Supreme Court sacks 5 Nigerian governors

A seven- man panel of the Supreme Court in a unanimous decision this morning sacked Governors Liyel Imoke, Murtala Nyako, Ibrahim Idris, Wamako and Temipre Silva of Cross River, Adamawa, Kogi, Sokoto and Bayelsa states from office.

The court in Abuja held that the tenures of the governors started to count from the time they took their oath of office after emerging winners in their respective state governorship elections in 2007 and not from the period they took their second oaths of office after emerging winners of the re-run elections when there initial elections were nullified.

A Federal High Court had earlier held that their tenures of office started to run from their later oaths of office and oath of allegiance which they took upon their emergence as winners of their respective re run elections.

The apex court held that the trial court as well as the Court of Appeal erred in law when the considered the actions taken by the respective governors before their elections were nullified by the various Election Petition Tribunals as valid on one hand while discounting the time they spent doing those valid actions from their constitutionally prescribed tenure of office.

180. (1) subject to the provisions of this Constitution, a person shall hold the office of Governor of a State until -
(a) When his successor in office takes the oath of that office; or
(b) he dies whilst holding such office; or
(c) the date when his resignation from office takes effect; or
(d) he otherwise ceases to hold office in accordance with the provisions of this constitution.

In reaching their decision, the Supreme Court relied on section 180 (2) of the Constitution wherein the tenure of office of Governors were prescribed and held that that section did not envisage any form of elongation of occupants of the office of the Governor of the state as well as that of the President.

The section reads:
180 (2) Subject to the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, the Governor shall vacate his office at the expiration of period of four years commencing from the date when -
(a) in the case of a person first elected as Governor under this Constitution, he took the Oath of Allegiance and oath of office; and
(b) the person last elected to that office took the Oath of Allegiance and oath of office or would, but for his death, have taken such oaths.

The court held that the provisions of that section of the Constitution will stand violated if the tenure of office of the Governors is calculated from their second taking of Oath of Office and the Oath of Allegiance and stated that their tenure started counting from their first Oath of office which they all took after they were declared winners of the April 2007 elections and that they are entitled to four year terms from that date.

The court also rapped the Peoples Democratic party for attempting to abort the hearing of the matter at the court through their preliminary objections filed against all the consolidated appeals. The party had argued that the subject matter of the appeals have become academic and should be dismissed.

While dismissing the PDP’s preliminary objections, the apex court maintained that the matter is of grave constitutional importance whose subject matter is still alive and cannot be truncated on the grounds of mere technicalities.

In countering the decisions of the Federal High Court and that of the Court of Appeal, the apex court asserted that the provision of the law did not envisage an indefinite occupation of office by a Governor and did not also envisage re run elections, left alone one to be won by the same person.

It went on to hold that since acions of these governors, like contracts awarded by them, Commissioners and Special Assistants appointed by them as well as Budgets and Bills signed into law by them remained valid and subsisting when their election were annulled, that it followed that upon emerging winners of their respective re run elections, and having to take another Oaths of Office and Allegiance which is a standard procedure before they can function as Governors, that their tenure begins to count from that first oaths they took in 2007 and not the second ones they took in 2008 after their victories in the re-run elections.

Bombings: Police arrest 160 Chadian mercenaries in Kano

AS life gradually returns to normal in Kano city after a weekend of bombings, Police sources on Thursday claimed that no fewer than 200 suspects, including 160 Chadians, had been arrested in connection with the attacks.

The official casualty figure released by the police on Tuesday put the number of dead victims at 186.

“Many arrests have been made since the attacks. We have arrested around 200 attackers and 80 per cent of them are Chadians. They came in as mercenaries,” agency reports on Thursday quoted an anonymous police source to have said.

The source added that the Chadians were engaged and paid by the terrorist Islamic sect, Boko Haram, to participate in the Kano multiple attacks in which at least 250 people were feared killed.

However, the police are known to carry out indiscriminate arrests after major crimes and thus it is too early to say if the men arrested took part in the attacks.

“Following previous attacks by Boko Haram, the security forces have often resorted to dragnet arrests, rather than arresting people on the basis of reasonable suspicion that they committed an offence,” Amnesty International had said in a statement issued during the week.

The police source who spoke to Reuters also said that the sect had reached out to government for talks.

“They said they wanted the Emir to mediate in the dialogue they proposed,” the source said.

Boko Haram violence was largely responsible for the removal of former Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Hafiz Ringim, on Wednesday. A new IG, Mohammed Abubakar, has resumed work in acting capacity.

Ringim’s removal came few days after a Boko Haram member believed to have masterminded the Christmas Day bombing of St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Mandalla, Niger State, escaped from police custody barely 24 hours after his arrest.

A United Nations’ report on regional security released on Wednesday had said that there was evidence suggesting that Boko Haram had Chadian members who had received training from Al-Qaeda’s North Africa affiliate.

The UN report also indicates that the sect may have secured some of the weapons that flowed out of Libya during the conflict that toppled Muhammar Gaddafi.

The global body on Thursday, in a statement on its website, asked for the prosecution of the bombers and their sponsors.

The statement reads, “The members of the Security Council reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations is criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of its motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed, and should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilisation or ethnic group.

“The members of the Security Council underlined the need to bring perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism to justice, and urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with the Nigerian authorities in this regard.”

Meanwhile, the British government on Thursday promised to assist the Federal Government in tackling the Boko Haram menace through a broad range of support.

The Deputy High Commissioner of the British High Commission, Abuja, Mr. Giles Lever, said this in Kaduna at a workshop on the Freedom of Information Act 2011.

Giles said, “There is a very broad range of things that we can offer. We are already working with the Nigerian government on some of these. I must also say we reaffirmed the offer following the terrorist attacks in Kano. The strategies have different pillars within it. One is trying to prevent the radicalisation of young people.

“Another pillar is making targets and public buildings and so on more difficult to attack, and the third one is being ready to deal with the consequences of large scale terror attack in terms of crisis management.

“The last pillar is to identify who these people are and making sure their plans are disrupted, and they are arrested, detained and prosecuted in accordance with the rule of law.

“The attacks were sickening and barbaric. To kill this many people in the name of some political dispute or religious dispute or whatever the agenda is, it’s just wrong. It’s quite unacceptable and is causing sufferings to innocent people and so we condemn the attacks unreservedly. We consider ourselves and hope to be friends with Nigeria in good times and bad times and we are willing to work closely with the Nigerian government, to help the Nigerian authorities to combat this menace from terrorism.”

Giles who also condemned the recent wave of terrorist attacks by the Boko Haram sect in which 186 people were killed in Kano and Bauchi states, stressed that the British Government was ready to avail Nigeria the opportunity of borrowing from the different strategies it had developed over the years in its efforts to fight terrorism.

2011 subsidy claims to hit N2tn – Reps’ panel

The House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee on Subsidy Regime said on Thursday that total subsidy claims to be paid by the Federal Government on imported fuel in 2011 might hit “over N2trillion.”

The committee stated this in the light of fresh revelations that many marketers had outstanding claims to be paid by government running into billions of naira.

Already, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and the Central Bank of Nigeria had given the committee two conflicting figures on the subsidy claims for 2011.

While the minister said the total amount paid as at December 2011 was N1.4tn, the apex bank insisted that the “actual” payment was N1.7tn.

But the committee observed in Abuja on Thursday that the N1.7tn was still a far cry from the expenditure government incurred on fuel subsidy in 2011.

The Chairman of the committee, Mr. Farouk Lawan, said more marketers had appeared to testify that the government owed them money for products they imported.

He said 100 marketers were awarded contracts to import fuel in 2011, rising from about 49 in 2010.

Oando Plc for example, was paid N120bn subsidy in 2011, but told the committee that it was still owed over N4bn.

Lawan noted that the outstanding claims were alarming. He said the committee must establish how subsidy payments jumped from around N620bn in 2010 to a “situation where it rapidly to rose in 2011 and we are expecting over N2tn.”

He added, “Over 100 companies participated in the Petroleum Support Fund in 2011.

“What we have is that many of them still have outstanding payments.

The committee made the observations when it heard the testimony of the immediate Executive Secretary of the PPPRA, Mr. Goody Egbuji, who admitted to have supervised the transactions that took place in the second and third quarters of the year.

However, he claimed that the PPPRA Board had already increased margins for marketers before he assumed duties in February 2011 and had little choice than implement what he met on ground.

He said one of the first things he noticed was the huge “subsidy burden” that government needed to address.

According to him, the Presidency was informed of the development and a series of consultations were made on how to tackle the problem.

Egbuji admitted that “sharp practices and manipulations” could not be ruled out in the industry but he absolved the PPPRA of any role in encouraging fraud.

“We have our rules and they are strict rules,” he said.

Meanwhile, Lagos-based lawyer and human rights activist, Mr. Femi Falana, has called on the House not to sweep the revelations at the committee’s hearing under the carpet.

Falana, who appeared before the committee on Thursday, said from the evidence before the committee and admission by agencies of government, there was proof of large-scale “corruption” in the management of the subsidy regime.

Abuja Banker, Victoria Johnson killed by husband over money

A little over a month after she got married, Victoria Johnson, a staff of a savings and loans bank in Abuja was murdered by a man she had only been married to for just a month.

According to what late Victoria's sister told the police, Victoria had collected money from a customer from the bank meant to be deposited in her bank, but her taxi driver husband, who was at the time her boyfriend, asked to borrow the money. She gave it to him. Many months after he borrowed it, he refused to pay back, giving one excuse or the other.


Eventually they had their traditional marriage and just four weeks after that and four weeks before their white wedding, Victoria was found dead in the home the couple shared in New Karu.

Her husband, who had initially tried to escape after the killing, claimed that her death had been an accident. He said they had been arguing about the money once again, and she had threatened to report the case to her bank. In anger he hit, she collapsed and he ran from their home after he realized she was dead.

He's currently at the Keffi Prisons while police continue with their investigations.

Boko Haram's threat letter to NLC/TUC; real or fake?

supposedly sent by Boko Haram. In the letter (above), the Islamic sect expressed their anger over the way the Labour leaders handled the fuel hike crisis. They asked the NLC president to resign and also threatened to bomb their HQ soon.

The letter reads 'I', 'AM' instead of 'WE'...probably a prank but the NLC people are taking it very seriously. They've handed the letter to security agencies.

Eucharia Anunobi Acquires N10m BMW X5

The actress and evangelist acquired the wonder-on-wheels as a new year's eve gift to herself.

Nigerian woman blinded and paralysed after being alergic to all food

A 30 year old UK based Nigerian woman, Bunmi Shobowale, caught a stomach bug while on holiday and suddenly developed a host of food intolerances so severe that they twice robbed her of her sight and left her temporarily paralysed.

Bunmi said her food problems have affected nearly every part of her body at one time or another in more than 20 separate episodes. Her condition initially puzzled doctors, who even tried a form of chemotherapy in an attempt to treat her.

Beautiful baby girl born without arms and legs in Bauchi (photo)

A beautiful baby girl without hands and legs has been born in Sandigalua village in Zaki Government Area of Bauchi State.

The baby named Fatimah, was born on January 13th to the family of Ahmadu Didda, a peasant farmer and wife, Rukaiyya.

Military uniform: Suspected bandits allege JTF conspiracy

Three suspected armed robbers on Wednesday said they got military uniforms they used in their operations in Warri, Delta State, from men of the Joint Taskforce in the Niger Delta.

The suspects, according to the Police authorities, also claimed responsibility for the recent murder of some military men and policemen in Warri.

More than eight security officers in the state have been killed in the last one month in different locations in the state.

The bandits, who gave their names as Stanley Sapele, 30; Godbless Ebipade, 24; and Alfred Akaebe, 21, insisted that they were “errand boys’’ for men of the JTF in Egwa 11.

They said they came to Warri to mend the army uniforms which were allegedly given to them by the JTF personnel in Egwa 11 before they were apprehended by policemen.

Asked if they were aware that putting on a military uniform when not a military personnel was a crime, they answered in the affirmative. They claimed that the JTF personnel gave them the assurance that nothing would happen to them since they were working for them.

Sapele specifically alleged that they had been working for the JTF members for the past one and half years.

The suspects that were also alleged to have been involved in sea piracy were arrested by the Department of Marine Police who worked on intelligence reports from the Intelligence Department of the Nigerian Navy ship in Delta State.

The Area Commander, Warri, Abutu Yaro, who paraded the suspects, said they threw a bag containing some of their weapons into the river when they were being arrested.

Yaro said, “They were all caught in full Nigeria Army camouflage uniform by the Marine Department of the Nigerian Police Force. The suspects were arrested with two cutlasses, pinches and some other dangerous weapons.

“In the process of arresting them, they threw a bag suspected to be ammunition into the water. As I speak with you, the Marine Department is making frantic efforts to recover the bag.

“They have confirmed that they are responsible for the nefarious activities in Warri and environs, attacking security agencies, killing them and making away with their guns.”

He commended the Nigerian Navy Intelligence Unit of the NNS Delta which, according to him, did the underground work that led to the suspect’s arrest.

Jonathan dumps Ringim, DIGs, spares NSA Azazi …appoints AIG Abubakar acting IG

President Goodluck Jonathan, on Wednesday, finally bowed to pressure to sack the senior security officials blamed by many Nigerians for the country’s growing insecurity problems.

However, rather than sack all the service chiefs that critics have assailed for the failure of intelligence that has hobbled the war against the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram, Jonathan removed one.

Hafiz Ringim, the Inspector General of Police until yesterday, bade bye to the Force as Jonathan removed him and appointed an Assistant Inspector General, Mohammed Abubakar, as the nation’s number one police officer.

The President, however, did not remove the National Security Adviser, Gen. Andrew Azazi, whose coordination of the fight against Boko Haram has also come under criticism.

Azazi, the former IG and other security chiefs have been criticised for the rise in the number of attacks by Boko Haram militants in the North.

Of them all, Ringim’s cup became full last week when the man suspected to have masterminded the Christmas Day bombing of St. Theresa’s Catholic Church in Madalla, Niger State, Kabir Sokoto, escaped from police custody 24 hours after he was arrested. He was subsequently queried and given 24 hours by Jonathan to find the escaped bomber.

Sources had told our news desk that Jonathan, who is close to the former Inspector-General, was very reluctant to sack him, planning to ensure that his friend retire in March.

Abubakar, who was appointed in acting capacity, was the AIG in charge of Zone 12 with headquarters in Bauchi. He is 53 years old and from Guasau, Zamfara State. He enlisted in the Nigeria Police Force on July 30, 1979.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, who announced the appointment of Abubakar in a statement, also said all the deputy inspectors general of police who served with the former IGP had been retired. The statement said the appointment of Abubakar was the first step in the government’s planned re-organisation of the Police.

The statement reads, “President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has approved the appointment of Mr. Mohammed D. Abubakar as Acting Inspector General of Police as a first step towards the comprehensive reorganisation and repositioning of the Nigeria Police Force to make it more effective and capable of meeting emerging internal security challenges.

“Abubakar, who is currently an Assistant Inspector General of Police replaces Mr. Hafiz Ringim, who proceeds on terminal leave with effect from today, 25 January 2012.

“Born on May 5, 1958, Mr. Abubakar enlisted in the Nigeria Police Force on July 30, 1979. He was the AIG in charge of Zone 12 Headquarters in Bauchi, before his new appointment.”

The Deputy Inspectors General of Police retired were Mrs. Ivy Uche Okoronkwo, DIG 2i/c Force Headquarters, Abuja; Mr. Azubuko J. Udah, DIG Administration (“A” Dept); Mr. Sardauna Abubukar, DIG Training (“E” Dept.); Mr. Audu Abubakar, DIG Operations (“B” Dept); Mr. Saleh Abubakar, DIG Works (“C” Dept.); and Mr. Mohammed A. Yesufu, DIG Planning and Info-Tech (“F” Dept.).

The statement added that the President also established a Special Committee to oversee the urgent reorganisation of the Police.

The committee is chaired by the Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Mr. Parry B.O. Osayande, DIG (retd.).

Other Members of the Committee are: Mr. Casimir T. Akagbosu, AIG (retd.); Mr. Bashir A. Albasu, AIG (retd.); Major Gen. S.N. Chikwe, (retd); Prof. S.D. Mukoro; Dr. Fabian Ajogwu(SAN); Aisha Larai Tukur; the Solicitor General of the Federation; and the Permanent Secretary, SSO, Office of the SGF to serve as the Secretary to the Committee.

The Committee’s Terms of Reference are to identify the challenges and factors militating against effective performance in the Nigeria Police Force and make recommendations for addressing the challenges; examine the scope and standard of training and other personnel development activities in the Police to determine their adequacy or otherwise; and determine the general and specific causes of the collapse of public confidence in the police and recommend ways of restoring public trust in the institution.

The committee will also examine records of performance of officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force with a view to identifying those that can no longer fit into the system due to declining productivity, age, indiscipline, corruption and/or disloyalty and make any other recommendations for the improvement of the Nigeria Police Force.

The statement said the committee’s recommendations “shall be implemented along with those by previous committees set up by the government on the reform of the Nigeria Police Force

Why we bombed Kano – Boko Haram

Igba & Abya

Islamic fundamentalist sect, Boko Haram, has given reasons for its multiple attacks in Kano on Friday.

Nearly 200 persons died in the attacks.

The group’s spokesperson, Abul Qaqa, told journalists in a telephone interview on Sunday, that the group struck the city in order to prove its worth to security agencies and Kano State Government.

The spokesman stated that the security and the Kano State Government refused to heed to its warning that it would attack the state if its members held in custody were not released.

Qaqa further said that the group would not t relent in fighting for the rights of their members, many of whom he said were innocently held. He added that Nigerian government would continue to pay for alleged continued oppression and killing of innocent Muslims in the country.

He said, “We are only scared of Allah but no one. We must regain our faith and freedom soon. No amount of propaganda against us will deter us. We are guided and strengthen by Allah as you can see.”

Boko Haram, whose real name is Jama’atu Ahlisunnah Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad, had in a letter to the Kano State Governor, Dr. Rabi’u Kwankwaso, in August warned that it would attack the city if the State Security Service continued hunting its members.

The letter was also copied to the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero; Wamban Kano, Alhaji Abbas Sunusi; and Dan Masanin Kano, Alhaji Yusuf Sule.

The dreaded group warned in the letter that it would deploy its men in the state and made it worse than Maiduguri if its members held in custody were not released.

The group also stated in the letter that it sent a similar open letter to the late President Umar Yar’adua, security chiefs and the people of Borno State. It stated that the its warning was taken as a joke.

It alleged that its members were unjustly killed in Bauchi, Wudil, Gombe, Yobe and Maiduguri for sticking to the teachings of Quar’an and Hadith.

The letter read in part, “… It have (sic)come our notice that the present Police Commissioner, Director State Security Service and Ward Heads have jointly started arresting our members IN YOUR STATE (KANO) known to you or not, a situation which we will not take lightly by the grace of ALLAH.”

2 Cops Paraded With 9 Robbery Suspects

Two dismissed police officers, Igba Isaac, 33 and Abya Chashe, 36, have been arrested and paraded with their nine-man suspected robbery gang members.Before his dismissal, Abya was an officer at the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, while Igba was a corporal, formerly attached to Abattoir Police Station, Agege, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria.

The dismissed officers were arrested with their gang members by the Lagos State Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) led by SP Abba Kyari. They were arrested after an operation in Langbasa, Ajah where they stole laptops, plasma TV and a red Toyota Camry car.

Though they had a successful operation at their victim’s residence, the suspected robbers’ problem started when one of them, Ratti Edet, fell in love with the house maid of their victim. He was said to have dropped his mobile phone number with the house help after robbing her boss.

He started a relationship with the maid on phone and both of them eventually scheduled an appointment, but unknown to Edet, the police got wind of the development and swooped on him.

After his arrest, he gave the police clues that led to the arrest of the other suspects.

In his confessional statement, Edet said the two police officers (Igba and Abya) are members of his gang and they supply the ammunition used in their various operations.

Some of the items recovered from the suspected robbers include stolen laptops, two pistols and 20 round live ammunition.

P.M NEWS gathered that the suspects were aided by Adamu Garba, the guard of their victim in Ajah.

Adamu said he liaised with the robbers to rob his boss because his boss offended him.

Garba said: “I was involved in the robbery because I was not happy with my boss. He accused me of stealing and called the police, but they did not find anything on me. It was my brother, Aliu, I met in a Mosque that linked me with the robbers.”

In his confessional statement, one of the dismissed policemen, Isaac, said poverty and frustration forced him to join the robbery gang.

“I was a Corporal and served last at Isokoko I Abuja. I am married with a child. I joined the force on 1 May, 2003 and was posted to Isokoko in October 2010. I have a family to take care of and the pressure to make a living led me to the gang. I am ashamed of myself now,” Igba said.

Another member of the gang, Josiah Oriabare, 38, also said he joined the robbery gang because of poverty.

“I was a driver and I live at 5, Kosoko Street, Oke-Ayo. I had planned to stop this on 31 December, last year, but I didn’t because I needed money,” he confessed, adding that a man called Obinna introduced him to robbery.

Gunmen Attack Daddy Showkey

Daddy-Shokey

Less than one year after gunmen stormed the Alagbole home of John Asiemo a.k.a. Daddy Showkey, killing one of his aides, the Ajegunle Soldier has been attacked by gunmen again.


Daddy Shokey

Showkey was attacked on Tuesday by suspected hired assassins near a petrol station on Agidinbgbi, Road, Lagos, southwest Nigeria.

Narrating his ordeal to P.M.NEWS, the Ajegunle Soldier said he was on his way to the petrol station when he noticed that two men on a motorcycle were riding behind him

“On getting to the petrol station, I joined the queue to buy some fuel, and suddenly a young man appeared beside me and informed me that my vehicle (a Toyota Landrover LR3), had a flat tyre. Though I suspected foul play , I decided to come down and fulfill all righteousness.

“But immediately I got down from the vehicle one of the men said, sewo niyen, meaning: ‘you are the one’, and shot at me twice.

Showkey added: “When the shots missed me, I engaged him in a fight and his partner came to his aid and opened fire on me again, which also did not hit me.

“They later managed to escape. While I was being attacked, motorists who were at the station to buy fuel all fled when they heard the gunshots,” the musician stated.

He later reported the incident at Alausa Police Station. He suspected that the two men who had trailed him on the motorcycle actually carried out the attack.

The Ajegunle Soldier told P.M.NEWS that he was surprised that some people would want him dead.

“I’m not involved in any shady business, I am a musician and I do other businesses outside Nigeria. I know say God dey,” he said.

Aki and wife off to Abu Dhabi for honeymoon

Aki and the New Wife

Aki and New wife

For those who care to know :), newly weds, Chinedu and Nneoma Ikedieze are currently in Abu Dhabi for their honeymoon. The couple married Friday December 9th, but waited until now to embark on their honeymoon.

Lagos State Govt Grants Save Nigeria Group Permission to Protest

The Lagos state government has granted permission to the Save Nigeria Group to stage two protests at the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park in Lagos. First protest is for tomorrow Thursday 19th and second one is Saturday January 21st, 2012.

Attending the protests are: Federick Fasheun, Funmi Iyanda, Olisa Agbakoba, Femi Falana, Mike Ozekhome, Tunji Braithwaite, Balarabe Musa, Pat Utomi, Kalu Idika Kalu, Federick Fasheun, Dr Arthur Nwakwo, Rev Moses Iloh, Festus Keyamo, Dr Dipo Fashina, Nike Ransome Kuti, Shettimah Yerimah, NBA, NMA, NUJ and Civil Society groups and hundreds more...

 I think Fashola should be Nigeria's next president. If you agree, say "I" ! If you disagree say "nay"
Gbam ! The  " I " have it !!!

Ringim may be sacked over Christmas bomber’s escape

The escape of the alleged mastermind of the Christmas Day bombing in Madalla, Niger State, may cost the Inspector-General of Police, Hafiz Ringim, their jobs.

Kabir Sokoto, the alleged mastermind, escaped from police custody 24 hours after he had been arrested by the police during a commando-style raid at the Borno State Governor’s lodge in Abuja.

In the aftermath of the suspect’s dramatic escape, many Nigerians have described it as a “national embarrassment,” and called for the sack of Ringim.

Already, on the prompting of President Goodluck Jonathan, the Minister of Police Affairs, Caleb Olubolade, has issued a query to the IGP, asking the police boss to explain within 24 hours the circumstances surrounding the escape. The query also asked Ringim to show why he should not be punished for negligence since the ultimate responsibility to keep the escapee was his.

The development came as the National Security Adviser, Gen. Owoye Azazi (retd.), described the escape of Sokoto as a drawback to the anti-terrorism fight.

“This is a regrettable drawback on our efforts,” Azazi said.

In an SMS sent to one of our correspondents on Tuesday night, Azazi said that President Goodluck Jonathan would want to know what happened. He said the incident could portray the government as unserious with its anti-terrorism war.

Azazi said, “This is a regrettable drawback on our efforts. What it means (is that) government Could be seen differently.”



I queried Ringim, ordered Biu arrested – Minister

Olubolade on Wednesday confirmed that he had queried Ringim, saying the IGP as the number one police officer had the responsibility to ensure that the high profile suspect was secure.

“If he (the IGP) is found guilty of complicity, he himself would have to account for his mistakes,” the minister told State House Correspondents at the end of the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja. The minister came out of the Executive Chamber looking disturbed.

When he was asked whether the IGP could be sacked over the matter, he said, “Yes, anybody (could), including me.”

He also said he had ordered that the Commissioner of Police, Zakari Biu, who was suspended over the escape be detained.

He said, “From the ministry, I have directed the IG to carry out full investigations and even at a higher level above that one, there will be another investigation to ascertain what led to the suspect’s escape.”

“I have also directed that the officers and the other personnel involved should be detained immediately. You would have seen in the newspapers that the Commissioner of Police has been suspended. In fact, beyond that, I have ordered that he be placed under arrest.

“If somebody has erred in his responsibility, the outcome of the investigation will prove that. What is important is that whatever step we are going to take as a result of this neglect, we have to take it immediately.”

Olubolade was asked if the suspect’s escape was a confirmation of the President’s position that members of Boko Haram had infiltrated his government and security agencies. He replied, “I cannot confirm that statement. What is important is that the suspect is amiss and all steps must be taken to re-arrest him.

While that is pending, the officers involved, those who conducted the search, must be detained so that the outcome of the investigation will lead to whatever punishment will be given.”



Biu the untouchable

The police had said that Sokoto planned the Christmas Day bombing of the Saint Theresa Catholic Church, Madalla. He escaped from police custody at Abaji, a satellite town in the Federal Capital Territory. Forty-three persons died in the attack on the church, while 50 others sustained injuries. The police claimed that he escaped when some militants overwhelmed his five police escorts while he was being taken for a search of his apartment on Monday.

The suspect had been arrested at the Borno State Governor’s Lodge, Abuja, on Saturday.

Sokoto, who was arrested alongside a serving military officer, was said to have been tracked down to Abuja after several weeks of investigation. Investigations had linked the suspect to two sons of a traditional ruler who is said to enjoy political patronage from people in the corridors of power.

A police source told one of our correspondents that Biu might be punished for the lack of effective supervision of the suspect. Our correspondent gathered that under police regulations, Biu was ‘vicariously liable’ for not effectively supervising the handling of the suspect, leading to his escape.

However, we could not confirm if Biu had been detained as the police minister claimed. A source at the police headquarters told us that Biu still drove to the Force Headquarters on Wednesday, two clear days after the suspect had escaped.

Police sources told one of our correspondents that Biu, who was a course-mate of Ringim, is a well connected police officer. He was a member of the Special Investigation Panel that interrogated former President Olusegun Obasanjo over an alleged coup plot during the late Gen. Sani Abacha regime. A source who pleaded anonymity told our correspondent that the police management had planned to cover up the escape of the suspect, after launching a manhunt for him. He added that the police was forced to disclose that the suspect had escaped because the information leaked.

The source, a senior police officer, said, “The feeling among many officers is that the case is being handled with kid gloves because of the closeness of Biu to the IGP and many politicians.”

However, our correspondents report that the suspect’s escape had created an atmosphere of fear in the police with many officers thinking that a mass purge would follow the escape.



ACF, ACN demand explanation, action

Meanwhile, more reactions trailed the escape of the suspect on Wednesday with the Northern socio-political group, Arewa Consultative Forum, saying that the police should find the escapee immediately.

In an SMS sent to one of our correspondents, the National Publicity Secretary of the ACF, Mr. Anthony Sani, said, “Those who aided the escape should also be brought to book in order to instil confidence in the nation’s security.”

Also, the President of the Civil Rights Congress, Mallam Sheu Sani, said, “The Federal Government and security agents should explain how such a drama took place. They should stop playing on our intelligence and insulting our conscience.”

At a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, the Action Congress of Nigeria described the suspect’s escape as “a deal packaged at the high level by individuals who hate the country.”

A national leader of the party, Chief Audu Ogbeh, who spoke at the press conference, wondered how a government that deployed troops to occupy Lagos, could not safeguard a single suspect.

He said, “They may have set him free; but all of them will not escape the wrath of God. We call for an inquiry to unravel those behind this act. Those who keep killing in the name of God do not believe in God because if God wants someone to die, He does not need anyone’s help.

“He does not need a bomber. He knows when to take someone’s life. The President and the IGP, if he has not been sacked by now, should tell Nigerians what happened to Sokoto.”

Surfer bitten to death by shark at South African Beach (Graphic photos)

A 25-year-old surfer, Lungisani Msungubana, was killed a few days ago by a shark on one of the world’s most dangerous beaches, after being repeatedly bitten as he rode the waves off Second Beach in Port St. Johns.

According to witnesses, Lungisani had wrestled with the shark, believed to be the very aggressive bull shark, for more than five minutes as the water turned red around him. The surfer, who was in water which was only around a metre and a half deep, was bitten on both of his arms and his stomach and he sadly died on the way to the hospital.

The incident was the sixth fatal shark attack in just five years at the beach, which lies beside the Indian Ocean in South Africa's rural Eastern Cape province. Continue to see more (graphic) photos..

FG not committed to cutting expenses – ACN

The Action Congress of Nigeria has said there is nothing to show that President Goodluck Jonathan is committed to cutting cost of governance at the federal level.



The party said Jonathan’s claim that political office holders at the federal level had agreed to a 25 per cent pay cut in their basic salaries as part of their own sacrifices to the nation should not be taken seriously.



Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, the National Secretary of the party, Senator Lawan Shuaibu, said there was nothing on the ground to show that the President was serious about his desire to cut cost.



He said if Jonathan was actually serious about this, he would not include the purchase of two aircraft in addition to the eight which he already had in his fleet.



He said, “One of the items of expenditure in the current budget is the purchase of two more aircraft to bring the presidential fleet to over 10. What does the President need a fleet of aircraft for?



“How can Nigerians believe him and make sacrifices if he cannot himself make such sacrifices? In any case, how many aircraft has the Queen of England?



“The British Prime Minister does not have any jet, he uses the British Airways. President Barack Obama pays for his food (unless when hosting a state banquet) and even pays rent on his official residence.”



He also said the President had already bloated the federal bureaucracy by increasing the number of ministries from 21 to close to 40, with the number of ministers jumping in equal quantum or even more.



Apart from this, he said, the President had unilaterally increased the number of his special advisers to 25 from the 20 approved by the National Assembly.



“With this, who will believe his sermons about sacrifices?” he asked.



On the removal of subsidy, Shuaibu said different data emanating from government indicated the huge money allegedly spent on the subsidy was as a result of “the colossal amount of embezzlement, rip-off and wastage” that had been the hallmark of the government.



He said, “Nigerians are being asked, in the name of withdrawal of fuel ‘subsidy’ to pay for the extravagant and wasteful presidential election campaigns, last year.



“This data, which is still emerging, has raised several questions. How did a N240bn subsidy in the 2011 budget grow astronomically to N1.3tn by October 2011 (reaching about N1.6tn by December 2011)?



“How did the number of companies involved in fuel importation shoot up from only 11 in February 2011 to 120, more than 10 times, by the next month March 2011?



“The quantity of fuel imported is far in excess of the real consumption need of the country, could all the fuel that is claimed to be imported real or is it sheer scam to raise campaign funds for Jonathan?



“How exactly was the Jonathan presidential campaign funded where daily media expenses was estimated to be N100m? Where did the lavish Neighbour-2-Neighbour campaign get its funds from? Are these not all funded through the racket called fuel subsidy?”



While analysing the 2012 budget proposal, Shuaibu said corruption was still high, judging by the prices of some items like beverages, snacks, computers and scanners, which he said were about five to 10 times their open market prices.



He said the allocation of nearly a trillion naira for national security, several times more than the allocation for the power sector, was informed by corrupt intention.

Protests: Police arraign 43 for breach of peace, robbery

NO fewer than 43 persons were arraigned at the Ikeja Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday for offences they allegedly committed in some parts of Lagos during protests against the removal of subsidy on fuel.

Ten of them were arraigned for conspiracy and engaging in conducts likely to cause breach of the peace at Ijaiye and Iyana Ipaja area of the state.

One of the two counts partly reads that the accused “did conduct yourselves in a manner likely to cause a breach of the peace and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 249 (d) of the Criminal Code Cap C17, Vol. II Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria 2003.”

They were said to have been arrested at about 1.40pm on January 13.

Some of the accused are Jamiu Oyewole (32), Jubril Wasiu (24), Bola Shinabola (26), Suraju Yakubu (25), Adekunle Yusuf (25) and Kamorudeen Owolabi (27).

However, the defence lawyers urged the court to strike out the charge, describing it as frivolous.

One of the defence lawyers, Mr. Imonighara Ese, said many of the accused persons, who he claimed did not participate in the protests, were arrested in front of their houses and that others were arrested while returning from where they went to play football.

Ese said, “Some of them were arrested in front of their houses. They were arrested and they have been kept in custody since Friday. We know that when the court looks into the charge, your honour will find out that the charge is frivolous.”

Another set of 10 persons were arraigned for six counts of offences said to have been committed at 7Up under Ijora Bridge on January 10 at about 12.10pm.

The offences the accused persons allegedly committed included breach of peace, unlawful assembly, carrying of three cutlasses and other offensive weapons in the public and causing panic for members of the public.

Also arrainged for armed robbery before Magistrate Omoyele was Lateef Ishola, 25.

He was said to have on January 11 robbed two persons of property including two phones and total sum of N50,000 on Ojota Bridge.

Another set of 22 accused persons were arraigned for armed robbery. They allegedly broke into Ojo Local Government secretariat, where they were said to have stolen various sets of office equipment on January 11.

Young Congolese Sets Himself On Fire Becoming A Martyr of The Congolese Revolution

On December 10th, 2011, in the Democratic Republic of Congo's city of Boma (Bas-Congo region), a young man named Cedrick Nianza self-immolated by pouring gas on himself and setting the fuel alight.

According to witnesses at the scene, the man continually shouted « Congo na nga, Congo na nga » (my Congo, my Congo) while the flames consumed him.

Almost a week later, on December 15th, 2011, Cedrick died in Kinshasa's Mama Yemo Hospital as a result of his severe burn wounds. This type of demonstration, unheard of in Bantu culture, sent a shock wave through the Congolese Community in DRC and in the Diaspora.

Who was Cédrick Nianza?

Fatherless and the eldest of two children, the 25-year-old from Boma ( Bas-Congo) was until recently living in Angola, where he sought better living conditions and a brighter future. He returned to Congo DRC to fulfill his civic duty by participating in the November 28th presidential election and voted for candidate Etienne Tshisekedi.

Why did he immolate himself?



There is a clear connection between the December 9th publication of the presidential election results in Congo DRC and Cedrick's startling public display the following day. Of the many Congolese who demonstrated grave doubts about the election's integrity, perhaps Cedrick's expression was the most visible and condemning.

However, the significance of Cedrick's self-immolation must be recognized as something much more than an expression of political or partisan disappointment in response to the election. Indeed, as in the case of Mohamed Bouazizi, who set himself on fire in Tunisia, young Cedrick Nianza's sacrifice symbolizes the profound discontent at the root of a growing movement: the Congolese people’s Uprising in Congo DRC and in the Diaspora.

The young Cedrick seems to have chosen martyrdom to express himself on behalf of a whole generation. His despair echoes that of millions of Congolese men and women who have endured decades of unrelenting hardships (misery, mass rape, genocide, looting of the natural resources, foreign invasions, to name some of the more prominent ones.).

If the sacrifice of Mahamed Bouazizi signaled the beginning of the Arab Spring (as the media noted), then the sacrifice of Cedrick Nianza signals the extension of the African Winter's long and trying season.

The symbolic value of Cedrick's act extends well beyond national borders, as he suggested from his hospital bed, saying, “It was too much, I had to show them an event ….it doesn’t just stop in Congo”. Cedrick's cry (my Congo) is the tragic expression of a citizen's desire for genuinely representative government, where one will be able to finally say, with the aid of an honest electoral process, and not merely as a dying wish, that a country belongs to its people.

Lamido Sanusi Writes on Nasir El Rufai

By CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamiso Sanusi
I have one request to make and Allah is my helper. Any attack on Nasir el Rufai or on Nuhu Ribadu is an attack on me. Nasir is to my mind is one of the greatest and most patriotic Nigerians to have served in public office and he is by far the best FCT minister we have ever had. Like all of us he is not perfect.

In my AIT interview I said I agreed with 90% of what he said a day before our interview and the two bits I didn’t agree with I stated: I don’t agree that there is no subsidy and I believe Nasir was quoting contributions from trusted experts which have been flying around recently including Prof Tam David West.

And we have debated this issue of accounting and economic concepts in this forum. I also do not agree that it is easy in the short-term to have massive fiscal retrenchment without a huge political backlash-indeed the fuel subsidy is one such case and retrenchment for instance would also bring people out.

But Nasir is one person for whom I have always had the highest level of personal respect. His integrity is beyond reproach-of course, people will say anything but after years of trying no one is yet able to show any evidence backing up allegations. Intellectually, I am yet to know anyone who can match him and this has been the case since the 1970s. Femi Fani-Kayode has written in Nasir’s defence but these are not Nasir’s words and if you knew Femi well you would not be surprised or bothered by his peculiar choice of language. I have seen Femi transit from a rabid ethnic chauvinist and christian fanatic who thought Obasanjo was a stooge of the backward Muslim north, to a minister in Obasanjo’s cabinet preaching national unity, and now to some freelance activist and public commentator.

This is just a stage he is going through but I like to think he means well. When AIT requested me to speak they never said it was to respond to Nasir and when we started and they played their clip we told them we didn’t want to personalise this. Nasir and I were friends and brothers as teenagers. We have remained friends and brothers and will remain
friends after office.

We don’t have to agree 100%. He also understands that so long as I am in government I have 100% loyalty to the president. If I feel I cannot be loyal I should step down. This does not mean supporting every policy but it means standing up to play my part in doing what is good for the economy.
I, therefore, request please that no one defending me should attack his person. And only those who don’t know Nasir will even think I am his intellectual match- he is just exceptional in his brilliance.

Iran offered Syria’s Brotherhood power if it agreed to Assad staying on: official

Iran has offered the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood a deal that includes giving the Islamist opposition group all of the government, but under the condition that President Bashar al-Assad remains as the country’s premier, an official said in a newspaper interview published on Wednesday.

Mohammed Taifour, the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood’s Deputy Superintendent and one of its representatives in the country’s main opposition group, the Syrian National Council, told the London-based al-Hayat Newspaper that via a Turkish businessman he knows three Iranian merchants requested to see him.

Taifour, who rejected negotiation with the Iranian businessmen citing Iran’s support of the Syrian regime, said their deal offer started first with giving the Islamist group four ministerial positions and ended with giving them the entire government, as long as Assad kept his leadership position.

The initiation of the first deal offer came three months ago, said Taifour.

Taifour rejected the notion that Hamas had played an intermediary role, saying that his group’s relationship with Hamas is almost nonexistent.

In early January, the Arab League chief, Nabil al-Arabi, asked the Damascus-based leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal, to ask Syria to work to halt violence against protesters.

Instead, the high-ranking Brotherhood official called for the international community to protect Syrian civilians and supported the French foreign minister’s proposal of creating safe corridors.

“There must be a direction from the Arab League to issue a report and transfer it to the Security Council,” he told the newspaper.

At the same time, Taifour rejected the Western powers’ call to unify the Syrian opposition, describing such idea as “marriage by force.”

He said that the National Coordination Committee includes officials who are close to the regime, in addition to national opposition figures.

He also accused Lebanon’s Hezbollah, along with Iran, of aiding the Syrian regime with human resources and logistical support. Most of the snipers in Syria, according to Taifour, are either Iranian or Lebanese.

The U.N. has estimated that there are more than 5,400 Syrian civilians, dissidents, protesters who are killed since the beginning of the uprising against the Syrian regime in March.

He said that there is a huge difference between the positions of Hamas and Hezbollah. Hamas, he said, is quiet and semi-neutral, while Hezbolla is definitely pro-Assad.

Meanwhile, he rejected that the revolution in Syria is heading towards militarization of the opposition; instead he blamed the onus on the regime for wanting to drag Syrians into a sectarian war.

Senate wants subsidy cabal punished

The Senate has backed punishment for officials involved in the diversion of fuel subsidy.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Information and Media, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said in Abuja on Tuesday government’s directive to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to probe subsidy payments was a welcome development.

He said, “We think that those economic saboteurs should be brought to book. The Senate is fully behind this because the Senate started this investigation and the senate is also very willing to go all out to make sure that Nigeria is a country where everybody’s interest is fully protected.

“Many things were revealed in our investigation; and it led to the naming of all those who unduly profited from the subsidy and we call on the investigative agencies that have already moved into action to ensure that no one is spared because those are the people that have brought us to this avoidable hardship.”

Abaribe noted that the government should ensure that the outcome of the meeting between Labour and the Belgore committee was implemented.

He said, “What we seek today is to ensure that whatever decisions are going to come out of the meeting between the Belgore committee and labour should be faithfully implemented.

“And the only way you can bring the two sides together is not to take side prior to the negotiations; that is why it seems as if the senate didn’t come out frontally to make a pronouncement but l think events as at today has shown that the senate took the best possible position and helped to douse an imminent crisis that would’ve engulfed our nation.”

The Senate also stood down the report of its joint committee on Finance, Appropriation and National Planning on the Medium Term Expenditure Framework, because it did not capture the present situation on subsidy.

President Goodluck Jonathan had submitted the framework with the proposal to phase out the subsidy regime beginning from 2012.

It was the reasoning within the Senate that since the government had settled for a phased deregulation, the report should be sent back for further work.

The committee, led by Senator Ahmmad Maccido, had submitted that the proposal on fuel subsidy as contained in the framework was premature as consultations were still ongoing.

It recommended that sources other than relying on savings from proposed subsidy removal, as part of financing item for expected deficit should be explored.

“In the event of any subsidy withdrawal all savings must be captured in safety net for targeted expenditures,” the committee recommended.

Madalla Christmas Day Bombing Suspect Escapes From Police Detention-Dailytrust

A man arrested at the Borno State Governor’s Lodge over the deadly Madalla Christmas Day bombing escaped from police custody on Sunday while he was being conveyed to a location in Abaji area of Abuja, Daily Trust learnt yesterday.

Boko Haram suspect Kabiru Sokoto was arrested at the weekend during a police raid on the lodge, where he sneaked in through a friend who was given accommodation to stay overnight. He was said to be taken along with a Flight Lieutenant of the Nigerian Air Force to the Zone 7 Headquarters of the Police in Abuja.

Sources told 0yesterday that Kabiru was taken to Abaji on Sunday, where he is said to own a house, to allow police conduct a search but he escaped at about 5.30pm at Abaji.

Police went on a pursuit, firing shots and in the process a stray bullet hit and killed a 28-year-old man named Awwal Inuwa Ashafa, according to residents of the area.

Pandemonium ensued as people ran for cover. Ashafa, who had an HND in Building Engineering from Federal Polytechnic, Nasarawa, was shot in the chest.

A witness said trouble started in the area when policemen from Abuja city brought Kabiru Sokoto in a Toyota Hilux van. A gang of youths flagged down the vehicle as it was heading for the Ona of Abaji’s Palace, creating a chaos during which the suspect escaped.



The police had earlier taken the suspect to a house he owned at Abaji to conduct search and were on their way to the traditional head’s palace when the youths saw him in handcuffs and then blocked the road, the witness said.

Kabiru seized the opportunity created by the youths and escaped. Meanwhile, the police fired shots in the air to disperse the youths.

Our reporter observed soldiers, riot police and men of the FCT Special Anti-Robbery Squad positioned at various junctions in Abaji, while a police armoured vehicle was also seen stationed in the town.

Abaji DPO, Superintendent Mathew Chukwkuma Okafor, was not available for comments. A senior police officer said four persons have been arrested over the incident.

But spokesman for the FCT police command Moshood Jimoh said no suspect escaped custody from either the Abaji divisional police or from any other police unit there.

Much ado about fuel subsidy

DEFINITION: To subsidise is to sell a product below the cost of production. Since the Federal Government has been secretive about the state of our refineries and their production capacity, we will focus on importation rather than production. So, in essence, within the Nigerian Fuel Subsidy context, to subsidise is to sell petrol below the cost of importation.

The unsubstantiated claims of the Federal Government: The government claims that Nigerians consume 34 million litres of petrol per day. The government has also said publicly that N141 per litre is the unsubsidised pump price of petrol imported into Nigeria. (N131.70 kobo being the landing price and N9.30 kobo being profit.)

Annual cost of importation

Daily Fuel Consumption: 34 million litres

Cost at Pump: N141.00

No. of days in a regular year: 365 days

Total cost of all petrol imported yearly into Nigeria:

Litres Naira Days

34m x 141 x 365

= N1.75 trillion

Cost borne by the consumers

Nigerians have been paying N65 per litre for fuel, haven’t we? Therefore, cost borne by the consumers = Litres Naira Days

34m x 65 x 365 = N807 billion

Cost of subsidy borne by the government: In 2011 alone, government claimed to have spent N1.3 trillion by October – the bill for the full year, assuming a constant rate of consumption is N1.56 trillion. Consequently, the true cost of subsidy borne by the government is: Total cost of importation minus total borne by consumers, i.e. N1.75 trillion minus N807 billion = N943 billion.


Pastor Tunde Bakare

Unexplainable difference: N617 billion. The Federal Government of Nigeria cannot explain the difference between the amount actually disbursed for subsidy and the cost borne by Nigerians (N1.56 trillion minus N943 billion = N617 billion).

Bogus claim by the government: A government official has claimed that the shortfall of N617 billion is what goes to subsidising our neighbours through smuggling. This is pathetic. But let us assume (assumption being the lowest level of knowledge) that the government is unable to protect our borders and checkmate the brisk smuggling going on. Even then, the figures still don’t add up. This is because even if 50 per cent of the petrol consumed in each of our neighbouring countries is illegally exported from Nigeria, the figures are still inaccurate. Why?

World Bank’s figures: populations of West African countries

NIGERIA: 158.4 million

BENIN: 8.8 million

TOGO: 6 million

CAMEROUN: 19.2 million

NIGER: 15.5 million

CHAD: 11.2 million

GHANA: 24.4 million

The total population of all our six neighbours is 85.5 million.

Let’s do some more arithmetic:

a) Rate of Petrol Consumption in Nigeria: Total consumed divided by total population:

34 million litres divided by 158.8 million people = 0.21 litres per person per day.

b) Rate of Petrol Consumption in all our six neighbouring countries, assumed to be the same as Nigeria:

0.2 litres x 85.5 million people = 18.35 million litres per day

Now, if we assume that 50 per cent of the petrol consumed in all the six neighbouring countries comes from Nigeria, this value comes to 9.18 million litres per day.

Pathetic absurdity: There are two illogicalities flowing from this smuggling saga.

*If 9.18 million litres of petrol is truly smuggled out of our borders per day, then ours is the most porous nation in the word. This is why: The biggest fuel tankers in Nigeria have a capacity of about 36,000 litres. To smuggle 9.18 million litres of fuel, you need 254 trucks. What our government is telling us is that 254 huge tankers pass through our borders every day and they cannot do anything about it. This is not just acute incompetence, but also a serious security challenge. For if the government cannot stop 254 tanker trailers from crossing the border daily, how can they stop importation of weapons or even invasion by a foreign country?

*Second illogicality: Even if we believe the government and assume that about 9.18 million litres is actually taken to our neighbours by way of smuggling every day, and all this is subsidised by the Nigerian government, the figures being touted as subsidy still don’t add up. This is why: Difference between pump price before and after subsidy removal = N141.00 – N65.00 = N76.00. Total spent on subsidizing petrol to our neighbours annually = N76.00 x 9.18 million litres x 365 days = N255 billion.

If you take the N255 billion away from the N617 billion shortfall that the government cannot explain, there is still a shortfall of N362 billion. The government still needs to tell us what/who is eating up this N362 billion ($2.26 billion USD).

Illogical assumptions

*We have assumed that there are no working refineries in Nigeria and so no local petrol production whatsoever – yet, there is, even if the refineries are working below capacity. ii) Nigeria actually consumes 34 million litres of petrol per day. Most experts disagree and give a figure of between 20 and 25 million litres per day. Yet there is still an unexplainable shortfall even if we use the exaggerated figure of the government.

*Ghana, Togo, Benin, Cameroun, Niger, and Chad all consume the same rate as Nigeria and get 50 per cent of their petrol illegally from Nigeria through smuggling. These figures simply show the incompetence and insincerity of our government officials. This is pure banditry.

Fact: The simplest part of the fuel subsidy arithmetic will reveal one startling fact: That the government does not need to subsidise our petrol at all if we reject corruption and sleaze as a way of life. Check this out:

*NNPC crude oil allocation for local consumption = 400,000 barrels per day (from a total of 2.450 million barrels per day).

*If our refineries work at just 30 per cent, 280,000 barrels can be sold on the international market, leaving the rest for local production.

*Money accruing to the Federal Government through NNPC on the sale, using $80/bbl – a conservative figure as against the current price of $100/bbl – would be $22.4m per day. Annually this translates to $8.176bn or N1.3 trillion.

*The government does not need to subsidise our petrol imports – at least not from the Federation Account. The same crude that should have been refined by NNPC is simply sold on the international market (since our refineries barely work) and the money is used to buy petrol. The 400,000 barrels per day given to NNPC for local consumption can either be refined by NNPC or sold to pay for imports. This absurdity called subsidy should be funded with this money, not the regular FGN budget. If the FGN uses it regular budget for subsidising petrol, then what happens to the crude oil given to NNPC for local refining that gets sold on the international market?

Tactical blunder

The Federal Government is making the deregulation issue a revenue problem. Nigerians are not against deregulation. We have seen deregulation in the telecom sector and Nigerians are better for it, as even the poor have access to telephones now right before the eyes of those who think it is not for them. What is happening presently is not deregulation but an all-time high fuel pump increase, unprecedented in the history of our nation by a government that has gone broke due to excessive and reckless spending largely on themselves. If the excesses of all the three tiers of government are seriously curbed, that would free enough money for infrastructural development without unduly punishing the poor citizens of this country. Let me just cite, in closing, the example of National Assembly excesses and misplaced spending as contained in the 2012 budget proposal:

Number of Senators 109

Number of Members of the House of Representatives 360

Total Number of Legislators 469

2012 Budget Proposal for the National Assembly N150 billion

Average Cost of Maintaining Each Member N320 million

Average Cost of Maintaining Each Member in USD $2.1 million/year

Time has come for the citizens of this country to hold the government accountable and demand the prosecution of those bleeding our nation to death. Until this government downsizes, cuts down its profligacy and leads by example in modesty and moderation, the poor people of this country will not and must not subsidise the excesses of the oil sector fat cats and the immorality cum fiscal scandal of the self-centred and indulgent lifestyles of those in government.

Here is a hidden treasure of wisdom for those in power while there is still time to make amends:

PROVERBS 21:6&and7

“Getting treasures by a lying tongue is the fleeting fantasy of those who seek death. The violence of the wicked will destroy them because they refuse to do just.”

A word of counsel for those who voted for such soulishly indulgent leadership: “Never trust a man who once had no shoes, or you may end up losing your legs.”

This is the conclusion of the matter on subsidy removal: i) “If a ruler pays attention to lies, all his servants become wicked.” (Proverbs 29:12)

ii) “The Righteous God wisely considers the house of the wicked, overthrowing the wicked for their wickedness. Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and will not be heard.” (Proverbs 21:12&13)

Thanks for your attention. God bless you all.

Pastor Bakare was CPC’s vice presidential candidate in 2011

Annual cost of importation

Daily Fuel Consumption: 34 million litres
Cost at Pump: N141.00
No. of days in a regular year: 365 days
Total cost of all petrol imported yearly into Nigeria:
Litres Naira Days
34m x 141 x 365
= N1.75 trillion
Cost borne by the consumers
Nigerians have been paying N65 per litre for fuel, haven’t we? Therefore, cost borne by the consumers = Litres Naira Days
34m x 65 x 365
= N807 billion

Misplaced spending in the budget

Let me just cite, in closing, the example of National Assembly excesses and misplaced spending as contained in the 2012 budget proposal:
Number of Senators 109
Number of Members of the House of Representatives 360
Total Number of Legislators 469
2012 Budget Proposal for the National Assembly N150 billion
Average Cost of Maintaining Each Member N320 million
Average Cost of Maintaining Each Member in USD $2.1 million/year

Soldiers ‘ll remain on the streets – FG

ABUJA- THE Federal Government declared, yesterday, that it was not in any way prepared to withdraw soldiers who have been deployed to patrol the streets of Lagos and some other cities across the country until there was total peace in such areas. This came as Lagos lawmakers have joined others in condemning government’s action and called for the withdrawal of the soldiers.

Addressing newsmen in Abuja yesterday, Minister of Defence, Dr. Bello Haliru Mohammed said that the deployment of soldiers became imperative following security reports that some persons had concluded plans to hijack the protests and rallies and make the government ungovernable for President Goodluck Jonathan even if the organised labour called off the strike. He explained that soldiers were deployed to give support to the Police.


President Goodluck Jonathan inaugurating the Golf Course of the Air Force

Flanked by the Minister of State, Defence, Erelu Olusola Obada; the Permanent Secretary, Linus Awute; the minister who noted that the government took the decision to drive away those who were determined to bring down the government and cause crisis, stressed that it was the responsibility of government to stop violence and nip in the bud any plan of anarchy before it occurs.

The Minister said: “Let me emphasise that under no circumstances will the government stand aloof while some misguided elements unleash violence on the Nigerian society. As a responsive government, the Goodluck Jonathan’s administration is irrevocably committed to promoting the greatest good for the greatest number of Nigerians irrespective of tribe, religion or political affiliation. As soon as the situation is brought to normal, the soldiers will be withdrawn.”

It will be recalled that following the deployment of soldiers on the streets of Lagos, the State governor, Babatunde Fashola, on Monday kicked against the move and called for the immediate withdrawal of the military personnel from the streets, saying that there was no justification for it as the rallies in Lagos had been conducted peacefully.

Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka and a number of other Nigerians had also condemned the deployment of soldiers and called on the Federal government to withdraw them.

The Minister commended the efforts of the officers in the rank and file of the Nigerian Armed Forces, the Police and other Security agencies for displaying what he described as enviable maturity, understanding and professionalism in their conduct while the protests and rallies lasted.

Mohammed who said that Nigeria was at the cross road of insecurity, stressed that at the moment, the country does not face any external threat, but bombings which have become a new development in the nation’s history are highly condemnable, even as he commended Nigerians for the peaceful protests and rallies carried out which was an indication that democracy has come to stay.

“On the present insecurity in the country, which is our immediate concern, the bombings, shootings and killings going on in different parts of this country form a new dimension of security problem to this country. Prior to this period we never knew suicide bombing or bombing of any type as a form of protest, but now it has become the reality, it is totally condemnable by all our citizens and all civilized beings all over the world. Therefore it is the responsibility of this government and the Ministry of Defence is in support of this resolve, and we should not waver or get deterred in confronting this senseless act of few misguided elements of this country. We call on all Nigerians to remain calm and go about their lawful businesses while the government is determined to get to the bottom of the causes of this act of violence and remove them from the face of this country.”



Withdraw soldiers from Lagos, Lawmakers tell Jonathan



Meanwhile members of Lagos State House of Assembly have called on President Goodluck Jonathan to, as a matter of urgency, withdraw the military from the streets of Lagos.

Addressing newsmen yesterday in Lagos, Chairman, House Committee on Information, Segun Olulade stated that the House condemned in strong terms the deployment of military personnel to disrupt peaceful protest in Lagos.

“We view this action on the part of President as provocative and undemocratic particularly in a democratic dispensation. Due respect and courtesy ought to be extended to the deserving authority and failure to do this usually results in chaotic situations”, he noted.

According to him: “This is reminiscence of the sad period of military junta in Nigeria and must be erased completely in our national life. We recognise the right of every citizen to freely express himself and we therefore identify with every citizen engaging in peaceful protest against or in support of any policy of Government”.



President hid troops deployment from Governors



In a related development, more facts emerged yesterday that President Goodluck Jonathan may not have consulted the governors of the affected states before deploying troops to Lagos and other cities last Sunday ahead of the scheduled Monday rallies and protest called by Labour and Civil Society groups.

A very reliable source who attended a meeting the President held with the governors late Sunday night revealed that at no time did the President ever hint of his intention to deploy troops.

According to the source, the President only discussed the need to rally a nation-wide support for the removal of subsidy in order to boost national revenue and it was learnt that the governors were divided on the timing of the subsidy removal.



Some of the governors who were said to be opposed to the removal of the subsidy by the President were those from the South West states.



Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola was particularly said to have told the President of the need to tackle corruption at the Federal level so that monies being stolen by public office holders could be available for national development.

It was learnt that the governor told the meeting that once corruption has been tackled, the Federal and State Governments should then put concrete infrastructure on ground that would empower Nigerians to make economic choices.

His position was said to have been supported by the Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi and Lagos Governor Babatunde Fashola.

It was learnt that the President assured the Governors that he would reduce the pump price of petroleum from N141 in order to get the strike called off.

“This was the final agreement at the meeting before they left Abuja for their states late Sunday night by flight. By the time we got to Lagos around 3.15 am and we were on the road to our state, we were surprised to see soldiers deployed everywhere.

“Our convoy was stopped three times by the soldiers and the ADC had to explain who was in the vehicle before we were allowed to continue our journey. We were stopped three times. The decision to deploy the troops was a huge surprise for us as the President never mentioned this and certainly the governors would have been opposed to it” the source said.

Insecurity: INEC Again Postpones Adamawa Governorship Election

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has once again shifted the date for the governorship election in Adamawa State.

The electoral body said in a statement released in Abuja today that it would not conduct any election in an atmosphere of insecurity, emergency rule or curfew.

It said the election would now hold on February 4, 2012.

The electoral commission had earlier moved the date of the election from Saturday, January 14 to January 18, 2012.

In addition, INEC’s statement also disclosed a postponement of an election for the House of Representatives in the Soba Federal Constituency of Kaduna State. That election will now also hold on February 4.

Below is the text of INEC’s statement:

INEC shifts Adamawa, Soba Constituency polls



Due to the prevailing situations in Adamawa and Kaduna States, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has, by the powers conferred on it in Section 26 (i) of the Electoral Act 2010, as amended, postponed the scheduled elections in the two states.

These elections are the gubernatorial election in Adamawa State and the bye-election into Soba Federal Constituency of Kaduna State. The two elections will now hold on 4th February, 2012.

The decision to postpone these elections was arrived at after due consultations with relevant stakeholders.

The Commission does not wish to hold any election under an atmosphere of insecurity, emergency or curfew. Therefore it calls on all stakeholders to conduct themselves in a manner that will ensure peaceful and violence-free atmosphere for the elections.

INEC hereby restates its determination to conduct, free, fair and credible elections in these two states and urges all and sundry to join hands with it in achieving this noble cause.

The Commission also calls on security agencies to ensure a conducive environment for the smooth conduct of these elections.