PDP plotting to disrupt poll in Borno –Govt

The Borno State Government on Friday alleged that there is a grand design by the Peoples Democratic Party to thwart the forthcoming general elections in the state.

The government during a press briefing by the Commissioner for Information, Dr. Mohammed Bulama, said the recent politically motivated attack and allegations by the party were parts of the plan to ensure that elections do not hold in Borno State.

Bulama said, “Everyone knows that the PDP cannot win the forthcoming elections as the party has been nowhere in the last four years when the state went through its hardest time.

“Since the PDP knows that they are going to meet their Waterloo during the elections, they do not want the day to come or try as much as possible to discredit our victory which is already assured.

“It is a known fact that the leaders of the PDP in the state, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff and Alhaji Mohammed Imam, are the promoters of politics of violence and are presently drawing from the reservoir to destabilise the state.”

Bulama explained, “That Sheriff having lost his bid for the senate has nothing to protect but to see that Governor Kashim Shettima who has grown to become his major traducer does not get his mandate renewed.

“On his part, Mohammed Imam has seen that the election is already won and lost and he does not have the intention of accepting his fate and move on without an inglorious fight.”

He added that the state government and the APC would do everything to ensure that the elections are held because “we can see that we have the chance of not only winning the state but forming government at the federal level.

Nigeria bans ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ movie

The National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) has banned ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ movie in Nigerian cinemas.

NFVCB ordered the removal of the highly anticipated movie from the list of movies showing at cinemas.

The movie, which showed in most major cinemas in Nigeria in its first week of releasse, has also been banned in Kenya and Malaysia.

Fifty Shades of Grey is a 2011 erotic romance novel by British author E. L. James.

It is the first installment in the Fifty Shades trilogy that traces the deepening relationship between a college graduate, Anastasia Steele, and a young business magnate, Christian Grey.

The novel is notable for its explicitly erotic scenes featuring elements of sexual practices involving bondage/discipline, dominance/submission, and sadism/masochism (BDSM).

Obanikoro threatens Sahara Reporters over Ekiti rigging scandal

A former Minister of Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, who is one of the characters caught on tape plotting the rigging of the 2014 governorship election in Ekiti State, has threatened news website, Sahara Reporters, and its publisher, Omoyele Sowore, for reporting the scandal.

Mr. Obanikoro warned the website of legal action if it continues with its reporting.

In the February 19 letter by his United States-based counsel, Joseph Tacopina, Mr. Obanikoro said the reporting of the rigging tape by Sahara Reporters was “merely propaganda for Sen. Obanikoro’s opponents”.

He said the audio recording of the meeting, involving Mr. Obanikoro; Minister of Police Affairs, Jelili Adesiyan; the Ekiti State governor, Ayo Fayose; and Aliyu Momoh, a Brigadier General, heading 3rd Artillery Brigade, Akure, where strategies for rigging the election were plotted, was a fabrication.

“Additionally, even assuming the authenticity of this audio and it was not manipulated, there are no statements by Sen. Obanikoro that substantiate your claims,” the lawyer said.

“Simply put these alleged statements are not heard on this tape and nothing on the audio supports such purported claims. In fact, the audio is of an alleged vague conversation concerning security for an election, not election rigging, fraud or bribing officials. You clearly knew this fact when you reported the above-referenced defamatory statements.”

Elections: CAN denies N7bn bribery allegation

The Christian Association of Nigeria has denied the allegation that its leaders were offered N7bn by the Presidency to campaign for President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election.

The association also called on security agencies to investigate the Voice of Northern Christian Movement and its Executive Director, Mr. Musa Dikwa, for making the allegation.

The association also linked the allegation to those using different Christian organisations to perpetrate fraud.

 In a statement issued on Friday in Abuja by the General Secretary of CAN, Dr. Musa Asake, the association said the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd), had fallen into wrong hands, “because his endorsement for the March 28 general election by Northern Christian Leaders Eagle-Eye Forum led by one Aminchi Habu was fraudulent.”

The statement read, “We are therefore calling on security agencies to investigate the activities of the Voice of Northern Christian Movement and Musa Dikwa himself to unravel the N7bn mystery which is intended by their sponsors to throw the country into serious crisis.

“For the avoidance of doubt, CAN has no knowledge of any N7bn transaction as alleged by Musa Dikwa who claims to be the Executive Director of a non-existent group, Voice of Northern Christian Movement.

“CAN is not a political party, let alone getting involved in partisan politics. Christians who are members of CAN belong to different political parties. It is therefore surprising to hear that CAN is campaigning for one candidate.

“Revered men of God including the CAN President, Pastors Ayo Oritsejafor; Bishop David Oyedepo of Winners Chapel and Pastor Bosun Emmanuel (Secretary-General of National Christian Elders Forum) are too upright to be linked with any such deal.

Fayose unleashing violence on our members, APC tells NHRC

The All Progressives Congress has petitioned the National Human Rights Commission over alleged attacks on its members and supporters in Ekiti State by Governor Ayo Fayose and his loyalists.

The Executive Secretary of the commission, Prof. Bem Angwe, while receiving a copy of the petition in Abuja on Friday, expressed shock over the weighty allegations against the governor.

He assured them that the allegations against the governor would be “thoroughly investigated”.

The party alleged that with the current wave of attacks on its members in the state, violence free elections could not be guaranteed in the forthcoming polls if the trend was not checked.

The petitioner accused Fayose using thugs to cause political violence in the state. It added that the thugs physically attacked and intimidated opposition personalities in the stated.

The APC alleged that Fayose’s activities were undermining the peace pact recently signed by all presidential candidates in the forthcoming polls, including those of the Peoples Democratic Party, President Goodluck Jonathan and the All Progressives Congress, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

Man arraigned for beating, raping girl, 15

A 25-year-old Collins Ezekiel, who allegedly raped a 15-year-old girl and assaulted her with blows appeared before an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrates’ Court on Friday in Lagos.

The accused, who resides at the Government Residential Area, Ikeja, is facing trial on a two counts of forcefully having sexual intercourse and assault.
The prosecutor, Etim Nkankuk, told the court that the offences were committed on February 2 at about 12.15pm at 19, Sowemimo Street, GRA, Ikeja.
Nkankuk told the court that the accused assaulted his victim, who was his neighbour, by blowing her and then proceeded to forcefully have sexual intercourse with her.
“The accused was able to overpower the teenager before defiling her,” Nkankuk said.
He said the offences contravened Sections 137 and 170 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Section 137 prescribes life imprisonment for offenders.
The accused entered a plea of innocence.
The chief magistrate, Mr Olatunbosun Abolarinwa, granted the accused bail in the sum of N500,000 with two sureties in like sum.
He adjourned the case till March 10, for legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions.

Fani-Kayode counters President Jonathan, says Ekiti rigging tape authentic but ….

Contrary to President Goodluck Jonathan’s dismissal of the Ekiti rigging audio recording as a fabrication that is not worth his attention, the spokesperson for his campaign, Femi Fani-Kayode has admitted that the tape is genuine but that the characters involved in the meeting captured in the recording were not discussing how to rig the 2014 governorship election in Ekiti state.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, Mr. Fani-Kayode said his team had listened to and reviewed the recording and that it came to the conclusion that the opposition All Progressives Congress turned fact on its head by claiming that Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti state; former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro; and the Minister of Police Affairs, Jelili Adesiyan, who featured in the recording, planned how to rig the election.

“We have listened to the audio clip and we make bold to say that the discussion that took place in it did not make any mention of any form of rigging in the Ekiti state governorship election and neither did it contain any evidence of any conspiracy to rig,” he said.

David Mark’s wife, Dangote, Adenuga, others named in #SwissLeaks as operators of secret foreign accounts

Some of Nigeria’s wealthiest industrialists, former government officials and their relatives, were amongst thousands of individuals around the world who operated highly secretive foreign accounts with the Swiss branch of banking giant, HSB​C, concealing their identities for years and using codes perhaps to shake off tax authorities from accounts, some of which held illicit assets from criminals, traffickers, arms dealers and other outlaws, secret files published last week by a consortium of journalists around the world have shown.

The trove, released by the French Daily, Le Monde and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, in partnership with PREMIUM TIMES, and a host of other major media organisations around the world, showed how HSBC profited doing business with people who stole from their countries and some of the world’s most notorious con artists, including people who made a fortune fuelling wars in Africa.

PREMIUM TIMES is the only Nigerian publication involved in the investigation, which lasted several months.

The bank helped questionable characters conceal their wealth despite knowing their sources, and devised ways to hide the identities of the owners of the secret accounts from governments around the world.

At least 100,000 secret bank account operators who owned about $100 billion were exposed in the leaks, unsettling investigators in several countries.

Edo alleges plot to cause pre-election violence

Ahead of the general elections, the Edo State Government has raised the alarm of an alleged “evil plot” by anti-democratic forces to “unleash terror” on citizens of the state.

The Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Louis Odion, in a statement made available to journalists in Benin on Thursday evening, said the state government learnt that the perpetrators are planning to forment violence by way of high-profile killings to intimidate the All Progressives Congress, prior to the March 28 and April 11 polls.‎

“The objective, we gathered, is not only to sow fear in the minds of the teeming supporters of All Progressives Congress but also make the state ungovernable for Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.

“The new evil agenda is akin to the one unleashed in 2012 ahead of the governorship election in which the Principal Private Secretary to the Comrade Governor, Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde, was brutally murdered. Till date, the killers are yet to be brought to justice,” It read.

Odion also alleged that those targeted were key figures in the Governor Adams Oshiomhole administration, “APC leaders, a vocal palace chief as well as journalists considered too independent-minded and unwilling to file fabricated stories to promote PDP.”

He, however, urged the citizens‎ to remain calm and law abiding, adding that the state government had directed security agencies in the state to carry out investigations and “bring all those involved to book.

Jonathan bribed pastors with N7bn, not N6bn – Cleric

More facts appear to be emerging on the allegation by Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, that President Goodluck Jonathan gave pastors across the country N6bn to vote against the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Maj-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari(retd.), in the presidential election.

A Borno-based Pastor, Kallamu Musa-Dikwa, said on Thursday that the money that was given to pastors by the President was actually N7bn and not N6bn as alleged by Amaechi, who doubles as the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation.

Amaechi had alleged that unnamed leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party paid N6bn to Christian clerics to campaign against Buhari and the APC.

The governor’s allegation caused a stir among the Christian clerics, with the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria and the Northern State Christian Elders Forum asking Amaechi to name the church leaders, who collected the huge bribe.

But Musa-Dikwa, who is the Executive Director of the Voice of Northern Christian Movement, told journalists in Kaduna on Thursday that the said money was channelled through the Christian Association of Nigeria.

He said the CAN got the said money(N7bn) on January 26, 2015 and disbursed N3m to each State Chairmen of the CAN across the country.

Musa-Dikwa, who was an Associate Pastor with the E. Y. N. Church, Farm Centre, Dikwa Road, Maiduguri, Borno State, under Rev. Emmanuel Kwajihe between 2002 and 2004, said the CAN had started threatening Christians in the state (Borno) that they must re-elect Jonathan in the rescheduled election.

He said, “It was N7bn that was given to the CAN leadership by President Goodluck Jonathan. They(CAN) later disbursed N3m to the State Chairmen of the CAN.

“The money was handed over to the CAN Leadership on 26th January, 2015.”

“Actually, President Jonathan is using CAN President, and it was the CAN President who collected the monies and shared N3m to the CAN executives in each state.

“And some Pentecostal Bishops also collected their share. Actually, the money is not N6bn, it is N7bn. This is what I know. One of the CAN officials from Abuja told me that they have collected the money. The corruption in CAN is terrible. They are corrupting the body of Christ because of money.

“They are now threatening Christians in Borno State that they will deal with anybody, who refuses to vote for Jonathan. And the CAN officials are now campaigning that if Buhari emerges President, he will Islamise Nigeria; and that Osinbajo collected monies from Islamic world; and that the same Osinbajo will resign soon after Buhari wins to give way for Tinubu to emerge Vice President.”

Musa-Dikwa named some high-profile clerics, who had benefitted from the controversial largesse to actualise the re-election bid of Jonathan.

Apc - Sheriff behind violence during Buhari’s visit to Borno

The All Progressives Congress, APC, in Borno State has alleged that the violence witnessed Monday when the presidential candidate of the party, Muhammadu Buhari, visited the state was instigated by ex-Governor Ali Sheriff to justify the cancellation of elections in the state.

Initial reports suggested that supporters of the APC had vandalized and torched several campaign offices and posters of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party​, PDP.

The reports also said while soldiers were battling to control the large crowd at the venue of the campaign rally, some irate youth were seen bringing down PDP billboards that were mounted close to the venue of the rally.

Hours later, thick smoke was seen some 500 meters way from the venue of the rally as the APC youth stormed a major campaign office of the PDP, popularly known as UTC.

Witnesses at the scene said hundreds of the APC supporters, chanting anti-PDP and anti-President Goodluck Jonathan slogans, stormed the PDP office armed with petrol jars, forced themselves into the premises and set the place ablaze.

The APC however, issued a statement Tuesday, distancing their members from the act.

The statement by Ali Dalori, the Borno State chairman of the APC said the party has conducted its own investigation into the attack and had found out that Mr. Sheriff held series of meetings with thugs loyal to him, days ahead of the APC rally.

The party said Mr. Sheriff also doled out huge sums of money to the thugs and asked them to disguise as APC supporters and attack his and his PDP’s properties.

The statement also said Mr. Sheriff’s spokesperson, Inuwa Bwala, swiftly rushed to the media accusing Governor Shettima of being behind the attacks, while it was being carried out.

“The manner in which Bwala rushed to press has further confirmed the findings of our investigations that the whole thing was orchestrated by the PDP affiliated to former Governor Ali Modu Sheriff with the sole intent of causing political violence in so as to create basis for elections not to be conducted in Borno State by March 28 and April 11, 2015,” APC said.

The party also said Mr. Sheriff was determined to cause violence and stop election in Borno so as to pave the way for him to regain the Senatorial candidature he lost earlier.

The party also recalled that on the eve of President Goodluck Jonathan’s trip to Borno for his campaign rally on January 24, Governor Shettima issued a statement appealing to citizens of the state to respect the president and not to do anything that would undermine his campaign rally.

It also said the governor held series of meetings with select youth groups and APC youth leaders in all the wards in Maiduguri, the state capital calling on the party’s supporters not to breach the peace.

“Indeed, Governor Shettima’s efforts paid off as the PDP held an entirely peaceful rally on January 24, 2015,” it said.

It added that Mr. Shettima could therefore not organize violence while his own party was holding its rally.

Sheriff is responsible

The APC said ex-Governor Sheriff arrived Maiduguri last Friday at about 7p.m. while the APC was making preparations to receive Mr. Buhari.

“For nearly three days, Sheriff kept on holding meetings with different youth supporters of the PDP who brandished all manner of weapons every day they were his guests.

“Sheriff kept on sharing money to these thugs before he left the State on Sunday, February 15, 2015 at about 4:10pm.

“Immediately Sheriff left Maiduguri, we suspected he was up to some mischief and from our investigations, his discussion with most of his political thugs was for them to disguise as supporters of APC and seriously disrupt Buhari’s rally to the extent that confusion would spring up such that Buhari would be forced not to appear at the rally,” the party said.

The party also added that beyond the task given to them to disrupt APC’s rally, some of the thugs were equally angered by the inability of their leaders to pay them in full.

“As things turned out, Sheriff’s aggrieved thugs went out of control and descended on the PDP campaign office soon after they started fighting themselves,” it said.

APC said it stands to lose if there is political crisis in Borno that threatens the forthcoming elections considering the unfortunate security challenges being faced.

“As things stand in Borno today, the APC is the number one beneficiary of the current political climate and wouldn’t want any breach of the peace, how much more inciting it. Sheriff on the other hand has been doing everything to cause confusion,” it said.

The party maintained that Mr. Sheriff is very desperate, and doesn’t want elections to hold because he is not a Senatorial candidate, the major reason it said, he moved to the PDP.

It said he nurses the ambition of emerging as Senate majority leader after 2015 if he can’t be the Senate President.

Mr. Sheriff could not be reached for comments Wednesday.

PDP plots fresh poll shift, APC senators

Members of the opposition All Progressives Congress in the Senate, on Tuesday, raised alarm of a fresh plot by the Peoples Democratic Party to postpone the forthcoming general elections slated for March 28 and April 11.

The senators, who walked out of the plenary to address the National Assembly correspondents in the Senate, alleged that the Presidency in collaboration with the ruling PDP were planning to arm-twist the electoral umpire in the country to canvass fresh postponement using the card reader as an excuse.

Their reaction followed the submission of the Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, while moving a motion for the summoning of the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, over the planned use of the card reader for the election.

Ndoma-Egba had argued that the use of card readers would contravene Section 52 of the Electoral Act which prohibits the use of electronic device during election.

But the senators, led by their leader, Senator George Akume, insisted at the news conference that anything short of conducting the elections as scheduled, and using the card reader to avoid rigging, might lead to a civil war.

They argued that since the card reader was just meant for the accreditation of the voters, its usage would not constitute a breach of the electoral act as postulated by the senate leader.

The opposition senators alleged that the PDP leadership having failed to use the security challenges and poor collection of Permanent Voter Cards as excuses to postpone the polls again, had started a fresh plot by hiding under the card reader usage.

Akume said, “Elections must be held as rescheduled, it is important that the Independent National Electoral Commission must do this in order to avoid unpleasant consequences.

“Nigeria is a huge and complex society, culturally, structurally, and all hands must be on the deck to avoid the Somalia experience. There would be too many warlords in this country should we fail to do what is right.

“Nigerians deserve the best. Card readers will add value to the conduct of the elections; we are talking about free and fair elections. Time has passed when people carry ballot boxes and papers to their respective rooms, thumb-print and bring them for counting the following day.

“The whole world is watching this country. We have become a laughing stock, we are becoming a banana republic.

“We are even more patriotic than those who are in government. We want elections and card readers must be applied, they must be used, otherwise, the elections can never be free and fair.

“If a country like Ghana can get it right, using the card reader, why can’t the giant of Africa do it? If Sierra Leone can do it, even Liberia, why can’t Nigeria do it? We are waiting for INEC to do it, INEC must use it.

“Card readers are a must to ensure free, credible and acceptable elections. To do otherwise, won’t be acceptable.”

The opposition senators further alleged that the APC representatives, former Heads of State and the former Chief Justices who attended the National Council of State meeting where the issue of election postponement was discussed, strongly opposed the idea.

Akume said, “From the records, we know that all the former Heads of State supported the holding of the election as scheduled. Former Chief Justices, those who know the law also supported the holding of the elections.

“But INEC later said the elections could not hold on the flimsy grounds that the service chiefs said they could not provide security. Security for what?

“We have over 774 local government areas in this country and serious security breaches in the North-East are registered in only 14 local governments and therefore, there was no reasonable grounds to shift the elections.

“We recall that in 1999, there was no election in Bayelsa during the first round of voting, elections were later held.

“Under normal circumstances, we believe the situation is also normal now, these affected areas should have been isolated for the purpose of holding elections at a later date but this was not to be.

“We are all learned people, educated people to know that elections have been held in Columbia, which is perpetually at war with itself, elections have been held in Egypt, in Afghanistan, in Iraq, in Syria, in Pakistan, in Mali, Tunisia and other countries.

“Nigeria cannot be an exception. The reason was lack of adequate distribution of PVCs, later, it turned to be inability to provide security cover and we wonder that the multi-national force that has been assembled to fight Boko Haram is just 7,000, including the Nigerian troops and we have a troop level of over 100,000 in this country.

“Why is it not possible to hold elections with adequate security cover for those who are supposed to do their jobs constitutionally? We believe that there is serious manipulation and a deliberate attempt to undermine and to manipulate the democratic institutions and structures.

Jonathan postponed elections to frustrate Buhari – NY Times

The United States-based New York Times says the postponement of the elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission was orchestrated by President Goodluck Jonathan to frustrate Maj. Gen Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) of the All Progressives Congress.

The newspaper, which has won 114 Pulitzer Prizes, further stated that Jonathan appeared to be afraid of the increasing popularity of Buhari, who most Nigerians would likely vote for.

It said this in the editorial of its Monday edition titled, “Nigeria’s Miserable Choices”.

The publication said, “Any argument to delay the vote might be more credible if President Goodluck Jonathan’s government had not spent much of the past year playing down the threat posed by the militants and if there were a reasonable expectation that the country’s weak military has the ability to improve security in a matter of weeks.

“It appears more likely that Mr. Jonathan grew alarmed by the surging appeal of Muhammadu Buhari, a former military ruler who has vowed to crack down on Boko Haram. By dragging out the race, Jonathan stands to deplete his rival’s campaign coffers while he continues to use state funds and institutions to bankroll his own.”

It said INEC’s excuse that elections were postponed because security forces wanted to fight insecurity would have been taken in good faith if Jonathan had been tackling insecurity effectively since he took office.

The 164-year-old newspaper said that Jonathan had become so unpopular that Nigerians were not afraid of the idea of a former military dictator returning as President.

It however said that Jonathan had become worried about the rising insecurity and was willing to accept help from western powers.

The newspaper warned that election postponement might increase the level of insecurity rather than reduce it and that Nigeria’s democracy would not survive an electoral crisis.

It said, “Beyond security matters, entrenched corruption and the government’s inability to diversify its economy as the price of oil, the country’s financial bedrock, has fallen and has also caused Nigerians to look for new leadership.

“Nigeria, the most populous African nation, and a relatively young democracy, cannot afford an electoral crisis. That would only set back the faltering efforts to reassert government control in districts where Boko Haram is sowing terror.

“The security forces may not be able to safeguard many districts on Election Day. But postponement is very likely to make the security threat worse.”

APC youth vandalise, torch PDP campaign office as Buhari visits Maiduguri

Supporters of the ​All Progressives Congress​, APC,​ ​in Borno ​S​tate, ​vandalised and torched several campaign offices and posters of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party​, PDP, Monday, during the party’s presidential campaign rally in Borno.
The APC supporters, who took to the streets of Maiduguri in their thousands, chanted pro- Muhammadu Buhari campaign slogans while carrying an effigy of the PDP.
While soldiers were battling to control the mammoth crowd at the venue of the campaign rally, some of the irate youth were seen bringing down PDP billboards that were mounted close to the venue of the rally.
Hours later, thick smoke was seen some 500 meters way from the venue of the rally as the APC youth stormed a major campaign office of the PDP, popularly known as UTC.
Witnesses at the scene said hundreds of the APC supporters, chanting anti-PDP and anti-President Goodluck Jonathan slogans, stormed the PDP office armed with petrol jars, forced themselves into the premises and set the place ablaze.
All efforts by police officers stationed at the UTC to prevent the youth failed as they were overwhelmed by the mob.
A police officer who spoke to journalists in front of the burnt office said, “We tried everything in our powers as permitted of us during riots to stop them, but the young men came in their hundreds and our men had to retreat because we do not intend to use excess force to stop them. It was really very sad.”
Reacting to the attack in a written statement, Inuwa Bwala, the spokesperson, campaign committee of the Borno
​S​tate PDP governorship ‎ candidate, Muhammad Imam, said the act was highly condemnable and unprovoked.
“The Muhammed Imam governorship Campaign Organisation condemns the unprovoked attack on PDP supporters and property in Maiduguri by APC hoodlums,” Mr. Bwala said. “We equally condemn the attack on ​m​ilitary personnel by hired thugs, ostensibly acting out the script of the Borno ​S​tate government. We commiserate with the victims of the attack and caution the Borno state Governor, Kashim Shettima, who seems to take delight in causing mischief anytime the PDP plans its programmes within the state.
“While we call on all supporters of Muhammad Imam to remain calm and lawful in the face of such unprovoked attacks, we wish to assure our citizens that no act of desperation nor violence can alter the will of God. ‎We remain focused on the mission of rescuing Borno from the clutches of an inept and corrupt leadership.
“We leave it to the security agencies to investigate the Maiduguri mayhem perpetrated in the name of hosting a presidential candidate. One wonders how the same Buhari visited Baylesa in peace but Shettima has turned Borno into a vortex of violence and political nihilism.

25-year-old man jailed six months for peddling canabis

A Federal High Court in Lagos has sentenced a 25-year-old man, Sani Abarshi to a six-month jail term for dealing in canabis sativa, a contraband substance similar to cocaine.
Justice C.J. Aneke pronounced the judgment on Monday on the strength of the convict’s confession and the evidence tendered by the prosecution.
The accused was charged to court by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency on the allegation that he was found in unlawful possession of 850 grammes of canabis sativa.
The NDLEA prosecutor, Orji Kalu, had told the court that Abarshi was apprehended with the substance on September 15 last year at Marwa Roundabout, Lekki Phase II, Lagos.
Upon his arraignment on January 31, 2015, Abarshi, who appeared in court without any legal representation, had promptly pleaded guilty to the offence and pleaded for the court’s leniency.
Reviewing the facts of the case on Monday, a witness of the NDLEA, Odede Lawrence, explained to the court the circumstances under which he came to know the accused person.
Lawrence said, “On September 15, 2014, while in my office, the accused person was brought by two operatives of the NDLEA in persons of Elias Sikari and Ibinola Samuel, with substances suspected to be canabis sativa concealed in a pink-coloured bag, which was alleged to have been recovered from the accused person.
“I conducted a preliminary field test on the substance and it proved positive for canabis sativa. I also weighed it and found it to be 850 grammes.”
The court admitted the seized drug and other materials tendered by the prosecution as exhibits in evidence against Abarshi.
Consequently, Kalu urged the court “to convict and sentence the accused as charged in line with sections 218 and 285 of the Criminal Procedure Act.”
In pronouncing the sentence, Aneke said he was inclined to temper justice with mercy in the belief that the convict, who had been in prison since september last year, must have learnt his lesson.
The judge added that the convict deserved a second chance because he had no previous record of crime and for pleading guilty without wasting the time of the court.
He however warned that if the convict was ever brought back before the court on a similar offence he risked being slammed with a maximum sentence.
Aneke held that the six months jail term would commence from September 15, 2014, when Abarshi was arrested and detained.
The convict pledged to apply himself to responsible engagement upon the completion of his jail term.

Two die, one arrested in supermarket robbery

One armed robbery suspect was on Saturday shot dead after a gun duel with the police during a robbery operation that took place in a supermarket at the Ikot Effa area of Calabar, Cross River State.

Two robbery suspects were also arrested in the process while four others were said to have escaped. One of the arrested suspects, was said to have later died.

GOSSIPERS MAGAZINE learnt on Sunday that the police acted on distress calls by the neighbours of the owner of the supermarket.

It was learnt that items recovered from the suspects included a locally-made pistol and 42 rounds of ammunition, machetes, mobile phones, electronic appliances and other valuables.

Narrating the incident, which occurred at about 8.30am on Ikot Effa Road, the supermarket owner, Mr. Akpan Ekerette, said he had initially thought the gunmen were customers who had come to buy provisions, but was shocked when two of them walked up to him at the counter and demanded all the money in his possession.

He said, “At first I didn’t know they were armed robbers because they were about five that came into the store, while others stood outside. Some were also in a red Audi saloon car. One of the suspects, who was eventually killed, hit me on the head with his gun and ordered me to bring money.

“I directed him to my drawer where I had close to N500, 000, including cash from the day’s sales. That was when I started screaming and my neighbours alerted the police who came in less than five minutes and the armed robbers started shooting, during the exchange of fire they apprehended two of them while others escaped.”

Ekerette said the attack would be the second time in 2015 that armed men would be visiting his supermarket.

“This is the second time they are attacking me this year. If not that the police responded on time I wonder what would have happened to me because apart from the money they took, they were also packing items from my shop including beverages and drinks,” he said.

It was learnt from the police that one of the two robbery suspects that were apprehended died at about 12am following injuries from the duel and his corpse had yet to be taken to the mortuary as at the time of filing this report.

Confirming the incident, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Hogan Bassey, said members of the public played critical role in the success of the operation by promptly informing the police while the incident was ongoing.

Bassey said, “It was the timely tip-off that made it possible for us to get to the scene promptly. If this trend is maintained, the police will definitely rid the state of criminals. These armed robbers are not invincible. Useful information can go a long way in foiling their plans.

Rape, Trafficking in Displaced Persons’ Camps: ​Justice Minister orders probe​

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, has named an Inter-Ministerial Committee to investigate allegations of rape and child trafficking in camps where people displaced by Boko Haram violence are sheltered.
This was contained in a statement signed by Mr. Adoke on Friday.
He said the allegations, contained in an investigative report titled: Grim Tales of Rape, Child Trafficking in IDP camps, had attracted government’s attention.
The investigation by the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, ICIR, also published by GOSSIPERS MAGAZINE, showed how displaced persons in the camps were either raped or trafficked.
“Government’s attention has been drawn to an article published by the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR)alleging that hundreds of Nigerian children are being trafficked from some of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps set up to cater for people displaced as a result of the insurgency in the Northeast Geo-Political Zone,” Mr. Adoke said.
He said the Federal Government viewed the allegations with serious concern, as it concerned the welfare of citizens.
“Consequently, an Inter-Ministerial Committee comprising of relevant agencies and security personnel has been set up to among other things; investigate the matter with a view to holding accountable all those found culpable in these nefarious acts and recommend appropriate measures to forestall future occurrence,” Mr. Adoki said.
“Government has also taken steps to strengthen security around all registered IDP Camps. As an interim measure, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons (NAPTIP) has been directed to conduct enlightenment campaigns for care-givers in the Camps. Government is determined to prevent acts that will further traumatise its citizens who have found themselves in these camps due to circumstances beyond their control,” the Minister said.
He affirmed the commitment of the government to the security and welfare of all citizens, including victims of armed conflicts.
“May I re-state unequivocally, Government’s commitment to the task of providing protection and assistance to victims of armed conflicts and internal strife and its resolve to provide adequate security of lives and properties of her citizenry,” he said.
Last week, the National Emergency Management Agency also said constituted a panel to investigate the allegations.
In the original report by ICIR, the Chairman of National Human Right Commission, Chidi Odinkalu, said the commission received complaints of abuses in the IDP camps and, thereafter, engaged government agencies involved in managing the IDP camps as well as security agencies on the need to investigate the allegations.
Mr. Odinkalu, however, lamented the futility of such efforts.

58 Nigerians killed in 2015 pre-election violence so far – Rights Commission

At least 58 Nigerians have so far died in election-related violence ahead of general polls that have been rescheduled for March 28 and April 11, a report released by Nigeria’s human rights body said Friday.
The report on pre-election violence, compiled by the National Human Rights Commission, said that in the past 50 days, 61 incidences of election violence occurred in 22 states with 58 people killed.
The incidences of violence, the commission said, were captured from all the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria.
“The world believes that Nigeria is going to eat itself up because we are going for an election, we must show we can do things differently. We don’t want our election administrators killed, we don’t want our voters killed, and we don’t want our politicians killed,” said Chidi Odinkalu, the chairman of the human rights body, at the presentation of the report Friday.
Mr. Odinkalu said the scale of the 2015 pre-election violence is alarming because Nigeria has never experienced such. He said all electoral officers, security operatives and everyone who would be participating at the elections must be insured.
Presenting the 80-page document, the human rights chief said the footprints of possible election violence are already visible in three states across Nigeria.
The three states are Lagos, with 11 incidences and 22 persons killed; Kaduna with three incidences and nine people killed; and Rivers with one incidence and at least six deaths.
The report will be distributed to the lawmakers, past leaders, party chairpersons, and the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Odinkalu said.
The report came a day before the previous schedule of the presidential election. The polls were moved to March by the Independent National Electoral Commission, amid security concerns.
Mr. Odinkalu said the commission will reach out to the two leading presidential candidates — President Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu of the All Progressive Congress – to do an audio recording preaching peace during the election.
“This election is between brothers and sisters; it is not a war. We want to hear the voice of President Jonathan, we want to hear the voice of General Buhari together and this recording will be launched before the elections,” Mr. Odinkalu said.
He said the political leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the APC, Adamu Muazu, and John Oyegun, must give commitments to peace on television stations, social media and through telephones.
Mr. Odinkalu called on politicians, civil society organizations and all Nigerians to support the Independent National Electoral Commission in the discharge of its duties. He said any recommendation should be forwarded to the team in the most professional manner.
Mr. Odinkalu said Nigerians, political leaders and their candidates must learn to disagree and manage their disagreements, adding that by doing so, the people who lost their lives in election violence, will be honoured.
He said the commission through its Election Violence Incidence Centre will be monitoring hate speeches through the election period, calling out parties or candidates who get involved in hate speeches, calling out candidates who do not indulge in sending out messages against violence and also making a report available after the general elections to the general public.
“We want to be fair, but we cannot abdicate; we have no other country except Nigeria. I don’t want on my watch as chair of the NHRC for any Nigerian to end up in the Hague

Osun closes two schools over public disturbance

Mrs Titi Laoye-Tomori, Osun Deputy Governor, has ordered the closure of Government Technical College, Osogbo, and Osogbo High School, indefinitely over disturbances by the students.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that some students of Government Technical College, Osogbo and Osogbo High School embarked on a protest on Thursday.
This is contained in a statement signed by Mr Lawrence Oyeniran, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education.
The statement said that the closure was to curtail any further disturbances in the Schools.
It advised parents and guardians to warn their children and wards to stay away from acts capable of causing public disturbance.
“While the closure is being effected, parents and guardians are advised to warn their children and wards to desist from acts that are capable of causing public disorder in the two schools and beyond.
“Consequently, security agencies have been directed to take charge of the two schools and maintain peace,” it said.
The statement further said that activities of few Students had led to wanton destruction of valuable property in Osogbo High School running into millions of Naira.

Abuja disco blames outage on lower allocation

The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company says the poor power supply being experienced in the FCT and its environs is as a result of the shortfall in load allocated to it by the system operator.

The Managing Director of the company, Mr Neil Croucher, said this in Abuja on Saturday while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria.
“The issue of load-shedding being currently experienced in the FCT and other parts of its franchise area is as a result of the shortfall in power allocated to the company in recent times,’’ he said.
He appealed for the understanding of customers over the development, saying the average daily allocation to the company from February 1 to February 13 was 290 megawatts as against 390 megawatts in January.
Croucher added that since November 2013, when his company took over energy distribution, it had never fallen short of the 11.5 per cent of the load allocated to it by the system operator.
He said the company had taken load in excess of its allocation every month in order to meet customers’ demand, stating that this often attracted imbalance penalty.
“When there is extra load in the system, we have always taken it with the consequence of payment of imbalance penalty,” he said.
Croucher explained that in spite of the shortfall in power allocation to the company, it was compelled to give special consideration to certain strategic institutions in Abuja that required uninterrupted power supply.
“As a result of the foregoing, when there is limited power available to AEDC, there is extensive load-shedding to other customers in the FCT as well as other states in the company’s franchise area,” he said.
He, however, assured the consumers that the company would continue to optimise its load-shedding to ensure that electricity consumers were given fair consideration in the distribution of energy.
The managing director expressed optimism that government’s transformation plans would lead to actively increased levels of generation to meet the needs of customers.
“We, as a Disco, will also be aggressively exploring methods of embedded generation within our network coverage area to augment power supply from the national grid,” he said.