Friday 7 October 2016

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Inegbeniki, in a statement, yesterday in Warri, on behalf of “APC Disciples in Edo,” said, “It is unfortunate that our national leader, whom we all respect so much and Timi Frank, have asked Oyegun to resign from office, without disclosing the offence that he committed to warrant his resignation.

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/10/nobody-can-force-oyegun-office-apc-national-chairman/

The Federal Government drops case against Saraki

In what spells good days for the relationship between the Executive and Legislative arms of Government, the Federal Government has filed a motion to drop the charge of criminal conspiracy and forgery of senate standing order against Senate President Bukola Saraki and his Deputy, Ike Ekweremadu.
This was applied for by a litigation officer from the Federal Ministry of Justice, Odubu Loveme, who filed an affidavit in support of the motion before the High Court of Federal Capital Territory.
THE WILL recalls that Saraki, Ekweremadu, as well as a former Clerk of the National Assembly, Salisu Maikasuwa, and a former Deputy clerk, Ben Efeturi, were on June 20th arraigned before Justice Yusuf Halilu, on charges of forgery of the senate standing order during the senate leadership election held in June last year and all pleaded not guilty on July 27, 2016.
In the motion filed by Loveme in the office of the Director of Public Prosecution, he revealed that the prosecution had studied the case diary and had decided to amend the charge in the manner stated on the face of the motion paper while Maikasuwa and Efeturi would continue to face trial over the case.
“That I depose to this affidavit in good faith believing same to be correct to the best of my knowledge and information and in accordance with the Oaths Act Cap 01 laws of the Federation of Nigeria,” he affirmed.
Count 1 of the charge against the two civil servants, is that of Criminal Conspiracy punishable under section 97 (1) Penal Code Act ( Northern States) Federation Provisions Act, 1960, Cap 345, laws of the Federation 1990 as amended.

Friday 1 July 2016

Quitting my job, was a huge risk – Paul Okoye’s Wife

Anita Isama the wife of Paul Okoye of the former P-Square duo, quit her 9-5 job recently and explained that she wasn’t finding fulfillment in it.
She took to her Instagram page to share her reasons saying:
“Changes. This quote resonates with me because, at the beginning of 2016, I found myself unfulfilled in my 9-5.
Life was a bit robotic, mundane, I felt limited. I never knew I would be an entrepreneur, but I knew I didn’t want to be sitting behind a desk all day.
The creative in me wanted some shine and I had to answer.
Quitting my job, was a huge risk, financially and psychologically.
I swapped my high heels & Blazers for sneakers and hard hats.
I have no regrets, no looking back. I’ve been taking it one day at a time, it’s not been easy, but I’m nearly ready to reveal my new projects.”
LOKOJA—AS the ongoing industrial action by workers in Kogi State enters day five today, the state government yesterday, described the strike as act of sabotage. This came as a human rights activist, Abdul Miliki, threw his weight behind the strike, calling on the government to settle with labour as well as resolve the lingering crisis in the state House of Assembly. Yahaya-Bello Yahaya-Bello The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, joined by the banks have been on strike since Monday protesting government decision to open salary accounts for workers in Zenith bank, while local government workers were opened in Access bank. The workers are also protesting six months salary arrears, as well as the sending-off of some top government functionaries on compulsory leave without any allegation against them. Government, however, in a statement by Commissioner for Information and Culture, Muhammed Awwal, said the workers’ action was an of sabotage, considering the fact that payment of arrears of salaries had commenced two weeks ago.

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/07/kogi-strike-act-sabotage-govt/Anita Isama the wife of Paul Okoye of the former P-Square duo, quit her 9-5 job recently and explained that she wasn’t finding fulfillment in it.
She took to her Instagram page to share her reasons saying:
“Changes. This quote resonates with me because, at the beginning of 2016, I found myself unfulfilled in my 9-5.
Life was a bit robotic, mundane, I felt limited. I never knew I would be an entrepreneur, but I knew I didn’t want to be sitting behind a desk all day.
The creative in me wanted some shine and I had to answer.
Quitting my job, was a huge risk, financially and psychologically.
I swapped my high heels & Blazers for sneakers and hard hats.
I have no regrets, no looking back. I’ve been taking it one day at a time, it’s not been easy, but I’m nearly ready to reveal my new projects.”

Sunday 29 May 2016

Zamfara State, Nigeria

In March 2010, the international humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders, MSF) discovered an outbreak of lead poisoning in remote villages in Zamfara State, Nigeria. More than 17,000 people were severely poisoned and 400-500 children died as a result of soil lead contamination associated with artisanal gold mining/processing in residential compounds. International organizations collaborated with Nigerian health authorities and local civil and traditional governments to provide emergency medical, environmental, technical, and public health response.

Remediation activities, conducted in three phases from May 2010 to July 2013, were modeled on Idaho/U.S. Environmental Protection Agency “Superfund” protocols. Post-cleanup activities included medical treatment in MSF-run clinics, monitoring the sustainability of the remediation, and implementation of safer mining practices. The epidemic has been characterized as unprecedented, and the ensuing cleanup one of the largest and most comprehensive ever undertaken by an African government. 

Remediating the villages presented numerous resource, logistic, cultural, institutional, and technical challenges. The remote area is difficult to access and has little infrastructure. Village life is ruled by overlapping civil, tribal, and Sharia governments, exhibits gender-segregated social structure, suffers numerous endemic diseases with limited healthcare, and a workforce dependent on primitive tools and labor practices. The cleanup evolved from an emergency response initially developed and directed largely by international personnel from TerraGraphics (TG) to a multi-disciplinary program carried out by Nigerian federal, state, and local governments employing village workers.
On 14 April 2014 the insurgency group Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls from their local school in Chibok in Nigeria. Two years on, most of the girls are still missing. And they are not alone: We estimate that a total of 2,000 women and girls, as well as many boys have been abducted.
Distressingly, girls and women that do return face mistrust and persecution. Communities fear they may have been radicalised, and their children born of sexual violence 'tainted' by the blood of Boko Haram fighters. This puts them at risk of discrimination and even potential violence in the future.
A new project by International Alert and UNICEF seeks to address this. We aim to give returning women and girls a future and support their re-integration.
Together with our partners, Federation of Muslim Women's Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN) and Herwa Community Development Initiative, we run collective therapy sessions and dialogue clubs where survivors can talk about their experiences. We also help local communities prepare for their return by fostering empathy and trust.
The project is in early days, but is already helping transform lives. Read some of their stories below.
But there is an urgent need - and opportunity - to scale up this work. This is why we are calling on the international community to not only #BringBackOurGirls, but also step up support for the girls and their communities when they do return.
Please join us to help raise awareness of these issues, and help build a better #FutureForOurGirls
- See more at: http://www.international-alert.org/future-for-our-girls#sthash.X30lD0sX.25QU3GtR.dpuf
Ado-Ekiti-Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has lamented that one year of the All Progressives Congress (APC) government of President Mohammadu Buhari, has recorded nothing but woes and unprecedented hardship. He said the country’s economy has been ruined so much that States could no longer pay workers’ salaries, millions of jobs were lost, prices of essential commodities skyrocketed to the extent that Nigerians could no longer afford common tomato to cook and the middle class wiped away completely. In a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose said; “Despite President Buhari’s electoral promise to reduce petrol pump price from the N87 per litre that he met it and make life more bearable for Nigerians, he increased the price of petrol to N145, increased electricity tariff in spite of lack of power supply.” He said; “food scarcity last experienced when Buhari was military Head of State between 1983 and 1985 has returned to the country, with Nigerians being unable to feed.” The governor who said Nigerians should remove party, ethnic and religious sentiments and ask themselves what they have benefited in the last one year, reminded Nigerians that “Foreign Reserve was $28.6 billion, Excess Crude Account (ECA) was $2.07 billion, dollars was less than N200, petrol was N87 per litre and most importantly, one bag of rice was N8, 500 and power generation was over 5,000MW when Buhari assumed office. The statement read in part; “Today, power generation is less than 1,400, Foreign Reserve has reduced to $26.5 billion, dollar is now over N350, petrol has increased to N145 per litre and one bag of rice is now over N15, 000!” “I read the president’s speech and all that I saw was a president still sounding like he was campaigning for votes more than one year after winning election. It is disappointing that the President’s speech was once again about promises, not about what has been done. “Not even a mention of one kilometre of road tarred by this administration, no single job was created except the ones created in Central Bank of Nigeria for their cronnies and children, not a single megawatt of electricity generated. This is shameful. “The reward Buhari gave to Nigerians for electing as president was to increase petrol pump price by N58.50 and get the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo to justify the increment by saying Nigeria was broke! “In other words, President Buhari increased petrol pump price because the country was broke and it needed to shore up its revenue base. The N58.50 added to the previous pump price of N86.50 was an Indirect Tax imposed on each litre of petrol purchased by Nigerians.

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/05/one-year-anniversary-buhariapc-ruined-nigerias-economy-fayose/
In March 2010, the international humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders, MSF) discovered an outbreak of lead poisoning in remote villages in Zamfara State, Nigeria. More than 17,000 people were severely poisoned and 400-500 children died as a result of soil lead contamination associated with artisanal gold mining/processing in residential compounds. International organizations collaborated with Nigerian health authorities and local civil and traditional governments to provide emergency medical, environmental, technical, and public health response.

Remediation activities, conducted in three phases from May 2010 to July 2013, were modeled on Idaho/U.S. Environmental Protection Agency “Superfund” protocols. Post-cleanup activities included medical treatment in MSF-run clinics, monitoring the sustainability of the remediation, and implementation of safer mining practices. The epidemic has been characterized as unprecedented, and the ensuing cleanup one of the largest and most comprehensive ever undertaken by an African government. 

Remediating the villages presented numerous resource, logistic, cultural, institutional, and technical challenges. The remote area is difficult to access and has little infrastructure. Village life is ruled by overlapping civil, tribal, and Sharia governments, exhibits gender-segregated social structure, suffers numerous endemic diseases with limited healthcare, and a workforce dependent on primitive tools and labor practices. The cleanup evolved from an emergency response initially developed and directed largely by international personnel from TerraGraphics (TG) to a multi-disciplinary program carried out by Nigerian federal, state, and local governments employing village workers.
On 14 April 2014 the insurgency group Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls from their local school in Chibok in Nigeria. Two years on, most of the girls are still missing. And they are not alone: We estimate that a total of 2,000 women and girls, as well as many boys have been abducted.
Distressingly, girls and women that do return face mistrust and persecution. Communities fear they may have been radicalised, and their children born of sexual violence 'tainted' by the blood of Boko Haram fighters. This puts them at risk of discrimination and even potential violence in the future.
A new project by International Alert and UNICEF seeks to address this. We aim to give returning women and girls a future and support their re-integration.
Together with our partners, Federation of Muslim Women's Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN) and Herwa Community Development Initiative, we run collective therapy sessions and dialogue clubs where survivors can talk about their experiences. We also help local communities prepare for their return by fostering empathy and trust.
The project is in early days, but is already helping transform lives. Read some of their stories below.
But there is an urgent need - and opportunity - to scale up this work. This is why we are calling on the international community to not only #BringBackOurGirls, but also step up support for the girls and their communities when they do return.
Please join us to help raise awareness of these issues, and help build a better #FutureForOurGirls
- See more at: http://www.international-alert.org/future-for-our-girls#sthash.X30lD0sX.25QU3GtR.dpuf
On 14 April 2014 the insurgency group Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls from their local school in Chibok in Nigeria. Two years on, most of the girls are still missing. And they are not alone: We estimate that a total of 2,000 women and girls, as well as many boys have been abducted.
Distressingly, girls and women that do return face mistrust and persecution. Communities fear they may have been radicalised, and their children born of sexual violence 'tainted' by the blood of Boko Haram fighters. This puts them at risk of discrimination and even potential violence in the future.
A new project by International Alert and UNICEF seeks to address this. We aim to give returning women and girls a future and support their re-integration.
Together with our partners, Federation of Muslim Women's Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN) and Herwa Community Development Initiative, we run collective therapy sessions and dialogue clubs where survivors can talk about their experiences. We also help local communities prepare for their return by fostering empathy and trust.
The project is in early days, but is already helping transform lives. Read some of their stories below.
But there is an urgent need - and opportunity - to scale up this work. This is why we are calling on the international community to not only #BringBackOurGirls, but also step up support for the girls and their communities when they do return.
Please join us to help raise awareness of these issues, and help build a better #FutureForOurGirls
- See more at: http://www.international-alert.org/future-for-our-girls#sthash.X30lD0sX.25QU3GtR.dpuf
On 14 April 2014 the insurgency group Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls from their local school in Chibok in Nigeria. Two years on, most of the girls are still missing. And they are not alone: We estimate that a total of 2,000 women and girls, as well as many boys have been abducted.
Distressingly, girls and women that do return face mistrust and persecution. Communities fear they may have been radicalised, and their children born of sexual violence 'tainted' by the blood of Boko Haram fighters. This puts them at risk of discrimination and even potential violence in the future.
A new project by International Alert and UNICEF seeks to address this. We aim to give returning women and girls a future and support their re-integration.
Together with our partners, Federation of Muslim Women's Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN) and Herwa Community Development Initiative, we run collective therapy sessions and dialogue clubs where survivors can talk about their experiences. We also help local communities prepare for their return by fostering empathy and trust.
The project is in early days, but is already helping transform lives. Read some of their stories below.
But there is an urgent need - and opportunity - to scale up this work. This is why we are calling on the international community to not only #BringBackOurGirls, but also step up support for the girls and their communities when they do return.
Please join us to help raise awareness of these issues, and help build a better #FutureForOurGirls
- See more at: http://www.international-alert.org/future-for-our-girls#sthash.X30lD0sX.25QU3GtR.dpuf

Friday 8 April 2016

Armsgate: Court dismisses Metuh’s application on change of trial Judge

Justice Abang Okon of the Federal High Court has ruled on Metuh’s application on the change of trial judge, striking out his application for lacking in merit, terming same as abuse of court proceedings.
It would be recalled that one of the counsels to Metuh, Emeka Etiaba had recently filed an application demanding justice Abang to disqualify himself from the case for being bias.
However, ruling on the matter on Friday afternoon, Abang held that the defendant had failed to provide facts that he had exhibited bias in his handling of the matter.
He ruled, “It is my humble view that the application lacks merit, it is an abuse of court proceedings and is appropriately dismissed,” Justice Abang said.
Earlier, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Friday faulted the allegation that the trial judge in charge of Olisa Metuh’s case, Justice Okon Abang exhibited bias while carrying out his function.
EFCC’s lawyer, Sylvanus Tahir said this during Metuh’s ongoing trial at the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.
According to Tahir, there is no evidence by the defendant to show that the trial judge had exhibited bias in his conduct.

Nigeria: Budget - Emergency Federal Executive Meeting Holds Today

The Federal Executive Council will meet in emergency today over the 2016 budget details submitted to President Muhammadu Buhari by the National Assembly yesterday.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, confirmed this exclusively to our correspondent yesterday evening.
Another top government official also told our correspondent yesterday that the details of the budget would be forwarded to all ministers between yesterday and today for a review.
President Muhammadu Buhari had last week insisted that he would critically review the Appropriation Bill before assenting to it.
The source, who craved anonymity, also confirmed that the executive would go through the details of the budget, see the corrections and take steps on implementation.
"Between today (yesterday) and tomorrow (today), the budget details will be forwarded to the ministers to start reviewing and seeing the corrections and also taking steps on how to implement them. They want to do things based on facts, not lies," he said.
The source said the ministers would go through the details of the budget "within a short time."
But asked how long the budget review would last, he simply said: "The ministers are the ones supervising the ministries.

Nigeria: Govt Urges NLC to Shelve Planned Warning Strike

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, has appealed to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to rescind its planned warning strike over the new electricity tariff in the overall interest of the nation.
He made the appeal in Abuja yesterday at the 3rd Triennial National Delegates Conference of the Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC).
Ngige said the dispute over the increase in electricity tariff was before the National Assembly, urging the NLC to allow the National Assembly arbitrate on the matter.
The minister advised investors in the power sector to provide decent working environment for their staff as his ministry would no longer tolerate unfair labour practices, even as he urged workers to do their best in the promotion of productivity.

Thursday 7 April 2016

Stand with Girls Pursuing Their Education

In Nigeria 276 girls remain missing after being abducted from their school by the terror group Boko Haram.

The girls were taken because they were pursuing their education – a reminder to us all of the many obstacles related to culture and tradition that girls in many parts of the world must overcome to improve their lives. 

As we pray for the girls’ safe return, we ask you to please stand with girls everywhere risking their lives to attend school. Please provide your email below.

Zamfara State, Nigeria

In March 2010, the international humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders, MSF) discovered an outbreak of lead poisoning in remote villages in Zamfara State, Nigeria. More than 17,000 people were severely poisoned and 400-500 children died as a result of soil lead contamination associated with artisanal gold mining/processing in residential compounds. International organizations collaborated with Nigerian health authorities and local civil and traditional governments to provide emergency medical, environmental, technical, and public health response.

Remediation activities, conducted in three phases from May 2010 to July 2013, were modeled on Idaho/U.S. Environmental Protection Agency “Superfund” protocols. Post-cleanup activities included medical treatment in MSF-run clinics, monitoring the sustainability of the remediation, and implementation of safer mining practices. The epidemic has been characterized as unprecedented, and the ensuing cleanup one of the largest and most comprehensive ever undertaken by an African government. 

Remediating the villages presented numerous resource, logistic, cultural, institutional, and technical challenges. The remote area is difficult to access and has little infrastructure. Village life is ruled by overlapping civil, tribal, and Sharia governments, exhibits gender-segregated social structure, suffers numerous endemic diseases with limited healthcare, and a workforce dependent on primitive tools and labor practices. The cleanup evolved from an emergency response initially developed and directed largely by international personnel from TerraGraphics (TG) to a multi-disciplinary program carried out by Nigerian federal, state, and local governments employing village workers.

The Source of Lead Poisoning

The source of the epidemic was artisanal gold mining that became prolific in 2009-10. For several months, ore processing was conducted at numerous sites within the villages. Because local religious and cultural practices include the sequestration of married women, ore crushing, washing, and gold recovery were undertaken within homes to utilize the women’s labor. During the rapid increase in mining activities, a dangerous gold ore exceeding 10% lead was introduced. By April 2010, with death and illness prevalent, the local Emirates ordered a temporary suspension of artisanal ore processing and later required that all operations be moved approximately outside the villages. However, extremely hazardous waste and contaminated soils remained in the residences and communal areas.

MSF/TG focused on emergency medical treatment and environmental response. MSF, ZMOH, and FMOH developed village chelation therapy clinics. All entities agreed that children could not live in contaminated homes as it would compromise the treatment. Coupled with local resistance to relocation, this required the villages to be remediated prior to commencing chelation.

Monday 4 April 2016

Leaks about offshore accounts leave Russians unimpressed [Associated Press]

MOSCOW (AP) -- In the list of presidents, prime ministers, sheikhs, billionaires and other magnates cited in a sweeping worldwide investigation into hidden assets in offshore accounts, there was an odd man out: A Russian cellist.
Up until now, 64-year-old Sergei Roldugin was known only in the Russian music community — as a People's Artist of Russia and the artistic director of the House of Music in St. Petersburg. What makes him stand out from other Russian musicians, however, is his close ties to President Vladimir Putin.
Roldugin features in Putin's early autobiography as a close friend and the godfather of Putin's eldest daughter, Maria. He pursued a musical career, and despite the fact that he never became a tycoon like many of Putin's other friends, he did somehow acquire a stake in the Rossiya bank, one of the first Russian firms slapped with U.S. sanctions following Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.
The U.S. Treasury in 2014 described the bank as being "designated for providing material support to government officials" and co-owned by members of Putin's inner circle. But unlike other Putin friends who have built flourishing businesses in Russia, Roldugin, whose stake in Rossiya was reported at 3.3 percent, was not slapped with sanctions.
A myriad of documents that the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists gained access to showed Roldugin — or someone posing as him — skillfully operating affiliated companies that controlled a significant share of a business empire that earned tens of millions of rubles per day from murky deals. The companies received millions from Putin's friends and Russian billionaires as well as preferential loans from a Russia-controlled Cyprus-based bank.
The journalists who analyzed the leaked documents from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, one of the world's biggest creators of shell companies, say the combined turnover of a company that Roldugin is reported to have owned through an intermediary between 2009 and 2012 was around $2 billion.
When the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, which led the ICIJ investigation in Russia, approached Roldugin after a concert, the cellist had a friendly chat with the reporter but refused to talk about the offshore companies, saying the subject was "delicate."
Roldugin was unavailable for comment on Monday. A receptionist at the St. Petersburg House of Music said he was not in.
The release of what has become known as the Panama Papers has sent officials in countries around the world scrambling. Some have pledged to investigate claims of possible tax evasion, others like the prime minister of Iceland and the president of Ukraine face political storms over their alleged involvement in offshore companies.
In Russia, however, the trove of documents showing a money trail leading close to the president has gone largely unnoticed.
At first, Russian state media and pro-Kremlin media ignored the Panama Papers reports, then some reported only parts of it related to the Ukrainian president's woes and those of an Argentinean soccer player. A few hours later, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov blamed Western media for focusing on Putin even though he was not directly linked to any offshore activity.
Peskov suggested the ICIJ had ties to the U.S. government. The ICIJ is part of the nonprofit, non-partisan Center for Public Integrity.
"It's obvious that there are many journalists there whose main profession is unlikely to be journalism," he said, alleging that "former employees of the State Department, the CIA, other security services" may have been involved in the publication of the leaks.
Peskov said Roldugin was a friend of Putin's but added the president "has very many friends."
In past years, as Putin's friends were building fortunes by getting lucrative state contracts with no or little competition, independent media in Russia have published countless investigations suggesting a conflict of interest at the least — or possibly major corruption. These reports, however, did not lead to any official investigations, Russian government reshuffling or public discontent.
Arguably the only exception was last year's protest by truck drivers who rallied against a hefty new road tax imposed by a company co-owned by a son of one of Putin's friends.
Russian experts said even if the offshore scandal was getting coverage on Russian television, Putin will still come out of it unscathed.
"There aren't any accounts directly connecting Putin to the companies, but even if there were, it is unlikely that this would shock his supporters in Russia," Alexander Baunov of the Carnegie Center in Moscow told The Associated Press.
Putin's detractors, he said, are looking in the wrong places for problems that could potentially destabilize his government.
What could be disastrous for Putin? "Anything that brings Russia back to the 1990s," said Baunov, referring to the withholding of salaries and a slump in living standards.
In a country where all officials are believed to be corrupt by default, a revelation of corruption in Putin's inner circle or even his own misdeeds are not viewed as much of a sin.
"In a healthy society, all those friends of the national leader would already be behind bars while the leader himself would be a pariah," Dmitry Gudkov, the only Russian lawmaker who voted against the Crimean annexation said in a blog Monday. "In our (society) the reaction is: 'So what? He does not drink newborn babies' blood, thanks for this.' We know things could be worse."
While Russian opposition activists were fuming on social media about the Panama Papers revelations, the reports left many more Russians unmoved.
"Seriously, if someone had posted a photo of Putin watching 'Peppa Pig' it would have caused more of a stir," blogger Ilya Varlamov tweeted, referring to a popular cartoon series.
Unlike the reclusive banker Yuri Kovalchuk or Putin's childhood friend Arkady Rotenberg, the soft-spoken Roldugin has never hidden from the press, giving interviews about his love for music and Russian musical talent.
"I don't like talking about Putin. It's private, I hope you understand," Roldugin said in a 2014 interview.
But when asked where he thinks Putin's government is failing, he said: "I think there is not enough effort to fight corruption in Russia. I would like to see more decisive action.

Leaks about offshore accounts leave Russians unimpressed [Associated Press]

MOSCOW (AP) -- In the list of presidents, prime ministers, sheikhs, billionaires and other magnates cited in a sweeping worldwide investigation into hidden assets in offshore accounts, there was an odd man out: A Russian cellist.
Up until now, 64-year-old Sergei Roldugin was known only in the Russian music community — as a People's Artist of Russia and the artistic director of the House of Music in St. Petersburg. What makes him stand out from other Russian musicians, however, is his close ties to President Vladimir Putin.
Roldugin features in Putin's early autobiography as a close friend and the godfather of Putin's eldest daughter, Maria. He pursued a musical career, and despite the fact that he never became a tycoon like many of Putin's other friends, he did somehow acquire a stake in the Rossiya bank, one of the first Russian firms slapped with U.S. sanctions following Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.
The U.S. Treasury in 2014 described the bank as being "designated for providing material support to government officials" and co-owned by members of Putin's inner circle. But unlike other Putin friends who have built flourishing businesses in Russia, Roldugin, whose stake in Rossiya was reported at 3.3 percent, was not slapped with sanctions.
A myriad of documents that the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists gained access to showed Roldugin — or someone posing as him — skillfully operating affiliated companies that controlled a significant share of a business empire that earned tens of millions of rubles per day from murky deals. The companies received millions from Putin's friends and Russian billionaires as well as preferential loans from a Russia-controlled Cyprus-based bank.
The journalists who analyzed the leaked documents from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, one of the world's biggest creators of shell companies, say the combined turnover of a company that Roldugin is reported to have owned through an intermediary between 2009 and 2012 was around $2 billion.
When the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, which led the ICIJ investigation in Russia, approached Roldugin after a concert, the cellist had a friendly chat with the reporter but refused to talk about the offshore companies, saying the subject was "delicate."
Roldugin was unavailable for comment on Monday. A receptionist at the St. Petersburg House of Music said he was not in.
The release of what has become known as the Panama Papers has sent officials in countries around the world scrambling. Some have pledged to investigate claims of possible tax evasion, others like the prime minister of Iceland and the president of Ukraine face political storms over their alleged involvement in offshore companies.
In Russia, however, the trove of documents showing a money trail leading close to the president has gone largely unnoticed.
At first, Russian state media and pro-Kremlin media ignored the Panama Papers reports, then some reported only parts of it related to the Ukrainian president's woes and those of an Argentinean soccer player. A few hours later, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov blamed Western media for focusing on Putin even though he was not directly linked to any offshore activity.
Peskov suggested the ICIJ had ties to the U.S. government. The ICIJ is part of the nonprofit, non-partisan Center for Public Integrity.
"It's obvious that there are many journalists there whose main profession is unlikely to be journalism," he said, alleging that "former employees of the State Department, the CIA, other security services" may have been involved in the publication of the leaks.
Peskov said Roldugin was a friend of Putin's but added the president "has very many friends."
In past years, as Putin's friends were building fortunes by getting lucrative state contracts with no or little competition, independent media in Russia have published countless investigations suggesting a conflict of interest at the least — or possibly major corruption. These reports, however, did not lead to any official investigations, Russian government reshuffling or public discontent.
Arguably the only exception was last year's protest by truck drivers who rallied against a hefty new road tax imposed by a company co-owned by a son of one of Putin's friends.
Russian experts said even if the offshore scandal was getting coverage on Russian television, Putin will still come out of it unscathed.
"There aren't any accounts directly connecting Putin to the companies, but even if there were, it is unlikely that this would shock his supporters in Russia," Alexander Baunov of the Carnegie Center in Moscow told The Associated Press.
Putin's detractors, he said, are looking in the wrong places for problems that could potentially destabilize his government.
What could be disastrous for Putin? "Anything that brings Russia back to the 1990s," said Baunov, referring to the withholding of salaries and a slump in living standards.
In a country where all officials are believed to be corrupt by default, a revelation of corruption in Putin's inner circle or even his own misdeeds are not viewed as much of a sin.
"In a healthy society, all those friends of the national leader would already be behind bars while the leader himself would be a pariah," Dmitry Gudkov, the only Russian lawmaker who voted against the Crimean annexation said in a blog Monday. "In our (society) the reaction is: 'So what? He does not drink newborn babies' blood, thanks for this.' We know things could be worse."
While Russian opposition activists were fuming on social media about the Panama Papers revelations, the reports left many more Russians unmoved.
"Seriously, if someone had posted a photo of Putin watching 'Peppa Pig' it would have caused more of a stir," blogger Ilya Varlamov tweeted, referring to a popular cartoon series.
Unlike the reclusive banker Yuri Kovalchuk or Putin's childhood friend Arkady Rotenberg, the soft-spoken Roldugin has never hidden from the press, giving interviews about his love for music and Russian musical talent.
"I don't like talking about Putin. It's private, I hope you understand," Roldugin said in a 2014 interview.
But when asked where he thinks Putin's government is failing, he said: "I think there is not enough effort to fight corruption in Russia. I would like to see more decisive action.

U.S. says it killed IS militant who killed Marine in Iraq

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The anti-Islamic State coalition conducting airstrikes in Iraq and Syria has killed the IS militant believed responsible for an attack on U.S. troops in northern Iraq last month that left a Marine dead, it said on Sunday.
Militant Jasim Khadijah, a former Iraqi officer not considered a high-value target, was killed by a drone strike overnight in northern Iraq, coalition spokesman U.S. Army Col. Steve Warren told reporters in Baghdad.
"We have information (that) he was a rocket expert, he controlled these attacks," said Warren, referring to the shelling of a base used by U.S. troops near the town of Makhmour, located between Mosul and Kirkuk.
That attack killed Marine Staff Sergeant Louis Cardin and wounded eight others, all part of a company-sized detachment of less than 200 troops. They provide force protection fire to Iraqi army troops, who are making slow progress in a campaign to clear areas around Mosul, an IS stronghold.
Cardin's was the second combat death of an American service member in Iraq since the start of the campaign to fight the militant group in 2014.
Warren said five other Islamic State fighters were killed in the air strike.
(Reporting by Stephen Kalin; Editing by Clelia Oziel)
Vanguard learned that the duo were part of a five man robbery gang who besieged the home of a business woman in the community, name withheld, and attempted to rob her of her valuables. According to the source, “the armed men actually stormed the home of the woman at about 10pm on Saturday night just minutes after she had returned from her business place. “After forcing their way into the woman’s house, they threatened to kill her and her children if she did not surrender all the money in her possession to them. “The woman immediately acted fast and raised an alarm which attracted neigbours and members of the local vigilante group in the area who immediate rushed to the scene. “Sensing danger, members of the gang fled from the village but two of them were not so lucky, the villagers caught up with them and beat them to death after which their bodies were set ablaze and burnt beyond recognition.” It was gather that the charred remains of the suspects were later evacuated by the Police in the area. When contacted, the Benue state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Assistant Superintendent, ASP, Moses Yamu confirmed incident.

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/04/irate-mob-set-two-robbers-ablaze-gboko/
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The anti-Islamic State coalition conducting airstrikes in Iraq and Syria has killed the IS militant believed responsible for an attack on U.S. troops in northern Iraq last month that left a Marine dead, it said on Sunday.
Militant Jasim Khadijah, a former Iraqi officer not considered a high-value target, was killed by a drone strike overnight in northern Iraq, coalition spokesman U.S. Army Col. Steve Warren told reporters in Baghdad.
"We have information (that) he was a rocket expert, he controlled these attacks," said Warren, referring to the shelling of a base used by U.S. troops near the town of Makhmour, located between Mosul and Kirkuk.
That attack killed Marine Staff Sergeant Louis Cardin and wounded eight others, all part of a company-sized detachment of less than 200 troops. They provide force protection fire to Iraqi army troops, who are making slow progress in a campaign to clear areas around Mosul, an IS stronghold.
Cardin's was the second combat death of an American service member in Iraq since the start of the campaign to fight the militant group in 2014.
Warren said five other Islamic State fighters were killed in the air strike.
(Reporting by Stephen Kalin; Editing by Clelia Oziel)

Friday 1 April 2016

Costa gets extra one-game ban

Chelsea striker Diego Costa has been given a further one-match ban, fined £20,000 ($28,630, 25,021 euros) and warned as to his future behaviour after admitting a charge of improper conduct following his red card at Everton last month, the Football Association announced Friday.

Costa was sent off for the first time in his Chelsea career in the FA Cup quarter-final loss and given an automatic two-match ban, ruling him out of both the Blues’ draw with West Ham and this Saturday’s Premier League match against Aston Villa.
Now Costa, who had no case to answer over suggestions he bit Everton midfielder Gareth Barry or made an inappropriate gesture to Everton fans, will also miss the April 9 match at Swansea after incurring an additional suspension for his aggressive protest to referee Michael Oliver regarding his dismissal at Goodison Park.
“Following an independent regulatory commission hearing on Thursday (March 31, 2016), Chelsea’s Diego Costa has been given a one-match suspension, fined £20,000 and warned as to his future conduct.”
“The forward admitted a charge of improper conduct in relation to his behaviour after he was shown a second yellow card in the FA Cup sixth-round tie on March 12, 2016 at Goodison Park.
“This suspension will follow immediately on the conclusion of the player’s current ban.”
Costa’s automatic ban was two games as it was considered to be his second dismissal of the season after he was handed a retrospective three-match ban for clashes with Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny and Gabriel in September.
Spain forward Costa has scored 11 goals in his last 16 games for Chelsea and with the reigning Premier League champions currently tenth in the table and long out of the title race, interim manager Guus Hiddink said Friday the final eight games of the season might be a good time for the London club to experiment.
“We now have eight games coming up, and there’s not much to win for Chelsea anymore. There might be some time for experiments,” the Dutchman said.

Thursday 21 January 2016

Fuel import: Foreign suppliers blacklist Nigeria

LAGOS — Nigeria’s difficulty to import refined petroleum products, particularly, Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, also known as petrol, has worsened as foreign suppliers have blacklisted Nigeria from further business until such transactions are dollar cash backed.
The development is further compounded with the deferment of about 5.4 million litres PMS daily production, as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, yesterday, announced the shut down of Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries. The announcement came four days after the plants were closed.
File Photo: Crude Oil
File Photo: Crude Oil
The NNPC, in a statement by its Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs  Division, Mr. Ohi Alegbe, said the shutdown of the refineries was as a result of crude oil supply challenges arising from the recent attacks on vital crude pipelines by militants in the Niger Delta.
Blacklisting of Nigerian importers
Vanguard exclusively gathered that the blacklisting of Nigerian oil marketers by the foreign suppliers followed the challenges faced by marketers to access foreign exchange due to stringent rules by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, on foreign exchange transactions.
Marketers disclosed that they owe their foreign suppliers in excess of $1.29 billion, even as the marketers were paid only N413 billion in December 2015 for oil subsidies.
According to one of the marketers, who spoke in confidence, “yes, government paid us subsidy, but there is no dollar to buy anywhere. The Letters of Credit, LCs, that have matured since 2014 to 2015 are worth $1.29 billion. We are supposed to use the subsidy paid to us to buy the equivalent of what is due to our foreign suppliers, but the banks say there is no dollar.
“To show you how bad the situation is, one of us has outstanding matured LC of $75 million, but his banks are only able to provide $1.5 million last week. So how many weeks will it take the banks to offset the outstanding sum for him to be able to pay hiss foreign suppliers?
“Remember that what government paid to us was the Naira component of dollar transactions and government is still owes us the outstanding payments on the foreign exchange differentials. This is because when we brought in the products, exchange rate was N165 to $1, but by the time we were paid, it had risen to N197 to $1.
“This is why the foreign suppliers have blacklisted us until we are able to pay off our outstanding debts and back future transactions with dollar cash. Also, government did not pay within 45 days under the terms of our agreements, so they still owe us the interests on delayed payments.”
Consequently, he disclosed that except for a few marketers, mostly the majors, who already have foreign affiliations, all other marketers have abandoned further importation of petrol until government finds a way around access to foreign exchange.
NNPC to provide dollars
The source further disclosed that in one of the meetings with the Minister of State for Petroleum, the NNPC had promised to provide marketers who were licensed to import products in the first quarter, with dollars to pay for their products, as a way to ease the foreign exchange challenges.
He added that it is uncertain that the promise had been fulfilled, as no products had come in yet.
However, NNPC’s Alegbe, in a test message response denied any knowledge of such a promise to marketers, saying: “NNPC? Dollars? I’m not aware NNPC made such a promise.”
He wondered if perhaps the marketer meant CBN or the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA.
PPPRA pricing template
Despite assurances by the NNPC, scepticisms are high over the capacity of the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company, PPMC

Telecom firms in Nigeria must adhere to NCC guidelines —Buhari O

ABU DHABI—President Muhammadu Buhari has said that telecommunication companies operating in Nigeria must adhere to the rules and guidelines of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, noting that registration of all mobile phone users without exception will help security agencies to pre-empt terrorist attacks.
President Muhammadu Buhari in discussion with Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed- 3rd Deputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates.
President Muhammadu Buhari in discussion with Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed- 3rd Deputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates.
Speaking at an interactive forum with members of the Nigerian community in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, President Buhari urged telecommunications companies not to place their desire for huge profits above the security needs of the nation.
He called on all stakeholders to work in unison to halt terrorism in the country and assured members of the Nigerian community in Abu Dhabi that his administration will deal decisively with the seeming resurgence of oil theft, vandalism of pipelines and insecurity in the Niger Delta.
“The oil thieves and abductors are a less problematic target. We will re-organise and deal with them. In the face of our new economic reality of dwindling oil prices, there are a number of things we can really do without to preserve our economy.
‘’We must develop the capacity to feed ourselves and we should be spending our resources on real development projects, not luxuries,” President Buhari said.
Pledging that more persons who abused the public trust would be exposed and brought to justice soon, President Buhari maintained that his government was committed to re-establishing former standards of accountability and probity in the management of public funds which were jettisoned under past administrations.
The President appealed for more patience and understanding from Nigerians as his administration takes steps to safeguard the economy from the shock of falling oil prices.

Students in digital age: Distinguishing exam from SMS

IF you can read this, it simply means you belong to the Generation Y who are SMS and social media compliant.
Tanzania Digital migration: Lessons for Nigeria
Tanzania Digital migration: Lessons for Nigeria
Social media and text messaging are perhaps two of the things that people do most daily.  In public vehicles, restaurants, or even just in the streets, you will find most people are on social media sites or text messaging with their phones. These days, most youngsters are almost inseparable from their mobile phones, not because they are constantly talking, but because they are connecting with their friends through text messaging.
Although mobile phones are banned in most secondary schools, but text messaging and social media language have crept into academic discuss and writing.
The 9-Year Basic Education Curriculum introduced by The Nigerian Education Research and Development Council, NERDC, placed emphasis on value re-orientation, poverty eradication and employment generation capabilities in learners. In these reform initiatives, science, technology, mathematics, and vocational education and training are specifically designed to provide the contents, learning experiences and skills for the socio-economic transformation of the Nigerian nation.
However, the tool to achieve these utopian goals, one of which is writing, falls short of the expectation, as most students cannot write legibly nor express themselves in simple correct grammar because of mixing social media language with proper English grammar.
Vanguard Learning sought to know how social media usage has affected writing abilities; its import on communication and expression and measures to improve the writing abilities of students.
Speaking on social media use and its effect on the students’ ability to write proper and correct English grammar, an English Language teacher with Penny International College, Mrs. Chinweuba Nwanne, said “When I was a teenager, relationships between boys and girls involve letter writing. When a boy writes a girl, she checks his handwriting and grammar, thus, both served as monitor to check their writing and grammar.
“Today, that conscious effort no longer exists as youths text a lot. For instance instead of writing the word ‘the’ students write ‘d’, ‘your’ becomes ‘ur’, while ‘you are welcome  is ‘URW’. These abbreviations make students miss-spell words and they lack the zeal to write because when you give them essays to write, they finds it difficult.
“But ask the students to text and they will gladly stay on it for hours because a lot of things like wrong spellings and poor grammar, are allowed. The most painful part of it is that it is becoming fashionable and even the good students tend to copy this attitude so as to ‘socially belong’.”
Continuing, Nwanne added; “
Social media distracts students from their studies and it is addictive. It has become part their lives that if want to punish a child, take away the phone and that child will feel more punished than when you deprive him of food or basic needs.”
Agreeing is the Principal, Tonia International School, Mr. Frances Alayo, who said though social media has its positive use, the negative effect on students would be immense if not checked.
His words: “Chief of the problems social media causes are the introduction of laziness on the part of students and the increase in poor writing ability, as evidence with the use of abbreviation and repetition.”
Abbreviation and repetition
Pointing out that social media language has done more harm than good in the writing abilities of students, a Masters degree student of English Language at the Lagos State University, Miss Esther Chioma, said “the use of social media, amidst it’s many blessings, has caused great deterioration to people’s writing abilities as most people don’t know how to make or write good sentences, they tend to prefer the shorter, elliptic, and sometimes incomprehensible version. In a nutshell, I don’t think the use of phones should be encouraged in secondary schools.”
For Clementina Nzeako, an Economist based in Kano; “The use of phone by students has brought about the issue of phone addiction. Students now spend gargantuan portion of their time on their phones. Because of the psychological effect it has on students; which has to do with making it difficult for them to have profitable intellectual discussions in real life, and inability to make real non-virtual friends, students now stand the risk of losing their already dormant writing skills.”
Students speak: A 200 level student of Chemical Engineering at the University of Benin, Sylvester Nwokolo, said “I wouldn’t lie to you, the thing is affecting me. Normally I facebook, tweet, chat on Whatsapp and ping in short forms like ‘LWKMD’ – Laugh wan kill me die, also, since we don’t submit our notes like we did in secondary school, I use short forms when taking down notes in class.
“There was this particular exam that I wrote in short form because I was running out of time and the course lecturer specifically came to class after exam and said that those of us that used short forms have lost 15 marks. I nearly fainted. He went on to say that we being in science is not an excuse to not know proper English grammar; that if you are a first class graduate and you speak poorly people will think you bought your certificate.”
For Rebecca Obika, an SS3 student in one of the private schools in Port Harcourt, chatting in long hand is boring. She said “I have a smart
phone because my parents always like to reach me. Teachers say it’s not allowed but I have to have my phone that I use it for assignments too. If I chat in normal long form, my friends will say I am boring. In fact, instead of laughing normally, we just say ‘LOL’ amongst ourselves. It’s the in thing and we have to keep with the trend.
“there was a time I accidentally used the short form in an exams but I don’t think the teachers minded so much. At best they will remove two marks. Is the important thing not to understand what they are teaching? Does it matter how I type it?”
Toafeek Tajudeen, SS2 student of Federal Government College, Lagos, said “I use my elder brother’s phone to chat with my friends because I do not have a personal phone. I know that chatting with those abbreviations will affect me but I use them so that the text message will not exceed one page. I am usually conscious not to use it in copying my notes because we submit our notes for grading and my teacher will automatically give me zero if we write short form.”
Way forward: Text message or chartroom slang affects students’ academic performance either positively or negatively.  Positively because some use it for important academic message or family members or friends both at school and at home for information especially when they are out of credit and cannot make voice calls. Negative when they become addicted to SMS, IM, BBM and so on when they use text slangs to the point of writing such slangs in their continuous assessment and examinations.
It is most astonishing to note that even though the students are aware of the dangers associated with the use of SMS slangs, especially during examinations, they still cannot stop it because they uncautiously use it.
However, the use of SMS slangs can be overcome if only its users can adopt the use of only simple and correct English when doing so.


Biafra: Kanu pleads not guilty to felony charge

The Federal Government, yesterday, docked the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, before the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court on a six-count criminal charge bordering on treasonable felony.
This came just as the Rivers State Police Command arraigned ten pro-Biafra protesters in Port-Harcourt.
Kanu was arraigned alongside two other pro-Biafra agitators, Benjamin Madubugwu and David Nwawuisi.
The trio took turns and pleaded not guilty to the charge, which was  signed by the Director of Public Prosecution, DPP, Mr. Mohammed Diri.
In the charge, the Federal Government alleged that the accused persons committed treasonable felony by spear-heading an illegal agitation for the seccession of ‘Biafra Republic’ from Nigeria, an offence punishable under Section 41(C) of the Criminal Code Act, CAP C38 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.
FG alleged that the three accused persons were the ones managing the affairs of the IPOB, which it described as ‘an unlawful society.’
To remain in custody
Meantime, shortly after the accused persons pleaded innocence to the charge, yesterday, the DPP, who is personally prosecuting the case for the government, applied for them to remain in custody of the Department of State Services, DSS, pending the determination of the case against them.
Diri insisted that it would be more convenient for the prosecution to produce the accused persons to court from the DSS detention facility for trial than from Kuje prison.
Citing security reasons, Diri, contended that anything could happen on the way while bringing the accused person to court from the prison.
“‘The DSS had never failed to produce the defendants in court, but we have had instances where accused persons in prison were not brought to court for trial owing to logistic problems.
“‘The nature of the offence and the response of friends, relatives and sympathisers of the defendants that we have seen, particularly when the case was before the Magistrate’s Court, is what has prompted this application.
“I have no personal interest against the accused persons. I am only doing my job as the prosecutor and the DPP of the federation,” Diri added.
A better option
Nnamdi-Kanu in court
FILE: Nnamdi-Kanu in court
However, his application was vehemently opposed by counsel to the defendants, Chief Chuks Muoma, SAN, who told the court that his clients would rather prefer to be remanded in prison custody.
Muoma argued that the prison was the most appropriate place to remand an accused person that had entered plea before a court of competent jurisdiction.
”’No amount of convenience can over-ride the law. The prosecution has not disputed the fact that we don’t have access to our clients. They have not also disputed the fact that our clients do not have access to phone calls. Two court orders in respect of this matter have been disobeyed by the DSS, so what is the guarantee that it will obey whatever order this court will make? ” Muoma queried.
Besides, he accused the DPP of giving evidence from the bar by insinuating that the DSS detention facility is more secure than Kuje prison.
After listening to both parties, trial Justice James Tsoho, over-ruled the DPP and remanded the defendants in Kuje prison.
”’I have given due consideration to arguments by the two counsels. It is my respectful view that after arraignment, the appropriate and constitutional pace for remand of an accused person is the prison except when there is an extra-ordinary reason.
”It is my view that the complainant have all it takes to provide logistic and security requirements not withstanding the distance between the prison and the court.
”Therefore, application for remand of the defendants in DSS custody is refused. Accordingly, the defendants are hereby remanded in Kuje prison pending trial,” Justice Tsoho held.
Meantime, the court has adjourned till next Monday to entertain arguments from both parties on whether or not the accused persons should be released on bail pending hearing and determination of the charge against him.
The charges
One of the charges against the accused persons read: “That you, Nnamdi Kanu and other unknown persons, now at large, at London, United Kingdom, between 2014 and September, 2015, with intention to levy war against Nigeria in order to force the President to change his measures of being the President of the Federation, Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federation as defined in Section 3 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) by doing an act to wit: Broadcast on Radio Biafra your preparations for the states in the South- East geo-political zone, South-South geo-political zone, the Igala Community of Kogi State and the Idoma/Igede Community of Benue State to secede from the Federal Republic of Nigeria and form themselves into a Republic of Biafra, and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 41(C) of the Criminal Code Act, CAP C38 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.”
It will be recalled that Kanu had on December 23, 2015, declined to enter his plea to the charge which was then before Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the high court.
It will also be recalled that Justice Ademola Adeniyi of the same high court had on December 17, ordered the ‘unconditional’ release of the IPOB leader, Kanu, from the custody of the DSS.
Kanu, who is also the Director of Radio Biafra and Television, was on October 1, arrested in Lagos by security operatives, shortly after he arrived Nigeria from his base in the United Kingdom.
He was subsequently arraigned before a Chief Magistrate’s Court in Abuja over allegation that he engaged in criminal conspiracy, managed and belonged to an unlawful society.
Kanu, on October 19, pleaded not guilty to the charge and was eventually granted bail to the tune of N2million.
However, the accused person alleged that the Nigerian government refused to release him from detention despite the fact that he met the bail conditions.
The Magistrate Court subsequently struck out the charge, even as it discharged the accused person.
In the bench ruling, Kanu was docked before trial Justice J.T. Tsoho alongside two other pro-Biafra agitators, Benjamin Madubugwu and David Nwawuisi.
Justice Tsoho, in a bench ruling, ordered that they should be remanded in prison custody.
When the matter was called up, yesterday, Kanu, sought the permission of the trial judge to address the court.
Speaking from the dock, Kanu who was flanked by the other two accused persons, gave reasons why he would not subject himself to trial before Justice Mohammed.
The IPOB leader said he had no confidence that the court would grant him fair trial, saying he would rather remain in detention than to be subjected to the rigours of trial that would eventually amount to nothing.
Kanu insisted that the Department of State Services, DSS, had since his travail commenced, shown that it had a knack for disrespecting valid court orders.
He said: ‘Based on information available to me, I am convinced that I will not receive fair trial before this court.
‘”There has been several rulings delivered by competent courts of jurisdiction which the Department of State Services, DSS, never respected”.
At that juncture, the DPP, Diri, who is personally prosecuting the matter for the government, interjected, saying it was premature for the 1st accused person, Kanu, to start raising such issues.
The DPP, contended that section ?396(2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, 2015, provided that the court must firstly enter the plea of an accused person before entertaining any preliminary objection against the substantive charge.
“My lord, under section 396(2) of the ACJA, an objection to trial may be raised by the defendant only after plea is taken, but not before.
“In this case, the defendant has decided to put the cart before the horse by raising objection to his trial before the charge is read to him and his plea taken.
“I urge your lordship to over-rule the objection of the 1st defendant and order that the charge be read to the three accused persons for the purpose of taking their plea, the DPP submitted.”
Responding, Kanu’s lead counsel, Mr. Egechukwu Obetta, urged the court  to ignore the DPP and accede to the request of his client.
Ruling on the issue, yesterday, Justice Mohammed, disqualified himself from handling the matter, saying he will remit the case-file back to the Chief Judge of the High Court for re-assignment to another Judge.
The Judge said: ‘I am of the view that the 1st defendant has the inalienable right to object to being tried by this particular court.
 Rivers State arraignment
Meantime,Rivers State Police command yesterday arraigned 10 pro Biafra protesters  arrested this week in the state at Magistrate court 7 and 14.
They were arraigned on two count charge of criminal conspiracy and treasonable felony.
Hearing on the cases were adjourned to 21 and 28 January while the suspects were remanded in prison custody.
Those arraigned are ” Onu Ifeanyi ‘M’, Prinace Onwazor ‘M’, Princewill Anyanywu ‘M’, Sunday Egbim ‘M’. Uzoma Onyegbu ‘M’, Chigozie Moses ‘M’, Chukwudi Enyidau ‘M’, Anthony Ochuel ‘M’ Enam David Okon ‘M’ and Friday Nwahiri ‘M’. ”
The state Police Public Relations officer, DSP Ahmad Muhammad said they were arrested while on their way to embark on pro Biafra protest from  the neigboiring state.
He warned that the command will not tolerate any attempt to disrupt peace in the state.

Buratai orders all army officers to declare assests

Abuja – The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai has directed all officers of the Nigerian Army who have not declared their assets to do so immediately.
According to a statement issued last night by the Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, the Army Chief gave the directive during a conference with Principal Staff Officers and Directors serving at the Army Headquarters.
“It is to be noted that the Chief of Army Staff has done so, soon on his appointment as Commander, Multinational Joint Task Force in May 2015 and also on his appointment as Chief of Army Staff in July 2015. Copies of both are with the Code of Conduct Bureau” Usman said.
“This directive is in order, considering the fact that all military officers are having Presidential Commission and are public servants, as well as subject to both civil and military laws.
“In addition, given the current drive of the country for probity and accountability, the Nigerian Army should not only key in but should be one of the key drivers for such laudable project” the statement added.