I guess we haven't heard the last of this defecting syndrome. As 2015 draws closer and campaigns kick starting soon, a lot of party members would be defecting from one party to another and probably defecting back (not a prophesy o,but the reality sha)
Well reports reaching us is that; 16 Local Govt Chairmen and 194 Councillors have defected to the ruling opposition party, the All Progressive Congress, APC. The defectees were actually elected on the platform of PDP.
Announcing their defection today, the Chairman, ALGON, Kwara State chapter (under whose aegis they announced their defection) Mr. Abdulateef Okandeji said failure of the national leaders of the PDP to listen to their grievances is the main reason for their defection.
"I recall that following the refusal and failure of the national leaders of the PDP to address the observations and complaints of its founding members especially about the lawlessness, impunity and injustice which had become the norm and which led to the factionalisation of the PDP, our leaders decided to team up in what is known as the newPDP under the national Chairmanship of our own Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje. After exhaustive consultations and deliberations by our leaders spearheaded by Senator Bukola Saraki, it was unanimously decided that the best option for us would be to merge with the newly formed APC and work together in the overall interest of the good people of this country towards the advancement of democracy,” he said.
....Meanwhile ,APC would commence its registration in a few days time,would keep you posted,incase you are interested.
Friday, January 31, 2014
Unbelievable: Dog arrainged for biting a man's private
The police in Lagos State, have arrested and charged a dog with biting a man's private (Penis) at Idowu Anisere Street, off Governor’s Road in Ikotun, Lagos.
The police also charged the owner of the dog, Adebowale Gabriel, 31, before Mrs M.B. Folami at Ejigbo Magistrate’s Court Lagos.
The dog was specifically charged with assault (LoL), while Gabriel was charged with negligence under the Criminal Code.
The arrest of the dog and Gabriel followed a complaint by the victim, Mr. Simon Anwam, to the police in Ikotun division that when he was walking on the street, the dog pounced on him and inflicted deep injury on his penis.
Narrating what happened, Anwam who hails from Akwa Ibom State, southsouth Nigeria, said when he was returning home from work and he had almost reached his house, he met Gabriel on the way holding his dog with chain but was however surprised when the dog jumped on him and bit his penis before he could be rescued from it.
He further narrated that when he discovered that his trousers was stained with blood, he quickly rushed home to check his penis and discovered that he had been severely injured.
He complained that after the incident, he could not urinate easily. He explained that when he attempted to urinate, blood flowed from his penis and he had to urinate with the aid of a pipe.
Anwam said when he went to a private hospital for treatment he was referred to the General Hospital on Lagos Island.
Following the incident, the police in Ikotun division arrested the dog Gabriel.
Confirming the incident, Gabriel said he was surprised the way his dog attacked Anwam.
He said he was holding the dog with chain when the dog suddenly attacked the man who was passing by.
Gabriel said he had pleaded with Anwam and his wife about the incident and he has also offered to pay for his medical treatment before the police charged him to court.
When the dog and Gabriel were about to be arraigned, their plea was not taken.
The prosecutor, Mr Nicholas Atumonye, told the court that the parties involved in the matter wanted to settle out of court.
He told the court that the complainant had written a letter of withdrawal.
..... ......You know there is this saying that dogs tend to sense whoever eats their meat. Its likely that the dog was not happy with Mr Anwam,considering he is from ...............
The police also charged the owner of the dog, Adebowale Gabriel, 31, before Mrs M.B. Folami at Ejigbo Magistrate’s Court Lagos.
The dog was specifically charged with assault (LoL), while Gabriel was charged with negligence under the Criminal Code.
The arrest of the dog and Gabriel followed a complaint by the victim, Mr. Simon Anwam, to the police in Ikotun division that when he was walking on the street, the dog pounced on him and inflicted deep injury on his penis.
Narrating what happened, Anwam who hails from Akwa Ibom State, southsouth Nigeria, said when he was returning home from work and he had almost reached his house, he met Gabriel on the way holding his dog with chain but was however surprised when the dog jumped on him and bit his penis before he could be rescued from it.
He further narrated that when he discovered that his trousers was stained with blood, he quickly rushed home to check his penis and discovered that he had been severely injured.
He complained that after the incident, he could not urinate easily. He explained that when he attempted to urinate, blood flowed from his penis and he had to urinate with the aid of a pipe.
Anwam said when he went to a private hospital for treatment he was referred to the General Hospital on Lagos Island.
Following the incident, the police in Ikotun division arrested the dog Gabriel.
Confirming the incident, Gabriel said he was surprised the way his dog attacked Anwam.
He said he was holding the dog with chain when the dog suddenly attacked the man who was passing by.
Gabriel said he had pleaded with Anwam and his wife about the incident and he has also offered to pay for his medical treatment before the police charged him to court.
When the dog and Gabriel were about to be arraigned, their plea was not taken.
The prosecutor, Mr Nicholas Atumonye, told the court that the parties involved in the matter wanted to settle out of court.
He told the court that the complainant had written a letter of withdrawal.
..... ......You know there is this saying that dogs tend to sense whoever eats their meat. Its likely that the dog was not happy with Mr Anwam,considering he is from ...............
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Breaking news: Shekarau decamps to PDP!!!
Former Governor of Kano state, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau has just decamped to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He announced the defection during a meeting at his palatial residence in Mundubawa road, Kano State( The meeting is still on).
Earlier Ahead of today's defection of former Governor of Kano state, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau from the All Progressive Congress (APC), his supporters are seen chanting support and wielding logo of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP).
Speculation are rife that he would decamp from APC,At the end of the meeting.
The former governor is holding a meeting with stakeholders of ANPP from across Kano state.
Source:Daily Trust
He announced the defection during a meeting at his palatial residence in Mundubawa road, Kano State( The meeting is still on).
Earlier Ahead of today's defection of former Governor of Kano state, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau from the All Progressive Congress (APC), his supporters are seen chanting support and wielding logo of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP).
Speculation are rife that he would decamp from APC,At the end of the meeting.
The former governor is holding a meeting with stakeholders of ANPP from across Kano state.
Source:Daily Trust
Governor of Taraba State,Suntai declares self "UNFIT" to return to office
In what appears to be “end of discussion” over the ailing health of Governor Dambaba Suntai of Taraba State, the Governor has declared that he’s clearly not fit to return to office.
The governor, in a 6-minutes-25-second video interview that has gone viral online lamented his drinking habit which he described as ‘unfortunate.’
It would be recalled that Suntai who was seriously injured when his plane crashed on October 25, 2012 in Yola, capital of Adamawa State, had suffered extensive brain damage and was in German hospital for months before he was flown back into the country.
Since his arrival, several efforts by his loyalists to return him to office hit the rocks, as the governor’s health remains complicated.
Lately, political cabals in the state took the governor to his office in Jalingo alongside his physical therapists to see if he could be smuggled back into office but after five minutes, the governor was not himself.
They were utterly disappointed during their visit to Aso Rock when governor Suntain also failed to recognize where he was.
With the release of the footage, which was obtained by SaharaReporters; every argument over the resumption of the governor has been laid to to rest.
Am still unable to upload videos,please bear with me,below is the transcript of the interview.......
Suntai: Unintelligible
Man in white, sitting next to the governor: It’s beautiful out here, I’m happy to see you. I’m happy to see you. We thought the situation was worse than this. But thank God, this is very, very interesting. I’ve been told about your developments and how you’re improving.
Governor Suntai: Yes.
Man: Good to see you.
Governor Suntai: unintelligible…and I believe my governor has received you.
Man: Yes yes yes he has.
Man: The process of your recuperation, I hope it’s going on well.
Governor Suntai: It is going on well.
Man: And what would be your message to Nigerians?
Governor Suntai: Well if they can put all these things aside and tend to good, I think that will stop the problem. Because these things, God does not like it. But we are doing it when we know God does not permit us to do it. It is unfortunate that we have decided to listen to the devil in this case. So it is unfortunate that I am involved in this drinking of hot drinks.
Man: So your excellency, looking at it now, are you well or fit enough to return to your office as the executive governor of Taraba state?
Governor Suntai: Well I can tell you that it is well with me to return to my office simply because I want you to support me. But you know the truth, I am not well at all to return to office as I am now.
Man: So with time, you’ll pick up and you’ll be able to discharge your function?
Governor Suntai: I know that I will pick up with time and be able to discharge my duty but that will take some time before I am able to do that. And that is not supposed to be my my my my my duty, to misbehave once and then to misbehave another time.
Man: Alright but your excellence, finally, because I wouldn’t want to stress you more, what would be your message to the people of Taraba at this new year?
Governor Suntai: My message is very simple, let them try to live according to the laws of God, and that will definitely give them an exciting life on this earth. But if you go outside from God’s law, you’ll just destroy yourself, and that is what is happening to me, because I was already counting the days that are left for me on this Earth with this issue of drinking, drinking, drinking. It is not the best at all, to venture into drinking.
Man: Thank you so much your excellency, we wish you the best of luck and we hope that you recover on time to be able to return to your office as the executive governor of Taraba stateThank you so much sir.
Governor Suntai: Thank you so much, I’m very grateful
For those that still want to watch the video, here is the link(enjoy) : http://youtu.be/76XN0ysn1SU
The governor, in a 6-minutes-25-second video interview that has gone viral online lamented his drinking habit which he described as ‘unfortunate.’
It would be recalled that Suntai who was seriously injured when his plane crashed on October 25, 2012 in Yola, capital of Adamawa State, had suffered extensive brain damage and was in German hospital for months before he was flown back into the country.
Since his arrival, several efforts by his loyalists to return him to office hit the rocks, as the governor’s health remains complicated.
Lately, political cabals in the state took the governor to his office in Jalingo alongside his physical therapists to see if he could be smuggled back into office but after five minutes, the governor was not himself.
They were utterly disappointed during their visit to Aso Rock when governor Suntain also failed to recognize where he was.
With the release of the footage, which was obtained by SaharaReporters; every argument over the resumption of the governor has been laid to to rest.
Am still unable to upload videos,please bear with me,below is the transcript of the interview.......
Suntai: Unintelligible
Man in white, sitting next to the governor: It’s beautiful out here, I’m happy to see you. I’m happy to see you. We thought the situation was worse than this. But thank God, this is very, very interesting. I’ve been told about your developments and how you’re improving.
Governor Suntai: Yes.
Man: Good to see you.
Governor Suntai: unintelligible…and I believe my governor has received you.
Man: Yes yes yes he has.
Man: The process of your recuperation, I hope it’s going on well.
Governor Suntai: It is going on well.
Man: And what would be your message to Nigerians?
Governor Suntai: Well if they can put all these things aside and tend to good, I think that will stop the problem. Because these things, God does not like it. But we are doing it when we know God does not permit us to do it. It is unfortunate that we have decided to listen to the devil in this case. So it is unfortunate that I am involved in this drinking of hot drinks.
Man: So your excellency, looking at it now, are you well or fit enough to return to your office as the executive governor of Taraba state?
Governor Suntai: Well I can tell you that it is well with me to return to my office simply because I want you to support me. But you know the truth, I am not well at all to return to office as I am now.
Man: So with time, you’ll pick up and you’ll be able to discharge your function?
Governor Suntai: I know that I will pick up with time and be able to discharge my duty but that will take some time before I am able to do that. And that is not supposed to be my my my my my duty, to misbehave once and then to misbehave another time.
Man: Alright but your excellence, finally, because I wouldn’t want to stress you more, what would be your message to the people of Taraba at this new year?
Governor Suntai: My message is very simple, let them try to live according to the laws of God, and that will definitely give them an exciting life on this earth. But if you go outside from God’s law, you’ll just destroy yourself, and that is what is happening to me, because I was already counting the days that are left for me on this Earth with this issue of drinking, drinking, drinking. It is not the best at all, to venture into drinking.
Man: Thank you so much your excellency, we wish you the best of luck and we hope that you recover on time to be able to return to your office as the executive governor of Taraba stateThank you so much sir.
Governor Suntai: Thank you so much, I’m very grateful
For those that still want to watch the video, here is the link(enjoy) : http://youtu.be/76XN0ysn1SU
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
APC senators defies party order, attend service chiefs screening
Senators of the All Progressives Congress (APC)on Monday ignored directives by the party's national leadership that requires them to block all executive communications including consideration of the 2014budget. At least seven APC senators participated in the screening exercise of the screening of the Service Chiefs recently appointed by President Goodluck Jonathan whose names were sent to the senate for confirmation by the president.
Last Thursday, the leadership of the APC had through a communique directed its members in the National Assembly to block the passage of the budget, and the screening of new service chiefs and ministers.
Senator Kabiru Garba Marafa (APC, Zamafar) while speaking to Newsmen on why he attended the screening exercise, said: "I have not received any official communication from our party directing me not to participate in the debate on the budget or screening of new service chiefs and the ministers."
Other APC senators who participated in the exercise include Akin Odunsi, Kabiru Garba Marafa, Sani Saleh, Atai Aidoko, Babafemi Ojudu, Jibrilla Bindo and Robert A. Boroffice.
Those who were screened yesterday include Air Marshall Alex Baden as chief of defence staff, Major General Kenneth Minimah as chief of army staff, Rear Admiral Usman Jibrin as chief of Naval staff and Air Vice Marshall Adesola Amosu as chief of air staff.
Last Thursday, the leadership of the APC had through a communique directed its members in the National Assembly to block the passage of the budget, and the screening of new service chiefs and ministers.
Senator Kabiru Garba Marafa (APC, Zamafar) while speaking to Newsmen on why he attended the screening exercise, said: "I have not received any official communication from our party directing me not to participate in the debate on the budget or screening of new service chiefs and the ministers."
Other APC senators who participated in the exercise include Akin Odunsi, Kabiru Garba Marafa, Sani Saleh, Atai Aidoko, Babafemi Ojudu, Jibrilla Bindo and Robert A. Boroffice.
Those who were screened yesterday include Air Marshall Alex Baden as chief of defence staff, Major General Kenneth Minimah as chief of army staff, Rear Admiral Usman Jibrin as chief of Naval staff and Air Vice Marshall Adesola Amosu as chief of air staff.
2015 Election: 3000 APC members defects to PDP in Yobe State
According to The National Mirror;
The PDP in Yobe State has claimed that 3000 members of the ruling APC in the state have dumped the party and joined the PDP. The state chairman of the party Alhaji Lawan Gana, Karasuwa who disclosed this to newsmen in his country home in Karasuwa Gaalu noted that the defection of the APC members to the PDP was as a result of the reconciliatory approach recently adopted by the party in the state. According to the chairman, all the 3,000 that defected were from the governor’s home town in Yunusari, Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam. He noted that Yobe PDP is seriously re-strategizing; adding that part of the strategy is the party’s efforts to reconcile all aggrieved members both within and outside the state. “I am happy to inform you that the party has constituted two committees to reconcile with aggrieved party members. “The two reconciliatory committees are handling reconciliation with aggrieved members outside the state and those within Yobe state and, to scout for new members. “We are happy that soon after the committees commenced work, supporters of other parties are now defecting to the PDP” he said. The Yobe PDP helmsman debunk claims by Yobe state government on lack of federal presence in the state, stressing that a total of over 56 federal projects were currently ongoing in the state under the leadership of Dr. Yerima Ngama, the minister of state for Finance. Karasuwa added that the sterling leadership of Dr. Ngama in the affairs of the party in the state has greatly increased the people’s support and confidence in Federal Government The chairman pointed out that the party will take advantage of the failures of the ruling APC government to woo more support from the people to change the government in 2015. He expressed delight with the renewed support from elders, elites, youth and women to the party, stressing that, “this has rejuvenated and strengthened our hope for the party in the state.
.....I guess this coming weeks/months is going to be dramatic,because there would be a lot of "porting" that is ;movement(defection) from one party to another. #fingersXd
The PDP in Yobe State has claimed that 3000 members of the ruling APC in the state have dumped the party and joined the PDP. The state chairman of the party Alhaji Lawan Gana, Karasuwa who disclosed this to newsmen in his country home in Karasuwa Gaalu noted that the defection of the APC members to the PDP was as a result of the reconciliatory approach recently adopted by the party in the state. According to the chairman, all the 3,000 that defected were from the governor’s home town in Yunusari, Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam. He noted that Yobe PDP is seriously re-strategizing; adding that part of the strategy is the party’s efforts to reconcile all aggrieved members both within and outside the state. “I am happy to inform you that the party has constituted two committees to reconcile with aggrieved party members. “The two reconciliatory committees are handling reconciliation with aggrieved members outside the state and those within Yobe state and, to scout for new members. “We are happy that soon after the committees commenced work, supporters of other parties are now defecting to the PDP” he said. The Yobe PDP helmsman debunk claims by Yobe state government on lack of federal presence in the state, stressing that a total of over 56 federal projects were currently ongoing in the state under the leadership of Dr. Yerima Ngama, the minister of state for Finance. Karasuwa added that the sterling leadership of Dr. Ngama in the affairs of the party in the state has greatly increased the people’s support and confidence in Federal Government The chairman pointed out that the party will take advantage of the failures of the ruling APC government to woo more support from the people to change the government in 2015. He expressed delight with the renewed support from elders, elites, youth and women to the party, stressing that, “this has rejuvenated and strengthened our hope for the party in the state.
.....I guess this coming weeks/months is going to be dramatic,because there would be a lot of "porting" that is ;movement(defection) from one party to another. #fingersXd
Update: Mallam Nasir El-Rufai released on bail
Mallam Nasir El Rufai has been released on bail by the State Security Service hours after he reported to the security agency to answer some questions.
According to reports, Mallam El-Rufai was released in the early hours of this morning after about 15 hours in SSS custody.
His Media advisor Muyiwa Adekeye. In his word,said...
"Mallam El-Rufai will not be silenced. He will continue to do his patriotic duty of challenging INEC and the security agencies to guarantee the climate for free and fair elections in Nigeria by desisting from partisanship and the embrace of impunity.”
According to reports, Mallam El-Rufai was released in the early hours of this morning after about 15 hours in SSS custody.
His Media advisor Muyiwa Adekeye. In his word,said...
"Mallam El-Rufai will not be silenced. He will continue to do his patriotic duty of challenging INEC and the security agencies to guarantee the climate for free and fair elections in Nigeria by desisting from partisanship and the embrace of impunity.”
Monday, January 27, 2014
The new Nigeria's constitution would be ready by July
Zakari Mohammed, the Chairman, House of Representatives’ Committee on Media and Public Affairs, on Sunday said the country’s new Constitution would be ready by July.
Mohammed told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Okuta, Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara that the delay in producing it was as a result of wide consultation.
He said the task of amending a constitution is a tedious job and not a job which people would sit down and conclude easily.
“But we are looking at the month of June or July as when we are going to have a clean copy of the new constitution for Nigeria.
“For what we did in the House of Representatives, we went to the 360 Federal Constituencies and, as much as possible, we were able to gather the views of the people.
“What we have reported is exactly what we pushed forward for them, and what we are saying is that at the end of the day, we are going to have a constitution that is workable for the Nigerian people,’’ Mohammed said.
(NAN)
Mohammed told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Okuta, Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara that the delay in producing it was as a result of wide consultation.
He said the task of amending a constitution is a tedious job and not a job which people would sit down and conclude easily.
“But we are looking at the month of June or July as when we are going to have a clean copy of the new constitution for Nigeria.
“For what we did in the House of Representatives, we went to the 360 Federal Constituencies and, as much as possible, we were able to gather the views of the people.
“What we have reported is exactly what we pushed forward for them, and what we are saying is that at the end of the day, we are going to have a constitution that is workable for the Nigerian people,’’ Mohammed said.
(NAN)
Update: El-Rufia honours SSS invitation
Days after playing hide -and seek with the SSS, the former FCT minister Mallam Nasir El-Ruafi has finally honoured the invitation of the State Security Service, SSS .
In his tweets this morining,he said that he was accompanied by the Governor of Rivers' state; Rotimi Ameachi,Dr. Chris Ngige,APC National secretary,Treasurer,Hubert Shaiyan and AU Mustapha. Though they (except El-Rufia) were not allowed into the building even after they had trekked 500 meters to get to the SSS building.
In his tweets this morining,he said that he was accompanied by the Governor of Rivers' state; Rotimi Ameachi,Dr. Chris Ngige,APC National secretary,Treasurer,Hubert Shaiyan and AU Mustapha. Though they (except El-Rufia) were not allowed into the building even after they had trekked 500 meters to get to the SSS building.
Tinubu replies Clark, says his attack on Yoruba lacks wisdom
The All Progressives Congress (APC) leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has described the recent attack on the Yoruba by Chief Edwin Clark as lacking in wisdom and a "near idiotic vitriolic attack on any perceived opponent of President Goodluck Jonathan".
Tinubu said Clark should be rescued before he self-destructs.
Clark last week said the Yoruba have no leader. He added that since the death of Chief Adekunle Ajasin and Chief Bola Ige, the Yoruba have been without leaders.
In a statement yesterday from Tinubu's Media Office (TMO), the opposition leader said Clark should talk less and listen more. He queried his qualification to pass judgement on the Yoruba.
"Clark should not have insulted the Yoruba and some of their leaders. He is not competent to utter such a statement," Tinubu said, adding that the Ijaw chief would be better tending to his own house instead of remarking on the quality of a home he knows nothing about.
The former Lagos State governor said the statement shows Clark is afraid of the giant strides being made by the opposition party.
"Clark is afraid that the progressive party, the APC, launched by Asiwaju Tinubu and other progressives throughout the nation which possesses the political clout to dislodge his ethnic kin from the Aso Villa. Thus, Clark hates Tinubu and all those who speak against the mis-governance taking place.
"Clark cares nothing for actual modern democratic governance that will move this nation forward, regardless of ethnic origin. He is obsessed with making sure his ethnic kin remains in the Villa by all means necessary; he cares less if the nation crumbles around him; as long as his ethnic son is on the seat, all is fine for him," Tinubu said.
The statement said Tinubu never claimed to be a Yoruba leader, but can lay claim to being a national leader because he seeks the betterment of all Nigerians. "Can Clark make the same claim about himself?" the statement added.
It also said Tinubu has engineered the rebirth of the opposition in the country by working in tandem with like- minded progressives. "From forging the first political merger in the history of Nigeria, he has remained fixed on providing a platform for progressive governance and policies to lift Nigeria from the clutches of poverty and unjust government. This is not a Yoruba dream; it is a Nigerian dream. Clark's utterances are part of our present nightmare."
Warning that with utterances like this coming from Clark, Tinubu said the nation is on a political, moral and economic slide that must be arrested. "The nation is suffering and if this is not arrested, we shall crash against the hard rock of ill-fate. The crash will not be a pretty one," Tinubu warned.
Tinubu said Clark should be rescued before he self-destructs.
Clark last week said the Yoruba have no leader. He added that since the death of Chief Adekunle Ajasin and Chief Bola Ige, the Yoruba have been without leaders.
In a statement yesterday from Tinubu's Media Office (TMO), the opposition leader said Clark should talk less and listen more. He queried his qualification to pass judgement on the Yoruba.
"Clark should not have insulted the Yoruba and some of their leaders. He is not competent to utter such a statement," Tinubu said, adding that the Ijaw chief would be better tending to his own house instead of remarking on the quality of a home he knows nothing about.
The former Lagos State governor said the statement shows Clark is afraid of the giant strides being made by the opposition party.
"Clark is afraid that the progressive party, the APC, launched by Asiwaju Tinubu and other progressives throughout the nation which possesses the political clout to dislodge his ethnic kin from the Aso Villa. Thus, Clark hates Tinubu and all those who speak against the mis-governance taking place.
"Clark cares nothing for actual modern democratic governance that will move this nation forward, regardless of ethnic origin. He is obsessed with making sure his ethnic kin remains in the Villa by all means necessary; he cares less if the nation crumbles around him; as long as his ethnic son is on the seat, all is fine for him," Tinubu said.
The statement said Tinubu never claimed to be a Yoruba leader, but can lay claim to being a national leader because he seeks the betterment of all Nigerians. "Can Clark make the same claim about himself?" the statement added.
It also said Tinubu has engineered the rebirth of the opposition in the country by working in tandem with like- minded progressives. "From forging the first political merger in the history of Nigeria, he has remained fixed on providing a platform for progressive governance and policies to lift Nigeria from the clutches of poverty and unjust government. This is not a Yoruba dream; it is a Nigerian dream. Clark's utterances are part of our present nightmare."
Warning that with utterances like this coming from Clark, Tinubu said the nation is on a political, moral and economic slide that must be arrested. "The nation is suffering and if this is not arrested, we shall crash against the hard rock of ill-fate. The crash will not be a pretty one," Tinubu warned.
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Breaking News: Gov. Ameachi allege that the missing N8 Trillion is in private pockets
The Rivers State Governor and Chairman of Nigerian Governors’ Forum, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi has said the $49.8bn (N8tn) missing from the Excess Crude Account was in private pockets.
Amaechi also called on the people of Ogoni to fast and pray for God’s intervention so that the Federal Government would release $1bn for the clean-up of the polluted Ogoniland as recommended by the United Nations Environment Programme.
The governor, who spoke at the rescheduled Save Rivers Movement rally in Bori, Khana Local Government Area on Saturday, said the Federal Government should tell Nigerians where it kept the money if it (FG) insisted that the money was not missing.
He said, “They (FG) said no $49.8 bn is missing. If they say $49.8bn is not missing, let them tell us where the money is, let them publish; it is in their pockets.”
Amaechi, who commented on the security provided by the police at the venue of the rally, explained that the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Muhammed Abubakar, made it possible.
“The security you see here is provided by the Inspector-General of Police. I called him and told him I was going to Khana and he graciously agreed to provide us with security. I thank him very much for his sincerity,” he added.
The governor decried calls from some quarters on him not to attend the rescheduled Save Rivers Movement rally in Khana, arguing that as the state governor, he was in charge of every local government area and that those that advised not to attend the rally were ignorant.
He said, “This morning, several persons called me and said ‘don’t go;’ I said ‘okay, give me a reason why I shouldn’t go;’ to send over 2,000 to 3,000 people to Bori for them to be shot and I won’t be there to be shot; will that be fair? If they are going to shoot you, they should shoot me first.
“I want to start by thanking the Inspector-General of Police; I had to call him and I told the IGP that I am going to Khana. I thank him for sending security and I reassured him that Rivers people are peace-loving people.”
Punch
Amaechi also called on the people of Ogoni to fast and pray for God’s intervention so that the Federal Government would release $1bn for the clean-up of the polluted Ogoniland as recommended by the United Nations Environment Programme.
The governor, who spoke at the rescheduled Save Rivers Movement rally in Bori, Khana Local Government Area on Saturday, said the Federal Government should tell Nigerians where it kept the money if it (FG) insisted that the money was not missing.
He said, “They (FG) said no $49.8 bn is missing. If they say $49.8bn is not missing, let them tell us where the money is, let them publish; it is in their pockets.”
Amaechi, who commented on the security provided by the police at the venue of the rally, explained that the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Muhammed Abubakar, made it possible.
“The security you see here is provided by the Inspector-General of Police. I called him and told him I was going to Khana and he graciously agreed to provide us with security. I thank him very much for his sincerity,” he added.
The governor decried calls from some quarters on him not to attend the rescheduled Save Rivers Movement rally in Khana, arguing that as the state governor, he was in charge of every local government area and that those that advised not to attend the rally were ignorant.
He said, “This morning, several persons called me and said ‘don’t go;’ I said ‘okay, give me a reason why I shouldn’t go;’ to send over 2,000 to 3,000 people to Bori for them to be shot and I won’t be there to be shot; will that be fair? If they are going to shoot you, they should shoot me first.
“I want to start by thanking the Inspector-General of Police; I had to call him and I told the IGP that I am going to Khana. I thank him for sending security and I reassured him that Rivers people are peace-loving people.”
Punch
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Breaking news: Dana Air gets to fly again,resumes operation today
More than three months after their operations were grounded for an NCAA audit, Dana Air has announced that it has received a go ahead to resume operations. According to a report, Dana Airline has successfully passed the operational audit exercise by the NCAA and would start operations as from today Saturday January 25th.
Announcing the resumption of flight operations in Lagos, the Chief Operating Officer & Accountable Manager, Mr. Yvan Drewinsky, said the lifting of the suspension order is a testament that Dana Air adheres strictly to prescribed safety standards as dictated by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (NCARs) and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards.
.....And the Nigerian Eagles did us proud
Yea!!!! We made it to the Semi Final!! So excited!
Our Super Eagles today trashed the Lions of Morocco 4 goals to 3 to qualify for the Semi-Final of the on-going CHAN 2014 in South Africa.
3 goals in second half.
Wana say welldone guys and to Keshi ..good job!!!
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria
Our Super Eagles today trashed the Lions of Morocco 4 goals to 3 to qualify for the Semi-Final of the on-going CHAN 2014 in South Africa.
3 goals in second half.
Wana say welldone guys and to Keshi ..good job!!!
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria
2015 Election: INEC releases timetable
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has released the timetable for next year's election, stating that the next presidential and National Assembly election, will be staged on February 14, 2015.
The electoral body, also announced that governorship and elections for state assemblies, would be conducted on February 28, 2015.
The gubernatorial polls in Ekiti and Osun, where fresh elections will be held, because of the expiration of the tenure of the current Governors, have also been scheduled for June 21 and August 9 respectively.
Meanwhile campaigns are to commence by march this year while the selling of forms would begin on the 1st of April this year also.
INEC faces a major test and unprecedented challenge in conducting next year’s general elections. The recent upheavals in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as well as a dramatic rise in the rhetoric of supporters and opponents of President Goodluck Jonathan have provoked speculations that a rigged election could precipitate a level of post-poll violence that has not been witnessed in Nigeria in a long time.
The electoral body, also announced that governorship and elections for state assemblies, would be conducted on February 28, 2015.
The gubernatorial polls in Ekiti and Osun, where fresh elections will be held, because of the expiration of the tenure of the current Governors, have also been scheduled for June 21 and August 9 respectively.
Meanwhile campaigns are to commence by march this year while the selling of forms would begin on the 1st of April this year also.
INEC faces a major test and unprecedented challenge in conducting next year’s general elections. The recent upheavals in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as well as a dramatic rise in the rhetoric of supporters and opponents of President Goodluck Jonathan have provoked speculations that a rigged election could precipitate a level of post-poll violence that has not been witnessed in Nigeria in a long time.
MUST READ: The tale of an undercover reporter,in the den of human traffickers
This is quite a long read and an interesting one too,its the experience of an investigative reporter in the den of human traffickers.
Read below.....
Six out of 10 people who are trafficked to the West are Nigerians. Premium Times investigative reporter, Tobore Ovuorie, was motivated by years of research into the plight of trafficked women in the country, as well as the loss of a friend, to go undercover in a multi-billion dollar criminal enterprise. She emerged, bruised and beaten but thankfully alive, after witnessing orgies, big money deals in jute bags, police-supervised pickpocketing, beatings and even murder. This is her story. Continue...
We are 10 at the boot camp:
Adesuwa, Isoken, Lizzy, Mairo, Adamu, Ini, Tessy, Omai, Sammy and I. We have travelled together in a 14 seater bus from Lagos, hoping to arrive in Italy soon. We are eager to get to the ‘next level’ as it is called: from local prostitution to hopefully earning big bucks abroad. But first, it turns out, we have to pass through ‘training’ in this massive secluded compound guarded by armed military men, far from any other human being, somewhere in the thick bushes outside Ikorodu, a suburb of Lagos. Our trafficker, Mama Caro, welcomes us in flawless English, telling us how lucky and special we are; then she ushers us to a room where we are to sleep on the floor without any dinner.
I had not expected this. We had exercised, through a risk analysis role play, in advance: my paper PREMIUM TIMES, and our partners on the project, a colleague–Reece Adanwenon– in the Republic of Benin, and ZAM Chronicle in Amsterdam. We had put in place contacts, emergency phone numbers, safe houses, emergency money accounts. We had made transport and extraction arrangements. Ms. Reece is waiting in Cotonou, 100 kilometers to the West in neighbouring Benin, to pick me up from an agreed meeting place. But we hadn’t foreseen that there was to be another stop first: this isolated, guarded camp in the middle of nowhere. It dawns on me that we could be in big trouble.
“Our trafficker, Mama Caro, welcomes us in flawless English, telling us how lucky and special we are; then she ushers us to a room where we are to sleep on the floor without any dinner.”
Risk analysis and preparation
It had all started in Abuja, with me deciding to expose the human traffic syndicates that caused the death, through Aids, of my friend Ifuoke and countless others. As a health journalist, I had interviewed several returnees from sex traffic who had not only been encouraged to have unprotected sex, but who had also been denied health care or even to return home when they fell ill. They were now suffering from Aids, anal gonorrhea, bowel ruptures and incontinence. In the case of some of them, who hailed from conservative religious backgrounds, doctors in their home towns had denied them any treatment because they had been ‘bad’. I was also aware that powerful politicians and government and army officials, who outwardly professed religious purity, were servicing and protecting the traffickers.I wanted to break through the hypocrisy and official propaganda and show how, every day, criminals in Nigeria are helped by the powerful to enslave my fellow young citizens. My PREMIUM TIMES colleagues had done undercover work before; they had warned me of the risks, but had agreed to support me in my decision to go through with it. With my colleagues, and with the help of ZAM Chronicle, we then started in earnest.
“I wanted to break through the hypocrisy and official propaganda and show how, every day, criminals in Nigeria are helped by the powerful to enslave my fellow young citizens.”
Oghogho
I had advertised my wish to get to know a ‘madam’ whilst walking the streets of Lagos, dressed as a call girl.It worked. I had met Oghogho Irhiogbe, an accomplished, well-groomed graduate in her thirties (though she claimed to be only 26), and a wealthy human trafficker of note. My lucky hunch to tell her that my name was ‘Oghogho’ too had immediately warmed her to me. She told me I looked like her kid sister and from then on treated me like a favourite.
“Don’t worry about crossing borders and getting caught,” she had told me. “Immigration, customs, police, army and even foreign embassies are part of our network. You only run into trouble with them if you fail to be obedient to us.” I already knew this to be true. Two of the trafficked sex workers I had interviewed had tried to find help at Nigerian embassies in Madrid and Moscow, only to realise that the very embassy officials from whom they had sought deportation had immediately informed their pimps. They had eventually made it back to Nigeria only after they had developed visible diseases, such as AIDS-related Kaposi sarcoma.
“Precious had already made enough money to start building her own house in Enugu, halfway between Abuja and Port Harcourt.”
Oghogho Irhiogbe had been luckier. She owned four luxury cars, two houses in Edo State, and was busy completing the building of a third house near the Warri airport in Delta State. Others I had met through my initial ‘call girl’ exploits were clearly on their way to riches, too. Priye was set to go back to the Netherlands, where she worked before, to become a ‘madam’. Ivie and Precious were quite happy to go back to Italy. Precious had already made enough money to start building her own house in Enugu, halfway between Abuja and Port Harcourt.
Forza Speciale
It is on the windy Sunday evening of October 6 that I make my first contact with the outer ring of this mafia. A big party with VIPs is on the cards; the kind of party an ordinary girl, or rather ‘product’, as we are called by traffickers, is not usually invited to. But I am currently on a fortune ride: Oghogho’s favourite. Additionally, I have been classified as ‘Special Forces’, or ‘Forza Speciale’ as my new contacts say, borrowing the Italian term. It’s a rule of thumb, I understand, that a syndicate subjects girls to classification through a check on their nude bodies and I, too – in the company of some male and female judges, headed by a trafficker called Auntie Precious – had been checked. I had received the highest classification. “This means that you don’t have to walk the streets. You can be an escort for important clients,” Auntie Precious had told me in a soft, congratulatory tone. The ones of ‘lesser’ classification were referred to as Forza Strada, the Road Force.
The party is held at a gorgeous residence along the Aguiyi Ironsi Way in Maitama, Abuja. This is designed to be a festive end to a great day, in which we went to church, hung out at the choicest places in town, shopped and got dressed in a suite at the Abuja power citadel, meeting point of the elite, the Transcorp Hilton.
“The ‘dividend’ is not from prostitution and trafficking alone, but Oghogho won’t tell me what the other source is.”
It is more like an orgy. Male and female strippers entertain guests, drugs abound, alcohol is everywhere in unrestrained flow; there is romping in the open. Also, big bags of money are changing hands. Barely an hour after we arrive, Oghogho receives a big jute bag, which is delivered from another room. As we walk out and she puts the money in the boot of her car, she smiles at me. “Don’t worry; very soon, you’ll get to receive dividend.” This ‘dividend’ is not from prostitution and trafficking alone, but Oghogho won’t tell me what the other source is. “When you come on board fully, you’ll know.”
A retired army colonel from the Abacha era sees to it that we are not disturbed. “He has top connections and sees to a smooth flow of the business,” Oghogho tells me.
Pickpocketing training
How ‘top’ these connections are, I find when I am taken with a group of girls to be trained in pickpocketing. We, a group of ten ‘products’, are placed at various crowded bus stops in the suburb of Ikorodu, where we must ‘practice’ under the guard of two army officers, a policeman as well as a number of male ‘trainers’. The policeman doesn’t even bother to cover his name badge: Babatunde Ajala, it reads.
The general operation is supervised by Mama Caro, popularly called Mama C, a 50-something, light-complexioned, busty woman. Her deputy is a Madam Eno. Mama C has told us that pickpocketing is a crucial skill for the Forza Speciale: we will need to be able to pick valuables from clients. She adds that the pickings are added to the girls earnings, so we will be able to pay off our debts– commonly called ‘meeting our targets’ – in a short time.
When I perform dismally, Eno rains abuses on me. We are all to stay at the bus stop until I pick an item from somebody. It is already 11 PM.Tired, hungry and angry with me, Adesuwa, Isoken and the policeman guarding my group pick some extra pockets and hand me the items, so that I can show them to Eno.
“ We practice pickpocketing under the guard of two army officers and a policeman”
The next day, the bumpy journey to the ‘training camp’ appears endless. My fellow ‘products’ are snoozing and I battle to stay awake, wondering if we are tired or drugged. I note the bus moving off the main road somewhere around Odogunyan, into thick bushes, almost a forest.We stop at a compound guarded by armed military men. As my fellow ‘products’ wake up, it is clear that they think we are still in Lagos.
New names and indenture
The next day starts with strip tease and lap dance training after breakfast, and thereafter poise and etiquette. Five other girls have arrived in the meantime. They are all graduates, leaving for Italy fully aware of what they are to do there. “If I get caught by local police, I will just tell them I was trafficked against my will,” one of them, Gbemi, says light-heartedly. “I don’t think oyinbo (white man) will believe Mama C if she says that I am there voluntarily.”
I receive a crash course in pedicure and manicure because I am so bad at pickpocketing. “You’ll be utilizing these skills at my wellness centre in Italy,” Mama C says, after scolding me for being lazy and testing her patience. “You will be working on only men whilst wearing sexy dresses. That will enable you to attract customers.”
“Mama C makes us sign a statement that we have willingly embarked on the journey”
Later, Mama C makes everyone sign a statement that they have willingly embarked on the journey and that they are to return certain sums as professional fees to her. No girl is given a copy of what she has signed and the amount varies inexplicably: while Isoken signs up for a debt of US $100,000, I will have only US $70,000 to pay. We are told that we will receive new passports with false names and even false nationalities in Cotonou. I am to become a Kenyan, Mairo South African, and so on. “I have boys in the Benin immigration office,” boasts Mama C.
Horror
A just-arrived traditional ‘doctor’ then puts us through rites that involve checking the horoscope of each girl as well as collecting some of her blood, fingernails, hair and pubic hair. He then picks out four of us as ‘problematic’ and says we will bring ‘bad luck’. Either he is really clairvoyant or he is a professional security operative who has run background checks on us, because he is right about at least three of the four. Two of us have had unfortunate earlier experiences involving deportation back to Nigeria and are possibly known to the authorities in Europe. I am number three.
What happens next is like a horror movie.
As we ‘unlucky’ four, are standing aside, Mama C talks with five well-dressed, classy, influential-looking visitors.The issue is a ‘package’ that Mama C has promised them and that she hasn’t been able to deliver. The woman points at me, but Mama C refuses and for unexplained reasons Adesuwa and Omai are selected. We all witness, screaming and trying to hide in corners, as they are grabbed and beheaded with machetes in front of us. The ‘package’ that the visitors have come for turns out to be a collection of body parts. The mafia that holds us is into organ traffic, too.
“We all witness Adesuwa and Omai being beheaded in front of us. The ‘package’ that the visitors have come for turns out to be a collection of body parts. ”
With all of us trembling and crying, I and the other three ‘unsuitable’ ones are herded into a separate room. Mama C comes later to take me to yet another room for questioning. Angry beyond measure, she whips me all night, telling me to yield information on the ‘forces’ protecting me. “You are going nowhere,” she keeps shouting. “I have invested too much in you!”
Clearing the ‘spirit’
The next morning Mama C eats her breakfast while I starve: I have last eaten the previous morning. When she finished, and whilst the ‘approved products’ leave for Cotonou, Benin, to commence their journey to Italy, Mama C takes us four ‘unsuitables’ to visit three new, different ‘doctors’: one in the Agege neighbourhood of Lagos, the second in rural Sango Ota village and the third in remote Abeokuta in Ogun State. She clearly believes in traditional ‘medicine’ and is desperate to find a treatment for the ‘demons’ we are said to carry.
The first two ‘doctors’ agree with the first one that I am bad news, but the third, after roughly cutting off most of my hair, declares me free from the ‘spirit’. The ‘evil spirits’ in the other three girls, meanwhile, have been ‘beaten out of them’ with dry whips. Back at the camp the first ‘doctor’ rages at Mama C for approving me, insisting that the ‘doctor’ who ‘freed me from the spirit’ is a fraud. “This girl will bring about your downfall! You will end up in jail!” I am all the more convinced that he possesses not supernatural powers, but certain information.The syndicates are well-connected and someone may have told him that I am not who I say I am. The ‘doctor’ keeps repeating that ‘forces’ are protecting me. But Mama C insists that she is not to lose her investment.
“The ‘doctor’ keeps repeating that ‘forces’ are protecting me. But Mama C insists that she is not to lose her investment.”
Meanwhile, new ‘products’ have arrived to pass through the rites that night. The whole camp is again in the grip of fear as chilling screams indicate that some of the new arrivals – two girls and a young man, I learned later – are also murdered.
“Oghogho, I wonder what actually brought you here. I never expected a girl like you to venture into this,” says one of Mama C’s errand boys, as he enters the room I had again been locked in later that night with a plate of food.He seems well disposed to me. “You found and returned my Blackberry that I lost during one of the pickpocketing training sessions,” he explains. I had not realised the escort whose phone I found had been this boy; then, he had worn a cap pressed deep into his eyes. “Other girls would just have kept my phone,” he says. “You don’t belong here.I keep wondering what level of poverty has made you endanger yourself. You don’t deserve this.”
The plate of food is all I need to get my strength back. We are to travel the following morning.
Escape
As we are about to leave, I lose my phone to the army officer. Searching all of us, he has taken Isoken’s phone already and she has pointed at me to divert attention from herself, saying I had a phone too. He takes mine at gunpoint.I can only thank the heavens that it is dead. I had been upset because it didn’t charge the previous night, but the fact that it won’t switch on is my second lucky break: it has a lot of pictures and conversations I have recorded in the camp. The disadvantage of losing my phone is that I can’t contact our colleague Reece, who is to help me once I get to Cotonou. I also can’t communicate with my editors back in Nigeria.
All along the road leading up to the border, police and customs officers wave and greet Madam Eno and our head of operations, Mr James. Nigerian Immigrations and Customs officers also greet us warmly at the border post itself, whilst enquiring if there is anything in it for them today.
“Welcome, Madam! How have sales been?”
Eno: “Not much.”
“But your batch was allowed entry yesterday, so why claim you haven’t been making sales? “
Eno: “We are not the owner of yesterday’s batch of girls. We own these ones in this bus.”
“Haaa!You want to play a smart one? Not to worry, your boss will sort all this out with us.”
The officers then wave the minibus through without any form of documentation.
The original plan was for me to go with the transport as far as Cotonou, the capital of our neighbouring country Benin. But I don’t want to stretch it any longer. The border is usually very crowded and I plan to escape as soon as we are there. It works. Just after the Seme border post, in front of a crowded, muddy market, I run. Merging with the crowd, I take my top off – I have another top under it – and cover my head with a scarf. The army officer is following me, looking for me. I dive into a store and lose him.
“Just after the Seme border post, in front of a crowded, muddy market, I ran.”
I travel the twenty kilometres from the border motor park to Cotonou by minibus taxi.Colleague Reece – alerted by a phone call the driver helps make to her to ensure that she will be there to pay him – will wait for me there. Upon arrival, I see a woman I recognise from her Facebook photo. “Reece?”“Tobore!” She cries and holds out her arms to catch me. “I am safe.”
Culled from Premium Times
Read below.....
Six out of 10 people who are trafficked to the West are Nigerians. Premium Times investigative reporter, Tobore Ovuorie, was motivated by years of research into the plight of trafficked women in the country, as well as the loss of a friend, to go undercover in a multi-billion dollar criminal enterprise. She emerged, bruised and beaten but thankfully alive, after witnessing orgies, big money deals in jute bags, police-supervised pickpocketing, beatings and even murder. This is her story. Continue...
We are 10 at the boot camp:
Adesuwa, Isoken, Lizzy, Mairo, Adamu, Ini, Tessy, Omai, Sammy and I. We have travelled together in a 14 seater bus from Lagos, hoping to arrive in Italy soon. We are eager to get to the ‘next level’ as it is called: from local prostitution to hopefully earning big bucks abroad. But first, it turns out, we have to pass through ‘training’ in this massive secluded compound guarded by armed military men, far from any other human being, somewhere in the thick bushes outside Ikorodu, a suburb of Lagos. Our trafficker, Mama Caro, welcomes us in flawless English, telling us how lucky and special we are; then she ushers us to a room where we are to sleep on the floor without any dinner.
I had not expected this. We had exercised, through a risk analysis role play, in advance: my paper PREMIUM TIMES, and our partners on the project, a colleague–Reece Adanwenon– in the Republic of Benin, and ZAM Chronicle in Amsterdam. We had put in place contacts, emergency phone numbers, safe houses, emergency money accounts. We had made transport and extraction arrangements. Ms. Reece is waiting in Cotonou, 100 kilometers to the West in neighbouring Benin, to pick me up from an agreed meeting place. But we hadn’t foreseen that there was to be another stop first: this isolated, guarded camp in the middle of nowhere. It dawns on me that we could be in big trouble.
“Our trafficker, Mama Caro, welcomes us in flawless English, telling us how lucky and special we are; then she ushers us to a room where we are to sleep on the floor without any dinner.”
Risk analysis and preparation
It had all started in Abuja, with me deciding to expose the human traffic syndicates that caused the death, through Aids, of my friend Ifuoke and countless others. As a health journalist, I had interviewed several returnees from sex traffic who had not only been encouraged to have unprotected sex, but who had also been denied health care or even to return home when they fell ill. They were now suffering from Aids, anal gonorrhea, bowel ruptures and incontinence. In the case of some of them, who hailed from conservative religious backgrounds, doctors in their home towns had denied them any treatment because they had been ‘bad’. I was also aware that powerful politicians and government and army officials, who outwardly professed religious purity, were servicing and protecting the traffickers.I wanted to break through the hypocrisy and official propaganda and show how, every day, criminals in Nigeria are helped by the powerful to enslave my fellow young citizens. My PREMIUM TIMES colleagues had done undercover work before; they had warned me of the risks, but had agreed to support me in my decision to go through with it. With my colleagues, and with the help of ZAM Chronicle, we then started in earnest.
“I wanted to break through the hypocrisy and official propaganda and show how, every day, criminals in Nigeria are helped by the powerful to enslave my fellow young citizens.”
Oghogho
I had advertised my wish to get to know a ‘madam’ whilst walking the streets of Lagos, dressed as a call girl.It worked. I had met Oghogho Irhiogbe, an accomplished, well-groomed graduate in her thirties (though she claimed to be only 26), and a wealthy human trafficker of note. My lucky hunch to tell her that my name was ‘Oghogho’ too had immediately warmed her to me. She told me I looked like her kid sister and from then on treated me like a favourite.
“Don’t worry about crossing borders and getting caught,” she had told me. “Immigration, customs, police, army and even foreign embassies are part of our network. You only run into trouble with them if you fail to be obedient to us.” I already knew this to be true. Two of the trafficked sex workers I had interviewed had tried to find help at Nigerian embassies in Madrid and Moscow, only to realise that the very embassy officials from whom they had sought deportation had immediately informed their pimps. They had eventually made it back to Nigeria only after they had developed visible diseases, such as AIDS-related Kaposi sarcoma.
“Precious had already made enough money to start building her own house in Enugu, halfway between Abuja and Port Harcourt.”
Oghogho Irhiogbe had been luckier. She owned four luxury cars, two houses in Edo State, and was busy completing the building of a third house near the Warri airport in Delta State. Others I had met through my initial ‘call girl’ exploits were clearly on their way to riches, too. Priye was set to go back to the Netherlands, where she worked before, to become a ‘madam’. Ivie and Precious were quite happy to go back to Italy. Precious had already made enough money to start building her own house in Enugu, halfway between Abuja and Port Harcourt.
Forza Speciale
It is on the windy Sunday evening of October 6 that I make my first contact with the outer ring of this mafia. A big party with VIPs is on the cards; the kind of party an ordinary girl, or rather ‘product’, as we are called by traffickers, is not usually invited to. But I am currently on a fortune ride: Oghogho’s favourite. Additionally, I have been classified as ‘Special Forces’, or ‘Forza Speciale’ as my new contacts say, borrowing the Italian term. It’s a rule of thumb, I understand, that a syndicate subjects girls to classification through a check on their nude bodies and I, too – in the company of some male and female judges, headed by a trafficker called Auntie Precious – had been checked. I had received the highest classification. “This means that you don’t have to walk the streets. You can be an escort for important clients,” Auntie Precious had told me in a soft, congratulatory tone. The ones of ‘lesser’ classification were referred to as Forza Strada, the Road Force.
The party is held at a gorgeous residence along the Aguiyi Ironsi Way in Maitama, Abuja. This is designed to be a festive end to a great day, in which we went to church, hung out at the choicest places in town, shopped and got dressed in a suite at the Abuja power citadel, meeting point of the elite, the Transcorp Hilton.
“The ‘dividend’ is not from prostitution and trafficking alone, but Oghogho won’t tell me what the other source is.”
It is more like an orgy. Male and female strippers entertain guests, drugs abound, alcohol is everywhere in unrestrained flow; there is romping in the open. Also, big bags of money are changing hands. Barely an hour after we arrive, Oghogho receives a big jute bag, which is delivered from another room. As we walk out and she puts the money in the boot of her car, she smiles at me. “Don’t worry; very soon, you’ll get to receive dividend.” This ‘dividend’ is not from prostitution and trafficking alone, but Oghogho won’t tell me what the other source is. “When you come on board fully, you’ll know.”
A retired army colonel from the Abacha era sees to it that we are not disturbed. “He has top connections and sees to a smooth flow of the business,” Oghogho tells me.
Pickpocketing training
How ‘top’ these connections are, I find when I am taken with a group of girls to be trained in pickpocketing. We, a group of ten ‘products’, are placed at various crowded bus stops in the suburb of Ikorodu, where we must ‘practice’ under the guard of two army officers, a policeman as well as a number of male ‘trainers’. The policeman doesn’t even bother to cover his name badge: Babatunde Ajala, it reads.
The general operation is supervised by Mama Caro, popularly called Mama C, a 50-something, light-complexioned, busty woman. Her deputy is a Madam Eno. Mama C has told us that pickpocketing is a crucial skill for the Forza Speciale: we will need to be able to pick valuables from clients. She adds that the pickings are added to the girls earnings, so we will be able to pay off our debts– commonly called ‘meeting our targets’ – in a short time.
When I perform dismally, Eno rains abuses on me. We are all to stay at the bus stop until I pick an item from somebody. It is already 11 PM.Tired, hungry and angry with me, Adesuwa, Isoken and the policeman guarding my group pick some extra pockets and hand me the items, so that I can show them to Eno.
“ We practice pickpocketing under the guard of two army officers and a policeman”
The next day, the bumpy journey to the ‘training camp’ appears endless. My fellow ‘products’ are snoozing and I battle to stay awake, wondering if we are tired or drugged. I note the bus moving off the main road somewhere around Odogunyan, into thick bushes, almost a forest.We stop at a compound guarded by armed military men. As my fellow ‘products’ wake up, it is clear that they think we are still in Lagos.
New names and indenture
The next day starts with strip tease and lap dance training after breakfast, and thereafter poise and etiquette. Five other girls have arrived in the meantime. They are all graduates, leaving for Italy fully aware of what they are to do there. “If I get caught by local police, I will just tell them I was trafficked against my will,” one of them, Gbemi, says light-heartedly. “I don’t think oyinbo (white man) will believe Mama C if she says that I am there voluntarily.”
I receive a crash course in pedicure and manicure because I am so bad at pickpocketing. “You’ll be utilizing these skills at my wellness centre in Italy,” Mama C says, after scolding me for being lazy and testing her patience. “You will be working on only men whilst wearing sexy dresses. That will enable you to attract customers.”
“Mama C makes us sign a statement that we have willingly embarked on the journey”
Later, Mama C makes everyone sign a statement that they have willingly embarked on the journey and that they are to return certain sums as professional fees to her. No girl is given a copy of what she has signed and the amount varies inexplicably: while Isoken signs up for a debt of US $100,000, I will have only US $70,000 to pay. We are told that we will receive new passports with false names and even false nationalities in Cotonou. I am to become a Kenyan, Mairo South African, and so on. “I have boys in the Benin immigration office,” boasts Mama C.
Horror
A just-arrived traditional ‘doctor’ then puts us through rites that involve checking the horoscope of each girl as well as collecting some of her blood, fingernails, hair and pubic hair. He then picks out four of us as ‘problematic’ and says we will bring ‘bad luck’. Either he is really clairvoyant or he is a professional security operative who has run background checks on us, because he is right about at least three of the four. Two of us have had unfortunate earlier experiences involving deportation back to Nigeria and are possibly known to the authorities in Europe. I am number three.
What happens next is like a horror movie.
As we ‘unlucky’ four, are standing aside, Mama C talks with five well-dressed, classy, influential-looking visitors.The issue is a ‘package’ that Mama C has promised them and that she hasn’t been able to deliver. The woman points at me, but Mama C refuses and for unexplained reasons Adesuwa and Omai are selected. We all witness, screaming and trying to hide in corners, as they are grabbed and beheaded with machetes in front of us. The ‘package’ that the visitors have come for turns out to be a collection of body parts. The mafia that holds us is into organ traffic, too.
“We all witness Adesuwa and Omai being beheaded in front of us. The ‘package’ that the visitors have come for turns out to be a collection of body parts. ”
With all of us trembling and crying, I and the other three ‘unsuitable’ ones are herded into a separate room. Mama C comes later to take me to yet another room for questioning. Angry beyond measure, she whips me all night, telling me to yield information on the ‘forces’ protecting me. “You are going nowhere,” she keeps shouting. “I have invested too much in you!”
Clearing the ‘spirit’
The next morning Mama C eats her breakfast while I starve: I have last eaten the previous morning. When she finished, and whilst the ‘approved products’ leave for Cotonou, Benin, to commence their journey to Italy, Mama C takes us four ‘unsuitables’ to visit three new, different ‘doctors’: one in the Agege neighbourhood of Lagos, the second in rural Sango Ota village and the third in remote Abeokuta in Ogun State. She clearly believes in traditional ‘medicine’ and is desperate to find a treatment for the ‘demons’ we are said to carry.
The first two ‘doctors’ agree with the first one that I am bad news, but the third, after roughly cutting off most of my hair, declares me free from the ‘spirit’. The ‘evil spirits’ in the other three girls, meanwhile, have been ‘beaten out of them’ with dry whips. Back at the camp the first ‘doctor’ rages at Mama C for approving me, insisting that the ‘doctor’ who ‘freed me from the spirit’ is a fraud. “This girl will bring about your downfall! You will end up in jail!” I am all the more convinced that he possesses not supernatural powers, but certain information.The syndicates are well-connected and someone may have told him that I am not who I say I am. The ‘doctor’ keeps repeating that ‘forces’ are protecting me. But Mama C insists that she is not to lose her investment.
“The ‘doctor’ keeps repeating that ‘forces’ are protecting me. But Mama C insists that she is not to lose her investment.”
Meanwhile, new ‘products’ have arrived to pass through the rites that night. The whole camp is again in the grip of fear as chilling screams indicate that some of the new arrivals – two girls and a young man, I learned later – are also murdered.
“Oghogho, I wonder what actually brought you here. I never expected a girl like you to venture into this,” says one of Mama C’s errand boys, as he enters the room I had again been locked in later that night with a plate of food.He seems well disposed to me. “You found and returned my Blackberry that I lost during one of the pickpocketing training sessions,” he explains. I had not realised the escort whose phone I found had been this boy; then, he had worn a cap pressed deep into his eyes. “Other girls would just have kept my phone,” he says. “You don’t belong here.I keep wondering what level of poverty has made you endanger yourself. You don’t deserve this.”
The plate of food is all I need to get my strength back. We are to travel the following morning.
Escape
As we are about to leave, I lose my phone to the army officer. Searching all of us, he has taken Isoken’s phone already and she has pointed at me to divert attention from herself, saying I had a phone too. He takes mine at gunpoint.I can only thank the heavens that it is dead. I had been upset because it didn’t charge the previous night, but the fact that it won’t switch on is my second lucky break: it has a lot of pictures and conversations I have recorded in the camp. The disadvantage of losing my phone is that I can’t contact our colleague Reece, who is to help me once I get to Cotonou. I also can’t communicate with my editors back in Nigeria.
All along the road leading up to the border, police and customs officers wave and greet Madam Eno and our head of operations, Mr James. Nigerian Immigrations and Customs officers also greet us warmly at the border post itself, whilst enquiring if there is anything in it for them today.
“Welcome, Madam! How have sales been?”
Eno: “Not much.”
“But your batch was allowed entry yesterday, so why claim you haven’t been making sales? “
Eno: “We are not the owner of yesterday’s batch of girls. We own these ones in this bus.”
“Haaa!You want to play a smart one? Not to worry, your boss will sort all this out with us.”
The officers then wave the minibus through without any form of documentation.
The original plan was for me to go with the transport as far as Cotonou, the capital of our neighbouring country Benin. But I don’t want to stretch it any longer. The border is usually very crowded and I plan to escape as soon as we are there. It works. Just after the Seme border post, in front of a crowded, muddy market, I run. Merging with the crowd, I take my top off – I have another top under it – and cover my head with a scarf. The army officer is following me, looking for me. I dive into a store and lose him.
“Just after the Seme border post, in front of a crowded, muddy market, I ran.”
I travel the twenty kilometres from the border motor park to Cotonou by minibus taxi.Colleague Reece – alerted by a phone call the driver helps make to her to ensure that she will be there to pay him – will wait for me there. Upon arrival, I see a woman I recognise from her Facebook photo. “Reece?”“Tobore!” She cries and holds out her arms to catch me. “I am safe.”
Culled from Premium Times
Friday, January 24, 2014
MUST READ: The tale of an undercover reporter,in the den of human traffickers
This is quite a long read and an interesting one too,its the experience of an investigative reporter in the den of human traffickers.
Read below.....
Six out of 10 people who are trafficked to the West are Nigerians. Premium Times investigative reporter, Tobore Ovuorie, was motivated by years of research into the plight of trafficked women in the country, as well as the loss of a friend, to go undercover in a multi-billion dollar criminal enterprise. She emerged, bruised and beaten but thankfully alive, after witnessing orgies, big money deals in jute bags, police-supervised pickpocketing, beatings and even murder. This is her story. Continue...
We are 10 at the boot camp:
Adesuwa, Isoken, Lizzy, Mairo, Adamu, Ini, Tessy, Omai, Sammy and I. We have travelled together in a 14 seater bus from Lagos, hoping to arrive in Italy soon. We are eager to get to the ‘next level’ as it is called: from local prostitution to hopefully earning big bucks abroad. But first, it turns out, we have to pass through ‘training’ in this massive secluded compound guarded by armed military men, far from any other human being, somewhere in the thick bushes outside Ikorodu, a suburb of Lagos. Our trafficker, Mama Caro, welcomes us in flawless English, telling us how lucky and special we are; then she ushers us to a room where we are to sleep on the floor without any dinner.
I had not expected this. We had exercised, through a risk analysis role play, in advance: my paper PREMIUM TIMES, and our partners on the project, a colleague–Reece Adanwenon– in the Republic of Benin, and ZAM Chronicle in Amsterdam. We had put in place contacts, emergency phone numbers, safe houses, emergency money accounts. We had made transport and extraction arrangements. Ms. Reece is waiting in Cotonou, 100 kilometers to the West in neighbouring Benin, to pick me up from an agreed meeting place. But we hadn’t foreseen that there was to be another stop first: this isolated, guarded camp in the middle of nowhere. It dawns on me that we could be in big trouble.
“Our trafficker, Mama Caro, welcomes us in flawless English, telling us how lucky and special we are; then she ushers us to a room where we are to sleep on the floor without any dinner.”
Risk analysis and preparation
It had all started in Abuja, with me deciding to expose the human traffic syndicates that caused the death, through Aids, of my friend Ifuoke and countless others. As a health journalist, I had interviewed several returnees from sex traffic who had not only been encouraged to have unprotected sex, but who had also been denied health care or even to return home when they fell ill. They were now suffering from Aids, anal gonorrhea, bowel ruptures and incontinence. In the case of some of them, who hailed from conservative religious backgrounds, doctors in their home towns had denied them any treatment because they had been ‘bad’. I was also aware that powerful politicians and government and army officials, who outwardly professed religious purity, were servicing and protecting the traffickers.I wanted to break through the hypocrisy and official propaganda and show how, every day, criminals in Nigeria are helped by the powerful to enslave my fellow young citizens. My PREMIUM TIMES colleagues had done undercover work before; they had warned me of the risks, but had agreed to support me in my decision to go through with it. With my colleagues, and with the help of ZAM Chronicle, we then started in earnest.
“I wanted to break through the hypocrisy and official propaganda and show how, every day, criminals in Nigeria are helped by the powerful to enslave my fellow young citizens.”
Oghogho
I had advertised my wish to get to know a ‘madam’ whilst walking the streets of Lagos, dressed as a call girl.It worked. I had met Oghogho Irhiogbe, an accomplished, well-groomed graduate in her thirties (though she claimed to be only 26), and a wealthy human trafficker of note. My lucky hunch to tell her that my name was ‘Oghogho’ too had immediately warmed her to me. She told me I looked like her kid sister and from then on treated me like a favourite.
“Don’t worry about crossing borders and getting caught,” she had told me. “Immigration, customs, police, army and even foreign embassies are part of our network. You only run into trouble with them if you fail to be obedient to us.” I already knew this to be true. Two of the trafficked sex workers I had interviewed had tried to find help at Nigerian embassies in Madrid and Moscow, only to realise that the very embassy officials from whom they had sought deportation had immediately informed their pimps. They had eventually made it back to Nigeria only after they had developed visible diseases, such as AIDS-related Kaposi sarcoma.
“Precious had already made enough money to start building her own house in Enugu, halfway between Abuja and Port Harcourt.”
Oghogho Irhiogbe had been luckier. She owned four luxury cars, two houses in Edo State, and was busy completing the building of a third house near the Warri airport in Delta State. Others I had met through my initial ‘call girl’ exploits were clearly on their way to riches, too. Priye was set to go back to the Netherlands, where she worked before, to become a ‘madam’. Ivie and Precious were quite happy to go back to Italy. Precious had already made enough money to start building her own house in Enugu, halfway between Abuja and Port Harcourt.
Forza Speciale
It is on the windy Sunday evening of October 6 that I make my first contact with the outer ring of this mafia. A big party with VIPs is on the cards; the kind of party an ordinary girl, or rather ‘product’, as we are called by traffickers, is not usually invited to. But I am currently on a fortune ride: Oghogho’s favourite. Additionally, I have been classified as ‘Special Forces’, or ‘Forza Speciale’ as my new contacts say, borrowing the Italian term. It’s a rule of thumb, I understand, that a syndicate subjects girls to classification through a check on their nude bodies and I, too – in the company of some male and female judges, headed by a trafficker called Auntie Precious – had been checked. I had received the highest classification. “This means that you don’t have to walk the streets. You can be an escort for important clients,” Auntie Precious had told me in a soft, congratulatory tone. The ones of ‘lesser’ classification were referred to as Forza Strada, the Road Force.
The party is held at a gorgeous residence along the Aguiyi Ironsi Way in Maitama, Abuja. This is designed to be a festive end to a great day, in which we went to church, hung out at the choicest places in town, shopped and got dressed in a suite at the Abuja power citadel, meeting point of the elite, the Transcorp Hilton.
“The ‘dividend’ is not from prostitution and trafficking alone, but Oghogho won’t tell me what the other source is.”
It is more like an orgy. Male and female strippers entertain guests, drugs abound, alcohol is everywhere in unrestrained flow; there is romping in the open. Also, big bags of money are changing hands. Barely an hour after we arrive, Oghogho receives a big jute bag, which is delivered from another room. As we walk out and she puts the money in the boot of her car, she smiles at me. “Don’t worry; very soon, you’ll get to receive dividend.” This ‘dividend’ is not from prostitution and trafficking alone, but Oghogho won’t tell me what the other source is. “When you come on board fully, you’ll know.”
A retired army colonel from the Abacha era sees to it that we are not disturbed. “He has top connections and sees to a smooth flow of the business,” Oghogho tells me.
Pickpocketing training
How ‘top’ these connections are, I find when I am taken with a group of girls to be trained in pickpocketing. We, a group of ten ‘products’, are placed at various crowded bus stops in the suburb of Ikorodu, where we must ‘practice’ under the guard of two army officers, a policeman as well as a number of male ‘trainers’. The policeman doesn’t even bother to cover his name badge: Babatunde Ajala, it reads.
The general operation is supervised by Mama Caro, popularly called Mama C, a 50-something, light-complexioned, busty woman. Her deputy is a Madam Eno. Mama C has told us that pickpocketing is a crucial skill for the Forza Speciale: we will need to be able to pick valuables from clients. She adds that the pickings are added to the girls earnings, so we will be able to pay off our debts– commonly called ‘meeting our targets’ – in a short time.
When I perform dismally, Eno rains abuses on me. We are all to stay at the bus stop until I pick an item from somebody. It is already 11 PM.Tired, hungry and angry with me, Adesuwa, Isoken and the policeman guarding my group pick some extra pockets and hand me the items, so that I can show them to Eno.
“ We practice pickpocketing under the guard of two army officers and a policeman”
The next day, the bumpy journey to the ‘training camp’ appears endless. My fellow ‘products’ are snoozing and I battle to stay awake, wondering if we are tired or drugged. I note the bus moving off the main road somewhere around Odogunyan, into thick bushes, almost a forest.We stop at a compound guarded by armed military men. As my fellow ‘products’ wake up, it is clear that they think we are still in Lagos.
New names and indenture
The next day starts with strip tease and lap dance training after breakfast, and thereafter poise and etiquette. Five other girls have arrived in the meantime. They are all graduates, leaving for Italy fully aware of what they are to do there. “If I get caught by local police, I will just tell them I was trafficked against my will,” one of them, Gbemi, says light-heartedly. “I don’t think oyinbo (white man) will believe Mama C if she says that I am there voluntarily.”
I receive a crash course in pedicure and manicure because I am so bad at pickpocketing. “You’ll be utilizing these skills at my wellness centre in Italy,” Mama C says, after scolding me for being lazy and testing her patience. “You will be working on only men whilst wearing sexy dresses. That will enable you to attract customers.”
“Mama C makes us sign a statement that we have willingly embarked on the journey”
Later, Mama C makes everyone sign a statement that they have willingly embarked on the journey and that they are to return certain sums as professional fees to her. No girl is given a copy of what she has signed and the amount varies inexplicably: while Isoken signs up for a debt of US $100,000, I will have only US $70,000 to pay. We are told that we will receive new passports with false names and even false nationalities in Cotonou. I am to become a Kenyan, Mairo South African, and so on. “I have boys in the Benin immigration office,” boasts Mama C.
Horror
A just-arrived traditional ‘doctor’ then puts us through rites that involve checking the horoscope of each girl as well as collecting some of her blood, fingernails, hair and pubic hair. He then picks out four of us as ‘problematic’ and says we will bring ‘bad luck’. Either he is really clairvoyant or he is a professional security operative who has run background checks on us, because he is right about at least three of the four. Two of us have had unfortunate earlier experiences involving deportation back to Nigeria and are possibly known to the authorities in Europe. I am number three.
What happens next is like a horror movie.
As we ‘unlucky’ four, are standing aside, Mama C talks with five well-dressed, classy, influential-looking visitors.The issue is a ‘package’ that Mama C has promised them and that she hasn’t been able to deliver. The woman points at me, but Mama C refuses and for unexplained reasons Adesuwa and Omai are selected. We all witness, screaming and trying to hide in corners, as they are grabbed and beheaded with machetes in front of us. The ‘package’ that the visitors have come for turns out to be a collection of body parts. The mafia that holds us is into organ traffic, too.
“We all witness Adesuwa and Omai being beheaded in front of us. The ‘package’ that the visitors have come for turns out to be a collection of body parts. ”
With all of us trembling and crying, I and the other three ‘unsuitable’ ones are herded into a separate room. Mama C comes later to take me to yet another room for questioning. Angry beyond measure, she whips me all night, telling me to yield information on the ‘forces’ protecting me. “You are going nowhere,” she keeps shouting. “I have invested too much in you!”
Clearing the ‘spirit’
The next morning Mama C eats her breakfast while I starve: I have last eaten the previous morning. When she finished, and whilst the ‘approved products’ leave for Cotonou, Benin, to commence their journey to Italy, Mama C takes us four ‘unsuitables’ to visit three new, different ‘doctors’: one in the Agege neighbourhood of Lagos, the second in rural Sango Ota village and the third in remote Abeokuta in Ogun State. She clearly believes in traditional ‘medicine’ and is desperate to find a treatment for the ‘demons’ we are said to carry.
The first two ‘doctors’ agree with the first one that I am bad news, but the third, after roughly cutting off most of my hair, declares me free from the ‘spirit’. The ‘evil spirits’ in the other three girls, meanwhile, have been ‘beaten out of them’ with dry whips. Back at the camp the first ‘doctor’ rages at Mama C for approving me, insisting that the ‘doctor’ who ‘freed me from the spirit’ is a fraud. “This girl will bring about your downfall! You will end up in jail!” I am all the more convinced that he possesses not supernatural powers, but certain information.The syndicates are well-connected and someone may have told him that I am not who I say I am. The ‘doctor’ keeps repeating that ‘forces’ are protecting me. But Mama C insists that she is not to lose her investment.
“The ‘doctor’ keeps repeating that ‘forces’ are protecting me. But Mama C insists that she is not to lose her investment.”
Meanwhile, new ‘products’ have arrived to pass through the rites that night. The whole camp is again in the grip of fear as chilling screams indicate that some of the new arrivals – two girls and a young man, I learned later – are also murdered.
“Oghogho, I wonder what actually brought you here. I never expected a girl like you to venture into this,” says one of Mama C’s errand boys, as he enters the room I had again been locked in later that night with a plate of food.He seems well disposed to me. “You found and returned my Blackberry that I lost during one of the pickpocketing training sessions,” he explains. I had not realised the escort whose phone I found had been this boy; then, he had worn a cap pressed deep into his eyes. “Other girls would just have kept my phone,” he says. “You don’t belong here.I keep wondering what level of poverty has made you endanger yourself. You don’t deserve this.”
The plate of food is all I need to get my strength back. We are to travel the following morning.
Escape
As we are about to leave, I lose my phone to the army officer. Searching all of us, he has taken Isoken’s phone already and she has pointed at me to divert attention from herself, saying I had a phone too. He takes mine at gunpoint.I can only thank the heavens that it is dead. I had been upset because it didn’t charge the previous night, but the fact that it won’t switch on is my second lucky break: it has a lot of pictures and conversations I have recorded in the camp. The disadvantage of losing my phone is that I can’t contact our colleague Reece, who is to help me once I get to Cotonou. I also can’t communicate with my editors back in Nigeria.
All along the road leading up to the border, police and customs officers wave and greet Madam Eno and our head of operations, Mr James. Nigerian Immigrations and Customs officers also greet us warmly at the border post itself, whilst enquiring if there is anything in it for them today.
“Welcome, Madam! How have sales been?”
Eno: “Not much.”
“But your batch was allowed entry yesterday, so why claim you haven’t been making sales? “
Eno: “We are not the owner of yesterday’s batch of girls. We own these ones in this bus.”
“Haaa!You want to play a smart one? Not to worry, your boss will sort all this out with us.”
The officers then wave the minibus through without any form of documentation.
The original plan was for me to go with the transport as far as Cotonou, the capital of our neighbouring country Benin. But I don’t want to stretch it any longer. The border is usually very crowded and I plan to escape as soon as we are there. It works. Just after the Seme border post, in front of a crowded, muddy market, I run. Merging with the crowd, I take my top off – I have another top under it – and cover my head with a scarf. The army officer is following me, looking for me. I dive into a store and lose him.
“Just after the Seme border post, in front of a crowded, muddy market, I ran.”
I travel the twenty kilometres from the border motor park to Cotonou by minibus taxi.Colleague Reece – alerted by a phone call the driver helps make to her to ensure that she will be there to pay him – will wait for me there. Upon arrival, I see a woman I recognise from her Facebook photo. “Reece?”“Tobore!” She cries and holds out her arms to catch me. “I am safe.”
Culled from Premium Times
Read below.....
Six out of 10 people who are trafficked to the West are Nigerians. Premium Times investigative reporter, Tobore Ovuorie, was motivated by years of research into the plight of trafficked women in the country, as well as the loss of a friend, to go undercover in a multi-billion dollar criminal enterprise. She emerged, bruised and beaten but thankfully alive, after witnessing orgies, big money deals in jute bags, police-supervised pickpocketing, beatings and even murder. This is her story. Continue...
We are 10 at the boot camp:
Adesuwa, Isoken, Lizzy, Mairo, Adamu, Ini, Tessy, Omai, Sammy and I. We have travelled together in a 14 seater bus from Lagos, hoping to arrive in Italy soon. We are eager to get to the ‘next level’ as it is called: from local prostitution to hopefully earning big bucks abroad. But first, it turns out, we have to pass through ‘training’ in this massive secluded compound guarded by armed military men, far from any other human being, somewhere in the thick bushes outside Ikorodu, a suburb of Lagos. Our trafficker, Mama Caro, welcomes us in flawless English, telling us how lucky and special we are; then she ushers us to a room where we are to sleep on the floor without any dinner.
I had not expected this. We had exercised, through a risk analysis role play, in advance: my paper PREMIUM TIMES, and our partners on the project, a colleague–Reece Adanwenon– in the Republic of Benin, and ZAM Chronicle in Amsterdam. We had put in place contacts, emergency phone numbers, safe houses, emergency money accounts. We had made transport and extraction arrangements. Ms. Reece is waiting in Cotonou, 100 kilometers to the West in neighbouring Benin, to pick me up from an agreed meeting place. But we hadn’t foreseen that there was to be another stop first: this isolated, guarded camp in the middle of nowhere. It dawns on me that we could be in big trouble.
“Our trafficker, Mama Caro, welcomes us in flawless English, telling us how lucky and special we are; then she ushers us to a room where we are to sleep on the floor without any dinner.”
Risk analysis and preparation
It had all started in Abuja, with me deciding to expose the human traffic syndicates that caused the death, through Aids, of my friend Ifuoke and countless others. As a health journalist, I had interviewed several returnees from sex traffic who had not only been encouraged to have unprotected sex, but who had also been denied health care or even to return home when they fell ill. They were now suffering from Aids, anal gonorrhea, bowel ruptures and incontinence. In the case of some of them, who hailed from conservative religious backgrounds, doctors in their home towns had denied them any treatment because they had been ‘bad’. I was also aware that powerful politicians and government and army officials, who outwardly professed religious purity, were servicing and protecting the traffickers.I wanted to break through the hypocrisy and official propaganda and show how, every day, criminals in Nigeria are helped by the powerful to enslave my fellow young citizens. My PREMIUM TIMES colleagues had done undercover work before; they had warned me of the risks, but had agreed to support me in my decision to go through with it. With my colleagues, and with the help of ZAM Chronicle, we then started in earnest.
“I wanted to break through the hypocrisy and official propaganda and show how, every day, criminals in Nigeria are helped by the powerful to enslave my fellow young citizens.”
Oghogho
I had advertised my wish to get to know a ‘madam’ whilst walking the streets of Lagos, dressed as a call girl.It worked. I had met Oghogho Irhiogbe, an accomplished, well-groomed graduate in her thirties (though she claimed to be only 26), and a wealthy human trafficker of note. My lucky hunch to tell her that my name was ‘Oghogho’ too had immediately warmed her to me. She told me I looked like her kid sister and from then on treated me like a favourite.
“Don’t worry about crossing borders and getting caught,” she had told me. “Immigration, customs, police, army and even foreign embassies are part of our network. You only run into trouble with them if you fail to be obedient to us.” I already knew this to be true. Two of the trafficked sex workers I had interviewed had tried to find help at Nigerian embassies in Madrid and Moscow, only to realise that the very embassy officials from whom they had sought deportation had immediately informed their pimps. They had eventually made it back to Nigeria only after they had developed visible diseases, such as AIDS-related Kaposi sarcoma.
“Precious had already made enough money to start building her own house in Enugu, halfway between Abuja and Port Harcourt.”
Oghogho Irhiogbe had been luckier. She owned four luxury cars, two houses in Edo State, and was busy completing the building of a third house near the Warri airport in Delta State. Others I had met through my initial ‘call girl’ exploits were clearly on their way to riches, too. Priye was set to go back to the Netherlands, where she worked before, to become a ‘madam’. Ivie and Precious were quite happy to go back to Italy. Precious had already made enough money to start building her own house in Enugu, halfway between Abuja and Port Harcourt.
Forza Speciale
It is on the windy Sunday evening of October 6 that I make my first contact with the outer ring of this mafia. A big party with VIPs is on the cards; the kind of party an ordinary girl, or rather ‘product’, as we are called by traffickers, is not usually invited to. But I am currently on a fortune ride: Oghogho’s favourite. Additionally, I have been classified as ‘Special Forces’, or ‘Forza Speciale’ as my new contacts say, borrowing the Italian term. It’s a rule of thumb, I understand, that a syndicate subjects girls to classification through a check on their nude bodies and I, too – in the company of some male and female judges, headed by a trafficker called Auntie Precious – had been checked. I had received the highest classification. “This means that you don’t have to walk the streets. You can be an escort for important clients,” Auntie Precious had told me in a soft, congratulatory tone. The ones of ‘lesser’ classification were referred to as Forza Strada, the Road Force.
The party is held at a gorgeous residence along the Aguiyi Ironsi Way in Maitama, Abuja. This is designed to be a festive end to a great day, in which we went to church, hung out at the choicest places in town, shopped and got dressed in a suite at the Abuja power citadel, meeting point of the elite, the Transcorp Hilton.
“The ‘dividend’ is not from prostitution and trafficking alone, but Oghogho won’t tell me what the other source is.”
It is more like an orgy. Male and female strippers entertain guests, drugs abound, alcohol is everywhere in unrestrained flow; there is romping in the open. Also, big bags of money are changing hands. Barely an hour after we arrive, Oghogho receives a big jute bag, which is delivered from another room. As we walk out and she puts the money in the boot of her car, she smiles at me. “Don’t worry; very soon, you’ll get to receive dividend.” This ‘dividend’ is not from prostitution and trafficking alone, but Oghogho won’t tell me what the other source is. “When you come on board fully, you’ll know.”
A retired army colonel from the Abacha era sees to it that we are not disturbed. “He has top connections and sees to a smooth flow of the business,” Oghogho tells me.
Pickpocketing training
How ‘top’ these connections are, I find when I am taken with a group of girls to be trained in pickpocketing. We, a group of ten ‘products’, are placed at various crowded bus stops in the suburb of Ikorodu, where we must ‘practice’ under the guard of two army officers, a policeman as well as a number of male ‘trainers’. The policeman doesn’t even bother to cover his name badge: Babatunde Ajala, it reads.
The general operation is supervised by Mama Caro, popularly called Mama C, a 50-something, light-complexioned, busty woman. Her deputy is a Madam Eno. Mama C has told us that pickpocketing is a crucial skill for the Forza Speciale: we will need to be able to pick valuables from clients. She adds that the pickings are added to the girls earnings, so we will be able to pay off our debts– commonly called ‘meeting our targets’ – in a short time.
When I perform dismally, Eno rains abuses on me. We are all to stay at the bus stop until I pick an item from somebody. It is already 11 PM.Tired, hungry and angry with me, Adesuwa, Isoken and the policeman guarding my group pick some extra pockets and hand me the items, so that I can show them to Eno.
“ We practice pickpocketing under the guard of two army officers and a policeman”
The next day, the bumpy journey to the ‘training camp’ appears endless. My fellow ‘products’ are snoozing and I battle to stay awake, wondering if we are tired or drugged. I note the bus moving off the main road somewhere around Odogunyan, into thick bushes, almost a forest.We stop at a compound guarded by armed military men. As my fellow ‘products’ wake up, it is clear that they think we are still in Lagos.
New names and indenture
The next day starts with strip tease and lap dance training after breakfast, and thereafter poise and etiquette. Five other girls have arrived in the meantime. They are all graduates, leaving for Italy fully aware of what they are to do there. “If I get caught by local police, I will just tell them I was trafficked against my will,” one of them, Gbemi, says light-heartedly. “I don’t think oyinbo (white man) will believe Mama C if she says that I am there voluntarily.”
I receive a crash course in pedicure and manicure because I am so bad at pickpocketing. “You’ll be utilizing these skills at my wellness centre in Italy,” Mama C says, after scolding me for being lazy and testing her patience. “You will be working on only men whilst wearing sexy dresses. That will enable you to attract customers.”
“Mama C makes us sign a statement that we have willingly embarked on the journey”
Later, Mama C makes everyone sign a statement that they have willingly embarked on the journey and that they are to return certain sums as professional fees to her. No girl is given a copy of what she has signed and the amount varies inexplicably: while Isoken signs up for a debt of US $100,000, I will have only US $70,000 to pay. We are told that we will receive new passports with false names and even false nationalities in Cotonou. I am to become a Kenyan, Mairo South African, and so on. “I have boys in the Benin immigration office,” boasts Mama C.
Horror
A just-arrived traditional ‘doctor’ then puts us through rites that involve checking the horoscope of each girl as well as collecting some of her blood, fingernails, hair and pubic hair. He then picks out four of us as ‘problematic’ and says we will bring ‘bad luck’. Either he is really clairvoyant or he is a professional security operative who has run background checks on us, because he is right about at least three of the four. Two of us have had unfortunate earlier experiences involving deportation back to Nigeria and are possibly known to the authorities in Europe. I am number three.
What happens next is like a horror movie.
As we ‘unlucky’ four, are standing aside, Mama C talks with five well-dressed, classy, influential-looking visitors.The issue is a ‘package’ that Mama C has promised them and that she hasn’t been able to deliver. The woman points at me, but Mama C refuses and for unexplained reasons Adesuwa and Omai are selected. We all witness, screaming and trying to hide in corners, as they are grabbed and beheaded with machetes in front of us. The ‘package’ that the visitors have come for turns out to be a collection of body parts. The mafia that holds us is into organ traffic, too.
“We all witness Adesuwa and Omai being beheaded in front of us. The ‘package’ that the visitors have come for turns out to be a collection of body parts. ”
With all of us trembling and crying, I and the other three ‘unsuitable’ ones are herded into a separate room. Mama C comes later to take me to yet another room for questioning. Angry beyond measure, she whips me all night, telling me to yield information on the ‘forces’ protecting me. “You are going nowhere,” she keeps shouting. “I have invested too much in you!”
Clearing the ‘spirit’
The next morning Mama C eats her breakfast while I starve: I have last eaten the previous morning. When she finished, and whilst the ‘approved products’ leave for Cotonou, Benin, to commence their journey to Italy, Mama C takes us four ‘unsuitables’ to visit three new, different ‘doctors’: one in the Agege neighbourhood of Lagos, the second in rural Sango Ota village and the third in remote Abeokuta in Ogun State. She clearly believes in traditional ‘medicine’ and is desperate to find a treatment for the ‘demons’ we are said to carry.
The first two ‘doctors’ agree with the first one that I am bad news, but the third, after roughly cutting off most of my hair, declares me free from the ‘spirit’. The ‘evil spirits’ in the other three girls, meanwhile, have been ‘beaten out of them’ with dry whips. Back at the camp the first ‘doctor’ rages at Mama C for approving me, insisting that the ‘doctor’ who ‘freed me from the spirit’ is a fraud. “This girl will bring about your downfall! You will end up in jail!” I am all the more convinced that he possesses not supernatural powers, but certain information.The syndicates are well-connected and someone may have told him that I am not who I say I am. The ‘doctor’ keeps repeating that ‘forces’ are protecting me. But Mama C insists that she is not to lose her investment.
“The ‘doctor’ keeps repeating that ‘forces’ are protecting me. But Mama C insists that she is not to lose her investment.”
Meanwhile, new ‘products’ have arrived to pass through the rites that night. The whole camp is again in the grip of fear as chilling screams indicate that some of the new arrivals – two girls and a young man, I learned later – are also murdered.
“Oghogho, I wonder what actually brought you here. I never expected a girl like you to venture into this,” says one of Mama C’s errand boys, as he enters the room I had again been locked in later that night with a plate of food.He seems well disposed to me. “You found and returned my Blackberry that I lost during one of the pickpocketing training sessions,” he explains. I had not realised the escort whose phone I found had been this boy; then, he had worn a cap pressed deep into his eyes. “Other girls would just have kept my phone,” he says. “You don’t belong here.I keep wondering what level of poverty has made you endanger yourself. You don’t deserve this.”
The plate of food is all I need to get my strength back. We are to travel the following morning.
Escape
As we are about to leave, I lose my phone to the army officer. Searching all of us, he has taken Isoken’s phone already and she has pointed at me to divert attention from herself, saying I had a phone too. He takes mine at gunpoint.I can only thank the heavens that it is dead. I had been upset because it didn’t charge the previous night, but the fact that it won’t switch on is my second lucky break: it has a lot of pictures and conversations I have recorded in the camp. The disadvantage of losing my phone is that I can’t contact our colleague Reece, who is to help me once I get to Cotonou. I also can’t communicate with my editors back in Nigeria.
All along the road leading up to the border, police and customs officers wave and greet Madam Eno and our head of operations, Mr James. Nigerian Immigrations and Customs officers also greet us warmly at the border post itself, whilst enquiring if there is anything in it for them today.
“Welcome, Madam! How have sales been?”
Eno: “Not much.”
“But your batch was allowed entry yesterday, so why claim you haven’t been making sales? “
Eno: “We are not the owner of yesterday’s batch of girls. We own these ones in this bus.”
“Haaa!You want to play a smart one? Not to worry, your boss will sort all this out with us.”
The officers then wave the minibus through without any form of documentation.
The original plan was for me to go with the transport as far as Cotonou, the capital of our neighbouring country Benin. But I don’t want to stretch it any longer. The border is usually very crowded and I plan to escape as soon as we are there. It works. Just after the Seme border post, in front of a crowded, muddy market, I run. Merging with the crowd, I take my top off – I have another top under it – and cover my head with a scarf. The army officer is following me, looking for me. I dive into a store and lose him.
“Just after the Seme border post, in front of a crowded, muddy market, I ran.”
I travel the twenty kilometres from the border motor park to Cotonou by minibus taxi.Colleague Reece – alerted by a phone call the driver helps make to her to ensure that she will be there to pay him – will wait for me there. Upon arrival, I see a woman I recognise from her Facebook photo. “Reece?”“Tobore!” She cries and holds out her arms to catch me. “I am safe.”
Culled from Premium Times
Breaking news:SSS secures warrant to arrest El-Rufai
The State Security Service, SSS, has finally secured a warrant of arrest for the Deputy National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Nasir El-Rufai, and has now launched a manhunt for him, the spokesperson for the agency has said.
This is even as armed operatives of the Service again stormed a second house in Abuja believed to belong to the former minister in their desperate bid to arrest him.
They had earlier in the afternoon invaded his first house in the Maitama District of the nation’s capital, but could not find him as he had reportedly gone to pick his children from school. They were said to have tried to force their way in to arrest the former minister. Continue...
In the latest siege on another property, also in the Maitama District, the operatives were said to have beaten up some private guards for refusing them entry.
The spokesperson of the SSS, Marylyn Ogar, confirmed that the operatives visited Mr. El-Rufai’s second house to arrest him, but denied that anyone was beaten.
“I hate cheap blackmail,” Ms. Ogar told Premium Times on telephone. “We went to the first place, nobody was beaten up. How will we go to the second place and beat people up?”
She explained that the SSS got an arrest warrant demanded by Mr. El-Rufai, but could not find him to personally serve him the document.
“We extended a friendly invitation to him,” the SSS spokesperson said. “He was invited honourably to come and make some explanations about the comments attributed to him.
“He said he wanted an arrest warrant. We have now obtained that from a competent court and we are wondering why he is running.
“We want to serve it on him. Or is there any Nigerian that is above the law?
“The president has said his ambition is not worth any Nigerian’s blood. So why will anyone else be making provocative statements?”
The manhunt for the former minister followed his refusal to honour an invitation from the SSS on Thursday.
He cited his pending suit against the Service over his detention in a hotel in Awka during the Anambra State Governorship last November 16 as the reason for refusing to honour the invitation.
Mr. El-Rufai also insisted on seeing a warrant of arrest before he could go to the SSS office.
The invitation of the APC chief was in connection with his remarks at a conference in Abuja on Wednesday that there might be violence if the 2015 general elections were not credible.
Meanwhile, Mr. El-Rufai, in statement by his media advisor, Muyiwa Adekeye, on Friday, confirmed that armed SSS officials stormed his home in Abuja following his rejection of the attempt by the organization to compel him to report at their office without a valid warrant.
The statement said the former minister had on Thursday firmly told the Director General of SSS that he would be exercising his right not to go to the SSS offices except a warrant mandates him and offered to meet the SSS officials in his home or office.
“The armed invasion of his house is a clear indication that the SSS imagines itself as an agency immune from respecting fundamental rights, behaviour akin to a gathering of toughs before whom every citizen must quake,” the statement said.
“The SSS agents did not produce any warrant to back their invasion of his premises.
“The assault on El-Rufai’s house continues a sorry tradition of serial violation of his rights by the SSS which has arrested him at airports and hotels.
“The most recent was the action of the SSS in violating his right to freedom of movement in Awka during the Anambra elections. Without any just cause or formal charge, the Directorate of State Security Services (SSS) had unlawfully detained El Rufai, the Deputy National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the premises of Finotel Hotel, Akwa, Anambra State, from the 15th day of November, 2013 to the 16th day of November, 2013.”
The statement said during the period, Mr. El-Rufai was not only restricted to the hotel, he was denied access to his congregational prayer as a devout Muslim, and kept incommunicado without access to anyone and or the press.
It stated that in order to remedy the flagrant violation of his fundamental rights as enshrined in sections 35, 39, 40 and 41 of the Constitution, the former minister sued the SSS, seeking eight reliefs, including an injunction to restrain the SSS from further infringing on his fundamental rights.
Source: Premium Times
This is even as armed operatives of the Service again stormed a second house in Abuja believed to belong to the former minister in their desperate bid to arrest him.
They had earlier in the afternoon invaded his first house in the Maitama District of the nation’s capital, but could not find him as he had reportedly gone to pick his children from school. They were said to have tried to force their way in to arrest the former minister. Continue...
In the latest siege on another property, also in the Maitama District, the operatives were said to have beaten up some private guards for refusing them entry.
The spokesperson of the SSS, Marylyn Ogar, confirmed that the operatives visited Mr. El-Rufai’s second house to arrest him, but denied that anyone was beaten.
“I hate cheap blackmail,” Ms. Ogar told Premium Times on telephone. “We went to the first place, nobody was beaten up. How will we go to the second place and beat people up?”
She explained that the SSS got an arrest warrant demanded by Mr. El-Rufai, but could not find him to personally serve him the document.
“We extended a friendly invitation to him,” the SSS spokesperson said. “He was invited honourably to come and make some explanations about the comments attributed to him.
“He said he wanted an arrest warrant. We have now obtained that from a competent court and we are wondering why he is running.
“We want to serve it on him. Or is there any Nigerian that is above the law?
“The president has said his ambition is not worth any Nigerian’s blood. So why will anyone else be making provocative statements?”
The manhunt for the former minister followed his refusal to honour an invitation from the SSS on Thursday.
He cited his pending suit against the Service over his detention in a hotel in Awka during the Anambra State Governorship last November 16 as the reason for refusing to honour the invitation.
Mr. El-Rufai also insisted on seeing a warrant of arrest before he could go to the SSS office.
The invitation of the APC chief was in connection with his remarks at a conference in Abuja on Wednesday that there might be violence if the 2015 general elections were not credible.
Meanwhile, Mr. El-Rufai, in statement by his media advisor, Muyiwa Adekeye, on Friday, confirmed that armed SSS officials stormed his home in Abuja following his rejection of the attempt by the organization to compel him to report at their office without a valid warrant.
The statement said the former minister had on Thursday firmly told the Director General of SSS that he would be exercising his right not to go to the SSS offices except a warrant mandates him and offered to meet the SSS officials in his home or office.
“The armed invasion of his house is a clear indication that the SSS imagines itself as an agency immune from respecting fundamental rights, behaviour akin to a gathering of toughs before whom every citizen must quake,” the statement said.
“The SSS agents did not produce any warrant to back their invasion of his premises.
“The assault on El-Rufai’s house continues a sorry tradition of serial violation of his rights by the SSS which has arrested him at airports and hotels.
“The most recent was the action of the SSS in violating his right to freedom of movement in Awka during the Anambra elections. Without any just cause or formal charge, the Directorate of State Security Services (SSS) had unlawfully detained El Rufai, the Deputy National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the premises of Finotel Hotel, Akwa, Anambra State, from the 15th day of November, 2013 to the 16th day of November, 2013.”
The statement said during the period, Mr. El-Rufai was not only restricted to the hotel, he was denied access to his congregational prayer as a devout Muslim, and kept incommunicado without access to anyone and or the press.
It stated that in order to remedy the flagrant violation of his fundamental rights as enshrined in sections 35, 39, 40 and 41 of the Constitution, the former minister sued the SSS, seeking eight reliefs, including an injunction to restrain the SSS from further infringing on his fundamental rights.
Source: Premium Times
SSS summons El- Rufai
The State Security Service (SSS) has invited the Deputy National Secretary, All Progressives Congress, Malam Nasir El-rufai, to appear at its headquarters in Abuja on Friday over a statement attributed to him in the Thursday edition of ThisDay newspapers.
The former FCT Minister was said to have been invited to clarify the statement, where he was quoted to have said, "The next election is likely to be violent and many people are likely going to die. And the only alternative left to get power is to take it by force, this is the reality on the ground."
El-Rufai had warned that the 2015 general elections would be marred by riots and other forms of violence that might lead to loss of lives and property except the Independent National Electoral Commission and security agencies were ready to hold free and fair elections.
He accused INEC of incompetence, arguing that if it was not able to organise credible elections in Anambra and Delta states, it would be almost impossible to expect free and fair elections from the umpire in 2015.
He said he had no confidence in the Attahiru Jega-led electoral commission and security agencies to organise impartial elections in 2015, predicting a disastrous outcome if those involved did not get their acts together early enough.
The SSS, which is uncomfortable with El-Rufai's comments, was said to have summoned him and also issued a statement warning politicians against making provocative and disruptive comments.
The Media Adviser to the APC stalwart, Muyiwa Adekeye, who confirmed the invitation via a text message, however said his principal would not honour it.
The former FCT Minister was said to have been invited to clarify the statement, where he was quoted to have said, "The next election is likely to be violent and many people are likely going to die. And the only alternative left to get power is to take it by force, this is the reality on the ground."
El-Rufai had warned that the 2015 general elections would be marred by riots and other forms of violence that might lead to loss of lives and property except the Independent National Electoral Commission and security agencies were ready to hold free and fair elections.
He accused INEC of incompetence, arguing that if it was not able to organise credible elections in Anambra and Delta states, it would be almost impossible to expect free and fair elections from the umpire in 2015.
He said he had no confidence in the Attahiru Jega-led electoral commission and security agencies to organise impartial elections in 2015, predicting a disastrous outcome if those involved did not get their acts together early enough.
The SSS, which is uncomfortable with El-Rufai's comments, was said to have summoned him and also issued a statement warning politicians against making provocative and disruptive comments.
The Media Adviser to the APC stalwart, Muyiwa Adekeye, who confirmed the invitation via a text message, however said his principal would not honour it.
APC directs Members to block the passage of the Budget!!!
The All Progressives Congress, APC, is set for a showdown with the Federal Government as it has directed its members in the National Assembly to block all legislative proposals, including the 2014 Appropriation Bill, until constitutionalism is restored in Rivers State, in particular and the nation in general.
Other issues pending before the National Assembly that APC wants its lawmakers to stand against are the confirmation of the appointment of the Chief of Defence Staff, the service chiefs and the ministerial nominees.
This directive was contained in a statement issued by the APC at the end of its 8th National Executive Council meeting in Abuja on Thursday.
The APC has 172 members in the House of Representatives as against the 171 by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party. Labour Party has eight, the All Progressives Grand Alliance, five; the Accord Party, two; and Democratic Peoples Party, one
In the Senate, the APC has 33 members while the PDP has 72. Labour Party has three and APGA has one.
The Senate is expected to begin consideration of the 2014 budget on Tuesday. Its Committee on Defence,Army,Navy and Air Force, in conjunction with that of the House of Representatives, is also to start the screening of the ministerial nominees, the CDS and the service chiefs from next week.
The APC, in the statement read to journalists by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, noted that the level of impunity by federal authorities in Rivers State, could no longer be tolerated.
The party said it might no longer restrain its members nationwide, especially in Rivers State, from taking whatever step necessary to protect themselves and their property, if the Federal Government failed to stop the growing culture of lawlessness in the state.
It observed that the manner in which the rights of citizens of the state was being breached by persons and institutions saddled with the responsibility of protecting them, was no longer acceptable.
The statement reads in part, “Following the forgoing and in view of the joint resolutions of the National Assembly on Rivers State, and other constitutional breaches by the Presidency, the APC hereby directs its members in the National Assembly, to block all “legislative proposals, including the 2014 Budget and confirmation of all nominees to military and civilian positions to public offices until the rule of law and constitutionalism are restored in Rivers State in particular, and Nigeria in general.
“The NEC of the APC has now resolved that if these acts of impunity and lawlessness continued unabated and the Police persist in being as an enforcement arm of the PDP(Peoples Democratic Party) to the detriment of our members, it will have no alternative but to ask our teeming members all over the country, and especially in Rivers State, to take whatever steps that are necessary to protect their lives and property.”
The APC said any cursory observer of events in Rivers State since February, 2013, would be left in no doubt as to the culture of impunity being promoted and supported by the Presidency, and executed by the State Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mbu.
It accused Mbu of acting like a de facto military Governor of Rivers State and sole administrator of the PDP in the state.
The party listed the “forceful” dispersal of 13,201 newly recruited teachers in the Port Harcourt Stadium; blockading the entrance to the Government House in Port Harcourt and forcing the State governor(Rotimi Amaechi) to use another entrance, as instances of the brazen lawlessness and violations of the 1999 Constitution by agents of the Federal Government.
It also cited the blockade of a chartered aircraft by Amaechi from taking off without apology to him.
The APC also made reference to the disruption of a peaceful rally during which Senator Magnus Abe was allegedly shot with rubber bullets, the disruption of Save Rivers Group rallies, and the unlawful detention of persons perceived to be Amaechi supporters.
The party however commended Amaechi’s conduct, saying it represented its maturity and compliance with the rule of law.
“The NEC commended the courage, maturity and political sagacity of Amaechi of Rivers State even in the “face of serial unprovoked and unwarranted assaults on his person, his constitutional rights and those of the government and people of Rivers State,” the party said.
Culled from the Punch
Other issues pending before the National Assembly that APC wants its lawmakers to stand against are the confirmation of the appointment of the Chief of Defence Staff, the service chiefs and the ministerial nominees.
This directive was contained in a statement issued by the APC at the end of its 8th National Executive Council meeting in Abuja on Thursday.
The APC has 172 members in the House of Representatives as against the 171 by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party. Labour Party has eight, the All Progressives Grand Alliance, five; the Accord Party, two; and Democratic Peoples Party, one
In the Senate, the APC has 33 members while the PDP has 72. Labour Party has three and APGA has one.
The Senate is expected to begin consideration of the 2014 budget on Tuesday. Its Committee on Defence,Army,Navy and Air Force, in conjunction with that of the House of Representatives, is also to start the screening of the ministerial nominees, the CDS and the service chiefs from next week.
The APC, in the statement read to journalists by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, noted that the level of impunity by federal authorities in Rivers State, could no longer be tolerated.
The party said it might no longer restrain its members nationwide, especially in Rivers State, from taking whatever step necessary to protect themselves and their property, if the Federal Government failed to stop the growing culture of lawlessness in the state.
It observed that the manner in which the rights of citizens of the state was being breached by persons and institutions saddled with the responsibility of protecting them, was no longer acceptable.
The statement reads in part, “Following the forgoing and in view of the joint resolutions of the National Assembly on Rivers State, and other constitutional breaches by the Presidency, the APC hereby directs its members in the National Assembly, to block all “legislative proposals, including the 2014 Budget and confirmation of all nominees to military and civilian positions to public offices until the rule of law and constitutionalism are restored in Rivers State in particular, and Nigeria in general.
“The NEC of the APC has now resolved that if these acts of impunity and lawlessness continued unabated and the Police persist in being as an enforcement arm of the PDP(Peoples Democratic Party) to the detriment of our members, it will have no alternative but to ask our teeming members all over the country, and especially in Rivers State, to take whatever steps that are necessary to protect their lives and property.”
The APC said any cursory observer of events in Rivers State since February, 2013, would be left in no doubt as to the culture of impunity being promoted and supported by the Presidency, and executed by the State Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mbu.
It accused Mbu of acting like a de facto military Governor of Rivers State and sole administrator of the PDP in the state.
The party listed the “forceful” dispersal of 13,201 newly recruited teachers in the Port Harcourt Stadium; blockading the entrance to the Government House in Port Harcourt and forcing the State governor(Rotimi Amaechi) to use another entrance, as instances of the brazen lawlessness and violations of the 1999 Constitution by agents of the Federal Government.
It also cited the blockade of a chartered aircraft by Amaechi from taking off without apology to him.
The APC also made reference to the disruption of a peaceful rally during which Senator Magnus Abe was allegedly shot with rubber bullets, the disruption of Save Rivers Group rallies, and the unlawful detention of persons perceived to be Amaechi supporters.
The party however commended Amaechi’s conduct, saying it represented its maturity and compliance with the rule of law.
“The NEC commended the courage, maturity and political sagacity of Amaechi of Rivers State even in the “face of serial unprovoked and unwarranted assaults on his person, his constitutional rights and those of the government and people of Rivers State,” the party said.
Culled from the Punch
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Breaking news: Lagos State University (LASU) closed down indefinitely
Barely a month after ASUU strike was called off, the Lagos State University (LASU) has been closed indefinitely this was as a result of clash between the Students of the school and the authorities over the closure of the university portal hindering over a thousand students from writing their second semester exams which was to commence today January 23rd 2014.
According to reports, students gathered for over 9 hours in front of the senate building of the school on Wednesday. where the vice-chancellor, Professor John Obafunwa had a meeting concerning the re-opening of the portal but apparently the meeting didn't yield anything positive as the portal wasn't re-opened.
In June 2013, before the six months ASUU strike that ended in December 2013, the school authorities closed down the school's website, thereby preventing students from further registration.
A student speaking to the press said: "Now that we have resumed, it is still the same thing. Exam is starting today and some students haven't yet registered. The Vice Chancellor said he is not going to open the portal which means all the students affected will have extra year after paying 250,000 as school fees.
Most of the affected students paid N250,000 as school fees. Normally, the web portal is closed down a week before exam. The affected final year students will have to get an extra year. It won't cost the VC a dime to order the opening of the portal. That was the reason for yesterday's protest."
According to the students, only 708 were able to register before the portal was shut again leaving 1292 students to their fate.
This led to students leading a violent protest on campus this morning destroying property and disrupting exams scheduled for today.
Students who went into the exam hall this morning were injured and exam materials were destroyed.
Riot police arrived the scene to restore calm to the campus.
The students blocked the school main gate and made bonfires on the Lagos-Badagry expressway. They threw sticks and stones at the vice chancellor's convoy as he made to escape through an alternative route from the school. His car was allegedly destroyed in the protest.
The students are now calling for the vice chancellor's resignation and reduction in Tuition fees.
The university management has sent out a bulletin announcing the indefinite closure of the school indefinite and exams postponed till further notice.
Students have been asked to vacate the school premises until further notice.
According to reports, students gathered for over 9 hours in front of the senate building of the school on Wednesday. where the vice-chancellor, Professor John Obafunwa had a meeting concerning the re-opening of the portal but apparently the meeting didn't yield anything positive as the portal wasn't re-opened.
In June 2013, before the six months ASUU strike that ended in December 2013, the school authorities closed down the school's website, thereby preventing students from further registration.
A student speaking to the press said: "Now that we have resumed, it is still the same thing. Exam is starting today and some students haven't yet registered. The Vice Chancellor said he is not going to open the portal which means all the students affected will have extra year after paying 250,000 as school fees.
Most of the affected students paid N250,000 as school fees. Normally, the web portal is closed down a week before exam. The affected final year students will have to get an extra year. It won't cost the VC a dime to order the opening of the portal. That was the reason for yesterday's protest."
According to the students, only 708 were able to register before the portal was shut again leaving 1292 students to their fate.
This led to students leading a violent protest on campus this morning destroying property and disrupting exams scheduled for today.
Students who went into the exam hall this morning were injured and exam materials were destroyed.
Riot police arrived the scene to restore calm to the campus.
The students blocked the school main gate and made bonfires on the Lagos-Badagry expressway. They threw sticks and stones at the vice chancellor's convoy as he made to escape through an alternative route from the school. His car was allegedly destroyed in the protest.
The students are now calling for the vice chancellor's resignation and reduction in Tuition fees.
The university management has sent out a bulletin announcing the indefinite closure of the school indefinite and exams postponed till further notice.
Students have been asked to vacate the school premises until further notice.
Breaking news: Lagos State University (LASU) closed down indefinitely
Barely a month after ASUU strike was called off, the Lagos State University (LASU) has been closed indefinitely this was as a result of clash between the Students of the school and the authorities over the closure of the university portal hindering over a thousand students from writing their second semester exams which was to commence today January 23rd 2014.
According to reports, students gathered for over 9 hours in front of the senate building of the school on Wednesday. where the vice-chancellor, Professor John Obafunwa had a meeting concerning the re-opening of the portal but apparently the meeting didn't yield anything positive as the portal wasn't re-opened.
In June 2013, before the six months ASUU strike that ended in December 2013, the school authorities closed down the school's website, thereby preventing students from further registration.
A student speaking to the press said: "Now that we have resumed, it is still the same thing. Exam is starting today and some students haven't yet registered. The Vice Chancellor said he is not going to open the portal which means all the students affected will have extra year after paying 250,000 as school fees.
Most of the affected students paid N250,000 as school fees. Normally, the web portal is closed down a week before exam. The affected final year students will have to get an extra year. It won't cost the VC a dime to order the opening of the portal. That was the reason for yesterday's protest."
According to the students, only 708 were able to register before the portal was shut again leaving 1292 students to their fate.
This led to students leading a violent protest on campus this morning destroying property and disrupting exams scheduled for today.
Students who went into the exam hall this morning were injured and exam materials were destroyed.
Riot police arrived the scene to restore calm to the campus.
The students blocked the school main gate and made bonfires on the Lagos-Badagry expressway. They threw sticks and stones at the vice chancellor's convoy as he made to escape through an alternative route from the school. His car was allegedly destroyed in the protest.
The students are now calling for the vice chancellor's resignation and reduction in Tuition fees.
The university management has sent out a bulletin announcing the indefinite closure of the school indefinite and exams postponed till further notice.
Students have been asked to vacate the school premises until further notice.
According to reports, students gathered for over 9 hours in front of the senate building of the school on Wednesday. where the vice-chancellor, Professor John Obafunwa had a meeting concerning the re-opening of the portal but apparently the meeting didn't yield anything positive as the portal wasn't re-opened.
In June 2013, before the six months ASUU strike that ended in December 2013, the school authorities closed down the school's website, thereby preventing students from further registration.
A student speaking to the press said: "Now that we have resumed, it is still the same thing. Exam is starting today and some students haven't yet registered. The Vice Chancellor said he is not going to open the portal which means all the students affected will have extra year after paying 250,000 as school fees.
Most of the affected students paid N250,000 as school fees. Normally, the web portal is closed down a week before exam. The affected final year students will have to get an extra year. It won't cost the VC a dime to order the opening of the portal. That was the reason for yesterday's protest."
According to the students, only 708 were able to register before the portal was shut again leaving 1292 students to their fate.
This led to students leading a violent protest on campus this morning destroying property and disrupting exams scheduled for today.
Students who went into the exam hall this morning were injured and exam materials were destroyed.
Riot police arrived the scene to restore calm to the campus.
The students blocked the school main gate and made bonfires on the Lagos-Badagry expressway. They threw sticks and stones at the vice chancellor's convoy as he made to escape through an alternative route from the school. His car was allegedly destroyed in the protest.
The students are now calling for the vice chancellor's resignation and reduction in Tuition fees.
The university management has sent out a bulletin announcing the indefinite closure of the school indefinite and exams postponed till further notice.
Students have been asked to vacate the school premises until further notice.
Chief Edwin Clark declares that "whoever is Fighting President Jonathan,is Fighting God"
An elder statesman, a former federal Commissioner of Information and Ijaw national leader, Chief Edwin Clark, on Wednesday warned those fighting President Goodluck Jonathan to desist as they are not fighting him but God,who made it possible for him to become the President of Nigeria. Clark, said this in Abuja when the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) chapter of South-south community leaders, chiefs and elders honoured him as their grand patron,he also added that plots to divide the country will fail.
Insisting that the constitution permits President Jonathan to run in 2015, Clark said, "Any person fighting Jonathan is fighting God. Whatever God said you will be, that is what you will be and whoever wants to remove him (Jonathan), God will fight him. Under the grace of God, Jonathan became the acting President and later President. Whatever is yours, nobody can take it from you. #naso!!!
Insisting that the constitution permits President Jonathan to run in 2015, Clark said, "Any person fighting Jonathan is fighting God. Whatever God said you will be, that is what you will be and whoever wants to remove him (Jonathan), God will fight him. Under the grace of God, Jonathan became the acting President and later President. Whatever is yours, nobody can take it from you. #naso!!!
Chief Edwin Clark declares that "whoever is Fighting President Jonathan,is Fighting God"
An elder statesman, a former federal Commissioner of Information and Ijaw national leader, Chief Edwin Clark, on Wednesday warned those fighting President Goodluck Jonathan to desist as they are not fighting him but God,who made it possible for him to become the President of Nigeria. Clark, said this in Abuja when the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) chapter of South-south community leaders, chiefs and elders honoured him as their grand patron,he also added that plots to divide the country will fail.
Insisting that the constitution permits President Jonathan to run in 2015, Clark said, "Any person fighting Jonathan is fighting God. Whatever God said you will be, that is what you will be and whoever wants to remove him (Jonathan), God will fight him. Under the grace of God, Jonathan became the acting President and later President. Whatever is yours, nobody can take it from you. #naso!!!
Insisting that the constitution permits President Jonathan to run in 2015, Clark said, "Any person fighting Jonathan is fighting God. Whatever God said you will be, that is what you will be and whoever wants to remove him (Jonathan), God will fight him. Under the grace of God, Jonathan became the acting President and later President. Whatever is yours, nobody can take it from you. #naso!!!
Rivers Crisis: police releases Gokana LG chiarman as Khana LG boss still in detention
The Rivers state police command has confirmed the release of Mr. Demau Demau, Chairman of Gokhana Local Government Area of the state and HRM Eze Anele Oriebe, traditional ruler of Akpor Kingdom, Rivers state.
Demau was released, Tuesday night, while the traditional ruler who was arrested Tuesday night, was released on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Mr Gregory Nwidam, Chairman, Khana Local Government Area, who was arrested the same day with Nwidam, is still in police custody.
Source: NAN
Demau was released, Tuesday night, while the traditional ruler who was arrested Tuesday night, was released on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Mr Gregory Nwidam, Chairman, Khana Local Government Area, who was arrested the same day with Nwidam, is still in police custody.
Source: NAN
Prest promise to end the security problem in Delta State
AN aspirant in the 2015 governorship election in Delta State, Tony Prest, has promised to end the security situation in the state,if he becomes the Governor.
According to him, security of life and property should be given priority if Delta State is to record meaningful development and establish conducive atmosphere that will attract foreign investors to contribute to achieving sustainable socio-economic development. "Delta has the resources and human capital to address our current state of insecurity," he said.
Prest lamented that Delta, which was once a land of relative peace and security, "has over the years become a haven for diverse criminal activities, including armed robbery, student-cult related violence, assassination, militancy, political thuggery, kidnapping, ethnic and communal violence."
In a statement issued in Lagos yesterday, Prest said: "We will partner with Government Security Agencies (GSA) on better modern communication and surveillance equipment, and improved Logistics. Community Policing will be given priority.
"We are determined to put an end to these and other types of criminal activities. To this end, my administration shall enhance consultations and collaboration with registered trained local vigilantes, neighbourhood watch and community-based security groups."
The businessman said the Nigeria Police and foreign police units would be consulted for advice and assistance in crime fighting and deterrence, adding that state police units in the United States and Britain are already being considered for this purpose.
Prest, who is Chairman of Prest Group, said agreements would be reached with the Inspector General of Police to allow Delta State government retrain and equip all policemen deployed to state. "For example, Delta State will provide Wimax Radios for security organs, including vigilantes, and special anti-kidnapping units will be set up with SWAT training.
"We shall implement a state-wide CCTV monitoring of hotspots, use of solar-powered street and community lighting, including full implementation of a Rogues Gallery Project whereby a database of all crimes and criminal activities will be captured and digitised. We are determined to put an end to these and other types of criminal activities," Prest said.
According to him, security of life and property should be given priority if Delta State is to record meaningful development and establish conducive atmosphere that will attract foreign investors to contribute to achieving sustainable socio-economic development. "Delta has the resources and human capital to address our current state of insecurity," he said.
Prest lamented that Delta, which was once a land of relative peace and security, "has over the years become a haven for diverse criminal activities, including armed robbery, student-cult related violence, assassination, militancy, political thuggery, kidnapping, ethnic and communal violence."
In a statement issued in Lagos yesterday, Prest said: "We will partner with Government Security Agencies (GSA) on better modern communication and surveillance equipment, and improved Logistics. Community Policing will be given priority.
"We are determined to put an end to these and other types of criminal activities. To this end, my administration shall enhance consultations and collaboration with registered trained local vigilantes, neighbourhood watch and community-based security groups."
The businessman said the Nigeria Police and foreign police units would be consulted for advice and assistance in crime fighting and deterrence, adding that state police units in the United States and Britain are already being considered for this purpose.
Prest, who is Chairman of Prest Group, said agreements would be reached with the Inspector General of Police to allow Delta State government retrain and equip all policemen deployed to state. "For example, Delta State will provide Wimax Radios for security organs, including vigilantes, and special anti-kidnapping units will be set up with SWAT training.
"We shall implement a state-wide CCTV monitoring of hotspots, use of solar-powered street and community lighting, including full implementation of a Rogues Gallery Project whereby a database of all crimes and criminal activities will be captured and digitised. We are determined to put an end to these and other types of criminal activities," Prest said.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Breaking news: 24 PDP lawmakers defects to APC
The speaker of the Kwara state House assembly;Rasak Atunwa, at a plenary some moments ago announced that Twenty of 24 lawmakers in the Assembly who were elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party have defected to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).
The defection is not unexpected. The state governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed as well as his political godfather, Bukola Saraki, had earlier defected to the APC.
Meanwhile, 27 of the 30 members of the Sokoto State House of Assembly had defected to the APC from the PDP on January 8.
Source: Premium Times
The defection is not unexpected. The state governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed as well as his political godfather, Bukola Saraki, had earlier defected to the APC.
Meanwhile, 27 of the 30 members of the Sokoto State House of Assembly had defected to the APC from the PDP on January 8.
Source: Premium Times
MASSOB issues ultimatum to soldiers
The Movement for Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), has issued seven days ultimatum to soldiers in Onitsha, Anambra State to release members of the organisation they allegedly killed during a raid in its security office along Onitsha, Owerri.
Briefing newsmen, in Onitsha, Emmanuel Omenka, personal assistant to MASSOB leader, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, said the call became imperative so that the corpses could be released for a befitting burial and to avoid vengeance by the spirits of the dead.
MASSOB also demanded the release of those arrested before, during and after the raid.
According to him, those under arrest include Friday Igiri, Kenneth Nwabueze and one Ezeigwe .
"We demand the immediate release of the corpses for burial. We are surprised that the soldiers always involve themselves in MASSOB affairs. For four consecutive days, they raided our security office at Mgbuka junction and made arrest of three of our members. They should tell us our offence that caused it.
"They should stop disturbing our boys. Boko Haram has continued to kill innocent people in the North and soldiers could not withstand the attack but rather pretend to pose strong forces against evil in the South when they are not."
He warned that MASSOB would not hesitate to take any action deemed necessary to prove the seriousness of the demand at the expiration of the ultimatum.
Briefing newsmen, in Onitsha, Emmanuel Omenka, personal assistant to MASSOB leader, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, said the call became imperative so that the corpses could be released for a befitting burial and to avoid vengeance by the spirits of the dead.
MASSOB also demanded the release of those arrested before, during and after the raid.
According to him, those under arrest include Friday Igiri, Kenneth Nwabueze and one Ezeigwe .
"We demand the immediate release of the corpses for burial. We are surprised that the soldiers always involve themselves in MASSOB affairs. For four consecutive days, they raided our security office at Mgbuka junction and made arrest of three of our members. They should tell us our offence that caused it.
"They should stop disturbing our boys. Boko Haram has continued to kill innocent people in the North and soldiers could not withstand the attack but rather pretend to pose strong forces against evil in the South when they are not."
He warned that MASSOB would not hesitate to take any action deemed necessary to prove the seriousness of the demand at the expiration of the ultimatum.
Anti-Amaechi Protesters Threatens To Shut Down Port Harcourt Airport if Mbu is removed As Rivers CP
THOUSANDS of youths from the four local government areas of Rivers State that make up Ikwerre Ethnic Nationality, on Tuesday, threatened to shut down the Port Harcourt International Airport, if the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Joseph Mbu, was redeployed to another state.
The protesters, who carried placards and sang songs of praises for the CP, had blocked a portion of the busy Port Harcourt-Aba-Enugu road for an hour.
The youths also warned that they would not hesitate to shut down other entry points to the state from Ikwerre, oil wells and flow stations within the four local government areas.
While travellers going to Aba, Enugu and Umuahia were stranded for an hour as a result of the heavy traffic build-up, others coming into Port Harcourt could not get to their destination as a result of the huge crowd on the expressway.
Some of the protesters’ placards read, ‘With Mbu, no more political assassination’; ‘Ikwerre disowns Amaechi’; ‘IG, they will kill us all if you transfer Mbu’; ‘No CP Mbu, no International Airport’; ‘Mbu is needed in Rivers more than ever’ and ‘Jonathan government is the best’.
The four local government areas that make up the Ikwerre Ethnic Nationality are Port Harcourt, Emohua, Obio/Akpor and Ikwerre.
Addressing the crowd during the demonstration, the spokesman for Ikwerre Peoples Assembly, Mr. Chima Boms, said the state police commissioner had performed well and deserved commendation.
Boms said, “Consequently, the Ikwerre Peoples Assembly will resist any attempt to redeploy Mbu as the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, as such move will take us back to the dark era.
“Any redeployment of CP Mbu at this time will be asking for the total shutdown of all entry points to Rivers State, including the (Port Harcourt) International Airport, which the Ikwerre people play host to, and all oil wells, flow stations and other facilities in our land.”
The protesters, who carried placards and sang songs of praises for the CP, had blocked a portion of the busy Port Harcourt-Aba-Enugu road for an hour.
The youths also warned that they would not hesitate to shut down other entry points to the state from Ikwerre, oil wells and flow stations within the four local government areas.
While travellers going to Aba, Enugu and Umuahia were stranded for an hour as a result of the heavy traffic build-up, others coming into Port Harcourt could not get to their destination as a result of the huge crowd on the expressway.
Some of the protesters’ placards read, ‘With Mbu, no more political assassination’; ‘Ikwerre disowns Amaechi’; ‘IG, they will kill us all if you transfer Mbu’; ‘No CP Mbu, no International Airport’; ‘Mbu is needed in Rivers more than ever’ and ‘Jonathan government is the best’.
The four local government areas that make up the Ikwerre Ethnic Nationality are Port Harcourt, Emohua, Obio/Akpor and Ikwerre.
Addressing the crowd during the demonstration, the spokesman for Ikwerre Peoples Assembly, Mr. Chima Boms, said the state police commissioner had performed well and deserved commendation.
Boms said, “Consequently, the Ikwerre Peoples Assembly will resist any attempt to redeploy Mbu as the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, as such move will take us back to the dark era.
“Any redeployment of CP Mbu at this time will be asking for the total shutdown of all entry points to Rivers State, including the (Port Harcourt) International Airport, which the Ikwerre people play host to, and all oil wells, flow stations and other facilities in our land.”
Breaking News: Bamanga Tukur becomes Chairman Board of the Nigerian Railway Corporation
The former chairman of the People's Democratic Party, PDP, Bamanga Tukur has been appointed Chairman Board of the Nigerian Railway Corporation by President Jonathan.
This was contained in a statement released by Special Assistant (Media) to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sam Nwaobasi.
Alhaji Bamaga last week resigned as chairman of PDP. He was replaced with the former Governor of Bauchi State, Adamu Muazu.
All I would say is,the Nigerian Youths are still waiting for their "tomorrow"#thinkingaloud
This was contained in a statement released by Special Assistant (Media) to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sam Nwaobasi.
Alhaji Bamaga last week resigned as chairman of PDP. He was replaced with the former Governor of Bauchi State, Adamu Muazu.
All I would say is,the Nigerian Youths are still waiting for their "tomorrow"#thinkingaloud
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Anambra State Governor; Peter Obi pledges support for President Goodluck Jonathan's Administration
Govonor of Anambra state, Peter Obi during his visit to the Villa with the State's business community delegation, declared the support of the people of Anambra state for Jonathan.
In his word, “You have excess credit in your political account that these people (members of the delegation) are ready to pay you when you need it.”
He had earlier told the President that the enterprising and preserving nature of Anambra people made them well-positioned to assist Jonathan to achieve his administration’s transformation agenda.
The governor who led the delegation to express their support for the President and bring to his attention some of the industrialists’ collective, which if addressed, would help in anchoring the growth and development of industry in the state.
Some of the needs, according to him, are the completion of the 330/132/33KV power substation at Nnewi; provision of uninterrupted power supply in the Onitsha Harbour Industrial Area and Ozubulu Industrial Hub; completion of the Nnamdi Azikwe Teaching Hospital, Nnewi; and the inclusion of Anambra State in the rail master plan.
Obi also made a case for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of federal roads within the state such as the Oba-Nnewi-Okigwe Section 1, Nnewi-Okija, start of Onitsha Second Niger Bridge, completion of the Onitsha-Enugu dual carriageway and completion of the Umueze-Anam Kogi road.
The governor also thanked the President for the inclusion of Nnewi in the National Automotive Industry Policy of the Federal Government.
This, he said, would attract many ancillary industries, especially with the coming on stream of the Ajaokuta Steel Plant, adding that the local content in vehicle manufacturing in no time would increase from 40 per cent to 60 per cent.
Breaking news:Lagos State bans smoking in public places
If you are living in Lagos and its environs,read this....
The Lagos State House of Assembly has passed a bill for a law to ban smoking in public places.
The bill, which was passed yesterday, has been sent to the executive arm of the government for the governor’s ascent.
The bill, which scaled through the third reading, prohibits anybody smoking in all public places such as libraries, museum, public toilets, schools, hospital, day care centres, public transportation and restaurants among others.
The bill stipulated penalties for violating the restriction, ranging from N10,000 to N50,000 fines or imprisonment.
A statement by the Assembly on Monday said the bill consisted of 16 sections, which explained the regulation of smoking in public places.
It read in parts, “In section 12, posting of signs with ‘No Smoking’ symbol, depicts a pictorial representation of a burning cigarette enclosed in a circle with a bar across. It shall be prominently posted and properly maintained where smoking is regulated by the law, by the owner, occupier or person in charge of a ‘No – Smoking Area.’
“Section 4: Duty of owner/occupier, says that it shall be the duty of those who own or occupies public places to ensure that approved ‘No – Smoking’ signs are displayed conspicuously at each entrance and in prominent locations throughout the premises.
“Penalties for smoking in a ‘No-Smoking area’ will be a N10,000 fine or imprisonment for a term not less than one month and not exceeding three months or both.
“Any person who repeatedly violates the provisions shall on conviction be liable to a fine of N50, 000 or six month imprisonment or both.”
The bill also stated that the penalty for non-compliance by owner/occupier of a ‘No – smoking area’ would be N100, 000 or six month imprisonment, or other non-custodial punishment that the judge might deem fit.
“It shall be an offence to obstruct a duly authorised officer from carrying out his duties under the provision of this law,” the statement said.
It added that the law further stated that any person who smoked in the presence of a child had committed an offence and would be liable, on conviction, to a fine of N15,000 or imprisonment for a month or both.
Source: Punch
E no go easy for some people sha#smh
The Lagos State House of Assembly has passed a bill for a law to ban smoking in public places.
The bill, which was passed yesterday, has been sent to the executive arm of the government for the governor’s ascent.
The bill, which scaled through the third reading, prohibits anybody smoking in all public places such as libraries, museum, public toilets, schools, hospital, day care centres, public transportation and restaurants among others.
The bill stipulated penalties for violating the restriction, ranging from N10,000 to N50,000 fines or imprisonment.
A statement by the Assembly on Monday said the bill consisted of 16 sections, which explained the regulation of smoking in public places.
It read in parts, “In section 12, posting of signs with ‘No Smoking’ symbol, depicts a pictorial representation of a burning cigarette enclosed in a circle with a bar across. It shall be prominently posted and properly maintained where smoking is regulated by the law, by the owner, occupier or person in charge of a ‘No – Smoking Area.’
“Section 4: Duty of owner/occupier, says that it shall be the duty of those who own or occupies public places to ensure that approved ‘No – Smoking’ signs are displayed conspicuously at each entrance and in prominent locations throughout the premises.
“Penalties for smoking in a ‘No-Smoking area’ will be a N10,000 fine or imprisonment for a term not less than one month and not exceeding three months or both.
“Any person who repeatedly violates the provisions shall on conviction be liable to a fine of N50, 000 or six month imprisonment or both.”
The bill also stated that the penalty for non-compliance by owner/occupier of a ‘No – smoking area’ would be N100, 000 or six month imprisonment, or other non-custodial punishment that the judge might deem fit.
“It shall be an offence to obstruct a duly authorised officer from carrying out his duties under the provision of this law,” the statement said.
It added that the law further stated that any person who smoked in the presence of a child had committed an offence and would be liable, on conviction, to a fine of N15,000 or imprisonment for a month or both.
Source: Punch
E no go easy for some people sha#smh
Breaking News: "Nigeria would soon be exporting cars " - President Jonathan
President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday expressed the belief that with the measures put in place by his administration, especially the new National Automotive Industry Policy; the country would soon be exporting cars to other countries,he (can I hear someone scream Halleluya)
Jonathan made this known at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, while responding to an address by the delegation of Anambra State business community which was led by the state Governor, Peter Obi.
He said that,Nigeria is a country with huge population of youths. If jobs are not created, there will be crisis. The housing, agriculture and power sectors are also receiving attention.
“In the next few years, Nigeria will begin to export cars to other countries. We are encouraging the government to support local manufacturers.”
Jonathan promised that the industrialists’ basic needs such as roads, power and port facilities would be addressed appropriately.
He said if Nigeria must become great as expected by all, the Federal Government must industrialise the nation.
To this end, he said his administration would continue to encourage industrialists in the country.
“If any country will be great, we must industrialise. If Nigeria must be a great country, we must industrialise. To this end, we will continue to encourage industrialists in Anambra,” the President added.
He said his government was also devoting attention and resources to the power sector because of its critical role in industrialisation.
Vice-President Namadi Sambo told the delegation that Jonathan had recently approved $3.7bn to improve power transmission across the country.
What can say....but Amen to all of that,Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!!!!
Jonathan made this known at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, while responding to an address by the delegation of Anambra State business community which was led by the state Governor, Peter Obi.
He said that,Nigeria is a country with huge population of youths. If jobs are not created, there will be crisis. The housing, agriculture and power sectors are also receiving attention.
“In the next few years, Nigeria will begin to export cars to other countries. We are encouraging the government to support local manufacturers.”
Jonathan promised that the industrialists’ basic needs such as roads, power and port facilities would be addressed appropriately.
He said if Nigeria must become great as expected by all, the Federal Government must industrialise the nation.
To this end, he said his administration would continue to encourage industrialists in the country.
“If any country will be great, we must industrialise. If Nigeria must be a great country, we must industrialise. To this end, we will continue to encourage industrialists in Anambra,” the President added.
He said his government was also devoting attention and resources to the power sector because of its critical role in industrialisation.
Vice-President Namadi Sambo told the delegation that Jonathan had recently approved $3.7bn to improve power transmission across the country.
What can say....but Amen to all of that,Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!!!!
Boko Haram: New Chief Of Defence Staff vows to end Insurgency Before April
The new Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh, has given Nigerians the assurance that the military will bring the Boko Haram insurgency in the country to an end before April this year.
He said that it was mandatory for the military to eliminate the Boko Haram insurgency in the next three months in order to prevent a constitutional problem in the polity.
Badeh who sounded optimistic that the war against terrorism was already won,gave the assurance while taking over as the new Chief of Defence Staff from his predecessor, Admiral Ola Ibrahim at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja yesterday.
He said that it was not the plan of the current Defence chiefs to go to the Senate to lobby for anything.
The CDS said that it was possible to bring the insurgency in the North East to an end if the military approached its security responsibilities cohesively.
He assured the new Chief of Army Staff, Maj.-Gen. Kenneth Minimah, who is expected to coordinate the fight against the insurgents, that it was possible for his work to be concluded in a short time.
He also gave the assurance that the other service chiefs, the Chief of Naval Staff, Air-Vice Marshal Adesola Amosun and Rear Admiral Usman Jubrin would give the requisite support to the Army chief in the prosecution of the campaign to end terrorism in the country.
In his word; “The security situation in the North East must be brought to a complete stop before April 2014.
“We must bring it to a stop before April so that we will not have constitutional problems on our hands.
“We don’t want to go back to the Senate to start begging and lobbying. If we do our work cohesively, I can tell you Gen. Minimah, you will finish your work in no time.
“I can assure you (Minimah) that the Chief of Naval Staff and the Chief of Air Staff will give you all the support you need.
“I can say confidently that this war is already won.”
He added that the Nigerian Armed forces had recorded significant progress against the insurgents in the North East.
He added that the Armed Forces also recorded some successes outside the country in places like Mali and Guinea Bissau.
Badeh, who described his appointment as an opportunity to serve the country, promised to give his best to the task of coordinating the three services of the Armed Forces.
He said that it would be difficult to get the interest of stakeholders to the crisis if the operation lacked proper coordination.
He stressed that whenever, there was crisis, it involved the entire country and not just the Armed Forces.
He said that it was mandatory for the military to eliminate the Boko Haram insurgency in the next three months in order to prevent a constitutional problem in the polity.
Badeh who sounded optimistic that the war against terrorism was already won,gave the assurance while taking over as the new Chief of Defence Staff from his predecessor, Admiral Ola Ibrahim at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja yesterday.
He said that it was not the plan of the current Defence chiefs to go to the Senate to lobby for anything.
The CDS said that it was possible to bring the insurgency in the North East to an end if the military approached its security responsibilities cohesively.
He assured the new Chief of Army Staff, Maj.-Gen. Kenneth Minimah, who is expected to coordinate the fight against the insurgents, that it was possible for his work to be concluded in a short time.
He also gave the assurance that the other service chiefs, the Chief of Naval Staff, Air-Vice Marshal Adesola Amosun and Rear Admiral Usman Jubrin would give the requisite support to the Army chief in the prosecution of the campaign to end terrorism in the country.
In his word; “The security situation in the North East must be brought to a complete stop before April 2014.
“We must bring it to a stop before April so that we will not have constitutional problems on our hands.
“We don’t want to go back to the Senate to start begging and lobbying. If we do our work cohesively, I can tell you Gen. Minimah, you will finish your work in no time.
“I can assure you (Minimah) that the Chief of Naval Staff and the Chief of Air Staff will give you all the support you need.
“I can say confidently that this war is already won.”
He added that the Nigerian Armed forces had recorded significant progress against the insurgents in the North East.
He added that the Armed Forces also recorded some successes outside the country in places like Mali and Guinea Bissau.
Badeh, who described his appointment as an opportunity to serve the country, promised to give his best to the task of coordinating the three services of the Armed Forces.
He said that it would be difficult to get the interest of stakeholders to the crisis if the operation lacked proper coordination.
He stressed that whenever, there was crisis, it involved the entire country and not just the Armed Forces.
Lettergate: Nigerian Army writes an open letter to celebrities
In the season of open letters,the Nigerian Army has decided to write one or should I say,they don't want to be left out in the lettergate series. Well this one is to the genaral public,particularly the Nigerian Celebrities.
Read the letter below:
This is to inform the general public and most especially Nigerian celebrities to abstain from the use and abuse of the Nigerian Military camouflage.
Several investigations were carried out and we noticed the camouflage is mostly been used by Nigerian celebrities in music videos, photo-shoots and concerts.
In this same videos and photo sessions, Nigerian celebrities like “Jesse Jags” smoke marijuana while putting on the Nigerian Military camouflage.
This is a shameful act and it will NOT be tolerated henceforth.
Other Celebrities have also been noticed putting on the camouflage at will. They include Iyanya, Wizkid, Davido, Tekno Miles, Chidinma etc.
The military camouflage is not meant for the entertainment industry, It is strictly meant for military personnels.
Henceforth, any civilian found GUILTY of putting on the camouflage irrespective of their social status will be dealt with severely.
OUR ACTIONS WILL NOT BE QUESTIONED
Read the letter below:
This is to inform the general public and most especially Nigerian celebrities to abstain from the use and abuse of the Nigerian Military camouflage.
Several investigations were carried out and we noticed the camouflage is mostly been used by Nigerian celebrities in music videos, photo-shoots and concerts.
In this same videos and photo sessions, Nigerian celebrities like “Jesse Jags” smoke marijuana while putting on the Nigerian Military camouflage.
This is a shameful act and it will NOT be tolerated henceforth.
Other Celebrities have also been noticed putting on the camouflage at will. They include Iyanya, Wizkid, Davido, Tekno Miles, Chidinma etc.
The military camouflage is not meant for the entertainment industry, It is strictly meant for military personnels.
Henceforth, any civilian found GUILTY of putting on the camouflage irrespective of their social status will be dealt with severely.
OUR ACTIONS WILL NOT BE QUESTIONED
Monday, January 20, 2014
Adamu Mu'Azu likely to be the new PDP National Chairman
Barring any last-minute change in plan Adamu Mu’azu might be the new national chairman of the Peoples Democratic party(PDP), sources at the presidency said.
The usually reliable sources told PREMIUM TIMES early this morning that Mr. Mu’azu emerged the consensus candidate for the job after a rash of meetings involving President Goodluck Jonathan, PDP governors and other influential chieftains of the party, including Vice President Namadi Sambo and President of the Senate, David Mark.
Mr. Mu’azu, who will now replace Bamanga Tukur, who was forced out of office Thursday, emerged ahead of Minister of Transport, Idris Umar, a former Minister of Commerce, Idris Waziri, former Acting National Secretary of the party, Musa Babayo, a former party spokesperson, Ahmed Rufai Alkali and a former minister of the Federal Capital Territory,Ibrahim Bunu, who were all widely reported to have jostled for the position.
Mr. Mu’azu, 55, was among candidates who contested for the PDP chairmanship position in March 2012.
In a zonal congress election conducted by the North-East PDP in Bauchi to choose a consensus candidate for the zone at the time, Mr. Mu’azu got only one vote to place last.
However, A party source familiar with the manoeuvrings and negotiations that threw up Mr. Mu’azu said President Jonathan actually preferred Minister Umar for the position but was outfoxed by governors from the North-East geopolitical zone who all rooted for Mr. Mu’azu.
When Mr. Jonathan tried to insist on Mr. Umar, insiders say, the North-East governors reminded him of how they deferred to him two years ago when he insisted on Mr. Tukur for the position in spite of massive opposition from the zone.
Our sources said Bayelsa state governor, Seriake Dickson, Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom, and President of the Senate, Mr. Mark, joined the North-East governors in pushing that position.
They reportedly warned the president against foisting an unpopular candidate on party members to avoid a repeat of the Tukur situation where the party was perpetually in crisis throughout his reign.
Well,we would know who becomes the National Chairman before the end of the day#watching
Would give you the update as the news unfolds
The usually reliable sources told PREMIUM TIMES early this morning that Mr. Mu’azu emerged the consensus candidate for the job after a rash of meetings involving President Goodluck Jonathan, PDP governors and other influential chieftains of the party, including Vice President Namadi Sambo and President of the Senate, David Mark.
Mr. Mu’azu, who will now replace Bamanga Tukur, who was forced out of office Thursday, emerged ahead of Minister of Transport, Idris Umar, a former Minister of Commerce, Idris Waziri, former Acting National Secretary of the party, Musa Babayo, a former party spokesperson, Ahmed Rufai Alkali and a former minister of the Federal Capital Territory,Ibrahim Bunu, who were all widely reported to have jostled for the position.
Mr. Mu’azu, 55, was among candidates who contested for the PDP chairmanship position in March 2012.
In a zonal congress election conducted by the North-East PDP in Bauchi to choose a consensus candidate for the zone at the time, Mr. Mu’azu got only one vote to place last.
However, A party source familiar with the manoeuvrings and negotiations that threw up Mr. Mu’azu said President Jonathan actually preferred Minister Umar for the position but was outfoxed by governors from the North-East geopolitical zone who all rooted for Mr. Mu’azu.
When Mr. Jonathan tried to insist on Mr. Umar, insiders say, the North-East governors reminded him of how they deferred to him two years ago when he insisted on Mr. Tukur for the position in spite of massive opposition from the zone.
Our sources said Bayelsa state governor, Seriake Dickson, Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom, and President of the Senate, Mr. Mark, joined the North-East governors in pushing that position.
They reportedly warned the president against foisting an unpopular candidate on party members to avoid a repeat of the Tukur situation where the party was perpetually in crisis throughout his reign.
Well,we would know who becomes the National Chairman before the end of the day#watching
Would give you the update as the news unfolds
Rivers state crisis: Thugs disrupts Save Rivers Movement rally
A week after the state police command prevented SRM from staging a rally in the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state,an incident that led to the shooting of Senator Magnus Abe, who was flown to London for medical treatment last Sunday night.
At least two young men were shot yesterday morning during an eight-hour shooting-spree that prevented an All Progressives Congress, APC, and Save Rivers Movement, SRM, rally billed from holding at Bori, the headquarters of Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Some residents of Bori told journalists that they were woken up in the middle of night by sporadic gun shots, which lasted from 2a.m. till about 5.30a.m. on Sunday.
The shooting continued until 9am even after policemen had arrived at the area, sources at the scene said.
The two wounded youths, who were not identified, were said to be in critical hospital in Port Harcourt.
According to resident of Bori, the gunshots initially came from the direction of the express road and continued up till 3a.m. and then subsided.
They said the shooting resumed at about 5.30a.m., this time more intense and appeared to come from the direction of All Saints Cathedral, proposed venue of the rally.
“From about 5.30a.m. the bursts of gunfire were horrific. Loud gunshots rang out from both ends of the town; from the right side and from the left side. Residents of the town were woken up by sounds of gunshots,” a resident who did not want his name mentioned said.
Another resident alleged that the exchange of gunshots came from political thugs loyal to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as well as those of the APC, which wanted the rally to hold.
He said: “We have heard gunshots in Bori before at the height of political crisis, but the one of today was very scary.
“You can tell so many guns were being fired sporadically. We heard some of the young men, who were shooting moving up and down Hospital Road, shouting: ‘APC cannot hold a rally in Khana. No way. Rivers State is PDP. We will not allow APC to come home and cause trouble for us.’”
Another resident explained that the heaviest shooting took place between 9a.m. and 9.30a.m. and was targeted at some top Rivers State government officials, who came to the area at the time.
The officials include the Deputy Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Leyee Kwanee; Secretary to the State Government, Feyii George and the Chief of Staff to Government House, Tony Okocha.
According to the residents, the policemen present at the event did not intervene or prevent the political thugs from continuing with their shooting spree.
The government officials rushed into their cars when the shooting was intense and drove through a pathway from where they connected the East West Road and escaped, eyewitnesses said.
About 11.30a.m., the entrance to the premises of the All Saints Cathedral, the venue of the rally, was barricaded with 10 light police trucks, with armed regular and mobile policemen strategically stationed around the area.
Not less than 30 armed policemen were on guard. Policemen mounted check points on both sides leading to the Anglican Church. There were five check points before entering Bori from Yeghe town, a neighbouring community.
Speaking to journalists, Kwanee, condemned the inaction of the police during the shooting that prevented the rally from holding.
He said: “It is condemnable that the police did nothing while the shooting lasted. The political thugs shot sporadically for hours without police intervention. And no arrest has been made. We question the action of the policemen that are on ground in Bori.
“We had to run for our lives when the shooting became very intense. The Secretary to the State Government and the Chief of Staff to the governor were also there with me at the venue of the rally that has been violently disrupted by sponsored political thugs.”
The Rivers State Chapter of the PDP however blamed the violence that greeted the rally on the door steps of the organisers.
The party said it was raising an alarm over what it described as the increasing spate of violence in the state.
It said the violence was masterminded by the Rotimi Amaechi administration, the Save Rivers Movement and the APC, adding that the bodies were planning to continue to create a state of insecurity to justify their call for the removal of the Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mbu.
The party, in a statement issued yesterday on the Bori incident, confirmed the shooting of two Ogoni youths, whose conditions it claimed are “very critical and unstable in a private clinic in Port Harcourt.”
The statement also said that the shooting “followed a local resistance to the APC, Rotimi Amaechi and the Save Rivers Movement by the Ogoni people in Bori.”
Meanwhile, the APC yesterday warned that some people who are sympathetic to President Goodluck Jonathan may be pushing Nigeria to the precipice, following yesterday’s disruption of the rally in Rivers State.
The party also said it strongly condemned the defense of the Rivers State Police Commissioner, Mbu, by the Police Service Commission, PSC, saying the commission, by its unimaginative action, was only pandering to the Presidency.
In a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the men, who invaded the venue of the rally by the Save Rivers Movement (SRM) in Bori, where the executives of the pan Rivers group in Khana Local Government Area of the state were to be inaugurated, attacked those in attendance and beat up some of the journalists who were invited to cover the event, damaging their vehicles and equipment in the process.
APC alleged that while the attack was going on, the police – who had been formally informed of the rally and were expected to provide protection rather watched while the attack went on.
The party said the police carried its partisanship to another level when, the previous day (Saturday), it sent over 300 men to protect a pro- PDP rally that was used solely to launch a blistering verbal assault on the APC and Gov. Chibuike Amaechi.
Meanwhile, the Rivers State Police Command has said they did not receive any request from the Save Rivers Movement to provide security at the disrupted rally venue in Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State.
This disclosure was made by the spokesman for the police in the state, Ahmed Kidaya, said the police only got informed that the rally was disrupted by hoodlums who attacked those present at the rally ground.
"We are not aware that the group was having a rally in Khana. From the report I had from my people there, there are no casualties so far for now
At least two young men were shot yesterday morning during an eight-hour shooting-spree that prevented an All Progressives Congress, APC, and Save Rivers Movement, SRM, rally billed from holding at Bori, the headquarters of Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Some residents of Bori told journalists that they were woken up in the middle of night by sporadic gun shots, which lasted from 2a.m. till about 5.30a.m. on Sunday.
The shooting continued until 9am even after policemen had arrived at the area, sources at the scene said.
The two wounded youths, who were not identified, were said to be in critical hospital in Port Harcourt.
According to resident of Bori, the gunshots initially came from the direction of the express road and continued up till 3a.m. and then subsided.
They said the shooting resumed at about 5.30a.m., this time more intense and appeared to come from the direction of All Saints Cathedral, proposed venue of the rally.
“From about 5.30a.m. the bursts of gunfire were horrific. Loud gunshots rang out from both ends of the town; from the right side and from the left side. Residents of the town were woken up by sounds of gunshots,” a resident who did not want his name mentioned said.
Another resident alleged that the exchange of gunshots came from political thugs loyal to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as well as those of the APC, which wanted the rally to hold.
He said: “We have heard gunshots in Bori before at the height of political crisis, but the one of today was very scary.
“You can tell so many guns were being fired sporadically. We heard some of the young men, who were shooting moving up and down Hospital Road, shouting: ‘APC cannot hold a rally in Khana. No way. Rivers State is PDP. We will not allow APC to come home and cause trouble for us.’”
Another resident explained that the heaviest shooting took place between 9a.m. and 9.30a.m. and was targeted at some top Rivers State government officials, who came to the area at the time.
The officials include the Deputy Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Leyee Kwanee; Secretary to the State Government, Feyii George and the Chief of Staff to Government House, Tony Okocha.
According to the residents, the policemen present at the event did not intervene or prevent the political thugs from continuing with their shooting spree.
The government officials rushed into their cars when the shooting was intense and drove through a pathway from where they connected the East West Road and escaped, eyewitnesses said.
About 11.30a.m., the entrance to the premises of the All Saints Cathedral, the venue of the rally, was barricaded with 10 light police trucks, with armed regular and mobile policemen strategically stationed around the area.
Not less than 30 armed policemen were on guard. Policemen mounted check points on both sides leading to the Anglican Church. There were five check points before entering Bori from Yeghe town, a neighbouring community.
Speaking to journalists, Kwanee, condemned the inaction of the police during the shooting that prevented the rally from holding.
He said: “It is condemnable that the police did nothing while the shooting lasted. The political thugs shot sporadically for hours without police intervention. And no arrest has been made. We question the action of the policemen that are on ground in Bori.
“We had to run for our lives when the shooting became very intense. The Secretary to the State Government and the Chief of Staff to the governor were also there with me at the venue of the rally that has been violently disrupted by sponsored political thugs.”
The Rivers State Chapter of the PDP however blamed the violence that greeted the rally on the door steps of the organisers.
The party said it was raising an alarm over what it described as the increasing spate of violence in the state.
It said the violence was masterminded by the Rotimi Amaechi administration, the Save Rivers Movement and the APC, adding that the bodies were planning to continue to create a state of insecurity to justify their call for the removal of the Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mbu.
The party, in a statement issued yesterday on the Bori incident, confirmed the shooting of two Ogoni youths, whose conditions it claimed are “very critical and unstable in a private clinic in Port Harcourt.”
The statement also said that the shooting “followed a local resistance to the APC, Rotimi Amaechi and the Save Rivers Movement by the Ogoni people in Bori.”
Meanwhile, the APC yesterday warned that some people who are sympathetic to President Goodluck Jonathan may be pushing Nigeria to the precipice, following yesterday’s disruption of the rally in Rivers State.
The party also said it strongly condemned the defense of the Rivers State Police Commissioner, Mbu, by the Police Service Commission, PSC, saying the commission, by its unimaginative action, was only pandering to the Presidency.
In a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the men, who invaded the venue of the rally by the Save Rivers Movement (SRM) in Bori, where the executives of the pan Rivers group in Khana Local Government Area of the state were to be inaugurated, attacked those in attendance and beat up some of the journalists who were invited to cover the event, damaging their vehicles and equipment in the process.
APC alleged that while the attack was going on, the police – who had been formally informed of the rally and were expected to provide protection rather watched while the attack went on.
The party said the police carried its partisanship to another level when, the previous day (Saturday), it sent over 300 men to protect a pro- PDP rally that was used solely to launch a blistering verbal assault on the APC and Gov. Chibuike Amaechi.
Meanwhile, the Rivers State Police Command has said they did not receive any request from the Save Rivers Movement to provide security at the disrupted rally venue in Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State.
This disclosure was made by the spokesman for the police in the state, Ahmed Kidaya, said the police only got informed that the rally was disrupted by hoodlums who attacked those present at the rally ground.
"We are not aware that the group was having a rally in Khana. From the report I had from my people there, there are no casualties so far for now
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