The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), through its harmonisation exercise, has allegedly denied some officers promotion for about 20 years, while some of their colleagues recruited much later after have been promoted up to two times.
 
SaharaReporters gathered that the affected officers include CNA conversion course 1/2008 which comprised NA courses 7/94, 8/96, 9/97 and 10/98, who were already on CNA rank earlier before January 2004; with effective dates of promotion to ASNII dating back to 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 for NA courses 7/94, 8/96, 9/97 and 10/98 respectively.

However, sources in the agency told SaharaReporters that while the affected officers’ promotions have been stagnated for more than 15 years, those employed in “2011, mostly candidates of political office holders, enjoyed double promotions ahead and above their older colleagues whom they met on the job and were stagnated on level 7 and below”.
 
The sources said that their promotions have been cumulatively stagnated for about 10 to 20 years which translates to a loss of three to six ranks.
 
While admitting that they were promoted by one rank in the 2021 harmonisation exercise, one of the sources, however, pointed out that the promotion still kept them below their juniors who have received multiple promotions backdated accordingly.
 
“The most recent NA course who were recruited as SNAs 13 to 17 years after our recruitment, and 4 to 7 years after our ideal ASN II effective dates, were promoted ahead of us going by their effective dates,” one of the sources said.
 
He explained that the stagnation of their careers and distortion of their seniority in the service predates 2014, adding that “by 2014, some of us were already stagnated for up to 10 years”.
 
Explaining the process of conversion and how their promotion has been lopsidedly stagnated, another source said, “The criteria for successful conversion to the superintendent cadre is that the officer should have additional qualifications and attend mandatory conversion course.
 
“Meanwhile, the requirement of additional qualifications was waived for conversion courses 1 and 2 in favour of years of service and attainment of 50% cut-off mark as against 40% in normal promotion examinations.
 
“We have served and kept fate with the agency in deprivation, and denied most of our benefits for 23 to 27 years, giving our youths, bearing the scars, dangers of the lowest level of servitude while aligning our aspirations to the vision of the agency.”
 
He further explained that against its standard of conducting promotion examinations yearly, NDLEA did not conduct the examinations in 2006 and 2007, thereby denying CNAs who had resit the opportunity of promotion to ASN II with 2005 and 2006 effective dates their due opportunity to be promoted.
 
According to him, all CNAs with earlier or 2004 effective dates were made to go through conversion course 1/2008 with no cognizance of the fact that some older NA courses 7/94 and 8/96 were on re-sit. This, the source, said is in contradiction to the normal promotion condition that those on re-sit need only retake their papers to be promoted.
The imposition of the conversion course on these unprepared sets of officers made them unsuccessful in conversion course 1, it was learnt.
 
Also, though the NDLEA Scheme of Service provides that the conversion course should be yearly, one of the sources said it was not conducted in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012, and “this also denied the unsuccessful candidates of conversion course 1, the opportunity of getting back on track with our career progression”.
“The negative impact was heightened thus,” the source said.
 
By 2014 when they were eventually promoted to ASN II by virtue of CNA conversion course 2013; their promotion which would have been with effective dates of 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 were still on CNA for 10, 9, 8, and 7 years after.
 
“The cumulative effect is loss of up to three ranks, meaning that as at 2013/2014 promotions, we would have been on the ranks of CSN, SN and DSN respectively. Though the effective dates of promotion of successful candidates of CNA conversion course 1 were backdated appropriately, that of CNA course 2/2013 converted officers were not backdated,” the source continued.
 
He lamented that the negligence has affected them both financially and psychologically, especially as many of them draw closer to their retirement age.
 
He said, “As our juniors are being promoted far ahead of us, we struggle daily with low self-esteem, ridicule, disgrace, indiscipline and shattered self-confidence. Going by our years of service and staring retirement in the face, the bleakness of our service life aspirations confronts us daily. The instances of career stagnation have excluded us from any serious service responsibility like mid-level command responsibilities.”
 
Amongst other things, one of the sources on behalf of the affected officers appealed to the Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (Rtd), to place them on their ideal ranks of CSN and ACN and DCN, as this will help them rectify the distorted seniority issues.
 
He also appealed that their effective dates of promotions should reflect their ideal career progression save for the loss of seniority through re-sit, and in the event of challenges of federal character and vacancy in their placement, harmonization or promotion to ACN and above, the CSN effective date should reflect their ideal career progression.
 
Furthermore, they want the date of their first appointment and subsequent years of service to be used to place them accordingly, while individual service records are sought and used to place them properly with the correct effective dates according to individual peculiarities.
 
He also appealed that in line with the NDLEA conditions of service 2019, the issue of additional qualifications should not affect the career progression of converted officers in the area of pegging, considering the fact that it was waived in favour of higher cut-off marks.

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Suspected Fulani herdsmen killed five persons in Mgboji community and sacked 14 farm settlements where over 3,000 residents were living, SaharaReporters has learnt.
 
Some community leaders who spoke with our correspondent on Wednesday said that members of the community were no longer going to farm, fearing that people may face famine next year as a result of the situation.

They alleged that since January 2022, 16 people have been killed by Fulani militia and that hundreds of houses with property worth millions of naira have been burnt and destroyed.
 
According to the community members, security agencies have completely abandoned them, noting that they (security agents) only come after attacks to collect the bodies of deceased persons.
 
One of the community leaders, Chief Odo Egah, told our correspondent that two persons were killed on Monday and three were killed on Tuesday. "So many others that I can't give the figure sustained several bullet injuries. So many are still missing."
 
He added, "What is happening in my place is too much. These people are pure terrorists. Yesterday, soldiers and police officers went to Orie Market to carry the corpses of the people they killed.
 
"It was not up to 10 minutes that they left when the terrorists started shooting sporadically for several hours. They came inside the community and later left. Everybody they saw was shot. Three corpses were found on the road; the police are going to carry them."
 
On the soldiers that were deployed to the community, he said "Soldiers are in the town; they are no longer in the settlement and when you call them, they will not go. On Monday, the invaders were attacking and shooting. Security personnel, including soldiers, were called several times but nobody came.
 
"Unfortunately, the chairman of the local government - Isi-Uzo LGA, who incidentally is from Eha-Amufu has not been seen since he was elected four months ago. When you call him, he will say he is doing something. He is from the Mgbuji community where people are massacred on a daily basis," he lamented.
 
On the number of houses burnt, Egah said, "In short, in Akpuff Mgbuji old farm settlements where more than 1,000 people were living, all the houses have been completely burnt down. No single soul is living there as we speak, Fulani people have taken over. They are demolishing the houses.
 
"When they burn houses, they will demolish them and level the place. The same thing is happening in Obodo-Mba. In Ogbete where Orie Market is located, they have burnt many houses there. Nobody is living there again, and can’t go to the farms there. We have more than 14 farm settlements in Mgbuji but no one is living there; the Fulani terrorists have taken over.
 
"Nobody is doing anything and I think the reason the soldiers are in Eha-Amufu is to protect them. Because they (soldiers and police) don't come whenever they are attacking our people."
 
When asked what the community security outfits are doing about the problem, he said, "Our local security men are being killed equally. On Monday one of our local security guards was killed and they took away his gun. Fear doesn’t allow anybody to go there again. The people who are attacking our people are highly trained. I suspect they were imported there.
 
"Nobody from Eha-Amufu can go there now. The only thing police DPO is doing is to come and carry corpses after the attack. If you call him during the attack, he won't come. Yesterday and two days ago when they were killing our people, we called him and he didn't come.
 
"The only thing he did was to come and carry the corpses. Even when the owner of the corpse was telling him that they didn't want to take the corpse to the mortuary and that he should give the corpse to them to bury, he refused. He carried it to the mortuary. Yesterday when they were shooting, we called him and told him that they had killed two people and that he should intervene, he told us that he would not come, that he was going to where someone had been kidnapped.
 
"This morning, he is going there to carry the corpses to the mortuary. He would make the family that are losing their loved ones go to the mortuary to pay money and come to his office to pay before they can bury the corpses. Anytime you call, he will tell you that he will call the Commissioner of Police before anyone is buried.
 
"He always insists that unless the police commissioner authorises for anyone to be buried, he will not release the corpse. You don't come to save lives, but when the person has been killed, even when the owners of the corpses are begging you to allow them to bury them, you will refuse and carry the corpses to the mortuary.
 
"I can tell you categorically that the Fulani militias are operating freely on a daily basis. If they see women, they will rape them. There is a woman seven of the raped. It is not on a monthly basis; it is a daily thing. Nobody can go to the farm, even to harvest cassava. If they go there; if it is a woman, they will rape her and machete her. If it is a man, they will shoot and machete the person. Neither soldiers nor the police confront them. They have completely taken over this part of the state."
 
Efforts to get the reaction of the Chairman of Isi-Uzo council area, Obiora Obeagu, were unsuccessful as he didn't answer his calls when SaharaReporters called him. He also did not reply to a text message sent to him to seek clarification and make enquires at the time of filing this report.
 
Meanwhile, the State Police Command has confirmed the recent attack.
 
The command's spokesman Daniel Ndukwe, who confirmed the incident in a text message, said a manhunt had been launched for the assailants whom he said were yet to be known.
 
Ndukwe said, "Police Operatives responded to a distress call, alleging the murder of two (2) male victims by yet-to-be-identified gunmen and some others said to be missing, at Ogbede-Mgbuji, Eha-Amufu, on 13/06/2022 at about 11.45 pm.
 
"The operatives took the two (2) lifeless bodies to the hospital, where they were confirmed dead by doctors and deposited in the mortuary for autopsy.
 
"Meanwhile, a manhunt for the assailants has commenced, while there is no report of any burnt house(s). Further development will be communicated, please."

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The Lagos State Police Command has said it is aware that some of its officers are working alongside internet fraudsters, popularly known as Yahoo boys.
 
This was made known by the Command's spokesperson, SP Benjamin Hundeyin while speaking on Daily Trust's Twitter Space titled, ‘Policing Nigeria: Emerging crimes, challenges and solutions' on Wednesday afternoon.

Hundeyin, however, noted that such offenders were being punished with severely.
 
He said, “In every organisation, you would have those officers that would always undermine the efforts of the organisation. I’ve heard about officers working in cahoots with internet fraudsters. These officers are treated worse than the internet fraudsters.
 
“If a law enforcement officer engages in a crime, he receives more punishment than an ordinary citizen because he is expected to know more.
 
“All the time when we get to know about such officers, they are severely dealt with.”
 
Meanwhile, the Superintendent of Police urged the public to provide the force with information whenever they hear of such cases.

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Five internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Borno state have been accused of fraternising with terrorists.

They were part of the 87 suspects paraded on Wednesday by operatives of the Borno State Police Command, in connection with crimes ranging from terrorism, armed robbery, rape, and kidnapping among others.

The Guardian Nigeria

According to the State Commissioner of Police, Abdu Umar, the IDPs were tracked from the Force Headquarters in Abuja through their phone conversations with suspected terrorists.
 
One of the accused persons, a woman identified as Rashida Saleh, claimed her telephone conversation was with her relative called Dauda, but noted that she had no idea of his whereabouts.
 
Umar said, “On 29th of April 2022, Intelligence Bureau of the command acting on communication intercepted some GSM numbers provided by tactical intelligence unit, force headquarters Abuja, arrested five suspects for fraternity with Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists.
 
“The suspects are Ali Ahmadu of Jajari area Maiduguri, Rabi Alhaji Abbas of Jajari area Maiduguri, Fatima Mohammed, Rashida Saleh and Alhaji Atake of Gubio IDPs camp.”
 
The Police boss said the other 82 persons were arrested in different parts of the state including Maiduguri metropolis, Jere, Konduga, Gwoza and Hauwul councils.

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Kidnappers of a former Commissioner for Housing and Urban Planning in Adamawa State, Engineer Babangida Abubakar Umar have contacted the family, demanding a ransom of N30 million to release him.
 
A family member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told SaharaReporters that the abductors first made contact with the family on Tuesday evening, demanding the ransom.

"They contacted me on my phone at about 7:30 pm yesterday (Tuesday) and asked us to send them N30 million, else they would do the unthinkable," the family source said while sobbing.
 
However, the visibly traumatised source could not disclose what steps the family had taken since the kidnappers demanded the ransom.
 
News of the abduction of the commissioner hit the airwaves on Tuesday. It was learnt that Umar who served in the immediate past administration of Governor Jibrilla Bindo was kidnapped on Monday night.
 
He was reportedly kidnapped from his Bajabure residence, a satellite town on the outskirts of Yola, the capital city.
 
The Spokesperson for the state police command, SP Suleiman Nguroje confirmed the abduction, saying measures were being taken to rescue the former commissioner.

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The Oyo State House of Assembly has commenced the process to impeach the deputy governor of the state, Mr Rauf Olaniyan.

The process was initiated during a plenary session on Wednesday.

SaharaReporters gathered that this was after the reading of a 5-point petition and notice of allegations against the deputy governor at the plenary presided over by the Speaker of the Assembly, Honourable Adebo Ogundoyin.

According to a copy of the petition dated June 9, 2022, seen by SaharaReporters, the lawmakers accused Mr Olaniyan of gross misconduct, abuse of power, financial recklessness, abandonment of office/official duty, insubordination and other offences.

The petition, which was addressed to the Speaker of the Assembly, was signed by 24 lawmakers.

Hence, The Speaker instructed the Clerk of the House, Mrs Yetunde Awe to write the deputy governor mandating him to respond to the allegations within seven days.

The impeachment process followed the recent defection of the state deputy governor from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In 2021, SaharaReporters had reported that Oyo State would soon be embroiled in legal turmoil as a plot to impeach Olaniyan had been hatched.

Olaniyan’s defection came after his cold war with Governor Seyi Makinde assumed another dimension. Makinde and Olaniyan have been at loggerheads shortly after their election in 2019, with supporters of Olaniyan accusing Makinde of relegating his deputy governor to the background. 

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Grammy Award winner, Damini Ogulu, aka Burna Boy, on Wednesday, said he would not be surprised if Nigerians accused him of starting the Boko Haram terrorist group.
Burna Boy made this remark on his verified Twitter handle a few days after it was reported that policemen attached to him shot two people at Club Cubana on Victoria Island recently.

"Nigerian Social media can say BURNA BOY started Boko haram, e no go shock me,” he tweeted.
The Lagos State Police Commissioner’s Special Squad had detained five police officers attached to Burna Boy for attempted murder after they shot two people identified as Irebami Lawrence and Tolu at the club.
It was disclosed by the Bar Beach Police Division that unrest started when the singer and five police escorts visited the nightclub around 4 am on June 8. It was stated that four policemen were outside while one of the policemen, identified as Inspector Ibrahim, who was in mufti, accompanied the Grammy-Award-winning artiste into the club.
According to eyewitness accounts, Burna Boy was in the VIP section with three women when he spotted another woman.
He instructed Ibrahim to invite the woman to join him. However, the lady’s husband was said to have lambasted the singer for making a move on his wife. See Also Sahara Reporters Nigerian Police Invite Popular Singer, Burna Boy For Interrogation Over Lagos Club Shooting 0 Comments 1 Week Ago
A few minutes later, Burna Boy reportedly approached the woman and this reportedly enraged her husband further and his friends who had gathered at the club.
A source at the office of the Lagos State Commissioner of Police told PUNCH that “as things were getting heated, Ibrahim brought out his service pistol and shot multiple times while Burna Boy was laughing.
"In the process, 27-year-old Lawrence was shot in the thigh while his friend, Tolu, was hit in the head by a bullet. This caused a commotion in the club.
 
 
“It was learnt that Burna Boy and his crew then drove off to one of his properties at the Elegushi end of the Lekki-Epe Expressway before leaving for Lekki Phase 1.
“Aware of what he had done, Burna Boy took the next flight out without even informing the policemen. He only made a video call to them to inform them that he had travelled to Spain.
“All his police escorts have been arrested and are currently at the Command headquarters."

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The Director General, Centre for Justice on Religion and Ethnicity in Nigeria, Kallamu Musa Ali Dikwa

Amid rumoured attempts by major political parties in the country to present a Muslim-Muslim ticket, Rev. Kallamu Musa Ali Dikwa, Director-General, Centre for Justice on Religious and Ethnicity in Nigeria, has warned that such moves will further threaten the unity of Nigeria.
 
Dikwa, in an interview with SaharaReporters on Tuesday, said political parties, particularly the All Progressives Congress and Peoples Democratic Party have to be very cautious in selecting vice-presidential candidates and not allow religion to divide the country.

The Director General, Centre for Justice on Religion and Ethnicity in Nigeria, Kallamu Musa Ali Dikwa

He said: “These days, I have been reading about who will be the running mate for the presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress, Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2023 general elections.
 
“I have also observed that prominent Muslim politicians, northern Muslim governors, Muslim traditional rulers with their Islamic scholars including other Muslims on the streets and their petty traders are saying that if a Muslim from the north is not selected as running mate to Tinubu, they're not going to vote for him. This is an issue of great concern to us because this means two Islamic adherents are at the helm of affairs.”
 
The cleric alleged that the Muslim-Muslim ticket has been a long-term agenda of core Northern Muslims.
 
He said, “It has been planned by the core northern Muslims to cause confusion in this country; they want Muslims to rule the country as President and Vice President.
 
“We have the VCDs of the preachers on how they are teaching and now they're trying to test the ground to implement the agenda.”
 
However, Dikwa said Nigeria is on a precipice and this is the time to unite irrespective of religion or tribe by ensuring equal representation of every part of the country in leadership.
 
He added that a Christian/Christian or Muslim/Muslim ticket does not speak well of the sincerity of Nigerians in ensuring fairness to all for the progress and development of the country.
 
He lamented that it is counterproductive for some sets of persons, to believe that only people of a particular religion can pilot the affairs of a country like Nigeria with its diversity and peculiarities.
 
He said, "It is very unfortunate that some preachers are inciting and brainwashing their followers that they have the capacity in the country to produce President and Vice President.
 
“We should not at this time start thinking that if a Muslim or Christian is not selected as the running mate to presidential candidate, we will not vote. Meanwhile, both the PDP and APC have the presidential candidates as Muslims.
 
“Does it mean in the entire North there is no capable Christian that has the ability and technical know-how to effectively be a running mate to any of the presidential candidates except Muslims?
 
“I strongly expect the Muslim clerics and politicians from the North to see it as their duty to preach unity of both Christians and Muslims to their fellow brothers and sisters for a unified country."
 
He, however, urged Christians to stop being afraid but be bold and courageous to take key political positions in the country.
 
“Christians have the capacity of producing a Christian President at any time. We have the numerical strength, we have strong candidates too."

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The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) has raised fears that three airlines in the country may soon shut down operations due to the high cost of aviation fuel which has hit N714 per litre.
 
Allen Onyema, the Vice-President of AON, made this known on Tuesday while speaking at the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria National Aviation Conference in Abuja.

google

Though he did not mention the three airlines, he explained that interventions by the Nigerian Government and the National Assembly have failed to resolve the crisis as the price of Jet A1 continues to skyrocket, Daily Trust reports.
 
Onyema who is also the chairman of Air Peace said, “If nothing is done concerning the cost of aviation fuel, the fuel crisis will take away three airlines in Nigeria in a few weeks.”
 
He explained that even though the fuel crisis is not limited to Nigeria, it was made worse by the depreciating value of the naira against the dollar.
 
According to him, Nigerian government had approved 10,000 metric tonnes of fuel for the airlines at N580 per litre in Lagos and about N607 per litre outside Lagos. He, however, said the carriers were yet to access it.
 
“This is not the only issue. Since the COVID-19 crisis, most airlines all over the world, including Nigeria have not recovered from COVID-19, except those whose countries have injected so much funds to assist them.
“This is nobody’s fault. It just happened. The government has tried its best by giving us this aviation fuel. This aviation fuel can take airlines out, not only in Nigeria but everywhere in the world.
 
“Some airlines outside Nigeria have closed down because of the effects of rising aviation fuel. If these things are not addressed in Nigeria, it can affect the bottom line of all airlines in Nigeria.
 
“We have come to realise that there is little or nothing the committee set up can do because this is as a result of foreign exchange and the price of oil all over the world now.
 
“The fuel marketers will sell according to what they are paying. The cost of aviation fuel has increased, even in London and every other country. Our own is worse because of the increase in foreign exchange.”
In May, the proposed strike action by Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) was called off after a four-meeting between airline operators and the leadership of the House of Representatives.
 

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The raging fire from yet-to-be-known substance at the Caritas University, Amorji-Nike, Enugu State, has reportedly stopped in what was described as a miracle.

The fire was reported to have stopped on its own on early Wednesday morning after 22 days of flaring.

SaharaReporters, had reported on Tuesday that fire which was caused by water drillers at the private university, had defiled all solutions after three weeks it started.

The fire started on Tuesday, May 24, 2022 and as at 12:30pm on Tuesday, June 14, 2022 when SaharaReporters visited the site, the fire was still burning.

SaharaReporters also reported that one of the drillers, who ignited the fire and partially got burnt, had died.

Although there are still speculations to what might have been the substance that caused the fire as many experts have suggested that it could be methane from coal or natural gas.

For the 22 days, the fire raged, while several efforts from both state and Federal Fire Services, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and other experts brought in to put out the fire were fruitless until the fire went off on its own.

However, experts have called on the government to take further steps to investigate the real cause of the leakage, the quantity of gas and other findings that would help to find a lasting solution to the problem.

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The United States-led North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) has promised to send advanced lethal weapons to Ukraine to help the country advance in winning the ongoing war against Russia.

The Secretary-General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, who announced this on Wednesday, said that the organisation cannot stop supporting Ukraine in its present distress period.

The announcement is coming less than 48 hours after the Ukrainian Government accused its Western partners of being complacent with arm delivery, saying that the weapons delivered to them by the NATO and other Western partners including US, are not enough to defeat Russia.

But Stoltenberg said at a press conference in Brussels that “We are extremely focused on stepping up, providing more support, more advanced weapons … because we support them in their just fight against the brutal Russian invasion.”

According to him, Ukraine will continue receiving, adding that “practical support, lethal and non-lethal support from the alliance.”

He said that with more weapons, Ukraine would be able “to continue to modernize its armed forces, something NATO allies have worked on for many years but stepped up now.”

He added that “This is our focus and Ukraine’s most urgent need as we speak.”

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The Minister for Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, has said that the Nigerian government is still studying the London High Court judgment that absolved JP Morgan in the civil suit filed against the bank on the purchase by Shell and Eni of the offshore OPL 245 oilfield in Nigeria.

The minister said this on Wednesday while briefing journalists on Wednesday after the Federal Executive council meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential Villa, Abuja.

Daily Times

According to Lai, he said the government’s lawyers will study the ruling and decide whether to appeal or not.

The judgment delivered Tuesday by Judge Sara Cockerill posited that the Nigerian government could not show that it had been defrauded as it claimed.

The judgment means that the Nigerian government has lost $1.7billion in claims against JP Morgan Chase Bank over the transfer of proceeds from the sale of OPL 245 in 2011.

Lawyers to the Nigerian government had contended that the contract awarded to former Petroleum Minister Dan Etete, to explore the deep waters off the Gulf of Guinea was corrupt, alleging that the bank “ought to have known” that there was corruption and fraud in the transaction which saw Malabu sell its 100 per cent in OPL 245 to Shell and ENI for $1.1 billion.”

They had argued that JP Morgan Chase Bank ignored “glaring” red flags, including “overwhelming” evidence of fraud and stark warnings from its own compliance staff when it authorised the payments.

SaharaReporters had on Tuesday reported that the Nigerian government lost $1.7billion claims against JP Morgan Chase Bank over the transfer of proceeds from the sale of OPL 245 in 2011.

The government had sued JP Morgan on the grounds of “Quincecare duty”, alleging that the bank “ought to have known” that there was corruption and fraud in the transaction which saw Malabu sell its 100 per cent in OPL 245 to Shell and ENI for $1.1 billion.

The Malabu scandal involved the transfer of about $1.1 billion through the Nigerian government to accounts controlled by a former Nigerian Petroleum Minister, Dan Etete.

From accounts controlled by Etete, about half the money ($520 million) went to accounts of companies controlled by Aliyu Abubakar, popularly known in Nigeria as the owner of AA oil.

Anti-corruption investigators and activists suspect he fronted for top officials of the Goodluck Jonathan administration as well of officials of Shell and ENI.

The transaction was authorised in 2011 by ex-president Jonathan through some of his cabinet ministers and the money was payment for OPL 245, one of Nigeria’s richest oil blocks.

The oil resources of the OPL 245 license have remained undeveloped since the controversies began.

In the judgement delivered on Tuesday, the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales Commercial Court said there was no proof that Nigeria was defrauded in the deal.

Judge Sara Cockerill had said that by the time of the 2013 payments, the bank was on notice of a risk of fraud.

“There was a risk – but it was, on the evidence, no more than a possibility based on a slim foundation.

“The Federal Republic of Nigeria is naturally disappointed by the outcome of the judgment and will be reviewing it carefully before considering next steps. The FRN will continue its fight against fraud and corruption and to work to recover funds for the people of Nigeria.

“This judgment reflects our commitment to acting with high professional standards in every country we operate in, and how we are prepared to robustly defend our actions and reputation when they are called into question,” JPMorgan said in a statement.

The Nigerian government had earlier argued that there were enough “red flags” for JP Morgan to have halted the transfers.

However, the bank rejected Nigeria’s claims, maintaining that all due processes were followed and money laundering checks were done, arguing that allegations of fraud only came up after a new government took over in Nigeria.

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Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe, representing Abia South Senatorial District of Abia State, has finally dumped the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Senator Abaribe, who until his resignation, was the Senate Minority Leader, had earlier in May withdrawn from the governorship race in Abia State over alleged “use of only an imaginary 3-man ad-hoc delegates to the exclusion of the party’s statutory delegates in the primary elections.”

His associates have claimed he may join the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and link up with Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Senate President, Senator Ahmad Lawan, read Abaribe’s resignation letter to the Senate House during Wednesday’s plenary.

The Senate President also on Tuesday announced unofficially, that Abaribe had defected from the PDP to APGA.

“Notification for Resignation from Membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Senate. This is to notify you and my dear colleagues in the senate that I have formally resigned my membership of the PDP through my ward.

“This also means my resignation as minority leader. I wish to thank you and my dear colleagues and the leadership of the Senate for the warm camaraderie enjoyed while I was the minority leader,” the letter read.

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The presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, has said he would not pick a Northern Muslim as his running mate for the 2023 general elections.

Tinubu on Wednesday said his running mate would be a Christian and would be from the North-East region of the country.

There have been speculations that the former Lagos State governor, who is a Muslim, is planning to choose his running mate from Muslim fellows in the Northern region.

But while speaking with journalists on Tuesday at the APC rally in Ekiti State, the APC National leader described the rumour as undemocratic peddled by the opposition who are against his 2023 presidential ambition.

Clarifying his choice of running mate, Tinubu maintained that his running mate shall be a North-Easterner, and must be a Christian.

He said, “The VP slot belongs to the Northeastern region and particularly the Christians, but consultations are yet ongoing as to who will be decided.”

Tinubu, who said that he would choose a Vice President solely on the basis of Nigerians’ preferences, noted that no organisation, institution, or individual could force a Vice President on him.

SaharaReporters on Tuesday reported that an Islamic preacher from northern Nigeria warned Tinubu not to pick a Christian from the northern region as his running mate ahead of the 2023 general elections.

The preacher and some others like him had threatened to mobilise Muslims to reject Tinubu and the APC during the forthcoming presidential election.

In a viral video, Sheikh Ibrahim Aliyu Kaduna had accused northern governors of trading the destiny of northern Muslims for a sick candidate's money.

He had said, "Northern governors, especially Muslims amongst you are treacherous because you've sold our destiny; and God will punish you for that.

"You set aside a critical Islamic requirement because the first criterion for choosing a leader in Islam is that the person must be healthy and physically fit.”

"Now your second error will be to pair him (Tinubu) with a Christian from our region. This will be disastrous because we would mobilise the people to reject the ticket at the polling units," he added.

Similarly, after congratulating Tinubu for emerging as the APC presidential candidate, a radical Muslim who identified himself as Aminu Jetaun, cautioned him against considering a northern Christian as his running mate.

He said, "You, Tinubu, make no mistake about this; do not pick a Christian as your running mate because we've yet to completely trust your own version of Islam."

The issue has been a major subject of discourse since the election of Tinubu as the APC presidential candidate. It has dominated sermons in many mosques in Yola, the Adamawa State capital.

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The family of Afolabi Abiola, a 27-year-old student of Osun State Polytechnic, Iree who was brutally murdered by the Police, has sued the Nigeria Police Force, the Inspector General of Police, Alkali Baba and a police officer, Tobi Timileyin who allegedly shot the young man. 

 

The family, through their counsel, Funmi Falana of Falana & Falana Chambers, has also slammed a N200 million suit against the respondents to demand compensation for the infringement of the fundamental rights of the deceased to dignity and life.

The suit, which is before the Osun State High Court was instituted by the mother of the deceased, Ebun Olaiya Afolabi, seeking certain reliefs over the violation of the deceased's rights. 

 

One of the reliefs include a declaration of the court that the humiliation and degrading treatment meted out to Abiola before he was killed by Timileyin is illegal and unconstitutional.

 

Also the family seeks an order of the court compelling the respondents to release the Lexus ES 330 Car and Iphone 7 phone seized from Abiola during the illegal raid.

 

The court document obtained by SaharaReporters reads, “A declaration that the humiliation and degrading treatment meted out on the deceased before he was killed by the 3rd Respondent is illegal, unconstitutional and a gross violation of his right to dignity of human person as guaranteed in Section 34 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and Article 5 the African Charter on Human and People's Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act 2004.

 

“A declaration that the extra judicial killing of Afolabi Abiola at Zone 10, Osogbo. Osun State on the 3rd of April, 2022 by the 3rd Respondent is illegal and unconstitutional as it violates the fundamental right of the deceased to life as guaranteed by Section 33 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as Amended) and Article 4 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act 2004.

 

“A declaration that the seizure of Lexus ES 330 Car and Iphone 7 phone belonging to the deceased by the Respondents constitutes a violation of the deceased rights guaranteed under Sections 44 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and Articles 14 of the African Charter on Human & Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act Cap. 10, Laws of Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and it is therefore unconstitutional and illegal.

 

“An order of this Honourable Court directing the Respondents to jointly and severally pay the sum of N200, 000, 000.00 (Two Hundred Million Naira) to the Applicant as compensation for the infringement of the fundamental rights of the deceased to dignity and life guaranteed by section 34 and 33 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, (As Amended) and article 4 and 5 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Right (Ratification and Enforcement) Act 2004. 

 

“An order compelling the Respondents to release forthwith to the Applicant the Lexus ES 330 Car and Iphone 7 phone belonging to the deceased unlawfully seized and took over by the Respondents. 

 

“And for such other order(s) as this Honourable Court may deem fit to make in the interest of justice.”

 

Afolabi, on April 3, 2022 visited his friend named Matthew, a phone repairer, at his shop that fateful day and decided later to spend the night at his house when tragedy struck.

 

At 12:30 am, a bunch of policemen from Housing Estate Division barged into the phone technician's apartment and shot Afolabi in the leg without uttering a word.

 

The policemen thereafter arrested and detained Matthew and his fiancée after the incident.

 

Refusing to take the young polytechnic student to the hospital for urgent medical care or disclose what his offence was before they shot him, the policemen watched the 27-year-old bleed to death.

 

The Nigerian security agents thereafter moved his body to the morgue of Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital in Osogbo, the state capital, and abandoned it there for one week until the family found out about the killing from a stranger.

 

But in order to cover up the brutality, the police lied that Abiola was an armed robber, who was killed during a gun battle with officers.

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The Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association’s National President, Bennett Korie, has said that if drastic measures are not taken to curtail the challenges facing importers in Nigeria, the price of diesel might hit N1,500 in the next two weeks.

Korie while speaking to newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday said that about 75 per cent of filling stations across the country are currently out of business due to their inability to purchase diesel required to power their tankers and transport Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, to their various outlets.

He stated that the only solution to the current challenge is for the Federal Government to raise the pump price of petrol a little in order to reduce the huge foreign exchange used in PMS imports.

“If you go round now, you will see that about 75 per cent of filling stations in Nigeria have gone out of business. There is no diesel to take fuel to their stations. All of them are going down.

“And it is not that the fuel is not there, but the cost of bringing it to the stations is too high. We know that the crisis between Ukraine and Russia has contributed badly, but the government has to do something fast, otherwise we are going to buy diesel in the next two weeks at N1000 to N1500/litre.”

He therefore advised the federal government to increase the price of fuel so that the savings would enable the Central Bank of Nigeria have enough foreign exchange.

“The only way out, if you want to know, is that they (the government) should increase the price of fuel a little to reduce the money spent on PMS subsidy.

“I know Nigerians will not be happy to hear this, but this is the only solution. They should increase the price of fuel a little so that the savings will enable the Central Bank of Nigeria to have enough foreign exchange”

“You and I know that we import everything now in Nigeria. Diesel is an imported product and it is fully deregulated. So the importers are not getting dollars at the official CBN rate to import diesel. Everybody is going to the black market to get dollars to import their products and so you expect the price of diesel to be high.”

Korie suggested that the Federal government needs to reduce the rate at which it spends foreign exchange on PMS imports as it will help other businessmen who import diesel to bring in products at low prices.

“So you need to increase fuel price a little in order to ensure that the dollars spent in importing petrol is reduced and there will be enough Forex for importers of diesel and this will cut down the price of diesel,” he said.

Speaking further, he said the reason for fuel scarcity especially Abuja is as a result of the high cost of diesel.

“The reason why you are having scarcity of petroleum products particularly in Abuja is as a result of the high cost of diesel. The price of diesel today in the market is N850/litre. You will also agree with me that the money being paid as bridging claims to transporters is not enough.

“The price is N850/litre and you are giving your driver 1,200 litres from Lagos to Abuja, if you do the calculation you will find out that the landing cost (for transporting the fuel) is about N40/litre.

“So if you add that to PMS, buying at the depot price and selling here, it is too high. So if your cost of bringing it in is at N40/litre and you bought it at N155/litre, when you add this you will get N195/litre. But you are to sell at N165/litre. So who will do that kind of business? It is already a loss-making business.”

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Mercy Blankson, the widow of Joseph Blankson, a Nigerian man who saved 13 lives in a boat mishap in Rivers State, but died in the process, has lamented the hardship the family has been subjected to, after her husband's sudden demise.
Blankson, alongside his sisters on 28 July 2018, were in a passenger boat from Abonnema Wharf heading to Bakana.

However, the boat crashed into an object and eventually capsised.
Nigerians at the time hailed the heroic efforts of the deceased person to save the lives of others to his detriment, urging the government to ensure the bereaved family was well taken care of.
Weeks after the incident, the Rivers State Government announced the setup of an education endowment fund for the children of the late hero.
The State Governor, Nyesom Wike, while receiving Blankson's family at Government House, Port Harcourt, also gave immediate employment to the widow, Mercy Blankson, a graduate of microbiology and advised her to invest the money in a scheme that would best benefit the children and guarantee their future.
However, speaking with SaharaReporters on Wednesday, Mercy said the promises made by the governor were not fulfilled.
According to her, efforts to reach out to the governor, and his wife, Justice Eberechi Wike, have proved abortive.
The bereaved lady added that in October last year, President Muhammadu Buhari bestowed a posthumous award (Special Award for bravery and patriotism) on Blankson. However, there were no benefits attached to it for the family.
According to her, when she made efforts to reach out to the organisers of the award, it was alleged that some people had embezzled the funds meant for the family.
She added that the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, promised to give her a job but had yet to help her secure any.
The young woman lamented the difficulty in feeding and taking care of herself and the children. She, however said there are some good Samaritans who assist her with the children's upkeep.
She said, “Governor Wike promised some money, he even promised me a job, I tried to do a follow-up but nothing came out of it.
“There was a posthumous award for him last year by the President and not even anything was attached to it, not scholarship, job, not even a penny. So, when I tried reaching out to the organisers, they said it's like they've eaten the money, that they don't know.
“Lai Mohammed promised to give me a job, I tried to reach out to him, but nothing. The award was supposed to come with benefits, it was a presidential award but nothing came out of it.
“I wrote Governor Wike, his wife, I even chatted the wife via WhatsApp, I wrote to different persons but nothing has come out of it. Life has been difficult, sincerely, though there are still one or two persons that help but life has been difficult. You know what it's like training kids, upkeep and stuff, medical bills and everything.
”I'm the only one bearing the burden of these people. My husband was working for one indigenous construction company, and he does diesel supply, supplies in trucks before his death."

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File photo used to illustrate story.

Some gunmen have reportedly kidnapped a journalist identified as Mr Chuks Onuha in his house at Umuhu, Ohuhu in Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia State.
It was gathered that Onuha is a former Abia State Correspondent of Sun Newspapers.

File photo used to illustrate story.
Onuha was eating with members of his family on Tuesday night when the gunmen smashed into their house and took him away to an unknown location, Daily Sun reports.
It was further disclosed that the kidnappers contacted his family members and requested a N10million ransom in the early hours of Wednesday.
His wife also confirmed the development when contacted on phone. She, therefore, appealed to the abductors to release her husband unconditionally for the sake of their young children.
On Tuesday, SaharaReporters also reported that gunmen in police uniforms struck in the Federal Capital Territory kidnapped three pregnant women, two children and 12 others in Abuja.

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The Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi, has suspended his Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development, Mr. Orlando Nweze indefinitely.
Nweze, according to the suspension notice signed by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Kenneth Ugbala, and made available to newsmen on Wednesday in Abakaliki, the state capital, was suspended for alleged “inability to discharge his duties effectively.”

According to the notice, Governor Umahi directed Nweze to hand over all government property in his possession to the permanent secretary of the ministry before the close of work on Wednesday, June 15.
“Please, ensure strict compliance to this directive,” the suspension notice read.

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Nigeria's desperation for a messiah and her strong desire for a non-existent elixir is understandable, yet it could further deepen her leadership crisis that has lived for just too long to survive another four years. If the people fail to learn from how the messiah of 2015 has rendered Nigeria messier today, we would find ourselves sharing stories of pains and struggle at the end of another four years or may be, eight years. It's another four years for over 200 million hapless victims of failed leadership to hope to wake up to an America-like Nigeria, but with the same Nigeria way of exonerating powerful criminals on the corridor of power that we should ordinarily condemn in unison, almost immediately after Gen. Muhammadu Buhari hands over the battered Nigeria.
In regard to the 2023 general election, three names have been on the lips of political conscious Nigerians, home and abroad; for different but clear reasons. The former Vice President of Nigeria, Abubakar Atiku, his siemese twin brother, fomer governor of Lagos State, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and their 'Idowu,' a two terms ex-governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi. Note that 'Idowu' is a Yoruba circumstantial name given to a child that is birthed after the birth of a set of twin. Therefore Idowu is slightly dissimilar from a twin as they are all from a single womb. These mentioned three presidential contestants, since their emergence as candidates of their respective political parties, they seem to have narrowed down the different paths leading to a New Era to a T-junction, hence the overwhelming perplexity thrown at Nigerians in search for a new narrative, while Nigeria hovers above the Bermuda triangle of misgovernance.
The trio do not only have a similar political appearance and enjoy a cult-like relationship, making them address and bromance themselves as leader, brother, friend and more. It's almost impossible to talk about Abubakar Atiku and not talk about his protege, Peter Obi. Ahmed Tinubu shares the same political oblical cord with Abubakar Atiku, this is not just limited to their interactions as former party members but the pattern they have both played politics shows they bear the same political ideology. They are connected in a way that denotes that if one gets it, they all get it.

Apart from the verifiable facts and strong corruption allegations standing against these three most talked about 2023 presidential candidates in recent times: from Peter Obi, being unmasked in Pandora report to Tinubu's Bullion van escapade and the Petroleum Technology Development Fund syphoned by Atiku among other endless frightening corruption allegations. All of these three candidates have that tendency of making Nigerians look back to the days of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (which is fast coming to its terminus) as a good old time. It is however, unfortunate, it looks like that has been the tradition; no matter how bad we thought the predecessor is, the successor comes on board to make him look like a hero.
They are about 12 other presidential candidates Nigerians can examine to know whose peg fits the nature of the hole without limiting chances of getting it right this time. 
If you want a new Nigeria, Ahmed Tinubu, Abubakar Atiku and Peter Obi are not new to the political space, they've never been too far from decision makers in government, they could have done what they would do while they run around Aso Rock. 
Sadly, some of us emphasised on antecedents in the 2015 elections but we were propelled to believe people change, by people whose motives were either religion or (and) ethnicity. If your Obidience, BATification or Atikulation is based on ethnicity or (and) religion, I hope you're settled for consequences of your choices that are certainly indiscriminate.

Oluwaseyi Oyetunbi
Political Science (MSc) Student, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife.
 

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