Mastermind of girl’s kidnap in police custody

The Lagos State police command has arrested a middle-aged man, Oluwadare Akanmu, for masterminding the kidnapping of Sharon Omolayo.

Miss Omolayo’s abduction on December 13 from her school, Avi Cenna International, Ikeja, created quite a stir in the mass media.

The case, originally reported at the Area F police station, was later transferred to the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) at Ikeja.

Mr Akanmu, a domestic staff in the home of the Omolayos at number 25, Kasum Street, Ikeja, allegedly masterminded Sharon’s kidnap with two other men, identified as Isikiru and Ibrahim, now at large, for ₦500,000.

A family panics

After eight gruesome days of worrying over the whereabouts and safety of little Sharon, her parents were shocked to discover that it was their trusted house help and family friend, Mr Akanmu, who was sent to pick her up from school that abducted the girl.

Mr Akanmu had been a friend of the family for more than five years and had been sent to pick Sharon from school on several occasions. He was well known to the staff in Sharon’s school who apparently did not suspect any foul play when he showed up to pick her on that fateful day.

Sharon’s father, Ebenezer Omolayo, while speaking on behalf of his family, said that his wife was supposed to pick Sharon up from school on that day but could not and had to send Mr Akamo instead. However, both of them never returned home that day.

Mr Omolayo recounted how he met Mr Akamo in Port Harcourt in 2004 at a new estate he moved into, where Mr Akamo worked as a welder.

“I was staying in an estate in Port Harcourt, a new estate,” he said. “He is one of the people that built the estate. I moved into the estate and I saw him as a good boy. Everybody liked him and he started working for me then and that is how I employed him without knowing his family members. He slept on the floor of the estate and if it was raining, he slept at my balcony.”

According to Mr Omolayo, the amount of trust his family had in Mr Akamo, coupled with the number of years they had spent together, did not allow him even to suspect the man’s culpability.

Unusual suspect

“I didn’t suspect Dare initially,” he said. “That night, we took ‘Okada’ to his house at Agege and looked for his friend to check if he was there. Until we got to the police station and the police were doing their investigation and all these things started coming out.”

Mr Omolayo added that it would be difficult to trust anyone with their child from now on and that the family is not thinking of employing anyone else for now.

“It is difficult now. There is a parent that called me and she says she has five kids and it is their housemaid that always take them to school. She has learnt from it and such a thing will never happen again.”

He commended the police for conducting a thorough investigation.

“They’ve done a fantastic job because without them, all these things wouldn’t have happened and we won’t have known where Sharon is and even if Dare brought Sharon back, we might have just still employed him and still continued. But the police did a good job.”

Still at large

Frank Mba, police spokesperson, said two other men who collaborated with Mr Akamo in the crime were still at large. While holding up a photograph of the suspects, he said, “These people were part of the conspiracy. The tallest guy is Lukman; he is still at large. The other one is Isikiru. He operated with the pseudo name, Ibrahim, throughout the negotiations. He was the one who was actually speaking with operatives all along.”

He advised parents and employers to conduct background check before recruiting domestic staff.

“Parents are advised to conduct background check before recruiting domestic staff and after employing them they should continue to monitor them and check if there is any change in their behaviour. The case is under investigation, the police are on the trail of the other suspects and they have been declared wanted. The suspect will be prosecuted,” Mr. Mba said.
Source:http://234next.com/




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Mastermind of girl’s kidnap in police custody

The Lagos State police command has arrested a middle-aged man, Oluwadare Akanmu, for masterminding the kidnapping of Sharon Omolayo.

Miss Omolayo’s abduction on December 13 from her school, Avi Cenna International, Ikeja, created quite a stir in the mass media.

The case, originally reported at the Area F police station, was later transferred to the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) at Ikeja.

Mr Akanmu, a domestic staff in the home of the Omolayos at number 25, Kasum Street, Ikeja, allegedly masterminded Sharon’s kidnap with two other men, identified as Isikiru and Ibrahim, now at large, for ₦500,000.

A family panics

After eight gruesome days of worrying over the whereabouts and safety of little Sharon, her parents were shocked to discover that it was their trusted house help and family friend, Mr Akanmu, who was sent to pick her up from school that abducted the girl.

Mr Akanmu had been a friend of the family for more than five years and had been sent to pick Sharon from school on several occasions. He was well known to the staff in Sharon’s school who apparently did not suspect any foul play when he showed up to pick her on that fateful day.

Sharon’s father, Ebenezer Omolayo, while speaking on behalf of his family, said that his wife was supposed to pick Sharon up from school on that day but could not and had to send Mr Akamo instead. However, both of them never returned home that day.

Mr Omolayo recounted how he met Mr Akamo in Port Harcourt in 2004 at a new estate he moved into, where Mr Akamo worked as a welder.

“I was staying in an estate in Port Harcourt, a new estate,” he said. “He is one of the people that built the estate. I moved into the estate and I saw him as a good boy. Everybody liked him and he started working for me then and that is how I employed him without knowing his family members. He slept on the floor of the estate and if it was raining, he slept at my balcony.”

According to Mr Omolayo, the amount of trust his family had in Mr Akamo, coupled with the number of years they had spent together, did not allow him even to suspect the man’s culpability.

Unusual suspect

“I didn’t suspect Dare initially,” he said. “That night, we took ‘Okada’ to his house at Agege and looked for his friend to check if he was there. Until we got to the police station and the police were doing their investigation and all these things started coming out.”

Mr Omolayo added that it would be difficult to trust anyone with their child from now on and that the family is not thinking of employing anyone else for now.

“It is difficult now. There is a parent that called me and she says she has five kids and it is their housemaid that always take them to school. She has learnt from it and such a thing will never happen again.”

He commended the police for conducting a thorough investigation.

“They’ve done a fantastic job because without them, all these things wouldn’t have happened and we won’t have known where Sharon is and even if Dare brought Sharon back, we might have just still employed him and still continued. But the police did a good job.”

Still at large

Frank Mba, police spokesperson, said two other men who collaborated with Mr Akamo in the crime were still at large. While holding up a photograph of the suspects, he said, “These people were part of the conspiracy. The tallest guy is Lukman; he is still at large. The other one is Isikiru. He operated with the pseudo name, Ibrahim, throughout the negotiations. He was the one who was actually speaking with operatives all along.”

He advised parents and employers to conduct background check before recruiting domestic staff.

“Parents are advised to conduct background check before recruiting domestic staff and after employing them they should continue to monitor them and check if there is any change in their behaviour. The case is under investigation, the police are on the trail of the other suspects and they have been declared wanted. The suspect will be prosecuted,” Mr. Mba said.
Source:http://234next.com/




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We want justice'

Three weeks after Pius Ogwuche lost his life during a fracas with a soldier in front of the Ojo Military Cantonment in Lagos, the deceased man's family has begun to worry that the officers of the Nigerian Army may be planning to avert justice.


"It's over two weeks since we reported the case to the Military Police of the Ojo Military Cantonment and we have not heard anything again," said Sunday Ogwuche, the deceased's younger brother.
Drama and death
Narrating the incident that led to the death of Mr. Ogwuche, 52, a commercial bus driver, on that Friday evening, November 26, Kabiru Bala, an eyewitness said that they had closed work for the day and were driving home when the chain of events that eventually led to the death of his boss began to unfold.
"At the Barrack U-turn where we were about to turn, a soldier man's bus came from behind and hit my driver's bus," said Mr. Bala, who worked as the deceased's conductor. "My driver came down from his bus and said ‘Oga, why did you hit me?' and the soldier man said ‘Between both of us, who hit each other?'"
According to Mr. Bala who identified the military officer's bus registration number as XU 945 FST, rather than show remorse, the military officer began to claim that he was right and started beating and slapping Mr. Ogwuche.
"My driver (Mr. Ogwuche) left him and was about entering his own bus when the soldier man jacked and pulled him out and asked: ‘Where do you think you are going?' And my oga said: ‘I am only respecting you because of your uniform.' And that was when the soldier man started punching him up to the point that his ear started bleeding."
Mr. Bala said that the deceased left the military officer and crossed to the other side of the expressway but when he saw that the officer was pulling away in his bus, he ran back and drove after him.
"My driver ran after the soldier man and double-crossed him. Another soldier man came and told my driver he should go away and treat himself instead of arguing with the soldier."
Mr. Ogwuche stood his ground and was trying to get hold of the military officer's bus key, according to Mr. Bala, when the officer knocked Mr Ogwuche out of the way with his bus. In the midst of the fracas that ensued, Mr Ogwuche slumped and became unconscious.
"The soldier man drove into the barracks and I took my driver to the hospital and the doctor confirmed him dead," said Mr. Bala.
‘Underhand arrangement'
According to Mr. Ogwuche's younger brother, Sunday, the military officer was apprehended days after the incident and kept in custody at the Military Police Department of the Ojo Military Cantonment with his name given as Okon Edet Essien.
"So far, the soldier has not been handed over to the Onireke Police Station where the case was reported for trial but, instead, the military is trying to make an underhand arrangement to aid the soldier in evading trial by a court of law," said Sunday.
At the Onireke Police Station, a police officer confirmed that they were yet to receive any feedback from their counterparts in the army.
"You know, this is going to be treated as a homicide case," said the police officer who did not disclose his name.
"So we are going to transfer it to Panti (State Criminal Investigation Department) for appropriate action," he said.
However, when NEXT visited the Military Police Department at Ojo Cantonment, an officer identified as W.F. David said that the department does not deal with the public.
"This is the Military Police," said the officer who also did not say if the alleged culprit was still in their custody, "If you need any information on the case, you can go to the Army Public Relations Unit at Kofo Abayomi."
At the Army Headquarters at Kofo Abayomi, Victoria Island, an officer at the Public Relations Unit declined to disclose the status of the investigation.
"If they (Ojo Cantonment) say they are investigating, then they are investigating. Do you think an investigation like this takes days?" said the officer identified as Captain Lawal. "By the way, what is your business in the case? Are you the man's family or lawyer?" he asked.
Despite Mr. Lawal's insistence that the army would try the culprit and invite the deceased's family to come and testify at the military hearing, it is gathered that the family has still not been contacted for this purpose three weeks after. As the family continues to wait for justice, Sunday said the upkeep of his late brother's wife and four children has become an additional burden that is stretching his meagre resources.
"The livelihood of our aged mother also depended on him (Pius) and now he is no more. We want to make sure that justice is done and the culprit made to face the consequences of his actions," said Sunday.
Source:http://234next.com/

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Police revisit trigger-happy cop’s case

Jubril Rasheed

An indication has emerged that the police authorities have commenced the reinvestigation of the case of a trigger-happy policeman, Mr. Gbenga Fashola, who shot a 23-year-old, Mr. Jubril Rasheed, on the buttocks and rendered him impotent.


Investigations by PUNCH METRO revealed that the police authorities intervened in the matter following public outcry that greeted Jubril’s fate.

The Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi, in a telephone interview with our correspondent in Abeokuta on Sunday, said the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 2, Lagos, Mr. Sulaiman Salkai, had taken over the matter.

“The AIG has called for explanation on the matter; he has called for the case file, including the criminal and the disciplinary aspects. He has ordered Fashola to come and he is investigating the matter. He is studying the whole report,” Adejobi said.

The PPRO for Zone 2, Mr. Kennedy Odigwe, confirmed the intervention of the AIG in a telephone interview with our correspondent.

Odigwe said, “The story as published by PUNCH METRO has been so sympathetic and the AIG has decided to revisit the issue by looking into the matter. The court’s issue in the story is not a police matter, the one that concerns us is going to be addressed and this is the issue of the reinstatement and the promotion of a dismissed policeman.

“We are all human beings and the AIG as a man, who is very humane and sympathetic, was not happy at all after reading the publications. The story is so sympathetic and he is very much interested and will ensure that justice is done accordingly on the matter.”

He said all parties in the matter would be invited and a deputy commissioner in the zone had been assigned to look at the issue closely and interview all the necessary parties in the matter.

Jubril’s father, Mr. Clement Rasheed, lauded the police for revisiting the issue.

Clement said, “That is a good news to me. I will be very happy if the police can revisit the issue and ensure that justice is done to my son. I feel sad that such a heinous crime is committed and that the man, who committed the crime, is not punished.

“I was invited to witness the orderly room trial where the judgment was read to Fashola and he was declared guilty and dismissed over unjust use of firearms. I was there to witness all these. But I was surprised that after a few months, the policeman was not only reinstated but was promoted as well.

“Out of shock and disbelief, I went to the station to confirm and I saw him dressed in his new rank. I even stretched my hand to greet him but he refused to shake my hands probably out of fear that I have come with a charm or something else.”

Jubril also expressed joy when he learnt that police authorities had ordered a fresh probe into the matter.

“I am happy with this development; so many lies have been told against me and the present decision of the police will provide hope for me to get justice,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Ogun State Command’s PPRO in a statement on Sunday insisted that Fashola was reinstated based on the Director of Public Prosecution’s advice that the policeman had no case to answer.

Adejobi said, “The command wishes to state that in accordance with democratic tenets and rule of law, there was a need for the command to review the dismissal of Fashola, having been discharged by a court of competent jurisdiction for the offence with which he was charged based on legal advice of DPP Ogun State, which also formed the basis for his police orderly room trial and dismissal in the first place. The review of his dismissal vis-à-vis the court’s judgment discharging him led to his reinstatement.”

But the Director of Public Prosecution, Mr. Olaotan Olusegun, had on Thursday said the police in their report claimed that Jubril wanted to flee after he had been arrested and that accidental discharge occurred when the 23-year-old Ghanaian was being pursued by Fashola.

Besides, he said, “Unfortunately, we do not have the information that an orderly room trial was earlier conducted and that the policeman had been dismissed. The police did not disclose this to us.”
Source:http://www.punchng.com/

 

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Army ends rookie robber’s escapade

It was the end of the road for a rookie thief, who joined his gang to rob a widow of her ‘widow’s mite’, as men of Lagos State security initiative, Operation Mesa, cut short his ambition. He was nabbed having in possession of a double barrel pistol with which he carried out the operation.

Identified as Stephen Omavigbo, the suspect, who was handed over to the police by the 9 Brig. Commander, Brigade General Hassan Muazu, told Daily Sun it was his first time in the crime world.

He said he never knew his friends were robbers, adding that he followed them to rob a woman, Vivian, in Lagos, whom he said they trailed from Intercontinental Bank at Alaba-Rago area of the metropolis.

Vivian had set out very early in the morning on that fateful day, to withdraw some money to take care of the family, oblivious of what awaited her. She had parked her car at a far distance to make ease her movement and boarded a commercial motorbike popularly called okada to bank.

Daily Sun learnt that after completing her transaction at the bank, she came out and boarded another okada to where she parked her vehicle. Just before getting to the point where she left her vehicle, the bike operator pulled out a gun. Confused, the woman jumped off the bike, astonished. The motorcyc;ist- turned robber ordered her to hand over the bag she was carrying.

At that point, the other members of the gang jumped out from their hideout and threatened Vivian to hand over the bag containing the mone..

Daily Sun learnt that she withdrew N300, 000 from the bank that afternoon and the robbers took all and were about getting away in their motorbike, when onlookers alerted soldiers attached to the Operation Mesa.
Swiftly, a detachment of OP Mesa men arrived at the scene. They started shooting to regain the area from the robbers, who had hitherto taken charge.

The robbers’ locally made pistol was no match for over seven OP Mesa’s superior firepower from FN rifles and Kalashnikov. Realizing that the operation had failed, the robbers abandoned their operation and fled the scene.
The rookie robber was left alone with the bag in one hand and the gun on the other, looking confused as to what had gone wrong. He was ordered to surrender.

He obeyed and handed over the bag containing N300, 000 and the gun to the securitymen. “It was my first time, I never knew it was robbery that they were embarking upon, my friends only asked me to see them off to somewhere,” he lamented.

Omavigho had been lamenting his action since he was arrested, but the Army had told him to “tell that to the dogs,” even as the Brigade Commander has warned that it is just the beginning for criminals. Muazu warned that his men would not hesitate to deal with criminals seeking to make the yuletide rough for law-abiding citizens.

Gen. Muazu said Omovigho and his gang would have collected N300, 000, two GSM handsets, National Identity Card and cosmetics which were inside the victim’s bag.
Source:http://www.sunnewsonline.com/


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Police make U-turn, confirm reinstatement, promotion of trigger-happy cop

The Ogun State Police Command on Wednesday made a U-turn on Mr. Gbenga Fashola, the policeman that shot a 23-year-old Ghanaian, Mr. Jubril Rasheed, on the buttocks and rendered him impotent.


The command’s Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi, in an interview with PUNCH METRO confirmed that Fashola had been reinstated and promoted.

This was contrary to his earlier position on Tuesday that the command had not received signal about Fashola’s reinstatement.

“The policeman has been dismissed and I doubt what the man (the victim’s father) is saying. If he is sure of his facts, he should go and get the man’s (Fashola’s) photograph and bring it to us as a proof,” Adejobi had said.

The PPRO, however, said Fashola’s reinstatement was necessitated by the state’s Director of Public Prosecution’s advice.

“You should know that for Fashola to be reinstated and promoted, there must be reason for it. The case got to the DPP, who looked into the matter and said he had no case to answer and once a case is like this, there is nothing the police can do.” Adejobi said.

But when contacted on the phone, the state’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Akin Osibajo, did not pick his calls.

However, our correspondent sent a text message to the commissioner to find out if the DPP advised that Fashola had no case to answer. As at the time the paper went to bed, he was yet to respond to the text message.

Jubril, who condemned the police for reinstating Fashola, said the policeman’s action on May 11, 2010, at Sabo Police Station, Abeokuta, rendered him impotent and made him lose five teeth.

Recalling the incident in an interview with PUNCH METRO, Jubril said, “I was with my immediate elder brother, Faruk, on the ill-fated day when I saw two policemen and Rita in our house to arrest my brother over an alleged love relationship with Rita’s sister.

“As the policemen were taking my brother away, I called Rita to complain to her that the matter should not have been reported to the police when our parents had promised to resolve the issue.

“But as Rita was trying to explain to me, one of the policemen came to me and accused me of delaying them and disturbing the lady. But I told him that I was only discussing with her.

‘‘The policeman insisted I must follow them to the station. Rita and other people, who were around begged the policeman not to arrest me, since I did nothing wrong.

“Fashola later came and fired a gun shot into the air to scare the people away. As soon as they fled, he dragged me on a motorcycle and took me to the police station.

At the station, he knocked me on the ground, brought out his gun and fired me. Although the bullet did not hit me, pellets from the gun hit me on the chin and five of my teeth were removed.

“He fired the second shot, which pierced through my buttocks to the scrotum and the upper part of my genital organ.”

He said he was later rushed to the General Hospital, Ijaiye, where he was on admission from May 11 to July 15, 2010.

Jubril said after he was discharged from the hospital, he had been to different hospitals in Lagos and Abuja to find solution to his damaged scrotum.

“I was told there could not be a solution that I had been made impotent through the gun wounds. I was even advised to be watching pornography films and see if there could be any positive development with my organ. But I have been doing that for the past six months now and nothing has changed,” he added.

Jubril’s mother, Aishat, said he witnessed how his son was shot at the police station.

She said “As I was entering the police station, I heard the first gunshot and the second one and heard when my son cried, ‘Mummy he has killed me.’ I rushed at the policeman and wanted to grab him but he dropped the gun and ran away.

“The police have ruined my life and that of my son’s. They promised to foot the medical bill but they never did.

“We went to them after Jubril was discharged but the only thing they told us was that since Fashola had been dismissed without benefit, we should bear the cost of the medical expenses and take the incident as an act of God.”
Source:http://www.punchng.com/




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The Death of Guards: Relations allege assassination

Residents of Ebute- Metta area in Yaba, Lagos State were woken up December 11,2010, by cries of anguish. The cause of the outcry was the strange discovery of dead bodies of two members of the vigilante group guarding the entire vicinity.

In fact, both the old and youths living in the area concluded that the guards, Fatai Hassan (60) and Aderotimi Fakoya (51), must have been killed by armed robbers during a shoot out early that Saturday. However, relatives of the two guards have dispelled speculations that their bread winners were killed by armed robbers.
They rather, alleged that they were assassinated by some faceless men, who have threatened to eliminate them for long. Narrating the circumstances that led to their untimely death that fateful day, their relations said the duo, who were accredited members of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria, Lagos Mainland Chapter, met their death during routine patrol along Ibadan Street Ebute-Meta.
They claimed the guards were ambushed by a dark- coloured car at about 4.30 am and its occupants rained bullets on them, killing the two while one of the guards managed to escape.
Sixteen-year-old daughter of one of the dead guards, Adeoye Fakoya told Crime Alert that her father, Aderotimi, who was the Commander of the Vigilante group, was with his family, at their residence, at No. 30, Osholake Street, Ebute-Meta, when he heard gunshots from the adjoining street. She said her father bolted out of the house when he heard the shooting and he also alerted the Anti- Robbery police at Denton Police Station.
“This has been his usual practice since he started this job and everyone knew that he responds to such situations. He met with the policemen and he also called two other members of his group who were on duty that night.
They and the policemen agreed to search for the gunmen and my father took the Ibadan Street to catch up with his colleagues. But before he got to Adeolu Adebayo’s house, we were told by Mr. Adebayo that a dark coloured car came out from nowhere and shot at my father and one other colleague. But another guard, Mr. Adebayo, who was close to his house escaped unhurt.
They knew my father was going to respond to their call that was why they released those shots to bring him out. Before now, we have been noticing strange movements around our house. We often saw people with guns peeping through our window and they will leave when they are certain that my father was not home. He did not tell us of any direct threats to his life but we’ve noticed several strange movements around our home.
The police should look into the matter seriously as they have promised and bring his killers to book. Meanwhile, Crime Alert scooped that there have been a lingering leadership tussle between members of Vigilante Group of Nigeria, Mainland Chapter.
An ousted leader of the group was said to have been angry over the manner at which he lost his position. Sources said before his ouster from office, there were accusations that he had mismanaged funds belonging to the group.
The aggrieved members of the group reportedly took him up to the state chapter where he was forced to relinquish his office as the commander and Mr. Aderotimi was appointed. When Crime Alert met the guard that narrowly escaped during the shoot out, Mr. Adebayo, he narrated how he escaped death, attributing his survival to the grace of God.
He said that when the gun men could not get him, they shot his son on the knee, before walking over to his colleague’s (Aderotimi) corpse where they openly voiced out that he should be a commander in heaven. According to him, “after I got the call from the commander that there were suspicious movements within the neighborhood and they told me that they were going to start the patrol from my street and the police will cover the other areas, I assured them that I would be waiting.
Around 3.50am, they came and I met them in front of my house and while we were still strategizing, a dark- coloured car pulled in front of us and the occupants opened fire at us. I do not know the number, but I saw three men.
They shot Aderotimi on the face. And they went after Hassan, who managed to run after receiving one shot and they caught up with him in front of a shop and shot him severally on his chest. “They also poured profanities on Aderotimi’s corpse, calling him “a stupid man, you can now go and do your commander in heaven”.
I ran away and hid at a corner in my compound but they chased me into my house, where they met my family and shot my son, Sunday, on his knee”. Meanwhile, the 81-year-old-mother of one of the deceased, Mrs. Adebisi Fakoya , pleaded with the authorities to bring the killers of her son to book. She also pleaded with govern-ment and public-spirited individuals to come to the aid of his late son’s children.
“Look at them, he was the breadwinner of this family and he was the one fending for all of us. Now they have succeeded in taking him out of the surface of the earth. I wonder what they want me to do. My world is over.
He was all I have. Government should not close their eyes to his killers. They should please go after them, because my son was fighting a good cause voluntarily.
Government should please come to our aid. This is when we need them most, my son has given up his life for the safety of every one, the public and government should not allow his efforts go in vain. His children need education and I and their poor mother cannot afford it”, She pleaded in tears.
Source:http://www.vanguardngr.com/





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interrupted warplanes by Russian on US-Japan drill

MOSCOW - Russian airplanes flew in the region of a joint US-Japanese military drill, a naval spokesman said on Wednesday, heightening tensions in a territorial dispute between Tokyo and Moscow.

"The area is our zone of responsibility. The airplanes carried out a planned flight in an area of the Russian Pacific Fleet's regular activity," said Roman Markov, a spokesman for the fleet.

"Our pilots did not violate any rules of international air space," he said.

Japan's Sankei newspaper had earlier reported that Russian patrol planes had interrupted joint US and Japanese military drills this week when they entered airspace above where the exercises were being conducted in the Sea of Japan. 

Markov said that two Ilyushin-38 airplanes -- a maritime patrol and an anti-submarine aircraft -- had made the flights.

Ties between Japan and Russia have been strained since Russian President Dmitry Medvedev infuriated Tokyo last month by becoming the first Russian leader to visit one of a string of islands claimed by both countries.

His trip to the islands -- called the Southern Kuriles in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan -- caused Tokyo to recall its ambassador for consultations.

The Soviet Union occupied the four islands at the end of the war and the territorial row has weighed on ties between Tokyo and Moscow ever since, precluding a formal peace treaty.

Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara viewed the islands from a plane on Saturday, and media reports speculated that the Russian action could have been in response to the move.

Russia responded on Saturday by saying any country was free to view "Russia's natural beauty".

Politicians in both Japan and Russia have used tough talk on the dispute to bolster their credentials as patriots, but a Russian military source on Wednesday said the flights were not meant as a provocation.

"Similar flights of the Pacific Ocean Fleet occur regularly in the region and flights on Tuesday were carried out in the framework of military training," state-news agency Interfax quoted the high-ranking military source as saying.

Military exercises between the United States and Japan are taking place from December 3-10, with the participation of some 44,500 personnel.

The exercises are a regular occurrence, but this year come amid heightened tensions in the region after North Korea attacked a South Korean island and Seoul promised retaliation against any further attacks.

The row between Russia and Japan has spelled more bad news for Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, whose support ratings sank this year, partly due to his handling of a spat with China over another set of islands that both nations claim. 

Source:www.chinadaily.com.

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Court orders Okah and others back in SSS custody

The prosecution filed two separate charges against the men: an eight count charge concerning the October 1st bomb blast near Eagle Square. 

A federal high court in Abuja yesterday ordered Charles Okah and three others accused of terrorism and treasonable felony to be remanded in the custody of the State Security Service (SSS) till December 15, 2010 when hearing of their bail application will be taken.

The prosecution filed two separate charges against the men: an eight count charge concerning the October 1st bomb blast near Eagle Square, Abuja and a one-count charge of 22 paragraphs bordering on explosion at a post-amnesty seminar organized by Vanguard Newspapers in Delta state where governors of Delta, Edo and Imo were in attendance.

The presiding judge, Gabriel Kolawole, ordered the SSS to ensure that the accused person are given access to their counsel and members of their family in order for them to have adequate time and facilities to prepare their defence.

He also ordered the prosecutor to, within a period of 30 days from yesterday, provide the proof of evidence to the defence counsel in order for them to prepare for their case.

Delivering ruling on the application of the defence counsel that their clients be remanded in prison custody and not SSS detention,

Mr Kolawole said “It would be in the interest of justice to remand the accused in the custody of SSS so as not to compromise their security,” adding that the decision “shall be subject to review on the next hearing.” He further ordered the accused persons to file and serve their bail application to the prosecution within 48 hours, just as he asked the proecution to file and serve his reply within 72 hours upon receipt of the service from the defence lawyers.

The charges

The prosecutor, Alex Izinyon in the one count charge said “That you Charles Okah, and Obi Nwabueze between the months of September 2010 and October 2010 both months inclusive, in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja within the jurisdiction of the court deliberately and intentionally participated in the commission of terrorists act, to wit, causing the explosion of dynamite near the Eagle Square Abuja, venue of Nigeria’s 50th Independence Anniversary celebration and thereby committed an offense contrary to and punishable under Section 15 (2) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (establishment) Act 2004.

The second charge of one count reads, “That you Charles Okah, Obi Nwabueze ,Tiemkemfa Francis Osvwo (aka General Gbokos) between 13 day of March, 2010 and 14 October 2010 both days inclusive at the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and diverse places in Nigeria within the jurisdiction of the court, did levy war against the state in order to intimidate or over throw the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and you thereby committed an offense contrary to and punishable under Section 37 (1) of the Criminal Code, Cap 77 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN) 1990.

Specifically in the 17th paragraph of the one count charge, Federal the government said that “Sometime in March, 2010, Obi Nwabueze took Bassey Umoren to Emmanuel Allison’s house in Port Harcourt where the false compartment were constructed into the booth of the two cars which concealed with time regulated explosive devices that were detonated at Government House Annex, Warri for the purpose of levying war against the state.”

Before their arraignment yesterday, the accused persons had been brought before a Chief Magistrate court in Abuja where their lawyers told the court that it has no jurisdiction to hear the matter.

They also prayed magistrate, Hafsat Soso to ensure that the matter is taken to the appropriate high court. It was for this reason that the case was transferred to the federal high court.

Source:234next.com

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Militant group claims attack on oil facilities

A militant group in the Niger-Delta, the Niger Delta Liberation Force, led by John Togo, has blown up Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) major pipeline in Delta State.

Mark Anthony, the spokesperson for the group, in an e-mail to journalists in Warri yesterday, said, "NDLF soldiers have struck the major pipeline belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) near Batan flow in Delta State last Sunday night at about 11; 30pm. The JTF soldiers on guard were not injured and their arms untouched as the JTF commander at the location co-operated with NDLF to spare the lives of soldiers under his command. NDLF has earlier said that this second phase of oil war is not about security personnel as NDLF is not a criminal organization being peddled by Nigerian government to shy away from the root cause of the Niger Delta violent arms struggle."

The militant group condemned the recent bombing of Ayakoromor Town, and urged President Goodluck Jonathan and the leaders of Niger Delta to ask the military chiefs to concentrate on the locations of Niger Delta freedom fighters, instead of causing "terrorism again on harmless, innocent, and poor Ijaw communities."

"For NDLF, this may be the last hostility in Niger Delta, if federal government can soften its Pharaoh-like mind set to convene the post-amnesty conference, which is the bone of contention to enable aggrieved ex-militants address grey areas of the post amnesty with federal government in a round table with the US, UN and the international communities as external observers," stated Mr Anthony.

The group also ordered the task force to return the corpses of victims of the Ayakoromor military onslaught, and appealed to the Ijaw nation to accept the incidence in good faith.

Source:/234next.com

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ARMS IMPORTATION: UN takes action

The United Nation's Security Council
THE United Nations, UN, is sending a six-man team to Nigeria to inspect the arms shipped in 13 containers from Iran and intercepted last month in Apapa port, Lagos. This followed a formal complaint lodged before the United Nations by the Federal Government. A source, who pleaded anonymity said, yesterday, that the UN team would also meet with top government officials to deliberate on the issue.
It will be recalled that four persons, including one Iranian, were arrested and charged to court over the seized weapons.
The weapons include assorted calibers of mortars and 107 mm rockets, designed to attack static targets and used by armies to support infantry units. They also include shells for a 23 mm anti-aircraft guns.
In the heat of the row between Nigeria and Iran over the arms shipment, Iran had replaced her ambassador to Nigeria, Hussein Abdullahi, who said there was no clear evidence linking his country to the shipment.
Artillery rockets
Nigeria said the artillery rockets and other weapons, found at a Lagos port in October in shipping containers labelled as building supplies, originated from Iran and might have been destined for Nigerian politicians intending violence if they lose in 2011 elections.
Nigeria also said it would take action against Iran if investigations showed it violated international law and U.N. sanctions.
An international shipping company based in France, CMA CGM, said it had picked up the containers in which the weapons were hidden in the southern Iranian port of Bandar Abbas. The shipment stopped in Mumbai, India, before heading to Lagos.
It was gathered that the shipper sought to have the containers reloaded and sent to Gambia, while Nigeria’s intelligence agency said it had been monitoring the shipment, before it arrived in the country.
It also said the shipment’s destination was Nigeria, and “any argument that the cargo came into the country by mistake is false.”
Sensitive nuclear programme
Nigeria then threatened to report Iran to the UN Security Council if the arms shipment violated sanctions over its sensitive nuclear programme. Foreign Minister, Odein Ajumogobia, said Iranian officials confirmed the consignment originated in Iran.
During his visit, Iranian Foreign Affairs, Minister Mottaki, cleared the way for Nigerian security officials to interview one of two Iranians who Nigeria said organized the shipment, Ajumogobia said. The two Iranians, according to Nigeria took refuge in the Iranian Embassy.
Diplomatic and security sources outside Iran said the intended destination of the weapons had not been clarified yet, but they added that investigations have focused on two Iranians believed to be senior members of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards.
A Security Council resolution bans Iran  from “supplying, selling or transferring directly or indirectly from its territory or by its nationals … any arms or related material”. Nigerian security agents questioned one of the two Iranian men involved in the arms shipment but could not meet the second because he had diplomatic immunity.
Diplomatic sources outside Iran said the two are believed to be members of al_Quds, an elite unit of the Revolutionary Guards that specialises in foreign operations on behalf of Iran, French-based shipping group CMA CGM said the containers carrying the arms shipment, which was labelled as building materials, had been loaded in Iran by a local trader.
SOURCE:www.vanguardngr.com

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Senate shelves debate on multi-billion naira transport ministry scam

Around this time last year, a damning report detailing how Tony Anenih, a former transportation minister and leader of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and some of his successors in the ministry, allegedly misapplied billions of naira meant for the rehabilitation and construction of federal roads, was listed for debate - for the third time in a row - by the Senate.

It was not taken; but postponed by one month because the budget was considered the pressing issue at that moment. December came and went and it kept appearing on the order paper as a matter to be taken “next month.” The report which took the ad hoc committee 18 months to produce, kept appearing that way till February this year when it was again listed to be debated and adopted in March.

Later, at the same time that the late president, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, became invisible, the report also disappeared completely from the calendar of the Senate and has not been re-introduced till date.

The transport probe report is filled with revelations of alleged serial malpractices, and shows how, in 10 years (1999 to 2009), through multiple contract fraud, connivance between contractors and government officials, some N633 billion was spent on only 4,752 kilometres of road; shortchanging the government to the tune of N47 million per kilometre of road.

Ayogu Eze, the Senate spokesman, said the report could have skipped the minds of those in the Senate leadership or, perhaps, the Rules and Business committee of the Senate failed to slate it for discussion.

However, Alloysius Etok, chairman of the Rules and Business Committee who arranges matters for the Senate said he is waiting for the green light from the leadership of the Senate to put the report up for debate.

“I’m trying to prioritise them (issues to be discussed by the Senate) and again, they (the authors of the report) did not finish that job,” Mr. Etok told NEXT. “I was trying to weigh the options which I am still trying to talk to the leadership to see if we can now take the report in part. If the leadership agrees that we treat it in parts, then I will bring it up for the interest of the public and Nigerian people. If the leadership says we should wait till they bring the second part of the report, then I will wait.” The report is the first of a two part intensive probe into the management of hundreds of billions disbursed by the Olusegun Obasanjo government as part of efforts to revitalise the transport sector - road, marine and air.

Heineken Lokpobiri, who headed the Senate ad hoc committee that investigated alleged corruption in the transport sector since 1999, said the second part of the report, which will detail the misuse of the funds meant for the marine and air transport sector during that time, will soon be submitted.

The report

The report shows that Nigeria’s public transportation sector is a cesspit of multiple contract fraud as contractors connive with government officials.

From the indictment of past and present government officials, to the recommendation for the reinstatement of those removed illegally, the report contains details of what its authors said was one of the nation’s largest portfolio of official scams.

According to the report, between 1999 and 2009, the ministry of transportation gave contracts for the construction and rehabilitation of 11, 591km roads at a cost of N1.7 trillion - about N87 million per km - and with only 24% of the roads achieved, 64% of the contract value has already been paid. This bring the expenditure to about N133 million per km.

The report said that under the reign of different ministers, road contracts were awarded depending only on estimates that were submitted by the bidding companies, without prior design by the ministry.

They also “fixed prices even before the roads were actually designed by the companies,” the report said.

Recommended for prosecution

The report recommends that Tony Anenih, Adeseye Ogunlewe, Obafemi Anibaba and Cornelius Adebayo, who headed the transport ministry within that period, along with their Ministers of State and the Permanent Secretaries be prosecuted.

The report also recommended for prosecution Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, who was the permanent secretary during the administration of all the ministers except Mr. Anenih. He was alleged to have crafted a means of splitting contracts into sizeable amounts to bring the values within the approving authority of his office. With this, projects with single appropriation were allegedly awarded by him separately sometimes to non-existing companies.

The report also says that the former minister of Transportation and Works, Diezani Allison-Maduekwe, who literally wept while inspecting the condition of the Benin-Ore road, paid more than N1.2 billion into the private account of a company called Digital Toll Gates Limited, against the written advice of the Due Process Office.

Calls to the MTN number of Mrs Allison-Maduekwe and Mr Anenih were not picked. Efforts to reach Messrs Ogunlewe, Anibaba and Adebayo for their own comments were also not successful. The report described the engineering representatives of the transport ministry as some of the most corrupt and lacking in technical expertise. “They granted clearances to the contractors when the jobs were far from finished,” the report said.

Besides those in transport ministry, former officials of the Ministry of Finance and Bureau of Public Procurement (Due Process office), who were said to have provided funding and clearance for the un-appropriated projects, were also recommended for prosecution.

The report also details how about 46% of the companies that got jobs at that time were not registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission at the time of receiving their contracts.

The report said officers who refused to join the gravy train were re-deployed to other departments. It cited the case of a certain D. K Jime, whom the senators said should be recalled to his former job.

Mr Eze, the Senate’s spokesperson and a member of the committee said the report took so long because it needed to be thorough and detailed to reach the heart of the problem of road infrastructure in the country.

When asked when the report will be taken and probably adopted by the Senate, Mr. Etok replied “soon.”

SOURCE:/234next.com

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The real emancipation of the Niger Delta

I WOULD lend my unreserved support to any group genuinely engaged in a principled and focused emancipation struggle for the peoples of the Niger Delta. If I perceived this sincerity and clarity of purpose in groups such as the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), the Niger Delta People Volunteer Force (NDPVF), the Niger Delta Vigilantes (NVD), and the Federated Niger Delta Ijaw Communities (FNDIC), I would have urged them to carry on their onslaught until all oil exploration and production activities in the Niger delta are completely grounded and sustained as such. At that stage, the government would have no choice but to begin earnest work on the environmental and developmental problems of the Niger Delta. I believe that now, not later, is the time for our government to pay its debt to the peoples of the Niger Delta. Oloibiri is a testimony to how very deserted the Niger Delta would be once the oil dries up.

But it is now unassailable truth that the existing armed groups in the Niger Delta are neither fighting for the emancipation of the Niger Delta, nor do they have a clear understanding of the sort of emancipation they profess to pursue. The tactics of these groups are well known and many of them may very well be appropriate in a genuine revolutionary struggle or guerrilla warfare for justice. But some, such as the mindless killing of helpless oil workers, kidnapping of children, and terrorizing or harassing residents of the regions they claim to be fighting for, are hardly justifiable. But the biggest telltale of the insincerity of these groups is the contradictions in the lifestyle, positions, and allies of their leaders. The struggle for supremacy between the NDPVF and the NVD was never a liberation struggle. The early political and financial patrons of these groups (such as the Rivers State Government under the leadership of Peter Odili, which was widely alleged to have funded and armed the NVD to battle the NDPVF) did not believe in the liberation of the Niger Delta. Matter of fact, many of these politicians have exacerbated the woes of the Niger Delta. Today, Dokubo Asari, Tom Ateke, Henry Okah, Tamuno Kuna, etc are all multimillionaires. Thanks to revenues from illegal oil sales, ransoms for release of hostages, bribes from oil companies, and the unaccounted-for security votes of our governments. As we now know, the chief ambition of these men is acquisition of personal wealth, political clout, immunity for crime, and godfatherhood for aspiring politicians in the Niger Delta.

The implication of all this is that the the injury and injustice done to the peoples of the Niger Delta have doubled. Not only have they been deprived of the benefits of their natural resources, they now can no more sleep with two eyes closed. Violence upon violence upon violence upon violence has made the region more hellish than Gehenna. In addition to taking the resources of the people without due compensation, in terms of environmental and developmental justice, the government has failed to rid the region of these self-serving, blood-sucking groups. Contrarily, the government has offered an unholy amnesty with daily supplication for these groups to disarm. Yes, there have been some successful military crackdowns, but the general approach of the government has been that of pampering the criminals or surface-scratching the problem. "Egunje" has been and continues to be lavished on leaders of these groups and their members, on traditional rulers and local chiefs, and on middlemen "peace-brokers." Do we need an Einstein to tell us that the last thing the beneficiaries of violence in the region would seek is to stop the flow of this easy money? Anyway, the violence continues and the peoples of the Niger Delta continue to live in constant fear.

While this otiose strategy of supplication and prayers for peace - to the groups and their leaders, to traditional rulers and chiefs, to members of the public, to oil companies, etc. - is being carried on by the government; the very fundamental issue of environmental and developmental justice for the Niger Delta remains as unresolved as it has been since the first barrel of oil was removed from Oloibiri. Now we wonder: our resources have been taken forcefully away from us; our environment continues to be destroyed in a most unconscionable manner; our traditional means of livelihood has been lethally ravished; how about feeling sure that our grandparents could get a peaceful sleep in their shacks or letting our children go to school without fear of some violence befalling them or sitting down at dust with a friend to have a drink peacefully in the open? Can we not also do that?
SOURCE:ngrguardiannews.com


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Militancy: Between criminality and genuine struggle

 Special Adviser to the President on the Niger Delta, Mr. Timi Alaibe

The latest uprising of militancy in the Niger Delta region provoked the intervention of the Joint Military Task Force. CHUKWUDI AKASIKE examines the reasons behind the latest rise in the activities of armed youths and concludes that criminality, rather than the agitation for the development of the region , remains the reason behind the insurgence. The recent upsurge in militancy in the Niger Delta is no doubt a source of worry to the Federal Government and the citizenry. The situation becomes more worrisome when one remembers the huge funds being expended on the amnesty programme.  Today, guns still blaze and bombs explode in different parts of the Niger Delta. Even Abuja, the country’s capital, was not spared of bomb attacks as no fewer than 16 persons were killed in the city because of the resurgence of militancy in the country.

These militants had always wanted Nigerians to believe the reason behind the attacks on oil installations, kidnapping and other forms of violent crimes were as a result of the marginalisation of the Niger Delta region. This led the immediate past President of the country, Umaru Yar’Adua, to promise the speedy development of the region.

Before the current resurgence of militancy, the Federal Government had in October 2009 granted amnesty to repentant fighters with a promise to train and rehabilitate those that embraced the programme. Both the Federal Government and the apologetic militants were able to strike an accord, which included the latter surrendering their arms and ammunition.

As expected, before the October deadline for the handing over of weapons, large consignments of arms, which included AK-47 rifles and dynamites, were submitted by the repentant fighters. But while many decided to leave the creeks and embrace the amnesty, others refused to follow suit. They were sceptical about what the FG would offer. Some of those who accepted the offer did so because they were not comfortable with being exposed to the cold environment of the creeks. Others deliberately wanted a change of their lifestyle that was all about killing, kidnapping, raping and robbery.

But after the amnesty deal, there has been a twist in the unfolding events. For instance, recently, a group of militants based in Foropa in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State attacked Agip Oil installations. Earlier, another militant group loyal to one of the leaders of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, Tamunotonye Kuna Obese, had kidnapped two Russian sailors, who were later freed. Not done with that, the same group abducted three Frenchmen and held them for almost two months before they were released. Their release did not come without a ransom.

The last of the high profile abductions was the kidnapping of some employees of Mobil, Shell, Afein Group and Julius Berger. The spate of kidnapping had forced the Joint Military Task Force to swing into action. To the JTF, the action of the militants was a sign that they (militants) were no more interested in the amnesty programme since most of them have gone back to the creeks to unleash mayhem on Nigerians and expatriates.

This explains why on November 15, the JTF raided many militant camps in the region and dislodged the hoodlums. At the last count, the special security operatives had destroyed about 14 militant camps in Delta, Rivers and Bayelsa states. In the process, the task force ensured that 19 persons held hostage by Obese were freed. According to the JTF Commander, Maj-Gen. Charles Omoregie, the hostages were freed after his men bombarded one of the militant camps where Obese was staying with the abducted persons.

Having felt the impact of the JTF shelling of his camp, Obese, who spoke through an ex-militant leader, Fara Dagogo, pledged to release the hostages, surrender his camp and himself to security agents.

Obese, who had his amnesty identification card with him when he handed over himself to the JTF, did not renege on his pledge as he and 62 members of his gang surrendered themselves and their large consignment of arms and ammunition to the JTF operatives. Omoregie, however, expressed worry that some of the ex-militants, who embraced amnesty and were receiving monthly allowances from the Federal Government went back to the creeks to perpetrate crime.

“Most worrisome is that some of these criminals in front of you had accepted the Federal Government amnesty and are currently collecting allowances from the government, but still went ahead to engage in criminal activities that are strictly forbidden by the terms of the amnesty. However, we have brought them (militants) out of the creeks and we hope they will not go back to the creeks. We want you to see that the JTF is not fighting just for the fun of fighting. As stakeholders in security affairs, we are assuring that we will eradicate these criminals from the region and have a very peaceful region where development can now take place. The suspects will be handed over to the police for further investigation and prosecution,” Omoregie had said.

But the question many observers have been asking is, ‘Why did some of the militants go back to the creeks?’ The speaker of the Niger Delta Youth Parliament, Mr. Imoh Okoko, attributed the Federal Government’s inability to fulfil its promise of providing accommodation and protection to the repentant militants to their decision to go back to the creeks. Apart from that, Okoko said the FG was not showing enough commitment to the development of the area, even as he called on the government to make haste and begin to develop the oil rich region.

Okoko said, “The ex-militants are not happy. Some of them are roaming the streets without accommodation. Their leaders earn the same amount of money as monthly allowance, which is not good enough. The former militant leaders were also promised police protection. The FG should have moved in construction companies to begin serious work in the region the way it has always being in Abuja.

“Most of the ex-militant leaders are complaining of their allowances and they are asking why they should be earning the N65,000 their followers are earning. We believe the FG should do something about that. But that is not to say that we are supporting militancy. We had already commended the JTF for going after those militants, who have refused to embrace amnesty.”

But the chairman, Rivers State Social Rehabilitation Committee, Chief Albert Horsfall, explained that the reasons for the resurgence of militancy in the Niger Delta region were three. According to Horsfall, some of the militants genuinely have the spirit of nationalism and believe that the region should be better than its current situation considering the huge resources it contributes to the development of the country. He noted that since this appeared not to be the case, they (militants) began to see the taking up of arms as the next option.

Horsfall identified the second set of militants as jobless youths, who believed that since the government could not guarantee them employment opportunities, it was better for them to go to the creeks and perpetrate crime. The third group, the state SRC chairman, who has trained over 600 ex-militants under the state government programme for ex-fighters, said consisted the criminally-minded youths, who took advantage of the agitation and infiltrated the ranks of militants, whose only reason for going to the creeks was to agitate for the development of the region.

“Those who took up arms are of different categories. Some, we regard as nationalists, who felt cheated that they were getting the kind of economic support given to others from other parts of the country. Another category went into militancy because they were jobless. That is why we want the government to do something positive about unemployment in the country.

“The third category of militants comprises criminal elements that infiltrated the ranks of nationalists and the jobless. This is the category of militants that have gone back to the creeks. I am a nationalist too. When we went to the 2005 national conference, our demands were two. First was that we (Niger Delta people) wanted the Presidency to be zoned to our area in 2007 and the second demand was resource control,” he recalled.

Suggesting that it was better to tell President Goodluck Jonathan, who is also from the region, to implement programmes that will give the people of the area a sense of belonging, Horsfall argued that going to the creeks to unleash mayhem was not the best option. He expressed sadness that some members of a militant group loyal to Obese, who were arrested recently by the JTF, were from Rivers. Horsfall, however, described the current situation where the post-amnesty programmes of the FG was yet to produce the desired effects as very sad.

Taking a close look at the current rise in militancy in the region, one can easily differentiate between genuine agitation and bizarre criminality. To the JTF commander, it is wrong for anybody to engage in violent crimes against his fellow human beings and call it agitation or emancipation. He said, “When a man kidnaps his fellow man and commits rape and armed robbery; you cannot call that emancipation. Such acts can only be described as criminal and that is why we are assuring the people of the Niger Delta that the JTF will flush them out from wherever they are.”

Many observers are of the opinion that the various militant groups in the region have derailed. Looking at the way activists like the late Isaac Adaka-Boro and Ken Saro-Wiwa went about their agitation in the region, none of them took up arms and none of them went into kidnapping, rape or armed robbery. The militants can only be relevant and win the sympathy of Nigerians if they get back to the real reason they are in the creeks.

The kidnapping, raping and killing of expatriates and Nigerians, some of whom are their (militants‘) brothers from the same region, are signs that the so-called agitation for emancipation of the Niger Delta people lacks one significant aspect of the whole exercise – a human face.
Source:punchng.com
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ATM fraud: Bank customers, officials assess MasterCard’s valve

ATM
Although many banks have replaced their former ATM card with Master Card, which has more security features, some people are still not impressed about the device, NIKE POPOOLA and STANLEY OPARA report.



The unpleasant experience Mr. Wale Atolagbe had last year when he tried to withdraw money from his bank account using the Automated Teller Machine card is not something he will forget in a hurry.

He had tried the card on three ATMs at different locations at Lekki in Lagos, but none of them dispensed money. He was angry but there was nothing he could do.

The next day, he had to go to his bank for clarification, only to be told that he had withdrawn N60,000 with his ATM card, a day earlier. His countenance instantly changed and he demanded an immediate explanation.

Atolagbe was asked to lodge a formal complaint at the bank, which he did.

Although the bank later resolved the matter and refunded his money, this was several weeks after the incident. He had had to look for money elsewhere to meet his urgent needs.

After this experience, he stopped using the ATM card. He also decided not to use the new MasterCard when his bank introduced it with enhanced security features to check fraud.

Atolagbe‘s experience is one out of many ugly tales ATM card holders are always willing to share. Most of the affected people often receive withdrawal alerts on their mobile telephones without conducting any transactions.

But the Chief Marketing Officer, Interswitch, Mrs. Tito Adeniyi-Aderoju, says, due to constant increase in ATM fraud in Nigeria, 18 Nigerian banks have partnered Interswitch on its Verve platform.

This is a product of Interswitch introduced to ensure customers’ security in the course of e-Payment transactions.

She says banks are on the platform because of the advantage it offers, adding that the technology offers both local and international ATM securities.

She explains that, aside from other benefits the Verve card presents, it also allows the card user to send message and block the card in case an act of stealing is suspected. The money guard facility, she notes, has made many bank customers that were hitherto not on the platform, to come on-board.

Although many Nigerian banks have switched over to the MasterCard, some users are still not enthusiastic about it, even when experts have said that the new card is more secure and free from fraud.

Some of the victims have vowed never to have anything to do with the ATM card. Not even the introduction of the MasterCard has made them change this position.

A survey by our correspondents shows that many, especially victims of ATM fraud are still sceptical about the new design.

For instance, Mr. Babawale Idowu, a Lagos-businessman, says that one major reason he readily embraced the ATM card when it was first introduced in the country was the ease with which he could withdraw money from any bank nearest to him anytime he had an urgent need for cash.

“I did not need to go to the bank and queue for hours; but with the way people were losing money through the use of ATM card. I had to suspend it,” he adds.

Miss Sussan Ibrahim, a businesswoman, had earlier got a message form her bank some months before her ATM card was deactivated, on the new change the bank would embrace.

According to her, she was told that with effect from August 1, 2010, all cash plus cards would be deactivated and replaced with the new naira MasterCard.

Some of the reasons that prompted her to get the new card, she said were that the new card would not just be a local card but an international card that could be used in its branches in any country.

She could not go to her branch to collect her new card because of the distance to her new residence; she went to another branch to make a written request, asking that her card should be transferred to the nearest branch to her.

When Mr. Ifeanyi Daniel applied for his MasterCard in his bank, he was asked to fill a form and come back in two weeks to get it.

This attracted an immediate deduction of N1,000 from his account. So far, he says, he has been using it like the former card, and has not had any unpleasant experience.

But another holder of the ATM card, Mr. Kehinde Quadri, says the MasterCard was a necessity.

”I don‘t like to go and spend time at the bank. That is why I like to use the card. I always expect my bank to send me a text message to notify me of any transaction on my account; when I get the notification regularly after using my ATM, I know that my money is still safe.”

Though she never had any unpleasant experience with the former card, she felt that the use of the card would still give her a lot of convenience.

No matter what may be said about the MasterCard, Mrs. Romoke Lawal is indifferent to it, as she has never used the ATM card and is not ready to give the card a trial.

According to her, ”I have heard a lot of discouraging things about the ATM card and I don‘t want anybody to steal my money. If your money gets missing, the banks can say maybe your brother or your sister picked your card and used it without your knowledge. But if I don‘t use the card, if anything happens to my money, the bank will explain what they did with it.”

Mr. Charles Duru has never used card to withdraw money and he says he has yet to see the need to try the card.

He says, ”I don‘t want any funny experience. Though I have heard a lot about the card, I am satisfied with going to the bank anytime I need my money. I think it is safer that way.”

However, Mr. Steve Obinna, who had an unpleasant experience with the former ATM, said that for the past two months that he had used the MasterCard, he had not had any negative story to tell.

But he says it is still too early for him to assess how good the new card is.

For Mr. Patrick Agwu, an accountant, he has had to get the MasterCard because his banks insist that it must be used for all withdrawals below N60,000. Although he claims that the use of ATM is convenient and easy, there are fears that once the card gets into the hands of fraudulent people, they can withdraw all the money without the knowledge of the owners.

He says how to keep the card well and ensure that nobody is lurking around the ATM pay point when he needs to use it have become his greatest challenge.
Source:punchng.com


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One-eyed university dropout, friend arrested for armed robbery

Balogun
The Ogun State Police Command has arrested one Fatai Balogun, a 29-year-old barber and his friend, Tayo Olowu, in Ijebu-Ode for allegedly robbing three houses in the town two weeks ago. Balogun, a one-eyed barber, who claimed to have dropped out from the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, as a 300-level accounting student because of lack of funds, was arrested with his accomplice on their way to Lagos after having successfully robbed their victims earlier in the day.


The two were arrested with a gun, which had been dismantled and concealed in a bag; cell phones; jewellery; and an undisclosed amount of money, believed to have been stolen.

Balogun and Olowu, who are now being detained at the state police command headquarters, Eleweran, Abeokuta, were said to have robbed three houses in Ijebu-Ode. The victims reported the incident to the police the same day.

The suspects were however, arrested when they attempted to flee the town with their loot in the evening of the same day as they were apprehended on Ijebu-Ode Road after they had boarded a vehicle to Lagos.

Balogun claimed to be an accounting student of OOU, but dropped out of the institution when he was at 300 Level in 2005 as, according to him, his parents could no longer support him.

He said, “I was attacked during the 2005 crisis between OOU students and Ago-Iwoye indigenes. The indigenes that killed my friends removed one of my eyes and inflicted machete cuts on my face. After spending so much money on my treatment, I couldn’t go back to school and that was why I decided to learn barbing.”

The suspect claimed to be working as a stylist with a salon in Ogba, Lagos, but was sacked as a result of customers‘ complaints about his bad eye.

“Whenever I was barbing, hair was always entering my bad eye and I used my hand to remove it or blow it away, but this is always offensive to the customers. So they always complained and that was why the owner of the place sent me away,” he said.

Interestingly, Balogun is from Agbole Olowu, Ijebu-Igbo, and lived with his parents in the town when the students/indigenes crisis erupted. He could not explain his claim that he was maimed during the clash by his own people.

Claiming that the robbery for which he would soon face prosecution was his first, the suspect attributed his entry into crime to frustration. He said he was able to get the gun that was used for the operation from a man he met at a pub in Ijebu-Igbo for N7,000.

Olowu, a resident of 5, Roundabout Karaka Street, Badagry, said he met Balogun at a local pub this year on February 14 when he was in Ijebu-Igbo to see his girlfriend during the Valentine’s Day.

He said, “I came to see my girlfriend in Ijebu-Igbo on Valentine’s Day. He requested a drink and I bought it for him. We got talking and he told me he was a student in Osu (OOU). He asked for my telephone number and I gave him, but I didn’t see him again before I went back to Badagry.

“He called me last week that I should come that he wanted to show me something; I thought it was a business deal. When I got to Ijebu Igbo, he took me somewhere and showed me the weapon (gun). He said we should go and ‘hustle’ that he was very ‘broke’ and I agreed because I was ‘broke’ too.”

The Police Public Relations Officer of the state police command, Mr. Olumuyiwa Adejobi, confirmed the arrest of the suspects.

Adejobi, an Assistant Superintendent Police, said the suspects were arrested by policemen from the Igbeba Divisional Police headquarters, Ijebu-Ode, adding that the suspects would soon appear in court.
Source:punchng.com

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Absence of witness delays probe of House’s N9billion scam

The EFCC chairperson, Farida Waziri

Nigerians hoping to see the outcome of investigations into the N9 billion scandal in the House of Representatives, may have to wait a little longer.

Investigations by NEXT indicate that the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which are both investigating the allegations, may have hit a brick wall and may not conclude investigations anytime soon.

“Though our investigations are ongoing, we are presently stuck at some point, but we will ensure we complete our investigations,” a senior official of the ICPC close to the investigation said at the weekend.

Indications are that the cause of the ‘temporary halt’ mentioned by the ICPC source involves a man believed to be behind the companies that received the inflated contract. The man, who is believed to have fled to England, is being trailed by the anti-corruption agencies.

“Already, we have confirmed that there was inflation of prices in the contract. But, the man central to the companies that secured the contracts escaped to the UK when we wanted to bring him in,” an ICPC investigator told NEXT.

The investigator, who declined to mention the suspect’s name, explained that the commission might seek the man’s extradition if he fails to return to the country to explain his role in the scandal.

The fraud allegation started in the House of Representatives when some members accused the speaker, Dimeji Bankole and the house leadership of mismanaging N9 billion of the N11 billion capital vote received by the house between 2008 and 2009.

The legislators, who called themselves “the progressives” and led by Dino Melaye, addressed a press statement on June 16, 2010 during which they gave Mr Bankole one week to resign or be removed.

The legislators, who also called for a probe of the house finances, further accused Mr. Bankole of authorizing “a spurious, vexatious, and reckless expenditure profile at a time when there is so much economic hardship.”

In other to prove that they were right with their accusations, “the progressives” submitted their petition and accusations to the EFCC and ICPC for investigation.

Inflated Purchases

Some of the items the “progressives” accuse Mr. Bankole of purchasing at inflated prices include torchlights, which have a market price of less than N2000 per unit, at N18000 each and 400 units of Samsung 40 inches LCD television sets, which cost N160,000, but were purchased at a unit price of N525, 000. Others are the purchase of 800 units of HP Desktop computers, which cost N160,000 but were purchased at N330,000; and sharp digital photocopy machines (model 5316), purchased at N270,000 as against N160,000.

“The progressives” also accused the house leadership of wasteful expenditure in the purchase of seven SUV cars for Mr. Bankole and his deputy, Bayero Nafada.

When contacted to give the official position on the status of their investigations, the spokesmen of the two agencies gave similar positions.

“We are on it. Our investigations are ongoing,” said Folu Olamiti, the resident media consultant of the ICPC, who refused to give further comments. Femi Babafemi, the EFCC spokesman asked this reporter to call back to confirm the status of the case but efforts to contact him later were unsuccessful.

Even the judiciary stalls

In the heat of the allegations by “the progressives”, the House of Representatives suspended Mr. Melaiye and 10 other members indefinitely, following a rowdy and violent session.

The suspended members, however, approached the court demanding a reversal of their suspension and that their arrears since their suspension be paid in full. After listening to the arguments of both parties, Muhammed Adamu, judge of the federal high court Abuja who is presiding over the matter announced that the judgement would be delivered on November 15.

After two postponements however, Mr. Adamu is yet to give his ruling. The case has now been adjourned to December 2 for ruling on the legality or otherwise of the legislators’ suspension.

Two of the eleven members who were suspended have been recalled by the House of Representatives. The lawmakers, Ehioge-West Idahosa and Gbenga Onigbogi, withdrew their case from the court and apologized for their actions.
Source:234next.com Read more...