June 2012
May 2012
PHOTONEWS: Angry UNILAG Students Occupy Late VC Funeral Church Service in Lagos To Protest Name Change
Police trying to stop protesting students-PHOTO Credit: PUNCH
Students of University of Lagos [UNILAG] continued their resistance to the name change announced by President Goodluck Jonathan on May 29th 2012. The university was renamed Moshood Abiola University of Lagos [MAULAG] by official fiat during a national broadcast marking the ruling party’s “Democracy Day” but today student’s of the institution defied security operatives and an official closure order announced by the authorities yesterday.
The students directed the convoy taking their late Vice Chancellor Shofoluwe’s body to take over the Herbert Macaulay way, and they occupied it until the train slowly reached the All Saints Church Yaba venue of the funeral service while the funeral service went on in the Church the students continued their protest against their university name change by President Jonathan.
Still On UNILAG: We Are Not Deceived By Your Distraction; NDLF Tells President Jonathan
NDLF
By SaharaReporters, New York
The Nigeria Democratic Liberty Forum (NDLF) had joined the hordes of Nigerian organizations and individuals, which are dismissing the renaming of the University of Lagos as Moshood Abiola University.
The New York based group, in a statement signed by its Executive Director, Bukola Oreofe, described the matter as an “infantile effort to distract the attention of Nigerians from the disastrous scorecard of the Jonathan administration during its anniversary,” noting that it comes “at a time when the President Goodluck Jonathan’s government has wreaked monumental havoc on education and the nation through massive corruption and unprecedented ineptitude.” According to NDLF, “President Goodluck Jonathan has been on the saddle of Nigeria’s leadership for two years and we have witnessed Nigeria turning into a huge joke in the comity of nations and the citizens despaired.
Quality of life has become decimated through acts that were once considered alien such as the wanton loss of lives through the murderous actions of Boko Haram (BH) with the government adorning a bizarre spectacle. Rather than combat the BH menace, the President could only state that his government has been infiltrated by Boko Haram. He has since not identify such members or conspirators within his government.
No one including his security chiefs has been held accountable for this gross display of lack of competence.
Still On UNILAG: We Are Not Deceived By Your Distraction; NDLF Tells President Jonathan
NDLF
By SaharaReporters, New York
The Nigeria Democratic Liberty Forum (NDLF) had joined the hordes of Nigerian organizations and individuals, which are dismissing the renaming of the University of Lagos as Moshood Abiola University.
The New York based group, in a statement signed by its Executive Director, Bukola Oreofe, described the matter as an “infantile effort to distract the attention of Nigerians from the disastrous scorecard of the Jonathan administration during its anniversary,” noting that it comes “at a time when the President Goodluck Jonathan’s government has wreaked monumental havoc on education and the nation through massive corruption and unprecedented ineptitude.” According to NDLF, “President Goodluck Jonathan has been on the saddle of Nigeria’s leadership for two years and we have witnessed Nigeria turning into a huge joke in the comity of nations and the citizens despaired.
University of Lagos Shut Down Over Name Change Protests
By SaharaReporters, New York
The authorities of the university of Lagos today announced a two closure of the institution in apparent attempt to chill the growing protests by students of the institution concerning the decision to rename the 50 year old institution.
The institution announced the decision over its local radio statio, UNILAG FM. The announcement asked all students to leave the institution premises by 11: 00 AM. Students of the institution began a series of protest since yesterday morning fate President Goodluck Jonathan announced plans to rename the institution after Nigeria’s democracy hero MKO Abiola.
2015 And All That Jazz By Chido Onumah
Chido Onumah
Columnist:
Chido OnumahShortly after President Goodluck Jonathan was sworn in on May 29, 2011, I noted that his government should at best be a transitional regime and that unless something was done, and urgently too, Goodluck Jonathan would be the last president of Nigeria. One year into the administration, I am even more convinced about my proposition. My conviction hinges on the mad struggle for 2015 that has enveloped the whole nation.
Let me say from the outset that I have a problem with those who are obsessed with “overthrowing”
President Jonathan and taking over in 2015. It shows two things: a lack of understanding of the quandary we are in as a nation; and the lack of forthrightness to confront our problems. The bashing and loathing of the shoeless lad from Otuoke who has made it all the way to Aso Rock is troubling to say the least. Troubling in the sense that it distracts us from the task at hand, which is how to reclaim Nigeria.
This piece is not a defence of President Jonathan and the reason is simple: no matter how hard you try, you will find it impossible to conjure something in praise of the current administration. The president himself has rightly admitted that the problems of the country did not start with his government. That he reminds Nigerians of this is a subtle way of saying he is helpless and that we should look for the solution somewhere else.
Charles Taylor Sentenced To 50 Years For War Crimes-CNN
Charles Taylor
By the CNN Wire Staff
(CNN) — The first former head of state to be convicted of war crimes since World War II was sentenced to 50 years in prison Wednesday by an international court in The Hague, Netherlands.
The court convicted Charles Taylor last month of aiding rebels in neighboring Sierra Leone in a campaign of terror, involving murder, rape, sexual slavery and the conscription children younger than 15.
The prosecution had asked the Special Court for Sierra Leone for a sentence of 80 years for Taylor, the president of Liberia from 1997 to 2003, but the judges found the recommendation “excessive” citing the “limited scope” of the conviction in some points.
READ MORE: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/05/30/world/africa/netherlands-taylor-senten…
4 Igbo Traders Killed In Yola-PM News, Lagos
Less than 24 hours after gunmen attacked muslim worshippers in Potiskum, another set of gunmen on a motorcycle shot dead four traders from the mainly Christian Igbo ethnic group in north eastern Nigeria on Monday, residents said.
Islamist group Boko Haram has carried out scores of shootings and bomb attacks in northern Nigeria, but it was not immediately clear who was behind Monday’s killings in the city of Yola, the capital of Adamawa state.
Police could not be reached for comment.
“Two men riding a motorcycle came by some shops owned by Igbo traders,” one resident said.
“They shot dead the four men chatting outside their closed shops around 3:30 pm. Igbos in the city had refused to open their shops in protest over the killing of a bartender in a beer parlour last night by some gunmen.”
In January, gunmen opened fire on worshippers at a church in Yola, killing at least eight people.
Boko Haram’s insurgency has taken more than 1,000 lives since mid-2009.
SNG Rejects How UNILAG Was Named After MKO Abiola
By Yinka Odumakin
The Save Nigeria Group(SNG) while acknowledging the eternal place of Bashorun M.K.O Abiola, the winner of June 12 elections, in the political history of Nigeria and would want the highest possible honor done to him; deplores the indecent manner in which President Goodluck Jonathan has re-named the University of Lagos after him.
Renaming a University established by law through presidential fiat is an abuse of power which would make even the symbol of democracy turn several times in his grave as he died in the process of fighting against arbitrariness and rule of he thumb which the annulment of June 12 represented.
It is violation of the principles and tenets of democracy which government officials are celebrating to go on air to announce the renaming of an institution like the University of Lagos without any consultations with the university community in a manner reminiscent of the autocratic ways of the military brass hats who denied Abiola his victory in 1993 because they arrogated to themselves better knowledge than 14 million Nigerians who went to the polls.
This presidential misdemeanor displayed on the purported renaming of the University of Lagos without due process is at the heart of the mis-governance that has been the signature of a “democratic” president behaving like an Emperor in the last one year.
The scant regard for appropriation laws that led to the theft of N3 trillion on fuel subsidy whereas only N245 billion was appropriated, the deployment of soldiers against peaceful protesters against the law and other violations of due process in the last one year; are all signals of a dangerous mindset driving the country into a full dictatorship while pretending to a democratic order.
It is high time President Jonathan embraced a democratic mindset and stop behaving like maximum ruler.
We restate our demand that M.K.O Abiola must be given a befitting honor or the sacrifices he made for democracy in Nigeria in a decent and worthy manner.
Yinka Odumakin.
Spokesman.
Save Nigeria Group.
Democracy Day National Address By President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan That Caused The UNILAG Students Protest
Preisent Goodluck Jonathan readi the national day speech today
By SaharaReporters, New York
Fellow Nigerians: 1. One year ago, I was privileged to stand before you, to take the oath of office as President of our dear country, the third to serve you as President since the return to democratic rule in 1999. Today, I remember that day and the processes leading to it with profound gratitude to God Almighty and to all Nigerians who have worked very hard to enrich our journey from military dictatorship to inclusive democratic governance.
2. For the past 13 years, we have remained a stable democracy. We have together demonstrated that the government of the people is an ideal that the people of Nigeria cherish. We have our differences as individuals and as politicians, but we have shown great faith in democracy and its institutions. We have refused to be limited by our differences. Despite reservations about some of our institutions, we have refused to submit to despair. This achievement is a testament to the courage and optimism of the Nigerian people.
NTA Newsline TV Broadcaster Sele Eradiri Dead At 57
By SaharaReporters, New York
Sele Eradiri, the Nigeria Television Authority broadcaster who featured on a weekly popular program “Newsline” is dead. Ms. Eradiri died at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital early this morning according to former colleagues.
“Pres. Jonathan’s Regime Is The Most Corrupt, The Most Inept In The History Of Nigeria,” Says CPC’s Rotimi Fashakin
Render Account of Your Rogue Regime, CNPP Urges Obasanjo
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Render Account of Your Rogue Regime, CNPP Urges Obasanjo
Posted: May 24, 2012 - 17:10
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo
By SaharaReporters, New York
The Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) has challenged Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria’s former president, to render an account of his regime.
In a much-quoted statement yesterday, Obasanjo described the State Houses of Assembly and the National Assembly as full of “rogues and armed robbers.”
Obasanjo imperiously queried the quality of the laws such people may be expected to produce, stating, “Integrity is necessary for systems and institutions to be strong.”
Agreeing with the former president about the necessity of integrity, CNPP described Obasanjo’s administration as “A regime that harvested unprecedented oil revenue without commensurate project performance, a regime that bastardized our democracy and a regime which simulated the fault lines hence Boko Haram and other insurgences.”
Recalling that the former general returned from jail a very poor man, CNPP pointed out how, after eight years of looting while in office, he has become one of the richest Africans.
Citing various instances of Obasanjo’s manipulation of the nation’s economy, politics and laws for his personal benefit, it challenged him to explain why all the probes and audit of his regime by the National Assembly have found him culpable.
“Chief Obasanjo blatantly looted the treasury of the nation, withdrew billions from the treasury without appropriation, corrupted the privatization process, serially obstructed justice, which made CNPP to file a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on 24 December 2007, when his immunity exited,” the statement said.
CNPP also pointed out that it has become the trade mark of Chief Obasanjo to paint Nigeria black each time he is out of power, a deceptive strategy he designed long time ago to curry the favour and recognition of the international community, and warned him not to think that he will escape or that his corruption case has been closed.
Sacked Lagos Doctors: Court Upholds Jurisdiction, Capacity Of Medical Guild To Sue; Trial to Commence In June
By SaharaReporters, New York
The National Industrial Court today in Lagos ruled that it has jurisdiction to hear the dispute between the sacked Lagos doctors and the Lagos State Government. The suit was brought before the court by a medical guild on behalf of striking doctors sacked by the state government. The case has now been adjourned to June 19, 2012 for commencement of proceedings.
On Tuesday, the Lagos State Government had asked the industrial court to throw out the suit. The government counsel, Ade Ipaye, had also filed a preliminary objection questioning the jurisdiction of the National Industrial Court to hear the case.
The medical guild had earlier released a statement alleging that Lagos State had designed a malicious plan to prolong the crisis in the state’s healthcare sector by thwarting all moves by various quarters to resolve the feud between striking doctors and the government.
EFCC Docks Lagos Man Over N3m Fraud
Gerald Ifeanyichukwu Mobougwu,
By SaharaReporters, New York
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) today at the Federal High Court in Ikeja arraigned one Gerald Ifeanyichukwu Mobougwu, 39, on three counts of allegedly obtaining the sum of N3.2 million from one Grace P. Enyeting under false pretences.
The EFCC said Mobouhwu, in an advertisement in his church magazine, “The Voice of Communion” in April 2009, invited investors to invest N1 million for 540 days and earn a return of N1, 590,163.93k. He also claimed that some celebrities were among the directors of the Accredited Bonds & Hedges Limited, which was located at 30A Taoridi Street in Surulere, Lagos.
“Based on this advertisement which appeared in the magazine of Communion Church, Festac Town, Lagos; Grace O. Enyeting had no cause to doubt the credibility of the investment company since her church member, (Gerald) was the Managing director of the company,” EFCC reported today. “Oblivious of the fact that Gerald only used the advert to lure church members into investing in the company, Enyeting invested over N3 million into the company only to discover that she had been duped.”
When the case came up before Justice Simeon Adah, Mobouhwu pleaded not guilty to all the charges. The judge granted him bail in the sum of N5 million and one surety who must be a resident of Lagos State.
The case was adjourned till 28th of June 2012 for commencement of trial.
Gunmen Shoot, Injure Police Officer In Kano
By SaharaReporters, New York
Unknown gunmen have struck again in Kano, attacking a police patrol late this evening, .
Police sources said one officer was critically injured when the militants shot at the patrol team on Court Road near the Teaching Hospital in the city.
JAF Calls on Diplomatic Missions To Deny Health Visas to Lagos State Officials
Governor Babatunde Fashola
By SaharaReporters, New York
The Joint Action Front (JAF), a pro-labour civil society coalition, has urged diplomatic missions in Nigeria to place a ban on officials of the Lagos State government seeking visas to travel for health purposes.
In a letter to the missions, JAF said its request was based on the information available to it that senior officials of the government as well as their relatives are travelling abroad for medical treatment, at great cost to the taxpayer and while the greater mass of the people suffer under the current situation.
Recalling the government’s recent sacking of 788 of its doctors and the genesis of the doctor’s strike which led to it, JAF said that its General Congress had determined that all measures, including diplomatic sanctions, should be brought to bear on the government in order to ensure that it rescinds all its deplorable act of insensitivity.
“We believe that leaving the country by any official of the Lagos State Government or their relatives to seek medical treatment abroad while the mass of the people are being denied access to basic healthcare is criminal, and this must not be allowed,” it said in the letter.
Nigerian Government Takes On Ugwuonye, Its Former Lawyer, In US Court
Emeka Ugwuonye
By SaharaReporters, New York
The Nigerian government has filed a series of legal responses to status reports from its former lawyer, Emeka Ugwuonye, whom it accuses of stealing a $1.5 million tax refund from real estate transactions. Mr. Ugwuonye’s questionable handling of the refund was first reported by SaharaReporters.
In the responses to Mr. Ugwuonye, the Embassy of Nigeria in Washington DC, represented by Michael Guiffre of the law firm of Patton Boggs, took apart earlier arguments by the Nigerian-born Ugwuonye. In the filings, the Nigerian embassy’s attorney characterized Mr. Ugwuonye as a man who has consistently lied about his availability to defend the case. The embassy also revealed that Mr. Ugwuonye’s license to practice law in Maryland has been suspended because he failed to pay his bar fees.
The embassy was responding to Ugwuonye’s status filing where he accused Patton Boggs of conniving with the Nigerian government to abduct, torture and illegally detain him in Nigeria. In his filing, Mr. Ugwuonye asked a Washington, DC Federal District Court judge to order the embassy to pay him $4 million for his detention.
However, in an elaborate response, the lawyers to the Nigerian embassy said Mr. Ugwuonye was only trying to turn his criminal trial in Nigeria into a political case by passing himself off as a human rights activist being persecuted by the Nigerian government.
Mr. Ugwuonye had defended the military regime of General Abdulsalami Abubakar (ret.) against lawsuits in the US, services for which he received thousands of dollars in compensation. In a subsequent twist, however, he confiscated monies recovered from the United States Internal Revenue Service for unrelated real estate transactions in which he had represented the Embassy. That act led to his subsequent arrest in Nigeria for criminal breach of trust.
Medical Guild Alleges Lagos State Government’s Desperation To Prolong Crisis in the Health Sector
By SaharaReporters, New York
The Lagos State Medical Guild, a body of medical practitioners, has accused the state government of a malicious intent to prolong the ongoing crisis in the healthcare sector. The guild, which had filed a suit challenging the move by the Lagos State Government to sack 788 striking doctors employed by the state, reacted sharply to the state government’s legal ploy at yesterday’s session of the National Industrial Court (NIC) where the case is being heard.
The doctors embarked on a strike to protest the state government’s failure to implement pay and other benefits negotiated in a package called CONMESS. After the state government announced it was sacking all the striking doctors, their guild filed a suit at the industrial court seeking to stop the action.
The suit could not be heard at yesterday’s session as Lagos State’s counsel, Ade Ipaye, filed a preliminary objection challenging the jurisdiction of the National Industrial Court to hear the case. Mr. Ipaye also questioned the legal capacity of the medical guild to sue on behalf of the doctors, claiming that the body is not a recognized body and therefore could not bring a suit on behalf of the grieving doctors.
Counsel to the guild, Bamidele Aturu, however countered the state’s plea. In the end, the hearing was bogged down by argument over the industrial court’s jurisdiction.
Meanwhile, the National Industrial Court had ruled last year during a similar face-off between the medical practitioners and the state government that the doctors had a right to embark on a strike.
In a statement issued today and signed by the chairman of the Lagos Medical Guild, Mr. Odusote, and the Guild’s secretary, Mr. Idris Olusola Durojaiye, the medical group accused the Lagos State Government of desperation to prolong the healthcare crisis in the state.
“The events at the National Industrial Court and the NBA-mediation committee meeting on Tuesday 22nd May 2012 have once again exposed the desperation of the Lagos State Government to prolong the present health sector crisis as long as possible for self-serving reasons,” the statement alleged.
The guild also stated that top Lagos State officials were working hard to stall any hearing on the case of the sacked doctors by challenging the competence of any court to hear the matter.
“The court is yet to hear the substantive case of illegal sack. Top government officials have boasted that they will drag the issue of jurisdiction as far as the Supreme Court in order to further prolong commencement of hearing of the substantive suit.
“Having realized the illegality of the mass sack of doctors and the possible reversal of this action by the court, the government is trying to avoid public embarrassment by prolonging the matter in court as long as possible in order to break the resolve of the doctors. This will not happen as all doctors in the country have resolved to protect the dignity, sanctity and honor of the medical profession,” said the guild.
Soon after the adjournment of the hearing at the NIC yesterday, the doctors said they headed for a mediation meeting called by the Nigerian Bar Association. The NBA had called the meeting to help resolve the lingering crisis between the Lagos State Government and the sacked doctors. But guild officials claimed that some top officials of Lagos State again schemed to scuttle the reconciliation bid.
“Similarly, at the NBA-mediation committee meeting later same day, the government team also frustrated the efforts of the mediators by requesting for an indefinite adjournment of the sitting. This has effectively put an end to negotiations between the government and the doctors,” said the guild’s statement.
The guild added, “It is rather unfortunate that while the suffering masses are clamoring for a speedy resolution of the crisis, the government is busy playing politics with their lives. At this point, the masses are at the mercy of the government they supposedly voted to power to
protect their welfare.” The guild pledged its determination to “continue to pursue all legal and
peaceful means of resolving this crisis.”
Public hospitals in Lagos have been shut for several weeks due to the government’s feud with the doctors. The state government recently claimed it had employed some 300 doctors for the government-owned hospitals, but sources within the health sector dispelled the claim.
Profile of Nigeria's Boko Haram Leader Abubakar Shekau-BBC
Nigeria’s Boko Haram Leader Abubakar Shekau
By BBC News website
Abubakar Shekau is the leader of the militant Islamist group Boko Haram, which has carried out a series of deadly attacks across northern Nigeria. Abdullahi Tasiu Abubakar from the BBC Hausa service looks at Nigeria’s most wanted man.
The leader of the militant Islamist group Boko Haram is said to be a fearless loner, a complex, paradoxical man - part intellectual, part gangster.
Fondly called imam or leader by his followers, Abubakar Muhammad Shekau was born in Shekau village in Nigeria’s north-eastern state of Yobe.
Fraudster Jailed Four Years Over N75m Scam-EFCC
By Wilson Uwujaren
Justice Abdulahi Shuaibu of the Federal High Court Kaduna, on Friday May 18th, 2012 sentenced a fraudster, Okeke Oscar Nkem to four years imprisonment for attempting to obtain the sum of $ 500,000 by false pretence.
The convict was dragged to court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC in June, 2008 after being arrested at Timasys Cybercafé, Owerri, Imo state in a nation-wide raid code-named ‘Operation Cyberstorm 1’.
When he was arraigned, the convict pleaded not guilty to the two-count charge.
Okeke’s trouble started when he was arrested at a cybercafé in Ikenegbu area of Owerri, Imo State behind a computer system with a document titled ‘GET RICH QUICK’, in which he claimed to be one Mark Wrangle, a manager of an Australian bank.
In the said document, he was requesting the recipient to claim the sum of $500,000 (Five Hundred Thousand US Dollars) which he claimed belonged to a deceased person.
In another document titled “REQUEST TO TRANSFER $450,000 TO YOUR ACCOUNT”, the convict claimed to be Emeka Henry, an accountant with Oceanic Bank and was soliciting the use of recipient’s account details to transfer the sum of $450 (Four Hundred and Fifty Thousand US Dollars) which was supposedly stolen from state treasury.
EFCC in prosecuting the case called one witness and tendered several documents.
Justice Shuaibu while convicting the accused person stated the jail term would start counting from the date of Okeke’s arrest.
Activists Reject "Ibori Judge" Awokulehin Handling Former Nassarawa Governor's Corruption Case-PREMIUM TIMES
Justice Marcel Awokulehin
By Idris Akinbajo
Civil Society Organisations say Justice Marcel Awokulehin does not have the moral pedigree to preside over any other corruption case.
A judge whom civil society groups say has “brought so much shame to Nigeria” is to decide whether Aliyu Akwe-Doma, former Governor of Nassarawa state corruptly enriched himself to the tune of 15bn naira.
Marcel Awokulehin, presiding judge of a Federal High Court in Nassarawa state on Monday listened to arguments on whether or not charges filed against the former by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) should be quashed.
In defending his client, counsel to the former Governor, Charles Edosonwan, stated that “this is a criminal proceeding that ought not to proceed.” The basis for this submission by Mr. Edosonwan was a previous ruling by Mr. Awokulehin.
How President Jonathan, Ministers And Cronies Shared N155 Billion From Malabu Oil Block Sale Scam-PREMIUM TIMES
President Goodluck Jonathan
By Idris Akinbajo
The presidency, his associates and some ministers have been named in a monumental money laundering scandal, one of the most elaborate in Nigeria’s history.
PREMIUM TIMES can reveal today that the N155billion secretly paid to convicted money launderer, Dan Etete, by the Federal Government, on the orders of President Goodluck Jonathan, was actually a slush fund, with a huge chunk of it ending in bank accounts of cronies and business associates of government officials and at least one individual with links to Mr. Jonathan.
Justice Salami: FG Will Not Act On NJC Recommendation, AGF Adoke Says
By SaharaReporters, New York
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), has said that the federal government places no immediate value on last week’s recommendation of the National Judicial Council (NJC) to recall the suspended President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Isa Salami.
Augustine Effiong: A Southerner And A Member Of Boko Haram; Confesses To Attacks On Christians At BUK-ChannelsTV
By Channelstv.com
Augustine Effiong, 25, an indigene of Akwa Ibom State, who is popularly known as Abubakar Garba said on Monday that he helped carry out deadly attacks on April 29 at church services in the old campus of the Bayero University, Kano (BUK) and admitted belonging to the extremist group, Boko Haram in his confession to police.
The Scene of the BUK blast that killed about 20 people including two professors
The State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Idris who disclosed this in a press statement made available to reporters said that, Mr Effiong had confessed to be one of those behind the attack on Christian worshipers at BUK.
Jonathan, Shell, Etete In Fresh N155billion Scandal-PREMIUM TIMES
President Goodluck Jonathan
By Idris Akinbajo
The Federal Government is enmeshed in court cases in the U.S. and UK over a curious $1.1bn (about N155 billion) payment made to a company belonging to former oil minister, Dan Etete.
Four years after he was convicted of money laundering in France, Dan Etete, a former Petroleum Minister, through his company Malabu Oil, has become a billion dollar richer, courtesy of the Nigerian Government and Shell.
According to documents (filed March 22, 2012) before the Supreme Court of the State of New York in the US, President Goodluck Jonathan discreetly approved the transfer of the sum of $1.1bn to Mr. Etete on April 29, 2011, two weeks after he was re-elected.
The Looting Of Nigeria: BIG OIL’s $140 Billion A Year and Counting By Thomas C. Mountain
Niger Delta
By Thomas C. Mountain
As western oil companies loot some $140 billion a year of Nigeria’s black gold, two thirds of the country’s 100 million people live on less than $2 a day.
Nigeria’s “official” oil production figures show about 3 million barrels a day being pumped from their oil fields into the holds of western tankers, though for decades now informed observers have estimated up to one third of all Nigerian oil is actually “stolen”, secretly loaded onto oil tankers after bribes are paid to corrupt government officials.
If 4 million barrels of oil are being shipped out of Nigeria daily at $100 a barrel, times 30 days a month, times 12 months, you arrive at almost $150 billion a year in potential oil revenues for Nigeria.
Nigerian Man Goes To China To Find 'American Dream,' Launches Social Network-PRI
Spartan Arinze-Founder of Gbooza.com
BY NINA PORZUCKI
Gbooza.com is Spartan Arinze’s new social network/news aggregator for Nigerians.
Spartan Arinze is pursuing the American dream, in China. He’s created a social network for Nigerians and Nigerians living in China called Gbooza! It’s part Facebook, part Huffington Post and completely devoted to Nigerians. It’s not a run-away success yet, but Arinze is confident.
When Spartan Arinze landed at the Guangzhou airport in southern China more than a decade ago he had $300 in his pocket and he didn’t speak a word of Chinese but he felt destined to do something big.
“I came to China with the hope of looking for the American dream. You must have read that on my profile,” Arinze said.
Annual Ritual: You Spill Oil, No We Don’t By Hélène Michaud-RNW
Mmmm, Niger Delta water… © Photo: Hélène Michaud - http://www.rnw.nl/africa
By Hélène Michaud
The media are full of reports about oil theft in Nigeria, environmental activists are busy launching cool new campaigns to embarrass Shell – it can only mean one thing: it’s almost time for the oil multinational’s annual shareholder meeting.
Dutch environmental organisations and Royal Dutch Shell are used to vying for the public’s attention, but this competition goes into overdrive every year in early May in the run-up to Shell’s annual shareholders meeting which begins today (Tuesday) in The Hague.
Gunmen Attack ‘Yankalare’ Vocational Centre In Gombe
Heavily armed men last night stormed the vocational camp of repented thugs popularly known as ‘Yankalare’ in Gombe state.
Achebe’s Things Fall Apart Named One Of 50 Most Influential Books Of Last 50 Years
By SaharaReporters, New York
Things Fall Apart, the classic novel by Africa’s foremost novelist Chinua Achebe, has been named one of the “fifty most influential books of the last 50 years.”
Boko Haram Threatens To Bomb Government Buildings In 19 Northern States, Abuja-PREMIUM TIMES
By Abdulrahman Abdulmalik
Boko Haram issues new threats and says all government establishments in northern Nigeria and Abuja should be evacuated in preparation for deadly attacks
The extremist Boko Haram sect says it is set to resume its deadly attacks with sights now aimed at bombing government-owned properties, offices and residential quarters, in the 19 northern states and Abuja.
In what appears to be a defensive response to growing public anger and a tactical shift in operational approach, the spokesperson for the sect, Abul Qaqa, told PREMIUM TIMES, Thursday afternoon, that the facilities being targeted are in retaliation for the destruction of properties belonging to its members and those it characterized as “innocent landlords” in some parts of Kano and Borno States.
Nigerians, Where Do We Go From Here? By Leonard Karshima Shilgba
By Leonard Karshima Shilgba
Only a few Nigerians may not be aware that their country is presently engaged with too many problems on her plate. But how do we articulate those problems in a way that facilitates an understanding of both the dimension and probable solutions? There are some Nigerians that hold the view that Nigeria’s fundamental problem is “corruption”, by which they imply misappropriation of the people’s commonwealth. Some believe that Nigeria’s problem is “lack of true federalism”, which they mean the absence of resource control by local governments, regions or states, and the presence of so many legislative restrictions that frustrate regional security, regional economic agendas, regional justice, and regional infrastructural development. But are those two broad categorizations of Nigeria’s problems truly representative of the problems of Nigeria? Where do we go from here?
ICPC Arrests Deputy Director Over Fraudulent Acquisition Of Properties
Citizen reports
The Independent Corrupt practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), has announced the arrest of a Deputy Director in the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment, Engineer Victor Nnamdi Igboanugo for alleged illegal acquisition of properties, looting of government funds and bribery.
Mr. Igbuanago allegedly acquired properties in Nigeria and the United States of America in the tune of hundreds of millions of naira. Head of Public Enlightenment department of ICPC, Mike Sowe, said that investigators discovered that Engr. Igboanugo fraudulently enriched himself with tax payers’ money by circumventing the procurement due process while serving at the ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and at his current workplace in the ministry of Trade and Investment.
US Dept Of Justice Wants Boko Haram Labeled As Foreign Terrorist Organization-REUTERS
Screenshot of Boko Haram bombing Thisday offices in Abuja
By Mark Hosenball and John Shiffman
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Justice Department is pressing the State Department to designate Boko Haram, a Nigerian militant group alleged to be responsible for hundreds of deaths, as a “foreign terrorist organization,” according to a document obtained by Reuters.
Lisa Monaco, head of the Justice Department’s national security division, sent a letter in January to State Department counter-terrorism chief Daniel Benjamin requesting that Boko Haram, also known as the “Nigerian Taliban,” be put on the list.
A Congressional source said that in the last few days, State Department representatives have lobbied Congress to try to stop legislation which would force the administration to act against the group or explain why they had not done so.
On Thursday, Rep. Patrick Meehan, a Republican who chairs a House subcommittee on Homeland Security, introduced an amendment to a defense bill that does just that, after he said State officials inexplicably cancel led a briefing on Boko Haram.
Jonathan Annual Feeding Budget Drop To N910 Million From N1 Billion-PREMIUM TIMES
Cabinet members eating Cassava bread
The president has made cuts on the controversial ‘feeding allowance’ which was presented in the 2012 budget in December, 2012
President Goodluck Jonathan discreetly reversed his administration’s plan to spend more than half a billion naira on assorted armoured utility cars after a bloody protest in January, but only managed to lower a controversial N947 million feeding cost by a meager N90 million, a re-examination of the approved 2012 budget has shown.
The budget, revised once by Mr. Jonathan before a final passage by the National Assembly in April, provides details of how the president responded stealthily to the barrage of criticisms he faced over the proposed expenditures without making public the adjustments.
Nigerian Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual And Transgender Activists In London Protest Against Anti -Same Sex Laws
Nigerian LGBT’s in Diaspora Against Anti Same Sex Laws held a rally outside Nigerian Embassy in London, UK to mark the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.
The rally was held on Thursday May 17th 2012 with the Theme- “We Are Family- Freedom to Love for all Nigerians”.
Speakers shared personal stories and experiences of Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia and a letter was delivered to officials of the Nigerian High Commission.
A former student activist of the OAU, Ile-Ife, Yemisi Ilesanmi led the protest. She said a position paper on the Anti-Same Sex Marriage bill currently pending before the Nigerian legislatures had already been sent to the Nigerian Legislative organ and the Executive.
PM NEWS LAGOS-Same Sex Marriage: Obama’s Nod Emboldens Nigerian Gays
My Name Is Not Aje Butter By Chika Oduah
By Chika Oduah
I no sabi twist ma lips and tongue to say “ogogoro” or “kakaraka.” Pidgin bin no dey around me where dem born me, when I bin dey grow. So you fit think say I no be your average Naija but I still dey try sha. And the only reason when I fit translate dis message na because my person dey around me wey dey tell me wetin I go write. Na so we see am.
For socio-linguistic reciprocation, I must translate that to the familiar dialect- the twang of American southern English—that I grew up speaking. Here it goes… Ah dunno haaoh tuh cun torn’t mah lips an ben’ ma tung tuh s’ayee werdz l’ike “ogogoro” or “kakaraka.” Pij en, wel ah ges in’t jes wud’n uh r’ow ‘n mee gr’owe en up an so you ma’ee en ter pruht dat tuh meen ahm nod un averug Nahgerean but hey ahs ‘till try en d own lee ree zun ahm aye bull tuh cun vay this ah dee uhs en this meh sej rite now iz bih cuz ma fren will ungly tranz lated ma thots en tuh pij en an thay ‘er yuh hah’v ih.
Let me switch back to standard American English, because I need to speak the truth and I need you to understand it: I grew up in America. But my name is not aje butter.
Nigerian Police Report Boko Haram Killed 308 In 2011
A victim of a bomb blasts at the UN offices in Abuja is loaded into an ambulance on April 21, 2011
Agenzia Giornalistica Italia
(AGI) Abuja - Nigeria’s police reports that in 2011 the fundamentalist Islamic group Boko Haram launched 118 terror attacks killing 308 people in six states in north-central Nigeria, plus the federal capital of Abuja. From the time Boko Haram began its attacks against the Nigerian government in 2009 to January 2012, the group has killed at least 1,200 people, according to numbers from the Nigerian army, which for all practical purposes has been given the task of reestablishing law and order in the country’s north. Police Minister, Caleb Olubolade, has also confirmed that, in 2011, 33 terrorists were arrested and raised the alarm about the low number of men at his disposal. There are 370,000 Nigerian police officer, but the ministry would “650,000 in a nation of 160 million people, which is also particularly complex to manage.” As far as the other national emergency, kidnapping, the police has explained that there were 366 in 2011, of which 140 ended with the victim’s release, which was not the case for Franco Lamolinara, the Italian engineer who was killed in a rescue attempt on March 8 after being held for ten months. A Briton, Chris McManus was also killed. A barracks has been opened in the northern state of Kaduna to train 500 soldiers in anti-terror tactics. The program will consist of “psycho-physical training, courses in mental agility, street patrolling, combat in closed spaces, bodyguard skills, air and bus rescue, attacks against terrorist hiding places or training camps.” The director of the course, General Tijjani Golau, said, “The time has come to prepare ourselves. The current security situation in the country faces us with a challenge we have never seen in the past.” . .
Pastor Adeboye At 70 Shuns Calls To Quit As Redeem Christian Church General Overseer-PM News, Lagos
Pastor Enoch Adeboye, general overseer, RCCG, Nigeria
By PM News, Lagos
Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God who turned 70 this year, has shunned the call from the Europe-based pastors of the church to relinquish the post of the General Overseer.
It was alleged that about 20 pastors from the branches of the Church in Europe met with the revered man of God in his International office at Redemption Camp, KM 46, Lagos/Ibadan Expressway, Mowe, Ogun State, to advise him to resign so that a younger pastor could be appointed to head the church.
House of Reps Hembe Is Charged For Corrupt Enrichment
Hembe and EFCC officials
By SaharaReporters, New York
Controversial Chairman House of Rep. Committee on Capital Market, Herman Hembe arrives at the High Court in Abuja on Thursday to face charges of corruption.
Mr. Hembe was initially leading an investigation into the collapse of the Nigerian capital market but got busted when it was revealed that he recieved travel grants from the Nigerian Stock Exchange and pocketed it.
