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Tag: Nigerian Newspapers

  • ‘Lagos judiciary won’t condone touting’

    The Lagos State Judiciary has said it does not encourage the patronage of touts and professional sureties in activities relating to litigations.

    Rather, it said it has zero tolerance for touting in its court systems from the high courts, magistrates courts to customary courts.

    The Chief Registrar, High Court of Lagos State, Mrs. Taiwo Olatokun, made this clarification in a statement  to refute an online article titled: “Inside the Booming Business of Professional Suretying; Document Racketeering in Lagos Courts”.

    “There is zero tolerance for corruption in the Lagos State Judiciary, but we need the cooperation of the court users to resist illegal demands, and promptly and boldly report corrupt staff,” Mrs. Olatokun stated.

    The Chief Registrar denied all issues in the publication which which she described as “nothing but falsehoods, misconception, and a figment of the imagination of the writer of the article”.

    She said what the author of the story reported does not in any way encapsulate what transpires in the Lagos State Judiciary.

    According to her, “a point to note which confirms that the writer is simply trying to be mischievous, is the failure to mention the period the incident in the Chief Registrar’s office took place, and the identity of the staff who engaged the services of the touts, who agreed to stand as sureties for the named defendant.

    “The period is very fundamental, because holders of the office of the Chief Registrar and support Staff regularly change from time to time. It is therefore, difficult to determine who the holder of the office was at the time the alleged incident took place, as it would also be difficult to carry out any meaningful investigation into the matter of the Staff who gave a three-week appointment, before sureties could be interviewed by the Chief Registrar.

    Mrs. Olatokun also dismissed incidences of racketeering within the judiciary.

    She said when a complaint is made against a staff worker, “the Lagos State Judiciary regularly constitutes a Personnel Management Board (P. M. B), where complaints against  member of staff are investigated, and those found wanting are kicked out of the system, or made to face one disciplinary action or the other.

    “This serves as proof that the Lagos State Judiciary does not, in any way, encourage the patronage of touts and/or professional sureties”, she maintained.

    Mrs Olatokun defended the allegation that  a security fee for bail is paid into an account opened in the name of the Chief Registrar, and that the said fee, which is meant to be refundable to the surety is hardly ever refunded insisting that evidences of refunds made in the past can be verified

    “We wish to inform the general public and litigants, that the court is a creation of law  with practice and procedure stipulated by law and the rules of court.

    “By law, a court may require the deposit of money or any other security, before bail is approved. The Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State, makes it mandatory for such security for bail ordered by the Court to be paid into the Chief Registrar’s account, which is refunded at the conclusion of trial, upon a written application to the Chief Registrar.

    “In the instant case, the writer did not indicate if he ever made a formal request for refund. He merely insinuated that security funds paid, are not refunded.

    “This is misleading, and does not represent the true position. The evidence of such refunds made in the past, to members of the public at their request (in writing), can be verified in the office of the Chief Registrar”, she said.

    Mrs Olatokun contended that the aim of the author of the report is to mislead the public to believe that the administrators of the justice system in Lagos State, do not uphold the highest standards of practice, which is far from being the truth.

    “We would, however, need to state that all conditions of bail must be fulfilled, before sureties are approved. Where there is part compliance, and, in the instance stated by the writer, where the court orders that both the residential and office addresses of a surety be verified, and only the residence or the office is verified, the surety will not be approved,” she said.

    She assured that where there  is complaint, the complaint will be investigated if a written petition is forwarded to the Chief Judge, as this is the best way to deal with complaints.

    “More importantly, petitions in respect of allegations against staff can be forwarded to the Chief Judge of Lagos State,’’ she said.

    She advised the public to make use of the Public Complaints Boxes which are placed in various strategic points at the High Court and Magistrate Court premises, assuring that all complaints would be treated, but might require details of the case and the proof of any allegation made against any member of staff.

     

  • Pantami, Dambatta, others for MoDiTECH 2019

    The Minister of Communications, Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantami, Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Dambatta; Director-General, National Technology Development Agency (NITDA), KashifuInuwa Abdullah and others are expected to grace the maiden edition of Mobile and Disruptive Technology Forum 2019 (ModiTECH’19: www.Next. TechEconomy.ng), being organised by TechEconomy.ng in collaboration with Nigeria CommunicationsWeek, in Lagos.

    Pantami is the special guest of honour, while the founder, CWG Plc; Entrepreneur in Residence, Ausso Leadership Academy, Austin Okere, is scheduled to present the keynote address.

    Other guests are President, African ICT Foundation (AfICTF), Mr Tony Ojobo; the Chairman, Connect Technologies & Africa Chair for IEEE, Chris Uwaje (Oracle).

    MoDiTECH’9, which holds in Lagos on October 24, this year, has: The power of digital services as theme.

  • How has the judiciary fared?

    Fifty-nine years after Nigeria got independence from British rule, how has the Judiciary fared? Has it lived up to its billing as ‘the last hope of the common man?’ ADEBISI ONANUGA and ROBERT EGBE highlight some of the landmark judicial decisions that have boosted nation building and helped the judiciary contribute to national cohesion and development

    The judiciary can be said to be the most experienced of the three arms of government. The reason is simple: Whether under military rule or a democracy, the courts have always been on hand to moderate relationships between the government and the governed.

    What many are also not aware, is that the judiciary, or at least forms of it, is also probably the oldest arm of government run by indigenous Nigerians.

     Evolution of the Judiciary in Nigeria

    In an article titled, “The evolution of ideal Nigerian Judiciary in the new Millennium”, Yusuf Ali (SAN) stated that the judiciary has a history of four distinct eras, namely, the period before 1842, 1845-1912, 1914 to 1953 and 1954 to date.

    Before 1842

    Before the advent of the Europeans, the indigenous people of Nigeria had different methods of dispute resolution.

    Among the Yoruba and Ibo, the system revolved around their traditional institutions. The Yoruba referred contentious matters to the head of the family. If he could not settle the dispute, the matter was taken to the head of the compound until a solution could be found up to the level of the King. Similarly systems existed among the Ibo.

    In the North, the system was based on the Islamic legal system, the Sharia, the hub of which was the Alkali system and the emir was the ultimate appellate judge.

    1845-1912

    After 1842, Yusuf stated that the power to administer and dispense justice in Nigeria was mainly vested in native courts. These courts in dispensing  justice, fashioned out systems of taxation, civil laws and procedure, penal law and sentencing policies including death sentence. It should be noted that these Native Courts are the forerunners of the present Customary Area and Sharia Courts.

    With the advent of the colonialists in the Southern part of Nigeria between 1843-1913, the British through a combination of Foreign Jurisdiction Act of 1843 and 1893 established law under which various courts were set up.

    In 1854, the earliest courts called the Courts of Equity were established by the British in the Southern parts of Nigeria particularly Brass, Benin, Okrika and Opobo. The principal agents of trading firms, consular or other administrative officers constituted this court of equity, they acted as the judges.

    Simultaneous in exercise with the courts of equity and consular courts were courts that were established by the Royal Niger Company. By a Royal Charter granted in 1886, the company had the power to govern and administer justice in its areas of operations, until the Charter was revoked in 1899.

    Despite the establishment of British Courts, native courts were still allowed to function, in so far as the native law and custom they administered were not repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience.

    According to him, in 1863, by Ordinance No 11 of 1863, the Supreme Court of Lagos was established, it had both civil and criminal jurisdiction.

    In 1900, via the Supreme Court Proclamation Order No. 6, a Supreme Court was established for the Southern Nigerian protectorate. The Court exercised same powers and jurisdictions as were vested in Her Majesty’s High Court of Justice in England.

    The common law, the doctrines of equity and status of general application in England were to be administered in the court in so far as local circumstances permitted.

    Before 1892, Sharia Law in all its ramification was operative in most parts of Northern Nigeria. By the Northern Nigeria Order in Council of 1899, the British Crown claimed that by treaty, grant, usage, sufferance and other lawful means, Her Majesty had power and jurisdiction in the Northern territory.

    1914 to 1953

    According to Yusuf, when in 1914, the Northern and Southern Protectorate of Nigeria were amalgamated, Provincial Courts were abolished and in its place were established high courts which consisted of Chief Judges, Judges and assistant Judges. Below these High Courts were Magistrate Courts. Native Courts will remain at the bottom of the judicial hierarchy. The Supreme Court exercised appellate jurisdiction over the High Courts. Between 1934 and 1954 appeals from the Supreme Court went to the West African Court of Appeal. Appeals from the West African Court of Appeal went to the Privy Council. However from 1954, appeals from the Supreme Court of Nigeria went directly to the Privy Council.

    The Era 1954 to date

    In 1954, a Federal Supreme Court was established and was presided over by a Chief Justice of the Federation. Nigeria then consisted of three regions, each had a High Court presided over by a Chief Justice. Appeals from each of the High Court of the regions went to the Federal Supreme Court, while appeals from Magistrate Courts, Customary or Native Courts Grade A went to the regional High Courts.

    When in 1967, Nigeria became a Federation of 12 States each with its own state judiciary, the Western State via the Court of Appeal Edict, No 15 of 1969 established a Regional Court of Appeal as a result of which the Supreme Court ceased to have direct jurisdiction to hear and determine appeals in any matter from the high court of the state (including appeals in any proceeding pending in any court in the State) except in any case in which notice of appeal to the Supreme Court had been filed as 1st  June 1967.

    In 1970, 19 states were created in 1976 via the Constitution (Amendment No 2) Decree No 42 of 1976. Its function among others was to hear and determine appeals from the State High Courts. The law setting up the Western Court of Appeal was replaced.

    Presently under the 1999 Constitution, the Courts recognised as constituting the judiciary are the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the Federal High Court, the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory Abuja, the Customary Court of Appeal, Abuja, the States High Courts, the Sharia Court of Appeal of the States and the Customary Court of Appeal of the states. These courts are vested with the functions or duties of dispensing justice, in accordance with jurisdiction vested in them. It should be noted that the establishment of a Sharia Court of Appeal or Customary Court of Appeal by a state is optional.

    Historical cases that shaped national life from 1960 to date

    Following the evolution of the judicial system, the courts have delivered and  will continue to deliver several landmark judgments that will determine how Nigerians co-exist. They affect all spheres of life, including business, human rights, politics, etc. Some of them are:

    Darman Vs Minister of Internal Affairs

    Perhaps, one of the court cases that became historical in the period under review was the suit challenging the deportation of Alhaji Abdurrahman Shugaba Darman by the Federal Government.

    The incident happened during the tenure of President Shehu Shagari of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN).

    Darman was a politician from Borno State, and a contemporary of the late Sir Ahmadu Bello. He was a founding member of the Great Nigeria People’s Party and was elected as a member of the Borno State House of Assembly in 1979 where he also became the House Majority Leader.

    Deportation: Immigration officers, on January 24, 1980, arrested Darman on the strength of a deportation order signed by the then Federal Minister of internal affairs Alhaji Bello Maitama. The deportation order entitled ‘Shugaba Abdurrahman Darman’s Deportation Order 1980’, stated amongst other things that “…Shugaba Abdurrahman Darman at present in Nigeria ought to be classified as a prohibited immigrant” and also that he be deported from Nigeria by the first available means….”.

    Darman was promptly deported to a village in Chad. In  response to the public outcry against the deportation, the government instituted a one-man tribunal of inquiry presided over by Justice P.C Okanbo. The NPN government and President Shehu Shagari in particular were quite concerned about the negative press that the issue was generating and also about allusions in the press to the partiality of the tribunal.

    Darman’s troubles had allegedly started as a result of his being regarded as a threat by the ruling party of the time, the NPN.

    He was a charismatic politician who attracted large crowds at political rallies; the crowds were drawn to his speeches in which he criticised the ruling NPN government. The government claimed that Shugaba’s father was a Chadian hence he was bundled up and deported to a village in Chad.

    During the subsequent court case filed by the GNPP- led legal team of Chief D. O.A Oguntoye, to challenge the deportation order, the government brought a Chadian woman, weeping profusely, who claimed that Shugaba was her biological son whom she wanted back.

    Shugaba denied knowing the woman and claimed that his mother was alive and well known in Maiduguri even though her sight was now poor.

    The Maiduguri High Court ruled in Shugaba’s favour in the case of “Shugaba Darman vs Federal Minister of Internal Affairs and Others”, revoked the deportation order and awarded damages to the tune of N350,000 to Shugaba. The government appealed the verdict at the Court of Appeal in Kaduna and lost. The Supreme Court also ruled in Shugaba’s favour in a unanimous judgment by the four justices led by Justice Coker.

    The case was later overtaken by the subsequent military coup and no compensation was paid. Shugaba  later forgave the Shagari- led government for his deportation.

    The Awolowo v. Shagari case was a lawsuit between Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Alhaji Shehu Shagari in which Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s petition challenged the declaration of Shehu Shagari as the president-elect of the August 11, 1979, presidential election.

     Awolowo v. Shagari

    One of the most contentious cases in Nigerian judicial history is the one involving Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Alhaji Shehu Shagari.

    The suit was a presidential election petition between the Appellant, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Alhaji Shehu Shagari of the NPN, where the court was required to interpret Section 34 A (i) (ii) of Electoral Decree No 73 of 1977.

    According to the results announced on August 16, 1979 by the Federal Electoral commission (FEDECO), Shehu Shagari scored 5, 688, 857 votes nation-wide whilst Obafemi Awolowo had 4, 916, 651.

    Awolowo, the applicant, did not dispute these figures but rather contended that Shagari’s scores were in-sufficient, because the law required a returned candidate must fulfil two conditions simultaneously; namely to have the highest number of votes, which Shagari had, but also have “…not less than one quarter of the votes cast at the election in each of at least two thirds of all the (19) states within the federation.” – which Shagari did not have, according to Awolowo.

    By the declared results agreed, Shehu Shagari got 25% of the votes cast in 12 states; namely: Bauchi, Bendel, Borno, Cross River, Gongola, Kaduna, Kwara, Niger, Plateau, Rivers and Sokoto. The 13th state was the issue. It was Kano State – where Shagari scored 243,423 votes, equivalent to 19.4% of the 1,220,763 votes cast in total.

    On those agreed facts, the applicant prayed the Nigerian Supreme Court to declare as follows:- that although Shagari received 5,688,857 nationwide at the said election, Shagari still had less than 25% of the votes cast at the election in each of at least two thirds of all (19) states in the federation, and, the Election Tribunal was wrong to declare, based on the result in Kano State, that “…. 25% of two-thirds of the votes in Kano State is 203, 460.5 votes….,” and, therefore:

    “The Supreme Court should now determine that the said Alhaji Shehu Shagari was not duly elected or returned and that his election or return was void.”

    The applicant argued that the phrase “…in each of at least two thirds of all the states within the federation.” means thirteen (13) states because there is nothing either in the Electoral Decree of 1977 or the Electoral (Amendment) Decree of 1978 authorising fractionalisation of a state for the purpose of determining two thirds of its votes.

    Further, he contended that insofar as fractionalisation of a state in this context is un-lawful, the phrase should instead be interpreted to mean that a candidate must score 25% of the votes in at least 13 out of the then 19 states in Nigeria.

    It was wrong logic to determine two thirds of the votes in Kano by dividing the 1,220,763 total votes cast in Kano by two-thirds to arrive at 813, 842, and then declare Shagari’s own votes of 243,423 in Kano as greater than 25% of the total votes cast in Kano, since that will be tantamount to Shagari’s return as validly elected on the basis of one-sixth of the total votes in Kano State, contrary to law, he argued.

    “The phrase ‘………in each of at least two thirds of all the states within the federation’ does not mean ‘in each of at least two thirds of all the votes within the federation’ “, Awolowo averred, “because states are not equivalent to votes in that phrase by any literal interpretation”.

    But Shagari, the respondent disagreed and contrarily argued that the word “states” indeed means votes within that phrase.

    Shagari submitted that his own total score of 243,423 in Kano State should therefore be held constant, whilst scaling down the total votes of 1,220,763 cast in all of Kano State by one third, to thereafter calculate and approve that he indeed scored 25% of the votes in Kano State.

    Chief Justice Fatai Williams, who read the lead judgment of the Supreme Court observed that the Electoral Law as phrased was a “clumsily worded section”, but then rather oddly said “this clumsily worded section” is (nevertheless) “devoid of any semantic ambiguity”.

    The court held that “Shehu Shagari won two-third of the total votes cast, having polled a total votes of 11.9 million votes ahead of Obafemi Awolowo who polled a total votes of 4.9 million out of a total 16.8 million with cast.”

    Court prohibits law mandating policewoman to seek commissioner’s consent for marriage

    Perhaps more historical is the federal high court decision which declared unconstitutional an archaic law, Regulation 124 of the Police Act on May 16, 2012.

    Justice Steven Adah made the declaration while delivering judgment in a suit filed by the Women Empowerment and Legal Aid Initiative (WELA) challenging the constitutional validity of Regulation 124 made pursuant to the Police Act (Cap P19 ) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.

    The act stipulates: “A woman Police Officer who is desirous of marrying must first apply in writing to the Commissioner of Police for the State Command in which she is serving, requesting permission to marry and giving name, address and occupation of the person she intends to marry. Permission will be granted for the marriage if the intended husband is of good character and the woman police officer has served in the force for a period of not less than three years.”

    ln her submissions to the court which led to the historical judgment, WELA Executive Director, Mrs. Funmi Falana, had argued that it was illegal to ban a woman police officer for three years before entering into a marriage and that seeking permission of a Police Commissioner is an infraction of her fundamental right to dignity and freedom of choice.

    Falana had argued further since a male police officer is not subjected to the same inhibitions Regulation 124 is inconsistent with section 42 of the Constitution and Article 2 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights which have prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex.

    Falana urged the Federal High Court to expunge Regulation 124 from the Police Act as it is not reasonably justifiable in a democratic society like Nigeria which has domesticated the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights and ratified the  Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People Rights on the  Rights of Women in Africa and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

    Responding, the Attorney-General of the Federation through his Counsel, Mr. B.R. Ashiru maintained that Regulation 124 is designed to protect women police officers from falling into the hands of criminals.

    Ashiru further submitted that the purpose of the law is to prevent women police officers from marrying men of bad character.

    He also defended the three-year ban on the ground that it is meant to ensure that a woman police officer is not pregnant “during the rigorous training she must undergo after her employment”.

    Delivering judgment in the matter, Justice Adah rejected the arguments of the respondent.

    The court held that Regulation 124 was illegal, null and void due to its inconsistency with Section 42 of the Constitution. Having declared it unconstitutional, the judge proceeded to annul Regulation 124 by virtue of Section 1(3) of the Constitution.

    Supreme Court upholds right of female child to inherit properties in Igboland

    On April 14, 2014, the Supreme Court voided the Igbo law and custom, which forbid a female from inheriting her late father’s estate, on the grounds that it is discriminatory and conflicts with the provision of the constitution.

    The court held that the practice conflicted with section 42(1)(a) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution. The judgment was on the appeal marked: SC.224/2004 filed by Mrs. Lois Chituru Ukeje (wife of the late Lazarus Ogbonna Ukeje) and their son, Enyinnaya Lazarus Ukeje against Mrs Gladys Ada Ukeje (the deceased’s daughter).

    Gladys had sued the deceased’s wife and son before the Lagos High Court, claiming to be one of the deceased’s children and sought to be included among those to administer their deceased’s father’s estate.

    The trial court found that he was a daughter to the deceased and that she was qualified to benefit from the estate of their father who died intestate in Lagos in1981.

    The Court of Appeal, Lagos to which Mrs. Lois Ukeje and Enyinnaya Ukeje appealed, upheld the decision of the trial court, prompting them to appeal to the Supreme Court.

    In its judgment, the Supreme Court held that the Court of Appeal, Lagos was right to have voided the Igbo’s native law and custom that disinherit female children.

    Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour, who read the lead judgment, held that “no matter the circumstances of the birth of a female child, such a child is entitled to an inheritance from her later father’s estate.

    “Consequently, the Igbo customary law, which disentitles a female child from partaking in the sharing of her deceased father’s estate, is in breach of Section 42(1) and (2) of the Constitution, a fundamental rights provision guaranteed to every Nigerian.

    “The said discriminatory customary law is void as it conflicts with Section 42(1) and (2) of the Constitution. In the light of all that I have been saying, the appeal is dismissed. In the spirit of reconciliation, parties to bear their own costs,” Justice Rhodes-Vivour said.

    Justices Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen, Claral Bata Ogunbiyi, Kumai Bayang Aka’ahs and John Inyang Okoro, who were part of the panel that heard the appeal, agreed with the lead judgment.

    Lagos State Waterways Authority & Ors v Incorporated Trustees of Association of Tourist Boat Operators &Ors

    Outcome: States have power to regulate inland waterways

    Who has the right to make laws/regulate intra state waterways/inland waterways; the National Assembly or the State House of Assembly?

    On July 18, 2017, the Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos upheld the argument of Lagos State Attorney-General Adeniji Kazeem that by virtue of sections 4(2), 4(4)(a), Sections 315 and Items 36 and 64 of the Exclusive List of the Constitution, that power belongs to the states.

    The case, which is now before the Supreme Court, was instituted on May 22, 2012 at the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court by the Lagos State Waterways Authority and three others.

    The defendants/respondents were The Incorporated Trustees of Association of Tourist Boat Operators & Water Transportation in Nigeria, Incorporated Trustees Dredgers Association of Nigeria Transport, National Inland Waterways Corporation, Nigeria Maritime Standard And Safety Agency, Minister of Mines & Steel Development and Minister of Transport.

    The Appellate Court, in a unanimous decision, held that the Lagos State House of Assembly is competent to make laws in respect of the intra-Inland Waterways in Lagos State except inter-state waterways declared as international or interstate waterway under Item 5 in the 2nd Schedule to the National Inland Waterways Act.

    In the leading judgment of the court, Justice Hussein Mukhtar held: “Item 64 is couched in no narrower scope as it deals with water from such sources declared by the National Assembly to be sources affecting more than one State.

    “The inland waterways within Lagos State are not and cannot by any stretch of interpretation be covered by any item on the Exclusive Legislative List under Part 1 to the Second Schedule of the Constitution and I so hold.

    The court also held that “the authority of the Lagos State House of Assembly to legislate in respect of all intra-state inland water ways is not in doubt” and all other inland waterways within Lagos State are within the legislative competence of the Lagos State House of Assembly and any revenue accruable therefrom is payable to the Lagos State Waterways Authority.”

    CBN and Freedom of Information

    In 2011, Nigeria passed the Freedom of Information Act, which seeks to guarantee citizens’ access to public information.

    The law is revolutionary in the scope of information to which it grants access, and the safeguards contained therein are a welcome departure from the pervasive secrecy in Nigerian governance. The Lagos Federal High Court recently had the first opportunity to interpret and apply this law in Boniface Okezie v Central Bank of Nigeria.(1) The Central Bank is a government agency.

    On August 1, 2009, the Central Bank, exercising its powers under the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, fired the executive directors of five Nigerian banks for borderline fraudulent acts and mismanagement of bank resources.

    The affected bankers were also prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission which, in collaboration with the Central Bank, sought to recover some of the assets that they had allegedly stolen.

    However, there were questions about the manner in which the recovery of the assets was being handled, particularly the apparent lack of consideration for the rights of the affected banks’ shareholders.

    In 2012, the Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, represented by its president, Boniface Okezie, wrote to the Central Bank requesting information relating to the recovery of Oceanic International Bank Plc’s assets.

    The basis for the request was that taxpayers’ money was being used for the prosecution of the banks’ chiefs and the reform process. The association also believed the entire reform process to be a drain on the economy, benefiting only a few.

    When the Central Bank refused to disclose the information  requested by the association, a suit was instituted against it under the Freedom of Information Act. The association requested the court to compel the bank to publish its handling of approximately N191 billion’s worth of assets forfeited by Ibru.

    In a landmark ruling on the application of the Freedom of Information Act, the court held that the Central Bank, as a public institution, has a duty under the act to provide details of such information, and that the bank’s refusal to disclose the information on request by the association was unlawful.

    Justice Mohammed Idris ordered the bank to comply with the association’s request by releasing the information sought. Stressing that it was unlawful for the bank to withhold the information, the court observed that:

    “The Act is intended to promote transparency and prevent corruption, therefore all public institutions must ensure that they comply with the FOI Act in the interest of transparency, justice and development.”

    Liberalisation of party registration

    In Balarabe Musa v. INEC (2003) 10 WRN 1 the political space was liberalized when the Supreme Court struck down the stringent conditionalities imposed by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on new political parties.

    The right of private prosecution

    In Fawehinmi v. Akilu (1987) 2 NWLR (PT 67) 767 the  Supreme Court relaxed the anachronistic doctrine of locus standi so as to permit the private prosecution of criminal offences by concerned individuals on the ground that “we are all our brothers’ keepers.”

    The President, governors can be investigated

    In Fawehinmi v. Inspector-General of Police (2002) 23 WRN 1 the Supreme Court declared that public officers covered by the immunity clause in Section 308 of the Constitution can be investigated while in office.

  • New ‘epidemic’ sends hundreds of Queen’s College pupils home

    A new epidemic has sent hundreds of Queen’s College pupils home, the Nation learnt from the Parent’s Teachers Association Chairman, Mr John Ofobike.

    The school had a water borne epidemic in 2017, which claimed three pupils and led to its closure for months during which its old students association rehabilitated its facilities.

    Ofobike said he could not tell the nature of the sickness but learnt from a parent whose ward had been treated at the hospital that the illness was caused by food and water bacterial infection.

    He said when he visited on Sunday, hundreds of girls were being given exeat to go home to be get treatment.

    He however noted that the principal, whom he claimed did not want the issue to be publicised, refused to allow him see the register of sick pupils.

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    He said: “I am not a doctor so I don’t know if the problem is caused by water but there is a problem already in the school and parents are calling me.

    “I was there on Sunday. So many children over 100 were waiting for exeat to go out. The sick bay was filled with children everywhere on the beds and benches.

    “You know when people are queuing for INEC registration, that was how it was. And these girls are in exam classes – SS3 and JSS3.

    “I went to the principal to tell her to alert the government but she did not want to aleart the government. The children are sick because the environment is unkempt.

    “I said let me look at the register at the sick bay. But the principal instructed the nurse not to allow me see the register – I who as the PTA Chairman am the father of all the girls in the school.

    “I was there when one parent brought his daughter. He showed me the medical report which stated that there is a bacterial infection for food and water. I have written the Federal Ministry of Education to report the matter.”

    When asked if the PTA had complained about the school being unkempt before or done anything to help salvage the situation, Ofobike said: “We have not seen this type before. I have been in the school for three years as a PTA Chairman so I know when the environment is unclean.

    “Again, PTA is not part of the school management team. The school does call our attention for assistance when necessary.’

    Regarding the symptoms the pupils exhibited, Ofobike said: “When I visited the school sick bay, the students complained of pain all over their body, cough, body temperature is high. I am not a doctor to know what the problems are.”

  • Improving airspace radio communication

    For several years, pilots flying into the Nigeria’s airspace have complained of ‘dark or ‘blind spots ‘, resulting from poor radio communication between ground-based personnel – air traffic controllers – and the cockpit. To prevent air accidents and loss of revenue to other countries, the airspace agency has unfolded some measures, Senior Correspondent KELVIN OSA OKUNBOR reports

    Global efforts to improve communication between ground-based personnel – air traffic controllers and aircraft pilots – i gaining traction in the air navigation value chain.

    Reason: effective controller – pilot communication contributes significantly to the global call by international aviation organisations to push for enhanced flight safety and security.

    According to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the number of flights by the airline industry globally has been steadily increasing since the early 2000s and is expected to reach 39.4 million by the end of the year.

    This figure, the global body said, is over one million higher than the prediction for the previous year, representing an increase of over 50 percent a decade before.

    It is for this reason that the 192- member states of the global aviation regulator – ICAO and other international bodies prescribed the minimum requirements: in terms of equipment profile that is required for effective air traffic management and communication navigation and surveillance for aircraft navigating the global airspace.

    Besides the ICAO requirements, Nigeria as an ICAO member-state has joined other air navigation services providers to seek measures aimed at reducing complaints of poor radio communication by users of its airspace, including aircraft owners and their pilots.

    Statistics from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) shows that 30,040 flights were operated in Nigeria from January to June, this year.

    About 59,818 flights were recorded from January to December 2018 compared to 48,319 flights recorded in 2017.

    But, in the last few years, pilots, air traffic controllers and other stakeholders in Nigeria have raised serious concerns over the parlous state of radio communication in the airspace.

    Some pilots complained that it was difficult to reach the radio frequencies operated by the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) for effective air navigation.

    Besides pilots operating flights within the country, others using Nigerian airspace to reach their destination, which in aviation par lance is known as overflights, threatened to boycott the airspace, if remedial action was not taken by the government.

    If such pilots carried out their threat, Nigeria could lose significant foreign exchange earnings paid by such airspace users.

    The pilots said they would patronise contiguous airspace of other countries , including Ghana, Benin Republic, Niger and Cameroon to get to their destination .

    Investigations revealed that some pilots had lodged complaints with ICAO to call Nigeria to order in addressing the air safety infraction.

    Worried over the trend, NAMA embarked on serious infrastructure revolution to address the gap.

    A pilot, and President, Flight Crew Association of Nigeria (FCAN), Captain Robert Roland, recently called on government to address communication challenges in the airspace.

    He said the development was of grave concern to pilots and other stakeholders because of its effects on air safety.

    In an interview, its Managing Director, Captain Fola Akinkuotu, said the agency had acknowledged the challenge and had taken steps to address the problem of blind spots in the airspace which hitherto created headache for pilots.

    Investigations, however, revealed that  many factors were responsible for the lingering challenge.

    Experts’ complaint

    Besides pilots, air traffic controllers had consistently called on the government to fix sore points in airspace infrastructure, especially air based equipment.

    Part of such air based equipment is completion of Very High Frequency Radio Frequency, in aviation par lance known as VHF radio communication

    Speaking in an interview, President of Nigerian Association of Air Traffic Controllers  (NATCA), Comrade Abayomi  Agoro called on the government to address issues bordering on air traffic controllers work load; controllers fatigue; obscure track labels; sector split or sector  collapse which were impacting on the quality of their functions.

    He said the authorities needed to fix urgently issues bordering in flight data display,  which was not updated to show direct routing; production pressure as well as inadequate training.

    Investigations revealed that besides loss of significant revenue, threat to air safety; blind spots in the Nigerian airspace due to poor airspace radio  communication fired many aircraft on en – route flights to use adjacent airspaces, including Ghana and Niger Republics.

    Akinkuotu , while admitting that though radio communication in the airspace was not performing optimally a few years ago, said the airspace agency has taken aggressive steps to tackle the challenge.

    He said the goal of the agency was to eliminate such blind spots in any sector of the airspace to improve efficient air navigation for users of the airspace.

    Akinkuotu said: ‘’In the last few years, radio communication was not at its best. Effort has being made to fix it.”

    Also speaking in an interview, the National Association of Air Traffic Engineers (NAAE) President, Ishaya Dung, said the agency has evolved intervention measures geared towards reducing blind spots in the Nigerian airspace.

    While noting that there were some areas where pilots lodged complaints about blind spots in the past, Dung confirmed that the issue of blind spots in the Nigerian airspace was  becoming a thing of the past.

    Dung said:  “ The airspace agency through assistance from government  bought new long range radios for installation.

    They were new equipment and that was the first time radios were deployed in our system. So far, that challenge has been taken care of and it has been testified to by some of the pilots that have used the equipment.

    Despite the successes recorded in that area, the NAAE President  said because NAMA had got it right, the level of pilots’ complaints have equally reduced, advising the agency not to rest on its oars.

    He said:” I have not heard of any complaints again’’.

    Training to the rescue

    At the recently concluded International Federation of Air Traffic Safety Electronics Association (IFATSEA)  conference in Abuja,  the director of safety electronics and engineering services, Umar Farouk, disclosed that the agency had trained 80 personnel in 2019   at the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology  (NCAT) , in Zaria.

    This, he said, had become imperative to bridge the gap in manpower and ensure that ageing work force was being replaced.

    He said such intervention had become necessary to train technical personnel to match the drive in  the acquisition and installation of state-of-the-art air navigation equipment.

    Other measures

    To  boost the clarity of radio communication, especially at the upper airspace, the agency investigations revealed that  steps have been taken to replace all the Very High Frequency (VHF) radios at the eight remote sites in Lagos, Kano, Wukari, Sokoto, Ilorin, Port Harcourt, Abuja and Maiduguri.

    An official said the agency has also added six new sites in Jos, Kaduna, Yola, Enugu, Benin and Calabar, bringing to 14 VHF sites nationwide.

    These VHF remote sites, he said, are operated in a network, which will have signal pattern that covers the entire airspace.

    He said the agency has also taken delivery of the VHF radio equipment under the “Extended Range VHF Coverage” project, affirming that its installation will start soon.

    He said last year, NAMA deployed four stand-alone Jotron High-power long range VHF radios at Lagos East and Lagos West as well as Kano East and Kano West Area Control Centres (ACCs).

    He said it was a backup solution  to address Remote Control Air-to- Ground (RCAG) communication challenges in the upper airspace by providing reliable backup in the event of loss of VHF radio communication on the main system.

    Road to sectorisation

    Investigations revealed that air traffic management assessment of the airspace was conducted in 1991.This was preparatory to the deployment of satellite communication system in the country.

    Experts said studies carried out by international bodies confirmed the need for a sectored operation in Lagos and Kano.

    Reactions on sectorisation

    In a  recent forum in Abuja , NAMA’s Director of Operations, Mr Mathew Pwajok said sectorisation  of the Lagos airspace has made the job of air traffic controllers easier and more efficient.

    He said : ‘’Maintenance remains key in the system and in a bid to further enhance safety in the country and capture low level aircraft in the Gulf of Guinea, the agency has commenced installation of wide area multilateration equipment to boost the activities of oil exploration in the area.”

    Pilots’, airlines’ reactions

    Speaking in separate interviews, pilots from Arik Air, Air Peace, Medview Airlines, Dana Air , Overland Airways , AZMAN Air and Max Air confirmed improvement in radio communication in the airspace.

    They declined to give their names because they were not the spokespersons of their carriers.

    They said it was unprofessional to make public statement on such matters, but to report to the regulatory body and other aeronautical bodies their observations about airspace infrastructure, if there was need for improvement or threat to safety or the aircraft they man.

    But, retired pilots – Captain Prex Porbeni and Captain Dele Ore – said there was room for improvement on airspace facilities.

    They said airspace equipment have improved over many years ago.

    This, they said, was responsible for the increase in foreign carriers flights into Nigeria.

  • Housewife, daughter killed in Kano

    Yet-to-be-identified assailants have slaughtered an housewife and drowned her 3-year-old daughter in a well in Ungogo local government area of Kano state.

    The Nation reports that the incident occurred on Sunday night at Gobirawa, a suburb of Ungogo, after the assailants reportedly broke into the house of the victim, Farida Dahiru.

    Farida’s husband, Shu’aib Abdul-Mumin, was dumbfounded and transfixed over the dastardly act.

    However, his relative, Yahya Lawal, said Abdul-Mumin had returned from the wedding dinner of his friend and found the doors of his house locked shortly before midnight

    He reportedly thought his wife locked the door because it was really late.

    Read Also: How we killed 16 Okada men, buried them in shallow graves

    Lawal said: “He began to knock on the door but there was no response.

    ‘After several more knocks, he decided to break the door. As he entered into the house, he met his wife slaughtered.”

    He further added that Abdul-Mumin suddenly collapsed due to the shock of the gory sight.

    Lawal said after killing Farida, the assailants also seized her sick daughter, who was receiving treatment for a fever and threw her into a well in the compound.

    Confirming the incident, spokesperson of the Kano police command, Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, said the Police Commissioner Ahmed Iliyasu, personally led officers to the scene of the incident after receiving a report.

    “On Monday, around 12 am we received a sad report that some assailants broke into the house of Malam Shu’aibu Abdul-Mumin at Gobirawa and killed his wife and daughter.

    “So, the Police Commissioner led a team of officers to the scene, where they arrested six suspects,” he said.

    Kiyawa, a deputy superintendent of police, said the six suspects and any other person found to be involved in the dastardly act would be brought to justice as investigation was ongoing.

  • What is Nigeria celebrating at 59?

    At Independence, in 1960, the future of Nigeria was bright. World leaders predicted that, 10 years later, the country would become a medium world power. But, 59 years after, there is gap between expectation and reality. Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN writes on tragedy of a promising country that squandered the opportunities of becoming a giant.

    Fifty nine years after independence, Nigeria appears to be a toddler learning the rudiments of democracy. The country is at a crossroads. Across the six geo-political zones, there is no peace. In the North, the Boko Haram is on the prowl. In the Middle Belt, the Ombatse group has intensified killings. The brand of terrorism in the South is armed robbery and commercial kidnapping. Besides, there are problems of ethno-religious conflicts, and youth unemployment. Today, Nigerians are more divided along ethnic and religious lines than they were before independence.

    On October 1, 1960, the future of Nigeria was bright. World powers acknowledged the enormous natural endowment, quality and quantity of its population and vast opportunities available to the former British Colony. The three premiers have laid examples of transformational leadership in the Western, Eastern and Northern Regions.

    Unfortunately, the 1966 military coup halted Nigeria’s journey to greatness. It deepened the distrust and suspicion among the unequal regions.  The mistake of the first military ruler, Major General Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi, who foisted the unitary system on the country through his controversial unification decree marked the beginning of the journey to gloom.

    From the initial three regions, the country was split into 36 states by the successive military administrations. But, the structure had not changed the feelings of primordial sentiments by the estranged partners.

    Yet, 59 years after independence, the rich country is in pains. The natural resource is domiciled in the Niger Delta Region. But, majority of its citizens wallow in abject poverty. Life expectancy has dropped abysmally in Nigeria to 44, one of the lowest in the world. Basic amenities such as portable water, electricity, medical facilities and roads are in pitiable state of disrepair.

    There are some puzzles: Why is Nigeria difficult to change? Why has Nigeria failed to develop with abundant human and material resources at its disposal? Why has prosperity eluded the nation? Why are many Nigerians swimming in the deep ocean of poverty? What is responsible for the rising unemployment in the country?

    Military adventure in power:

    A renowned scholar, Professor Akin Mabogunje, blamed the economic woes on the military intervention in government. He said the military came to power when the country’s earnings increased tremendously, but they mismanaged the economy.

    The elder statesman, said: “Instead of using the accruing resources of oil windfall of 1970s to improve and modernise our colonial infrastructure, we began by establishing a Public Service Review Commission, which enhanced personal emoluments of civil and public servants dramatically resulting in a national spree that depleted commercial stores all over the country of durable consumer goods such as air-conditioners, refrigerators, electric cookers, radio and television set. This, of course, forced a sharp rise in the demand for electricity beyond the capacity of the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) to provide and the consequence of that singular miscalculation is still with us till today.

    “With the continuing and increasing inflow of the windfall from the petroleum, the military government with its unified command structure was no longer comfortable with a fiscal arrangement in which the governor of an oil-rich state could start to have a revenue-base close to that of the Federal Government itself. In consequence, the Federal Military Government subverted the existing fiscal arrangement of the Federation. Instead of the “derivation principle” of revenue allocation, it passed the Petroleum Act of 1969 which decreed that all royalties and rent from petroleum accrued to a Federation Account from which all levels of government, in consonance with the unified command structure of military administration, can have a share on some agreed formula.

    “This Act allowed the Federal Military Government to begin the process of gratuitously creating states and local governments without any consideration as to their economic viability. It was assumed that they could all enjoy their share from the Federation Account which in popular parlance came to be referred to as “the national cake”.

    Unitary constitution:

    Federalism is often regarded as the appropriate system of government for countries with huge ethno- cultural diversities. Nigeria with over 250 ethnic groups inherited a federal system from Britain.

    Although the 1951 Macpherson constitution was federal in nature, it contained some elements and ingredients of unitary constitution that characterised the previous constitutions. The Lyttleton’s Constitution that followed established three regions Northern, Western and Eastern, with autonomy in internal policy and administration. It gave the central government the responsibility for external affairs and regional policy.

    The Lyttleton Constitution was a model for the Independence Constitution of 1960 and the 1963 Republican Constitution. Under these two constitutions, the regions had considerable powers, including concurrent authority with the central government over higher education, industrial and water development, the judiciary and police. Even though the two Constitutions were truly federal in nature, they failed woefully to address the issue of lopsidedness of the federation. The north was almost double the size of the combined Western and Eastern regions. Hence, the North dominated the central government.

    The fear of domination culminated in the tension sparked the first military coup in 1966. The coup was led by young army officers of Igbo extraction. Following the coup, General Ironsi, who emerged as the Head of State, abolished federalism in favour of a unitary system, which, according to him, would foster unity in the country. Expectedly, the North viewed this action as an attempt to dominate the country, hence a counter- coup led by northern officers who installed Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon as the new Head of State, against the established military hierarchy. The first action taken by Gowon was to reinstate federalism.

    Shortly before the outbreak of the civil war in 1967, the Gowon administration abolished the existing regions and created 12 states. The creation of these states weakened the power of the federating units . As a result, the military systematically abolished the 50 per cent derivation formula that was arguably the hallmark of the First Republic.

    The post civilian regimes in the country maintained a federal structure, but implemented policies that encouraged Nigeria’s metamorphosis into a unitary state. With the power fully residing in the centre, the military men tore down the former regions into shreds, by increasing number of states in the country.

    Failed constitutions:

    The 1979 and 1979 constitutions imposed by the military were designed to obliterate the traces of true federalism in Nigeria. A mere perusal of the second schedule to the 1979 Constitution, which embodied the Exclusive List, shows that the Federal Government was given enormous powers, which encroached on the areas that were supposed to be in the concurrent list. For instance, the Federal Government had exclusive power over: aviation,  including airports, safety of aircraft and carriage of passengers and goods by air;  commercial and industrial monopolies, combines and trusts; copyright; evidence; fingerprints; identification and criminal records; Labour, including trade unions, industrial disputes and prescribing a minimum wage for the federal and states. It also gave it exclusive powers over industrial arbitration; Mines and mineral including oilfields, oil mining, geological surveys and natural gas; Police and so many other items. The 1999 Constitution, on the other hand, incorporated in its second Schedule Part 1, almost if not all the items listed there.

    Similarly, the 1999 Constitution has been widely criticised by critics for fostering systematic disintegration. A professor o f Political Science, Lagos State University (LASU) Professor Sylvester Odion-Akhaine, described it as grossly deficient in addressing present political realities. He said: “The constitution subverts the federal principle in its overt strengthening of the centre, leaving the state weak and prostate”

    These military constitutions are, therefore, the undisputed precursors of the present socio-economic and political woes. To provide a framework for addressing Nigeria’s multifarious resource control agitation by the Niger Delta states, citizenship, and the lopsided nature of the federalism must be addressed.

    Defective federalism

    Federalism is a system of government where the central and constituent units are not subordinate to one another. In a typical federal state, there is no master-servant relationship. Since both the central and constituent units derive their powers to exist or operate directly from the constitution, no government in such a union arrogates undue powers to itself or act as leader.

    However, in Nigeria, the reverse is the case. Nigeria is a federation of an excessively strong central government accompanied by weak 36 states and 774 local governments. Abuja calls the shots and dictates the pace for states to follow. In a true federalism, the constituents do not surrender all powers. In Nigeria, the central government is to other governments and distributes national resources to others at its own whims and caprices.

    At independence, the autonomous regions possessed the residual powers and functioned almost independently. The regions had independent revenue bases, separate constitutions and foreign missions.. All these changed under the military rule. Attempts by the state governments to reassert their autonomy during the Second Republic were aborted by the return of military rule. Some state governments that were controlled by parties other than the ruling party at the centre, the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), took the Federal Government to court on many occasions over matter of jurisdiction competence.

    The trends also reoccurs in this dispensation when the former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, dragged the Obasanjo-led federal government to court over the issue of local government creation in Lagos State. Tinubu’s major argument was that the act, which suggests that the Federal Government sees itself as superior to the state government, is anti-thetical to the principles of true federalism.

    One of the major features that makes federalism work is financial autonomy. This has never been achieved in Nigerian. The intervention of the government through national financial policies, grants-in-aids among other, increases the power of the Federal Government and makes the federating units subordinate to the central government. The increased revenue from oil boom has made the Federal Government to be more financially powerful over the state governments. As a result of this excess liquidity, the Federal Government embarked on some projects, which were meant to be in the residual list. The Universal Basic Education is an example.

    The local autonomy for government is also considered as a problem of federalism in Nigeria. Today, the local governments are controlled by the state governments. But, the Federal Government is making moves to severe the relationship between states and local governments through direct funding of the councils. This move contradicts what obtains in countries where true federalism is practised.

    Another issue is resource control, which is threatening the peaceful co-existence of the federating units. Nigeria has witnessed and is likely to witness more inter-ethnic crises, if states are not granted the right to rule and control their resources. Before the 1966 coup, regional government control led the resources generated within their domain. For instance, the Western Regional Government was responsible for the production and exportation of cocoa, the major cash crop in the region, to foreign countries. It only paid taxes to the federal government as stipulated in the constitution. Similarly, the Northern Nigeria Government and its Eastern counterpart handled the exportation of groundnut and rubber produced in commercial quantity in their territories.

    The defective federal structure has promoted bitter sruggle between interest groups to capture the state.

    A political analyst Dr Ignatius Onuoha, said the experiment with the Nigeria state and the lip service to true federalism must stop. This, according to him, “is because the experiment has made it impossible for our nation to harness the political, economic and other numerous benefits attached to federalism.”

    Restructuring:

    The clamour for restructuring has polarised the country. Regions in the South believe in it, but they have different views over what it is all about. To the Ibos in the Southeast, restructuring will guarantee confederation; the Yorubas in the Southwest want a restructuring that  would take the country back to regionalism while the Southsouth is pushing for resource control. While the position of regions in the South are irreconcilable, that of the three regions in the North is a different ball game.

    To the former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, the disintegration of Nigeria is imminent. The immediate solution is restructuring, he said. Similarly, Afenifere chieftain, Ayo Adebanjo is spitting fire that Nigeria will break up, unless zones are allowed to control their resources.

    Radical northern politician Dr Junaid Muhammed said eminent citizens pushing for restructuring are trying to blackmail Nigerians into an unclear and bogus system of government. The second Republic politician posited that none of those calling for restructuring had been able to give a clear-cut definition of what they meant.

    He said: “Until somebody can tell me what this restructuring is all about, I won’t be convinced about the call. These agitators of restructuring like Edwin Clark, Ayo Adebanjo, John Nwodo and others have not actually told us what would be restructured and how it will be done. That was how we were told that without Sovereign National Conference (SNC), Nigeria will collapse.”

    Also, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has rejected the call for restructuring, saying what the country needs at the moment is competent leadership at all levels. ACF spokesman, Alhaji Mohammed Ibrahim said heeding the call for restructuring would weaken the centre. He said Nigerians fought for unity and that it is not possible for the North to support anything that would cause disunity.

    Legal luminary Malam Yusuf Ali (SAN) said until there is agreement among the ethnic groups on how to restructure Nigeria, there will be no progress.

    The lawyer admitted there are problems that must be addressed, if Nigerians must live together as subjects of one nation. He said: “If we abolish the settler and indigene dichotomy and ensure equitable distribution of amenities, Nigerians will not mind if the father is president and the son is vice president. An Ibo man won’t care if a Yoruba is president, provided he is not denied of basic things of life.” He added that it is lack of faith that is causing suspicion among the ethnic groups.

    Abandoned projects:

    Nigeria political leaders often articulate visions in colourful and expensive development plans, policies and programmes mainly for chanting. The leaders are chicken hearted in the implementation of these plans, except to enrich cronies, political stooges or sycophants.

    The non-performing leader often aspires to continue in office even after his tenure has expired. When he leaves or steps aside, or is forced out of office, the successor jettisons some of the visions of the previous leaders. He may even decide to abandon the programmes of the previous leaders for his new ones or panel beat them to feign some air of originality. The country abounds with abandoned projects and policy somersaults. The words of the political leaders are not their bonds, nor do people hold them accountable to their promises.

    Oil as blessing and curse:

    Despite Nigeria being the second African exporter of crude oil and the sixth in the world, it has not reflected in the nation’s development and standard of living of the citizenry. The nation’s under-development is associated with weak management and corruption. Nigeria has been overtaken in development by some other developing countries that were worse than our country in 1960. These countries include Malaysia, Indonesia and Venezuela. Even more disquieting is the fact that Nigeria lags behind many sub-Saharan African countries including Senegal, Ghana, Zambia and Cameroon in GNP.

    Nigeria dropped in global economic ranking to 101st position out of 125 nations while the economy is still burdened with double-digit inflation, estimated at 13 per cent. Nigeria was placed 159th out of 177 countries of the world examined for the human development. Nigeria also lost 34 places (falling to rank 112) in the basic requirements sub-index, which alights the fundamentals for achieving sustainable growth, including strong institutions, adequate infrastructure, a supportive macro-economic environment and good basic health and education.

    The World Bank estimated that 50 per cent of the federal roads have deteriorated in the last six years to the extent that it costs more to send goods from Lagos to Maiduguri than to send them to Europe.

    Weak institutions and corruption:

    Observers said Nigeria’s existing democratic structures are not yet effective. Accoring to an expert: “Its extractive political and economic institutions do not create incentive for the citizens to save, invest and innovate. Power and wealth are concentrated in the hands of those controlling state apparatus. Only those in control of or connected to those in political power are benefitting from the system. Lack of effective law and order and economic incentive has destroyed the environment.

    “As such we cannot remain in a dysfunctional environment and expect good outcomes in what we do.  As our physical life is affected by the physical environment, so also our nation’s environment will affect the quality of attention the people will give to their actions. The system is corruption-charged, and that has affected the moral life of the people and the health of the economy.

    “The political leaders can only change the system by changing their mental models. They are always on each other’s throat with their petty politics. Instead of dealing with broad national issues and creating an environment that would accommodate the interest of the diverse population. For example, former President Olusegun Obasanjo is always critical of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration instead of working collaboratively with the government to build a stable and brighter future for the country.”

  • Foot-dragging

    • Where is the report on Wadume’s escape?

    It is unclear why the Presidency has not acted on the report of the panel set up to probe the killing of three police detectives and a civilian by soldiers of the 93 Battalion of the Nigerian Army, Takum, Taraba State. The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) said the soldiers had opened fire on the officers, who were members of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, despite proof that they were on legitimate duty.

    The report is expected to clarify what happened, given the claims and counter-claims that followed the gruesome incident. The exchange of accusations and blame showed the extent of the rivalry and lack of cooperation between the army and the police force. By extension, the incident raised questions about inter-agency cooperation in the country’s security sector.

    The panel instituted by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Abayomi Olonisakin, submitted its report more than three weeks ago, after a one-week extension to allow it to do a thorough job. The CDS was expected to study the report and make recommendations to the President who would then give directives on implementation of the recommendations. Considering the public outrage at the news of the incident, and the intense public interest in developments related to the incident, this is no time for foot-dragging.

    The police operatives had arrested a wanted suspected kidnapper, Hamisu Wadume , in Ibi, Taraba State, on August 6, and were taking him to Jalingo, the state capital, in a bus, when soldiers at a checkpoint killed them. The police had described the trio of Inspector Mark Ediale, Sergeant Usman Danzumi, and Sergeant Dahiru Musa, as one of the “best and most highly trained IRT teams” in the country.

    In a defensive statement, army spokesperson, Sagir Musa, had described the police operatives as “suspected kidnappers who turned out to be an Intelligence Response Team…on a covert assignment from Abuja.” Musa added that the team refused to stop at military checkpoints. “It was in this process that the suspected kidnappers who were obviously armed opened fire on the troops sporadically thus prompting them to return fire,” he stated.

    Curiously, Wadume escaped and went into hiding. When he was re-arrested in Kano State two weeks later, his account suggested that the killings needed to be investigated to get to the bottom of what went wrong. According to Wadume, “On our way out of Ibi, some soldiers opened fire on the vehicle I was being transported in and killed some police officers. The soldiers then took me to their headquarters and cut off the handcuffs from my hands and set me free. I have been hiding since then until now that the police arrested me again.”

    In a shocking confession, Wadume revealed how he carried out his criminal activities in collaboration with soldiers and policemen, including an army captain who allegedly ordered the attack on the IRT operatives, which led to his escape. Wadume’s damning revelations about his collaborators in the army and the police force exposed the existence of a criminal network that ironically involves those expected to foil criminal activities. The disturbing picture shows how insecurity is fuelled by criminals as well as security personnel who can be bought.

    President Muhammadu Buhari‘s intervention was reassuring. Based on Buhari’s order, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) set up a Joint Investigative Panel headed by Rear Admiral Ibikunle Olaiya. The panel’s membership, which included high-ranking officers from the police, army, navy, air force, DSS and the Defence Intelligence Agency, reflected the importance of its task.

    The delay in taking action on the panel’s report doesn’t help matters.  Those found guilty of acts of commission, omission or collusion in the tragic Taraba incident should be severely punished without delay.

  • Endless campaign for OTT regulation

    With the deregulation of the telecoms sector about two decades ago came massive investment by telcos on infrastructure. But the rise of platforms that have neither erected a base station, pay taxes to government nor licensed by the government to provide services challenges the bottomline of telcos, writes LUCAS AJANAKU.

    Gbenga Adebayo, an engineer,  is passionate about driving his point home. Leading telecoms carriers in the country as Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ALTON),  he never fails to push for good health of the industry. Thus, when he spoke at the last Vanguard e-economy forum in Lagos, his position was about the dynamism of the industry and the need for the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to sail with the wind and yet control it.

    His focus was, among others, the need to regulate the activities of Over-The-Top (OTT) players.

    ALTON members include MTN, Globacom, Airtel and 9mobile. Adebayo, in an interview with The Nation, had lamented the high mortality rate of telos. He said the number of operators had dipped by half over the past years because of issues that are not entirely their making.

    What is OTT?

    Online knowledge bank, Wikipedia, explains: “OTT is where a telecoms service provider delivers one or more services across an IP (internet protocol) network. The IP networks is predominantly the public internet, although sometimes telco-run cloud services delivered via a corporation’s existing IP-VPN (virtual private network) from another provider, as opposed to the carrier’s own access network. It embraces a variety of telco services including communications (e.g. voice and messaging), content (e.g. TV and music) and cloud-based (e.g. compute and storage) offerings.”

    It said stimulated by the availability of high performance fixed and mobile broadband networks as well as the rapid adoption of smartphones and tablets, telco-OTT is viewed by a selection of industry analysts and media commentators as the mechanism that mobile network operators need to employ in order to compete with the vast and growing range of OTT services provided by non-telco companies.

    Telco-OTT is a response to the fact that users will have multiple devices (smartphones, laptops or other connected devices such as TVs, games consoles) which almost inevitably will have various different access providers (especially with the growth of public-access Wi-Fi).

    According to Wikipedia, to deliver consistent telco-branded services, at some points at least, they will need to be delivered over third-party access.

    Telcos’ position

    Adebayo said the time had come for the regulator to dump its technology neutral era of licensing, which meant it licences for services and not for technology.

    He said the reality is that technology is driving the market. It is no longer services. There is a need for the regulator to begin to look at issue of regulating technology and not services, he sstressed.

    For example, OTTs, such as YouTube, Facebook, and WhatsApp weren’t part of the core services for which telcos were licensed.

    “Those kind of services have social implication, economic implication, security implication and if they are not licensed, that means they are not regulated and if they are not regulated, there is no limit or scope to what they can do.  And no control over ther services and content they can provide.

    “We are, therefore, saying there is a need for the regulator to begin to look away from the neutrality of technology and technology certification and regulattion than just licensing for service not only because of the social security implication but also because of the economic implication for the operators.

    “Today, more people send WhatsApp messages, they send messages over the social media platforms than they do on the conventional SMS platform.

    “Operators have been licensed to provide voice, SMS and data services for which they are licensed and being charged annual operating levy. OTT don’t have such and there is even loss of revenue to the regulator of the country too because they are not paying for rendering those services.

    “That is why we are saying that our regulator must begin to look away from technology neutrality.”

    Industry’s health

    He said studies and report had shown that in a market as such Nigeria’s, bigger operators survive better than smaller opeartors.

    “When I took up this role as the Chairman of ALTON, there were 35 companies in our group. Today, we are 16, meaning that we have lost half of our members due to problems not of their own making,” he had lamented last year.

    He said the reason for the dip in membership of the group might be forces of competition; market forces; the challenges of investing; it might be access to fund; it might be anti-competitve prices on the part of some of the big players.

    “We just think that studies such as the Study of the Level of Competiton in the Telecoms Industry in Nigeria organised by the NCC should dwell into those areas so that we begin to see the issues leading to the death of telecoms campanies.

    “The challenge we have now with one of the big operator attests to the fact that the industry may not be as healthy as we are thinking and therefore studies such as this are very important first as health check, to see where we are and to see where and how we can further adjust and tune things for a more competitive industry and for a more robust market and for the greater interest of the consumers,” Adebayo said.

    He said while base cost remains, some layers of services are offered to customers at no cost by platforms that do not pay annual operating licence (AOL) fees, have no subscriber data and not subject to lawful interception which telcos are liable to.

    NCC reacts

    Head, Technical Standards and Network Integrity, Bako Wakil, who represented the CEO of NCC, Prof Umar Dambatta, said the regulator is dynamic and had, through the enforcement of co-location, reduced capital expenditure (capex). He also said a framework for active infrastructure sharing was in the works while it is also working on local roaming.

    Way forward

    ALTON urged the NCC to reduce AOL for carriers to shore up revenue loss to OTT.

    Adebayo pushed for cost-based end user call tariff in states across the country. According to him, it is more difficult to do business in some states than the other, stressing that those states with hrash operating environment should pay more.

    He also urged the NCC to mandate the firms to come clean on full disclosure about what the make in the country in terms of revenue.

  • Wharf rats return

    Thirteen years after port concession, the old order appears to be on the horizon with the return of ‘wharf rats’ to the Lagos ports. MUYIWA LUCAS writes

    Last July, members of the Apapa Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) were in happy mood. The Command had intercepted an ambulance loaded with 10 cartons of 225mg Tramadol drugs at the Apapa Port, Lagos, which its Customs Area Controller, Muhammed Abba-Kura, said were worth N59.8 million.

    Besides that the vehicle allegedly belonged to a service provider at the port, more worrisome about the incident was the modus operandi in which the drugs were stolen. “Investigation shows that the Tramadol drugs were pilfered from an undeclared container. Physical examination reveals that 211 cartons of the drugs were missing from the container. The Duty Paid Value (DPV) of the stolen drugs stands at N59.4 million,” Abba-Kura said, adding that the container was neither declared nor positioned for examination; its original seal was broken.

    For stakeholders in the industry, this incident was a confirmation of the return of pilfering of containers and other goods at the port.

    Before the 2006 ports concession, incidents like breaking of containers and other goods by thieves known as “Wharf rats” occurred daily. This was why then, automobiles hardly leave the ports with their music system like CD players, tapes, jack and spare tyres.

    Experts say pilfering and vandalism thrived due to the loose access control mechanism put in place by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), the government agency in charge of port terminals.

    The situation was so bad that litigation became prevalent between the affected managers of the ports and some importers who threatened court action, if the authorities failed to unmask the perpetrators.

    But following the concession programme, it became the responsibility of some private terminals’ operators to ensure security at the ports.

    This came in several forms like the robust security measures deployed by concessionaires to checkmate indiscriminate access into their terminals through strict access control mechanisms. This measure, in particular, gave port users and importers, rest of mind, ensuring their goods remained intact within the port premises.

    Recently, wharf rats reportedly invaded three terminals almost simultaneously, causing huge loses to importers. A clearing agent, who pleaded for anonymity, explained that containers of vehicles were pilfered at Tin Can port terminal.

    Stakeholders were worried about the development. They argued that, perhaps, there was a need for operators to seek the assistance of other security personnel like the Port Police and NPA security to arrest  the situation.

    For instance, the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has  called on the NPA, NCS and port concessionaires to address the trend. The union, however, debunk claims that dockworkers were conniving  with some unscrupulous people to vandalise cargoes at the terminals.

    Its President-General, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, maintained that labour workers at the terminals were well paid and could not be involved in any form of criminal activities at the seaport. Besides, he disclosed that the union had warned dockworkers to desist from physical examination of containers at the seaport, and therefore cannot compromise the union’s integrity.

    Adeyanju called on government agencies at the seaports to investigate the incidents, saying it has sent  negative signals to the international maritime community.

    According to him, there is need for licensed customs agents to manage information sharing  process, saying that pilfering of containers at the terminals can be traced to insiders of the customs, terminals operators and officials of NPA.

    The MWUN leader lamented that dockworkers at the ports had been discharging their duties deligently for over a decade without any cargo vandalism but added that the trend resurface recently.

    He asked: “Dockworkers have been working for years at the ports and nobody has recorded cases of cargo vandalism, so how come the sudden change? We will not accept any accusation from any quarters that dockworkers are part of the people damaging or vandalising containers at the seaports because we are responsible and committed to workers’welfare packages. The clearing agents, canteen boys, Ikelebes all have ideas about information on consignment but the dockworkers have no idea about the vessel, the manifest and what she discharges.’’

    He called on the labour workers to desist from any practice that would tarnish the image of the union, noting: “Anyone who get himself involved in illegal business will cease to be part of the union.”

    Speaking on how to secure containers at the ports, Chairman of the Association of Nigerian Customs License Agents (ANCLA), Tin Can, Chapter, Segun Oduntan, said terminal operators security mechanism was porous.

    According to him, there are standards they are expected to maintain, but they have fallen out of it. There is a standard requirement before you are authorised to manage a terminal because you are the one in charge of people’s goods.

    He added: “Pilfering has happened to me before and since then, what I do is to bring a camera to record all the transactions and make sure that once you start the clearing process, you are the one that will finish it. If somebody starts a job, for instance, if somebody did an examination and he’s not the one taking delivery, by the time the container is tampered with, how will you know?

    “Because after examination, if you use padlock belonging to a particular company to lock my container, I will have the key and by the time I’m taking delivery, I’m supposed to be the one to pass out the container from the gate, I will look at the padlock and if it is not the one I have the key; then, I will raise the alarm before the container leaves the terminal. In that way, the terminal owner can be liable. But once a container has passed out and you discover anything, they will tell you that it is not from the terminal.”

    He continued: “This is the precaution I have to take; it happened to me before and the advice I give to people is that when they do their examination, they should ensure that their boys are the one that start the job and the ones that finish it and make sure they check before your cargo exits the port.”

    Meanwhile, the National President of the National Council of Managing Director Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), Lucky Amiwero, said the terminal operators are supposed to be securing cargoes and not the NPA having taken over the security of the cargo. He said the cargo is not under NPA anymore.

    “All the cargoes are under terminal operators, who are in charge of the containers and make sure they are properly placed and secured. That is their responsibility, not NPA’s. NPA’s responsibility is to secure the traffic coming in and going out of the ports. But when you talk about cargoes, it is the terminal operators’duty and if there is any fault, the terminal operators are to be held responsible because that cargo is still in their custody. They are holding that cargo in trust for the importers who come in to clear them.”

    According to him, if the cargo is being moved from the terminal to off dock terminal, it is the responsibility of that off dock terminal operator to secure it.

    Said he: “When it comes to cargo responsibility, stealing and the rest;  It is all about terminal operators and  not the NPA’s responsibility to take care of cargoes within their ports. NPA has removed its hands from cargo operations.”