Burkina Faso Opens Trial On 1987 Assassination Of Revolutionary Leader, Sankara

After 34 years of assassination of the country’s revered revolutionary leader, Thomas Sankara, Burkina Faso has commenced the prosecution of a former President Blaise Compaore and 13 others involved, Al-Jazeera reports.

Compaore and 13 others are facing an array of charges in the death of Sankara, described by his followers as the African Che Guevara.

The killing of Sankara, an icon of pan-Africanism, has for years cast a dark shadow over the Sahel state.

Sankara and 12 others were riddled with bullets by a hit squad in October 1987 during a putsch that brought his friend and comrade-in-arms Compaore to power.

Al-Jazeera has reported that Compaore, the chief accused, stated through his lawyers last week that he would boycott the trial.

The former West African nation's leader will be tried in absentia by the military court in the capital, Ouagadougou.

Compaore ruled the country for the next 27 years before being deposed by a popular uprising and fleeing to neighbouring Ivory Coast, which granted him citizenship.

He has always denied the allegations leveled against him that he orchestrated the Sankara's murder.

He and his former right-hand man, General Gilbert Diendere, who once led the elite Presidential Security Regiment, face charges of complicity in murder, harming state security and complicity in the concealment of corpses.

On Monday, after several hours, proceedings were adjourned until October 25 after defence lawyers said they were confronted with 20,000 documents and had had little time to prepare their case.

They requested a one-month postponement but were granted a stay of two weeks by judge Urbain Meda.

Days before the trial opened on Monday, his lawyers announced he would not be attending a “political trial” flawed by irregularities, and insisted he enjoyed immunity as a former head of state.

Diendere, 61, is already serving a 20-year sentence for masterminding a plot in 2015 against the transitional government that followed Compaore’s removal.

Another prominent figure among the accused is Hyacinthe Kafando, a former chief warrant officer in Compaore’s presidential guard, who is accused of leading the hit squad. He is on the run.

A young army captain and Marxist-Leninist, Sankara came to power in a coup in 1983 aged just 33.

He changed the country’s name from Upper Volta, a legacy of the French colonial era, to Burkina Faso, which means “the land of honest men."

He lobbied with a socialist agenda of nationalisation and prohibited female genital mutilation, polygamy and forced marriages.

Like Ghana’s former leader Jerry Rawlings, he became an idol in left-wing circles in Africa, applauded for his radical policies and defiance of the big powers.

Burkina Faso has long been burdened by silence over the assassination – during Compaore’s long time in office, the subject was taboo – and many are angry that the killers have gone unpunished.

“The trial will mark the end to all the lying – we will get a form of truth. But the trial will not be able to restore our dream,” Halouna Traore, a comrade of Sankara and survivor of the putsch, said in a TV interview.

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Educating Nigerians Before Birth And After Death, By Owei Lakemfa

A Story trended in the social media on Tuesday, October 5, 2021, the International Teachers Day. On that day, the Senate confirmed the nomination of Alhaji Yahaya Mohammad as a Board Member of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

 

Many Nigerians appeared scandalised that the Senate would clear a man who was born on September 29, 1969 but had started school in 1968; that is the year before he was born.

Owei Lakemfa

It was also unsettling for them that the nominee had claimed he attended the Borno Teachers College for thirteen years from 1975.

 

That means he started his post-primary education at the age of seven and finished the five-year course when he was 20. Simultaneously, he attended the professional College of Administration Studies in 1980 when he was a 12-year old boy. This man clearly, was a child prodigy.

 

Personally, I see nothing strange in a man beginning primary school before he was born because children are educated before they are born. Otherwise, where would a new born baby have learnt how to cry? Where would it have learnt that when hungry, it should yell for nutrients or breast milk?

 

It is a well-known fact that for us Nigerians, education is not just life-long, but eternal; it is before birth and after death. That is why it is not uncommon for people to speak to a corpse at the grave side.

 

They admonish it on various issues, remind it of past or pending matters and generally tell it not to forget the loved ones it has left behind. Sometimes the corpse during burial, is sent on errands; it is told to convey the greetings of the living to deceased loved ones in the land of the dead.

 

The Yorubas know this better than any other Nigerian nationality. They tell the corpse to continue its education eternally. There is a standard instruction they give the corpse: “When you get to heaven, neither eat millipedes nor worms, rather, eat what is eaten there.” In other words, the deceased is to study the dietary pattern in heaven. It is like saying when in Rome, behave like a Roman.

 

Although teachers are told their reward is in heaven, they neither teach the unborn nor the dead; they teach only the living on surface earth, and they do a good job doing so. This is why I agree that: “Teachers are the keys that unlock the student’s mind.”

 

It is also a truism that while: “the architect makes houses, the writer makes poetry, the scientist makes discoveries, the teacher makes them all.” In other words: “Teachers make all other professions possible.” So: “If there were no teachers, all other professions will not exist.” The point is, if you can read this, thank your teacher.

 

Teachers Day in Nigeria has become a ritual during which the Presidency plays the role of chief priest casting divination which shows a better future for teachers. This year, two major promises the Buhari administration made to teachers are: an enhanced salary system and extending their retirement age from 60 to 65 years. These are familiar promises; they were the same made during the 2020 Teachers Day.

 

In fact, the issue of an enhanced teachers’ salary system dates back to 2006 during the Obasanjo administration. It was called the Teachers Salary Scale, TSS. It is similar to the University Salary Scale, USS.

 

The Yar’Adua administration, 2007-2009, formalised the TSS. Since then, its implementation has been trying to burrow through the bureaucracy underground. So for over a dozen years now, the Jonathan, and now the Buhari administrations on every Teachers Day, make the same promises.

 

The extension of the teachers retirement age by five years is even an older promise since the retirement age of lecturers in the universities has been sixty five. In fact in 2010 the then Minister of Education, Dr. Sam Egwu announced the implementation of a new retirement age in the universities; that for professors was extended from 65 to 70, and for the non-academic staff from 60 to 65 years.

 

But why are teachers pleased whenever they are teased that their retirement age will be extended? It is poverty. Nigeria has evolved so well that to be a pensioner is to be sentenced to a life of penury. First, it takes eternity for the once-off bulk retirement payment, called gratuity to be paid.

 

Secondly, pension payment has never been a priority of governments at state and federal levels. Thirdly, subsequent adjustments to pension in line with continuous currency devaluation, hyper-inflation and salary increases, are usually not reflected, or reflected very late for pensioners. So the average Nigerian worker lives in fear of retirement.

 

This is in sharp contrast to their European counterparts who look forward to retirement. I recall during my March 2012 visit to factories like BMW in Germany, there were protests and strikes over the decision of some governments in Europe to increase retirement age by an average two years.

 

The workers felt they needed more time for holidays and with their families. I reflected that in contrast, Nigerian workers and professionals were clamouring to postpone their retirement as long as possible even if it means tampering with their official records.

 

In any case, with mass unemployment among young graduates including those with degrees in education, does it not make more sense for teachers to be encouraged to take due retirement and be handsomely rewarded so more employment opportunities can be available for the young?

 

Whatever the case, we all need teachers, whether old or young. For instance, teachers are needed to organise refresher courses for the Nigeria Army.

 

Soldiers in Onitsha had arrested popular actor Chiwetalu Agu for wearing a cloth emblazoned with the defunct Biafra coat of arms. First the army statement announced that it was the “very well-known attire” of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB.

 

This is incorrect because that was the symbol of Biafra from 1967, the same year IPOB founder, Nnamdi Kanu was born. Secondly, various organisations in Eastern Nigeria wear it. So the army’s conclusion that by the actor wearing such a cloth in his film company bus, amounts to “soliciting” support for IPOB, is illogical. 

 

More to my point. Viral videos showed soldiers pushing the famous actor at gun point, forcing him to the ground, dragging him on the tarred road before finally carrying him like a piece of rag. Yet the army told Nigerians and the world that: “he (Agu) was not assaulted or subjected to brutalisation.”

 

You see why teachers are needed to explain that brutalisation or assault is to visit physical violence on somebody, which was what soldiers in the video did to the veteran actor. May we never lack teachers in our lives.

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Buhari Wasting Resources On Fighter Jets That’ll Be Used To Destroy Nigeria – Father Mbaka Warns

The Spiritual Director of Adoration Ministry Enugu, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, has warned President Muhammadu Buhari that the fighter jets he is acquiring will be used to destroy the country.

According to Sun, the cleric who spoke on Sunday during a sermon at Adoration ground in Emene advised the president to rather focus on building more industries to absorb unemployed youths.

Recall that President Buhari, last week, confirmed receipt of new fighter jets which he said will be deployed against any form of insecurity in all parts of the country.

Mbaka however warned that, “The jets you are buying are going to be used to collapse Nigeria. Please, the first person to meet President Buhari after this message; should tell him that all these jets he is buying will be used to destroy Nigeria. God told me to tell him that all these jets are going to be used to destroy Nigeria. Let him stop buying more jets and begin to build more industries.

“We don’t want to hear that our children are being killed. Those that are being bombed are Nigerians. Nobody is going to give an award to a mother or a father for killing his or her children. The solution is simple. Put the round peg in the round hole and banditry will die.

“People are not agitating for nothing. Listen to the reason for their agitation; because even in the military, there is agitation. In the police, there is agitation. In the church there is agitation. In the families, people are agitating. Drivers are agitating, businessmen are agitating.

“Use the money and solve the problem otherwise, you are buying jets that aggrieved people will take up and scatter people. If it doesn’t happen soon, it will happen later. Do you know how many billions are used to buy these jets? If they put some of these billions into job creation, the youths will be busy, parents will be happy that their children are going to work and coming back.

“The Spirit of God is not happy with our leaders no matter how they will want to paint it. If all the men of God will be silent, the Spirit of God will not be silent. When the poor masses are crying, we the men of God should be crying with them because they are our children.” 

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Zamfara Monarch Spends Four Weeks In Captivity Of Bandits

Families, friends and courtiers of the abducted Emir of Bungudu, Hassan Attahiru, have expressed uncertainty over the fate of the monarch, BBC Hausa reports.

The emir was abducted by bandits on September 14, while travelling to Abuja. His police orderly was killed in the incident and another police officer taken with the monarch.

Attahiru, a first class emir, is a former Secretary to the Government of Zamfara State.

The secretary of the emirate council, Usman Ibrahim, said that they had not heard anything about the emir.

“From when he was abducted, some of our people that were out of the state were discussing with the kidnappers. We thought they would release him. Our people told us that they were discussing with the kidnappers and they told them he was alive,” he said.

He, however, lamented that lack of access to mobile telecommunications networks in the area also complicated the situation.

Ibrahim said the Emirate Council was at a loss on the true situation of the emir.

Another member of the royal family interviewed by the BBC Hausa also expressed uncertainty about the whereabouts of the emir.

“Nobody knows. Nobody can say anything on whether he is alive or not. We feel he is alive but we are not certain. They (kidnappers) said they would release him when we pay the ransom but we have not heard anything from when we took the money to them.

“From that time (when ransom was paid) I don’t think there has been anyone from here who spoke with him (the emir),” the unnamed source said.

But he said it was possible the lack of communication was due to the absence of mobile telecommunications networks in most parts of the state.

 

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Don’t Harass October 20 Protesters, Protect Them —TakeItBack Movement Warns Lagos Police Ahead Of #EndSARS Anniversary

Human rights and pro-democracy group, TakeItBack Movement, has tackled the Lagos State Police Command over its recent statement warning against the commemoration of #EndSARS in the state.

Last year, thousands of youths had stormed the streets to protest against police brutality and demand good governance.

But the demonstration, which lasted for days, came to an abrupt end after personnel of the Nigerian Army opened fire on some of the protesters on the night of October 20, 2020.

In honour of those who lost their lives during the protests and on the night of the attack on the demonstrators, youths in the country announced an anniversary to mark the occasion.

The anniversary is scheduled to hold on October 20.

In a recent statement, however, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, warned youths against the anniversary.

Reacting to the police statement, the TakeItBack Movement slammed the planned attempt to stifle peaceful demonstration, saying such is undemocratic.

In a statement by Festus Ogun, its legal adviser, the group said the protest is a fundamental right of Nigerians as contained in the constitution.

It also vowed to resist any attempt by the Lagos police to harass and intimidate peaceful protesters.

The group said, “The statement credited to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, warning citizens not to exercise their fundamental rights to protest during the commemoration of the #EndSars Massacre Anniversary is unconscionable, draconian and a reckless invitation to anarchy. Concerned Nigerians have taken his words like those of stand-up comedians.

"CP Hakeem Odumosu has no such power, right or authority to warn against, prohibit or outlaw protests. That will be acting the fragile limits of his powers and against the constitution. He cannot, under our extant laws, interfere with the hallowed right to protest under any guise. The only legal duty he has is to ensure the security and welfare of all protesters; which must be professionally done.

"#EndSars Memorial Demonstration is a constitutionally guaranteed right. Sections 39, 40 and 41 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as altered, safeguard and guarantee the right to protest as a human right that shall be enjoyed by all citizens without arbitrary restraint or careless warning. Articles 6, 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Enforcement and Ratification) Act equally protect the right to protest. Additionally, Articles 18-21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 fully protect the constitutional liberty to protest.

"Emphasising the sacred nature of the right to protest in a constitutional democracy, the Court of Appeal in the case of IGP V. ANPP (2008) 12 WRN 65 held that “certainly in a democracy, it is the right of citizens to conduct peaceful processions, rallies or demonstrations without seeking and obtaining permission from anybody. It is a right guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution and any law that attempts to curtail such right is null and void and of no effect whatsoever.

"Rather than becoming restless about the looming inevitable revolution that will be witnessed in our country, in the fullness of time, the police chief is advised to ensure the right of protesters are fully protected.

"A police notorious for extrajudicial killing, torture, extortion and brutality lacks the legal and moral right to warn or caution victims on how to demand a better life. The audacity is provocative, scandalous and insulting.

"We shall not condone any form of harassment, intimidation, brutalisation or arrest. We shall resist any attempt to encroach on our constitutionally guaranteed rights. The police and other security agencies are hereby put on notice and they should be guided accordingly."

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Lawless Security Operatives Attached To Nigeria's Senate President, Lawan’s Convoy Attack Motorist In Abuja, Destroy Car

Overzealous security operatives attached to the convoy of the President of the Senate, Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan have destroyed a vehicle in Abuja.

SaharaReporters gathered that the incident happened on Monday around Charly Boy Junction at the nation’s capital.

The victim, Mr. Otumemena Anthony Chukwunonso said Lawan witnessed the incident and did nothing. 

The policemen were said to be furious that the motorist who was ahead of them did not ram into other vehicles at the sound of their siren.

The Senate President's convoy was said to be speeding. 

“I was on my way driving to town with my wife, my two sons and my brother-in-law, just some few metres After Charly Boy’s junction, I was on the speed lane (the last lane) and the Senate President’s convoy was coming behind, while I was trying to navigate to the middle lane to give them the way. The lead escort (bike) drove past me and came by my side, kicked my car twice and when the vehicles by my side saw what was happening, they had to slow down so that I can navigate to the middle lane. 

"The next thing I heard was bangs of batons on my car after I had navigated to the middle lane, immediately the last Hilux behind with armed men bashed my car and one of the policemen used his baton to destroy my side mirror and the next thing they did was to drive off.

“I have called to know the price of the mirror and I was told N55,000 and they don’t sell one, I must buy the set. This is a car I just bought five months ago to ease transportation costs for me and my family and also look for what to feed my family with. Honestly, I’m heartbroken. This man (Senate President) watched while all this happened because he was behind.”

A former President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof Festus Iyayi was killed in November 2013 under similar circumstances. 

Iyayi died in a car accident on his way to the National Executive Council meeting of the union in Kano. The NEC meeting was to decide whether to call off or continue an ongoing strike after ratifying the decisions of the 61 chapters of the union.

The accident which happened at Banda village along the Lokoja-Abuja highway involved a vehicle in the convoy of the then Kogi State Governor, Idris Wada, which recklessly caused the accident that killed the don. 

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Fulani Domination: Oduduwa Nation Is Imperative! By Bayo Oluwasanmi

Few Yoruba politicians who are profiteers of Fulani minority rule still believe in one Nigeria. These few elites with the collaboration and cooperation of traitors among Yorubas make Fulani domination easy and possible. Majority of Yoruba people are in a hurry to leave Nigeria for Oduduwa Nation.

Nigeria is not practicing democracy but minoritarianism. Political Science defines minoritarianism as a “political structure or process in which a minority segment of a population has a certain degree of primacy in that entity’s decision making.” This is true in the case of Fulani minority and domination. The ability to attain power by the Fulanis is primarily dependent on dominating the army. They rely on authoritarian and oppressive government structure to legitimize itself by creating a unified identity among the Fulanis.

 

The Fulani dominant minority or elite dominance, as a minority group, has overwhelming political and economic dominance in Nigeria. Because the Fulanis are nomadic migrants from nowhere, they can best be described as alien elites. The Fulani dominance came at the cost of 61 years of unstable country and rancorous government. Fulani minority rule brought us bloodthirsty dictators like Sanni Abacha, Ibrahim Babangida, and now The Butcher of Aso Rock, Muhammadu Buhari.

 

The Fulanis with their political ingenuity successfully managed to suppress the Hausas. It used to be Hausa-Fulani many years ago. But after the Fulanis effectively neutralized the Hausas, the Fulanis permanently dominate them and all you hear these days is Fulanis. There’s no mention of Hausas. They have become invisible, more or less extinct. With the suppression of the Hausas beyond their wisest dreams, the Fulanis embarked on repeating the same political magic wand on Yorubas and Igbos. Again, so far so good! To a large extent, they have established their dominance on Yoruba and Igbos. 

 

The domination is total. The Fulanis control anything controllable in Nigeria. I mean everything you can think of. In the Senate, the House, executive, judiciary, NNPC and other federal agencies and corporations, name it. Yoruba now suffers from an excess of minority rule. For example, the House of Reps and Senate are by design of the Fulani written 1999 Constitution as amended, a grotesquely unrepresentative body that amplifies the power of the minority Fulanis at the expense of majority Yorubas and Igbos. Which is why the Fulanis are so scared of a new Constitution and other reforms that will automatically chip away their minority power, privileges, and domination.

 

There’s none of the politicians being advertised as presidential candidates, has the moral courage, the political will, or the revolutionary fervor to undo all the illegal and unconstitutional damage done by the Fulanis and install a true federalism. More importantly, there’s no basis for our unity and oneness as a country. It bears repeating that Yorubas, Igbos, and Hausa-Fulanis are not the same people. We have nothing in common. The three major tribes are unique, distinct and totally different in everything. This is why we cannot get along after 61 years of independence. And we will never get along. 

 

We all know the Fulanis are hell scared for the break up of Nigeria because they have everything to loose. The Yorubas and Igbos have everything to gain. The is the reason why freedom of speech, freedom of press, and the right to self-determination are violently violated and freedom fighters and other critics of the Fulani terrorists government are being hunted, arrested, jailed or killed, by the The Butcher of Aso Rock.

The conduct of the minority Fulani rule is oppressive and prejudicial to the interests of the majority. The events of late and the great cataclysmic awaiting Nigeria as we inch toward 2023 convinced the most skeptical among us that the Fulani minority rule and oppression cannot last in Nigeria. Oduduwa Nation is imperative!

 

bjoluwasanmi@gmail.com

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Fulani Herdsmen Have Wreaked More Havoc In Northern Nigeria Than The South —Shehu Sani

A former Senator and human rights activist, Shehu Sani has said that Fulani herdsmen perpetrated more atrocities in Northern Nigeria than in the South. 

Suspected Fulani herdsmen have been accused of killing, abducting and raping people in many parts of the country, heightening the state of insecurity. 

Sani, who represented Kaduna Central Senatorial District between 2015 and 2019, however, said the Southern Governors' Forum (SGF) was right to have resolved to ban the open grazing in their region. 

According to Sani, the Southern governors have a right to do so to curb security challenges. 

He, however, said the governors from the two regions - North and South should have sat at a roundtable to discuss the issues before enacting anti-open grazing laws in their states.

Sani made the statement in an exclusive interview with SaharaReporters on Sunday. 

The former Senator also said the criminal activities of herders in the South do not represent the image of the North, while adding that any reasonable Northerner should not support their activities. 

He insisted that governors from the Northern and the Southern regions can still resolve their differences amicably, but lamented that they are politicising cogent national issues.

“Well, the Fulani herdsmen who we call bandits in the North created more havoc in the North than in the southern part of the country. The governors of the South are not wrong in the resolution to checkmate the activities of the Fulani herdsmen. They are very right to do that.

“But, you see the point is the politicisation of it. A reasonable Northerner should not defend the Fulani herdsmen who have been killing people. But, the Southerners should not think the atrocities of the Fulani herdsmen represent the wish of the North.

“The governors could have sat down on the table just as they used to agree when they are sharing common ideas on crude oil accounts or collecting bailout funds together, and agree to resolve these problems amicably,” Sani said. 

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How Police Shot Welder In Imo, Labelled Him IPOB Leader To Cover Up Action—Source

A source has revealed how operatives of the Nigerian Police Force killed 

Chigozie Nwaiwu, a 23-year-old welder in Imo State and allegedly branded him a member of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to justify their action.

Chigozie was said to have visited Uchenna Chukwuanyanwu, who is said to be his childhood friend, at his shop when the incident happened.

On the said day, the entrepreneur was reportedly with his friend when three policemen stormed the premises in a Toyota Venza car and dragged Uchenna into their vehicle without any explanation.

According to the source, Chigozie, who was ostensibly shocked by the action of the officers, had approached them to ask them why they were taking his friend away.

But the officers were said to have shot him in the head and driven off, living him in a pool of blood. 

The police officers were said to have returned to the scene of the incident later and whisked Chigozie's helpless corpse away in their van.

The source said residents of the area were still lamenting over the matter when the state police command released a statement claiming that Chigozie was an IPOB leader killed in the Ehime-Mbano Local Government Area of the state.

The source said: "The two boys, Chigozie and Uchenna have been friends from childhood. Chigozie visited Uchenna (the son of Iron) Chukwuanyanwu in his welding shop. Suddenly, a Venza car arrived and the car occupants grabbed the welder and threw him into the Toyota Venza car.

"They were about to drive off when Chigozie asked them why they were taking Uchenna away. The car occupants who wore ordinary clothes shot Chigozie dead (in the forehead). The car zoomed off and people gathered round to see what had happened.  

"Suddenly, the same car came back and all the onlookers ran helter-skelter. The car occupants simply picked up the body of Chigozie and dumped it in the car and zoomed off. 

"The families of Chigozie and Uchenna were still wondering what happened when today the police in Owerri issued the above statement. Now, those who witnessed what happened are astonished." 

The source said the person that the police operatives came to arrest was one Chidera, an aluminium worker, who owns a shop close to that of Uchenna.

He added: "The person they came to carry was one Chidera; he is an Aluminium worker who owns a shop close to that of Uchenna.

"Chigozie was shot to death simply because he insisted to know the reason Uchenna was being abducted. The most annoying part of this is the press release by the Police this morning.

"They labelled Uchenna as the leader of IPOB in Ehime Mbano, that is a lie from the pit of hell to justify their actions. My heart still bleeds, I have not seen such wickedness since I was born."

In a petition made available to SaharaReporters, Uchenna's family condemned Chigozie's murder and the unlawful detention of their son.

The petition, signed by Ebuka Igwe, the family's lawyer, was addressed to the assistant inspector general of police in Umuahia, Abia State.

It read: "There is a video evidence of all that transpired showing how the victim was lying in the pool of his blood with villagers mourning around his corpse. We believe that the police cannot claim to storm IPOB/ESN (Eastern Security Network) hideout with only three policemen in a red coloured Toyota Venza.

"We also believe that the Police cannot claim to storm the IPOB hideout, when they have already given their contact to the target's wife." 

The lawyer noted that the family have no confidence that justice will be done in the matter, "hence, our petition for the transfer of the case to your esteemed office for an independent and discreet investigation".

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Pandora Papers: Investigation Reveals How Nigeria's Ex-Governors, Minister Kept N117Billion Assets In Two Tax Haven Banks

About 21 Nigerians have been identified as owners of assets in two tax haven banks worth over N117 billion. 

 

The investigation is part of the global International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ)-led Pandora Papers project which obtained a trove of 11.9 million confidential files. 

The ongoing reporting involves 600 journalists from 150 news organisations around the world.

 

In a report by Premium Times, the Nigerians involved reportedly had a combined treasure worth about $100 million and £77.3 million in assets, cash, bonds, equities, mutual funds and property holdings controlled by the Standard Chartered Bank in Guernsey, Jersey and the U.K, according to filings of their businesses with their offshore financial managers, Trident Trust Company (BVI) Limited, as of October 2016.

 

Another two owed assets worth $511,860 and £50,000 in Standard Bank, Jersey.

 

At the Central Bank of Nigeria’s exchange rates of N410 trading for a dollar and N558 to a British pound, this is equivalent to about N84 billion.

 

At the black market, the assets are worth N117 billion, with an American dollar trading for N575 and the British pound, N775.

 

These Nigerians involved include two former military governors, a former minister, an erstwhile presidential adviser and some of Nigeria’s leading business people.

 

Under Nigerian laws, it is not illegal to own offshore companies or trusts as they can be used for legitimate purposes. 

 

However, some experts believe the arrangement is mostly used to hide assets, avoid or evade taxes or carry out criminal acts.

 

A trust is a fiduciary arrangement that allows a third party, known as a trustee, to hold assets on behalf of a beneficiary or beneficiaries.

 

Wealthy Nigerians often opt for such arrangements due to what some describe as a lack of confidence in their country’s economy, currency fluctuation, limited foreign exchange capacity, and unstable government policies. Some say the country’s tax regime is too stringent and discourages them from leaving their assets here.

 

The Nigerian government has been advised several times to expand the tax net and not the tax rate to plough fertile land for more local investments to thrive and discourage the huge desire for foreign currency.

 

Experts also said the weakness of the naira and its instability against the dollar is also another reason for some of the country’s wealthiest persons to save their money in dollars in what they considered secured jurisdictions.

 

Femi Owolabi, a financial analyst with Stanbic IBTC, explained that while the monies made in Nigeria are not ploughed back into the economy, the naira loses value and it rubs off on the overall economic well-being of the country. 

 

“[Taking investments abroad] reduces the investor confidence in Nigeria which has a negative impact on the nation’s stock market and the GDP,” Muhydeen Tiamiyu, an analyst with Fortress Capital, also noted.

 

However, sometimes these monies could also be a conduit for unscrupulous public officials and known criminals to fret away funds through offshore companies sometimes under the guise of a service provider for local agencies or companies, according to the World Bank.

 

Tax havens and offshore companies also boost illicit financial flow to other jurisdictions away from the country in which the wealth is made. Between 2006 and 2015, Nigeria accounted for $8.3 billion in illicit financial flows, ranking among the top 30 nations, according to the Global Financial Integrity (GFI) report published in 2019.

 

These losses are what a member of the United Nations High-Level Panel on IFF (FACTI Panel), Irene Ovonji-Odida, said are responsible for fiscal deficits, regressive taxation, criminality, low public trust, and weak rule of law, among others.

 

The United States of America-based research and advocacy group had said IFFs bled Nigeria for as much as $157.5 billion in revenue between 2003 and 2012.

 

The World Bank described the lost funds as “money illegally earned, transferred, or used that crosses borders.”

 

There are, however, no evidence of any financial infractions on the part of these Nigerians. Yet, their huge wealth highlights the inequality of wealth distribution among Nigerians.

 

The combined wealth of Nigeria’s five richest men – $29.9 billion – could end extreme poverty at a national level, yet 5 million face hunger, according to Oxfam.

 

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has vowed actions to determine and punish possible tax offences following the Pandora Papers investigation.

 

In a statement, a spokesperson for the FIRS, Johannes Wojuola, said the service will go after people reported in the leaks and suspected to have broken the law.

 

“If there are any persons who are suspected to have a taxable asset by Nigerian laws among the revealed pool, the applicable processes with regards to investigation, charges, enforcement procedures … as well as prosecution for tax offences, would be enforced,” Wojuola said.

 

The wealthy people involved ranged from former military and civilian leaders, businesspersons and members of their families.

 

In each of the accounts they own, there is usually a nominee director who is a resident of tax havens and paid to sit on boards of companies to represent the interests of, and operate as a shadow of the real owners of offshore firms.

 

They are listed below:

 

Hakeem Adebayo Folawiyo and Lisa Folawiyo

 

The duo of Hakeem Adebayo Folawiyo and Lisa Folawiyo belong to the third generation of the Folawiyo dynasty, a wealthy family whose earlier patriarchs were popular for their wealth in the southwest of Nigeria, especially Lagos.

 

Hakeem is one of the two directors and a shareholder of Kinexus Data Service Limited, a Lagos-based company registered in 2016. He is also a director of Folawiyo Energy Limited.

 

Before it was dissolved 14 years ago, the 48-year-old business mogul served as a director at Lacemere (UK) Limited.

 

Lisa Folawiyo, a fashion designer, is the founder and director of Lisa Folawiyo Studio, a fashion line she founded in 2005, where she sells ready-to-wear Ankara textiles.

 

She was the 2012 Africa Fashion Award winner and made the Business of Fashion’s BOF500 list in 2015.

 

Both Folawiyos are settlors and beneficial owner of the Zayzac Trust which is in turn owed by their offshore company, Capela Holdings Limited, the investigation revealed.

 

The trust was, as at October 2016, worth $300 million and £2.2 million (about N1.7 billion) in cash, bonds, equities and mutual funds and property holdings and managed by Standard Chartered Trust (Jersey).

 

They co-own BVI company, Allendale Properties, worth $1.5 million and £2.5 million (about N2.8 billion), kept with Standard Chartered Bank Jersey.

 

In total, the duo has an asset worth N4.5 billion in the bank.

 

Harry Thakurdas Thadani and Bindu Deepak Bakshani

 

Thadani, a Nigeria with Indian ancestry is an industrialist who has had stints as the director of companies, including Good Food Product UK Limited, a UK-based packaging company incorporated in 2004 that has since been dissolved.

 

He owns a company with Bindu Deepak Bakshani, also a Nigerian but with Sri Lankan origin.

 

The company is Divina Holdings Limited, which was worth £1,554,000 (N593.5 million) in cash, bonds, equities and mutual funds and property holdings kept with Standard Chartered Trust (Jersey).

 

They also owned offshore firm Pink Coral Trading Limited which had 808, 900 pounds (about 627 million naira) investment portfolio with Standard Chartered Bank Jersey.

 

Gregory Friday Uanseru

The president and CEO of Greg Continental Agency (GCA) Energy Limited, Gregory Friday Uanseru, owns Heritage Group International Limited.

 

Standard Chartered Bank, Jersey, helped the oil magnate oversee a £2.9 million worth of property, $66.1 and £2.3 million in cash, bonds, equities and mutual funds.

 

Stanley Adeniyi Jegede

 

Jegede owned Latote Assets Limited, HG Properties Limited and Latote Trust. Through the three entities, he had assets worth $1.7 million and £1 million kept with Standard Chartered Bank in Jersey.

 

This means the 54-year-old chairman of Phase 3 Telecoms had about N1.8 billion worth of treasure in offshore companies.

 

Andrew Folorunsho Alli

Andrew Folorunso Alli has held several top positions home and abroad, which included being the CEO of Africa Finance Corporation.

 

He serves as the CEO of Southbridge Group, a pan-African financial advisory firm, and non-executive director at MTN Nigeria, CDC Group, a U.K. government-owned DFI and of the Development Bank of Nigeria.

 

The Nigerian-British was the ultimate beneficial owner of offshore firms Zigzag Africa Limited, Zigzag Trading Limited and the Zigzag Trust. The three entities held assets worth $3.9 million (approximately N2.3 billion) with Standard Chartered Bank (Jersey).

 

Aderemi Muyinudeen Makanjuola

 

The patriarch of the Makanjuolas, Aderemi Muyinudeen Makanjuola chairs the Board of Caverton Offshore Support Group, and using Bramble Offshore Limited, he had assets worth $4,000 and £3 million with the Standard Chartered Bank (Jersey).

 

Adeniyi Ibraheem Makanjuola, co-founded Caverton Helicopters, a subsidiary of his father’s parent company. Alongside Oludarafunmi Clarissa Makanjuola, he owned Templefield Investments Holdings Limited which kept its assets worth £9.5 million (N7.4 billion) with Standard Chartered Bank (Jersey).

 

Chukwudalu Udemezue Mba

The consultant in financial services has Standard Chartered Trust (Guernsey) as a trustee of the Goree Trust owned by his offshore firm, Aravale Investing Limited. The company kept £606,700 (N470.2 million) in cash, stock and bonds with Standard Chartered Bank, Jersey.

 

Emmanuel Chukwuma Edozien

The late economist, who served as the chief economic adviser to the late President Shehu Shagari, died in 2019, aged 82.

 

He owned the offshore firms: Erico Investments Limited, Larimer Holdings Limited, Mayqueen Properties Limited, Petalina Investments Limited, BEC Trust and Betemen Trust.

 

All assets are worth $42 million (N24.1 billion) and £2.7 million (N2.1 billion), totalling N26.2 billion in shares, bonds and property kept with Standard Chartered Bank in Jersey and London.

 

Anwar Manssour Jarmakani

The self-made industrial entrepreneur, who in 1963 migrated from Syria to Nigeria, where he has since been naturalised, is the founder and executive chairman of Jagal, a Nigerian conglomerate holding that deals in energy businesses and manages a diverse portfolio of investments.

 

Jarmakani, 72, through his Starstone Holdings Limited, had $2,300 and £8.9 million (both N6.9 billion) worth of assets which included properties. The assets were kept with Standard Chartered Bank, Jersey.

 

Jonathan Tunde Ogbeha

The retired general was the administrator of Akwa Ibom and the defunct Bendel States during the military era and a two-term senator for the Kogi West constituency of Kogi State.

 

Documents from his financial dealing said he dealt in wireless telecommunication activities. Through his BVI company, Red Devils Investments Limited, he kept $5 million, (which is some N2.8 billion) with Standard Chartered Bank, Jersey.

 

Jubril Adewale Tinubu, the group chief executive of Oando PLC, owns Sloane Square Limited Investment Holdings which had $4.9 million (N2.8 billion) with Standard Chartered Bank, London.

 

Rilwan Olakunle Tinubu

Rilwan Tinubu is CEO of Nigerian company, Trojan Estates Limited. However, through his Wren Finance Limited and The Madison Trust, he held assets worth $14,100 and £4.9 million (totalling N3.8 billion) with Standard Chartered Bank, Jersey.

 

Muhammad Sani Bello

The retired colonel, a former military administrator of Kano State and ex-ambassador to Zimbabwe, is the father of the incumbent Niger State Governor. He chairs Dantata and Sawoe Construction Company Limited and Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited.

 

In 2013, Forbes ranked him 38th among Africa’s 40 richest people with a net worth of $500 million. In today’s worth, that’s N287.5 billion.

 

Seventy-nine-year-old Bello owns offshore firm Sandel Holdings Limited which kept a princely $39,800,000 (N22.9 billion) treasure in cash, bonds, equities and mutual funds with Standard Chartered Bank London. The assets are managed by Standard Chartered Trust, Guernsey.

 

Narenda Lakhi Chukni: The Indian-Nigerian with investments in real estate management, owned BVI firm Javelin Properties Limited. He had his $3.3 million (N2.6 billion) worth of assets in Standard Chartered Bank, Jersey.

 

Olufemi Peter Otedola

 

The billionaire businessman, with interests in oil and gas and power generation, owns Hampshire Venture Property Holdings Limited, a British Virgin Island company. That company and Mr Otedola’s Fenman 2 Settlement kept $34.4 million (N19.8 billion) with Standard Chartered Bank, Jersey.

 

Omatseyin Akere Ayida

Ayida is CEO of Ruyat Oil Limited and board member of Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited. He is also the owner of Sunnysky Ventures Limited and the Akene Ayida Trust through which he kept $545,800 (N313.8 million) with Standard Chartered Bank, London.

 

The investment portfolio is managed by Standard Chartered Trust, Guernsey.

 

According to Trident Trust records, two other Nigerian business people: Atedo Peterside (former Chairman of Stanbic IBTC Bank) and Abayomi Aderemi Awobokun (CEO, Enyo Retail & Supply Limited) also had accounts with Standard Chartered Bank branches in Jersey and Singapore respectively. But the values of the assets are unknown.

 

While peterside owned ANAP Overseas Investment Limited and its associated trust, Atedo N.A. Peterside Overseas Trust, Awobokun owned offshore firm, Kun-Smata Limited and the Kun-Smata Trust.

 

Trident Trust’s records also showed that two other Nigerians, including a former permanent secretary, had assets at Standard Bank, Jersey, which claims to provide offshore banking for individuals, corporate organisations and high net-worth clients.

 

Adedoyin Adebusola Adeyinka, is managing director of Nigerian oil and gas firm, Acorn Petroleum Plc. He was also associated with CS Offshore S.A., a Panamanian shell company.

 

The businessman had 511, 860 dollars with Standard Bank Jersey through his Zang Worldwide Limited, a company he incorporated in the Isle of Man. Lumbro Nominees Jersey Limited is sole director of the company.

 

Adeyinka also owns The Phillips Trust (for which Access Trustee Company Limited serves as trustee).

 

Phillips Asiodu

Asiodu, 87, a retired permanent secretary, was special adviser on economic matters to Presidents Shehu Shagari (1983) and Olusegun Obasanjo (1999 to 2001). He was also minister for petroleum and mineral resources (1992 to 1993).

 

Asiodu owned the offshore company Apolina Limited and the Philip Asiodu 1992 Voluntary Settlement which he created on October 23, 1992.

 

The former minister told his offshore business manager that the wealth held by the Trust originated from “savings, rents from existing properties, gratuity and retirement benefits and subsequently re-investment of some dividends.”

 

“The UBO (ultimate beneficial owner) retired from the Nigerian Civil Service in 1975 after serving in the position of Permanent Secretary for 10 years. He then set up a company incorporated in Nigeria called Medife Limited for consultancy, feasibility studies, advisory services on mobilisation of funding for new ventures,” Trident Trust said in one document.

 

The trust, which had a balance of 50,000 pounds in its account as of December 12, 2016, has since been dissolved.

 

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Loan-borrowing Buhari Earmarks N77million For Aso Rock Rent, N400million To Replace Villa's Telecoms Infrastructure In 2022

Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari has earmarked N76.67 million for the payment of “Aso Rock rent.”

The amount is contained in the details of the 2022 Appropriation Bill that Buhari presented to a joint session of the National Assembly on Thursday.

The N16.39 trillion budget has a deficit of N6.26 trillion.

The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, had said the government would source for more loans to fund the deficit. 

According to the budget, the replacement of Villa telecommunications infrastructure will cost N400,000,000.

About N5, 231,101,743 was also earmarked for general rehabilitation and repair of fixed assets in the Aso Rock Presidential Villa.

A study of the proposal showed that rehabilitation/repair of office buildings will gulp N5,176,045,297, while residential building will take N55,056,446 out of the N150,590,609,934 expected to be spent by the Presidency.

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Bandits Now Demand Cooked Food As Ransom Because Of Hunger In Kaduna—Resident

Some bandits in the Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State were said to have reportedly started demanding cooked food as ransom for kidnapped victims.

This comes after the ban on weekly trading in markets as part of the efforts initiated by the state government to tackle insecurity in the state. 

File photo used to illustrate story.

According to the government, attacks on communities have reduced since the ban. 

A youth leader in one of the villages of Birnin Gwari, Babangida ‎Yaro, told Daily Trust that since the ban, bandits operating in and around Damari, Kutemashi and Kuyello villages only ask for cooked food each time they abduct people.

He added that the ban on the sale of fuel in filling stations located in rural communities has also helped to restrict the movement of bandits.

“There is relative peace around Damari, Kuyello, and Kutemashi because the bandits have stopped attacking our communities. They usually stay in the forest and seize food items mostly cooked ones from vendors,” he said.

It was learnt that when they recently abducted some persons on a farm, one of them was allowed to go get food from their relatives as ransom since there was no communication network to enable them to reach their families.

The youth leader added that the Dogon Dawa area is still not completely safe because villagers are still scared of accessing their farmlands. 

He lamented that the ban on the use of private motorcycles in the villages has made life harder for bandits as well as residents.

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Economic And Financial Crimes Collusion, By Sonala Olumhense

Last Sunday, I commented on what I called “fear of responsibility”: the tendency of powerful Nigerian institutions and officials to starve the public of required information.

 

I led with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), drawing attention to its annual failure to meet its reporting obligation. The commission reacted the same day, denouncing me in a press statement and demanding an apology.

It described my assertion that the EFCC Act is not on the commission’s website as “completely false claims that (sic) exposes the intellectual hollowness of Olumhense.” A visit to its website, it claimed, “will expose Olumhense’s mischief as the law had (sic) been a resource item on the platform for several years.”

 

It further asserted that it has never defaulted in submitting the report on schedule and described me as an “ignorant” columnist who has “stubbornly refused to be rescued from the trap of falsehood he set for himself.”

 

Okay then. Let us have an important Economic and Financial Crimes Conversation.

 

At the beginning, I was a great admirer of the EFCC. In my “As I Was Saying” column, I praised its efforts.

 

I had a clear vision of how it could be most successful, and in January 2008, even publicly nominated myself for its leadership. As the agency floundered under Farida Waziri and Ibrahim Lamorde, I directly demanded the annual reports especially in 2008 and 2009.

 

Indeed, in October 2009, the agency offered no challenge when I reported that the Office of the Senate President confirmed that it had NOT submitted the report. In fact, while we were chasing the report that year, Mrs. Waziri was touring Turkey and the United States. In the US, she lied publicly and was humiliated by Nigeria protesters. I addressed a letter to the CFR debunking her grandiose claims.

 

So low did the image of the EFCC sink that when Goodluck Jonathan, the “stealing-is-not-corruption” President, fired Waziri in 2011, he cited her awful reputation.

 

Lamorde, who took over, described Waziri’s as “the meltdown years.” But he then promptly ran into problems of his own, accused of having misappropriated recovered funds. His convoluted explanations are on the website.

 

In 2012, I expressed regret that the great EFCC hope had become a nightmare. I went on to describe what I called a “grand corruption conspiracy” in Nigeria, and offered ideas on how to detonate it.

 

Nevertheless, although the EFCC sought to dismiss my interventions last week, I have never ceased to draw attention to why the agency is important.

 

Yes, the EFCC does successfully “investigate” and “prosecute,” but that is largely in the media rather than the courtroom, and rarely of the major offenders, and its impact has been underwhelming.

 

In November 2015, Chief Justice Mahmud Mohammed rebuked the EFCC for this, slamming the security agencies’ “investigation-led arrests and not arrest-led investigations.” He was aghast at cases in which a 200-count charge would be inflicted on a court, describing it as “a mockery of the constitution and the laws.”

 

In that light, it is understandable that the agency might be perennially ashamed to tender such a record to the public, choosing to assail a critic who draws attention to it.

 

The issues: the EFCC insists that it submitted the 2021 report “right on schedule…has never been in default in the submission of Annual Reports to the National Assembly; and the EFCC Act is on the Commission’s Website.”

 

This nonsense is called the “trust me” argument, and it is false. “Trust me, I submitted the report,” it argues, and “the law does not mandate a ceremony as part of the submission obligation.”

 

But the law does not classify the report as a secret document, either. Nor have I ever asked for a ceremony. It clearly affirms that while the EFCC is not obliged to publish it, the public may access it through their federal legislators or through procedures of either body of the legislature.

 

“Not obliged” denotes neither secrecy nor prohibition of dissemination. In other words, there is every encouragement for the EFCC to make sure that its work is shared with the public. “Trust me” is not an option, because the report is meant to educate, not to conceal. “Trust me”—wink, wink—is how the corrupt continue to thrive, but to drive Nigeria under.

 

And while I understand the commission’s desperation to defend its “integrity”, you cannot defend what you do not have. If the EFCC wants credibility—particularly given the layers of economic and financial fraudsters running Nigeria—it must earn it. How can it prosecute accountability when it is opaque in character, methods, and substance?

 

If the annual report of the EFCC is not the fiction I say it is, the challenge before the commission is to prove it. It is not the secret police, and there is no genuine explanation why nobody has seen 14 years of reports.

 

Only reporting can certify that the agency is indeed doing the legitimate work for which it was established. It is the soap of scrutiny with which you wash the oil of malfeasance, just as light—not darkness—is what you fight darkness with.

 

Perhaps the Economic and Financial Crimes Compromise is afraid that the public can see through its pretensions? Think about it: the annual report of the Auditor-General of the Federation (which has a narrower) mandate, runs into hundreds of pages every year; the 2018 report, the latest, is about 1100 pages. In contrast, the commission offers two words: “Trust me.”

 

Finally, I turn to the anger of the Economic and Financial Crimes Coverup that its Establishment Act is missing from its website, and “had (sic) been a resource item on the platform for several years.”

 

I reaffirm that the document is not there. It is dubiously listed but is unavailable. Click on it, Economic and Financial Crimes Confusionists—as I demonstrated to my publishers last Sunday—and it is hidden behind a broken link. That is like someone yelling “Come in!” behind a door that is welded shut.

 

The EFCC was established to respond to some of Nigeria’s ethical challenges, but has it become a part of it? For instance, whatever became of the $13.5 million it seized from Patience Jonathan? Among others, what happened to the 15 governors it was supposed to have been prosecuting under the Code of Conduct Law? What did the commission do with the Halliburton reports? Why is there such a large thicket of corrupt former and current government officials thriving all over Abuja right in front of the EFCC? How are the EFCC’s, of these 100 cases, going? What about the Panama Papers and the Pandora Papers?

 

The EFCC’s behaviour has become a sad part of Nigeria’s terrible ethical trajectory given the declaration in 2019 by Bolaji Owasanoye, chairman of the ICPC, that “the executive arm of government in Nigeria is more corrupt than the legislative and judicial arms combined.”

 

C-O-M-B-I-N-E-D. He obviously meant, “multiplied.”

 

No, this is far deeper than annual reporting. I am affirming that as an institution, the EFCC has taken sides to deepen poverty, injustice, insecurity, and hopelessness in Nigeria.

 

[This column welcomes rebuttals from interested government officials]

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Buhari's Attorney-General, Malami’s Ministry To Spend N4.4billion On Prosecution Of Boko Haram Suspects, Consultancy Services, Others in 2022

The Nigerian government has allocated N308,647,164 for the "prosecution of Boko Haram suspects, offenders of government recovered assets and improving asset recovery and monitoring process, prison inmates, maritime/offshore offenses".

This was contained in the 2022 appropriation budget for the Ministry of Justice, obtained by SaharaReporters.

In the budget which was analysed by SaharaReporters, it was further realised that N2,004,014,608 would be used by the ministry for “Consulting and Professional Services.”

The budget further stated that the sum of N2,000,514,608 would be used for “Legal services.”

SaharaReporters had in April, reported how over 400 persons were arrested by security agencies during a nationwide crackdown on the suspected Boko Haram financiers and collaborators. 

They were reportedly arrested in an operation being coordinated by the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), and in collaboration with the Department of State Services (DSS), Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The operation was said to have been approved by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2020.

However, SaharaReporters had reported how about 300 of the suspects have been released on the order of Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) after collecting bribes from them.

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Group Petitions FBI, Demands Prosecution Of Buhari's Minister Over Alleged Perjury In US Court

A civil society group under the aegis of New Nigeria Global Initiative (NNGI) has petitioned the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), asking it to prosecute Nigerian Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva over alleged perjury. 

 

The group alleged that Sylva deliberately made false statements under oath in a United States Federal Court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 

Timipre Sylva

The Federal penalties for perjury include fines and/or prison terms upon conviction. United States Federal law (18 USC § 1621), states that anyone found guilty of the crime of perjury will be fined or imprisoned for up to five years.

 

The group also petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari and intends to petition US President Joe Biden and Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, to urge them to prevail on Buhari to immediately sack the minister. 

 

The group is also pushing for the sacking of Sylvia's cousin, Engr. Simbi Wabote, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development & Monitoring Board (NCDMB) over allegations of fraud, violations of United States Banking Rules and Regulations, racketeering, financial misappropriation, incompetence, and acts of treachery bordering on treason against the Nigerian State and the person and family of President Buhari.

 

The group, represented by Ahmed Yusuf in a statement issued to journalists in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja plans to also petition the German Federal Intelligence Service (Bundesnachrichtendienst), and the Italian Intelligence Service to immediately commence a global scale bribery, fraud and racketeering investigation into the origin of Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG) Train 7 $4 billion contract awarded in a joint venture led by Italy’s Saipem for engineering, procurement and construction of Nigeria LNG’s seventh production unit at its Bonny Island plant in Rivers State.

 

The case of alleged perjury against Sylva emanated from a defamation suit brought by Sylva and his cousin, Wabote, in a US Federal Court against the Publisher of PointBlankNews.com, Mr. Jackson Ude. 

Sylva deposed in his affidavit of support in a United States Federal Court in the Eastern District of the Great State of Pennsylvania that he attended the University of Port Harcourt for his bachelor’s degree, a doctoral degree in International Relations from the UBIS University, Switzerland and another doctoral degree in Public Administration from the Africa Institute For Public Administration in Nigeria.

 

According to the group, UBIS University in Switzerland has disowned the doctoral degree in International Relations being paraded by Nigeria’s Minister for State, Petroleum, Timipre Sylva.

 

Also, according to the group, Aiko Juvet, the UBIS University’s Global Admissions Representative, in an email, said the school does not offer any programme leading to the award of a Doctorate Degree in International Relations and have never awarded such to Mr. Timipre Sylva who claimed to have acquired the degree from the University in 2011.

 

Sylva has been quizzed in the past by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Nigeria on allegations of fraud and corruption amounting to millions of dollars, including the case of alleged fraudulent ownership of 48 properties. 

However, the group said in a sworn statement before a US Federal Court, Sylva allegedly lied that he had never been arrested by the EFCC, thus Sylva committed the alleged perjury.

 

“Due to privacy concerns and sensitivity on the issues of acts of treachery bordering on treason against the Nigerian State and the person and family of President Muhammadu Buhari, to avoid the global embarrassment which our revelations of these individual's actions will cause President Muhammadu Buhari and his family, we will be submitting petitions to the Nigeria Department of State Services (DSS), the Office of the National Security Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari, and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) to provide them with the opportunity to commence their internal investigations on how Timipre Sylva and his cousin, Engr. Simbi Wabote committed the alleged acts of treachery bordering on treason against the Nigerian State and the person and family of President Muhammadu Buhari.”

 

Yusuf warned Sylva and his cousin, Wabote against filing frivolous lawsuits in the United States Federal Courts where they lack standing and can’t prove their frivolous cases. 

 

He said, “These individuals are aliens, public officers from a country amassed with corruption known all over the world. The President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari had in several public speeches complained of the insane levels of corruption in Nigeria. These aliens claim to have been defamed by the publisher of PointBlankNews.com, Mr. Jackson Ude, these aliens have filed frivolous cases against an American citizen in US Federal Courts where they have no standing, and not only that, but they also can’t prove their cases of defamation, fraud, bribery and corruption.

 

“Assuming these aliens are able to get past the issue of standing which no Federal Judge in the United States will grant them. Will the Nigeria Presidency and the Attorney General of Nigeria allow these individuals to provide official government documents such as the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and Nigerian Content Development & Monitoring Board (NCDMB) official bank statements for the past two (2) years as a public record to an American court for review?

 

“Will these individuals be able to provide all their bank statements to the Court for review? Will these individuals be able to provide all official correspondence and letters of contract awards, bank statements of the German company Kelvion, the Italian company Saipem and the thousands of documents dating back years from the origins of Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG) Train 7 Contract awarded in a joint venture led by Italy’s Saipem in the amount of USD 4 billion? All these documents will be requested by the court and Mr. Jackson’s Attorney for them to prove their cases beyond a reasonable doubt in an American Court against Mr. Ude.

 

“Are they ready for this legal battle or were they ill-advised by people looking to make money from them? Are they ready to come to the United States Federal Court and swear under penalty of perjury and seat in the witness box to be cross-examined by Mr. Ude’s Attorneys? Maybe they thinking that their Attorneys will shield them from this cross-examination process.

 

"These aliens will be deposed as part of the court process and the court will allow for discovery as this is within Mr. Ude’s fundamental rights. During this process, all these aliens past issues whether business or personal, previous petitions against them and business dealings will be exposed and presented to the public. They must understand that the American Judicial system is different from the Nigerian Judicial system where six (6) different Judges were accused of dishing out six (6) different rulings on the same matter to the highest bidder.”

 

Yusuf commended Mr. Jackson Ude for having the tenacity to stand up to bullies and for exposing the inhumane and insane levels of corruption in Nigeria. He assured Mr. Ude of their group’s unwavering support and welcomed Mr. Ude’s countersuit of $15 million against Engr. Simbi Wabote, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development & Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and encouraged Mr. Ude to counter sue Sylva for a greater amount. He urged Mr. Ude to use these aliens as an example to teach other corrupt officials who roam around freely in Nigeria, harassing journalists daily as a lesson.

 

“People all around the world must know that when you bring frivolous cases to an American Court and fail to provide the court’s required documents to prove their case, thereby causing an American citizen to spend his hard-earned funds to defend himself, the courts will award damages against you for wasting the court’s time and for putting the defendant(s) through financial, emotional, psychological and security stress. Over the years, American courts have awarded millions of dollars in damages to defendants in order to stern the influx of these frivolous cases.

 

“If these individuals think that they will never pay the damages assessed by an American court, then they must be ready to have their assets within the United States and in friendly countries frozen. The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), United States Department of State will get involved for visa cancellations and travel restrictions to the United States and its friendly countries until these aliens fulfil the court’s judgement(s),” Yusuf said.

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Officials Of Nigeria's Anti-graft Agency, EFCC Storm Kaduna Development Agency, Arrest Governor El-Rufai’s Former Aide

Officers of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday stormed the headquarters of Kaduna State Urban Planning Development Agency (KASUPDA), whisking away the Director General, Malam Ismail Umaru Dikko.

KASUPDA has gained the reputation of Kaduna’s most feared agency due to its demolition of properties across the state.

Its boss, Dikko, was a Special Assistant to Governor Nasir El-Rufai, before he was elevated to head the agency in 2019.

It was gathered that the DG was in a meeting with other staff members when officials of the EFCC took over the office premises a few minutes after 10am, Daily Trust reports. 

Eyewitnesses said there was some commotion before the DG entered a black hilux Toyota vehicle of the EFCC.

Sources said two EFCC officials in suit, with two police officers with rifles accompanied the KASUPDA boss into the vehicle.

The source said some staff members at KASUPDA had tried to stop the EFCC from leaving with the DG and security guards at the gate had prevented the car from exiting.

However, the DG asked the security guards to open the gate.

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#EndSARS Memorial: Nigeria Police Deploy Personnel, Anti-Riot Vehicles To Lekki Tollgate, Move Against Peaceful Protests

The Lagos State Police have deployed personnel, patrol vans and an anti-riot vehicles to Lekki tollgate in the state to clamp down on peaceful protest. 

A video that has now gone viral on social media showed about eight patrol vehicles alongside an anti-riot van at the venue. 

The vehicles have been strategically stationed at the tollgate to prevent any gathering of protesters for the memorial of the #EndSARS protest.

The Lagos State commissioner of police, Hakeem Odumosu had warned residents of the state to desist from participating in any form of protest planned in commemoration of the #EndSARS protest.

The police boss promised that his officers would resist any of such protests.

Police are under the control of the Nigerian government, headed by President Muhammadu Buhari. 

Reacting in a tweet, human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore warned the police against suppressing the will of Nigerians to repudiate the mass atrocities of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government.

In October 2020, Nigerians across the country stormed the streets to demonstrate against police brutality and bad governance under the #EndSARS campaign.

However, on October 20, soldiers from the Bonny Camp, 81 division, invaded the Lekki tollgate, where some demonstrators had gathered, and fired gunshots.

In his reaction to fresh plans by youth and groups to commemorate the first anniversary of the #EndSARS protest, the police commissioner urged the groups to shelve the idea.

Though the right to peaceful assembly and the right to protest are constitutional rights of Nigerians, the Nigeria police have continued to clamp down on protesters.

In February, some Nigerians had planned to organise #OccupyLekkiTollGate protest over the move to reopen Lekki Toll Plaza in Lagos State.

The State Judicial Panel of Enquiry had granted LCC’s request to take repossession of the toll gates at Lekki-Epe expressway and Lekki-Ikoyi link bridge. However, the panel was divided over the decision.

Following the decision, the organisers of the #EndSARS began to mobilise for another round of protests tagged; #OccupyLekki while another pro-government group also launched a counter move with #DefendLagos and #DemNoBornDemPapaWell.

The Lagos State Police Command immediately deployed its men to the Lekki toll plaza along the Lekki-Epe expressway.

Just recently, Nigeria police opened fire on members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), also known as Shiites during a peaceful procession in Abuja. 

Also, during a peaceful protest on Nigeria's independence day, men of the Nigeria Police Force fired tear gas canisters at protesters in Abuja. 

The peaceful protesters could be seen chanting and displaying banners and placards saying 'Buhari Must Go'. 

Six of them were arrested by the police, brutalised and detained for demanding the resignation of Buhari. 

They were later released. 

#EndSARS News AddThis :  Original Author :  SaharaReporters, New York Disable advertisements : 

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What Probably Angered Northern Governors, Made Them Insist On Retaining Presidency In 2023—Shehu Sani

A former Senator and human rights activist, Shehu Sani has said it is an obligation for the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) to return Presidency to the Southern part of Nigeria in 2023.

The former federal lawmaker also disclosed that the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may not strictly consider zoning the Presidency, as it will be more concerned about taking power from the APC.

Shehu Sani

Sani made these statements in an exclusive interview with SaharaReporters on Sunday while responding to the lingering feud over the rotation of power between the North and South.

According to the rights activist, the controversial issues of Southern states banning open grazing, agitating to collect value-added tax (VAT) rather than the Nigerian government and separatist agitations in the South may be the major factors why Northern governors want to disrespect the Gentleman's Agreement of returning power to the South. 

“Well, first of all, it is important for you to understand that politicians hardly respect Gentleman's Agreement. That’s one. And, what could have warranted the decision of the Northern governors are a number of issues which include the belligerent attitude of the governors from the South on the issue of open grazing, and the issue of VAT.

“These are issues that could have been resolved on the table, but since things have changed with the North not to concede power to the South (sic). Another one is separatist agitation. I believe these are the basic things that have changed the narratives and there is a likelihood if the situations were normal, they would have agreed with it. But, it has reached a stage where daggers are being drawn from both sides,” Sani said.

Speaking on the two main political parties, he said, “The situations are different with the two political parties. For the APC, it is honourable for the APC to shift power to the South, but the condition is not the same with the PDP for a number of reasons. Number one is that they are an opposition party, they do not have the leverage and the privilege to say this is where the candidate will come from.

“Two, there is no viable presidential candidate in the opposition party who is willing to pump all his resources in the quest for the presidency of Nigeria as an opposition party. Atiku Abubakar remains the only viable person from the opposition party for a number of reasons because he has been contesting for a long time and they don’t have the power of deciding where power should come from.

“So, how they will win the election is first what is paramount to them. But for APC, it is incumbent on them because the President would have spent 8 years by 2023, so it is morally responsible for them to honour it, but in PDP, it is dicey because they are not in power.”

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