spokesman said although activities between the agency and military cannot be fully disclosed, the success the military had recorded in the Northeast was due to the availability of data the agency provided.

    He added that unfortunately, Nigeria does not have high resolution satellites that can generate clear picture data.

    Ale said: “We mentioned security before. Our activities in the area cannot be 100 per cent disclosed, but I can tell you that the success the military has been able to achieve in the Northeast was due to the availability of data given to them by the space agency because we were able to map out Sambisa Forest and the military has been able to use the data to enhance their activity on how to combat insurgency in the Northeast.”

  • 320 more Nigerians to return from South Africa today

    A delay in securing landing permit from South African aviation authorities for Air Peace has led to rescheduling the evacuation of the second batch of Nigerians from South Africa.

    This is coming on the heels of xenophobic attacks on Nigerians and other Africans in South Africa.

    In the second batch, 320 Nigerians were billed to arrive the country yesterday through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

    But the delay made the management of Air Peace to reschedule it till today.

    Air Peace Chairman Allen Onyema stated this in a telephone interview with The Nation.

    Onyema said following the late approval for landing rights, the Boeing 777-300 departed Lagos for Johannesburg last night to arrive with the 320 Nigerians by noon today.

    The businessman said the airline was committed to the project by following due process and laid down procedures set by South African authorities.

    He said: “Air Peace, less than an hour ago, just secured landing rights permit from South African aviation authorities. Our aircraft will now depart by midnight (last night) to evacuate Nigerians already cleared to return.

    Read Also: PHOTOS: Arrival of Nigeria returnees from South Africa

    “The whole idea is to ensure the returnees arrive here during the day for enhanced logistics. Bringing them home in the middle of the night may not be very convenient. That is why we moved it to Wednesday (today).”

    Scores of journalists, security agencies and others waiting at the airport had mobilised for the operations.

    Also, Southsouth National Leader and Convener of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Chief Edwin Clark, has advised the Federal Government to handle the relationship with the South African government with mature diplomacy.

    The Ijaw leader was responding to the visit of the South African Special Envoy sent by President Cyril Ramaphosa to convey his country’s apologies to the Nigerian government and people over the recent xenophobic attacks.

    Many Nigerian in South Africa were said to have died while others lost property estimated at millions of dollars.

    Clark noted that the South African government had taken the first right step by sending its representatives with an apology message.

    The elder statesman said to ask for further show of commitment from South Africa in the form of compensation for losses incurred during the attacks would not be wrong but it should not be done alone by Nigeria.

    According to him, the relationship with South Africa and the response to the harsh treatments meted out to Nigerians in the country should be treated with guided diplomacy.

    Clark said there are still many Nigerian citizens still resident in South Africa, adding that Nigeria should rather make the South African government show faith to its promise to eradicate xenophobia and discrimination in the country.

    “The South African government did the right thing by sending the special envoy. It is the right step to take. But more than that, other issues of further steps should be discussed when President Muhammadu Buhari goes to have a meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa in October.

    “About the issue of compensation, I think Nigeria should not make such demand alone since we are not the only affected country. Besides that, the South African government has said it was compulsory for all companies registered in the country to get insured. I think this a caveat to take seriously.

    “However, since this xenophobia attacks affected many African countries, I think Nigeria should provide the leadership for other African countries whose citizens suffered losses to these attacks, approach the African Union (AU), the United Nations (UN) and even the International Court at The Hague to seek redress and table the matter of compensation.

    “All these said, I believe we as a nation need to handle this matter diplomatically, considering how many of our people are not willing to return home yet. I think just about 500 out of thousands have returned. So, there’s need for caution.

    “I think we should make the South African government do much more to prevent these attacks from happening again. I remember that in 2011, the South African government gave a commitment to ensure that xenophobic attacks, discrimination and racism would be made to end. I think this is a more diplomatic and mature way of dealing with this issue for now.”

  • Abia to end farmers/herdsmen clashes

    Abia State has said it will establish a ministry to address and settle disputes between farmers and herdsmen.

    This is coming barely one week after Enugu State established Forest Rangers to tackle farmers/herdsmen clashes.

    A statement by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu’s Chief Press Secretary Onyebuchi Ememanka said the ministry would be established before Ikpeazu’s second term ends.

    Read Also: Southwest curbs farmer-herder clashes with hunters, others

    Ememanka said the ministry would focus on mainstreaming activities of Fulani herdsmen and other violent crimes to safeguard the people and environment.

    The statement reads: “The idea is to ensure that no inch of Abia territory will remain ‘unpoliced’. Field personnel of the ministry will be trained under a collaborative effort with the police.”

  • Akwa Ibom moves to combat flood

    Akwa Ibom State government has held a pre-bid meeting with contractors to build surface and underground drainages to combat flood and erosion on the IBB Way in Uyo, the capital

    Commissioner for Environment and Mineral Resources Ekong Sampson, who addressed prospective contractors on the premises of the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP), said the World Bank and the Federal Government were partnering the state, through NEWMAP, to salvage the situation.

    Sampson was confident in NEWMAP, saying the partnership was important as it would address pressing infrastructure challenges in the state.

    Read Also: Agency alerts Kwara, Edo, Delta, Rivers, nine others to increased flooding

    He said: “In Akwa Ibom State, we face major problems with flood and erosion. As at the last count, we had close to a thousand sites in the state. That is to say we are under pressure. Engagements like this will help us implement our policies and our commitment to addressing the flooding and erosion.”

    According to Sampson, the award process would be transparent, stressing that the government would not compromise speed and efficiency.

    Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Petroleum Resources Mbuk Inyang reiterated the government’s committment to transparency and accountability.

  • Oshiomhole can’t stop Obaseki, says ex-aide

    Charles Idahosa, a former political aide to Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has said Governor Godwin Obaseki will be re-elected in 2020 without Oshiomhole’s support.

    Idahosa, who spoke in an interview to mark his 66th birthday, was reacting to Oshiomhole’s statement that it would take a miracle for Obaseki to win the 2020 election even if he got the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket.

    He said Obaseki had won the people’s heart through infrastructural projects, as well as sanitising governance.

    He said: “We know they are busy working underground to stop Obaseki, but nobody can stop Obaseki from having his eight years. Obaseki’s record is so intimidating. The people are with Obaseki.

    Read Also: ‘Obaseki’ll win re-election without Oshiomhole’

    “Obaseki and Oshiomhole, as far as I am concerned, are one. Obaseki is a creation of Oshiomhole. Nobody can stop Obaseki from doing his two terms. We are behind him.”

    But a former commissioner and member-elect of the House of Assembly, Washington Osa Osifo, carpeted Idahosa’s assertions about Oshiomhole.

    He said: “I am not surprised that Idahosa has said what he said. That he has even judged Oshiomhole that way is a sign of his own failure because he was Oshiomhole’s adviser for eight years and as an adviser he was supposed to bring the best from his student, even these his assertions are not true.”

    Osifo said Idahosa had not done enough for his people despite his close relationship with government over the years.

  • ‘I paid N127,000 to join police’

    OPERATIVES from the Federal Capital Territory police command have arrested one Samuel Ogabiadu for impersonating a police corporal.

    The suspect was arrested in Gwarinpa area of the FCT after he was stopped by operatives and asked to introduce himself.

    The suspect who introduced himself as a policeman could not go further with his identification as he could not give his Force number or say which unit he works with.

    Narrating how he was arrested, the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations, DCP Sunday Babaji said: “On 30th August 2029 at about 0200hrs, Police operatives on patrol at Gwarimpa arrested one Samuel Ogabaidu for impersonating to be a police officer.

    “The suspect who was arrested while driving against traffic introduced himself to the patrol team as a Police Corporal. However, when questioned he confessed that he was not a policeman.”

    The DCP further said the command is yet to ascertain his mission and also unravel the source of the security gadgets found in his possession which include one jack knife, a fake police warrant card, improvised bullet proof vest, some security gadgets and accoutrement.

    Narrating how he was arrested, Ogabaidu said: “I am a security personnel in my project security outfit. I was coming from my duty post around 2am and I was intercepted by policemen. When they intercepted me, I introduced myself to them as a policeman who was coming back from duty.

    Narrating how he was arrested to The Nation, Ogabaidu said: “I showed them my police warrant ID card as a Corporal. I told them I was a policeman because they had already seen an ID card which had my passport on it.”

    Giving details of what led him to impersonate police, he said: “It all started in 2014 when a man told me he was an ASP. I usually meet him in Nyanya at the barracks. He told me he wanted to help me to join the police since I was interested in it.

    “I paid him N127,000 to join the police and I thought the man was genuine though I have never seen him in police uniform. I always see him wear black on black. We met four times and during those meetings, he will call some people and ask: “That thing I did for you, did it work?” and the people will respond yes. After they leave, he will now tell me that he helped them get recruitment and even promotion into the Force.

    “With the nature of conversation he had with them, I thought he was real. He gave me my ID card and promised to come later with my uniform and other kits.

    The suspect continued: “He also told me that the Nigeria Police Force have already made bus available that would convey us to Osun state where I have been posted to. He later gave me uniform and asked me to wear it and he snapped me. After three days of snapping me, he invited me and gave me the ID card but he collected the uniform from me. He also told me we would be going to Osun state the following day.

    Read Also: Police arrest ‘fake’ EFCC official in Lagos

    “On the day we were to depart to Osun, I called him and he refused to pick. When he eventually picked, he told me that I was very stupid and unserious that I was late to the departure venue. He said if I was a serious person, I would meet them in Osun State. I took the next available bus to Osun but I did not see him.”

    He also told The Nation that he has passion for uniform work though he had tried couple of times without success.

    “I would love to join the police because I love the uniform. I made attempt to join in the past but it was not fruitful. I also tried to join the Army but I was not recruited.

    “When the policemen stopped me, one of them asked for my number and the unit I belong to but I did not know the response to give because the man did not sensitize me on what to say.”

    The Police said he will be arraigned in court after investigation is concluded.