Fed. Director forfeits 86 cars, landed properties

A director in the federal civil service has temporarily forfeited 86 vehicles, four houses and other properties.

The order of forfeiture was granted by an FCT High Court, Apo. The case was adjourned to March 6, 2018.

Detectives alleged that Ibrahim Musa Tumsah, a director of Finance and Accounts in the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, amassed the properties through “abuse of office and illegal enrichment.”

“If you put all the vehicles together it could amount to N20billionn. So among all the directors in this category, he should be the richest,” a source in the Special Presidential Investigation Panel on the Recovery of Public Property, who are investigating the case, told Daily Trust yesterday.

Documents of the ex parte application released to journalists by the panel chaired by the Special Adviser to the President on Anti-Corruption, Okoi Obono-Obla, showed that Justice Muawiya Baba Idris granted the application dated November 23, 2017 on December 6 for three months pending full investigation.

The panel alleged that Tumsah “Who earns less than N500,000 monthly salary has properties splashed all over Abuja, Kaduna and his home town, Yobe State using the names of his brother, children and wives to acquire the properties.”

He was said to have set up companies fronting his brother Tijani Musa Tumsah as the chairman and managing director. They include: Rain Integrated Service Insurance Ltd and Rain Integrated Bureau De Change Ltd.

Consequently, the court ordered interim forfeiture of the 86 luxury vehicles, 23 of which are bullet proof vehicles. (Daily Trust)

President Buhari directs immediate sacking of Maina from service

Abdulrasheed Maina

President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the immediate disengagement from service of Mr Abdullahi Abdulrasheed Maina, former chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms.

According Femi Adesina Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity said  the directive was contained in a memo to the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation. The President equally demanded a full report of the circumstances of Maina's recall and posting to the Ministry of Interior.

The report is to be submitted to the office of the Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari, before the end of work today, Monday, October 23, 2017.

Online news platform Premium Time had reported that Maina who was dismissed in 2013 was recalled and posted to the ministry of interior as Director of Human Resources. 

Benue workers to get two months salary, strike called off

The strike embarked upon by Organized Labour in Benue state has been called off.

In the agreement reached with the government, two months salaries would be paid to Benue state workers between Thursday and Friday this week.

According to a communiqué read by the General Secretary of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Dr. Peter Oso’eson before journalist at the banquet hall of Government House Makurdi late on Tuesday, the strike will be called off  Wednesday.
Details shortly…

Buhari mourns Gen. Victor Malu

Late Lt. General Victor Malu

President Muhammadu Buhari has condoled with the Malu family as well as the government and people of Benue State on the death of retired Lt. General Victor Malu, a former Chief of Army Staff (COAS).

President Buhari, in a condolence message issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, also commiserated with the Nigerian Armed Forces on the demise of “a very distinguished and professional colleague.’’

The president stated that the deceased had demonstrated incredible courage and leadership, including during very turbulent times in Liberia.

Buhari recalled that as Force Commander of the ECOMOG peace-keeping troops in Liberia from 1996 to 1998, General Malu was an icon of professionalism, bravery and discipline.

He noted that Malu aptly demonstrated these attributes throughout his national and international military assignments.

According to him, the late General will be fondly remembered for his dedication and commitment as a military officer; and his numerous landmark contributions to Nigeria’s unity and development.

Buhari urged the bereaved family, friends and associates to honour Malu’s memory by upholding his invaluable sacrifices for a peaceful and united Nigeria.

He prayed that Almighty God would comfort all who mourned Gen. Malu, and grant his soul perfect peace.

Malu, 70, died in at a Cairo hospital in Egypt in the early hours of Monday.

Gen.Malu was born on January 15, 1947 at Katsina-Ala, Benue.

He enrolled in the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna, in 1967 as part of the 3rd Regular Course and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant enlisted upon graduation in 1970.

He also attended Command and Staff College, Jaji and the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos.

He was Force Commander of the ECOMOG peace-keeping force in Liberia from 1996 to 1998 and Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS) from 1999 to 2001. NAN

Former ECOMOG commander and Ex-Army Chief of Staff, Gen. Victor Malu, is dead

Late LT. Gen. Victor Malu

Former Nigerian Chief of Army Staff during President Olusegun Obasanjo’s regime, Lt Gen. Victor Malu is dead. Malu died in the early hours of Monday at Cairo hospital in Egypt, aged 70.

His cousin Bem Adoor, who confirmed the news in a telephone interview in Makurdi, said that the late General travelled to Cairo two weeks ago for medical check up before he died.

Malu was a former commander, ECOMOG Peace Keeping force in Sierra Leone and Liberia in August 1996 to January 1998 .

He was appointed the Chief of Army Staff in May 1999 to April 2001, when he was removed by the same government.

General Malu was born on January 15, 1947 in Adoor village in Katsina Ala local government area of Benue state.

He enrolled into the Nigerian Defense Academy, Kaduna in 1967 as part of the 3rd regular course and was commissioned second Lieutenant in 1970.

Malu chaired the military tribunal that tried Gen. Oladipo Diya in 1998 over alleged coup plot against the head of state, Gen. Sanni Abacha

The 6 things every Nigerian should know about National ID card

The National Identity Card is the card issued by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to Nigerians as a means of identification and contains relevant information about the holder. According to NAIJ, the federal government has announced that as from January 1, 2018, no Nigerian will obtain or renew international passports without having the National Identification Number (NIN).

Here are things you need to know about the National ID card: National ID card Source: NIMC

1. Persons eligible

The National e-ID Card can only be issued to Nigerians registered into the national identity system and legal residents who have attained the age of 16 years and above. Unlike the National Identification Number (NIN) which is assignable to all Nigerians and legal residents without any age restrictions.

2. Functions

The e-ID card can be used for identification, payment and other applications in Nigeria.

3. Electronic Identity (e-ID)

The National e-ID Card as it contains key information of the applicant or Card holder recorded in the Database.

4. Payment – Europay MasterCard & Visa (EMV)

This payment Function enables the National e-ID Card to be used as a tool for making payments for goods and services in any part of the world.

All that the cardholder needs to do is to visit one of the participating banks (such as Access Bank) and load money on the card or have someone transfer money to the Card using any of the available payment platforms/options.

For example (from a bank account to the Card, Quickteller transfer, POS terminals, ATM) etc.

The card can also be used to pay for goods and services such as utility bills like DSTV, GOTV, Startimes, flight tickets, Water bill, PHCN and so on and in Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) all over the world where any of the payment processors (such as Mastercard) is displayed.

5. Match-on-Card (MoC)

The card has your 10 fingerprints taken at the point of registration in to the National Identity Database safely stored away on it. No unauthorised person can access them.

The Match-on Card (MoC) is the most secure technology to authenticate a person. A secure terminal or a Card Acceptance Device (CAD) is used to match a specific fingerprint against that locked away on the National e-ID Card.

Too many attempts, and the applet is blocked for security reasons. That way, an agency or authorised person can be sure that the person presenting the Card is the true owner.

6. International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) – Travel

The National e-ID Card is also a travel document and conforms to such standards as the ICAO just like the International Passport. This function on the Card provides future functionality for anyone who may wish to embark on cross border migration such as regional travel within West Africa and or other consenting Countries where a visa is not required.

Mohammed Babandede, the comptroller general of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), while addressing state house correspondents on Tuesday, August 1 revealed the new policy.  He said the development is part of efforts to have a centralised database for Nigerians and to also improve the business environment in the country.

Source: www.bodedolu.com

DStv gets rival as a New PayTV Platform, TSTV is launched in Nigeria

A new pay TV service, TVST, is in town, after launching yesterday, 1st October. Lots of people are already excited on everything about TSTV.
Meanwhile,there are lots of speculations going on how TSTV services would be delivered and particularly many people out there don’t really understand the nature of services that TSTV promises and hence the wrong information been spread across.

Below are the 6 things you should know about TSTV before making purchases;
1. The N5000 for TSTV initial purchase includes a decoder, a dish and a remote control but excludes any installation service charge.
2. TSTV Pay AS You Go pause service i.e. the ability to pause your subscription when not in use would be available to those that would go for the maximum subscription which is the monthly N3,000 package and you would only be able to pause subscription not more than 7 days, thereby allowing you 37 days at most for your monthly subscription. So don’t expect to use your 1 month subscription from January to December in the name of pausing or expect to user 1 day N200 subscription for 1 month.
3.  The first time you buy the decoder is the only time you would be able to enjoy up to 20GB of data as bonus, for subsequent full monthly subscription comes with 10GB of data and not 20GB as some of you might be thinking.
4.  TSTV has incorporated its subscription service payments into Quickteller the popular E-payment service in the country and just like DSTV, you would also be able to easily pay for your TSTV subscriptions through Quickteller.
5.  You would be able to buy extra 1GB data or above from TSTV at the cost of N300 for 1GB
6.  TSTV data allocation has nothing to do with watching of TVST channels but just a separate and additional offer to the entire TSTV concept or better still what you commonly regard as Value Added Service (VAS)
Finally, TSTV having launched, its decoder would be available from next week.
(Informationng, Highteknology)

Source: www.bodeolu.com

Nigerians in the US take to the streets of NY as Buhari lands in US. (Photos)

The Yoruba community in the United States  Monday – took to the streets of New York to showcase their culture along with other black communities. This is coming as President Muhammadu Buhari is currently in New York for the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly.. See photos below

A President's 32" TV By Garba Shehu

President Buhari watching Nigeria Cameroon 2018 World Cup qualifier in his home in Daura

When Bayo Omoboriowo, the restless Personal Photographer of President Muhammadu Buhari, barged in on the President requesting to have his picture taken as he watched the match between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, it certainly didn’t occur to him that he was opening a window to the world on the facts of life of a man who is singly responsible for the 2015 victory for the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Bayo said to me that it was the best picture of his short professional career.

President Muhammed Buhari has been known to be a disciplined retired military General who lived a simple and austere life devoid of ostentation.  He is not known to have the common vices associated with politics and politicians. He does not smoke or drink alcohol.

He didn’t belong to rich or royal families. He is known to have grown up with an enthusiastic desire to serve and his choice to serve in the army was not, therefore by accident. Even at 74, Muhammadu Buhari is known to enjoy a better health status than people much younger until of course, the recent bout of illness from which he recovered.

I think the reason that Bayo wanted to have that picture was a burning desire in him, and in all of us, to show that the President is well again, and has resumed his normal life.

What a majority of Nigerians saw in that picture was a lot more than that. The many who saw those images and shared them to millions of others on the social media with their comments, is a major revelation of the lifestyles of this spectacular public figure that has changed politics in Nigeria and Africa for good. They gave all sorts of interpretations to the TV set, the TV stand, the curtains, chairs and about every item visible to the eye in those pictures.

The images also had the effect of projecting the popularity of the President in the social media. From our official channels on Facebook, including that of the President, the Special Adviser, Femi Adesina and my own, we had thousands of comments and shares. We equally had a bountiful number of replies, tweets and re-tweets on the tweeter.  More than 80 percent of all these were positive.

I present here to the reader, a few random choices:

Umar Yakubu @Umaryakubu: “This man’s simplicity makes one wonder why we hassle for so much in life”

Musa Garba Bawa @khalamuddeen: “PMB all the way, no shaking 2019 In-Shaa-Allah.  Mal. Garba Shehu continue the good work we are 100% in support. Let Super Eagles win”.

Adamu Kassim @Kasimupro: “Truly this man is a leader.  I will sell my TV to buy something like this”.

Femi Fakolade @femikolade “We brought nothing to this world and we shall go with nothing”.

Badong Joshua @Joshua_badong: “This alone shows how caring and all inclusive leadership style of our President”.

Olademeji @Omoniyi22: “Look at the home of our dear noble PMB, just very simple…God bless you”

Ohalem Charles Bekee @ohakem_b: “Simple”

Thywill Mac Diri @MacDiri: “This TV is 32". This man is a simple pal”.

Chibuzo @ogopans: “I love dis (this) man soo much”

Bayo Lee @triplebayo: “modest sitting room belonging to such a humble man! Well done”

Nuel @nuelinc: “This man is super humble….imagine my President’s set of electronics….love you plenty Sir.”

iamLaBelle @sallyz80: “Can’t remember where or when last I saw this TV stand in any politician’s home. @MBuhari is so simple”

Ezekiel Dan @vandamie: “This President LG TV is LCD not LED let alone Smart TV.  He’s so humble and real.  How I wish he’s not this old”

Ole Gunner Silksjaur @Asaemzii: “I love leaders like u! That’s why I will be voting Raila Odinga to be the 5th President of Kenya.  Change is inevitable this time.  #UhuruVsRaila2."

Sulaiman @Smoosty: “Ur simplicity and humility made me fall for you…Glad to have you as my President.”

Abdulkadir Wanka @abdulkaiwanka: “The same TV stand I usually complain my grandma of using bcos its outdated is wat my President uses…simplicity at its peak.”

Fatima Mohammed @timezglobal: (In posting the lavish parlor of an ex-president) “Who can compare Baba’s sitting room to this? This is absolute humility! May God guide and protect our dear President”

Horay of Ife @shalamsee: “Humility at its peak… this impressed me”

Baba Salami @sola Salami: “Baba still dey use VHS?”

Jamal Bibinu@jamalbab: “I love your simplicity sir! So humble my President, has anyone noticed d TV stand n cushions not the ones in vogue?”

Akhimie Godwin on Facebook: “Look at this selfless man, using an old television set and old furniture. I will always support you because of your modest lifestyle, unlike an average Nigeria(n) politician who will acquire all what they don’t need. Sai Buhari for life!”

Emmanuel Udom: “where on earth do you find a president of the most populous black nation on earth living a moderate life? It can only be Muhammadu Buhari. An answered prayer; that’s what Buhari is, a man of integrity, a man of impeccable character. Sai Buhari for 2019; he deserves it, we’ll prevail on him to continue with the good job he’s doing.”

Nasiru Yola: “the epitome of simplicity… such a decent man will only be abhorred by the ill-informed or the fantastically corrupt… carry on PMB….”

Ijale Timothy: “A born patriotic leader. God give you health to deliver this country beyond 2019.  Love you my ​PRESIDENT.”

Adamu Bashir Njobdi: "If I wish to be a local government chairman, my living room will be far better than for the current president.  May Allah continue to bless and give my president sound health.  #PMB till 2023”.

Odeku Wisdom: “This is really nice.  Enjoy the holiday my president. Sai Baba”

Salihu Abdullahi: “May Allah guide and protect our great leader.”

Abubakar Waziri: “Integrity, very modest house for the current President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.  Ex-Military Governor, Ex-GOC, Ex-Minister of Petroleum Resources, Ex-Head of State and C-in-C, Ex-Chairman Petroleum Trust Fund. Integrity speaks for itself.  Please name another individual if you disagree.”

Ahmed T. Abubakar: “A leader with prudence, integrity, fairness and truth worth (trust worthy?) we believe in you”

Ajayi Olulope John Fnimn: “Simplicity and humility everywhere around him.  Focused and patriotic.  No weapons fashioned against you will prosper, Dear President.”

Adamoleken Femi: “God bless the President”

Jafar Umar Wathanafa: “Everyday, this man teaches something about vain life! modesty (a)musing.”

Oga Omoyemi Tilewa: “Just wanna be like this man, the same TV since he entered.”

Dami Ogunloye@Dami4change “This room doesn’t worth mummy Diezani’s kitchen.”


I have two narratives to add to these positive sentiments. One, in the course of the campaign, I remember the then candidate Buhari being ushered into a lavish guest house of a serving Governor. Each of the single seats was as big as a settee or a bed, if you like. President Buhari jocularly commented that the chairs alone have filled up the room: Why this big?

Two, many may recall that when he gave out his daughter in marriage sometime last year, the President ruled out the use of government funds in all of the activities. His reason was that this was a private, family event and should be kept as such. And so it was.

A country struggling with its economy should consider herself lucky with a leader who husbands state resources as prudently as he does his personal resources.

All politicians have their selling points.  For President Muhammadu Buhari, it is his simplicity, honesty, incorruptibility and personal integrity. Let the naysayers dispute!


Garba Shehu is the Senior Special Assistant, Media and Publicity, to President Muhammadu Buhari.

Court orders INEC to proceed with Dino's recall process

Senator Dino Melaye

An Abuja Division of the Federal High Court on Monday dismissed an application filed by a senator, Dino Melaye, against his planned recall.

Mr. Melaye had approached the court in July to challenge a decision of Nigeria’s electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to commence a process for his recall, following petitions filed by members of the Kogi West senatorial constituency where the lawmaker represents.

The court had ordered a suspension of the recall process, following Mr. Melaye’s application, but directed on Tuesday that the process should continue, after deciding that the application lacked merit.

The presiding judge, Nnamdi Dimgba, ruled that the electorate whose petition resulted in the recall had a right to request the removal of their senator from office since they are the ones who “gifted the position of the said office” to Mr. Melaye.

“The electorate voted the senator into office, they gifted him the office and they have the right to take back what they gifted.

“It is also important to know that going by the electoral laws, the members of the constituency do not owe the senator any right to inform him of their lack of confidence in him. All they owe is to inform the body, which will inform the senator in a manner deemed appropriate for him to prepare to defend himself,” Mr Dimgba said.

Citing electoral laws of the United States, the judge added that the law does mandate the electorate to exhibit its right of franchise, “only in good fate.”

“The electorate can vote for any reason, good or bad, the same rule applies for a recall process. Electoral constituents can act in a way they deem fit. It is beyond the powers of the court to determine how they (the constituency) can exhibit that right.”

The court also decided that INEC was not under any obligation to inform Mr Melaye of its decision to recall him.

“I do not believe that an agency seeking to recall the senator has a duty to inform him, before commencing the process, these are clear cut procedures. The duty of the commission is to access the petitions and verify that the signatories are authentic.”

Mr. Dimgba said the allegation of fraud and fictitious signatures had already been settled by “the constitutional provision of INEC to verify the signatories.”

“I, therefore, hold that the complaint brought before the court were hasty, premature and presumptuous,” said Mr Dimgba.

He added that the makers of the constitution included the provision for the removal of a senator, despite “inherent dangers.” He said that in developed countries like the United States, such a provision is not included in the constitution so that it could be misused by certain political actors.

Mr. Dimgba noted that “the court only has the powers to interpret the laws as they are.”

According to the judge, Mr Melaye’s allegation of lack of fair hearing cannot be treated in the court because the constitution has already provided an internal process inherent in INEC’s recall procedure for Mr. Melaye to determine whether he would be granted a fair hearing on not.

He added that unless Mr. Melaye exhausts the internal mechanism provided by law, he cannot complain of being denied a fair hearing.

Mr. Dimbga further said that the 188,588 voters who reportedly signed the petitions against the lawmaker were in conformity with the constitutional requirement for over half of the registered 360,100 voters who registered for the election in Kogi-west constituency.

The judge also noted that the recall timetable provided in court had indicated clearly that Mr. Melaye would be given a chance to defend himself during the process.

He added that any further right of hearing, required by Mr. Melaye would be “between himself and his voters whom he has a right to explain himself to.”

‎Justice Dimbga, however, noted that the complaint brought by INEC against Mr Melaye’s motion was invalid, stressing that “the motion was duly filed according to the rules of court.”

He added that although the constitution does not specify that INEC must provide Mr. Melaye with the details of the recall before commencing with the process, it also did not state that it should inform the Senator ‘at all.’

“The defendant, however, informed the senator and rightly so, because it is in conformity with the natural law of justice,” said Mr. Dimgba.

The judge also queried the failure of INEC to include the details of the petition, when it eventually informed Mr. Melaye about the recall, wondering how the electoral body “expects Mr Melaye to defend himself.”

The judge subsequently ordered that a copy of the petition, the signatories to the said petition, as well as the supporters of the recall process be made available to the applicant within two weeks before the next amended date of commencement’ of the recall.

The court decided that the 90-day benchmark for the referendum on Mr. Melaye’s removal from office would continue from Monday, September 11.

Mr. Melaye known for his outspoken nature on and out of the floor of the National Assembly on critical national issues is currently fighting the battle of his life to retain his seat after 188,588 reportedly signed a petition seeking his recall.

He has been known to take on political figures including a national leader of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Bola Tinubun and his state governor, Yahaya Bello.

He was recently enmeshed in a messy academic certificate forgery scandal which put him in an unhealthy spotlight until the authorities of the school concerned, the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, came to his rescue to confirm that he indeed graduated from the institution.

Mr. Melaye has blamed the Kogi State Governor for being behind his present ordeal.

Source: Premium Times

Confessions of a Boko Haram defector

Boko Haram defector Bana Umar. Photo: H. Dauda for VOA Hausa

By Haruna Dauda, Salihu Garba & Dan Joseph

The way Bana Umar tells it, VOA and other broadcasters helped convince him to leave Boko Haram.

Until the night of August 18, Umar was a fighter for the Islamist radical group, living at a camp in the vast Sambisa Forest, one of the group's long-time strongholds in northeastern Nigeria.

The experience was certainly exciting. Umar says he served as a bodyguard for a commander, Abu Geidam, who he describes as very close to Abubakar Shekau, Boko Haram's best known leader.

And he saw action across Nigeria's Borno State. “I have been to war about six times,” he says. “I fought in Wulari. I fought in Bita. I participated in the fighting around Chad. I was in the group that repelled Nigerian soldiers whenever they ventured into Sambisa.”

But his conscience was just as active as his gun. When asked if what Boko Haram does is good and right, he says it is not, because the group attacks people “mercilessly and unjustly,” and in his view, manipulates Islam to its own violent ends.

Radio prompted him to make an escape plan. Umar says he heard promises from the Nigerian chief of army staff, General Tukur Buratai, that defectors from Boko Haram would be welcomed, not punished. And he heard how Boko Haram’s deadly ambushes and suicide bombings were received in the outside world.

“Many of us listened to radio stations like BBC and VOA,” he says. “I listened to these radio stations frequently to the extent that when I laid down to sleep I would be thinking of what I heard. I realised that all our activities were evil. We killed. We stole. We dispossessed people of their properties in the name of religion. But what we are doing is not religion. Finally I got fed up with the group.”

Umar is now in the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, after fleeing the Boko Haram camp. He described his experiences this week in an interview with VOA Hausa Service reporter Haruna Dauda. His comments, translated from Hausa, provide insight into how the militants recruit and retain fighters and are managing to survive in the face of a multi-nation offensive.

Persuaded to join, scared to leave

Umar is 27 years old and hails from Banki, a town on Nigeria’s border with Cameroon. Until 2014, he made his living as a cell phone repairman and burning CDs.

But that year, Boko Haram overran the town. Umar says his friend, Abu Mujaheed, lured him into becoming a member of the group. All Nigerians are infidels, and only the followers of Abubakar Shekau are true Muslims, Mujaheed said. Join and you can fight to kill all the infidels.

Umar joined, but says he quickly got scared and wanted to run. He didn’t, he says, because Abu Mujaheed told him he would be killed if he tried to escape.

Asked this week if that was true, Umar said there is no doubt about it. “Even mere rumor or allegation that someone is contemplating leaving the group would lead to the killing of the person,” he says.

He says Boko Haram also discouraged defectors by telling them General Buratai’s promise of amnesty for any escapee was a ruse.

There are more than 1,000 Boko Haram members who would like to leave the group, Umar says. “There are many people that were abducted from their home towns who don’t know the way back to their places of origin. They [Boko Haram leaders] preach to such people not to leave, as if it was divine for them to be there.”

He adds: “Even some original members of the sect now want to leave because soldiers have intensified the war against them unlike in the past.”

All Boko Haram members must take new names when they join the group, and Bana Umar’s name was changed to Abu Mustapha. He says he became a fighter, not a commander. He said the militants were living in the Jimiya section of the Sambisa Forest, which, according to him, was the headquarters for Boko Haram.

At one time, he implies, living conditions were decent. In 2014, Boko Haram ruled large parts of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, and could operate almost at will.

Now, he says, “Life is difficult. It is not what it used to be in the past. Food is difficult for everyone.”

Some militants grow their own food, he says. “But even when you farm, your leader could take all your farm produce from you in the name of religion. You are always told that your leader has rights over all you have and yourself,” he says.

Boko Haram leaders also use religion as a prod to violence, he says.

“They use religion to tell us to kill with the promise of going to paradise. Leaders quote profusely from the Quran and the sayings of the prophet [Mohammed] to support their arguments. As they explain to make us understand their own point of view as the absolute truth, we must keep saying Allah is great, Allah is great. Then we would go out to kill,” he says.

A call to ‘repent’

Boko Haram has killed at least 20,000 people across Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger since it launched its insurgency against the Nigerian government in 2009. Attacks and bombings continue, even though the joint task force sponsored by those countries and Benin has stripped Boko Haram of nearly all the territory it once controlled, which leader Abubakar Shekau said would form the base of a “caliphate”.

With the weight of the group's deeds bearing down on him, Bana Umar felt a growing need to flee. He didn’t act, however, until someone else encouraged him to believe what General Buratai promised.

He escaped on the night of August 18 with that person – the wife of his commander, Abu Geidam. On the 20th, they turned themselves in at a Nigerian army base in Maiduguri.

Asked what he would say to Boko Haram fighters still in the Sambisa Forest, Umar says: “I am calling them to repent, especially those who want to come out but are afraid... Let people know that soldiers would not do anything to whoever voluntarily repents. I came out and no one harms me. Not one single soldier lays his hand on me.”

Nigerian officials are currently debriefing Bana Umar, as they do with all Boko Haram members who leave the group voluntarily. When they finish, he will be reintegrated into Nigerian society, although not in his hometown of Banki. He will be taken to another location where he isn’t known, to make a fresh start. (VOA)

Corrupt fugitives to be extradited to Nigeria for trial soon

Buhari signs nine agreements, including extradition treaty with UAE yesterday

President Muhammadu Buhari has signed nine agreements, including the Extradition Treaty, with United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The treaty is designed to strengthen Nigeria’s anti-corruption campaign.

Speaking at the agreement signing ceremony at the President Villa, Abuja on Thursday, the President said that the agreements would enable both countries to take important steps toward strengthening their economies and security.

“Today’s ceremony marks a very important milestone in our demonstration of sovereign capacity to fulfil our international obligations and take important steps for the benefit of our economy, security and the anti-corruption war within and outside Nigeria.

“I am happy to note therefore, that pursuant to a Memorandum presented to the Federal Executive Council by the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Council has approved the ratification of the said Agreements, thus paving the way for today’s ceremony.

“With this sovereign act, which has been replicated in the United Arab Emirates by their responsible authorities, we are now in a position to utilize these Agreements fully to foster cooperation between our respective authorities particularly for the purpose of prosecuting the anti-corruption campaign of this Government.’’

President Buhari, therefore, charged all agencies with roles to play under the respective Treaties to ensure that they did that effectively to reap the full benefits of the agreements.

Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates in January 2016 in Abu Dhabi signed six different agreements to enhance bilateral relations between them.

The signing of the agreements on trade, finance and judicial matters was witnessed by President Muhammadu Buhari and the Crown Prince of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami and his counterpart in the United Arab Emirates, Sultan Bin Saeed Albadi signed the Judicial Agreements on Extradition, Transfer of Sentenced Persons, Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal Matters and Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal and Commercial Matters, which include the recovery and repatriation of stolen wealth.

The President, however, said that the full implementation of the agreements was delayed due to the need for both sides to conclude their respective ratification processes.

President Buhari further observed that the signing of the agreements was in demonstration of the nation’s sovereign capacity to fulfil its international obligations and take important steps for the benefit of the economy, security and the anti-corruption war within and outside Nigeria.

In his remarks, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, said the signing of the treaties was a clear demonstration of Nigeria’s determination to continue to play its role as a responsible member of the international community.

Other legal instruments between Nigeria and UAE signed by the President included the Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters; Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance in Civil and Commercial Matters and the Agreement on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons.

The President also signed the Charter for the Lake Chad Basin between Nigeria, Cameroun, Central African Republic, Libya, Niger and the Republic of Chad, African Tax Administration Forum Agreement on Mutual Assistance in Tax Matters.

Others are the World Intellectual Property Organisation Performances and Phonograms Treaty; The World Intellectual Property Organization Treaty on Audio-Visual Performances.

The Marrakesh Treaty to facilitate access to published works for persons, who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise was also signed by the President.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the signing of the agreements was witnessed by Ambassadors of the United Kingdom, USA, Ireland, Chad, and Head of the European Union (EU) to Nigeria as well as some cabinet ministers and presidential aides. NAN

The Lion King on his way back home

President Buhari Senate president Saraki (left) and Speaker Dogara (right)

President Muhammadu Buhari returns to the country later today, after receiving medical attention in London.

The President had left the country on May 7, this year, after handing over power to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who has functioned as Acting President since then.

According the Femi Adesina Special Adviser to the President, Buhari is expected to speak to Nigerians in a broadcast by 7 a.m on Monday, August 21, 2017.

He thanks all Nigerians who have prayed ceaselessly for his recovery and well-being since the beginning of the health challenge.

Another Nigerian oil mogul named in ex-Minister Alison-Madueke’s alleged corruption, UK property frozen

Benedict Peters bought this £2.8m luxury flat in Harley House, London, in March 2011, with the help of London-based estate agent Daniel Ford. The property is now frozen.

Aiteo Chief Executive Officer, Benedict Peters, is the latest Nigerian oil mogul to be named in the case surrounding the bribery allegations against former Nigerian Oil Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke.

Three London properties linked to the alleged bribery of Mrs. Alison-Madueke have been frozen under the UK Proceeds of Crime Act, at least one of which is owned by Mr. Peters.

The order, issued in September 2016 and obtained by Africa Confidential, forbids defendants Benedict Peters, Mrs. Alison-Madueke, Atlantic Energy’s Kola Aluko and Jide Omokore, Christopher Aire (a jeweller for Mrs. Alison-Madueke) and Donald Amamgbo (her cousin) from disposing of or dealing with the properties.

Messrs Alison-Madueke, Aluko and Omokore were named in the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DoJ) asset forfeiture, which stated that the same London properties totaling more than £10m were bought for the oil minister in order to secure lucrative Strategic Alliance Agreements (SAAs), which saw prized Nigerian oil assets passed to the minister’s cronies for pittance.

Mr. Peters’ company Aiteo has been linked to the 2015 INEC bribery scheme that saw Mrs. Alison-Madueke’s son, Ugonna Madueke, distribute $115million to INEC officials via Fidelity Bank in 2015.

But the inclusion of Mr. Peters as a defendant in the London case, which relates to an attempt to influence the former Minister’s contracting decisions, suggests that international investigations could be more wide ranging than was previously known.

Mr. Peters’ company, Aiteo, did not directly benefit from the SAAs, but it flourished under Mrs. Alison-Madueke’s oil ministry. As well as term contracts from the NNPC, Aiteo benefitted from the oil swaps, and bought Shell’s prize asset, OML 29. With Peters now in the frame, these deals could face the same scrutiny from international law enforcement as the notorious Atlantic SAAs.

London, via Houston

Mr. Peters has admitted to being the owner of the Seychellois company, Rosewood Investments Limited, who until now has been known as “co-conspirator #2” in the DOJ’s case. Rosewood Investments bought the £2.8m luxury flat in Harley House, London, in March 2011, with the help of London-based estate agent Daniel Ford.

Mr. Peters later bought luxury furnishings for the flat from Mrs. Alison-Madueke’s favourite Houston store, according to the US documents. The DoJ affidavit says over the course of two days in May 2011, Mr. Peters bought over $107,000 of furniture – including a sideboard worth more than $10,000 – that was later shipped to the UK and installed at Harley House.

Construction workers renovating Harley House over the summer of 2011 were introduced to Mrs. Alison-Madueke as “the architect”, and Kola Aluko, who was co-ordinating the renovation of Harley House in the summer of 2011, forwarded the plans for the apartment to the former minister.

Mr. Peters could not be reached to comment for this story. All his known telephone lines were switched off the multiple times PREMIUM TIMES called in three days. He is yet to respond to an email inquiry sent to him.

An official of his Sigmund Group, who was contacted by telephone, said he could not speak for Mr. Peters, and would not provide his latest contact details.

Diezani’s deals: the swaps and the blocks

The Swaps

Mr. Peters ran tank farms under the aegis of Sigmund Communnecci Limited until 2008, when a “re-branding” exercise renamed the company to Aiteo. Its success under the Goodluck Jonathan government has made it perhaps Nigeria’s largest indigenous oil and gas company.

Aiteo entered into its first offshore processing agreement (OPA) contract with Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s Duke Oil in 2010 which gave the company 30,000 barrels of oil a day. Under the contact terms, Aiteo was supposed to refine the crude and import a set value of oil products in return. That deal was periodically renewed, but it was not renewed in 2014.

In January 2015, Aiteo received another OPA deal (90,000 barrels per day) directly from NNPC, but the contract was cancelled by the Buhari administration. That same time, the company took over Duke Oil’s 30,000 barrels per day OPA. The deal was also cancelled shortly afterwards.

Former Governor of Central Bank, Lamido Sanusi, published an explosive memo in 2014 that pointed to possible NNPC losses of $20billion between January 2012 and July 2013, and listed the oil swaps as potential leakage points. Experts pointed to numerous loopholes in the contracts that could have cost NNPC millions – including a clause stating that records relating to the contract could be disposed of after a year.

President Muhammadu Buhari cancelled the swap contracts as soon as he assumed the Nigerian presidency in 2015, but it took until March 2017 for Aiteo to repay $202m in “reconciliation” charges – and there has been little transparency over how this figure was arrived at.

The blocks

By arguably the most lasting deal that Mrs. Alison-Madueke presided over during her time at the oil ministry was the sale of Shell’s onshore assets in the Eastern Niger Delta. The jewel in the Shell’s divestment portfolio was the Nembe Creek Trunkline, a critical crude oil pipeline that takes crude from the Delta to Bonny Export terminal – and the OML 29 oil block.

The Aiteo consortium was announced as the highest bidder for the most valuable block, OML 29, in March 2014, just a month after Sanusi’s memo was published.

Aiteo and its partners, Igho Sanomi’s Taleveras and a little known trader, Tempo Energy, bid $2.85m for the block, which commentators considered inflated. None of the companies had experience of production, and Shell encouraged the consortium to join up with a company that did.

It took over a year to for the deal to be completed, and in that time, Shell’s Chief Financial Officer warned investors that it was “difficult to predict” how the company would get approval of the sales from the government. Under the Petroleum Act the Minister has power of approval for the sale of oil licences in which NNPC has stake.

The purchase of the block was finally completed just days before the 2015 election, financed by Citi Bank, First Bank, Zenith Bank, and Union Bank Nigeria. The CBN demanded the reclassification of the loan in summer 2016 – as the Nigerian banking sector reached near crisis because of its exposure to Jonathan era deals.

The transaction was also partly funded by $512m of “seller financing” from Shell – under which Shell retains the exclusive rights to market oil from the block for the first five years.

Gunmen attack EFCC headquarters in Abuja

Damaged vehicle after the attacked on the EFCC headquarters

Abuja - The offices of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have been attacked by unknown gunmen in the early hours of Wednesday, August 16, 2017.

In what has been described as an unprecedented security breach, the still unknown gunmen attacked, the Abuja annex of the Headquarters of the Commission located at Wuse Zone 7, Abuja, EFCC spokesman Wilson Uwujaren stated.

He said a group of heavily armed bandits invaded the office at about 05.00 hours and began shooting into the premises.

He explained that they damaged vehicles parked in the premises but were repelled by guards on duty.

He added that the gunmen escaped in a getaway vehicle but not without leaving a message in a white envelope dropped by the fleeing attackers.

He said the white envelop contained a death threat addressed to Ishaku Sharu, a senior investigator with the Commission.

Ishaku who heads the Foreign Exchange Malpractices Fraud Section is in charge of corruption investigation involving several politically exposed persons and retired military brass.

The attack on the Zone 7 office which houses the Commission’s AMCON Desk, Procurement Fraud and Foreign Exchange Malpractices Sections, is coming few weeks after another investigator, Austin Okwor was shot and wounded by unknown assailants in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The EFCC acting Chairman, Ibrahim Magu in a recent interview told Daily Trust that corruption is fighting back and corrupt people were after him.

The Commission under his leadership has boasted of increasing the tempo of the fight against corruption more than ever before.

It has also bragged that illicit moneys recovered within the last two years have surpassed all recovered loot since the inception of the Commission.

The EFCC said the latest incident has already been reported to the police for investigation.

Source: Daily Trust

Air Force man to die by hanging for killing female colleague

The General Court Martial of the Nigerian Air Force has sentenced Air Craftsman Kalu Bernard of the Nigerian Air Force Ammament unit, to death by hanging for killing his girlfriend and colleague, Miss Oladipupo Sholape on March 12, 2017

Makurdi - A Nigerian Air Force (NAF) personnel, Air Craft Man (ACM), Kalu Bernard Ayomide, has been convicted and sentenced to death by hanging for killing his lover, Air Craft Woman Solape Oladipupo at the Airforce base in Makurdi.

The 22-year-old Ayomide was convicted based on charges of murder, house breaking, attempt to murder one Samuel Onah Echo, failure to perform military duties, disobedient to standing order and loosing service property.

Delivering the judgement at 8:30 pm yesterday, the President of the 10-man General Court Martial, Group Captain Elisha Bindul, held that the accused was guilty of six out of eight-count charges levelled against him.

Bindul therefore sentenced the convict to death by hanging.

It will be recalled that the convict had gunned down his lover, a female colleague, Air Craft Woman (ACW)  Oladipo Dorcas Sholape, on March 12 this year over suspicion that she was cheating on him.

The convict, ACM Kalu Bernard Ayomide, being led out of the venue of the court-martial. PHOTO BY: Hope Abbah

He had also made an attempt to shoot a civilian, Samuel Onah Echo, said to be a member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) who he (Ayomide) suspected was having an affair with the deceased.

The court however acquitted the convict of two-count charges of impersonation and misconduct of drinking Izal with impression of poisoning himself based on the fact that the prosecution could not prove both charges beyond reasonable doubt.

Counsel to the convict, Abimiku Ewuga, of the Ebofuame-Nezam chambers in Makurdi, said the court had delivered its judgment but added that the decision would to be tested at the appellate court.

The Prosecution, Oluremi Ilori, on his part said justice had been done and that the deceased would be happy in her grave.

Meanwhile, the court held that the verdict would be subject to confirmation of the convening authority.

Source: Daily Trust

New video: Factional leaders fight over aims of Boko Haram

A video released on Tuesday by the factional leader of Boko Haram accused Abubakar Shekau of going against the objectives of insurgents.

The video was posted on YouTube by Abu Musad Al-Barnawi.

In the video, Al-Barnawi accused Shekau of using Boko Haram to perpetrate crime.

Al-Barnawi, has predicted that the Shekau’s faction will suffer defeat at the hands of the Nigerian army.

He said that the group was created by Muhammad Yusuf for the purpose of propagating good teachings and practice of Islam.

Instead, Shekau, he said, had turned Boko Haram to an avenue for perpetrating all forms of criminality.


The video showed gory actions of Shekau, instead of the compassion they were supposed to show.

A man purporting to be a Boko Haram fighter threatened in a video April that the group will bomb Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, a statement that should serve as a wake up call for Nigeria’s security services.

Reuters said the suspected fighter for the terrorist group made the threat in a video obtained by Saharareporters and Dubai-based Nigerian journalist, Ahmad Salkida.

“More bombs attacks are on the way, including Abuja that you feel is secured,” said the man in the video in Hausa. As he spoke, he was flanked by four other armed men.

In April, Department of State Services (DSS) said it had thwarted plans by Boko Haram to attack the British and U.S. embassies in Abuja.

About 82 girls were freed last Saturday in exchange for Boko Haram commanders after being held captive for three years. They were among about 219 kidnapped by the jihadist group from the town of Chibok in northeast Nigeria in April 2014.

In a second video seen by Reuters, one of a group of four females covered in full-length Muslim veils claiming to be among the abducted girls said she did not want to return home.

“We don’t want to reunite with our parents because they are not worshipping Allah, and I urge you to join us,” she said, holding a rifle and speaking in the Hausa. She added: “We have not been forcefully married to anybody. Marriage is based on your wish.” NAN

NASS members on a mission to crash the war against corruption?

Col. Abubakar Dangiwa Umar (Rtd)

By Abubakar Dangiwa Umar

There are good reasons why Nigerians should take more than a passing interest in the controversy generated by the actions of members of the Senate Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariffs and that of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA). If the reports in the media are true, the matter goes beyond the victimisation of one organ of government by another. It is a possibility that members of the National Assembly might be on a mission to crash the Federal Government's war against corruption using the power of ‘oversight’ as cover. Two recent incidents would serve to illustrate the danger.

Sometime in October/November, 2016, a rice trading company, Master Energy Commodities Trading Limited, imported into Nigeria 1,200 metric tons of rice in 30, 40-foot containers. In their attempt to evade paying the correct custom duties, they declared the ‘rice’ consignment as ‘yeast.’ The goods were later intercepted and seized on the orders of the Controller-General of Customs (CGC), Col. Hamid Ali (rtd). Unfortunately, this seemingly patriotic action by a public officer was seen as an affront to one senior member of the National Assembly. A Senator, the leader of the Senate Committee on Customs, Excise & Tariff, wrote the CGC demanding that the consignment be released forthwith, on the dubious claim that he had investigated the matter and had found the importer blameless. His findings? That it was the clearing agent not the importer that called the goods ‘yeast’ instead of ‘rice’!

The CGC brushed aside this incredible story; as any right thinking person would do. But to the shock of many Nigerians, all hell broke loose. The Senate Committee then summoned the CGC to appear before them in uniform, seeing that as a retired Army colonel, he had refrained from wearing the Customs uniform. He was also directed to answer a long list of queries by this same angry panel. In the end, he was dragged before the Senate at plenary, put through a cruel inquisition, publicly humiliated and dismissed as "not fit to hold public office."

Fast-forward to last week. This time, a dubious scheme was uncovered in which a subsidiary company of the NPA went into a joint venture with a private company to manage the Calabar Port. Both the NPA subsidiary, called Calabar Channel Management, and the private company, Niger Global Engineering & Technical Company Limited, were incorporated together in 2014 just for this deal. The purported JV partner was then awarded a contract to dredge the Calabar channel, a contract the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPE) was to condemn as violating all due processes. This did not discourage them from demanding and getting a whopping US$12.5 million upfront payment from the NPA, or asking for a purported balance of  US$22 million.

In the meantime, a rash of petitions and reports had inundated the NPA against this contract, with many alleging it to be a bogus scam to siphon public funds. BPE was the first to cry out, saying both the award of the dredging contract and the initial payment of over N4 billion to Messrs Niger Global Engineering & Technical Company Limited were done in violation of the law. Even worse, all efforts of the new management of the NPA under Ms. Hadiza Bala Usman to find evidence of the dredging work purported to have been done in the Calabar channel at the time the company claimed to have done so were unsuccessful.

That is not all. There was also the report by a consultant that advised against a joint venture partnership for the purpose of managing the Calabar Port. Their reason was simply that maritime activities in the Calabar Port were too low, and that a joint venture scheme as obtained in Lagos and Bony was unsustainable.

Faced with these negative outcomes, the NPA management decided that national interest would be better served if the JV scheme, as well as the so-called dredging project are terminated. On its part, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has moved in with a mission to “recover public funds collected for job not done.”

Now, the name of the person driving this scheme is quite instructive going by the very loud and sustained counter attacks being mounted against the public officers; officers that insist that right things are done. He is the leader of the Senate Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariff. He is the owner of both the Niger Global Engineering & Technical Company Limited as well as the rice smuggling giant, Master Energy Commodities Trading Limited.

Nigerians must not leave the likes of Hamid Ali, Ibrahim Magu, Hadiza Bala Usman, (former BPP DG) Emeka Nzeh et al at the mercy of these strange law makers; politicians that have demonstrated time and again that they are in politics to serve themselves and themselves alone.

The experience of Hadiza Usman, the new MD of the NPA, is particularly sad. The more she tries to fight to reduce graft and perfidy, the more determined they seem to mobilise against her, to neutralise her and see her back. They want her out because, they now claim, she is ‘too young’ to manage a complex organisation such as NPA – even though she is past 40 years of age. Unashamed, they question the wisdom of appointing a woman to such a post – her training and experience counting for nothing; apparently.

Incidents such as these are the reason the Nigerian public feels let down by our Parliament. They are the reasons why a whole lot of Nigerians take a dim view of members of the National Assembly. Some even believe the conduct of our legislators is a major factor holding Nigeria down; why it is a laughing stock among the nations of the world.

It is the duty of all Nigerians to demand correct conduct from all public officials, including from members of the National Assembly, especially the Senate. Senator Bukola Saraki, the Senate President, must enforce discipline among his colleagues. No member of a committee, much less a Chairman, should remain in his duty post once credible information about possible crime is received on the person. We need not remind our political leaders, most of all our legislators, that punishment always follow excess.

•Col. Abubakar Dangiwa Umar (rtd), a former Military Governor of Kaduna State, writes from Kaduna

Source News Express