The Nation Newspaper

Tag: property

  • Residents, family clash over possession of property

    Fighting broke out at Ilamose in Ejigbo Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of Lagos State over the execution of a court judgment.
    Some residents clashed with members of the Osuolale family, who attempted to demolish their houses in obedience to the order.
    The family arrived in the community last Saturday with a bulldozer to take possession of a land and the buildings on it.
    It said it was executing the judgment of Justice C.O. Williams of the Lagos High Court in suit ID/1752/89ANDCA/L669/2007, which declared it the owner of the property covered by survey plan CD/728/77. The residents started protesting when the bulldozer tried to pull down some houses on Ilamose Road, close to Destiny Filling Station. They claimed that there was a subsisting case on the matter before the same judge.
    The protesters claimed that the judge had not given an order directing the family to take possession of the land.
    They phoned the member representing Oshodi -Isolo Constituency 2 at the Lagos State House of Assembly, Jude Idimogu, but before his arrival the bulldozer had destroyed the fence and gates of two houses.
    When he arrived, Idimogu pleaded with the family to suspend the demolition. He phoned the family’s head Alhaji Hakeem Osuolale and persuaded him to call off the demolition.
    Idimogu told reporters that he would meet with Osuolale to seek ways of resolving the matter.
    He said it would be “heartbreaking” if the demolition took place under his tenure as the constituency’s representative.
    “I want to be personally involved so that nobody will be cheated in the whole process. We have to sit at a roundtable to resolve the issues and that is why I called Alhaji myself. I believe destruction of property is not the best solution, let there be a peaceful resolution.  If the claim of Alhaji is correct, he has to be compensated because all I want is peace in the community”, Idimogu said.
    The family’s counsel, Patrick Arasanya, told reporters that his client had concluded plans with the Deputy Sheriff of the Lagos High Court to execute the judgment.
    Arasanya said his client had exhausted all peaceful means of getting the residents to comply with the judgment.
    He said the residents’ appeal at the appellate court had been thrown out.
    Arasanya said: “The Appeal Court judgment was given in 2011 and till date, nothing has been served on us from the Supreme Court as to whether they protested the appellate court’s ruling. The law says an appeal must be entered three months after judgment.”
    He noted that a peaceful negotiation and settlement was initiated by the traditional ruler of Ejigbo land Oba Moroof Ojoola and some other leaders of the town including a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
    A public notice, Arasanya added, was also served on aggrieved residents, notifying them of the expiration date of the memorandum of understanding and a plan to execute the judgment.

  • Assemblies of God to recover property after supreme court victory

    With the relief of a Supreme Court judgement, the Assemblies of God Nigeria is now pushing to recover every property occupied by members of the church loyal to former leader Rev Paul Emeka who has lost his case at the apex court.

    After a protracted legal tussle over the leadership of the church between Rev Chidi Okoroafor and Emeka, the Supreme Court last week delivered judgement in favour of Okoroafor as the authentic General Superintendent of the church.

    The court as well affirmed the earlier suspension of Emeka as the General Superintendent of the Church by the committee.

    Addressing journalists at the International Conference Centre, Assemblies of God Nigeria Evangel Camp Okpoto, Ebonyi State, Rev.  Okoroafor said the church would not watch while illegal occupants mess up its structures.

    Present at the briefing were all the 19 members of the church’s General Executive Committee.

    Among them were the Assistant General Superintendent, Rev. Pastor Ejikeme Ejim, General Secretary, Rev. Godwin Amaowoh, and General Treasurer, Rev. Vincent Alaje, as well as all the zonal heads of the church across the country.

    Okoroafor called on the pastors and the members who stood with Emeka while the matter was on to return with genuine repentance before it is late.

    His speech read: “Blessed be the God of the founding fathers of the Assemblies of God Nigeria. He is a prayer answering God; He is a great God. He has demonstrated that He is the owner of the church. He has shown himself great and wonderful.ý

    “In the first place, Assemblies of God Nigeria by biblical standards and our Constitution should not have gone to court to settle an internal matter. However, ethics demands that when one takes you to court you must necessarily answer to show your regards for this quintessential arm of government, the judiciary. This is exactly what happened.

    “When our former leader, Rev. Paul Emeka, unfortunately took the church to court instead of resorting to our internal administrative set up capable of resolving any issues, the church responded accordingly.

    “As our legal men were still on preliminary objections, His Lordship, the judge of the court of first instance (Enugu High Court) delivered a surprise judgement granting him his prayers. We appealed the judgement to the Enugu division of the Federal Court of Appeal. We resorted to intensive prayers to the God of our founding fathers, who used the Court of Appeal in a unanimous judgement to set aside the judgement of the High Court and upheld the decision of the General Committee of the Church of 6th March, 2014. Rev. Emeka was not satisfied with the judgement of the Court of Appeal and he appealed the judgement to the apex court (Supreme Court) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The same God of our past victory did it again and on Friday February 24th, the Supreme Court sitting in Abuja dismissed his appeal and upheld the judgement of the Appeal Court which had upheld the decision of the church which dismissed her former General Superintendent, Rev Dr Paul Emeka.

    “We are aware that few of our pastors and members unfortunately decided to pitch their tent with an individual instead of the church. Some may have been deceived into such costly mistake. Some even claimed to remain neutral awaiting the Supreme Court judgement. Today, on behalf of the leadership of Assemblies of God Nigeria, we extend a generous olive branch to every genuine repentant fellow. The Executive Committee has set up a platform for the returnees to access. We are very open. It is not about victors or losers. It’s about Assemblies of God Nigeria and the mission God handed over to us which must be accomplished without further distractions.

    “Be that as it may, the Assemblies of God Nigeria is an incorporated church. Anyone that would not align with AG Nigeria should vacate Assemblies of God premises and property immediately.

    “Similarly, the general public, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), the three tiers of government and all banks, are hereby notified that:

    1. Assemblies of God Nigeria is not divided.
    2. She has only elected Executive Committee.
    3. One leadership comprising one General Superintendent, Rev. Chidi Okoroafor, an Assistant General Superintendent, Rev Pastor Ejikeme Ejim, a General Secretary, Rev. Dr Godwin Amaowoh and a General Treasurer, Rev. Vincent Alaje.

    “We appreciate the world Assemblies of God Fellowship (AGF), African Assemblies of God Alliance (AAGA), our legal team, various pastors and members from all the units of Assemblies of God Nigeria for their efforts, concerns and prayers. We appreciate some denominational leaders who stood by the church. We further express our confidence on the Nigerian judiciary under the influence of the fear of God.

    God bless you.”

    Meanwhile, the secretariat of the church has been taken over by armed policemen pending the interpretation of the judgment by the Enugu State Commissioner of Police.

  • 16 Ibru siblings in property, paternity battle

    16 Ibru siblings in property, paternity battle

    Five months after the death of frontline businessman Chief Olorogun Michael Ibru, 16 of his children are in a legal tussle over their paternity and his multi-billion naira assets.

    One of his sons, Oboden Ibru, has approached the Igbosere High Court, Lagos, for a declaration, among others, that he and his 15 other siblings are entitled to the estate of their father.

    In a counter-claim, one of the late Chief Ibru’s daughters, Janet Ibru, urged the court to declare that only persons whose paternity are confirmed by a diagnostics centre in the United States are entitled to an equal share of the estate.

    Oboden’s suit was filed February 8 by Chief Bolaji Ayorinde (SAN) but has not been assigned to a Judge.

    The defendants are Oskar Ibru, Peter Ibru, Emmanuel Ibru, Gloria Ibru, Elaine Ibru-Mukoro, Elvina Ibru, Mamemo Ibru, Janet Ibru, Obaro Ibru, Vivi Ibru-Stankov, Edesiri Ibru, Christiana Ibru, Jero Ibru, Vikwesiri Ibru, Gabriel Ibru and the Probate Registrar, High Court of Lagos State.

    The claimant is seeking an order declaring that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) of January 2, 2001 is valid as to the distribution by way of gift of the late Ibru’s assets to both “Ovuone” and “Ivetu”.

    He asked the court to declare that the properties listed in the MOU belong in their entirety to “Ovuone” being gifted jointly and several times to “Ovuone” in the lifetime of the late Chief Ibru.

    Such properties include No. 1, Marine Road, Apapa, Lagos; 47, Marine Road, Apapa; 49, Marine Road, Apapa; 52, Marine Road, Apapa; 5,7,9 Emotan Road, Apapa; 3,5,7 Ladipo Oluwole, Apapa; Daska House; Blomfield Court; 33, Michael Ibru Boulevard; 6, Louis Solomon Close, Victoria Island, Lagos and 5/7, Queens Barracks Road, Lagos.

    Others are No. 20, Queens Drive, Ikoyi, Lagos; 6, Kensington Park Gardens, London; Starcross Farm; Hillcrest Apartment; Zabadne Plot, Abuja; Maitama Plots, Abuja; Maroko Plots, Lagos; 7, Randle Close, Apapa, Lagos; all shares in Oceanic Bank; Oteri Holdings Limited’s shares in Minet Nigeria Limited; Oteri’s shares in Ibachem and the portion of Ibafon land occupied by Ibachem and Ovwian land.

    The claimant is also seeking a declaration that the judgment delivered by Justice John Tsoho of the Federal High Court, Lagos on April 17, 2014 remains valid and subsisting, having not been set aside by any court of competent jurisdiction.

    Oboden also asked for an order appointing himself, seventh defendant, Christiana, first defendant, Oskar and eighth defendant, Jero, as administrators of the Ibru estate and an order directing them to apply to the 16th defendant for the grant of letters of administration for the estate.

    An order of the court appointing Messrs. PricewaterhouseCoopers Limited to conduct a forensic audit of the shareholdings and assets, whether real or personal, belonging to the estate of the late Ibru in Oteri Holdings and any other company in Nigeria or anywhere such may be located, discovered or found in the world and submit such report to the Registrar of the court within 90 days of the order and the cost of such exercise be paid by the administrators so appointed herein.

    The claimant is seeking an order directing the administrators to divide the assets into 16 equal shares and that same be given to all the 16 surviving children of the late Ibru.

    But in a counter-claim, eighth defendant Janet urged the court to declare that all matters pertaining to the estate be adjudicated in Nigeria as well as a declaration that she is entitled to a refund of all expenses, including the $48,000 incurred by her in defending the law suits of the second defendant.

    Furthermore, she is seeking an order of the court directing the administrators of the estate of the late Ibru to refund to her, the expenses incurred in taking care of the late Ibru during the final year of his life.

  • Firm plans London property roadshow

    To showcase the potential in  real estate business in Lagos State, VFN Projects plans to stage a property roadshow, London4Lagos 2017,     in London, United Kingdom (UK) between April 27 and 29.

    The event tagged: “The property road show for Nigerians in Diasporas” will bring proven Lagos-based developers in contact with over 3,000+ real estate investors in the United Kingdom. There is a publicity in the UK being targeted at able Nigerians.

    According to a statement by the director, VFN Projects, Mr Abayomi Oni-Williams, in 2015, Nigerians in diaspora remitted the sum of $21 billion back home. Therefore, he said, Lagos, as the biggest commercial hub in the country, must be put in a vantage position to receive a higher percentage of these remittances.

    This, he said, can be accomplished through the real estate sector which at this point is slowing down drastically due to current macro-economic environment caused gendered by the economic recession.

    “It is also our belief that there is the need to further open up and bring closer the Lagos real estate sector to Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) for active participation. Interested property developers will be brought closer to potential buyers and vice versa, with the state government at the centre to give confidence to investors,” he said.

    Williams said the value of naira has plummeted in the past one year such that the purchasing powers of the Diasporas have risen astronomically. This means that Nigerians living in the UK, US, Canada, Europe and other places, can now buy properties in Nigeria with about one-third of what they needed only a few years ago.

    He added that Nigerians in the Diasporas have suddenly become the target because of the value of their adopted home currency, which has gained more value when compared to the naira because of its devaluation. For instance, with about £16,000, a Nigerian living in UK can conveniently buy up a N10 million flat in Lagos, which would not buy him a flat in the European country.

    “The London4Lagos 2017 property roadshow is conceived to leverage on this opportunity in a formal and a structured way and with emphasis on Lagos State as the best destination for real estate investment in the country,” he said.

  • N.96b property gutted by fire

    The Director, Anambra State Fire Service, Mr. Benedict Ofoma, has said property worth N966million was gutted by fire last year.

    He told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Awka that property worth N7billion was saved during the period.

    “The establishment received 117 distress calls from factories and residential buildings. Nobody died,’’ Ofoma said.

    He said inadequate water supply, shortage of personnel and vehicles hampered operation.

    According to him, the service operates with eight Mercedes trucks.

    Ofoma said the service had 100 personnel, adding that service delivery would require about 400 personnel.

    “Human resource is our major problem. We’ve demanded more 200 hands for efficient service delivery,’’ he said.

    The director hailed the government for its support and appealed for more.

  • Adebule assures Lagosians of security of lives and property

    Adebule assures Lagosians of security of lives and property

    Lagos State Deputy Governor Dr Idiat Oluranti Adebule has reassured Lagosians that the security of lives and property remain the top priority of the state government.
    Mrs Adebule said Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has promised more support to the law enforcement agencies to ensure that they perform well in their assigned duties.
    The government, she said, will continue to make life more meaningful to Lagosians, urging them to continue to support the government in its quest to make Lagos state one of the most safe and economically viable city states in Africa.
    Adebule who stated this in her new year message to Lagosians noted that the modest achievement of the present administration in 2016 can be traced to the tremendous support and understanding it enjoyed from the residents, whom she acknowledged understood the enormity of the challenges facing the state and the systemic strategic approach that the Ambode-led administration adopted in tackling some of the problems.
    The deputy governor who superintends over the Ministry of Education, assured stakeholders in the sector, parents, students, teachers and investors, that more would be done to ensure that quality education is not only made available but also impacted in the lives of the younger generation to guarantee a better tomorrow for all.
    “We will do more in the education sector and make the future of our state great and secure by investing in our youths through qualitative education that will bring them at par with their counterparts in any other parts of the world. We will also give priority attention to the welfare and good condition of service to the teachers to enable them deliver on their mandate to impact knowledge. We will also ensure that the schools’ curriculum is in tandem with the modern day reality of effective teaching and learning,” she said.
    Mrs Adebule while admonishing parents to always play their roles by ensuring that the education and well being of their children remains their top priority in the New Year, assured that the state government will always play its parts by making facilities and conducive environment available from time to time.
    She added that one of the ways that parents can appreciate government’s huge investment in education is by ensuring that their children are in schools and provide them with small basic needs that will aid their learning.

  • Two remanded for fraudulent sale of property

    Members of a syndicate which specialise in fraudulent sale of property in Ekiti State have been charged to court by the police.

    They were arraigned before Chief Magistrate R. A. Adegboye of an Ekiti State Chief Magistrate’s Court  in Ado-Ekiti.

    The suspects, Pastor Akintoye Joseph, Ogundipe Sunday and others at large  are facing a three-count charge bordering on conspiracy, false pretence and conduct likely to breach public peace.

    According to the police, the suspects  allegedly conspired to sell a “building at  1, Ijigbo Street, Mugbagba , Ado Ekiti, property of the late Idris Omole for  N7million, without the consent of the family”.

    They pleaded not guilty to the offences.

    The accused were granted bail of N250,000 and two sureties.

    The judge ordered them to be remanded in prison, until they are able to meet their bail conditions.

    The case has been adjourned till January 11, next year.

  • Taxing Abuja property owners

    Nigerian political office holders and their fronts with access to free state funds have come to be associated with irrational acquisition of properties they hardly inhabit, in and outside the country. “A large number of mansions in the most exclusive areas of London are owned by Nigerians”, the bemused British media once declared. As if to corroborate this claim, Kolapo Olapoju in a recent write up claimed ‘Google Earth virtual tour revealed that two Nigerians, James Ibori and Cecelia Ibru were among the world’s ‘six most notorious for acquiring valuable properties with stolen funds and corrupt means’. They are in ignoble league of Muammar Gaddafi, Mobutu Sese Seko, Imelda Marcos, and Teodorin Obiang, the son of President Obiang of Equatorial Guinea.

    It is hard to controvert such claim when one for instance is confronted with the fact that an incredible 103 properties in the United States, Nigeria, South Africa, Dubai and London were in 2009 seized from Cecilia Ibru, the former Managing Director of Oceanic Bank PLC who was also sentenced to six months in prison for fraud and ordered to hand over $1.2 billion in cash and assets; or when James Ibori, described by his London Prosecutor, Sasha Wass as “a thief in government house”, was credited with a fleet of cars such as armoured Range Rovers costing £600,000, £120,000 Bentley, £300,000 Mercedes Benz and  six properties in London, including a six-bedroom house with indoor pool in Hampstead at a cost of £2.2million and a flat opposite the nearby Abbey Road recording studios.

    And while we raged against David Cameron for describing our nation as ‘a fantastically corrupt country’, we were confronted with a UK Daily Mail’s publication of mansions owned by Nigerians in London which it described as “palaces of corruption”.  This was followed by the report of Global Coalition Against Corruption that claimed “about 57 other Nigerians including   Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, Joshua Dariye, the late Abubakar Audu, Chimaroke Nnamani, Lucky Igbinedion, Diezani Alison-Madueke and  13 ex-governors on trial for financial crimes, some former ministers either on trial or under investigation, some indicted top bankers’ may forfeit  their foreign assets”.

    Back home, EFCC in January this year announced the seizure of N10b properties owned by Alex Badeh just as it claimed it traced another $2.8m properties owned by his daughter to the US. In June, EFCC announced the seizure of 29 properties including an N980m shopping plaza, a N450m residential mansion, a N710m executive mansion and anotherN720m four-unit terrace in choice areas of Abuja from three ex-Air Force chiefs – Air Marshal Adesola Amosu; Air vice Marshal Jacob Adigun (retd.); and Air Commodore Olugbenga Gbadebo (retd.). EFCC followed with the announcement of the seizure of Fayose’s N1.35bn properties made up of four duplexes on Victoria Island in Lagos State and Maitama, Abuja.  This was soon followed by EFCC’s seizure of four houses worth N872 million from a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Sen. Bala Mohammed, and three duplexes costing about N222 million in the Apo Area of Abuja from Shamsudeen Bala, his son.

    Although not a few Nigerians are outraged by EFCC scandalous revelations, they  nonetheless merely exemplify the depth of rot in Abuja where there is hardly any minister, governor  or a lawmaker who served between 1999 and 2016 who do not own a mansion, an hotel, an estate, a shopping plaza or a farm. We may therefore not in all conscience say that those EFCC has fingered are any more guilty than ministers and lawmakers who deployed  proceeds of budget padding or unimplemented constituency projects towards acquisition of choice properties in Abuja .

    Although because of the slow pace at which the wheel of justice grinds in our nation, (apology to ex President Jonathan) and since in the name of democracy, the law crafted by the political elite does not allow us question the source of new found wealth of political office holders who yesterday could only afford a modest bungalow after a life long struggle or those who had nothing before becoming lawmakers in their thirties, but within four years tour of duty became transformed into proud owners of multibillion Abuja mansions, I don’t think government is totally helpless.

    Here again, APC government is not being called upon to invent the wheel. All they have to do is borrow a leaf from the enlightened British political elite from whom we copied the liberal democratic process. Precisely because they understand that the well-being of the poor and the disadvantaged is the only safeguard for the safety of the leisured class who have taken more than their proportionate share of their nation’s resources, properties owned by the latter (including mansions bought by Nigerians with stolen funds) are heavily taxed. The tax returns are thereafter channeled into building of Council flats for low income earners in all the counties. The Local Council officials collect rent with which the council flats are maintained. And where some cannot afford the heavily subsidised rents in the council flats, government come to their aid and even provide food to ensure no one is without roof over his head or go to bed without food. They know this is the only way the rich can live in peace.

    With the rejection of the above tested path by an unenlightened Nigerian political elite  headed by Obasanjo, Jonathan and their greedy lawmakers who preferred to confiscate land and properties they held in trust for the poor between 1999 and 2015, what is expected of government of change is a new beginning, starting with the path never taken. It was for this reason Nigerians voted for change. Nigerians are opposed to lawmakers expending taxpayers’ money of SUV toys. Nigerians who saw the immediate past British Prime Minister, David Cameron drive out of 10 Downing Street after six years in office in his small personal car with his family are not asking for too much. But what they got in contrast under a government of change is a lawmaker Abdulmumin Jibrin, 39 who came out of thirty something million naira SUV Landcruiser and walked with a swagger to Abuja EFCC’s office to lodge complaints about alleged budget padding by 13 of his colleagues.

    Nigerians expect Buhari and APC to set a new tone. The mood of Nigerians after 16 years of Obasanjo and his PDP profligacy is that lawmakers who cannot ride assembled in Nigeria Peugeot vehicle as official cars should trek. Nigerians who voted for change expect cash-strapped Buhari and his APC government to take the census of property owners in Maitama and Asokoro areas of Abuja for the purpose of taxing the idle parasitic owners in order to bring relief to thousands without homes in Abuja without whose contributions the city decays. And finally the mood of Nigerians who voted for change is for APC government to copy the prevailing law of inheritance in a welfare state like Britain that allows imposition of taxes or outright confiscation of properties of idle children of fraudulent fathers who in their twenties and without visible source of income inhabit N300m mansions in Abuja.

    I think beyond blackmail, Buhari and APC have nothing to fear. If the push comes to shove, politicians who have defrauded their states as governors, the nation through budget padding which dates back to 1999 or their constituencies through unexecuted projects may be asked to explain the sources for the funding of their multi-billion Abuja properties.

  • Canada slams extra 15% property tax on foreign buyers

    A new tax for foreign property buyers is being introduced in British Columbia in Canada in an attempt to cool escalating house prices.

    The 15 per cent foreign buyer tax came into effect  at a time when prices in the province’s capital city, Vancouver, are escalating.

    Indeed, the latest global cities index from international real estate firm, Knight Frank, showed that prices in the city have increased by 17.3 per cent in the mainstream market and by 26.3 per cent in the prime market in the year to March 2016.

    Policy makers have been looking at ways to cool price inflation in recent months and the new tax will relate to residential purchases in Metro Vancouver, an area that extends from Bowen Island to Maple Ridge/Langley Township.

    According to Knight Frank, in real terms the new tax will result in an extra $300,000 in property transfer tax based on a property bought for $2 million by a foreign citizen. This figure will rise to $1.5 million for a $10 million home.

    The latest government data shows foreign buyers, mainly from China, purchased more than $1 billion worth of property in British Colombia between June 10, 2016 and July 14, 2016 of which around 86 per cent was located in the Lower Mainland.

    The foreign buyer tax will also apply to corporations that purchase residential real estate and the British Columbia Government has the power to examine the citizenship status of directors and the beneficiaries of corporate profits in deciding whether to add taxes. The resulting revenue from the new tax will be spent on housing affordability projects.

    However, Knight Frank points out that some loopholes exist and details as to how it will be policed remain unclear. For example, the tax itself relies on buyers self reporting their nationality and providing a social insurance number, backed up by new auditing procedures and penalties. However,  it is unclear whether a resident with citizenship could buy a property by proxy for a family member living abroad.

    “There is no doubt that the new law will cool sales volumes and prices as foreign buyers absorb the additional cost implications. It is worth noting that the planned legislation also allows the BC cabinet to alter the foreign tax rate by between 10 per cent and 20 per cent at a later date and expand it to outside the Lower Mainland,” the firm explained.

  • $1.5m Dubai Property: Rep backs Buratai

    $1.5m Dubai Property: Rep backs Buratai

    The Deputy Chairman of the House Committee on Defence, Solomon Ahwinahwi, has said calls by some that the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, to resign or be removed is not in good faith.

    Ahwinahwi, who spoke with reporters at the weekend, said the reason for such call was not weighty enough and  would distract him from winning the war against the Boko Haram insurgents.

    The lawmaker said since the property was declared by Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, the issue of corrupt intention of criminal concealment does not arise.

    His words:  “Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, having spent over 35 years in the military,  held several command positions and served in many international missions, where salaries and allowances were paid in foreign currencies, and was involved in agriculture since his junior officer days. And possibly securing facilities from banks, lend credence to the fact that the property in Dubai may not be a product of corruption.”

    The deputy chair said Buratai delivered on what President Buhari promised Nigerians and that troops continue to rescue hundreds of Boko Haram abductees, adding that under him, soldiers regained the respect they deserve.

    The lawmaker said he has followed the record of Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai since he was appointed that everyone is aware of how well he has done.

    “For instance, local governments in control of Boko Haram have been reclaimed, and the Maiduguri-Dikwa-Gamboru road, shut since 2013, was reopened on July 6; with bombing greatly reduced.

    “That is why I have chosen to come out to say those distractors should please allow this man to work.

    “The achievements of the Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai in containing Boko Haram in the Northeas, including rehabilitating Boko Haram war-ravaged areas and victims ( IDPs) are noteworthy.

    “These are achievements that should call for commendation and award instead of the unpatriotic call for his resignation and removal,” Ahwinahwi said.