A Swiss legal practitioner has given more insights into Late Abacha's looting spree

A Swiss lawyer, Enrico Monfrini says he has been working for the past twenty years to recover funds looted by the military government of Late General Sani Abacha government.

Channels Television quoted Mr. Monfrini as saying he was first contacted by the civilian government of President Olusegun Obasanjo to help with the recovery of the funds stolen by Abacha.

He also explained some of his findings on how the former military dictator diverted the funds to Swiss banks which he described as dollars by truckloads.

General Sani Abacha. Photo credit: @CFR_org

According to him, by 2018, the amount of Abacha stolen funds Switzerland had returned to Nigeria had reached more than $1billion.

He alleged that the late dictator diverted over four to five billion dollars at the initial stage.

He added that he is still expecting $30million from the United Kingdom to be returned, along with $144million in France and a further $18million in New Jersey, USA.

Meanwhile, the immediate past Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Major-General Tukur Buratai now holds the title of Nigeria's longest-serving COAS beating Late Abacha's record.

The Borno-born General spent a total of 66 months as the nation's top army chief and he is followed closely by Abacha who spent 60 months as the COAS.

David Ejoor served as the COAS for 56 months, TY Danjuma served for 51 months and Azubuike Ihejirika served for 40 months.

Out of those mentioned, only Danjuma from Taraba state and Ihejirika from Abia state are still alive.

The president made the promise in his 2021 new year message to Nigerians on Friday, January 1, adding that the security agencies will be trained adequately on how to engage, push back and dismantle the operations of both internal and external extremist and criminal groups.Recall that President Buhari had promised to reorganise Nigeria's security architecture in the year 2021.

Governor Sanwo-Olu slashes state's university tuition fees

 Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has approved reduced tuition for students of Lagos State University, (LASU) Ojo. 

His Special Adviser on Education, Tokunbo Wahab, disclosed this on Friday via his official Twitter handle.

The tweet reads: “Flash: Lagos State government reduces tuition fee for students of Lagos.”

When contacted, Wahab said the approval was in tandem with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s commitment to providing qualitative education at an affordable to all and sundry, irrespective of class, gender, ethnicity, race, among others.

“Yes, the Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu has graciously approved the reduction in LASU tuition fees. An official statement will be issued in due course,” he said.

Wahab, however, explained that the move is in pursuance and fulfillment of the education agenda of the present administration as one of the pillars in the THEMES agenda.

LASU students had protested hike in tuition fees by the institution’s authorities.

They also demanded the reversal of the decision within two weeks.

The management of LASU last December increased the tuition fees for fresh students from N25, 000 to N67, 048.50, representing 168 per cent increase.

Buratai sends important message to politicians as he bows out

Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai (retired), the immediate past chief of army staff, has appealed to politicians to always leave military out of politics.

 Buratai stated this in his valedictory speech during the Pulling Out Parade by the Nigerian Army on Friday, January 29, in Abuja.

The former army chief said Nigeria needs politicians who are statesmen to support the military in discharging its constitutional duties.

Former army chief Buratai . Photo credit: HQ Nigerian Army

He said under him, the Nigerian Army recorded tremendous achievements in the fight against insurgency and other security challenges in the country.

He also commended the effort of the Borno state government in the war against insurgency, assuring that the war would soon be a thing of the past.Buratai also expressed gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari for the opportunity to serve the country as well as providing an enabling environment for him to succeed.

Buratai was officially pulled out of service in a parade held in his honour at Mogadishu Cantonment, Asokoro, Abuja.

In another report, Buratai recalled how he was almost retired from the Nigerian Army by a former president, Olusegun Obasanjo.

He made the disclosure during his official handover to Major General Ibrahim Attahiru, the new chief of army staff at the army headquarters on Thursday, January 28.

He said his near retirement experience occurred 22 years ago when he was a major.

Earlier, the National Democratic Front (NDF) called on the immediate past service chiefs to ensure that they make themselves available for consultations by the newly appointed successors.

The group said the past service chiefs' wealth of experience can be used by their new colleagues in ending the war against terrorism in Nigeria.

A statement signed by NDF's secretary-general, Bolaji Abudlkadir,  applauded the numerous efforts and sacrifices made by the outgoing service chiefs.

Kogi: Court annuls APC lawmaker’s election, orders replacement with PDP's candidate

 

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has voided the election of a member of Kogi Assembly, Atule Egbunu.

 Egbunu, representing Ibaji constituency, was elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2020.

Delivering his judgement on Friday, January 29, Justice Inyang Ekwo, ordered that the candidate of the party that came second in the December 5, 2020, by-election, which produced Egbunu, should be inaugurated in place of the sacked APC candidate.

Justice Ekwo gave the order in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/173/2020 filed by Joseph Enemona, in which he challenged the propriety of the primary election conducted by his party, the APC, to chose a candidate for the by-election.

. Credit: @OfficialAPCNg

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared APC’s Egbunu winner with 8,515 votes, while PDP’s candidate for the election, Daniel Enefola came second with 4,564 votes in the December 5, 2020 election.

Justice Ekwo, in the judgment, upheld the plaintiff’s claim that the APC did not conduct a valid primary election.

He noted that while seven aspirants were to participate in the primary election, the party unlawfully manoeuvred the process, made the participation of a single aspirant possible and denied the other six the opportunity to participate.

He added that the APC acted unlawfully by conducting the purported primary election outside the party’s secretariat, as required by law.

The judge held that the time for the conduct of primary and nomination of a candidate for the December 5, 2020 bye-election had lapsed.

He argued among others, that the party unlawfully excluded six other aspirants from the primary election and also did not allow delegates to vote.

Meanwhile,  the key loyalists of former governor of Ogun state, Ibikunle Amosun, at the state House of Assembly defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

It was reported that the seven lawmakers, who were loyalists of Amosun, the senator representing Ogun Central, dumped the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) and returned to the APC on Thursday, January 28.

Service chiefs resign, President Buhari names replacements

 

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday, January 26, announced the appointment of new service chiefs following the resignation of their predecessors.

The Nigerian leader in a tweet via his official Twitter handle noted that he has accepted the immediate resignation of the service chiefs and their retirement from service.

Those involved are the Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin; Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas; and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar.

The appointments were conveyed in a statement signed by presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina and shared on his Facebook page.

The president went on to thank the outgoing service chiefs for their overwhelming achievements in efforts to bring enduring peace to the country and wished them well in future endeavours.

1. Major-General Leo Irabor, Chief of Defence StaffThe new service chiefs are:

2. Major-General I. Attahiru, Chief of Army Staff

3. Rear Admiral A.Z Gambo, Chief of Naval Staff

4. Air-Vice Marshal I.O Amao, Chief of Air Staff.

While congratulating the new service chiefs, Buhari urged them to be loyal and dedicated in the discharge of their responsibilities.

Save lives first - IGP Adamu tells hospitals

 

Mohammed Adamu, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), said doctors can proceed to treat victims of gunshot first before asking for any police report.

The IGP made this disclosure on Monday, January 25, when he appeared on Channel TV's Newsnight programme.

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) in recent times had ordered hospitals, doctors and medical experts to reject victims of gunshot without a police report.

The force declared that treating gunshot victims is a flagrant breach of existing law, with the controversial position already resulting in the death of many victims in need of emergency treatment.

Clearing the air on the policy on people with gunshot wounds, the police chief said there is "no issue" if victims of gunshots are treated as a case of emergency.

IGP Adamu : Credit: @PoliceNG

Adamu stressed that the victims must be attended to whether it is an individual or suspected criminals.

“No, we don’t do that, save life first even if it’s an individual, suspected robber or kidnapper, or bandits.

“If he or she has gunshot wounds and goes to the hospital, his life must be saved first before thinking of any other thing to do.

“There is no issue of asking for a police report before you treat anybody with gunshot wounds."

The Nigerian Senate in 2017 passed a bill seeking to establish a law that ensures that victims of gunshot wounds receive the necessary treatment.

The Nigeria's Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, said that the youths who participated in the recent #EndSARS protest want to join the police.

Recall that many Nigerian youths defied the COVID-19 pandemic to troop out for the #EndSARS protest which occurred in October 2020.

The protest was mainly staged to demand an end to police brutality in the country.

Nigeria's IGP Mohammed Adamu Photo credit: Olukayode Jaiyeola

However, speaking on Channels TV on Monday, January 25, the IGP said the same youths have shown interest in joining the police, 

“The youths who participated in the #EndSARS and the rest of them, many of them want to join the police.He said:

“Many of them will come and say, ‘Please, we want to join the police,’ because the service the police provide is a service of God.”

In another related report, the IGP was quoted as saying that Nigerian police officers are the best.

According to him, the officers are acclaimed to be the best in the world because they perform better than their foreign counterparts when given the right resources to carry out their duties.

He added that despite the lack of enough resources for them to perform their function, the police in Nigeria do a lot to maintain peace and order. 

Restructuring: Atiku issues warning again as Osita condemned PDP

 

Atiku Abubakar, former vice president, has warned that Nigeria may become a failed state if the country is not restructured to tackle some of its foundational issues.

The Peoples Democratic Party chieftain made his position known through an article he posted on his Facebook page on Monday, January 25.

The former vice president likened the current ethno-religious clashes bedevilling Nigeria to symptoms of a disease, adding that Nigeria must find a way of resolving its challenges in order to be on the path of "peace, unity and prosperity."

Atiku, who stated that restructuring is the only solution to the myriad of the problems facing Nigeria, maintained that the reality of injustice is "staring us in our collective faces."

He noted that Nigeria has been "operating from the same unitary foundation" and has given it several names since January 15, 1966, which are of no results.

"Nigeria needs to restructure to avoid the various failed state prophecies, first advanced by an American think-tank against Nigeria in 2006.

"Nigeria is not a failed state. However, we are at risk of becoming a failed state, if we do not resolve our foundational challenges that make it rather difficult for the central government to discharge her responsibilities effectively.

"We should have done this long ago. I can only point to the Chinese proverb that says “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”

Meanwhile, Osita Okechukwu has alleged that the PDP is planning to push for the restructuring through unconstitutional and illegal means

According to the director of Voice of Nigeria (VON), the opposition party is using the situation of the country especially in the aspect of security to gain power.

Okechukwu, who spoke via a statement on Sunday, January 24, also berated the PDP, saying the opposition side is "on deceptive power-grabbing binge by aligning with Pull-Down-the-Roof crowd."

The founding member of the All Progressives Congress also stated that President Muhammadu Buhari did not renege on restructuring as the PDP tried to confuse Nigerians

Sunday Igboho's house in Ibadan gutted by fire - Oyo Police Command's already after the hoodlums ,

A house belonging to Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, has been reportedly burnt down by "unknown men", according to BBC Pidgin.

The report stated that the house is located in the Soka area of Ibadan, Oyo state, the Oyo state capital, adding that it is still unclear who burnt the house and why it was burnt.

The incident happened around 3am on Tuesday, January 26. It was also gathered that the burnt house is not the one Igboho currently lives in.

The source of the fire was yet unknown but firefighters from the Oyo State Fire Services arrived the scene to douse the fire.

Photos of Sunday Igboho's house burnt in Ibadan. Photo credit: Isokan TV

Hours after a house belonging to Sunday Adeyemo, aka Sunday Igboho was set ablaze in Ibadan, the police in Oyo state has given some details regarding the incident.

The state police spokesperson, Olugbenga Fadeyi, said the command received a report that hoodlums loaded in a bus and taxi set the house ablaze.

 Fadeyi also said the police were told that the arsonists shot in the air several times as they put fire to the house which is located at the Soka area of Ibadan.

The police spokesman said an investigation to fully unravel the ugly incident has commenced.

. Photo credit: @SundayIgbohoo

Fadeyi added:

"The mini sitting room got burnt in the process while the value of other properties is yet to be estimated."

He added that the DPO in the area contacted fire service while he also went to the scene for on the spot assessment.

According to Fadeyi, the fire has been put out while the police are on the trail of the hoodlums.

Earlier,  reported the house was said to have been burnt at around 3am on Tuesday, January 26, after the power supply to the area was cut off.

It was, however, gathered that the burnt house is not the one Igboho currently lives in.

The fire incident comes amid Igboho's quit notice to herdsmen in Igangan, Igbarapa North local government area of Oyo state, after accusing them of being behind the kidnapping and other criminal activities in the area.

Meanwhile, Igboho has also reacted to the fire incident which left parts of his house destroyed.

Igboho in a tweet confirmed that his property was indeed razed down.

The activist who shared pictures of the damaged building blamed suspected arsonists for the incident.