[dropcap]S[/dropcap]ome members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Imo, on Thursday, called for the sack of Sen. Osita Izunaso, the party´s National Organising Secretary.
The members, who protested at the party’s National Secretariat, Abuja, with placards, accusedIzunaso of compromising standards in Saturday´s local government congress in the state.
Mr Kassim Muhammad Kassim, a serving lawmaker of Nasarawa State House of Assembly, who led the group, said Izunaso was indirectly working for Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to frustrate re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019. When asked on his business with aggrieved members of the party from Imo, Kassim said that he had “interest’’ in their problem.
In a complaint letter addressed to the APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie Oyegun, dated May 17, the protesters also called for a fresh ward congress in Imo and other states where there were issues with the exercise.
The letter read: ´´We humbly wish to write and formally notify you of our grievances toward the recently-concluded ward congress of the party in Imo.´´The National Organising Secretary of APC, Sen. Osita Izunaso, is bent on causing confusion in Imo to frustrate Rochas Okorocha out of the party.
´´We are not comfortable with the development and we demand that he should be sacked immediately.
´´We also want to notify the National Working Committee that Sen. Osita Izunaso is playing the script of opposition to deliver South-East for his sole interest.´´The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that no official of the party was around to address the protesters.
Besides, they were not allowed access into the party’s secretariat premises, but Kassim found his way in and claimed to have dropped the letter of protest.
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he proprietor of Metorite Standard School, Ayetoro, Ogun, Afolayan Joseph, was arrested by the state’s police command, on Wednesday, May 16, for allegedly tying up two pupils of the school to ‘crosses’ and flogging them with a horsewhip. Afolayan, together with the school’s principal, who is yet to be identified, allegedly tied up the students because they came late to school, Punch reports. A policeman, identified only as Livinus, was also beaten up after he had cautioned the men against such action.
The policeman, assisted by other residents, eventually succeeded in effecting the arrest of the suspects, who were then taken to the Itele Police Station. Narrating the incident, the policeman stated:
“I was going to work this morning (Wednesday) when I saw some cars parked by the roadside. I discovered that it was because of some pupils that were tied to crosses.
“When I saw it, I parked and went to meet the proprietor of the school. I introduced myself as a policeman and told him to untie the pupils. He refused, saying there was nothing anybody could tell him that would make him to release them.
“When I tried to untie the pupils, the proprietor and his teachers beat me up. Before I returned from picking handcuffs from my car, they had grabbed a friend who was with me, Omaje Iremi, and beaten him up with a horsewhip.
“I entered the school – with the help of some neighbours who gathered around – to arrest him, but he refused to follow me. I then called the divisional police officer of the Itele Police Station and he sent some policemen to the school, who took everybody to the station.”
A female student also received similar treatment
The female Student.
The aforementioned DPO reportedly stated that the proprietor did not take kindly to the fact thatthe policeman had attempted to correct him.The arrest of the principal, proprietor and another teacher at the school, was confirmed by the state police public relations officer, ASP Abimbola Oyeyemi. He stated:
“They have been arrested and will be taken to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department. The act is no longer a corrective measure; it is a barbaric act and it will not be allowed in this 21st century.”
Nigeria Customs approve transfer of seized items to IDP camps
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone A of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) with headquarters at Ikeja, Lagos has arrested a total of fourteen (14) suspects in connection with one hundred and twenty-five (125) seizures made by the Unit between the period of April 10th to May 15th, 2018.
The Customs Area Controller of the Unit, Comptroller Mohammed Uba Garba who disclosed this in a press briefing in Lagos on Wednesday stated that the unit intercepted various contraband and other goods on detention with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of one billion, ten million, two hundred and ninety-five thousand, six hundred and sixty-six naira, two kobo (N1,010,295,666.2).
Mohammed also said that the unit through its interventions recorded twenty-eight million, eight hundred and sixty thousand, seven hundred and eighty-eight naira (N28,860,788.00) from underpayments making a cumulative of one billion, thirty-nine million, one hundred and fifty-six thousand, four hundred and fifty-four naira (N1,039,156,454.00) within the period under review.
He listed the detained/seized items to include; 30 exotic vehicles including 7 Toyota Hilux (2018 models), 3 Toyota Prado Jeeps (2017 models), 1 Range Rover, 1 Ford Edge (2015 model), 5,516 bags of foreign parboiled rice (about 6 trailers), 1,078 cartons of frozen poultry products, 216 jerrycans of vegetable oil, 173 bales of used clothing, 683 pieces of used tyres, 8 sacks of Indian Hemp weighing 134kg among others.
The CAC further listed two containers with no: MSKU130295/2 and MRKU877714/0 gad been seized for false declaration with a DPV of over 25 million naira alone.
“Let me commend the officers and men of the unit for living up to their statutory responsibilities in suppression of smuggling, blocking all revenue leakages and enhancing trade facilitation towards sustaining best international standards. We have remained unflinching with our mandates and no amount of distraction will deter us from performing our statutory duties. We will continue to make this zone uncomfortable for smugglers to operate and urge every Nigerian to be patriotic and report any smuggling activities in their areas o the service and any intelligence provided will be treated in confidence”, he said.
Meanwhile, the Customs Area Controller of FOU, Zone A, Comptroller Uba Garba Mohammed has hinted that following court processes and condemnation, the Presidential Committee on IDPs chaired by the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd) had approved the evacuation of some seized items to the Borno State Government for distribution to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) through the Nigerian Army Corps of Supply and Transport (NACST).
The items according to the CAC included: 25,318 bags of rice 50kg (42 trailers), 3,366 jerrycans of 25 litres, 175 gallons of Vegetable Oil (5 litres), 1,564 bales and 122 sacks of seong hand clothing, 196 sacks and 938 pairs of used shoes
Comptroller Uba Garba Mohammed CAC, Federal Operations Unit, Zone ‘A’, Ikeja
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Federal Operations Unit, Zone A of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) has vowed to investigate the incessant use of trucks belonging to the Nigerian Breweries Pls to convey smuggled bags of foreign rice.This is even as the Unit said it has once again intercepted truck conveying crates of drinks tucked with smuggled bags of rice belonging to the Nigerian Breweries PLC.
This arrest is coming one month after the unit intercepted 163 bags of rice concealed in crates of beer in a truck belonging to the Nigerian Breweries Plc.
Speaking at a press briefing in Lagos on Wednesday the Customs Area Controller Of the unit, Capt. Mohammed Uba said the unit would investigate the incessant use of Nigerian Breweries trucks for smuggling of rice into the country.He said, “We will investigate the incessant use of the Nigerian Breweries trucks to smuggle rice into the country. We will be fair to the company, we will invite them to give their side of the story.
“We cannot do the investigation without listening to other parties, we have to listen to other parties for justice.”
Uba had earlier advice from reputable organisations to be wary of drivers who may have ulterior motives than their job description.
“My advice and warning to individual and private organization employing drivers and other workers using their mobility to convey their goods is that they should look at the credibility of such employees because they can dent the image of the company and slow down the process of making their gains.”
In the same vein, the Unit said it intercepted nine trailers load of smuggled rice numbering about 5,516 bags and recovered N1.039 billion for the federal government.
Also intercepted includes 30 exotic vehicles, 1068 cartons of frozen poultry products, 216 jerrycans of vegetable oil, 683 pieces of used tyres and sacks of Indian Hemp.
“Having deepened our anti-smuggling operations between April 10th to May 15, 2018, we have intercepted various contrabands and other goods on detention with a duty paid value (DPV) of N1.10billion.“The unit through its interventions also recovered N29million from under-payments making a cumulative of N1. 39billion within the weeks under review.
“The detained/seized items include: 30 Exotic vehicles including 7 Toyota Hilux (2018 models), 3 Toyota Prado Jeep (2017), 1 Range Rover, 1 Ford Edge (2015), 5,516 bags of foreign parboiled rice (9 trailers), 1,078 cartons of frozen poultry products, 216 Jerry cans of vegetable oil, 173 bales of used clothing, 683 piece of used tyres, 8 sacks of Indian hemps weighing 134 kg among others,” Compt. Uba added.
The FOU Zone CAC also noted at the press briefing that two containers were seized for alleged false declarations and N25million recovered from the importers. “Also, two containers with no: MSKU130295/2 and MRKU877714/0 have been seized for false declaration with a DPV of over N25 million alone.” The CAC also read riot act as smugglers saying the unit will make the zone unfavourable for them.
“We will continue to make this zone uncomfortable for smugglers to operate and urge every Nigerian to be patriotic and report any smuggling activities in their areas to the Service and any intelligence provided will be treated in confidence.
“Let me advise these economic saboteurs as well as fraudulent importers to invest their resources towards legitimate trade and desist from engaging in smuggling activities, as the Service and indeed the Unit will not renege on our statutory functions most especially in suppressing smuggling,” Uba stated.
SP Olayinka Egbeyemi Chairman of the Lagos State Task Force
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Lagos State Task Force has impounded a bullion van and the driver arrested for driving against traffic. The suspect has also been arraigned before Chief Magistrate Amos Olajuwon of the Lagos State Mobile Court in Oshodi.
SP Olayinka Egbeyemi, Chairman of the Lagos State Task Force disclosed that the bullion van driver was arrested by the enforcement team of the Agency at Ogunusi Road, Omole bus-stop, Ojodu, Lagos. He said he was surprised that with the level of enlightenment campaign by the government, motorists, including private car owners could still be driving against traffic without fear of imminent collusion with on-coming vehicles. Egbeyemi said that majority of motorists apprehended for this particular traffic offence were educated private car owners who ordinarily should have obeyed the law without any strict enforcement. The Chairman urged motorists, particularly commercial bus drivers to desist from driving against traffic and obey different traffic signs conspicuously displayed by traffic officers, especially around Dopemu, Agege/Pen cinema, Apapa-Oshodi express way, Mile 2 and other parts of Lagos. Egbeyemi said the construction of alternative routes for motorists across all local governments and local council development areas of the State by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode was meant to ease traffic congestion. He,however, said that the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi directed that the arrested bullion van driver be charge to court for prosecution as nobody is above the law. According to him, the commissioner also directed further that the agency should be on the look out for all unauthorised private vehicles using siren, revolving light and those covering their plates numbers, as the acts were purely illegitimate.
The suspect (Driver), Mr Oke Onyeche, 48, agreed to the crime saying he drove against traffic out of curiosity to get to his destination on time and that he never knew that he would be caught. “I want the government to please tamper justice with mercy,” he said. He said the empty bullion van belonged to Integrated Cash Management Services (ICMS) and that he would never in his life drive against traffic again.
Chief Magistrate Amos Olajuwon of the Lagos State Mobile Court who presided over the case adjourned the case to 18 May, 2018 for ‘Facts and Sentence.’
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Federal Government has suspended Professor Charles Uwakwe, The Registrar of the National Examinations Council (NECO) along two Deputy Directors for reasons connected to corruption. Prof Uwakwe, has been suspended over alleged financial mismanagement and abuse of office. A source stated that the most senior Director in the council, Mr Abubakar Gana, had been directed to take over as Registrar in Acting capacity.
Rumour had made the rounds that the three top officials of the council had been sacked, but a competent source in the council disclosed on Sunday that the men were on suspension. According to the source, they are on suspension pending the outcome of investigation of allegation of misappropriation of funds against them.
The source said that the officials were suspended for allegedly awarding contracts to the tune of N25 billion without following due process. They were said not to have sought approval from Ministry of Education, the supervisory ministry or from the Governing Board of the council. Uwakwe was also alleged to be involved in recruitment in the council without following due process. “I can tell you that nobody was sacked but there was a suspension pending an investigation of certain alleged misdeeds, which details have not been made public,” the source said.
According to the source, the letter suspending the council officials emanated from the parent ministry. Another source said that the Non-Academic Staff Union at NECO petitioned the Minister of Education, accusing Uwakwe of financial impropriety, irregular recruitment and flouting of procurement procedures.
All efforts to get the reaction of the Council’s Head of Information proved abortive as calls and text messages sent were unanswered.
[dropcap]A[/dropcap] Nigerian woman, One Queen Obioma has filed a suit against United Airlines, a US airline. Obioma and her children were removed from the plane after complaint from another passenger. The passenger complained he could not fly with her because of her body odour. According to Chicago Tribune, the incident happened in 2016 when Obioma and her two children were boarding a flight from Houston to San Francisco. The trio were on their second leg of a three-flight journey to Ontario, Canada after they had flown from Lagos.
According to Obioma, the male passenger had taken the seat she was initially assigned to in the business-class cabin. When the passenger refused to give up the seat, Obioma was asked to sit elsewhere. A few minutes later, Obioma went to use the bathroom before the plane took off. On her way back, the same passenger reportedly blocked her from accessing her seat. She said “excuse me” thrice but when the passenger refused, Obioma squeezed her way past him. Before she could sit, a crew member told Obioma to leave the plane and that the pilot had specifically asked that she be removed from the plane because the male passenger complained that he could not fly with her because of her pungent smell. According to complaint filed by Obioma’s lawyer in Houston, “At that point Ms. Obioma was lost, confused and disoriented. Her mind went blank and she was utterly befuddled.” Obioma explained that her children had important appointments related to school that they could not miss but she was refused re-entry into the plane. “Ms. Obioma watched her minor children marched out of the aircraft like criminals, confused and perplexed. She sobbed uncontrollably for a long time.” It took five hours before Obioma and her children finally board another plane but the delay affected the scheduled appointment she had and she incurred more expenses. According to the lawsuit filed against the airline, “United Airlines discriminated against Obioma and her children during the incident on March 4, 2016 at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston because they were black.” Also, a Nigerian lady, Lolade Siyonbola studying at the Ivy League University has shared a discomforting news of how a race biased student called the police on her. Lolade Siyonbola who is a post graduate student of African Studies at the university narrated how she was having a nap at the Yale University’s common room when a White student she identifies as Sarah Braasch called the campus Police to come and arrest her. She explained that the encounter wasn’t the first she has experienced from her co-student Sarah. She wrote on her Facebook wall that Sarah Braasch, who is studying Philosophy at PhD level, once called the Police on one of her friends a few months earlier.
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress, (APC) in Rivers State took a new dimension on Friday when some suspected loyalists of the APC on Friday stormed the Rivers State High Court in Port-Harcourt, killing at least two persons and destroying court property estimated in millions of naira.The attackers breached the court security around 11 a.m. in violent bid to stop a judge from sitting on an interlocutory motion brought by a faction of the party in the state.
Damaged car
The injunction was sought by the faction said to be loyal to Magnus Abe, a serving APC senator from the state. Mr Abe’s faction has been sparring with the faction believed loyal to Rotimi Amaechi, the Minister of Transport and immediate-past Governor of the state, for the control of the party’s political structure.
Mr Amaechi’s faction is said to be in favour of allowing the party congresses proceed as scheduled for Saturday. But Mr Abe’s group was against this arrangement and sought a court order to overturn it.Preliminary hearing on the injunction was slated for Friday morning, and Mr Amaechi’s loyalists reportedly got wind of the proceeding and decided to take a protest to the court. Properties worth millions were believed to have been destroyed in a fracas that ensued after hoodlums from both sides clashed at the court’s premises.The violence, however, failed to stop Chiwendu Nworgu, the presiding judge, from granting the injunction forbidding the congress from holding tomorrow.
Governor Nyesom Wike in his response has declared that the devastating attack on Rivers State Judiciary on Friday is an attempt by the Police and the All Progressive Congress (APC ) to overthrow the Rivers state government.
The governor spoke on Friday after he inspected the Rivers State High Court Complex destroyed by the Police and supporters of the APC from the faction of the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi. The APC and Police damaged several courtrooms, ransacked the court library , destroyed vehicles and looted shops . Hundreds of expended bullets littered the High Court Complex. Governor Wike said it is unfortunate that the Nigeria Police connived with leaders of the APC to close the courts and stop it from dispensing justice to Rivers people.
“This is very unfortunate. Do not trivialize this invasion by saying it is just an attack by the APC on the judiciary. This is a complete coup by the Nigerian Police and the APC to overthrow the Rivers State Government. “We have said it before and we have been vindicated by this callous joint invasion of the Rivers State Judiciary”. He regretted that the Rivers State Police Commissioner decided to copy the Inspector General of Police in the exhibition of recklessness and lawlessness against an arm of Government carrying out its lawful duty. “We cannot continue to rely on the police to defend us. We must all stand up to defend democracy. What has happened is a sign of what APC and Police have planned. “APC Federal Government is not prepared for election. Therefore, they want to truncate the nation’s democracy. They are fomenting trouble to create an avenue for the military to take over. “The APC Federal Government sponsored Senator Omo-Agege at the Federal High Court. Nobody invaded the court. This action by the Police and APC is not acceptable”, he said.
Controller, Tin Can Island Port Command of the Nigeria Customs Service, Comptroller Musa Abdulahi displaying some of the Tramadol tablets intercepted by the command in Lagos on Tuesday.
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Tin Can Island Port command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intercepted two container loads of the prohibited Tramadol tablets smuggled into the country from India. This is coming few days after the Federal Government announced a ban on the importation of codeine syrup due to the gross abuse the drug has been subjected to in the country.
Controller of the Command, Musa Abdulahi who handed over the drugs to officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on Tuesday in Lagos, said the pharmaceutical products were falsely declared as electrical static converters and ciprofloxacin by the importer.He said a suspect has been apprehended in connection with the seizure and investigation is ongoing to unravel those behind the import.
He said, “We are collaborating with NAFDAC and investigation is ongoing. We have gotten a suspect which is the agent and through him, I am sure we will get the importer and ensure they are prosecuted and thereafter the consignment will be destroyed.
“Those who are involved in this thing should stop because it is dangerous to our health. It is addictive and it can kill. We have to stand out against this. Just as the Federal Government has banned codeine, we expect this will happen to this drug quickly.
“The import is coming from India and for export only. I think the government can explore the diplomatic way with the Indian Government by trying to see how we can prevent the importation of this type of dangerous drugs into the country.”
Tramadol, an opioid analgesic, is usually prescribed to treat moderate to moderately severe pain and is considered a safer alternative to other narcotic analgesic like hydrocodone and methadone. It is among the controlled drugs abused by some youths across the country causing unhealthy addiction and adverse side effects. It is believed to be fast selling and being shipped into the country through channels suspected to be unlawful.
The Customs Controller further disclosed that from January to April 2018, three containers of e-waste which are considered toxic to health and the environment, five containers of second hand clothing and a container of used tyres were intercepted by his men. He said the seized tyres have a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N124 million.
Musa said the command maintains cordial relationship with other relevant agencies at the port.
This, he said, had helped the command to easily track prohibited items. He disclosed that the command, within the review period generated the sum of N104.5 billion as against a projection collection of the sum of N116 billion, recording a performance rate of 90.09 percent.
“A comparative analysis against collection of the previous year (2017) for the same period in the sum of N82.154 billion there is an improvement in the figure of about N22.68 billion which is equivalent to an improvement of about 27.61 percent.
“The improved collection so far has been driven by the establishment of standard operating procedure (SOP) and strong revenue drive achieved through blocking of area of revenue leakages,” he said.
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Nigerian government says it has recovered over N7.8 billion, $378 million and £27,800 (all amounting to more than N200 billion) from the whistleblowing programme in less than two years.
The whistle blowing programme was launched in December 2016 by President Muhammadu Buhari through the ministry of finance.Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Nigeria’s vice president, reeled out the figures at the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Week, held at the NAF Conference Centre, Abuja, on Monday, May 7, 2018. Osinbajo said President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government is committed to ensuring openness and transparency in the affairs of the nation.
He said: “One of the remarkable things about the Open Government Partnership is that it was designed to function as a partnership between the governments and the private sector. Without this coalition-building, I doubt that much progress would be achievable. Regardless of whether the goal is improving infrastructure or fighting corruption, it is clear, as it has always been, that governments cannot do it alone.”
“The skills, experience, resources, and technology that the private sector brings to the table, are often invaluable and in many instances represent the difference between success and failure. We ought to equally acknowledge that there is a limit to what civil society by itself can accomplish by itself, without building bridges with the public sector that is very often the target of its work. What our experience with OGP in Nigeria has proven, is that it is possible to build a coalition of like-minded reformers drawn from government and non-state actors.
“In addition to joining the OGP, and developing a National Action Plan in 2016, the Federal Government also established a Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA), housed in the Federal Ministry of Finance, and oversees the Whistleblowing Programme we launched in December 2016. That programme had seen recoveries of N7.8 billion, $378 million and 27,800 pounds sterling, as at March 2018.”
The vice president further explained that the presidential initiative cleaned up the federal payroll and pensions systems, across all ministries, departments and agencies and saved more than N200 billion by eliminating ghost workers.
The Open Government Partnership (OGP), is an international multi-stakeholder initiative, focused on improving transparency, accountability, citizen participation and responsiveness to citizens through technology and innovation.
We wish to inform the general public to beware of impostors who use the name of grassroots Newspaper Publishers Network to solicit for interviews, adverts or award presentation to always confirm the authenticity of such transaction through the following numbers:
09029375906 | 08149835420
As this body will not be held LIABLE for any unauthorized transaction with anyone. BE WARNED!
