[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has given reasons why its members attacked Senator Ike Ekweremadu, immediate past Deputy Senate President, in Nuremberg. Germany, on Saturday. August 15, describing him as an instigator and supporter of the Nigerian organized “Operation Python Dance”, a “traitor,” and being among those that got the pro-Biafra group proscribed, alongside the South-East governors.

The IPOB has also reportedly put Chief Nnia Nwodo, President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, who it accused of supporting the Operation Python Dance in the South-East, on notice and equally ordered its members across the world to attack the Governors of Ebonyi, Enugu, Abia and Anambra states anywhere they are seen, in the global diaspora.

This information was disclosed in a news item sourced from an influential online news portal, Igbere TV, which credits the dire warnings to a statement it received from IPOB Spokesman, Emma Powerful, in which the group allegedly declared that South-East governors and some Ndigbo leaders had been marked as enemies to be attacked if they were seen in any of the 100 countries their members were residing.

The statement quoted Emma Powerful as claiming that the directive was given by the recognized supreme leader of IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and that in obedience to the IPOB leader’s order, its members were the ones who attacked a former Deputy Senate President, Dr Ike Ekweremadu, in Nuremberg, Germany on Saturday.

The statement further quoted Emma Powerful as vowing that IPOB would take similar action against the South-East governors and Ndigbo leaders, if they dared to attend any public event abroad.

South Eastern Nigeria watchers will recall that the Operation Python Dance was launched by the Nigerian Army in the South-East in 2016 in the wake of protests by IPOB members who were demanding secession from the country and one of the major targets of the operation was a widely reported raid on the home town of the leader of the IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, in Umuahia, Abia State, which featured some footages of blood and casualties, even as the supposed main subject of the raid, Nnamdi Kanu, had escaped before the raid and whose whereabouts have been unknown till date, despite sporadic sightings and media appearances on several global news platforms.

The Federal Government had subsequently proscribed IPOB, tagging it a terrorist organisation on September 18, 2017, under the Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2013 and this, coupled with the increased violent and fatal attacks by suspected Fulani herdsnen on Igbo communities, farms and homesteads in the South East, has apparently triggered this recent IPOB directive to target it’s own kinsmen in political office, who have now been accused as collaborators.

The statement by Mr. Emma Powerful, sourced from Igbere TV, reads thus:

“Today (Saturday), the Nuremberg IPOB family in Germany, in keeping with the long-standing directive from our leader to hound all instigators of the Operation Python Dance, is glad to report that Ike Ekweremadu was confronted and duly hounded out of a so-called New Yam Festival event in Germany.

“Despite repeated warnings to the organisers of this jamboree that Enugu, Ebonyi and other parts of ‘Biafraland’ is under siege by the Fulani caliphate and their collaborators within, they went ahead to invite a known traitor, co-conspirator and one of those who worked with Igbo governors to proscribe and tag IPOB a terror organisation while they never raised any voice against the murderous Fulani herdsmen.

“This should serve as a warning to Nnia Nwodo, Dave Umahi, Okezie Ikpeazu, Willie Obiano and others that any day we find them in a public event abroad, they will be humiliated. IPOB is strategically located in over 100 countries around the world. Anywhere we find them, they will be dealt with”.

[dropcap]C[/dropcap]hief Asari Dokubo, a former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta, MEND has reacted to the recent attack on the Former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu by members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB.
Dokubo, in a recent video made available to POLITICS NIGERIA, attacked the leader of the group, Nnamdi Kanu, describing him as an “Ingrate” and a “Frankenstein Monster”.
The ex-militant leader, who was visibly annoyed, stated that the attack on Ekweremadu was wrong, adding that the Igbo leader played a very big role in securing Kanu’s bail when he was detained a few years ago by the Nigerian government.
Dokubo warned Igbos to be wary of Kanu and his antics, adding that it would create more problems for the Ethnic group in future.

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Supreme Court has struck out an appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, over the 2019 election.
The decision was reached on Tuesday by a five-man panel, led by Justice Dattijo Muhammad.
The panel said the appeal was statute-barred.
The appeal was filed by the PDP and Abubakar to challenge a ruling of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, which held that they failed to file a response to an application by the All Progressives Congress.
The application by the APC had prayed for the dismissal of the appellants’ petition at the tribunal among other pleas.

[dropcap]A[/dropcap] Joint Inter-Agency Team led by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has arrested 37 officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) for allegedly extorting money from motorists on Nigerian highways.
The Team, comprising officials of ICPC, FRSC and the Department of State Security (DSS) also arrested five persons said to be agents of the corps officials in a sting operation carried out simultaneously in the six geo-political zones.
A statement posted on the Facebook page of ICPC on Monday explained that the Team struck on Friday 16th August, 2019, following the receipt of a complaint from the management of the Corps of massive extortion of money from motorists on the highways by its patrol teams.
The statement said: “The FRSC management had, in the complaint to the Commission, observed that incidents of extortion were rife in the six states of Kaduna, Bauchi, Abia, Rivers, Kogi and Ogun.
“Based on this, the ICPC-led Team went into action and identified the notorious spots in each of the aforementioned states to include Aba in Abia State; Ahoada, Ajaokuta, Itori, Torro and Gwantu in Rivers, Kogi, Ogun, Bauchi and Kaduna States respectively.
“13 FRSC officials and two civilians were arrested in Aba in the South-east while 24 other FRSC officials and three civilians were arrested from various spots on roads spread across the other geo-political zones.
“Findings from the Joint Inter-Agency Team indicated that various sums of money were found on the arrested Corps officials during the sting operations before they were taken into ICPC custody.
“ However, all the officials arrested and three civilian accomplices have been granted administrative bail, and will be prosecuted by the Commission at the conclusion of investigations”.
Efforts to get more clearification from the FRSC were unsuccessful on Monday as its Spokesperson, Bisi Kazeem neither picked his call nor responded to text messages sent to him.

By : Emeji Noble

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has revealed before the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja, why candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, was not declared the winner of the last presidential election.

The electoral body said it was satisfied that Atiku did not secure majority of lawful votes during the election, even as it denied the allegation that votes were illegally awarded to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to ensure that President Muhammadu Buhari was re-elected for a second term.

In a final written address it filed before the Justice Mohammed Garba-led five-member panel tribunal, INEC, through its team of lawyers led by Mr. Yunus Usman, SAN, sought the dismissal of the petition Atiku and PDP lodged to query the outcome of the February 23 Presidential election, insisting that the petitioners failed to justify why a fresh election should be conducted.

It told the tribunal that from collated results of the presidential election that were announced on February 27, President Buhari, scored majority of lawful votes cast and got not less than one quarter in each of at least two-thirds of the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory.

INEC maintained that Atiku’s claim that it unlawfully awarded votes to Buhari in some states, being an allegation that is criminal in nature, ought to be proved beyond reasonable doubt.

“We refer to the relevant paragraphs of the petition where the petitioners made the sundry allegations of deliberate wrong entry/falsification of election results by the 1st Respondent.

“Clearly, it can be gleaned that nothing concrete or specific has been offered by the Petitioners in this regard.

“For example, the petitioners pleaded wrong and deliberate entry of wrong results by the 1st Respondent in 11 states of the country, namely: Borno, Yobe, Bahchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger and Zamfara States.

“Thereafter, the petitioners proceeded to break down this allegation state-by-state.

“However, a cursory appraisal of paragraph 155(4) of the petition dealing with this allegation of ‘posting wrong results’ to the non-existent 1st Respondent’s server and not the wrongful entry of the results in the physical/manual Form EC8 series.

“The most astonishing part is that the petitioners failed to call witnesses who were at the various Units to observe these various alleged anomalies.

“We submit that allegations bordering on alleged wrong entry/falsification of election result are criminal in nature and must be proved beyond reasonable doubt.

“Furthermore, by virtue of section 150(1) of the Evidence Act, the results declared by the 1st Respondent enjoy a presumption of regularity. Accordingly, the petitioners herein are duty bound to rebut this presumption with credible evidence.”

On Atiku’s allegation that cancellation of election took place in 4,171 polling units across the country with a total 2, 906, 384 registered voters affected, INEC, argued that he failed to by way of credible evidence, show how the number of votes cancelled affected the election.

It noted that Atiku’s witness had agreed under cross-examination that it did the right thing in cancelling the election.

“We submit that it is trite law that not only is the petitioner duty-bound to prove each and every allegation on non-compliance; he is also expected to prove that such non-compliance substantially affected the result of the election. See Buhari V Obasanjo (Supra), Nyesom Wike V Dakuku & ORS (supra).

“We humbly submit from the foregoing that the petitioners have failed to prove the allegation of non-compliance with the Electoral Act, and indeed, every other allegation contained in the petition. The petition, therefore, lacks merit and should be thrown out on this point and this honourable court is urged so to do.

“In the instant petition, the petitioners called 62 witnesses in proof of their petition. Only 5 were polling agents, while 5 were Assistant Presiding Officers, who incidentally had no problem with the conduct of the election but only came to assert that they transmitted the election result to a fictitious and non-existent server.

“The rest of the witnesses called are Ward, Local Government, State or National Collation Agents. And the aim of the petitioner is to use them to prove allegations of non-compliance with the Electoral Act during the Presidential Election in 36 States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory Abuja. What a mission impossible!”

It faulted the petitioners for failing to call Polling Agents to testify before the tribunal, noting that alleged improper accreditation, non-authentication of results, over-voting, inflation and deflating of votes and wrong entries in Form EC8A, non-counting of ballot papers, non-announcement of scores of candidates and alteration of results, “undoubtedly occurred at the Polling Units or voting points and may only be observed at the respecting Polling Units where the infractions supposedly took place.

“The eyes of the parties and candidates in an election at the Polling Unit are their respective agents and voters who were present to cast their votes. Consequently, in calling witnesses in proof of these allegations, this class of individuals is indispensable.

“Taking a rational, reasonable and critical examination and assessment of the evidence placed before this honorable court, one cannot but submit most humbly that the elements of the allegations of corrupt practices against the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Respondents have not been proved at all talk less of proof beyond reasonable doubt,” INEC argued.

It urged the tribunal to ignore evidence of both the Kenyan Information Technology Expert, Mr. David Njorga, and former Minister for Aviation Minister, Chief Osita Chidoka, who was PDP’s National Collation Agent, to the effect that results of the presidential election were electronically transmitted to a central server.

INEC argued that the petitioners, by claiming that they defeated President Buhari with over 1.6m votes based on data they obtained “from a strange website called www.factsdontlieng.com”, merely attempted to send the tribunal on “a voyage of speculation and discovery without supporting their case with relevant evidence.”

It told the tribunal that the said website was created on March 12, 2019, 21 days after the declaration of the Presidential Election results, by an anonymous person, “who for all intent and purposes may be the petitioners themselves who having realised that they lost the election, created the website and pooled together some phony/baseless figures.”

On the issues of eligibility, the electoral body blamed the PDP and Atiku for failing to go to court to challenge the credentials and educational qualifications President Buhari claimed in the Form CF001 he submitted to contest the presidential election.

INEC argued that since the petitioners failed to within 14 days after the Form was tendered to it, drag Buhari to court over the allegation that he submitted false information, the issue of his eligibility to contest has become status barred.

“The 1st petitioner submits that the above grounds constitute pre-election matters which are only actionable within 14 days of the occurrence of the event.

“Consequently, since the petitioners did not commence the action at the time stipulated by the constitution, the ground has become statute barred and the tribunal lacks the jurisdiction to adjudicate upon them”.

It argued that the petitioners were not able to show with any level of certainty that President Buhari gave false information of a fundamental nature, urging the tribunal to dismiss the petition.

“We therefore respectfully urge My Lords to dismiss this petition in its entirety and uphold the return of the 2nd Respondent as the lawful winner of the election,” INEC added.

The Justice Garba-led panel had earlier fixed Wednesday as the day all the parties in the petition would adopt their final briefs of argument.

Both Buhari and his party, the APC, had since filed their respective final addresses, wherein they also prayed the tribunal to dismiss the petition as grossly lacking in merit.

Nevertheless, on their part, the petitioners, through their lawyers, led by Dr. Livy Uzoukwu, SAN, maintained that with the quantum of both oral, documentary and video evidence they adduced before the tribunal, they successfully established that the election was rigged in favour of President Buhari through wrong computation of results by INEC.

Besides, they argued that Buhari was unable to prove that he has the requisite educational qualifications to vie for the Presidency. Though the petitioners sought an order to declare that Atiku was the valid winner of the presidential contest, in the alternative, they prayed the tribunal to nullify the outcome of the February 23 poll and order a fresh presidential election.

By : Emeji Noble

[dropcap]P[/dropcap]roscribed separatist group Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) is targeting Southeast governors, Ohanaeze President Nnia Nwodo, Chief of Army Staff (COAS)  Lt. Gen Tukur Buratai for attacks abroad, its leader Nnamdi Kanu, said on Sunday.

He also offered a reward of N1 million for credible information on overseas travel itinerary of the governors and Igbo leaders. He gave reasons the group attacked Senator Ike Ekweremadu in Germany at the weekend.

Kanu spoke in an 87 minutes broadcast on the rogue radio station, Radio Biafra, last night. The broadcast was monitored by our correspondent.

He said a member of the group had made the money available for credible information anytime the governors of the Southeast and other leaders from the zone would be travelling.

“So, if you are working in any Government House in Southeast and you know which city in the world the governor is going to be, inform us so that we will mobilise for him and you will be rewarded with N1 million”

He accused the governors of being behind the proscription of IPOB. “They said they proscribed IPOB to douse rising tension in the region. What caused the tension is because the military raided my house in Umuahia”.

He also accused them of secretly approving the RUGA settlement in the Southeast.

On the attack on Mr Ekweremadu, the IPOB leader said the ex-Deputy Senate President connived with the governors to proscribed his group.

“They also brought the army to raid my House in Umuahia. How many times has he spoken against the killings and kidnapping happening in his own state?” queried Mr Kanu.

“He (Ekweremadu) went to celebrate New Yam Festival in Germany when his people are being killed and our women being raped. Where did they get the tubers of yam because there is none in Igboland since all the farmlands have been destroyed by herdsmen”. The IPOB leader also accused Ekweremadu of misappropriating money budgeted for the construction of Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway by former President Goodluck Jonathan administration.

By : Emeji Noble