Man, 40, murders relative over wedding reception plan

BY PETER OKUTU

ABAKALIKI— ONE Emmanuel Nwegwe, 40, from Umunaga village in Uburu community of Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, weekend, was reported to have murdered his relative, Innocent Onu, 54, over an unresolved misunderstanding.
Vanguard gathered that the suspect had been engaged in a feud with the deceased and other relatives on Saturday over the suspects’ decision to offload sand inside the compound where the family members had planned to use for a wedding reception of another family member on Sunday.
It was further learnt that the family members of the suspect had scolded him over his decision to build a house for his father on a part of the compound different from the one allocated to him for that purpose.
After much persuasion, he agreed to move the sand to another part of the compound and to abide by their decision on where to site the building.
A source said: “On Sunday (yesterday) morning, when the family members gathered to put finishing touches to their plan for the wedding, he came out with a pump action gun and ordered the elders to lie down.
“He opened fire on the head of one the family members, Innocent, who died on the spot.” a source said
It was gathered that the suspect immediately after committing the crime, ran into a nearby forest for refuge as he was yet to be apprehended by men of the Ohaozara Police Division who had already mounted a manhunt for him.
Confirming the murder incident, the Ebonyi State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Sylvester Igbo, stated that: “the a case of murder of Innocent Onu, 54, by one Emmanuel Nwegwe, 40, at Umunaga village, Uburu in Ohaozara LGA has been reported to the command” adding that the deceased and suspect were family members.
Meantime, the Coordinator of Ohaozara West Development Centre, Bar Roy Umahi Eze, who hailed from the community, described the incident as regrettable, adding that the body of the deceased had since been deposited at the Presbyterian joint Hospital Uburu.
He warned family members in the community to leave as one and avoid incidence capable of disrupting the peace and unity existing in the area.

Appeal Court slams Lagos Govt over handling of Al-Mustapha, Shofolahan case

By BARTHOLOMEW MADUKWE
The Court of Appeal in Lagos Monday expressed dissatisfaction over the Lagos State government’s approach towards the hearing of the appeal filed by the convicted Chief Security Officer (CSO) to late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha and the Protocol Officer in the campaign organisation of late M.K.O Abiola, Alhaji Lateef Shofolahan, against the judgment of the trial court which sentenced them to death.
It will be recalled that Justice Mojisola Dada of a Lagos High Court, had passed the death sentence by hanging on both of them after they were arraigned on a four-count charge of conspiracy and murder of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola in 1996, along Lagos/Ibadan Expressway.
But the appeal could not be heard today as counsel to the Lagos State Government, Mr Femi Adamson, informed the appellate court, presided over by Justice Chuma Nweze, that the respondent has an application for extension of time dated April 29, 2013, to enable the state government file its respondent’s brief of argument.
“Gentlemen, as you can see, it is not the fault of the court not to hear the appeal. Counsels should desist from the attitude of filing applications late in any case” Justice Nweze emphasised.
Adamson, who is Assistant Chief State Counsel in the Lagos State Ministry of Justice, apologized for late filing of the said application and explained that it was due to hitches beyond his control.

FG orders sack of 20,000 PHCN workers

By Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief & Victor Ahiuma-Young

ABUJA — THE Federal Government has ordered the retrenchment of no fewer than 20,000 workers of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, ahead of takeover by successful bidders of its assets.
Vanguard gathered that the Bureau for Public Enterprises, BPE, issued the directive to the Chief Executive Officers, CEOs, of the 18 successor companies to PHCN at a meeting in Abuja, to compile names and drastically reduce the 50,000 strong workforce before the new investors take over.
It was gathered that new investors demanded that the workforce must be pruned before government hands off.

Labour  kicks, warns on danger of action

Though it is not clear how government arrived at this figure, however, General Secretary of the National Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE, Mr Joe Ajaero, who confirmed the directive to massively retrench the workforce, said it was obvious that the Federal Government had decided to truncate the implementation of the collective agreement reached with the unions.
Already, organised labour had kicked against the move and warned the government against such action even as the agreement reached between both parties in December 2012 on the terminal benefits of workers had not been implemented.
The Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies, SSAEAC, has petitioned the government through the Federal Ministry of Labour to explain the dangers and futility of government action when agreement on terminal benefits had not been honoured by the government.
On its part, NUEE directed members to shut down the power sector once any worker is issued a retrenchment letter without a financial back up in line with the December 2012 agreement.
NUEE, in a statement by Ajaero, rejected the planned retrenchment of workers without honouring the agreement the government entered into with the workers.
According to NUEE, “our attention has been drawn to the nocturnal meetings being held between Federal Government and all chief executive officers in Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, where a mandate to retrench workers in the power sector has been handed down to them. It is rather unfortunate and provoking that the Federal Government is hatching such obnoxious idea when agreement reached with the unions on payment of severance benefit is yet to be implemented.
“Information reaching us reveals that arrangement to close down PHCN’s Corporate Headquarters has been put in place. While people are still working, government plans to kill their management.
“It was equally gathered that the Federal Government has concluded plans not to pay pension or transfer money to the Pension Fund Administrators, PFAs, all in the name of driving workers to their early graves. We are worried that the government could be privatizing without cash backing, as information at our disposal suggests that about N43 billion is available out of the over N400 billion agreed with the unions.
“At the moment, agreement on certain indices to be used in calculating entitlements like life expectancy which the Federal Government put at 14 years is yet to be reconciled.
“By this posture, it is obvious that the Federal Government has decided to truncate the implementation of collective agreement reached with the unions. Nigerians should, therefore, hold government responsible for any reaction this action may generate.
“While there is still opportunity for the Federal Government to follow due process, we wish to state unequivocally that PHCN workers will legitimately resist every attempt to shave their hair in their absence. Should the Federal Government make good its threat to retrench workers in the sector when labour issues have not been settled, all members are advised to stop work, while those monies paid into their accounts should be seen as free money. The hour has come for you to defend your rights.”

FG set to pay off workers  —Igali

Meanwhile, the Federal Government has said it is now set to pay off the staff of PHCN. The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Power, Ambassador Godknows Igali disclosed this, weekend.
Igali told journalists in Abuja that the fund for the payment of the workers’ severance package was ready and that in a matter of weeks, they would be paid as part of the process of the takeover of the sector by private investors.
His words: ”What we have done so far is to try to ensure that the entitlement of these people and their severance package is well calculated from the point of their engagement to the point where the government is bringing the private people to take over.
“We have agreed on virtually everything.  Government is preparing towards the formal takeover by the private sector. We expect the process to be seamless. So far, there is no major problem; the fund required to pay the people is available.”

…assures workers

The Permanent Secretary expressed satisfaction at the resolution of the issues surrounding the disengagement with the PHCN staff as well as casual workers and assured that the Federal Government  was working to ensure that they were all happily disengaged.
According to him, the new owners would certainly re-engage many of the workers as it would be practically impossible to operate without the old staff. He said the private sector operators would be made to adhere to the nation’s labour laws.
His words: “The people that are working in these power plants are Nigerians, and when the private people take over, they are not going to bring workers from Jupiter, Mercury or China; most of their workers would remain Nigerians.
“The only difference is that they have been government workers up till now and as the government finishes with them, they will transfer their services to private operators who are driving the sector now. But the private sector will still follow the Labour law of this country.
“So, it is not a situation of whether there is going to be mass exodus of people out of the sector. Most of these workers have been very competent; they have been serving the country very well with commitment. And you cannot just replace those who have been on the job for many years.”

Training and retraining of  workers

For those who would not be re-employed by the new owners and those who may choose to go into private business,  Igali said: “Government also has a very robust programme to train and retrain the workers of most of these companies. Retraining them is at two levels: first is to retrain people in such a way that they can fit into a new nature of the sector.  Before it was public service but now, we have private people taking over.
“So we are retraining them so that those who will continue working on contract basis will fit into the system properly. The second training is directed at those who would opt for private life. A lot of people may want to go into consultancy; like I said, the private people coming in cannot go out of the country to import thousands upon thousands of workers to take over our electricity sector. They will still need these same people.
“Government from the highest political authority has assured people of their commitment to ensure that all parties are satisfied with the way the issues are resolved.”
He added that the power reform transaction signing summit presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan, last Monday, was an eloquent  demonstration of highest commitment by the government to ensure a successful conclusion of the power transaction.
The Perm Sec said $600 million (about N94 billion) was realised from the 25 per cent initial payments by the investors in the power sector and that they were equally determined to make the transactions successful with some even ready to make 100 per cent payment of their bid prices ahead of the 90-day stipulated payment period.
He said: “Some are ready to pay 100 per cent but 25 per cent was what was required at this stage and the total amount from the information we have from BPE is about $600m.”
Igali said power generation had risen to over 4,500 and that the Federal government’s target of 9-10,000 at the end of the year was still intact.
He claimed that some major cities of the nation now enjoy about 16 hours of electricity daily.

Drugs discovery in melon shocks NDLEA

• Arrests patent medicine dealer, impounds assorted cars

OFFICIALS of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) are perturbed over the increasing cases of drug trafficking, especially methamphetamine popularly called ‘Meth’.

The anti-drug agency, has again, foiled a plot to smuggle 40.255kilogramme of methamphetamine to South Africa on board a South African Airline flight.  Vigilant personnel of the agency detected the consignment at the cargo section of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos.

A total of 41 parcels of methamphetamine were found hidden inside ground melon carefully packed with cosmetics and provisions.

According to the NDLEA Airport Commander, Mr. Hamza Umar, who led the discovery, the drug was found in a bag of provisions and cosmetics.

“The drug was packaged in 41 parcels in white transparent polythene and hidden inside ground melon. Other items such as gala, biscuits, milk, body cream and food ingredients were found also in the package to divert attention.

“We have impounded a Hummer Jeep, Range Rover Jeep and a bus from suspected members of the cartel,” Hamza said.

The suspect, Ihedioha Chidi, who is a patent medicine dealer, said that he was given the sum of N450,000 to send the consignment.

“My childhood friend who lives in South Africa sent me N450,000 to send his goods to him in South Africa. It was while processing the shipment that NDLEA officers found drugs inside the goods and I was arrested,” the suspect said.

The suspect, a bachelor who lives in Okota, Lagos, hails from Imo State.

The Chairman of the Agency, Ahmadu Giade promised to rid the country of illicit drugs.

His words: “We are working hard to halt the illicit production of methamphetamine in the country.”

“So far, five clandestine laboratories used for methamphetamine production have been detected in the country in the last two years. The Agency will continue to dislodge drug cartels by detecting production centres and intercepting all shipments of drugs. This seizure is a warning to drug barons that the battle line is drawn. More arrests shall be made in respect of the case and assets traceable to them shall be forfeited.”

Ph.D holder, kidnap kingpin on the run

BY EMMA AMAIZE
WARRI — KELVIN (surname withheld), the most wanted kidnap/robbery kingpin  in Delta State, who hails from Kokori community in Ethiope East Local Government Area has gone into hiding following the manhunt for him by the army and police over the wave of killing of security agents in the state.

Police declared the suspect, said to possess a Ph.D in Mechanical Engineering and a former aide to a top politician in the state, wanted last year, after series of kidnap and armed robbery operations, within and outside the state,  were traced to him, but he remained hard to pin down.

Delta State Police Commissioner, Mr. Ikechukwu Aduba, who confirmed Kelvin as the most notorious kidnapper in the state, in an interview with Vanguard, last year, expressed optimism then that he would be arrested shortly.

But the kidnap kingpin shocked  security operatives when he pulled a daring mission in Warri, last month, killing a number of prisons officials, as his gang ambushed warders and snatched two of  its men being taken to court for trial.

However, Kelvin, whose gang had allegedly killed many soldiers and police officers in the past, became a principal target when his gang purportedly killed some soldiers, recently. Military authorities have not confirmed the report.

Soldiers laid siege to Kokori and other communities in Ethiope East Local Government Area in search of Kelvin in the past few weeks.

Commissioner Aduba told Vanguard in the aforesaid interview that motorcyclists, popularly known as Okada riders in Kokori were on the payroll of Kelvin, as they tip him off whenever security agents enter the town to look for him.

Apparently confirming Aduba’s claim, the state government, as part of security measures to stem the high level of criminality in Ethiope East, placed a ban on the use of motorcycles in the area, two days ago.

Secretary to the State Government, Comrade Ovouzuorie Macaulay, who briefed reporters, Wednesday, after the State Security Council meeting at Government House Annex, Warri, said the ban was with immediate effect in Kokori.

The government, however, gave a seven-day grace, after which the ban would be extend to the other towns and villages in Ethiope East.

Comrade Macaulay stated that the high level of crime in the area had taken a dangerous dimension, and the ban was one of the measures meant to stem the tide.

Investigations by Vanguard showed that Kelvin is feared in Kokori and his tribesmen could not dare to report him to security agents because of the fear that he would find out the informant and kill the person thereafter.

“The thing is that there was no concrete evidence in some of the criminal activities he had been arrested for in the past and he found his way out, but by the time he grew into kidnap/armed robbery baron, he has graduated and it is very difficult to get him,” a security source told Vanguard.

“They are looking for him but I do not think they have his photograph, so how will they find him when people are afraid to point at him. He could even pass them as they are looking for him. For instance, he is known to be staying in a hotel in Effurun and Lagos before this time, but some of these hotels do not keep manifest of lodgers,” he said.

Vanguard also gathered that sometime,  two months ago, at a meeting of the Ughelli monarch, HRM, Oharisi III, security agents and Kokori chiefs and leaders, the chairman of Delta state vigilance group, Mr. Monday Ohwosiri , alleged that Kelvin and his gang killed a soldier at Ekiugbo junction, December, last year.

He predicted that Kokori community would not know peace until the people surrender Kelvin to security agents. Kokori chiefs, who had earlier feigned ignorance of the criminal escapades of their son promised to consult elders of the community and act promptly.

Gunmen kill 4 policemen, three civilians, cart away rifles in Yobe

BY BALA AJIYA & NDAHI MARAMA
DAMATURU — No fewer than four policemen and three civilians were, yesterday, killed while two others suspected to be policemen sustained injuries when some gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram laid ambush to the Tarmuwa Divisional Police Headquarters.

The gunmen, it was learnt, after killing the four policemen, succeeded in razing the police station using petrol bombs and other Improvised Explosive Devices, IEDs.

The three civilians killed were trapped and subsequently hit by stray bullets when trying to flee the area during the midnight attack.

Vanguard gathered that the gunmen stormed the town midnight, Wednesday, in a convoy of more than 10 vehicles.

According to a resident, who did not want his nàme mentioned, the gunmen had wanted to strike at Damaturu, the state capital, but because of the tight security in the state capital and its environs, they settled for Tarmuwa where they successfully raided the police station.

Confirming the incident, the Yobe State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Sanusi Rufai, said the attack was carried out at midnight, Wednesday, leaving four policemen dead and two others seriously wounded.

He said the injured policemen had been admitted at an undisclosed hospital where they were responding to treatment.

The CP, however, said normalcy had returned to the troubled town as security had been beefed up in the area with a view to apprehending the culprits.

N40bn pension scam: EFCC re-arraigns 7 suspects

By IKECHUKWU NNOCHIRI

ABUJA—It was drama galore at the Federal Capital Territory High Court at Maitama yesterday, as the key suspect in the alleged illegal diversion of over N40billion from the Police Pension Fund, Mrs. Uzoma Cyril Attang, directed thugs to physically assault journalists that came to cover her arraignment.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, had maintained that it successfully traced about N1.1billion to one of the bank accounts operated by Mrs. Attang, who is still in service as Director of Finance and Accounts in the Ministry of Communications.

*One billion naira suspect – Police Pension scam suspect, Veronica Onyegbula at FCT High Court in Abuja, Wednesday. Photo Gbenga Olamikan

She was, hitherto, the Chief Accountant of the PPF where she served between 2003 and 2008.

Meanwhile, irked by what she termed “unfavourable media reportage”, Attang who was docked by the EFCC, alongside six former police pension officials yesterday, monitored as a horde of thugs she brought to court, attacked photojournalists inside the high court premises.

COVERING …!

In the ensuing fracas, two of the photojournalists were severely manhandled, even as it took the intervention of security men to recover their cameras.

It would be recalled that Attang was absent in court when the other alleged pension thieves were initially arraigned before Justice Albubakar Thalba on March 29, 2012 and were subsequently remanded in prison custody.

According to an 18-count amended criminal charge the EFCC entered before the high court, Attang was the accountant in charge of the police pension fund when N7.8billion was stolen through 10,863 cheques.

COVERING…!!

Aside tracing over 20 choice assets belonging to her, the EFCC, alleged that the accused person personally signed 1,042 cheques to the tune of N1, 141,309,080.25.

The anti-graft agency further alleged that she used several companies to defraud the police pension office, among which included Royal Diadem Business Logistic Limited, Amazing Grace Property Development Company, Enyiuzo Ventures Limited, Status Symbols Rentals Limited, Status Travels and Tours Limited, Quillponte and Anifon Nigeria Limited.

Meantime, she yesterday pleaded not guilty to the charge and was allowed to go home by trial Justice Husseini Baba on the same bail conditions that were previously given to her co-accused persons by Justice Thalba who handled the trial ab-initio.

COVERED!!!

EFCC opted to transfer the case from Justice Thalba following the slap-on-the-wrist sentence he handed to one of the accused persons, John Yakubu Yusufu, who was on January 28, sentenced to two years imprisonment with a fine option of N750, 000, after he confessed that he conspired with the other accused persons and stole about N23 billion from the police pension fund.

The other accused persons who took turns and pleaded not guilty to the charge were Esai Dangabar, a former Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mr. Atiku Abubakar Kigo, Ahmed Inuwa Wada, Mrs. Veronica Uloma Onyegbula, Sani Habila Zira and Christian Madubuike.

Justice Thalba had on April 3, 2012, granted them bail in the sum of N10 million each, just as they were ordered to produce two persons on grade level-14 in the Civil Service that stood surety for each of them.

The court fixed June 3 and 4 to commence hearing on the substantive charge against them

Police, soldiers clash in Ibadan

IBADAN — SANITY was thrown to the wind, yesterday, when some soldiers and policemen from Mokola Police Station clashed.

Though, no one was killed, the incident landed men from both sides in hospitals.

Vanguard gathered that the problem started, Wednesday night, when a police woman in mufti raised alarm that she was being attacked by two men on a motorcycle. This made the policemen on duty to come to her aid.

Aerial view and the entrance to the Mokola Division of the Nigeria Police in Ibadan. Px DARE FASUBE

While trying to protect their colleague, one of the policemen allegedly shot one of the two men on the motorcycle on the ankle.

Unknown to them, the two men were soldiers, who later reinforced and allegedly stabbed a policeman on the buttock.

But, yesterday, there was sporadic gunshots at Mokola area which made passers-by and traders in the area ran for dear lives.

An eye witness said: “The incident started when 10 soldiers stormed the station and beat policemen on duty in retaliation of an attack one of them on Wednesday night by the police carrying out ‘stop and search’ in front of the station.”

It was further gathered that the police on the ‘stop and search’ Wednesday night, stopped the soldiers for routine check and this led to altercations.

Speaking with Vanguard on the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Olabisi Ilobanafor, said the matter had been resolved the family way and situation brought under control.

“The issue actually started on Wednesday night when two men on a motorcycle had disagreement with a police woman who was in mufti. The woman called the attention of the policemen on duty to come to her rescue. They fired warning shots into the air. One of the two men who were later discovered to be military men was injured. Later, his colleagues arrived with cudgels and stabbed a policeman on the buttock. Another soldier wanted to stab him again but was resisted”.

“About 3pm yesterday, some military men stormed the station beating and injuring policemen on duty.  Warning shots were fired. We reinforced from the command to make sure the matter did not get out of hand. We thank God that nobody died in the process. The injured ones both policemen and soldiers were later taken to hospital.

“Authorities of both the police and Army came together and resolved the matter as a family. This is one of isolated cases we had. We are the same family. We should work together to fight criminals not to fight ourselves”.

FG, not us needs amnesty – Boko Haram

ABUJA—Leader of militant Boko Haram Islamic sect, Abubakar Shekau, yesterday, rejected the idea of any potential amnesty deal which the Federal Government may offer the sect members if the committee set up to look into it gives the go-ahead.

Shekau, in a 30-minute audio recording, where he spoke in Hausa, Arabic and English declared

that his group had “not committed any wrong to deserve amnesty”. He said it was the government that should be seeking amnesty from his group and not the other way round, adding that even though the sect was the one wronged and the one that should be asked for amnesty, it was not ready to grant any pardon to the government.

A video grab made on March 21, 2013 from a video distributed to reporters by purported intermediaries of the Islamist group linked to Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, shows the suspected leader of the Nigerian Islamist group linked to Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, Imam Abu Muhammad Ibn Muhammad Abubakar Ash Shekawi, also known as Abubakar Shekau, at an undisclosed location in Nigeria. AFP

Shekau was reacting to the reported setting up of a committee last week by the National Security and Defence Council to consider the possibility of granting amnesty to Boko Haram. The committee is due to present its report to the council next week.

Shekau’s recorded video statement, first passed by intermediaries of Boko Haram to journalists in Northern Nigeria, yesterday, featured the militant leader talking about the possibility of an amnesty deal. Speaking in  Hausa, Shekau said the amnesty deal  was “surprising.”

He said: “We are the one to grant them pardon. Have you forgotten their atrocities against us?”

The man in the video later threatened the lives of anyone claiming to be a representative of Boko Haram.

“We are surprised that today it is the Federal Government saying it will grant us amnesty. Oh God, is it we who will grant you amnesty or you are the one to grant us amnesty?

“What have we done? If there is room for forgiveness, we are not going to do it until God gives us permission to do it. Have you forgotten your sin, have you forgotten what you have done to us in Plateau, the state you called Jos. We emerged to avenge killings of our Muslim brothers and the destruction of our religion. Was it not in Plateau that we saw people cannibalising our brothers?”

How Amnesty talks began

The idea of an amnesty, came to a head in March when the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar called for it. Others have suggested offering an amnesty deal in line with one previously given to militants in the Niger Delta in 2009.

President Goodluck Jonathan had at the end of  the National Security Council meeting last week Thursday set up a committee to look into the possibility of granting amnesty to the Islamic sect.

The previous day, the president was said to have met for several hours with members of the powerful Northern Elders’ Forum, NEF at the Presidential Villa where a deal was reached to grant amnesty to Boko Haram members as a means of ending the spate of raging violence across the region.

Specifically, the President wanted an undertaking from the elders that they would impress upon the sect leaders and their followers to lay down their arms and embrace peace, as a condition for offering the olive branch.

Under the plan, the Federal Government is to set up an Amnesty Commission, which would serve as a quasi-judicial body, to register and cater for repentant members of the sect and protect them from being harassed or intimidated by security agents.

A faction of the sect had last Sunday rejected the amnesty offer, saying the group did not ask for it. Spokesman of a faction of the sect, Abu Dardam who spoke on the Hausa service of the BBC stated that they are rejecting the amnesty because they don’t recognize democracy as a form of government and that the group does not agree with the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, arguing that justice can only be found in the Holy Quran, that is Shariya system of government.

Go ahead with amnesty, Northern elders tell FG

Meanwhile, Northern elders, yesterday, asked the Federal Government to go ahead with fine-tuning the processes that would lead to granting unconditional amnesty to members of the Boko Haram sect despite claims that the group is not seeking pardon.

The elders spoke in reaction to the claim purportedly made by the sect leader, Abubakar Shekau, that it did not do anything to warrant amnesty and that it was the group that should even pardon the government for atrocities committed against Muslims.

The Spokesman for the Northern Elders’ Forum, Prof Ango Abdullahi, told Vanguard in an interview that the argument over who was right or wrong was not as important as achieving peace in the North.

According to the NEF, what matters at the moment is how to bring about a cessation of violence and not who is right or wrong.

Abdullahi said: “We have heard various arguments following the setting up of a committee on amnesty but we are interested in making peace and not apportioning blames.

“If two drivers are involved in an accident that closes a highway, I think the first thing to do is to clear the highway before checking who was right or wrong so that other road users would not suffer unduly,” he said.

“Our advice therefore, is that the Federal Government should not be distracted but should proceed with what it is doing to grant amnesty to the group so as to bring about peace and development in the region,” the spokesman admonished.

Military warns against withdrawal of soldiers from streets

Indications also emerged, yesterday, that the high command of the armed forces was ready to endorse the amnesty proposal of the Jonathan administration, provided the officers and soldiers deployed to the trouble spots where militant groups  had been carrying out deadly attacks and bombings were left on standby.

The military high command also argued that if the Boko Haram sect rejected the olive branch of amnesty being offered them by the federal government, then it (military) will be justified on its initial stand that military option is the language terrorrists understand.

Towards this end, the military have resolved to present a common report and recommendations endorsing the amnesty to the panel set up under the watch of the National Security Adviser, Col Sambo Dasuki (rtd). They would however insist on retaining soldiers on the streets of the terrorist prone –risk states.

At a meeting on Tuesday presided over by the CDS, Admiral Ola Ibrahim, the military chiefs deliberated on the proposed amnesty for the Boko Haram sect members.

Sources said that after several hours, the service chiefs having reviewed what transpired at the Security Council meeting and having presented the position of their services individually, harmonized their position which the CDS would submit to the NSA panel as a MEMO.

“The meeting reviewed last week minutes of the Security Council including several media reports on the issue. They agreed there was a need to let the amnesty option be.

They however expressed reservations if the leadership of the Boko Haram sect would ever accept it. If they don’t, it would justify their position that it is only the force that could call the terrorists to order.

“The Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Ihejirika, was said to have reiterated his position at the meeting that ‘You don’t negotiate with terrorists anywhere in the world because of their selfish agenda’.

The Chief of Defence Staff himself explained to his team that as a Muslim, he knows that the Boko Haram sect members are not behaving as Muslims. He urged his colleagues to let the amnesty be the an alternative to the force.

He said, ‘those who accepted it must meet certain conditions and to be kept under a watch while those who reject it should be decisively dealt with.”

Another source, disclosed that the service chiefs, in their report, stated that the soldiers should remain on the streets as long as the bombing continued.

They (military chiefs) faulted those calling for their withdrawal adding, “as long as the factor that brought the soldiers on the streets persists, our soldiers remain on the streets.”

The source explained that the military strongly believed some people are using the sect for political purposes but appreciate the professionalism in the way the soldiers have been fighting the terrorists.

They also resolved to ensure good welfare package for the soldiers who are involved in the war against terrorism.

If their recommendations are accepted, some retired military officers might be among those that would constitute the Amnesty Committee. Their recommendations might have been submitted ahead of next week Security Council Meeting.

Vanguard gathered further that the stand of the Service Chiefs was in line with that of subordination to civil authority and one which shows the armed forces being loyal to their Commander in Chief.

Recall that President Goodluck Jonathan last week mandated the NSA to set up a panel to study the possibility or otherwise of granting amnesty to the Boko Haram sect whose members have been terrorizing some states in the North in their quest to impose Sharia on the polity.

At the meeting presided over by the President were  the National Security Adviser, the Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral S Ola Ibrahim, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Azubuike Ihejirika, Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Alex Sabundu Badeh, Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Dele Ezeoba-, the Inspector General of Police, Mr Mohammed Abubakar.

Others were the Director General of the State Security Services, Ekpenyong Ita,  Director, Military Intelligent (DMI), Brigadier- General Letam Wiwa, DG, Nigerian Intelligent Agency (NIA), Major General S.Y Audu. Others were the Ministers of State for Defence, Erelu Olusola Obada, Interior, Abba Moro and that of Police Affairs, Caleb Olubolade.

At the end of the meeting, the committee was given such terms of reference thus: *To consider the feasibility or otherwise of granting pardon to the Boko Haram adherents,

*Collate clamours arising from different interest groups who want the apex government to administer clemency on members of the religious sect; and

*To recommend modalities for the granting of the pardon, should such step become the logical one to take under the prevailing circumstance.

YOU’RE NOW IN RIGHT DIRECTION BUT…, AJIBOLA TELLS JONATHAN

In the same vein, former Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Prince Bola Ajibola, SAN, applauded the new move by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to consider amnesty for members of the Boko Haram group.? He said it would enable the country to do away with the security risks that had eroded its peace over the years. Ajibola had always insisted that dialogue is catalyst for resolving conflict of any nature, as he called on the President to apply it in order to get rid of the Boko Haram menace.?

In an exclusive chat with Vanguard, at his Olosegun Obasanjo Hilltop GRA home, Abeokuta, yesterday, he said as a member of a government that once ruled this country, that he had always been sad with the state of the nation in the past three years but that the setting up of a committee by the government to consider amnesty for the group was indicative of positive thing to come.

He however noted that whatever form the amnesty being planned would take that the Federal Government should ensure that it was preceded with dialogue so that the much desired solution would not be half-done.

“First and foremost, yes, amnesty, pardon whatever they call it, is okay.? But let it be preceded with dialogue.? Let them sit on the same table with you.? Let them come there and vent their grievances and, in doing so, find out what was the cause; the immediate cause and remote cause of the problem and what brought about the killing and the maiming of people – not only Christians but also Muslims and people who are even involved in the old religion at all.? Let them talk because, at the end of the day, the winner is invariably through dialogue.? We cannot run away from it,” he said. Ajibola, who is also former Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, shed more light on why he had insistently called for amnesty before now saying it was in the spirit of averting possibility of another civil war resulting from continued force-for-force in addressing the problem. His words: “If you go through force, force will aggravate force and force will continue ad-infinito, endlessly.? And it may eventually result in civil war, a conglomerate of wars and anarchy and destruction of peace and good governance in the country.? Already, it is having its effects and its tolls.? Some people are not interested in coming to Nigeria because when you take newspapers of Nigeria, you find invariably there; people who are one way or the other being killed for no just cause.? And in most cases you also have foreigners being involved, they have lost their lives. Here, there was a time that seven nationalities were involved, there was the time that United Nations House was also involved and some other countries are advising their people not to come to Nigeria. The Vision 20:2020 as a  reason “Peace is a prerequisite to development and therefore, we shall remain backward and undeveloped if we continue in this aspect of the use of force and terrorism.? It cannot help us especially as we move towards our deadline to become one of 20 most developed and biggest economies in the world by the year 2020.? We must listen to them,” he said. Citing example of why government’s new decision to work on amnesty is a welcome development, Prince Bola Ajibola pointed to the United States of America’s use of force in addressing the attacks on its World Trade Centre (WTC) and the Pentagon, which occurred on September 11, 2001 saying, if America had tried to go for dialogue to find out why it was attacked, the war in Afghanistan would not linger as it was till today. “Take for example, the whole problem that went as far as Afghanistan with the United States of America is still lingering until today. Whereas, when the 9/11 occurred in US, if they had taken the line of passive understanding asking for the reason why it happened and trying to settle the whole matter by way of dialogue, the whole thing would have died down by now.? But in actual sense, Americans are still being killed till today such that even on Sunday, certain American soldiers and their civilians were killed because force, lawlessness, ruthlessness, terrorism is always spreading; those whose parents or relations have been killed will never stop until they, themselves, have done the retaliation.? The retaliation will call for another retaliation.? It will go up endlessly and it will go on without any stop,” he said. He also cited another example in the issue Germany had against Britain and France after the First World War, that it was because the Germans were penalized and sanctioned for all those acts of the war that caused them to stand up again to fight the Second World War, which took over 70 million human beings.? “If they had taken the trouble of being considerate of effective and positive dialogue with the Germans at that time, perhaps we would not have the Second World War and we would not have a situation whereby so many people were killed in millions!? The destruction of human beings and property is one aspect of it.? The unfortunate part of it is that, it goes on with the absence of development.? Without peace, there will not be any development. “We must learn that if we want to keep our progress on in this country, we need to develop and we cannot develop in the absence of peace.? We cannot have peace if this terrorist thing is going on.? We should try as much as we can to do away with corruption because corruption is also an incitement igniting this problem going on.? We should avoid it.? We should show good example as people in government to discourage all those actions that will make people to be so deliberate on destroying other people.? It is important” Bola Ajibola said, adding that now that the government had realized, “as we have said,” that the settlement of the issue be paramount by way of seeking amnesty and dialogue, that President Jonathan by so doing was now in the right direction.

Reps reject 6-yr tenure for President, Govs; dump state creation

BY SONI DANIEL,  OKEY NDIRIBE & EMMAN OVUAKPORIE

…approve autonomy for LG, state assemblies   …
ABUJA—Indication emerged Thursday that the House of Representatives has dumped the clamour for the creation of new states in the country.

The House has also distanced itself from the request for a six-year single tenure for the President and governors, sticking to the provision of the 1999 Constitution of two terms of four years each.

These formed the highlights of the report of the Constitution Review Committee, headed by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives counterpart, Emeka Ihedioha, which is due for presentation next week.

Vanguard learnt from competent sources that the committee, however, recommended full autonomy for the 774 LGAs and the 36 Houses of Assembly in the country.

It was gathered that the committee decided to jettison the creation of new states following the pressure mounted by some Northern governors and political leaders that they did not want new states at the moment.

House of Representatives members during plenary. Inset: President Jonathan

Pressure from Northern governors
One of the northern governors recently described the move by the National Assembly for new states as a waste of time and resources and asked the members to discontinue with the exercise.

The outspoken governor had also accused the lawmakers of trying to weaken the north with new states, a development that drew criticisms from the House, which described his utterances as unbecoming of his position.

It was learnt that although almost all the states endorsed state creation during the nationwide collation of opinions, the issue was later ‘shut down’ to calm frayed nerves.

A lawmaker, who is familiar with the development, said, “The issue of state creation generated a lot of controversy and we have decided to dump the matter in the interest of peace.

“We don’t want a situation where the good work done by the committee to be rubbished as a result of controversial items. We have therefore endorsed autonomy for the local governments and the various state houses of assembly, something we believe, will bring about stability and progress in the states.

It was not, however, clear if state governors, who were not comfortable with any form of autonomy for the local governments and their Houses of Assembly, would allow the matter to scale through when it is reverted for voting in their respected states.

For any of the items approved by the constitution review committee to become law, 24 out of the 36 Houses of Assemblies must concur.

Already, the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, NGF, is opposed to local government autonomy, on the grounds that the third tier of government is part and parcel of the respective states, with whom they maintain joint accounts.

It would be recalled that during the last attempt to grant autonomy to state assemblies, the NGF kicked against the idea and it was dropped, making it possible for governors to remote control their speakers and the members.

It is not clear how democratically-elected governors are opposed to autonomy for the third tier of government and their legislature when the reverse is the case at the Federal level.

The presentation of the collated report was suspended last January following a disagreement between the committee members and some leaders of the House over certain items on the agenda.

Reps to present report next week
The collated report of the peoples’ public sessions on the review of the 1999 Constitution conducted by the House in the 360 federal constituencies in the country is due for public presentation on Thursday, April 18, 2013.

A statement issued and signed by the Clerk of the adhoc committee, Chinedu Akubueze, said the presentation was earlier due to hold on Thursday, January 31, 2013, but was postponed to allow members more time to verify that the results reflected the voting in their various constituencies.

The statement read: “Collated results of the sessions which held on November 10, 2012, will be presented at the House of Representatives and presided over by speaker of the House, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.

“The results will show the voting pattern on all the issues itemized in the template for voting by Nigerians during the sessions at the various federal constituencies.

“The public presentation is in keeping with the promise made by the Deputy Speaker/Chairman of the Committee, Emeka Ihedioha, that the House will make the process of the public sessions, and, indeed, the entire constitution amendment transparent, inclusive and accountable to the Nigerian people.”

The event, which will hold at Conference Room 231 of the House of Representatives New Building, is expected to be attended by the Chairman, Nigerian Governors’ Forum, representing state governors; Chairman, Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures, representing speakers of State Houses of Assembly; and President, Nigerian Bar Association, NBA.

Others include President, Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, ALGON; President, Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC; President, Trade Union Congress, TUC; President, Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU; President, Nigerian Union of Teachers, NUT; President, National Council of Women Societies, NCWS; and President, National Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE; President, Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ; President, National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS.

Bakassi: FG promises to respond to attacks on Nigerians by Camerounian gendarmes

By BEN AGANDE

Abuja — The Federal Government has promised to take appropriate action against attacks on Nigerians resident in Bakassi by the Camerounian gendarmes.

Speaking with State House correspondents, in Abuja, after the meeting of the Presidential Committee on the plight of the Displaced Bakassi People, the Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro, said government was studying reports on the attack and would take appropriate action.

”As a good player on the international scene, Nigeria has subscribed to the Green Tree Agreement and on our own part we will continue to abide by the provisions of the agreement.

“For one reason or the other, resulting from skirmishes here and there, the Camerounian Gendarmes have attacked some innocent Nigerians.

”That report, is being presented to government and the Nigerian government will take appropriate action to redress the situation,” he said.

Comrade Moro called on the people of Bakassi to remain calm as government was determined to ensure that they are not left to their fate as government was taking every step to ensure their safety in the peninsula.

On the activities of the Presidential Committee on the Displaced Bakassi People, the minister said an interim progress  report has been presented  to the Vice President with a promise that the final report would be ready soon.

He assured that the Displaced Bakassi people would find succor in the recommendations of the Committee, which would be implemented by the Federal Government.

“I think at the moment we should not be attempting to segment solutions. The present crisis that we find in Bakassi, is a Nigerian crisis and Nigerian Government is taking every step in conjunction with State Governments to address the situation.

“So, the right thing to do is to look up to decision of government as to what to do with the Bakassi people, because the Bakassi people are Nigerians.”