WHY BUHARI WILL CONTINUE TO VISIT LONDON HOSPITAL — PRESIDENCY

The presidency has disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari will continue to consult doctors in London hospital for his medical needs because his medical record is known to them.
The Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on media and publicity, Femi Adesina disclosed this while speaking on Sunday Politics, a programme on Channels Television.

““You have what is called medical history where you consult people who are used to you, and your health. Before he became president, he was using those people, so it stands to reason that the same people continue to attend to him,” he said.
 
Adesina added that Buhari is not ill, stressing that the 74-year old president is hale and hearty.
“The true state of the president’s health is that he is not ill. I have been in touch with the president and the people around him today, just as I was yesterday. 

The president is fine, and don’t forget, the statement we issued said he was going on holiday and during that holiday, he would do medical checkups. Holiday first, medical checkup, second, but some people want to turn it the other way round by saying medical checkup first, no it is a holiday… He is 74, even if you are not 74, you need to check your health. So, let’s not use the word ill because the president is not ill,” he noted.
 
Nigerians have been reacting to the decision of the president to seek medical attention abroad despite the huge amount allocated to the hospital in Aso Rock.
 
Recall that Buhari on Thursday left Nigeria for the United Kingdom on a ten-day medical vacation.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, in a statement, said the leave is part of the president’s annual vacation and he (Buhari) is expected to resume work on February 6, 2017.
 
The presidential spokesman also stated that during the vacation, President Buhari would also undergo routine medical check-ups.
 
"What is wrong with going on vacation? Didn't I go last year at the same time?", Buhari quizzed while responding to a question from the journalists on his way to London.
Source:Daily Trust

We transfer victims’ funds with their phones ¬—Suspect

A suspected, David Lucky, who is one of the three persons arrested by the  operatives of Edo State Police Command, has opened up on how he and members of his gang transferred money from their victims’ accounts to their own accounts, using their victims’ phones.

Lucky told Southern City News that the sum N210, 000 was transferred from the accounts of three of their victims on the eve of the New Year through the code of a popular commercial bank.
He said, “We transferred money from people’s account. We used to work for a telecoms company.

When we see people with big phones, we told them that they could watch satellite TV stations on their phones. We also offered to help them with their subscription.

“Through that process, we also transferred money from people’s accounts. We transferred N100, 000 each from the accounts of two individuals and N10, 000 from another account. We did it on the eve of the New Year.”

The 19-year-old suspect said one of their victims alerted the police when she discovered a deduction in her account and raised the alarm.

The suspect said, “The person from whose account we transferred N100, 000 saw us when we were going home and held my friend, who transferred the money and demanded his money.

 “From there, we were arrested and taken to New Benin. I regret everything. My dad is late but my mum was fed up with me because of what I did.”

Lucky and two others were arrested by the Edo State Police Command for allegedly engaging in cybercrime and other fraudulent activities in Benin metropolis.

They were said to have been arrested at Upper Mission Road in Oredo Local Government Area of the state, after allegedly defrauding a woman around New Benin.

Lucky and other suspects (each aged 19 years) identified as Louis Ogidamen and Theophilus Oko, had posed as registration agents for a telecoms company.
It was learnt that they offered to register the SIM cards of their victims.

They were also alleged to have offered to assist their victims to enable financial transactions on their mobile phones and in the process, transferred money from the victims’ accounts to their own account.
 The Commissioner of Police, Haliru Gwandu, confirmed the arrest, adding that the suspects were under investigation.
Source:Punch

Katsina varsity bans Christian groups, okays Muslim society

The authorities of the Umar Musa Yar’Adua University, Katsina, Katsina State, have outlawed any other religious or tribal associations on the institution’s campus besides the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria.

The institution’s acting Dean of Students’ Affairs, Dr. Sulaiman Kankara, conveyed the new directive to all students’ clubs and associations that were operating on its campus in an internal memorandum dated January 17, 2017.

A copy of the memo, obtained by one of our correspondents, was captioned, “Re: Registration of Students Clubs/Associations.”

Sulaiman said the new directive was part of the resolutions of the institution’s management at its 59th meeting, which held on January 10, 2017.

The memo read in part, “The Muslim Students Society of Nigeria is the only religious association allowed to operate in the university.

“All tribal and local government associations are prohibited by the university. Duly registered departmental associations should be allowed to operate, but they should observe item (I) above.”

However, sources within the university told The PUNCH that that the new directive was unlikely to elicit any reaction from the students when the institution resumes its new academic session on January 30, 2017.

“The university has never hidden its posture to be an Islamic institution despite the fact that it is a public institution,” one of the sources said.
The state government had last week approved the construction of a new mosque for Fridays’ Jumat service at the state-owned Hassan Usman Polytechnic at the cost of N64m.

The state Commissioner for Women Affairs, Dr. Baddiya Mashi, in her contribution at a press briefing at the end of the state executive council meeting, made the disclosure.

But a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Norrison Quakers, who is a pastor at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, described the directive by the UMYU authorities as unconstitutional and one that could fuel crisis in the country.

Quakers, who argued that the directive was a specific affront to Section 10 of Nigeria’s constitution, called on the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), to immediately, as the country’s chief law officer, take issues with the UMYU.

Quakers said, “By virtue of Section 10 of the Nigerian constitution, we have what is called a secular society, meaning that the state has no official religion. No component state of the federating unit is allowed to promote any particular religion or place any particular religion above another.

“What the university authorities have done, in this case, is to promote a particular religion or prefer one religion above the others and that is actually calling for chaos and unrest.

“My position is that the decision of the university authorities is one one-sided, and what this has clearly shown is that this particular administration seems to be promoting ethnicity and religion and that, we must avoid.

“The constitution of Nigeria is very clear concerning our unity. My position is that all right-thinking Nigerians must rise up to condemn this directive; it is not something that should be condoned, it is not something that is acceptable.

The Attorney General of the Federation should take it up; that policy is an infraction on the constitution and the Attorney General of the Federation is the Chief Law Officer of the country.”

Also, a Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Wahab Shittu, who is a Muslim, said the directive by the university authorities had no foundation in the country’s constitution, stressing that it should be challenged immediately.

Shittu said, “Clearly, it is a violation of the constitutional provision, permitting freedom of association. There is no fundamental right that can derogate from that on grounds of public safety. The fundamental rights of the students to freely associate and express their views have been violated directly by that directive.

By virtues of the constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, there is nothing to suggest that the directive can be accommodated in any of the exceptions or derogation from the fundamental rights as contained in the constitution. The directive is constitutional, null and void; it is ultra vires and it should be challenged.”
Source:Punch

Why I went for corpse’s head —Suspect arrested in Oyo

The suspect with the exhumed human head by the grave where human head was exhumed from
Some years back, the Olomi axis was known for its notoriety in driver union’s clash with law enforcement agents and factional rumpus.

But in the early hours of Sunday, January 15, the area came alive again as a 33-year-old Quranic teacher, Saheed Musiliu, was arrested with a human head he allegedly severed from a corpse which he exhumed from the grave.

But the uproar that greeted his apprehension by the community’s vigilance group members turned to violence as some of the residents were alleged to have resisted the move by the police to take the suspect into custody for investigation.

They were quoted to have insisted on carrying out jungle justice on the suspect, expressing the belief that he was going to be let off the hook.

The submission of the residents was said to have hinged on the discovery of the phone number of a police officer in the suspect’s phonebook.

Saturday Tribune gathered that while trying to prevent police from taking the suspect away, the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Sanyo Division and other policemen were attacked and injured while their patrol van was vandalized.

But the Police Public Relations Officer in Oyo State, Adekunle Ajisebutu told Saturday Tribune that 27 suspects were arrested in connection with the attack on the police and the vandalism carried on their patrol van.

He also condemned the action of the mob which wanted to lynch the suspect, saying it was wrong for anyone to have had the intention of taking laws into their hands.

Saturday Tribune had an interview session with the suspect who had been in custody at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Iyaganku. Below is an excerpt of his confession:

Background
I am from Idi Arere, Ibadan. I was living at Boluwaji area before my arrest. I was a Quranic teacher teaching children Arabic. I finished Primary six but didn’t go to the secondary school. I went to a Quranic school. I have five children from two women though the first wife has left me.

How I came in possession of human head
I had passed the place where the burial ground is at Aba Afaa, Olomi, Ibadan, two weeks earlier and had noted it. For several days, I had been trying to carry out the act, but my mind would tell me not to.

I usually left home around 10.00p.m after telling my wife that I had a prayer session, but anytime I got to grave side, I wouldn’t be able to carry out the act. It was my mind that kept telling me not to carry it out. However, I don’t know the person who was buried in the burial ground.

However, on the day that I actually became bold to carry out the act, I went to the burial ground around 10:00p.m on Saturday, January 14. There is this uncompleted building very close to the grave, and that was where I first stayed till 1.30a.m.

Despite staying there that long, I was still not comfortable with what I wanted to do. My major aim was to dig the grave and severe the corpse’s head; so by 2.00a.m, I noticed that the vigilance members had done their patrolling and had gone to rest, so I went to dig the grave and cut off the head. The grave was not that deep, so it made it easier for me to accomplish my assignment.

However, immediately I accomplished my task, I just saw a vigilance member coming towards me. I don’t know if he had seen me earlier and had watched me carry out the act. The head had dried up, and it was not difficult for me using my knife to severe it from the rest of the body.

But when I saw the vigilance member, I just carried the head and took to my heels. That was when he also raised the alarm, shouting thief, thief, thief! However, nobody came out, and he was chasing me all over the area. There was a car parked around the area, and I hid beside it, which made the man lose track of me.

After a while, something just told me to go and pick the severed head I had dropped while I was being chased. So I went and picked up the head. By this time, the vigilance member had gone when he couldn’t find me.

I had successfully kept the head somewhere, and I thought that I should go and cover the grave. I was almost there when I saw four more vigilance men, and I hid in a bush around the area. However, while I was trying to hide in the bush, the dry leaves around where I hid were ruffling, turning the attention of the night guards on me.

They beamed their flashlight at where I was and I took to my heels again. The four of them chased me up and down the area again, but couldn’t catch me. We were on that till around 3:00a.m. and they split themselves. I first hid inside a gutter, but they discovered me. I ran off again and finally saw a soak-away pit and I hid there. That was where I was finally apprehended.

What I want to use the head for
I want to use the head to make money ritual. We were two who wanted to do the ritual, but the other person had promised that he would take care of the financial aspect as soon as I was able to find a head. When I was apprehended, they asked me who my accomplice was, and I told them that his name is Salami Ado.

However, when I was apprehended, they took my phone and tried calling my accomplice, but I told them not to call him. I don’t know if they called him or not, but I know he would have absconded if they called him.

Salami Ado, my accomplice, is a herbalist. He stays at Sanyo area in Ibadan. We wanted to do the money ritual together. He actually wanted me to get him a human head for money ritual but I told him we would use it together since I needed money too. But I also collected N10,000 from him because I had meant to buy the head if could not get one myself.

I had even supplied him a head once. I exhumed it from Target Cemetery at Amuloko community in Ibadan. He paid me N7,000 then, around 2014. This is my third attempt at severing the head of a corpse after digging up the grave.

I used the second head I exhumed for myself, but the purpose for which I did was defeated. I made a charm that money would be available to me at all times but it didn’t work. I was stricken with abject poverty instead. This was what made me decide to work with Salami Ado for the latest one.

However, I didn’t go to the burial ground at Amuloko for my third attempt because it had been converted to a school.

What led me into exhuming human heads
I believe I made a mistake; I was suffering so much. I was teaching pupils Quran but I was not being paid by their parents because they were also poor.

They could not even afford their wards’ Walimot where I would have made some money from guests. My first wife was a tailor, but she was even part of why I took the decision to make money ritual.

Her mother was the one providing food for us, and it was out of sorrow that I ate the food. She always insulted me that I could not provide for the home and I would be crying. It was when she could no longer cope that she left. My second wife was selling rice, beans and other foodstuff, but we ate everything and ruined her business.

How I learnt how to exhume corpses
One of my friends, who is also an Afaa and herbalist had told me that he had been exhuming corpses right from when he was in secondary school. His name was Abideen Elewedu. He told me this when we were discussing our pathetic situation one day.

He took me to where I first experienced how to go about exhuming corpses at Target Cemetery at Amuloko area. We went together like twice before he was caught. When I learnt of his arrest, I left the area and relocated to where I was not known so that I would not be arrested. That was how I lost contact with him.

I thank God for the police who rescued me; the mob wanted to lynch me when I was arrested. They wanted to douse me with petrol and set me alight at that midnight. I was with the policemen till morning.

What I have learnt
I am already begging God that if I should be freed from this predicament, I will tell my family members to give me an acre of land at our village in Ido, so I can concentrate on farming. My parents are in Ibadan and they already know what I did. I will abandon my Islamic cleric profession.
Source:Tribune

MMM participants lose patience, attack each other, guiders

The cracks within the MMM community in Nigeria have continued to widen with many of the three million participants in the Ponzi scheme losing patience and trading accusations due to their inability to get their money out of the scheme after waiting for more than a month.

After being mocked Nigerians opposed to the scheme and fed excuses by those behind it for over a month, confidence in the scheme is declining with participants questioning its mode of operation and faulting explanations offered by guiders.

The discontent with MMM became evident this week after all payment (Get Help) requests by participants were removed by the scheme. The development meant that even the poor or small investors that the scheme said upon its ‘return’ on January 13 it would pay before higher investors were equally frozen out.

Ironically, the frustration follows the wild jubilation that followed its return on January 13.
“We were patient for a whole month. What were you guys doing during that period? It’s not right that after you made us wait for so long, you are now making some upgrade or whatever without pre-informing us. You are now preaching patience,” a participant, Busola, wrote on one of the schemes help platforms, mmmhelp.blogspot.com.

When accused by an anonymous participant of being rude and refusing to calm down, Busola fired back, “Dear anonymous, why not carry cane and start flogging me? Last I checked it was a free world.

There’s no law against me saying my mind or ranting as you claim. Plus if I can remember clearly, you didn’t pay for my subscription so who the f**k are you to ask me why I am ranting. You really don’t want me to divert my attention to you,trust me. I don’t know you and you won’t wanna know me…”

Another participant with the username Jane suggested that participants should be made to provide help before getting help, saying, “This is what majority of your participants want, this is Nigeria, nobody is going to willingly PH once paid for fear of not being paid again, we are ready to PH to GH because then we are sure there would always be somebody to pay us.”

However, she was told such a move would negate the MMM ideology. She warned that the scheme was losing trust as a result of the problem, saying, “Making people wait endlessly without hope of getting their money back negates MMM ideology even more so chose which is better,100 per cent loss of trust which is ongoing or 50 per cent loss of trust.”

Joseph Adeiye accused the guiders of collapsing the system and made a call for guiders to provide help to sustain the system. His view was shared by several people including one Olamide, who posted, “Those guiders are the reason for the problems the system is facing. A guider GH 2.4m but he only PH 300k. Imagine that f*^k%*ry! They are all thieves and will not want to PH. Greedy bastards.”

He added, “They had a whole month to do this stupid upgrade but they didn’t do anything. I am seriously suspecting that they are intentionally causing the panic so that the system will crash. Bastards!!!! All of dem”.

When a participant, Sunday Olawoyin, called for patience and for the MMM administrators to be commended as one month was not enough for the system upgrade, he was attacked by aggrieved participants including one Ike Oko.

Oko retorted, “Quiet your mouth there. A site can be running and still be upgraded, it is just a matter of uploading the files to the server. Do stop saying wizard, wizard this. All programmers and even ordinary web developers can do it too. Do shut your trap .”

An anonymous participant, however, continued to defend the scheme, and expressed surprise that people were not satisfied with the explanations provided for the challenges.

“Let’s be patient and understanding… Have you considered the fact that maybe there is not enough PH (help) to go round? You paid to somebody and you need someone to pay you.”

In response to the anonymous comment, MMM Nigeria help replied, “Together we change the world.” But that only enraged aggrieved participants with Jane posting, “MMM is just mocking us with dis useless slogan of “together we change the world” can’t you see it’s not working in this case? chai! dem warn me I no hear.”

A participant with the username, Fagsam, lamented, “I’m getting tired and losing confidence in this system already. People are now making mockery of me that “didn’t we tell you not to do mmm?”… Everything needed should have been done during the break…. Sad something.”

As the debate raged on, some participants begged those behind the scheme to pity them, while others were worried about the growing panic and negative reports it would generate.
“Please, MMMNigeria, don’t fail us because we have never failed you people since we started…We are just speechless,” wrote Chinaza Abel.

But some have given up on the scheme with one of them posting, “This MMM is fraudulent. Poor people like us are suffering so much. I wish I never put my money on MMM. God will forever punish MMM and all the people behind it, forever and ever.”
Source:Punch

NAF jet bombed Borno camp thrice, survivor recounts

One of the Internally Displaced Persons in Rann, Borno State, who survived the accidental bombing of the camp on Tuesday, said the Nigerian Air Force fighter jet involved in the operation dropped bombs on the camp three times.

Abdulwahab Adam, who spoke to The PUNCH at the General Hospital, Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, where he was receiving treatment for injuries sustained in the attack, on Wednesday, said, “The bombs were dropped on us thrice and there was no way a mistake could be made thrice.

Tragedy had struck on Tuesday, when a fighter jet involved in the counter-insurgency operation in the North-East, fired at aid workers, soldiers and displaced persons in error, killing no fewer than 100 persons on the ground.

Aid workers confirmed to have been killed in the bombing included the officials of Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres), International Committee of the Red Cross and some refugees.
“There was nothing accidental about the attack and it could not be referred to as a mistake.

“The Federal Government should stop telling Nigerians that it was a mistake; for this was not. It was nothing but an unprovoked attack on a civilian populace.
“This was not a new camp and the attack happened when people queued up to receive humanitarian materials.

Another victim of the attack, Abba Yusuf, believed the NAF had to explain what led to the attack.
He added, “This is the same force that told the world that they did not drop the bomb on insurgents in the Sambisa Forest because of human shield but weeks later, dropped bombs on unarmed civilians in an IDPs’ camp.

“Could they have been blindfolded to know that we were in a queue and we were unarmed or could they have mistaken the IDPs camp for the haven of insurgents?”

One of the people, who trooped to the hospital to visit their relatives who sustained injuries in the attack, Yakubu Hassan, said, “This is really unfortunate. I came to the hospital to get information about my brother, Babangida Hassan, only to be told that he was killed in the attack.”
He said his brother was a 35 year-old ad-hoc worker with the Nigerian Red Cross.

He asked President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure that the “negligent” pilot was brought to book.
He lamented that the deceased left behind two wives and over 30 other dependants.

“How do you want them to be taken care of now?” he asked.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government dispatched a high-powered delegation, led by the Chief of Staff to the President, Alhaji Abba Kyari, to condole with the government and people of Borno State and the international aid agencies affected in the attack.

In the delegation were two ministers – retired Brig. Gen. Mansur Dan Ali (Defence); and Alhaji Lai Mohammed (Information and Culture).

Others are the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin; the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai; and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar.

Kyari delivered the government’s message to the state Governor, Kashim Shettima; the Shehu of Dikwa, Alhaji Mohammed El-Kanemi, and the injured international aid workers at the hospital.

He said, “We are in Maiduguri at the instance of President Buhari to come over and condole with the people and government of Borno State over the unfortunate air strike that took place at Rann town’s IDP Camp on Tuesday, leaving many innocent people dead and others wounded.”

He assured the people that the Nigerian Armed forces would ensure that such incidents did not occur again.
Kyari said the Federal Government would bear the cost of the treatment of all those wounded and who are receiving attention at hospitals in Maiduguri and its environs.

Shettima, who thanked the delegation for the condolence visit, acknowledged the sacrifices of the Armed Forces and the Federal Government in the fight against Boko Haram.

He added that with prayers, zeal, determination and commitment of the military and other security agencies, peace was gradually returning to the state.

Shettima stated that had commenced the reconstruction, rehabilitation and resettlement of the IDPs.
24 hours after, 90 critically-injured victims yet to be evacuated
Meanwhile, no fewer than 90 critically-injured victims of the Rann attack were yet to be evacuated from the area on Wednesday, more than 24 hours after the accidental strikes.

The PUNCH learnt that 46 of them were supposed to be flown to Maiduguri, which had the facilities required for their treatments, but they had yet to be evacuated as of press time.

According to a statement by the International Committee of the Red Cross on Wednesday, a surgical team had been deployed in Rann to assist with the 90 injured IDPs, who were in an “open-air space in a precarious environment.”

The ICRC added that 100 patients were sighted at the camp, among which only nine were airlifted to Maiduguri on Tuesday.

It added, “Hours after the air strike, a surgical team from the ICRC deployed in Rann, and another ICRC surgical team in Maiduguri, prepared to support the Ministry of Health in receiving casualties.
“The team in Rann triaged around 100 patients, while nine patients in critical condition were evacuated by helicopter to Maiduguri.

“Around 90 patients remain in Rann, out of whom 46 are severely injured and need to be evacuated to Maiduguri as a matter of urgency. Patients are attended to in an open-air space in a precarious environment.”
An ICRC surgeon in Rann, Dr. Laurent Singa, confirmed that the patients at the Rann needed urgent evacuation.

He said, “We started medical work in Rann shortly after the incident. The conditions for post-operative care are not adequate. So, all the patients must be evacuated to Maiduguri as soon as possible.”

The Head of the ICRC delegation in Nigeria, Eloi Fillion, said the Federal Government must ensure that such tragedy did not reoccur, adding that the ICRC would continue its humanitarian services to the IDPs.

The ICRC and the Red Crescent Movement said it extended its heartfelt condolences to the families of all those killed or injured, including those affiliated to the Médecins Sans Frontières.
The Human Rights Watch also on Wednesday called for compensation for the victims of the IDPs camp bombing.

A senior researcher with the HRW in Nigeria, Mausi Segun, said the compensation must be “prompt, adequate and effective.”

We’re evaluating our procedures, says NAF chief
The Chief of Air Staff, on Wednesday, said the Nigerian Air Force had raised a committee to conduct a thorough investigation into the accidental bombing of the IDP camp in Rann.

The air chief added that the NAF was evaluating its procedures to have more efficiency.
Abubakar said this at the Air Force Base in Kainji, Niger State, during an interview with newsmen, adding that the bombing was a tragic mistake.

He said, “Our pilots got airborne on Tuesday, hoping to save lives, but unfortunately, there was a tragic mistake, which led to the loss of innocent lives.
“We have operated for eight years in the North-East and flown close to 6,000hrs; this is the first time we are having this tragedy.

“This is a very tragic and unfortunate incident. Sometimes, it does happen in war. We have directed our Chief of Medical Services to provide medical facility in Maiduguri to the injured, so that they can be treated.

“We are putting up a high-powered committee at the NAF level. We do not want to pre-empt the findings of this committee.

“As a professional service, we will continue to evaluate our procedures and processes so that we can be effective.”
Buhari cancels FEC meeting, Reps set up fact-finding panel, Senate warns military
A scheduled weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council was also called off on Wednesday.

Although no official reason was given for the cancellation, some government officials said the accidental bombing could be responsible for the development.
Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, had, on Tuesday, in a statement, quoted the President as regretting the accidental bombings by the NAF.

But the House of Representatives, on Wednesday, began a subtle investigation into Tuesday’s mistaken air strike in Rann.
It set up a 10-man committee with a mandate to immediately visit Rann, the site of the incident to assess the situation.

The 10 lawmakers were drawn from the Committee on IDPs/Refugees/Initiatives on the North-East; Committee on Air Force; Committee on Army; Committee on Disaster Preparedness/Emergency Assistance; and Committee on Health Services.

A member from Jigawa State and Chairman, Committee on the IDPs/Refugees/Initiatives on the North-East, Mr. Sani Zorro, had drawn the attention of the House to the air strike under matters of urgent public importance.

While leading the debate, Zorro said there was the need to ascertain whether the bombing was as a result of human error or a deliberate hostile act on civilian population.
He added, “The House is mindful of the need to ascertain whether the air strike was in accordance with strict observance of the rules of engagement under air law and as enshrined under international humanitarian law, otherwise the Law of Armed Conflict.”

The House, in a separate resolution, condemned Monday’s suicide bomb attacks on the University of Maiduguri, which claimed the life of a professor and three others.

Also, the Senate urged the Nigerian military to apply caution in its operations.
The upper chamber of the National Assembly issued the warning following a point of order raised by the Senate Leader, Ahmed Lawan, at the plenary on Wednesday.
Lawan’s point of order was based on Tuesday’s accidental bombing in Rann.

The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over the plenary, said, “We only hope and pray that this will not happen again. We urge the military, especially the Air Force, to, as much as possible, ensure that this does not happen again.

“We are also conscious of the efforts by our gallant soldiers, especially that which they have been making in the North-East. We believe this was completely unintended.”
He, however, urged the military not to allow the sad incident to dampen its morale.
 “No doubt, it was an obvious mistake,” he stated.

The senators also observed a minute silence in honour of those who died in the incident.
In a related development, President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki; and his deputy, Ekweremadu, in separate statements, lamented the bombing.

Saraki, in a statement on his social media handles, on Tuesday night, said, “My thoughts and prayers are with the families and victims of today’s accident in Rann community of Borno State. I pray that the souls of the victims may rest in peace. I wish the victims speedy recovery, and I pray that incidents like these never reoccur again.”

Ekweremadu, in his statement, “expressed deep grief and condolences over the erroneous bombing.”
He said, “This is shocking and sad. I am pained by the gory pictures emanating from the scene, but I commend the efforts by the authorities and the armed forces to evacuate and treat the wounded.

“I also appreciate the support of the humanitarian organisations, notably, the Medicines Sans Frontiers and the International Committee of Red Cross towards salvaging the lives of the evacuated despite suffering casualties as well.”

Ministers, APC, Buhari’s wife others react
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has described as utterly tragic the accidental bombing of a civilian community in Rann by a NAF fighter jet.

While saying that the incident was regretted and sad, it nevertheless started that the accident should not be viewed as the true reflection of the professionalism of the NAF.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, stated this in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday.

The minister also sent the government and his personal condolences to the families of those who died in the unfortunate bombing and prayed for quick recovery of the injured.

Mohammed, who recently led members of the Bring Back Our Girls and the media to Yola, Adamawa State, where the Air Component of the fight against Boko Haram is based and over the Sambisa Forest, said he was particularly saddened because the accidental bombing was not a true reflection of the level of professionalism that he witnessed during the visit.

He said, ‘’One of the things we went away with after spending two days at the Tactical Air Command in Yola is the strict adherence to operational guidelines and the high level of professionalism of the officers and men, especially the young pilots who fly high-risk missions day and night.

“It therefore came to me as a rude shock to learn, a few hours after leaving Yola, that one of the fighter jets has accidentally bombed civilians, including aid workers.’’
The minister urged the NAF to continue to take the necessary measures to avoid civilian casualties while carrying out its challenging task of keeping Nigerians safe.

Also, the All Progressives Congress has condoled with victims of the accidental bombing. The National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said the APC offered its deep condolences to families of the IDPs and humanitarian aid workers affected by the unfortunate incident.

This was contained in a statement by Abdullahi in Abuja, on Wednesday.
He said, “Although Tuesday’s accident is regrettable, the party urges humanitarian aid agencies not to be deterred in their noble and selfless mission to bring succour to the IDPs in the North-East.”

The party urged the Nigerian military to remain focused on its ongoing final mop- up operation of Boko Haram terrorists in the North-East so that inhabitants of the insurgency-ravaged areas could quickly return safely to their normal and productive lives.

In her reaction, the wife of the President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, condoled with the families and victims of the Tuesday accidental bombing by the NAF fighter jet in Rann.

In a statement by her Special Assistant on Media, Adebisi Olumide-Ajayi, the President’s wife prayed that God would continue to guide the nation’s armed forces in their bid to rid Nigeria of terrorism.

“Being deeply involved with the IDP’s and having shared both sad and happy moments with them through her NGO, Future Assured, Mrs. Buhari feels really pained by this unfortunate incident,” the statement read.

Speaking on Wednesday, Shettima said the death of scores of refugees and humanitarian workers in Rann could not be justified under any circumstance.

The governor, who described the incident as unfortunate, however, said it was a painful price that came with war.
The governor, in a statement on Wednesday, also applauded the efforts made by various stakeholders to evacuate the victims.

This is just as the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Haruna Mshelia, said 54 survivors admitted in hospitals had been stabilised.

Shettima said, “It is most unfortunate and wasn’t meant to happen. Nothing can justify this tragedy but going down memory lane, incidents of friendly fire are unfortunately as old as history of wars in the world.

“There are many incidents of friendly fires since the 1st and 2nd World Wars down to the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan, Syria and other parts of the world.”

“It is gratifying that nobody made any effort to hide anything or sweep things under the carpet. In years gone by, people would have resorted to blame games. I am happy that rather than blame game, information was made public with sincerity, mistakes were accepted and focus was channelled into the evacuation and rehabilitation of victims.”

Mshelia explained that 32 persons were receiving treatment at the State Specialist Hospital; 16 victims were admitted in the 7th Division Military Hospital in Maimalari Barracks while six persons were hospitalised at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.
In its own reaction, the Arewa Consultative Forum commiserated with the families of the victims of the Rann tragedy.

The National Publicity Secretary of the ACF, Muhammad Ibrahim, in a statement in Kaduna, on Wednesday, called on the Federal Government to thoroughly investigate the incident.
It stated, “ACF is saddened by the tragedy caused by the Nigerian Air Force jet that mistakenly bombed an Internally Displaced Persons camp at Rann, Kala Balge Local Government Area in Borno State.

“In as much as the ACF appreciates the effort of NAF in its aggressive operation to flush out the Boko Haram insurgents, caution and diligence must be exercised to avoid such tragedy.
“It therefore calls on the Federal Government to thoroughly investigate this unfortunate accident.”
The group also condemned the University of Maiduguri twin bomb blasts which claimed the lives of a professor and four others.

Also, the Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, commiserated with the families of the victims of Tuesday’s “accidental” air strike.

 The governor, who said it was strange that the military could “mistakenly” bomb an IDP camp that it created and aware of the location, called for thorough investigation by both the military authorities and the international community to ascertain what actually happened.

Criticising Buhari for jumping into conclusion that the air strike was a mistake, the governor averred that by making that statement, the President had already foreclosed investigation, which, he argued should have preceded his conclusion.

Fayose, in a statement on Wednesday by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, maintained that “it is obvious that the Federal Government is still deceiving Nigerians on its handling of the Boko Haram insurgency because it is strange that the same Boko Haram that they said had been defeated were the ones they claimed the military wanted to attack with fighter jet.”

UNICEF backs FG’s probe plan
The United Nations Children’s Fund said it supported the decision of the Federal Government to probe the bombing of the IDPs’ camp in Rann.

The agency’s Communication Specialist, Media and External Relations, Mr. Geoffrey Njoku, in a statement, in Abuja, quoted UNICEF’s Director for Emergency Programmes, Manuel Fontaine, as saying it welcomed the decision to investigate how the incident happened.

He said, “UNICEF is deeply concerned by the loss of lives in Tuesday’s tragic incident in Rann, Borno State. Our thoughts are with all those who were injured.
“UNICEF stands in solidarity with our humanitarian colleagues, and the dangerous conditions they work in. The aid workers who lost their lives were working to save others.

“UNICEF remains committed to deliver aid to the more than four million children and their families in the region, who are in desperate need of help.
“We welcome the Nigerian government’s decision to investigate how this shocking incident came to pass.”
Source:Punch

Fuel scarcity looms as marketers stop importation

NIGERIANS may be in for a round of fuel scarcity this new year, as marketers have stopped importation of the product. 

Marketers under the aegis of Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPPMA) said that the N660 billion debt owed them by the Federal Government for products already imported, coupled with interest on bank loans had been their major hindrance to petroleum importation.

According to the Executive Secretary, Mr Olufemi Adewole, most marketers had stopped importing fuel due to government’s refusal to pay outstanding debt owed. 

“The inability to pay or service the loans has not only stalled further importation of fuel but is threatening the operation of the affected banks and the nation’s financial industry at large.

Financial industry

“Foreign exchange remains another big challenge. We don’t have forex to import the product. For now landing cost on petrol stands at about N145 due to high forex rate which poses serious concern for marketers as regards the price to sell the product,” he said.

According to Adewole, most marketers now depend on the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, for imported petrol. “We now buy from NNPC and our selling price will depend on the price given to us.

The huge debt owed marketers had eroded our operating fund. We are appealing to government to urgently pay our outstanding debt which is long overdue. 

“Our banks are threatening to debit our accounts at the foreign exchange rate of N360 per dollar, as against N197 per dollar that government approved for marketers.

This means that we are the ones subsidizing the imports. “If government fails to address these lingering challenges on price differential, it is not only marketers that will go down, the banks will also collapse because our exposure to banks is in excess of 1.95 billion dollars,” Adewole said. 

Vanguard gathered that some depots in Apapa area now sell petrol above ex-depot price of N133.28.
Source:Vanguard

RCCG LEADERSHIP SAGA: SACKED FRC BOSS OBAZEE IN FRESH TROUBLE

The last may not have been heard about the sack of Mr. Jim Obazee as Executive Secretary of Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN).

Few days after he was removed as the scribe of the body, the Federal Government is considering probing his tenure.

Some other top officials of the council may also be asked to make way as government prepares for the overhaul of the parastatal.

The planned reorganisation is a consequence of allegations of wrongdoings in the establishment.
One of the allegations is that over N1 billion cash of the council, meant for International Financial Reporting Standards Academy (IFRS) is trapped in a bank, contrary to the decision of the board to invest it in treasury bills.

Investigation revealed that FRCN had been under probe radar since 2014 but the administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan did not act.
Some of the other allegations against the council border on curious budget and expenses as follows:

• Expenditure of N225 million on the production of FRC registration certificates which cannot be exhausted in 24 years’ time

• Acquisition of a N47 million mansion in Houston, Texas (suspected as 15918 Mission Village DR Houston Texas 77083) by a top official of FRCN.

• Expenditure of N36 million within 60 days in 2014 on local travel to Abuja to probe the books of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under ex-Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi

• Suspicious payment of incidental expenses.
In a particular curious expense in July 2014, a top official allegedly applied for N736, 250 to go to Abuja for an official assignment.

His memo said: “Please arrange to reimburse me for my trip to Abuja to meet and brief the Permanent Secretary on the activities of the FRC.

“I travelled on Monday, July 14, 2014 and returned to Lagos on Tuesday, July 15, 2014.
“Details are as follows: Return ticket (Lagos-Abuja-Lagos) N150,000; Hotel Expenses (N86, 250); Incidental Expenses (N500,000), amount due to me, (N736,250).”

In a similar claim, the official on August 18, 2014 asked for a reimbursement of N836, 250 for a trip to Abuja.

The official had applied for the reimbursement of the cash through a memo addressed to Assistant Director (FIND).

The memo, which was obtained by our correspondent said: “Please arrange to reimburse me for my trip to Abuja for a meeting to attend the meeting of Heads of Parastatals with the Honourable Minister at Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment on Thursday, August 14, 2014.

“I travelled on Thursday, August 14, 2014 and returned back to Lagos on Friday, August 15, 2014.
“Details are as follows: (i) Return ticket( Lagos-Abuja-Lagos)—N150,000; (ii) Hotel expenses (N86,250); and (iii) Incidental expenses (N600,000).

“Amount due to me is N836, 250.”
A top government official said: “There were a lot of issues during the tenure of Obazee which the government will look into.

“There were allegations of mismanagement of funds and huge incidental expenses incurred by some top officials of the council.
“For instance, it was alleged that about N36 million was spent on local travel to investigate the books of the Central Bank of Nigeria during Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s tenure.

“We have a report on how a top official of FRCN allegedly bought a N47 million mansion in Houston, Texas.
“The council made suspicious payments to hired consultants, who were suspected to be proxies for some of its officials.

“Some contracts awarded were questionable. Also, some outrageous allowances were paid outside the approved rates in the civil service. So, we may probe the administration of FCRN anytime from now.

“The probe of Obazee and others will be part of plans to overhaul the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria. The agency stinks a lot.
“These allegations are not new but the administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan did not act on them.

“Actually, a member of the Audit Committee of the former board of FRCN had raised some of these issues, especially on poor management of resources.

“There are allegations that council did not publish its annual reports for some years contrary to Section 38 of the FRCN Act. This is not in line with international best practices.

“We will ask the new board to restructure the FRCN in a manner that it will disallow a sit-tight syndrome. Until he was removed, Obazee had served as FRCN chief for more than 10 years as Technical Director through CEO in NASB and to the Executive Secretary level.”

The FRCN’s stipulation of a maximum period of 20 years for the heads of all registered churches, mosques, and civil society organizations and its Governance Code 2016 have caused tension in the last few days.

The FRC’s regulations, which had not received final approval, led to the exit at the weekend of Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) General Overseer Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye.
Worried by the religious tension, President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday sacked Obazee and reconstituted the board of FRC.

A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, announced the President’s decision.

The statement said: “President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the immediate removal and replacement of the Executive Secretary and the reconstitution of the board of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria.

“He has appointed a Chairman and a new Executive Secretary for the council. The new Council as approved by the President has Mr. Adedotun Sulaiman, MFR, as Chairman.

“Mr. Sulaiman was a former Managing Partner/Director of Arthur Anderson and later, Accenture. He is a Chartered Accountant and a product of the University of Lagos and Harvard Business School.

“The President has also approved the appointment of Mr. Daniel Asapokhai as the Executive Secretary of the Council. Mr. Asopokhai is a partner and a Financial Reporting Specialist at the Price water House Coopers, Nigeria.”
Source:-The Nation