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Tag: probe panel

  • Lagos raises probe panel

    What caused the collapse of the Ita Faji Lagos building collapse? This is the puzzle to be unrravelled by a panel constituted by the government to probe the incident.

    Inaugurating the committee yesterday at Alausa, Ikeja, Physical Planning and Urban Development Commissioner Prince Rotimi Ogunleye said 149 distressed buildings would be demolished in the state to curb the collapse of houses.

    Ogunleye said 40 of the structures were demolished last year under the first phase of the exercise. He said 51 buildings would be demolised in the ongoing second phase, adding that 16 had been demolished as at yesterday.

    The demolition, he said, would continue until the state is rid den of distressed buildings, adding that none of the structures is occupied, “so there is no issue of rendering people homeless.”

    Should there be any such issue  the government, he said, had made provisions at Igando and Agbowa to take care of those rendered homeless.

    Ogunleye said his ministry had invited the owner of the collapsed Ita Faji building for interview.

    The ministry, he said, was still waiting for the owner to appear, noting that failure to show up will attract sanctions.

    Ogunleye said the committee, which comprises professionals in the building industry, would proffer solution to building collapse.

    The committee is chaired by a civil and structural engineer, Olatunde Wasiu Olokunola. Other members are:  Fitzgerald Umar, Bayo Owojori, Ayo Adediran and Kunle Awobodu.

    The panel’s terms of reference are: to determine the remote and immediate causes of the collapse of the building; proffer remedial measures to stem recurrence of the incident; examine the operations of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) and make recommendations to ensure effective and efficient service delivery.

    Others are: any other recommendation to be considered for implementation and determine the level of negligence by the owner or developer.

    The commissioner advised builders and developers to ensure they comply with town planning regulations, engage professionals and obtain approvals from the ministry before building, to avoid incidence of building collapse.

     

  • Former NEMA DG maintained 20 bank accounts, probe panel reveals

    Former Director-General (DG) of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Alhaji Mohammed Sani Sidi, allegedly maintained about 20 different accounts in various banks, as a public servant.

    This was part of the revelations at the ongoing public hearing by the House of Representatives committee on emergency and disaster preparedness.

    The lawmakers have been investigating alleged violation of public trust in NEMA, following a motion by Hon. Benjamin Wayo in February 2018.

    Barrister Edward Omaga, while making presentation on behalf of a civil society group, Centre for Social Justice, Equity and Transparency, on Tuesday, told the committee how the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) discovered suspicious deposit totalling $164,000 in the domiciliary account of the former DG NEMA.

    Omaga also said the anti graft agency also found the sum of £58,000 in Sidi’s Pounds Sterling account at Standard Chartered Bank, all within a space of 18 months.

    The international group also submitted that the Directors that were suspended by the current leadership of NEMA under Engr. Mustapha Maihaja, were grossly engraved with corrupt activities and that the EFCC had traced various of accounts to their names.

    “The suspended Director of Finance and Accounts, Akingbola Hakeem Gbolahan also maintained many bank accounts with questionable transactions. His account with Guarantee Trust Bank contained suspicious deposits amounting to N27,650,000. Deposits over £37,000 and $120,000 were found in his domiciliary accounts, and much of these deposits flowed directly from NEMA.

    “The acting Director of Special Duties, Mr. Umesi Emenike diverted funds meant for programs and maintenance of the South-South zone operations of NEMA under his supervision. The funds were paid directly into his accounts, 14 of them have been discovered by the EFCC in various banks, instead of the zonal office account. Mr Emenike was found to have withdrawn these funds freely in cash, by electronic transfers or through ATM machines”, the group alleged.

    The group also told the lawmakers that, the Director of Risk Reduction of NEMA, Mr. Alhassan Nuhu, also maintained five bank accounts “which were apparently used as conduit to receive and distribute money from NEMA coffers. So far, Mr. Nuhu has not been able to give a satisfactory account of his transactions, including NEMA funds moving through him to a company called Dambo Farms Limited”.

    The Pilot incharge of NEMA’s air ambulance, Mamman Ali Ibrahim was also indicted by the group, which accused him of commercializing both NEMA air ambulance and helicopter.

    According to their submission, “the EFCC traced at least N285m to him, out of which only N63m was paid to the Accountant-General’s office and another N11m was paid to NEMA while the balance could not be accounted for”.

    The revelation also touched the Director of Welfare, Kanar Mohammed, whose six bank accounts were allegedly found to be replete with NEMA funds, “including the sum of N214m meant for displaced traditional rulers in the North East but diverted, N 184m paid by him to one Crystal Chambers based in Abuja and N29.5m paid by him to a former Minister, Abdul Bulama”.

    The group questioned the integrity of the House committee for instituting such an investigative hearing without inviting the former DG and the suspended Directors, whom they described as the “real culprits”.

    In their prayers, the group called on the Speaker Yakubu Dogara to forthwith, suspend the investigation, saying if it must continue, then the former DG and suspended Directors must be part of the probe.

    Responding, the acting Chairman of the committee, Hon. Ali Isa, said the ongoing public hearing was not targeted at anybody and that there was no vested interest by the National Assembly.

    He said, the committee was specifically vested with the mandate to investigative the violation of public trust in NEMA for the last one year.

    Isa, however, said if the present DG of NEMA mentions in his presentation, or any other person submits petition that the former DG should be invited, the committee would not hesitate to invoke section 89 of the constitution and invite him or any other person.

    The hearing continues tomorrow

  • Court turns down Fayemi’s application to stop probe panel

    Court turns down Fayemi’s application to stop probe panel

    An Ekiti State High Court has declined the request of former Governor Kayode Fayemi for an interim order stopping the Judicial Commission of Enquiry set up by Governor Ayo Fayose from continuing its sitting pending the hearing of the motion for injunction.

    The commission, chaired by former Acting Chief Judge (CJ), Justice Silas Oyewole, was empanelled by Fayose to probe financial transactions during Fayemi’s tenure between October 16, 2010 and October 15, 2014.

    The court granted Fayemi’s prayer for an accelerated hearing of the matter as it ruled that the substantive suit would be taken together with the defendant’s preliminary objection on the next adjourned date on July 31.

    In his ruling yesterday, Justice Lekan Ogunmoye of High Court 6 held that Fayemi’s request for an interim order could not be granted because the defendants filed a notice of preliminary objection challenging the competence of the court to hear the substantive suit.

    Defendants in the suit are: Fayose, Attorney-General, the House of Assembly, Justice Silas Oyewole (panel chairman), Gbemiga Adaramola (Secretary), Mrs. Bolawale Awe, Idowu Ayenimo, Omodara Vincent, Adesoba Oluremi and Sunday Bamise (panel members).

    Justice Ogunmoye, who said he had taken a judicial notice of the processes before him, held that it had been settled in law what the court should consider before granting such application.

    The judge held that there was a pending notice of preliminary objection by the defendants in which the competence of the court to hear the substantive matter was being challenged.

    Citing many authorities to buttress his position, Justice Ogunmoye held that the issue of a court’s jurisdiction on any matter was paramount and fundamental to a case at hand.

    The judge said this should be determined so that a matter before court is not rendered an exercise in futility.

    He said: “I, therefore, do not believe that I have the power to grant an application for interim injunction pending the determination of the preliminary objection before me.

    “Consequently, I am unable, in the circumstance, to grant the prayer of the applicant. The justice of the matter, however, would dictate that the matter be given accelerated hearing.

    “The granting or refusal of an application is within the discretionary powers of the court. An exercise of discretion must, however, be based on accepted and recognised principles and, of course, relevant law.

    “In all, the application is hereby refused and the matter is adjourned till July 31 for definite hearing.”

    Fayemi’s counsel, Chief Rafiu Balogun, said the court was fair to both parties in granting the defendants’ prayer that the application for interim injunction be refused while granting his client’s prayer for accelerated hearing of the substantive case.

    Defendants’ counsel, Mr. Daniel Alumun, said it was right for the court to consider the preliminary objection, adding that the claimant could not stop a statute from running.

     

     

  • Ekiti: Politics of probe panel

    Ekiti: Politics of probe panel

    Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose and his predecessor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, are locked in a battle of wits over the constitution of a seven-member Judicial Commission of Inquiry to probe the latter’s administration. The battle has now shifted to the court of law. ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA examines the intrigues and the roles of partisan actors in the entire saga.

    THREE years after the June 21, 2014 governorship election was won and lost, the political feud between the incumbent Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State and the last occupant of the seat who is now the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, is assuming new dimension every day.

    Fayemi had conceded victory less than 24 hours after the result was announced, saying he said it was in the overall interest of the state. He said he did it to prevent his supporters and party members from resorting to violence, though he has strong reservations about the poll result. Nevertheless, his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) challenged the election result up to the Supreme Court.

    The relationship between Fayose and Fayemi has never been chummy. Shortly after being sworn into office, Fayose accused Fayemi of plunging the state into debt, an accusation denied by the latter. Thereafter, the governor accused him of plotting with the APC members of the Fourth House of Assembly to impeach him. Earlier this year, Fayose alleged that Fayemi was plotting with a section of the judiciary to remove him from office by revisiting the 2014 governorship poll result, an accusation which the former governor and his party said existed only in the imagination of the governor.

    As the political brickbats continued, the Fifth House of Assembly, which is made up of only Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members, alleged that N852 million Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) funds were diverted during the Fayemi administration and in pursuant of its oversight functions extended an invitation to the former governor, to come and explain what happened to the money. The lawmakers alleged that the state could no longer access funds from the UBEC, because the said N852 million could not be properly accounted for. Besides, the assemblymen alleged discrepancies and irregularities in some contracts awarded during the tenure of the former governor.

    In response, Fayemi wrote a letter to the legislators, saying he could not honour their summons, because of pressing official engagements as federal minister. He said all the information needed by the assembly on the contentious UBEC funds and contracts awarded during his tenure are documented in his official handover note to Fayose. The explanation was not satisfactory to the legislators and they issued a warrant of arrest to compel his appearance, after extending two further invitations and not achieving any positive result.

    Fayemi had filed two lawsuits in relation to the allegations of diversion of SUBEB funds. The first one was a libel suit against Fayose’s Special Assistant on Public Communication and New Media, Mr. Lere Olayinka, and the Chairman of the assembly Committee on Information, Samuel Omotoso, over alleged libelous comments on a television programme.  The second suit was filed against the House of Assembly at a Federal High Court, Ado Ekiti, to nullify the warrant of arrest and any further action the lawmakers might take.

    The assembly at its plenary on May 11 passed a resolution empowering Fayose to set up either an Administrative Panel of Inquiry or a Judicial Commission of Inquiry to investigate the alleged diversion of funds and contracts awarded when Fayemi was in power between 2010 and 2012. The lawmakers hinged their action on the provisions of Section 128 (2b) and Section 129 of the 1999 Constitution. They said the resort to a Panel of Inquiry was in response to Fayemi’s alleged refusal to honour the three summons extended to him and the failure of the  Inspector General of Police  to execute a warrant of arrest issued against him.

    On May 22, Fayose set up a seven-member Judicial Commission of Inquiry in line with the assembly’s resolution. A former acting Chief Judge, Justice Silas Bamidele Oyewole, was named as the chairman. Other members of the panel are Gbemiga Adaramola (Secretary), Mrs. Bolanle Awe, Idowu Ayenimo, Vincent Omodara, Blessing Oladele, Oluremi Adesoba and S.B.J. Bamise (to act as counsel to the panel).

    Adaramola is the state Director of Public Prosecution (DPP); Awe is the Secretary of the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC); Ayenimo is a Chief Magistrate in the State Judiciary; Omodara is an Executive Secretary in the State Civil Service; Oladele, a labour leader, is former Chairman of Joint Negotiating Council (JNC); while Bamise is a state counsel at the Ministry of Justice.

    The panel has six terms of reference and has three months to conclude its sitting and make recommendations to the government. Terms of reference are: to ascertain how much Ekiti State Government received as statutory allocations during the period under review and how same were disbursed; to look into the financial transactions of Ekiti State between 2010 and 2014; to ascertain the amount received on behalf of the State from UBEC; to investigate the allegations of fraud/loss of funds, including the diversion and conversion of the UBEC funds; to ascertain the amount that the Ekiti State Government took as loans during the period under review and how they were utilized; including all other issues relating to the finances of the government within the period under review and to make appropriate recommendations to the Ekiti State Government.

    Following the latest move, Fayemi has gone to court again,  seeking an injunction to restrain Fayose, the state Attorney General and members of the commission from taking any step, until the two cases initiated against the planned probe are resolved.

    In the suit, which was filed before an Ekiti State High Court by his counsel, Rafiu Balogun, Fayemi who also joined the State House of Assembly and the Speaker, averred that the chairman of the panel and other members are cronies of Fayose who cannot be trusted to be fair, unbiased and impartial in the assignment given to them.

    Fayemi said “the panel members have been appointed to act a script already prepared by their appointing authority, as touted by two aides of Fayose, Lere Olayinka and Samuel Omotoso, before the constitution of the panel”. The minister insisted that the panel was not properly constituted as the chairman, secretary and other members of the commission cannot be apolitical, neutral or unbiased because of their affinity with the governor of Ekiti state, “which therefore put the independence and impartiality of the panel into serious distrust”.

    Fayemi  is also seeking a declaration that the motion and subsequent resolution of Ekiti State House of Assembly, directing the governor (the first defendant) to set up a Judicial Commission of Inquiry to investigate or probe his administration  are unlawful, illegal and ought to be declared null and void, in view of the fact the resolution was passed during the pendency of a case involving him and the Ekiti State House of Assembly and its speaker, which touched on the legality of the summons and powers of the Assembly to conduct any investigation or direct any other person or body to do so without strict compliance with the tenets of the 1999 constitution.

    He averred that the assembly acted in flagrant contravention of the principle of separation of powers and had committed a fundamental breach of its Standing Order and doctrine of subjudice by revisiting the issue of investigation of  his administration  and passing a resolution for the setting up of a judicial panel with terms and reference that would prejudice the outcome of the case between him and the House of Assembly and its speaker.

    Fayemi is also seeking a declaration that the Assembly cannot exercise its power under Section 128 of the 1999 Constitution, to direct the governor to set up the panel to investigate his administration while the House had earlier conducted its investigation and submitted its report to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) urging the anti- graft  body to further conduct discreet investigation and prosecute him and some officials of his administration.

    Other declarations being sought by Fayemi are: “That the setting up of the panel after the conclusion of its investigation by the House of Assembly to allegations of financial malpractices and the submission of same to the EFCC would amount to oppression, double jeopardy and a clear abuse of legislative power.

    “A declaration that the House of Assembly cannot exercise its constitutional right to direct or cause the Governor of Ekiti State to constitute a Judicial Commission of Inquiry to investigate the plaintiff when the conditions precedent for the exercise of such powers, as enshrined in the constitution, have not been  fulfilled by the Assembly.”

    In addition, Fayemi is also seeking an order of the court, to nullify the resolution of the Ekiti State House of Assembly of May 10, directing the governor to constitute the panel of inquiry. He is also urging the court to grant an order to dissolve the Commission of Inquiry constituted and inaugurated by the governor, acting on the resolution of the state House of assembly, as well as an award of N500 million as general damages to be paid by the first, third and fourth respondents (i.e. the governor, Ekiti State House of Assembly and the Speaker) for the embarrassment, the odium and the public ridicule the purported resolution of the House have caused him.

    The former governor is also seeking a perpetual injunction to restrain the House of Assembly from passing similar resolution and the governor from constituting another Judicial Commission of Inquiry or Administrative Panel, because the issues relating to the finances of the his administration have been submitted before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and are pending before two courts of competent jurisdiction for adjudication.

    In the supporting affidavit he personally deposed to, Fayemi said the resolution of the House summoning him to appear before it and the subsequent one that led to the issuing of a bench warrant of arrest against him were done in bad faith. He said: “It was a calculated attempt to embarrass me and undermine the effect of my libel suit pending before the Federal Capital territory High Court in Abuja.”

    Some observers believe that Fayose is using the template of his Rivers State counterpart, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, who empanelled a similar Judicial Commission of Inquiry to probe his immediate predecessor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi on how state funds were managed and on contracts awarded during the latter’s eight-year rule. With his constant fingering of Fayemi as being the arrowhead of a plot to remove him from office, it is believed that Fayose resorted to the panel to whip his predecessor into line and as a public affairs analyst puts it “to politically liquidate him”.

    Another observer is also of the view that there is no way Fayemi can get justice from the panel. He said: “The ex-governor has done the right thing by going to court before the panel commences its sitting, unlike Amaechi who did not take any legal action before Rivers panel commenced work. It’s going to be an interesting development and we will see how events unfold.”

    This is the second time an incumbent administration in Ekiti State would set up an inquiry to probe the preceding government. In January 2007, the emergency administration of former Administrator, Brig.-Gen. Adetunji Idowu Olurin (rtd), raised a seven-man panel to investigate the first administration of Fayose. The panel, which had Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba (now of the Court of Appeal), was set up to investigate violence, destruction of property human rights abuses, victimisation and summary dismissal of some public servants from office that happened during Fayose’s first tenure sat for about three months before turning in its report. But, the subsequent administration did not implement the recommendations of the Lawal panel.

    The people of Ekiti are watching the unfolding drama being generated by the politics of the probe panel with bated breath. Will it stand the test of time? Will the panel still go ahead with the cases already instituted? Does the probe have any connection with Fayemi’s future political ambition? These questions will be answered in the next few weeks.

     

  • Senate raises probe panel on Southern Kaduna killings

    Senate raises probe panel on Southern Kaduna killings

    The Senate yesterday resolved to constitute an ad hoc committee to investigate the Southern Kaduna crisis.
    The resolution followed a motion by Senator Danjuma La’ah titled: “The recent killings in Southern Kaduna”.
    Senate said the investigation would cover other parts of the country with similar experiences.
    Senator La’ah noted that since 2011, various communities in Southern Kaduna had been consistently attacked by herdsmen, resulting in deaths, injuries, loss of property and displacement of communities.
    According to the lawmaker, on December 23, and “even as we speak, communities of Ambam, Gaska, Dangoma, Tsonje, Pasankori, Gidan Waya and Farin Gada of Jama’a and Kaura Local Government Areas have been under serious attack by the herdsmen, resulting in deaths, injuries, and wanton destruction of property worth billions of naira”.
    La’ah noted that the killings amounted to violations of the right to life, security of human persons, the respect of dignity inherent in human beings and right to property, not only guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution, as amended, but also in the African Charter on human and people’s right and the international convention on Civil and Political Right, of which Nigeria is a party.
    He noted that “this deliberate systematic killing demands the awakening of Nigerians to avoid a repeat of what happened in Darfur, Sudan.”
    La’ah prayed the Senate to observe a minute silence for the repose of the souls of the deceased, and called on the Federal Government to take measures to secure the right to life, to security and dignity of human persons, and right to property of citizens of Southern Kaduna, and to prevent further attacks on the region.
    He also urged the Federal Government to investigate the circumstances surrounding the killings and to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice, as well as provide respite to victims.
    The lawmaker also prayed the Senate to urge the Federal Government to rebuild the ravaged city of Southern Kaduna; and to establish a Joint Security Patrol of Military, Police, Civil Defence and Civilian JTF for constant patrols and surveillance of affected areas.
    Senate President Bukola Saraki thanked La’ah for bringing the motion. He noted that it was the responsibility of the Senate to work to ensure peace and stability in the country.

  • Governor sets up probe panel

    Governor sets up probe panel

    Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, yesterday commiserated with the families of victims of collapsed building at Reigners’ Bible Church in Uyo. The governor, who escaped death at the church narrowly, while more than 60 persons at Press time were reported death, has commiserated with the families of the victims even as he sets up probe panel to investigate the tragedy.
    A statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Ekerete Udoh the governor has directed that the full resources of the state government be made available for the treatment of those who were injured in the unfortunate incident, adding that ”A high-powered panel of enquiry is being constituted to ascertain the immediate and remote factors leading to the collapse of the church building with a view to forestall the reoccurrence of any such incident and bring to book any persons found to have compromised professional standards in the construction of the building. ”

  • Queens College: FG receives report of probe panel

    Queens College: FG receives report of probe panel

    The Federal Government said Monday that it has received the report of a probe panel set up to investigate alleged sexual molestation of a Junior Secondary Two (JSII) pupil at Queens College, Yaba, Mainland, Lagos.

    The Government had last month constituted a five-man panel to probe the sexual molestation allegation against a teacher, Mr Olaseni Oshifala.

    The panel members were not named.

    Minister of State for Education, Anthony Anwukah, who confirmed the receipt of the report in an interview to reporters in Abuja on Monday, added that the ministry would look into it and take necessary action.

    Prof. Anwukah said: “I set up a committee as soon as that thing came up and the committee has been working and they have met their time frame. This is the report. The ministry will now look at the report and in the next couple of days be able take a final action on it.

    “The report by the committee I set was given to me this morning.”

    Meanwhile, Prof. Anwukah has said that government will review the current education system in the country to embrace technical education.

    He explained that it was planning to include technical education and skill acquisition in the curriculum of primary and secondary schools.

    The minister noted that the current curriculum had not served Nigeria well.

    Prof. Anwuka said: “In fact there is going to be a new thrust of crafts; technical education, and skills acquisition will start taking a lion share in the primary and secondary curriculum. Entrepreneurship education is going to be the focus.

    “We have had enough of the academic subjects. We have seen how far they have carried us. Why must people from our neighbouring countries come here to do our POP, tiling?

    “So we must have to capture these skills back through what we do in our primary, secondary and in our polytechnics. That is it. The survival skills, we have thrown them away. They are no longer parts of our school system. We must go back to it.

    “The last batch of good artisans we had are the ones who worked with PwD. They are disappearing. Those skills must be thought in our school system.”

    The minister noted that Nigeria must work to reposition its education to compete with other developed countries by improving on the qualities of teachers it produces.

    According to him, the country must have quality teachers in its school systems who are well trained and ready to teach.

    “We are not doing badly but we are not there yet where the developed nations are. A few problems may be responsible for our not been at par with the rest of the world. Understanding, yes they have developed structures that have enabled them move on.

    “We are evolving a stable system. We are not yet evolved a stable system. For instance, our teacher education is not yet where it should be and I have been singing it as a song since I accepted this responsibility that we must have quality teachers in our school system.

    “We must have teachers who are trained to be teachers. The education system in terms of teachers is almost populated by more than 50 per cent of people who are not trained to be teachers through to teach in our schools. You must develop the art of teaching. You must be trained with the appropriate skills in teaching in other to become a teacher in our system and this runs from our primary school to the university system,” he added.

     

  • Shi’ites shun probe panel

    Shi’ites shun probe panel

    •Hearing begins in Kaduna

    Members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), otherwise called Shi’ites, yesterday shunned the Judicial Commission of Enquiry probing last December’s clash between a detachment of the Army and members of the movement in Zaria.

    The commission yesterday began hearing in Kaduna.

    At the inaugural sitting, Army officers, including the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Division, Maj.- Gen. Adeniyi Oyebade, were present.

    Shi’ites’ lawyers, who were not at the sitting, reportedly wrote the commission, informing it of their inability to submit a memorandum because of lack of access to the leader of the movement, Sheik Ibraheem Zakzaky, whose directive they needed.

    Addressing the sitting, the commission Chairman, Justice Muhammed Lawal Garba, said: “This sitting has to be adjourned till Wednesday because of the absence of one party involved in the enquiry.

    “Counsel to the commission, Yusuf Ali (SAN), has been asked to find out the whereabouts of the leader of the Shiites and report to the commission.

    “It is required by law for every party in the clash to be present at sittings.”

    The group had faulted the 13-man panel, saying some of its members were against it.

    Addressing reporters after the adjournment, counsel to the commission, Ali promised to find out the whereabouts of the Shi’ite’s leader and write the authority to enable IMN lawyers have access to him.

    He said about 105 memoranda were received by the commission.

     

  • Election deaths: Amaechi to raise probe panel

    Election deaths: Amaechi to raise probe panel

    •PDP thugs kill APC chieftain, his four children in Rivers
    •Four others also shot dead •Curfew imposed on Omoku

    The Rivers State Government is to set up a Judicial Commission of Enquiry to probe the spate of violent deaths in the state in the build-up to the March 28 presidential election.

    Governor Rotimi Amaechi told All Progressives Congress (APC) supporters at a victory rally in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state that the deaths would be avenged by the law in line with his administration’s resolve to protect lives and property.

    Nine people, including a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and three of his sons, have been confirmed killed in the latest political violence in the state

    “Anybody found guilty will go to jail. I didn’t set up administrative inquiry. I set up judicial commission of enquiry. It means that the man sitting there is sitting as a judge. He is not sitting as chairman, he is sitting as a judge, if you are found guilty, straight to jail,” he said.

    Initial reports said seven people died only for the Police to put the death toll at nine.

    Amaechi bemoaned what  he called police brutality on innocent voters in the state during the presidential election, but was optimistic that the situation would improve substantially in the April 11 Governorship/House of Assembly polls following victory at the polls of General Muhammadu Buhari in the country’s March 28 Presidential Election.

    He said: “This time, election will be peaceful, free and fair. Last time, we saw policemen thumb printing for them. This time they will not. If they do that, take their name, take their number, and record them for us.

    The Director General of the Buhari/Osinbajo Presidential Campaign Organisation reviewed his political sojourn and declared that he could not have made a better choice in dumping the PDP for the APC.

    He said: “People blamed me for leaving PDP to APC and I said they are wrong. They are wrong because God has directed that we should move to APC and because God said it and I have left them.

    “I made it clear that God has said we would win Saturday’s (March 28) election and I said we would be fighting with police and army, but God would be behind us and if God is behind us, we would win, didn’t we win?

    “They went to churches to preach. They went to incite our people in churches and said that Gen. Buhari is a Muslim, he will Islamise Nigeria, and I said I did not see that. I said to them I am a Christian, I am a Catholic, nobody can Islamise me.  This afternoon, I observed the Catholic ceremonies.  On Sunday, I will go to church to pray to my God and thank Him for bringing victory to us.”

    He reiterated that president-elect Gen. Buhari would not Islamise Nigeria. “I made it clear that God has said we would win Saturday’s election and I said we would be fighting with police and army but God would be behind us and if God is behind us, we would win, didn’t we win?”

    He urged the people to be peaceful in the forthcoming governorship election in the state and vote for the APC governorship candidate.

    “We would go out and bring in the votes. My phone will be open on that day, if you are bringing in the votes and any policeman harasses you, don’t fight back. Just give me the person’s name and number.

    “I say they have the police, they have the army and I told you they don’t have God. Didn’t I tell you that? Have you seen God’s work now?” he asked.

    Yesterday, the police confirmed that an APC   leader, Chief Christopher Adube, his four children and driver were  killed by  gunmen suspected to be political thugs at Obor and  Obrikom in Omoku Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government area (ONELGA) of the  state.

    The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Ahmad K. Mohammad, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), confirmed this via a text message yesterday.

    Killed with Adube in his compound were  Joy, Lucky, John, Samuel  (his children), his driver named as Iyke Ogarabe and two others.

    One other person was also reportedly killed at the APC party secretariat in the area.

    Mohammad said the hoodlums struck at about 7:30 pm on Friday, shooting sporadically.

    Several other people were wounded.

    The police said the hoodlums also stormed the residence of the APC member representing ONELGA constituency in the state House of Assembly, Vincent Ogbuagu.

    They killed his gateman and torched the house.

    Ogbuagu is seeking re-election into the assembly.

    The Police said a manhunt for the killers has begun and appealed for useful information that could lead to their arrests.

    Members of the APC in the state and a son of the murdered party chieftain, Chamberlane Adube, condemned the killing and called for the immediate arrest of the killers and their sponsors.

    He said his father died because of his support for APC and its governorship candidate Dakuku Peterside.

    He said: “My father died for supporting APC. He was our bread winner, there is nothing again left for us to survive on. I call for justice on the killing of my father, brothers, sister, uncle and our driver. Let the police not politicize this killing, it is one too many.”

    The ONELGA council chairman, Austin Ahiamadu and the state Commissioner for Information and Communication, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, also condemned the killings which they described as politically motivated.

    Ahiamadu said: “This killing was politically motivated. Why should nine people die at a go without the police making any arrest?

    “All the killings in ONELGA have all been against the APC.I use this opportunity to call on the police in the state ahead of the Saturday’s election to sit up and do their job professionally to avoid further violence.”

    He announced the imposition of dusk to done curfew in the LGA (ONELGA), (between 6pm and 7am), to forestall a breakdown of law and order.

    Semenitari said: “All the people killed in the Friday attack at Omoku are APC members. We have consistently complained that in Omoku we are in a situation where we are at war. People are being killed.

    “This is not the first time, this is clearly unacceptable. We have reported to the security agencies.

    “It is clear to us that the DPO in Omoku should be picked up.

    “We are asking that the perpetrators of this act should be apprehended and brought to book, together with their sponsors.”

    Residents quoted Adube’s killers as saying, after the attack, that they had warned him to renounce his membership of the APC to no avail.

    Amaechi and the APC governorship candidate in the April 11 elections, Dakuku Peterside had, at different times, raised the alarm about planned attacks on their supporters by the PDP.

    Peterside in a petition to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), last month said no fewer than 30 APC members had been killed in the state.

    The police disputed his claim.