The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has put up the Falcon 900B aircraft for sale, which is a part of the presidential air fleet, calling on interested buyers to submit their bids.
Information about the sale was contained in a flyer shared on the official X page of the NAF on Monday.
The announcement partly reads: “The Federal Government of Nigeria has approved the sale of Falcon 900B aircraft owned by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF).
“In compliance with provisions of the public procurement Act 2007, the NAF hereby invites all interested parties to submit bids for purchase of the aircraft. The bids can be submitted by email or physically.
“If submitted by email, the bids are to be password protected and sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. while the password is to be sent separately to d proc2@ airforce.miI.ng.
“For physical submission, the quotations are to be enclosed in an envelope and sealed while the envelope is to bear the name and address of the interested company/entity as well as the description and reference to the request.
“It should also bear the statement, ‘DO NOT OPEN BEFORE 24 DECEMBER 2023’.
“Please note that the bids would be processed immediately after expiration of the deadline for submission.”
[Vanguard]
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State has accused Governor Douye Diri of masterminding a conspiracy to incriminate the APC candidate in the last governorship election in the state, Chief Timipre Sylva, falsely using the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In a statement on Monday by APC State Publicity Secretary, Mr. Doifie Buokoribo, the party said Diri and his cohorts were hatching the plot purposely to distract Sylva and discourage him from effectively pursuing his petition challenging Douye’s declaration as governor-elect at the state governorship election petitions tribunal.
Buokoribo stated, “We are aware of Senator Diri’s devious activities at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) aimed at sponsoring invented petitions against Sylva, and the pressure he is mounting on officials of the commission to initiate arrest and prosecution against him on trumped up charges, particularly, bordering on his tour of duty as Minister of State for Petroleum Resources.
“We have it on good authority that Governor Diri has instigated officials of EFCC on a fishing expedition to try to cobble some flimsy and imaginary charges together against Sylva in order to arrest him. This is all in a bid to distract the APC candidate, and hinder effective pursuit of his petition at the State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal.”
The statement added, “Senator Diri knows full well that he did not win the November 11 governorship poll; he knows without a doubt that he is holding a stolen mandate that would soon revert to the rightful owner. That is why despite his alleged victory, there is hardly any celebration. Diri and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), are simply jittery, knowing there is nothing to celebrate.
“Chief Timipre Sylva and APC trust the capacity of the judiciary to do justice in the Bayelsa State governorship election litigation. We have filed our petition, and we are pursuing it diligently, hoping that there would be justice at the end of the day.
“But Diri and PDP, knowing their weak standing before the law, are doing all they can to hinder Sylva’s ability to pursue his petition. They simply distrust the judiciary and are trying sundry self-help tactics – the same strategy they employed before the governorship election.”
APC warned “Diri and PDP to desist from their conspiratorial activities against Sylva at the EFCC. We also wish to advise the EFCC to resist any temptation to get entangled in the political chicanery of the sinking governor and his party”.
back Tinubu-led delegation at ongoing COP28 Climate Summit
Senator Jimoh Ibrahim has said that the Federal Government must borrow money to run the country’s economy effectively.
The Senator representing Ondo South in the Senate, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, was responding to a question on his earlier support for more borrowings by the government.
“If you don’t borrow to run the economy, what do you want to do? Where do you want to get the fund to run the economy? Dubai, with the population of 12 million people in total, is owing 168 billion dollars and look at what they have used the money to do? They are paying back now at 10 billion dollars a month.
“Now, Nigeria, with the population of 250 million people, is owing 77 million dollars, now you have challenges here and there. So, the key issue here has to do with the fact that you must borrow to run the economy,” Ibrahim stressed.
The lawmaker said that borrowing will help the Federal Government to build critical infrastructure which will enable it repay the loan in the long run.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Inter-Parliamentary Affairs, also defended the President Bola Tinubu-led delegation to the ongoing COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
He said that Nigeria might want to host the event in the future and therefore that number of delegates from the country was justified.
According to him, the 422 persons funded to the event out of the total 1,411 Nigerian registered delegates at the summit weren’t enough.
“Funding (over) 400 people to a conference like this is too small. You may want to host the conference sometimes in future,” he said.
He said the number of delegates has an influence on knowledge sharing at the event, adding that Nigeria was suffering from the impact of environmental pollution.
The Senator insisted that the international community won’t take President Tinubu as serious if he was in Dubai with a lean delegation.
There was widespread outrage on Monday over the accidental bombing of Tudun Biri in the Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State by the Nigerian Army on Sunday, which left no fewer than 85 villagers dead.
Residents of the affected communities said they were celebrating Maulud, an Islamic event when the bombs were dropped by the military, a development that triggered both local and international condemnation.
The Deputy Governor of Kaduna State, Hadiza Balarabe, had to visit Islamic clerics in the state to douse tension, as the Governor of the state, Senator Uba Sani, ordered a thorough investigation into the bombing to forestall future occurrences.
As the state government moved to douse tension, the Christian Association of Nigeria, Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International, among others, condemned the recurrent erroneous bombings by the military.
This came as findings by The PUNCH showed that no fewer than 425 persons including children and women had been killed by military accidental bombings between September 2017 and 2023.
Kaduna govt speaks
The state government said the Nigerian Army claimed responsibility for dropping the bomb on Tudun Biri that killed scores of villagers during a Maulud celebration.
No fewer than 85 residents were killed in the incident which took place on Sunday night at about 9pm.
The Overseeing Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, said the General Officer Commanding 1 Division, Nigerian Army, and Force Commander Operation Whirl Punch, Maj-Gen VU Okoro, admitted that the Nigerian Army was on a routine mission against terrorists when the incident happened.
This was contained in a statement released by the commissioner to journalists shortly after the Deputy Governor, Hadiza Balarabe, met with Islamic clerics, traditional rulers, heads of security agencies, where “the Nigerian Army explained the circumstances which led to the unfortunate and unintended attack.”
The meeting was held at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim Government House, Kaduna on Monday.
The commissioner said, “The General Officer Commanding One Division Nigerian Army, Major VU Okoro explained that the Nigerian Army was on a routine mission against terrorists but inadvertently affected members of the community.”
He added that search-and-rescue efforts were still ongoing, as dozens of injured victims during the incident had been evacuated to Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital by the state government.
He also quoted the deputy governor as having commiserated with the victims’ families, while praying for the repose of the victims’ souls.
The statement stated that among the heads of security agencies who attended the meeting include the Commissioner of Police, MY Garba; and Director of the Department of State Services, Abdul Eneche; Chairman of the Kaduna State Chapter of Jam’atu Nasril Islam, Prof. Shafi’u Abdullahi, who led other religious leaders as well as the District Head of Rigasa, Alhaji Aminu Idris, in whose domain the incident occurred.
The Nigerian Air Force, on Monday, denied that it bombed the Kaduna village.
The NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, said the service had not conducted any operation in the state and its environs in the last 24 hours.
He added that the Air Force was not the only organisation using armed drones in the North-West.
The statement read, “The news making the rounds alleging that Nigerian Air Force aircraft accidentally killed innocent civilians in Kaduna is false. Please be informed that the NAF has not carried out any air operations within Kaduna State and its environs in the last 24 hours.
“Also, note that the NAF is not the only organisation operating combat-armed drones in the Northwestern region of Nigeria. It is also important to ensure that due diligence is always exhausted by the media before going to press with unverified and unconfirmed reports.”
As the Nigeria Air Force distanced itself from the bombing, a resident in one of the affected communities told one of our correspondents that Tudun Biri village was bombed by a flying object and killed locals who were attending a religious ceremony on Sunday night.
“We were celebrating Maulud when the jet dropped the bomb. It resulted in the immediate death of more than 30 people,” the resident, who pleaded not to be named, stated.
But the National Emergency Managency Agency in a statement on its facebook handle on Monday evening, stated that the death toll had risen to 85.
It stated, “The North-West Zonal Office has received a report of an airstrike incident in Tudun Biri community of the Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State.The incident occurred on the 3rd of December 2023 at about 9:00-10:00pm, during a Maulud celebration.
“The North-West zonal Office has received details from the local authorities that 85 dead bodies have so far been buried while search is still ongoing.
“The zonal Office has visited the Barau Dikko hospital where casualties were been treated and saw about 66 persons on admission having sustained various degrees of injuries and fractures.At the time of filing the report, the zonal office could not visit the community due to the tension, although there is ongoing consultations with the religious leaders, traditional rulers and security agencies in order to douse the tension. It is worthy of note that the casualties ranged from children, women and the elderly.’’
Accidental bombings
The PUNCH’s findings showed that no fewer than 425 persons including children and women had been killed by military accidental bombings between September 2017 and 2023.
The figures were obtained from media reports of mishits by the military.
However, there may be more casualties because the number of victims in some cases was not specified.
Some of the incidents include the killing of about 52 people on January 17, 2017, while 120 others sustained injuries after a NAF jet accidentally bombed an Internally Displaced Persons camp in Rann, Borno state.
On December 4, 2017, the military sent a fighter jet to fire rockets at villages as a “warning.” Amnesty International said its team which visited the state after the airstrike confirmed that armless residents were attacked by the fighter jet as they attempted to flee.
About 11 people were killed and 20 others were injured from six airstrikes launched on April 9, 2019, in Dumbourou in Zurmi LGA.
Nine civilians, including three children, were killed in a strike by the Air Force in a rural community near the border with Niger on September 16, 2021, while 23 people were injured in that mishap.
Also, some villagers alleged that an airstrike by the military on September 26, 2021, killed no fewer than 20 residents in the area. To date, the Air Force has yet to own up to the incident, despite the insistence of the villagers.
In addition, seven children were killed and five injured while being targeted by terrorists in the neighbouring Niger Republic during an airstrike by the Air Force on February 20, 2022.
Another 13 residents were wounded while one other died after a NAF fighter jet struck Kunkuna village in Safana LGA of Katsina, on July 7, 2022.
On December 13, 2022, the properties of residents were destroyed in a miscalculated airstrike in Kaduna. This happened to be the only mishit with no record of citizens killed.
At least 64 persons were killed and many injured in an airstrike by the NAF on December 19, 2022, at Mutumji Community in the Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State
There have so far been three cases in 2023, with the Air Force responsible for two and the Nigerian Army involved in one.
In 2023, there were three mishit cases by the Air Force. The first occurred in Niger State on January 24 which was said to have killed an unspecified number of special hunters of the Joint Security Task Force and residents.
Also on January 25, no fewer than 40 herders were killed, including four in Nasarawa State, during yet another accidental strike.
On Monday, no fewer than 85 persons were killed by a miscalculated airstrike from the Nigerian Army’s drone.
The Kaduna chapter of CAN condemned the bombing, as the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum said it was unfortunate that the military whose primary responsibility was to save lives, was the one killing defenceless civilians.
The CAN Chairman in Kaduna State, Rev. John Hayab, said the wrong target was most unfortunate, as he encouraged the Muslim community (Ummah) and the people of Tudun Biri to accept the ill-fated incident not as a deliberate act but as an error that the Nigerian Army had acknowledged and shown regret.
“CAN will continue to pray for the government at all levels and the security personnel that God Almighty will give hem the wisdom and understanding to end insecurity and support the maintenance of peaceful coexistence so that citizens will go about their legitimate businesses.
“CAN calls on the security agencies not to relent in the fight against insurgency and prays that society will soon be freed from criminal elements in the country.
“CAN sends its heart-warm condolences to the families who lost loved ones, the Tudun Biri community, and the good people of Igabi Local Government, the Emir of Zazzau, and the government of the state,” he stated.
On his part, the AYCF National President, Shettima Yerima, called on the government to carry out a thorough investigation into the matter, adding that the killing was unacceptable.
He said the perpetrators of the so-called mistake must be made to explain beyond reasonable doubts how religious people carrying out religious activities could be mistaken for terrorists.
“While we commiserate with families of those who were killed, we pray God to give speedy recovery to the injured. Enough of this unwarranted killing of innocent people by those who should protect them,” he declared.
Amnesty International
Amnesty International called on the Federal Government to overhaul the Nigerian Army over the incessant airstrike occuring in some states across the country.
This was made known by an official of the organisation Mr. Isah Sanusi, in a phone conversation with The PUNCH.
Isah noted that although the organisation would not sue the army, the government and its military must put their house in order.
“We do not go into matters like this unless it is considered of utmost importance. However, we condemn the bombing and killing of civilians in Tudun Biri, a village in Kaduna State on Sunday, November 3, 2023.
“Nigerian authorities should carry out a thorough investigation into the incident and compensate the families of the victims because this is not the first time it is happening.”
Isah also called on the government and other partners who train the military to ensure they undergo sound training to avoid further occurrence in the future.
On her part, a Nigerian Researcher at the Human Rights Watch, Anietie Ewang, described the recurring erroneous strikes as “a worrying situation”, adding that the HRW was also concerned as to whether the military took civilian casualty assessment into consideration before its operations.
“I think we are seeing a worrying situation. Obviously, we can’t comment on the specifics of the case until we go into the field to document what has happened and we hear from people on the ground. But apart from that, like more generally, we are very concerned with the news.
“We are concerned with this trend of erroneous airstrikes. We are concerned with whether or not the military is taking into consideration all that is required in terms of civilian casualty assessment, and really investigating its operations to ensure that it complies with international human law, and international humanitarian law standards.”
The National Coordinator of the Human Rights Writers Association, Emmanuel Onwubiko, in a statement earlier on Monday, described the casualty as “one accidental bombing too many”, while challenging the government of President Tinubu to carry out “an all out investigation with a view to finding lasting solutions to these many accidental bombings of civilians.”
A former aide to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, Bashir Ahmad, via his X handle lamented, as he said, “Haba! You can’t kill 126 innocent souls, and civilians, and just call it a mistake. I can’t even remember a time when the troops killed such a number of terrorists anywhere in this country at once.
“@HQNigerianArmy, Nigerians are waiting to hear from you how this ‘mistake’ will be corrected and what measures you’d put in place to prevent a recurrence.”
A former lawmaker, Patrick Obahiagbon, said via his X handle. “This is profoundly calamitous and lugubrious. I extend my ardent condolences to the grieving families who have lost their cherished kin. I also convey fervent wishes for the expeditious instauration and recuperation of the injured. Amen.”
One Dr TAMS@Dr Tambari, via his X handle, said, “Although mistakes are not completely inevitable in the operations of the military, it is saddening that a costly mistake such as this would be made. The military ought to up their game to forestall further occurrences.”
A former federal lawmaker, Shehu Sani, via his X handle said, “These bombs should be dropped on terrorists and not civilians.”
One Ifeanyichukwu, @iffeanyichukwu, noted via his X handle, that “the army chief should resign. He is no more Nigerian than the Nigerians that lost their lives in that ugly incident.”
Another Nigerian, Abdul Mohammed, @AbdulRasheedDM1, via his X handle, said, “The so-called ‘unintended attacks’ happened several times in Maiduguri, one of which an IDP camp was attacked and a Zamfara community as well. When a mistake persists, then it is no longer a mistake, it is carelessness and lack of professionalism.”
Another X user, Ibnjariyr, @ibnjariyr, said, “Sincere investigation should be done. We are not Cows.”
[Punch]
A long-running legal dispute between the Zamfara state government and immediate past governor Bello Matawalle over possession of official vehicles has reached a conclusion, with a Federal High Court in Sokoto ordering the return of the cars to the state.
The Zamfara government had sought retrieval of over 50 vehicles from Mr Matawalle following his tenure expiration in June 2023. After initial refusal and court wrangles, police recovered the vehicles but the former governor sued to retain ownership.
The Federal High Court in Gusau had surprisingly ordered the vehicles returned to Mr Matawalle, prompting the state government under new Governor Dauda Lawal to request a transfer of jurisdiction.
On Friday, the Federal High Court in Sokoto dismissed Mr Matawalle’s case and rejected his claims of personal ownership over what were deemed official state government vehicles.
In a statement, Governor Lawal’s spokesperson Sulaiman Bala Idris said “The court refused the relief sought by Bello Matawalle and rejected his claim to own the official vehicles. As a result, the vehicles are still considered the property of the Zamfara State government.”
The judgement aligns with the Zamfara government’s vow to recover assets belonging to the people through a “rescue mission” targeting past financial mismanagement. Governor Lawal has pledged to bring all perpetrators of financial banditry to justice.
The long impasse over possession of high-end vehicles from Mr Matawalle’s time in office looks to finally be legally resolved in favor of the new administration seeking to assert control. Governor Lawal will view this court victory as backing his drive to recover pilfered state assets.
For Mr Matawalle, it caps a post-governorship period mired by battles to hold onto the trappings of power, culminating in definitive court judgment forcing him to relinquish the cars bought with taxpayer funds during his tenure.
Says President Must Take Responsibility For Buhari’s Failure
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Moh Lukman, has taken a swipe on President Bola Tinubu, accusing him of removing fuel subsidy and floating naira against other major currencies, without proper planning.
In a statement in Abuja, yesterday, the former member of National Working Committee (NWC) of the party also faulted those blaming former president, Muhammadu Buhari, for the hardship Nigerians were going through.
The former director general APC Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF) also maintained that instead of the blames from Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, and his National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, President Tinubu should take responsibility for Buhari’s failure.
Both Ribadu and Governor Abiodun had recently said President Tinubu inherited a bankrupt country and inherited an administration that was almost comatose respectively.
But Lukman, in a statement, argued that those excuses were given to rationalise why Nigerians are going through the current difficult times.
The immediate past APC national vice chairman North West warned that the APC government cannot Renew the Hope of Nigerians by giving excuses.
“As members and leaders of APC, we should take responsibility and take the needed initiative to make life better for all Nigerians. If anything, we should justify the confidence of Nigerians in giving us the mandate to continue to rule the country even after being unable to meet the expectations of Nigerians in many respect.
“Unarguably, Nigerians voted the APC and President Tinubu in the last general election very consciously and confident that under the leadership of Tinubu the challenges facing the country will be addressed.
“Excuses would only confirm that we are in denial that a government produced by our party is perhaps responsible for Nigeria’s challenges. Once we are in denial, it also suggests we are going to grandstand when we initiate actions that worsen the situation or fail to initiate actions to resolve the problem.
“This will simply mean being dishonest, which will narrow our responses to making excuses for our failure or inability to meet expectations of Nigerians. This must be avoided. It is quite worrisome that coming from a party envisioned to be progressive, we are giving excuses. How can we Renew the Hope of Nigerians by giving excuses. We must appeal to our leaders to stop giving excuses and take responsibility.
“If we are to be responsible, we should admit that the current hardship facing Nigerians is largely a product of two critical decisions taken by the government of President Tinubu. The two decisions are withdrawal of fuel subsidy and floating the naira against other major currencies. No doubt, these are very necessary decisions and President Tinubu deserved every commendation for those bold decisions.
“Part of what is very glaring is that the decisions were taken by the government without proper planning. Withdrawing subsidy without addressing the question of what needs to be done to guarantee local production, we are bound to have the current mess of skyrocketed increase in prices of petroleum products. “Similarly, floating the Naira against other major currencies without taking the needed steps to reduce imports will also produce what we have today whereby the value of the naira is permanently on a downward slide.
“Ideally, if we are progressives as we claim to be, we should have timed all these decisions to coincide with when local production would have picked up. Now that the decisions have been taken, what is it that is being done to improve local production?
“With respect to local production of fuel, there have been so many references in recent times about repairs of refineries and commencement of production by Dangote refinery. Where are we with all these should be the information coming from our leaders and not excuses.
“For President Tinubu to earn the trust of Nigerians, he must first and foremost accept, as APC leader, he is equally responsible for the failure of former President Buhari. Rather than giving excuses, we should be telling Nigerians what we are doing to address their problems. However, being an APC government, which succeeded a previous APC government, it is disrespectful to Nigerians to give excuses about the current state of harsh living conditions in Nigeria by blaming previous governments,” he said.
Appealing to both Tinubu and all APC leaders in government, at all levels, to resist the temptation of giving excuses, Lukman said: “As loyal APC members, it is traumatic to continue to witness situations whereby the business of governance is reduced to excuses. When we supported the merger of our legacy parties, we were very hopeful that the emergence of our party would change all these.
“Unfortunately, here we are, contending with the same old reality of excuse making by our leaders in government. That is the bane of our politics, it is the travesty, which characterises Nigerian democracy, which APC promised to change. If for whatever reasons, we have been unable to change it under the leadership of former President Buhari, Nigerians have given us a second chance under the leadership of President Tinubu.
“Being a party member, who is never a beneficiary in every respect of both the government of former President Buhari and the current one under President Tinubu, we feel the pains Nigerians are going through. It is important to appeal to all our leaders not to take Nigerians for granted. Nigerians voted for our party not because they just wanted former President Buhari and President Tinubu to achieve their personal ambitions of becoming presidents.”
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been dragged before the Supreme Court for allegedly unlawfully presenting himself for inauguration as president despite a pending legal action against the conduct of the 2023 presidential election.
Citing the doctrine of Lis Pendens, a presidential candidate of the Hope Democratic Party (HDP) in the 2019 general election, Chief Albert Owuru wants the Apex Court to nullify the inauguration of Tinubu as the winner of the 2023 presidential election.
Owuru, a constitutional lawyer, is contending that the presidential election that produced Tinubu was an exercise in futility and illegal self-help, given his yet-to-be-determined suit against Tinubu and others at the Supreme Court.
The pending Supreme Court suit numbered SC/667/2023 has Chief Owuru and his party, HDP, as Appellants, while Respondents are former President Muhammadu Buhari, AGF, INEC, and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Owuru is arguing that Tinubu’s declaration as President by INEC is an affront to the Supreme Court and the established law because of lis pendens, adding that since Tinubu is a party in the pending suit before the Apex Court, he ought not to have presented himself for inauguration in respect of any presidential election.
Owuru contested the 2019 presidential election under the platform of the HDP, competing against former President Muhammadu Buhari. He claimed to have been adjudged the winner of the election, disputing INEC’s declaration of Buhari as the victor.
His lawsuit, seeking an order from the court to declare him the adjudged and constitutional winner of the 2019 election, is currently pending before the Supreme Court. This suit was filed on May 18 of this year, and Tinubu voluntarily joined as an interested party.
In a motion on notice served on Tinubu through the Chambers of Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), the ex-presidential candidate is also praying to the Supreme Court for an order restraining the respondents, particularly Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, from further operating the Federation Account pending the determination and resolution of the constitutional questions against the 2023 presidential election.
Owuru predicated his grouse against the inauguration of Tinubu or anybody else as successor to Buhari on the ground that he is the constitutionally adjudged winner of the said election and has not spent his four-year tenure as required by law.
Among others, Owuru had insisted then that Buhari was usurping his tenure of office since 2019 because the Supreme Court has not determined his petition filed in 2019 in which he challenged the purported declaration of Buhari as the winner of the election.
His first suit was dismissed by Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja on January 30, 2023, prompting his movement to the Court of Appeal.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja, in its part on May 25, in a judgement delivered by Justice Jamil Tukur, who led a three-member panel, had refused to stop the May 29 inauguration of Tinubu.
Justice Tukur had held that Owuru engaged in gross abuse of the court process by filing a frivolous, vexatious, and irritating suit to provoke the respondents.
Vows No Total Shutdown of Companies Under Investigation
The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, has revealed that the anti-graft agency is creating a centralised system to monitor and track seized landed properties undergoing investigation over alleged money laundering across the country.
He revealed that it was not good that the United States of America made about $3bn from the FBI Haliburton probe while Nigeria made nothing from the same probe that was kick-started by the EFCC.
He made these known on Monday during an interaction between the EFCC and civil society organisations, held at the commission’s national headquarters, Jabi, Abuja.
Olukoyede said, “About 80 percent of our ongoing major investigations came from petitions from civil society groups. This means that we have a very active civil society sector. Let us be focused, we will see the light at the end of the tunnel.
“There are three areas of focus, and there is a need for us to redirected our focus. Our job shouldn’t only be about arrests, detentions, and prosecutions. I’ve told our operatives and staff, the focus shouldn’t be about using the instrumentality of anti-corruption to stifle economic development, rather our activities should help improve economic development.
“If all my conviction of people does not contribute to economic development, how does it add value to the system? For example, the United States government generated about $3bn from the Haliburton case which was instituted here in Nigeria by the EFCC, but Nigeria did not benefit anything from the Haliburton investigation.
“I told my staff and operatives, whenever you are investigating, there is a need for us to use the instrumentality of the anti-corruption fight as an instrument to generate employment resources. Not totally closing down companies’ accounts while the investigation is ongoing. Some accounts get closed for about 15 years. Over N1tn was lost in 2018, because we PNDed over N1tn. When such companies are shut down, they cannot assess funds and they sack workers, and the companies go down.
“We are changing that completely, we won’t shut down entire businesses over ongoing investigations. However, when we discover companies that were actually set up to destroy our economy, we will shut such down. But for real companies undergoing investigation, we’ll let companies be allowed to operate while focusing majorly on the actual funds being investigated.
“Henceforth, the style of marking properties will be changed in a way that it will not be noticeable that the EFCC had marked them, as it currently is, painting the properties from top to bottom. Our markings henceforth will not be noticeable in order not to stigmatize such properties and stifle economic activities. We would rather use the instrumentality of anti-corruption to improve the economy.
“Also, there’ll be a policy review, we’ll come up with a comprehensive review to look at what we might have been doing wrong. Also, the disposition of our staff; must be a foremost and sophisticated white-collar anti-graft agency, and this must be evident in the ways we do our things. There’ll also be revised guidelines for arrests and detentions in accordance with the constitution.
“If the law says release a suspect within 48 hours, even without trial, we’ll release them as a law-abiding agency. However, the same law that says we should release them within 48 hours gives us the power to rearrest them; so, why violate the law concerning detentions when there’s a provision that allows you to rearrest suspects? I can arrest, obey the law, and release you but the same law says we can rearrest you.
“We must operate within the dictates of the rule of law. Because as I am here today, I can be on the other side tomorrow, not particularly as a suspect under investigation, but as an average Nigerian. I pledge to the whole country and God who put me here that I will serve the nation diligently.”
U.K. Home Secretary, James Cleverly, has unveiled a package of measures aimed at curbing migration.
The new five-point plan to cut immigration has been announced by the government, which includes banning care workers from bringing over their families and raising the minimum salary for a skilled worker visa after record net migration in 202 piled pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to act.
Annual net migration to the UK hit a record of 745,000 last year and has stayed at high levels since, data showed last month.
Interior Minister James Cleverly said on Monday the government would raise the minimum salary threshold for foreign skilled workers to 38,700 pounds ($48,800), from its current level of 26,200 pounds ($33,000), reform the list of jobs where exceptions are made due to shortages, and toughen rules on whether workers can bring their families.
“Migration to this country is far too high and needs to come down, and today we are taking more robust action than any other government before,” Cleverly told lawmakers. This package of measures will take place from next spring.”
It is also reported that as part of measures aimed at curbing migration, Overseas care workers will not be able to bring family dependants, to end the “abuse of the health and care visa”. Care firms that want to sponsor people for visa applications will need to be regulated by the Care Quality Commission. A dependant is defined by the government as a husband or wife, civil partner or unmarried partner, and children under 18.
Also, the government wants to “scrap cut-price shortage labour from overseas” by reforming the way people working in short-staffed sectors can apply to come to the UK. This will include axing the 20% discount applied to the minimum salary for people looking for a visa for shortage occupations. The types of jobs on the list will also be reviewed and reduced.
Peter Obi has taken to social media to ask what exactly is wrong with Nigerians.
In a post shared on his X handle, the presidential candidate of the Labour party in the 2023 presidential election said it is hard for him to understand some of the recent happenings in Nigeria with regard to expenditures made by the government. He made reference to the recent news about a budget provision of N15 billion for the construction of a new residence for the Vice President. According to Obi, it is both ‘’shocking and disheartening'' considering the many important challenges facing our nation.
The former Anambra state governor said that just recently in the Supplementary Budget, the sum of N2.5 billion was included for the renovation of the Vice President's residence in Abuja, which means that he already has a residence. He said during the budget presentation, he also heard the sum of N3 billion was allocated for the renovation of the Vice President's residence in Lagos. Obi said if all these sums are totalled, ‘’Nigeria would have budgeted the sum of N20.5 billion for the housing of the Vice President at a critical time when we are not just the world’s poverty capital, but more people are falling into poverty, with so many Nigerians not knowing where their next meal will come from.''
He reminded Nigerians of the sacrifice former head of state, Murtala Mohammed, made many years ago when a parcel of land in Victoria Island, Lagos was allocated to him. Obi said the late Nigerian leader rejected the offer and asked that the land be used to build flats for civil servants. Obi said those blocks of flats are now known as ‘’1004 estate in Lagos.
He said Nigeria as it is now needs leaders who show compassion and are willing to sacrifice for common progress and development.
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Former Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi has taken a swipe at the Federal Government for budgeting N15 billion to build a new residence for the Vice President, Kashim Shettima.
Obi, who lost the last presidential election to President Bola Tinubu has been attacking the new government consistently, picking holes in whatever the government does.
He took to his X handle (formerly Twitter) on Monday to express his view on the recent budget of N15 billion to the VP’s mansion.
According to Obi, the recent news about a budget provision of N15 billion for the construction of a new residence for the Vice President is both shocking and disheartening.
He said: “The recent news about a budget provision of N15 billion for the construction of a new residence for the Vice President is both shocking and disheartening, considering the many important challenges facing our nation.
“Just recently in the Supplementary Budget, the sum of N2.5 billion was included for the renovation of the Vice President’s residence in Abuja, which means that he already has a residence.”
He added that during the during the budget presentation, he heard the sum of N3 billion was allocated for the renovation of the Vice President’s residence in Lagos.
According to him, “If we total all these sums, we would have budgeted the sum of N20.5 billion for the housing of the Vice President at this critical time when we are not just the world’s poverty capital, but more people are falling into poverty, with so many Nigerians not knowing where their next meal will come from. Our health facilities have collapsed, and unemployment is skyrocketing.”
He stated that he was convinced that 99.9% of Nigerians could only dream of living in the current residence of the Vice President.
Obi added that several people employed in the universities are not being paid, citing an example with the salary of a professor in a Nigerian university, which he said is about N400,000, which without removing tax is about N5 million a year.
“What we have budgeted for the housing of the Vice President who is already luxuriously housed is, therefore, the annual salary of about 3000 professors! This is the finance needed to develop the much-needed human capital,” he said.
Obi said the budget of N5 billion for student loans, which is yet to be disbursed is only a tiny percentage of the cost of the Vice President’s new home.
“We are projecting to use four times the amount for educating all Nigerian indigent students to house the Vice President, and we are being told there is nothing wrong with us.
“I am sure the major teaching hospitals in Nsukka, Lagos, Ibadan, and Zaria did not receive this much capital vote in the budget this year. We have had leaders that were exemplary in the past,” he said.
He added that most Nigerians might not know that the popular 1004 flats in Lagos, was a land allocated for the building of a Presidential Mansion for the then Head of State, General Murtala Mohammed.
Obi said Mohammed sternly turned down the offer and instructed that the land should be used to build blocks of flats for civil servants, saying that is the kind of sacrificial leadership worth emulating.
He charged the nation’s leaders to stop the recklessness and insensitivity to the plight of the masses.
As part of the efforts to decongest the correctional centres, the Federal Government has settled N52m fines and compensation for 399 inmates at various centres across Kaduna State.
Dr Ado Saleh, Comptroller of Correctional Service, Kaduna State, disclosed this during the Inauguration of the initiative at Zaria on Monday.
Saleh said, “We are here to release 68 inmates from Zaria, Makarfi, Soba and Ikara Correctional Centres.”
He said that 110 inmates were earlier released at Kaduna, adding that the ceremony in Zaria was a continuation of the programme that was designed and implemented by the Federal Government.
“In total, 399 inmates in Kaduna State were marked to be released at the cost of N52million.
“The commencement of the programme is simultaneously taking place at Kaduna, Kafanchan and Zaria to see the release of 281 across the state.
“Of the 281 to be released across Kaduna State during the ceremony 68 in mates were from Zaria Zone,” he said.
The comptroller explained that of the 68 inmates, 43 were from Zaria, 19 from Soba, 5 from Makarfi and 19 were from Ikara Correctional Centres.
He added that each of the beneficiaries would be given N10,000 to pay as transport fare.
Earlier, Mr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Minister of Interior, said the initiative was to decongest the Correctional Centres by paying the fines and compensations for inmates who were owing fines or compensation of one Naira to one million Naira.
Ojo, represented by Mr John Otuka, Assistant Legal Adviser, Federal Ministry of Interior, said that facilities and the centres across the country were over-stretched.
He added that the gesture was to reduce the number of inmates at the centrrs and leave the rest to the judiciary to act.
Ojo said that no fewer than 4068 inmates would benefit from the initiative across the country. While speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Solomon Atambe, a resident of Railway Quarters, Sabon-Gari-Zaria commended the Federal Government for the invaluable gesture.
He urged the beneficiaries to reciprocate the gesture and “sin-no-more,” urging them to utilise the skills they acquired while in the facility.
(NAN)
The Nigerian Army has claimed responsibility for the bombing of Tudun Biriin in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State during Maulud Nabiy celebration.
Over 30 people were reportedly killed when the village was bombed on Sunday night, with many others reportedly injured.
Samuel Aruwan, Overseeing Commissioner, Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Kaduna State, in a statement during a security meeting, said the army owned up to the bombing.
He said the Kaduna State Government received briefings on Sunday night’s attack which left several citizens dead and others injured.
Aruwan said in a meeting presided over by the Deputy Governor, Dr Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe, which had in attendance heads of security agencies, religious and traditional leaders, the Nigerian Army explained the circumstances which led to the unfortunate and unintended attack.
“The General Officer Commanding One Division Nigerian Army, Major VU Okoro explained that the Nigerian Army was on a routine mission against terrorists but inadvertently affected members of the community.
“The Deputy Governor at the end of the closed door meeting, conveyed the condolences of the Government and People of Kaduna State to the families that lost their loved ones, and prayed for the repose of the victims’ souls,” he said.
Aruwan stated that as of the time of this update, search-and-rescue efforts were still ongoing, as dozens of injured victims had been evacuated to Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital by the government.
“Heads of security agencies who attended the meeting include the Commissioner of Police, MY Garba, and Director of the Department of State Services (DSS) Abdul Eneche.
“The Chairman of the Kaduna State Chapter of Jam’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) Professor Shafi’u Abdullahi, led other religious leaders. Also present at meeting was the District of Rigasa, Alhaji Aminu Idris in whose domain the incident occurred,” he said.
Protests have erupted at the University of Calabar (UNICAL) over announcement of 100 per cent hike in tuition fees for undergraduate students.
Following the announcement of the tuition increase, the students convened at Malabor Square, where the Students Union Government secretariat is located, before marching to the female hostels carrying placards.
Some of the placards bore messages such as: “Florence Obia, UNICAL is not a private university, what’s with the ‘slight increment’? Say no to billing,” “UNICAL VC, refrain from pushing girls into prostitution,” and “This is a federal university, not a business center,” among others.
Recall that UNICAL‘s management announced the fee hike in a statement released to the press in Calabar on Monday, following an emergency meeting of the university’s Senate held on Friday.
This increase affects freshers, returning students, and final-year students in both science and non-science courses.
For non-science courses, the fees increased to N111,000, N91,500, and N114,000, respectively, for freshers, returning, and final-year students.
Additionally, third-party dues of N36,500, N21,500, and N21,500, respectively, are to be paid.
Correspondingly, fees for science courses escalated to N155,000, N125,000, and N148,000, respectively, for freshers, returning, and final-year students.
These students also face third-party dues of N38,500, N21,500, and N21,500, respectively.
Previously, tuition fees ranged from N64,050 for freshers, N52,050 for final-year students, and N49,500 for returning students, depending on the department.
The management justified the increase by citing current economic challenges and the imperative to uphold the academic reputation and standards of the university.