The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Senior

  • Air Force redeploys 41 senior officers

    Air Force redeploys 41 senior officers

    The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has redeployed 41 senior officers mostly Air Commodores and Air Vice Marshals.

    The shake-up affects 19 Air Vice Marshals, 14 Air Commodores, four  Group Captains, two Wing Commanders, and two Squadron Leaders.

    Director of Public Relations and Information Air Vice Marshal Olatokunbo Adesanya, said the redeployment, which he described as routine, is with effect from tomorrow.

    In a statement, AVM Adesanya described the redeployment as routine and in line with the recent promotions in the Service.

    He said the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, had also directed that newly appointed Commanders of NAF field units and other commanders to attend a workshop in Abuja on Wednesday to boost their capability.

    AVM Adesanya said: “The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has released the postings and redeployment of a total of 41 senior officers comprising 19 Air Vice Marshals (AVMs), 14 Air Commodores (Air Cdre), 4 Group Captains (Gp Capt), 2 Wing Commanders (Wg Cdr) and 2 Squadron Leaders (Sqn Ldr). The postings and redeployment came as a result of the recent promotion of senior NAF officers to the next higher ranks. Though a routine exercise, the posting exercise is aimed at ensuring that the NAF is effectively manned for operational efficiency and effectiveness.

    “Prominent among those affected by the new postings are: AVM Lawal Alao, who is now the Commandant of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji and AVM Olusoji Awomodu, who has been appointed as the Director Manning & Establishments at the Defence Headquarters. In addition, AVM Bello Garba has been redeployed as the Chief of Logistics at Headquarters NAF (HQ NAF) and AVM Mahmoud Ahmed has taken over as Chief of Administration, also at HQ NAF.

    “Other appointments include those of AVM Mohammed Suleiman as the Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) at Headquarters Tactical Air Command, Makurdi, AVM Samuel Babalola as the Director of Personnel Management at HQ NAF, AVM Tunde Awoyoola as Deputy Chief of Defence Space Agency and AVM Haruna Mohammed as Commandant Air Traffic Services Training Centre, Likewise, AVM Sambo Usman has been appointed as Group Managing Director of NAF Holding Company, AVM Remigus Ekeh appointed as the Director of Evaluation at HQ NAF while AVM Paul Dimfwina becomes the Coordinator Project Implementation and Monitoring Committee at HQ NAF. Furthermore, AVM Ibukun Ojeyemi is now the SASO at Headquarters Air Training Command, Kaduna while AVM Frank Oparah has been appointed as Director of Research at Defence Headquarters.

    “Also appointed are AVM Peter Uzezi as Director Earth Observation at Defence Space Agency, AVM Olusegun Philips as Director of Museum and Archives at HQ NAF, AVM Chinwendu Onyike as Director of Technical Services at Defence Intelligence Agency and AVM Emmanuel Wonah as SASO, Headquarters Logistics Command, Ikeja. Similarly, AVM Abubakar Liman has been appointed as SASO, Headquarters Special Operations Command, Bauchi, AVM Mahmud Madi as Director of Launch Services and Space Operations at Defence Space Agency and Air Cdre Noah Oyibo as SASO, Headquarters Ground Training Command, Enugu. Meanwhile, Air Cdre Cosmas Ozouggwu is to take over as Director of Production at HQ NAF while Air Cdre David Aluku becomes the Director of Civil Military Relations also at HQ NAF.

    “The new posting also brought about changes at the Unit level. Some of the new Commanders and Commandants are Air Cdre Edward Adedokun, who is appointed as Commandant NAF Institute of Safety, Kaduna and Air Cdre Paul Masiyer, appointed as Commandant Military Training Centre, Kaduna. In addition, Air Cdre Moses Onilede is to take over as Commander 631 Aircraft Maintenance Depot, Ikeja while Air Cdre Elijah Ebiowe is appointed as Commander 115 Special Operations Group, Port Harcourt.

    “The newly posted and redeployed senior officers are expected to take over their new offices not later than 2 January 2018. Furthermore, the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, has directed the newly appointed commanders of NAF field units to attend a workshop being organized at HQ NAF Abuja on 3 January 2018 for commanders. Command appointments in the NAF come with a lot of responsibilities, including the management of human and material resources. The workshop is therefore aimed at equipping/reminding commanders of their responsibilities and HQ NAF expectations in the conduct of their activities”.

  • Our situation is deteriorating, say senior workers

    Our situation is deteriorating, say senior workers

    The  Association of Senior  Civil Servants of  Nigeria (ASCSN), has said despite the claim that Nigeria has exited economic recession, all calibrated critical indices are pointing to the contrary.

    According to the Association, nothing appears to be moving in the right direction as all sectors of the economy are bleeding profusely.

    Speaking with The Nation, the Association President, Comrade Bobboi Kaigama, said the country is witnessing a deteriorating standard of living, lack of public goods and services, high level of corruption and rent seeking.

    He said: “As things stand today, many people cannot eat let alone being in a position to afford ordinary things that make life comfortable and worthy of living. Little wonder, Nigeria that was once ranked as one of the happiest nations in the world now occupies the near bottom position in terms of Happiness Index.

    “The deterioration is best exemplified by the surge in vices now recorded in the land. Many Nigerians, especially the youth, want to jet out of the country at all cost in search of the proverbial greener pastures.

    “In the process, many have lost their lives in the high sea in an attempt to cross to Europe.  Recently, 26 dead bodies of Nigerian women were found in a refrigerated section of a Spanish warship.  They were on a rubber boat along with some other migrants, trying to escape from the hardship that we are forced to live with here in Nigeria.  We now live in a country where everybody is for himself and God for us all.  Life is no doubt getting tougher by the day.”

    Kaigama  urge governments to rise up to the occasion by taking urgent steps to ameliorate sufferings being experienced by the masses, adding that anything to the contrary will continue to push the country to the precipice with very dire consequences.

    On the issue of National Minimum Wage, Kaigama said the Federal Government, instead of inaugurating the Minimum Wage Negotiation Committee, has been dilly dallying on the matter.

    “We  appeal to the Federal Government to, as a matter of urgency, inaugurate the panel to do the negotiation so that a new National Minimum Wage for the country can be arrived at in the next few months,” he said.

  • SANs disagree over chief judges’ power to pardon

    SANs disagree over chief judges’ power to pardon

    • Contrary to a submission by Sebastine Tar Hon, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), that chief judges lack power to pardon prisoners undergoing trial, Femi Falana (SAN) feels otherwise
    • . The activist-lawyer says chief judges have the constitutional right to ensure that indigent prisoners are not unjustly kept behind bars.

    A Couple of days ago, Mr. S.T. Hon, SAN, questioned the constitutional validity of the administrative power of chief judges to order the release of under-trial prisoners languishing in dehumanising conditions in Nigerian prisons. I found out, to my utter dismay, that the totality of the learned senior counsel’s submission was anchored on the speculative belief that the chief judges have been performing such functions under “the respective High Court laws and High Court rules”.

    Although I drew my learned colleague’s attention to the relevant provisions of the Prison Act and the Criminal Justice (Release from custody) Act which have empowered top judicial officers, including the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and chief judges to conduct prison visits and order  “the release  of any prison inmate if satisfied that the detention  of that person is manifestly unlawful; or that the  person detained has been in custody, whether on remand or otherwise, for a period longer than the maximum period of imprisonment which the person detained could have served had he been convicted of the offence in respect of which he was detained” he did not change his position.

    In fact, in his curious rejoinder to my intervention in the needless debate Mr. Hon SAN did not pay any attention to both laws as he insisted that his shaky submission on the matter was unassailable. In questioning the administrative release of prison inmates he accused the chief judges of usurping the powers of the president and state governors by granting pardon to persons concerned with criminal offences.  Thus, I am compelled to reiterate that the prisoners released by chief judges have not been pardoned but merely released from illegal prison custody. To that extent, such prisoners may be rearrested and prosecuted by the government. But a convict pardoned by the president or a state governor is said to be a new man (novus homo), having been acquitted of all corporal penalties and forfeitures annexed to the offence. See Falae v Obasanjo (No 2) (1999) 4 NWLR (Pt 599) 476.

    Instead of relying on local and foreign authorities on the undisputed constitutional powers of the president and state governors to grant pardon to convicts and criminal suspects, Mr. Hon SAN may wish to have a look at the case of Edwin Iloegbunam & Ors v. Richard Iloegbunam & Ors (2001) 47 WRN 72 wherein the Court of Appeal had upheld the constitutional validity of the Criminal Justice (Release from Custody) (Special Provisions) Act.  In that case, the appellants were arraigned on a holding charge of attempted murder before the Magistrate’s Court, Ogidi, Anambra State on July 3, 2000. For want of jurisdiction the magistrate’s court refused the application of the appellants for bail and ordered that they be remanded in prison custody. However, before they were properly charged with murder at the High Court the Chief Judge of Anambra State visited the Onitsha Prisons and ordered that the appellants be released on bail. In making the order, the Chief Judge did not pardon the murder suspects but merely released them on bail.

    As soon as the appellants regained their freedom, the complainants in the murder case filed a motion ex parte at the Lagos judicial division of the Federal High Court and prayed that the appellants be rearrested and held in prison custody. The application was granted as prayed. Completely dissatisfied with the order, the appellants approached the Court of Appeal for the restoration of their fundamental right to personal liberty. In justifying the decision of the lower court, the respondents’ counsel, Chief Anah, SAN, questioned the constitutional validity of the Criminal Justice (Release from Custody) (Special Provisions) Act under which the Anambra Chief Judge had released the appellants on bail.

    In my submissions on behalf of the appellants, I argued that the validity of the Act could not be challenged since it was made to protect the fundamental right of prison inmates to personal liberty guaranteed by Section 35 of the Constitution. In allowing the appeal, the Court of Appeal had no hesitation in upholding the validity of the Act. In the lead judgment of the court, Oguntade Justice of the Court of Appeal (JCA) (as he then was) held that “there is power in the Chief Justice of the Federation or any of the chief judges of the states to order the release of persons detained in prison custody in the exercise of their power under Section 1(1) of the Criminal Justice (Release from Custody) (Special Provisions) Act Cap 79 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990 is not in doubt. The exercise of that power by the Anambra Chief Judge would definitely constitute a different cause of action for the present respondents if they feel aggrieved by it. And an action founded on the exercise of that power which action is challenging the authority of the Chief Judge is one that should be brought before the High Court of Anambra State by virtue of Section 272 of the 1999 Constitution.”

    It may interest Mr. Hon, SAN, to know that heads of court in other jurisdictions in common law countries are applying similar laws to decongest prisons by releasing indigent prison inmates from prison custody during prison visits. In Writ Petition (Civil) No. 406/2013 in which judgment was handed down on September 16, 2014, the Supreme Court of India directed magistrates and session judges to visit prisons in their districts for two months to identify and release under-trial prisoners who had already been held in custody for half of the maximum period prescribed by law for the offences for which they were charged.

    The court however pointed out that the order did not apply to under-trial prisoners whose offences attract death penalty. Since not less than 66 per cent of inmates were awaiting trial in the various courts across the country, Chief Justice R. M. Lodha, noted that “there are people who cannot take bail. There is nobody for them. They languish in jails because courts are not enabled to take their cases.”

    The progressive verdict of the Supreme Court of India has reverberated throughout common law countries and has strengthened the campaign for prison decongestion. In March this year, the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Ahmed Sheikh, visited the Malir district prison. Based on the complaints of several prison inmates, the Chief Justice met with the Inspector-           General of Prisons for the District, Mr. Nusrat Manghan. Following the directive of the Chief Justice, the prison management announced a remission of 60 days to the entitled jail inmates apart from those convicted for espionage, subversion, terrorism and murder. Just last month, the Principal Judge of the High Court of Uganda, Justice Yorokamu Bamwine, directed all High Court judges and magistrates to release all prisoners who have overstayed on remand without trial. His lordship lamented that on his countrywide tours to prisons, he met many prisoners who have stayed on remand beyond the statutory period. He said Article 23 of the Constitution demands that untried persons remanded on non-capital offences, should be released on mandatory bail after three months in jail. In justifying the directive, Justice Bamwine said that his directive was intended to protect liberties of suspects as provided for in the Constitution and that one way of ensuring compliance is through routine visits to prisons to ascertain the numbers and conditions in prisons and routine meetings with all judicial officers and court staff, among the best practices.”

    From the foregoing, our chief judges are on terra firma in exercising their powers under the Criminal Justice (Release from Custody) (Special Provisions) Act in ordering the release of under trial prisoners during prison visits. Apart  from the decision of the Court  of Appeal in the case of Iloegbunam v Iloegbunam supra which has upheld the validity of the Act, Section 8 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, has imposed a duty on chief judges to appoint High Court judges and magistrates to visit detention centres once a month with a view to ensuring that the indigent under-trial prisoners are not detained without legal justification in line with paragraph 55 of the United Nations (UN) Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners adopted by Nigeria.

  • Senior health workers seek end to hate speeches

    Nigerians have been called upon to dissociate themselves from hate speeches. According to the executives of Senior Staff Association of Universities, Teaching Hospitals, Research Institutes and Associated Institutions (SSAUTHRIAI), the dangerous trend of hate speeches is becoming alarming. Also the call for disintegration of the country should be promptly and vigorously attended to.

    SSAUTHRIAI executives made this known at the end of their two-day meeting in Makurdi, Benue.

    They said after thorough discussion and critical evaluation of the situation, council agreed that the solution to the problem was for the government to allow true Federalism as suggested by many eminent Nigerians and governors.

    “The council noted that no progress is made towards the implementation of the agreements with JOHESU which prompted again JOHESU’s letter ref. HQ/JOHESU/ADM/ VOL. 11/380 of 12th May, 2017 to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. Council urged the Federal Government to expedite action on the release of necessary circulars on adjusted CONHESS, 65 years retirement age and funds to settle all the issues in dispute to prevent another crisis in the health sector. We hereby use this medium to call on Mr. President to prevail on the Minister of Health and other Agencies of Government to implement agreements reached with unions.

    “Council observed the non-payment of arrears of promotion (years 2011 to 2016), relativity allowance and other allowances due to members of the union by the various managements of our tertiary hospitals. The council hereby urged the Federal Government to urgently release funds for the payment of all outstanding arrears failing which the union may embark on industrial action. Council also noted the action of the Federal Ministry of health (FMOH) in directing that promotion of our members who have skipped CONHESS 10 and are now on CONHESS 11 and above, should be on the same grade level. This directive is not only absurd, but also negates the dictates of the Public Service Rules. Council, therefore, calls on the Minister of Health to reverse the directive in order to ensure continuous industrial harmony.”

  • FRSC redeploys 71 senior officers

    The Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi, has approved the redeployment of 71 senior officers nationwide for enhanced performance.

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the redeployment, aimed at repositioning the commission, affected three zonal commanding officers alongside several sector commanders.

    Mr. Ayodele Kumapayi, the former Sector Commander in Rivers, who was recalled recently for forcibly cutting the hair of some female personnel, is now the Head of Corps Safety and Transport Office at the national headquarters, Abuja.

    He was replaced by Corps Commander Imoh Etuk, who was formally the Corps Public Education Officer at the headquarters.

    In the redeployment released by FRSC Secretary, Susan Ajenge, Kingsley Agomo, the former Zonal Commanding Officer of Zone 7, Abuja, was moved to Zone 6, Port Harcourt.

    Jonas Agwu, who was in charge of Zone 6, Port Harcourt, was redeployed to Zone 4, Jos.

    The erstwhile Commanding Officer of Zone 4 Jos, Oludare Fadogba, takes over the affairs of Zone 7, Abuja.

    Corps Commander Bisi Kazeem, who was the Head of Media Relations and Strategy at the headquarters, takes over from Etuk as the new Corps Public Education Officer.

  • Senior citizens seek govt recognition

    Senior citizens have called on the Federal Government to give them “proper recognition”.

    They made the call at this year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Senior Citizens Association of Nigeria in Lagos.

    National President Elder Ebenezer Akinbadipe said senior citizens served the country in various capacities, noting that it’s unfair for the government to neglect them.

    “We want the government to recognise us, let them put us in their programme as it is done in the United States. Government should carry us along with what it is doing for the country… Senior citizens deserve respect and care.”

    The National Secretary, Mrs. Ade Fagbemi, called on the government to have a welfare package for the aged.

    She urged the government to provide senior citizens with free medical services and free transportation and give them opportunity for social work.

    She identified some of the objectives of the association to include promotion of interaction among the elderly, make them self reliant despite the challenges of ageing, create awareness for elder’s existence and care, and to promote love among the elderly.

    In his lecture titled: “Tips on longevity without ageing”, Dr Samuel Oyegbile urged the elders to adopt a healthy lifestyle by eating fresh fruits and vegetables, avoiding fried food, getting adequate sleep, avoiding harmful substances and avoiding emotional stress.

    He added that they must also avoid injury or overexertion.

    “They must avoid exposure to harmful sun rays, avoid obesity, engage in physical exercise and fitness, and they must ensure steaming, boiling, poaching and slow cooking of food with low heat,” he said.

    He said elders must know and watch their blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol level, body mass index and their age.

  • Senior lawyers fault NBA on fate of arrested judges

    Senior lawyers fault NBA on fate of arrested judges

    Some senior lawyers have disagreed with the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) that the judges arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) should proceed on compulsory suspension.

    NBA President Abubakar Mahmud (SAN), at a function in Abuja on Thursday, called on the National Judicial Council (NJC) to act fast to save the ebbing reputation of the judiciary in the eye of the public.

    He suggested the suspension of the arrested judges pending establishment of their innocence.

    But NJC, in a statement on Friday, argued that the NBA was wrong in calling for the judges’ suspension, having earlier supported the council’s decision to condemn the arrest, which it described as an attempt to cow the judiciary.

    The NJC said, in the statement by its Acting Director of Information, Soji Oye, that it could only exercise disciplinary powers over judicial officers, where due process was complied with.

    Senior lawyers, including Professor Yemi Akiseye-George (SAN), Selekeowei Larry (SAN) and Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN) agreed with the NJC. Norrison Quakers (SAN) agreed with the NBA.

    Akinseye-George said: “The allegation against the judges must be proved. You cannot just accept the words of the investigators, particularly that they have reasons to be unhappy with the judges.

    “For example, DSS has a case before Justice Nnamdi Dimgba (of the Federal High Court, Abuja, whose house, the DSS said, was mistakenly invaded by its men).

    “They have made allegations against Justice Dimgba, but which are not proved. So, would you now ask them to stop sitting simply because some people have made allegations against them? No!

    “A process must be put in place by the NJC to investigate those allegations. An independent committee must be set up by NJC to sit publicly (not secret committee) and investigate the allegations, in the full glare of the media, so that it will be obvious to Nigerians whether the DSS people were abusing their powers or attempting to intimidate the judiciary.

    “Some of the affected judges have written to the CJN, stating their sides of the story. So, it is an embarrassment for the NBA to say that the judges should stop sitting simply because allegations were made against them.”

    Larry said: “I don’t know where they (NBA) got that idea from. It is a wrong one.

    “There is no authority that can do that. Nobody can just wake up in the morning and say I have suspended a judge.

    “The procedure for appointing and disciplining judicial officers is contained in the Constitution. For the NBA, I think that was just an oversight. It was not a well thought-out position.

    Kehinde said: “The position of the NBA is grossly untenable. Because, it means that whenever you are presiding over a matter as a judge and any security agency that is not happy with the way you are handling it, the next thing is that they will arrange to put some money in your house and get television cameras to film it and claim that you have taken money. And as a consequence, you will have no choice, but to step aside.

    “This is a dangerous precedent that we want to set. I repeat, this is a very, very dangerous precedent. Why has NBA not advised all its members, who have been accused in the Harliburton fraud to step aside from practising? Why is the NBA president himself, whose election is being challenged, did not step aside until the matter is decided by the court?”

    Quakers said: “If the Bar has now informed the NJC, as the body responsible for the appointment and discipline of judges to suspend the judges, I think, as joint stakeholder in the administration of justice, the wise thing to do is for those judges to step aside.

    “How would you explain that a justice of the Supreme Court is being arraigned in a court for a criminal trial, and that same judge will now go back to his regular court to sit?

    “Where things are done properly, in such a situation, whoever is concerned, should step aside for the time being until the issue is determined.

    “Will a litigant have respect for a High Court judge, who is arraigned in court for criminal culpability or criminal trial? Even, for the psyche of the judge, it is not good.

    “For me, I believe that, yes the Constitution provides that everyone, who is charged with criminal culpability is innocent until proved guilty.

    “Mind you, if you are being investigated, part of the requirements, when you are

  • Police promote 2,058 senior officers

    Police promote 2,058 senior officers

    The Police Service Commission (PSC) yesterday announced the promotion of 2,058 senior police officers to their next ranks in line with its resolve to ensure prompt elevation of deserving officers.

    Mr Ikechukwu Ani, Head, Press and Public Relations of the commission, said in a statement that the beneficiaries included a Commissioner of Police promoted to Assistant Inspector General of Police and 99 Superintendents of Police elevated to the rank of Chief Superintendent of Police .

    Others are 754 Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSP) promoted to the rank of Superintendent of Police and 1,203 Assistant Superintendents of Police (ASP) to the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police.

    It also said that one Police Inspector was elevated to the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASPII).

    The Chairman of PSC, Mr Mike Okiro, said the promotions were based on merit, seniority and availability of vacancies, the statement said.

    It reiterated the commission’s commitment to ensure that deserving police officers were promoted when they were due as motivation.

    The statement urged the promoted officers to continue to give their best in the service of the nation, pointing out that the security of lives and property of Nigerians and others living in Nigeria was not negotiable.

    The statement said the list of the promoted officers had been conveyed to the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase, for implementation.

  • Airtel restructures senior management

    Airtel restructures senior management

    Airtel has announced a major restructuring of its senior management team and reorganisation of the entire business in Nigeria and the other parts of the African continent into what it tagged ‘clusters.’

    With operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, the telco explained in a statement yesterday that the move was to further enhance the level of empowerment and enable faster decision making as well as speed to market.

    Under the new structure, MD & CEO, Airtel Africa, Christian de Faria, has been elevated to the position of Executive Chairman, Airtel Africa. In his new role, he will continue to support the vision of Airtel Africa and lead all matters relating to legal, regulatory affairs, shareholders as well as mergers & acquisitions.

  • I’m ready for senior tournaments – Marylove Edwards

    Having won everything at stake at junior levels, 13 year-old Marylove Edwards believes she has the ability to compete at senior tournaments.

    The junior tennis sensation will be taking part in this year’s SNEPCo Junior Tennis Championship, which serves off today.  She was finalist in last year’s tournament and said she has worked hard to be in a position to reclaim the girls’ 14s and 16s titles she lost to Angel Mcleod last year.

    “I have made a lot of progress since last year, especially playing against the seniors in the NCC Tennis League. I have more confidence now and I am even looking forward to playing at the senior level.” Edwards who stands at 4ft 6ins but with the heart of a lioness said.

    Edwards, 13, will be playing in the 16s and 18s category in the SNEPCo Junior Championship which starts today at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club.

    The tournament is part of the ITA Junior Tennis Circuit organised by the International Tennis Academy which is expecting over 150 players.

    “The tournament has attracted a lot of new entries from states such as Plateau and Kano. Even more interesting is the fact that the “Almajiri tennis programme” initiated by the Nigeria Tennis Federation in Abuja will be introducing some of their products to a tournament for the first time,” said a statement from the ITA.

    The tournament is featuring singles competitions in five age groups – boys and girls 10, 12, 14, 16 & 18s – with the finals slated for Saturday October 17.