The management of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, a Federal Government-contracted oil pipeline surveillance firm has accused the Nigerian Navy of arresting its staff while ensuring that oil thieves fled when the company staff made attempts to arrest them.

The company also said it had evidence to disprove the arrest and continued detention of its personnel over an alleged crude oil theft.

Operatives of the Navy under the Commander of Nigerian Navy Ship, NNS Beecroft, Commodore Kolawole Oguntuga had arrested four Tantita personnel on the waterways in Itolu community, Lekki, in Lagos State.

The Navy said they were investigating the circumstances that led to economic sabotage and how the oil product from Ondo State made its way to the Lagos Sea.

But Tantita in a statement on Saturday explained details of the incident accusing the Navy of sabotage.

It said, “On Monday, August 28, at about 1:30 p.m., a Tantita Security Services patrol team operating in the Ondo State area received credible intelligence that a motorised wooden boat was illegally loading crude oil from an offshore oil well jacket.

“In fact, the same well jacket in OML 110 operated by Cavendish Petroleum Nigeria Limited, where we caught MT TURA II stealing crude oil, a few months ago.

“They dispatched an advance team to find the wooden boat while a backup team comprising Nigeria Civil Defence and Security Corps (NSCDC) component of the government security agencies (GSA) was assembled to follow through on the lead.

“While we cannot name the NSCDC personnel for obvious reasons, they were six and our personnel were eight, not four. The advance team with the help of local fisher folk could determine that the motorised wooden boat was heading toward Lagos and gave hot pursuit.

“Upon noticing the approaching Tantita teams, the crew of the motorised wooden boat abandoned the wooden boat for their speed boat.

“One team of Tantita and NSCDC personnel boarded the wooden boat to secure the evidence while another team gave hot pursuit.

“There is video evidence of the Tantita team together with NSCDC personnel coming alongside the wooden boat, boarding and attempting to secure the boat.

“There is also evidence of the Tantita and GSA team giving chase to the crew of the boat. How then did the Nigerian Navy get involved in this operation?

“The escaping crew of the motorised wooden boat fled toward the Nigerian Navy Forward Operating Base at Ibeju-Lekki, so the Tantita and NSCDC personnel followed in hot pursuit, believing that the criminals would meet their waterloo there.

“They were wrong. Instead of the fleeing crew being arrested, it was the Tantita personnel who came down to apprehend the fleeing crew that was arrested.

“After arresting Tantita personnel and freeing the crew, the Nigerian Navy personnel then went to the motorised wooden boat and drove out the combined Tantita/GSA team trying to keep the boat and the evidence afloat.”

The firm stated that as soon as the men were arrested, the management of Tantita reached out to the Navy for clarification of the situation, and they received feedback saying they were investigating and the men would be released, yet they were still being detained.

Tantita claimed to have gotten the outcome of the Navy’s investigation on the incident saying “There are even more damning revelations, which out of courtesy to the Navy hierarchy and the needs of national security we will not divulge on the pages of a newspaper”.

It, however, noted that “the continued detention by the Nigerian Navy of these five brave, selfless Nigerians who risked their lives on the high seas to protect our commonwealth is a disservice to our nation.

“These family men put their lives at risk for the good of the nation and are now being made to suffer ridicule for doing the right thing. It serves to demoralise good men everywhere who have sought and are seeking to do something to better our nation”, the firm stated.

Simon Ekpa, acclaimed prime minister of Biafra Government in Exile (BRGIE), Saturday, said “if Nnamdi Kanu and other Biafrans being illegally detained by the Nigeria state are not released, and all roadblocks and checkpoints in the South-East not dismantled on or before 15th of September 2023, the people will embark on another 3 weeks’ civil disobedience with a curfew.”

Ekpa stated this in a release entitled ‘delegitimisation of Nigeria within Biafra territory’.

The breakdown of the three-week sit-at-home shows that ‘Week One, September 18, 2023, will be the normal Monday sit-at-home; September 19, 2023, to September 22, 2023 will be a curfew from 6am to 12 noon; while September 23 2023 will be normal movement.

The statement added, “Week Two, 25.9.2023, there will be normal Monday sit-at-home; 26.9.2023 to 29.9.2023, there will be curfew from 6am to 12noon; 30.9.2023 and 1.10.2023 and 1.10. 2023, there will be normal movement in Biafra country.

“Week Three, 2.10.2023, normal Monday sit-at-home; 3.10.2023 to 6.10.2023, there will be curfew from 6am to 12noon. During this 3 weeks’ curfew, every Nigeria government secretariat in Biafra territory must shut down in all states.”

Our correspondent reports that Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra in June this year, barred Ekpa from declaring sit-at-home, describing the act as ‘killing the economy of the south-easterners whom he is fighting for’.

Kanu’s handwritten statement was unveiled during a world press conference in Enugu organised by his special counsel, Barr Aloy Eimakor.

Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Wing had, Friday, reaffirmed their resolve to end sit-at-home in the Southeast of Nigeria.

According to the National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze, Alex Ogbonnia, Ohanaeze youths “expressed concern over the instigated insecurity and socio-economic disruptions in Igbo land.

” While commending the Southeast governors for all the efforts towards overcoming these challenges, the acting national youth leader, Mazi Chukwuma Okpalaezeukwu, stated that they shall not rest on their oars till peace and security is restored in Southeast and Nigeria at large.”

IPOB had declared sit-at-home in 2021 to demand the release of Kanu who is being detained at the custody of the DSS over alleged treason, running a proscribed group and jumping bail.

Despite the cancellation of the sit-at-home by IPOB, Ekpa’s renegade wing has been ordering sit-at-home, including a two-week sit-at-home last month.

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi SAN, has assured Nigerians that his ministry would be transparent and people-centered in all its dealings.

The minister, who spoke during the Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), explained that transparency and people-centredness in rule of law are key to the country’s progress.

The NBA’s annual conference which was held in Abuja ended on Friday.

At the gathering, Fagbemi held that going forward, the Ministry under his watch will place the fundamental rights of average citizens and their well being at the centre of its strategies or policies.

“I have realised that with the enormity of tasks at hand, the most reliable approach to making significant progress will be to place the people at the centre of every policy and strategy of the Ministry.

“With the generous support of Mr. President, my Ministry will dedicate its time and resources in the promotion of people-centred Justice,” said Fagbemi who also promised that his ministry’s reform agenda would involve promotion of the rule of law and administration of justice.

“We will maintain fair, transparent, and responsive processes that will reflect the aspirations of Nigerians in the overall promotion of the rule of law and administration of justice,” Fagbemi said.

THE WHISTLER reports that Fagbemi became Nigeria’s 24th AGF after his swearing-in by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday, 21st August, 2023.

Before his nomination as AGF, he served as the lead counsel of the All Progressives Congress (APC), defending the ruling party against petitions challenging the election of Tinubu at the Presidential Election Petition Court sitting in Abuja.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has decried its inability to secure convictions in corruption cases, including high-profile ones, attributing it to frivolous court judgments.

The spokesman for the commission, Wilson Uwajaren, in an interview with journalists in Kaduna State, highlighted some of the challenges impeding the speedy prosecution of corruption cases and securing convictions.

According to him, the losses are due to what he described as frivolous court judgments based on technicalities rather than the facts and national interest, as well as arbitrary adjournment of corruption cases, among other factors.

Uwajaren, who shared the insight at a one-day workshop for media practitioners on Effective Reporting of EFCC activities held in Kaduna State, also disclosed that the commission secured about 7,700 convictions across the country in 2022.
In his remarks, the acting Chairman of the commission, Abdulkarim Chukkol, expressed concern over the rising internet-related fraud among the youth in Kaduna State.

The EFCC boss, who was represented by the acting Zonal Commander in the state, Aisha Abubakar, lamented that the active involvement of youths in internet-related frauds had the tendency to smear the image of the country and consequently discourage hard work and legitimate means of livelihood.
He urged the media to beam its searchlight on the menace of internet crimes and adequately inform the public about the activities of such criminal elements in order to safeguard them from falling victim to fraud.

Chukkol also restated the “unwavering” commitment of the EFCC towards eradicating all forms of economic and financial crimes in the country, noting that such efforts had led to the conviction of over 100 financial crime offenders in the Kaduna zonal office alone.

it's a rumour, Shaibu's CPS reacts

The feud between the Edo Governor, Godwin Obaseki and his deputy Comrade Philip Shaibu is getting messier daily, following the reported evacuation of the office of the deputy out of the state Government House by Obaseki.

The office of the deputy governor which was hitherto located inside Government House in Benin, it was gathered has been relocated to the state government-owned building, an alleged abandoned property along Dennis Osadebey in GRA, Benin City, the Edo State capital.

It was gathered the new office of the embattled Philip Shaibu, is now at No. 7, Dennis Osadebey Avenue, with a conspicuous signpost erected at the front of the building.

The signpost has an inscription as: “Office of the Deputy Governor; NO 7, Dennis Osadebey Avenue, GRA, Benin City”.

When contacted, the Chief Press Secretary to Shaibu, Comrade Musa Ebomhiana, told our correspondent that he had yet to get an official correspondent to that effect.

“I don’t know how true it is, but I still see it as a story in the realm of rumour. I have not been informed officially and I don’t believe in rumour but substance.

“This is weekend and we are here in Edo North for the election (Local Government Council election)

“And we plan to resume on Monday when the picture would be clearer. As I speak to you now, we are in an election in Edo North and I don’t want to comment on something I don’t know. It is on social media and I have also read about it,” he said.

Recall that Comrade Shaibu recently approached a Federal High Court in Abuja, and sought amongst others, an order restricting Governor Obaseki, Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Chief Judge of Edo State and others from commencing his alleged impeachment processes.

The development according to political observers had led to the redeployment of the Permanent Secretary of the State Sports Commission, Mrs. Sabina Chikere, an in-law of the deputy governor to the state, Government House.

The deputy governor’s press crew prior to its recent disbandment by Governor Obaseki was sent out from the venue of the 60th anniversary celebration of Midwest Referendum venue in Benin.

Also, the deputy governor was recently prevented from going close to his principal Obaseki by a security detail attached to the governor during a recent function in Benin.

says Tinubu wants to rebuild the economy

Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State has urged Nigerians to stop complaining about the current hardship, saying all policies of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government are to revive the economy.

Since Tinubu’s inauguration in May, his government has taken a series of decisions including removal of subsidy on petroleum as it pushes for reforms in major sectors of the economy.

The moves have triggered criticisms from several Nigerians and recently led to nationwide protests by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and other labour unions.

Speaking in an interview on Channels Television on Friday, Uzodinma said Nigerians must “reduce lamentations and agitations” regarding the policies of the Tinubu administration.

The Imo governor said the desire of the president to “recover the economy” is “so strong and impeccable”, adding that “every reasonable mind” in the country should support the president.

“Time has come for us to begin to wear our thinking cap. To think differently and positively. Reduce lamentations and agitations and then confront the challenges before us as a people. It is not about government or Mr. President,” he said

“It is about our country. Collectively, we must decide to recover our country. You may not like the face of the man in power. You may not like the face of the President but you should listen to him to understand whether he is making some sense or committed.

“The commitment I have seen from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his desire and passion to recover the economy of this country and drive this country forward on the path of growth is so strong and impeccable that every reasonable mind in the country must jump and follow.

“And this is how many days? Just less than 70 days as president and people have started lamentations here and there. I think we should be positive thinkers and think correctly as citizens.”

Uzodimma, who is seeking re-election in November, also promised to fish out masterminds of the insecurity in the South-East state within weeks.

“In a few weeks’ time – what we have deployed now, we will soon unravel those behind the killings and insecurity in Imo State,” he added.

The governor equally restated his claims that members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) are the major victims of insecurity in Imo State.

“I have told the security to tell me the reasons behind it. It is not a coincidence that many people who are being killed are members of my party, APC. A child cries in the night and in the day it is lying lifeless.

“It is not also a coincidence that only lately, prominent members of my party that they participated in the last election – their houses are being attacked. Some traditional rulers that I have sympathy for our party, their party were also being attacked,” he added.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has recalled all ambassadors and non-career ambassadors serving in different parts of the world

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, disclosed his Special Assistant on Media and Communications Strategy, Alkasim Abdulkadir on Saturday.

He said: “Sequel to the inquiries on the letter recalling the Nigerian ambassador to the UK, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, has reaffirmed that all career ambassadors and non-career ambassadors have been recalled on the instructions of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“Ambassadors as representatives of the country they serve at the behest of the president and it’s his prerogative to send or recall them from any country.”

The ambassadors are expected to commence the winding down of their affairs in their countries of deployment, take formal leave of the host government within 60 days and return to Nigeria by October 31, 2023, at the latest.

The minister, while thanking them for the service they have rendered in their capacity while representing the country in their host countries, said he is looking forward to welcoming them in Abuja on their return.

The Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in charge of Economic Policy, Dr. Kingsley Obiora, has been released by the Department of State Services (DSS).
This development was confirmed yesterday afternoon by a source close to Obiora, who also admitted that the apex bank’s deputy governor spent some days with the DSS.

The source, who is an official of the CBN, said he had no knowledge of what transpired between Obiora and DSS while in detention.
He said the deputy governor’s release from detention was welcomed by the staff of the apex bank, many of whom were already worried that they were being specifically targeted.

The CBN official said the Jim Obaze-led Special Investigations Panel had “requested for several documents from many departments as part of its investigation to unravel what transpired in the CBN under Godwin Emefiele”.
He also disclosed that the Special Investigation Panel had requested for documents from Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL Plc) and the NIRSAL Microfinance Bank (NMFB).

Following the arrest of Emefiele, President Tinubu appointed a special panel led by Jim Obazee to investigate the CBN.
As part of this ongoing audit, the panel has been questioning the deputy governors of the CBN and other senior officials of the bank.

Former Super Eagles coach, Samson Siasia, has admitted how terrible he feels being away from football, Saturday PUNCH reports.

Siasia was banned from all football activities for life in August 2019 by the world football body FIFA and fined $50,000 for agreeing to ‘the manipulation of matches’ for betting purposes.

According to FIFA, Siasia’s ban emanated from an extensive investigation into matches that Wilson Perumal attempted to fix.

But in 2021, after an appeal, his ban was reduced to five years by the Court of Arbitration for Sports which lapsed in August 2024 and the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations winner can’t wait to return to football.

“I thought I was going to be free by this year (2023) and I was so excited,” Siasia said in a radio interview on Kennis 104.1FM monitored by our correspondent.

“But I had to look through the document that FIFA served me, and I found out that it was going to be next year.

“By next year, in August 2024, I will be free from the FIFA ban, and hopefully I will be back to football.

“Irrespective of what happened, I have learned my lessons, but FIFA, who initially gave me a life ban in football, could not prove anything wrong with what they claimed I did. But they had to reduce it to a five-year ban, and it will expire next year. I thank God for that.

“It has been terrible to be away from football for five years, but I am preparing myself to come back to football, so I have to prepare myself so I can start ‘running’ once I resume by next year.”

Siasia also recounted the ordeal his men’s U-23 team went through prior to the Rio 2016 Olympics.

The Nigerian team overcame several challenges to arrive Rio on matchday before defeating Japan 4-3 in their opening group game.

He said, “We were abandoned ahead of our opener (against Japan), but we came into Rio on the same day, played Japan the same day, and won our opener the same day by 4-3.

“The Japanese billionaire, Dr. Katsuya Takasu was so amazed and wanted to see the coach of the team and handed me a cheque for $200,000″. “He also appreciated the team as a whole.”

Siasia also urged the country’s sports administrators to celebrate medal winners at major tournaments.

“My bronze medal is still in my house in the United States of America, but it’s so sad that Nigeria does not appreciate those who win laurels at the Olympics,” he continued.

“It must not be gold always, but once an athlete win either silver or bronze, they ought to be appreciated.

“Our bronze at the Rio Olympics was the only medal Nigeria won at that Olympics, but it was not celebrated.

“We were not received at the airport and no one appreciated us or talked about it. It’s shameful and not fair.

“Wwe have to first celebrate the medals won before looking forward to winning another, so that the younger ones who see athletes being appreciated will look forward to winning for Nigeria, and that is how it should be,” Siasia said.

[Punch]

Siasia is the only Nigerian coach to have won two Olympic medals with the U-23 team at two different Olympics.

The 56-year-old won the silver with the dream team at Beijing 2008 and also won the bronze at the Rio 2016 Olympics.