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Fake imports: Maritime stakeholders call for return of SON to ports

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Fake imports: Maritime stakeholders call for return of SON to ports

[dropcap]F[/dropcap]ollowing the rising rate of fake and substandard import into Nigeria, Importers and licensed customs agents have called for the return of the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) to the ports to check the menace. They also frowned at the incessant interception of containers suspected to be carrying substandard imports along ports access roads after they were duly released from the ports.

Founder of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders(NAGAFF), Dr. Boniface Aniebonam said most government agencies not officially assigned to be at the seaports were currently unofficially around or having their operatives stationed along port access roads.

Aniebonam who lamented this trend said the best option was for the federal government to allow its agencies to officially come back to the port.

This according to him will further promote trade facilitation and ease of doing business agenda of the government.

He was of the view that absence of the SON from the ports leads to either substandard imports or double-check of exited goods.

This is coming after the Senate Committee on Industry urged that SON is returned to the ports for the safety of Nigerian consumers and protection of the national economy from dumping of substandard imports into the country.

An importer and a former ANLCA chieftain, Chief Eddy Akwaeze also posits that delays associated with checking of suspected containers will be a thing of the past if SON returns to ports.

Section 29 (3) of SON Act states that: “The Organisation may order the destruction of goods detained under subsection (1) of this section if the following conditions are satisfied –
(a) testing indicates that the goods did not meet the relevant Nigeria Industrial standard; and
(b) it is reasonably necessary to destroy the goods because the goods are in a dangerous state or injurious to the health of human beings, animals or plants;
(c) in an order under subsection (2) of this section, the Organisation may require the owner of the goods to pay the costs of the destruction of the goods including the costs of transporting and storing the goods, before destruction;
Section 30 (1) states thus ( 1) For the purpose of carrying out the function of the Organisation under the Act, the Director-General, other officer or employee of the Organisation or any other person authorized by him in writing,
(a) may stop and search any vehicle which he reasonably believes may contain any article or product or material or goods that are in contravention of this Act;
(b) shall have a right of access at reasonable times to any premises including all Nigerian ports, airports and land borders where industrial or commercial undertakings is being carried on and may use reasonable force if need be, to gain entry.

Nigeria To Shut Land Border Over Rice Smuggling

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Nigeria To Shut Land Border Over Rice Smuggling

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Nigerian Government will shut down the borders with a neighbouiring country through which rice is smuggled on a large scale, the Minister of  Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, has said.   Ogbeh spoke in Abuja at a leadership clinic under the auspices of Guardians of the Nation International (GOTNI).

Although he did not mention the country, the minister said shutting the borders had become necessary to encourage local production and sustain the nation’s economy.

He said the neighbouring country was bent on destroying Nigeria’s economy by discouraging local production of rice. “Our other problem is smuggling.  As we speak, a neighbour of ours is importing more rice than China is importing.

“They do not eat parboiled rice, they eat white rice, they use their ports to try and damage our economy.

“I am telling you now because in a few days, you will hear the border has been shut, we are going to shut it to protect you, us and protect our economy.

“You will start seeing all sorts of negative things on the internet.

“Let me tell you why we need to shut the border, I grow rice, I was the first Nigerian to mill rice free of stones, if you plant rice in certain parcels of land, some poisonous materials gets into the rice.

“There are three kinds of water in their natural state; there is fresh water from the river, salt water from the sea, blackish water.

“If you go to the Delta in many countries, in South East Asia where they grow the rice, if you plant rice in the same place like four to six years continuously, the quantum of arsenic begins to increase and arsenic causes cancer and that is what they are dumping for us.

“Some people say they prefer Thai rice because they are very sophisticated, welcome to poison,’’ Ogbeh said.

He said that the Federal Government in two years reduced rice importation by 95 per cent and increased the number of rice farmers from five million to 30 million.

The minister said that states like Anambra, Ebonyi, Kebbi, Kano, Jigawa were doing well in rice production.

“We just have to handwork you to prosperity otherwise, this country will not grow. My wish for you is to have a better time that we had,’’ Ogbeh said.

President of GOTNI Dr Linus Okorie, commended the minister for sharing prosperity experiences with the youth.

Okorie noted that the leadership clinic was organised by GOTNI to expose young people to practical leadership principle for life success.

According to him, GOTNI is committed to changing the narratives of poor leadership in Nigeria by consciously developing the capacities of generational leaders.

“A lot of young people are asking questions, seeking answers to their questions, wish that they have an experienced person who will hold them by the hands and show them the way to achieve success.

“There are a few people that are readily available to do this; a lot of them are making decisions everyday on the basis of their limited exposure.

“If Nigeria must make progress, if we must consciously build the next generation of leaders then, we must expose these young people to experienced leaders that have gone ahead for a conscious transfer of knowledge and experiences,’’ he said.

Some of the youths who spoke at the meeting called for continuous mentorship from leaders, access to finance and low interest rates to assist them in businesses.

Customs, NAFDAC destroy N100m worth of expired drugs

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Customs, NAFDAC destroy N100m worth of expired drugs
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Seme command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has destroyed seized expired medicament and other items with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of One Hundred and Two Million, Four Hundred and Eighty-Eight Thousand, Three Hundred Naira (N102,488,300) that were deposited in its government warehouse.

Some of the medicaments destroyed include: Tramadol caps and tabs, Codeine, Diazepam tabs, Analgen injection, Medik- 55, Paracetamol with caffeine, Mosquito coils, Dexamethasone tabs, expired rice, fertilizer and seasoning among others.

The Customs Area Controller of the command, Comptroller Aliyu Mohammed carried out the destruction exercise in company of the Director General of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Professor Mojisola Christiana Adeyeye and the NAFDAC Director, Ports Inspection Directorate, Professor Samson Adebayo who were in the command for a working visit.

Mohammed noted that the destruction exercise was in compliance with the service extant laws where the relevant agencies like NAFDAC, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) were principal witnesses.

The Commands helmsman further stated that he would continue to implement government policies of seizing and handing over to the relevant agencies such as National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) dangerous and illicit drugs that were smuggled through the land border.

He warned drug traffickers to keep off from Seme border route as any attempt to smuggle such would be discovered by the eagle eyes of the enforcement team.

Edo Police boss decorates 20 promoted officers

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Edo Police boss decorates 20 promoted officers

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Commissioner of Police in Edo, Johnson Kokumo, has urged officers of the command to put in more efforts at their duty posts while ensuring they work in tandem with the objectives and vision of the Force. Kokumo made the call on Friday in Benin while decorating 20 newly promoted officers in the command.

“Promotion comes from God and through hard work and diligence. ” You have worked diligently on your former ranks hence your recommendation and elevation to your new ranks.

“To whom much is given, much is expected, and elevation is not for you to relax or go to sleep.

” But this is a clarion call for you and indeed all officers in the command to redouble your commitment and dedication to duty, particularly in tandem with the objectives and vision of the Nigerian Police Force,’’ Kokumo said.

Responding on behalf of the decorated officers, Salisu Mohammed, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, expressed gratitude to the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, and the Police Service Commission for the promotion.

He gave an assurance that the promoted officers would not betray the confidence reposed in them.

Mohammed and CSP Ukoh Okuchukwu were promoted to Assistant Commissioner of Police while 18 others were promoted from Deputy Superintendent of Police to Superintendent of Police.

Politicians use thugs as herdsmen to kill – Army

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Politicians use thugs as herdsmen to kill – Army

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]cting Director of defence information, John Agim, has stated that some politicians use thugs disguised as herdsmen to attack communities. Agim made the comment while speaking in an interview with newsmen on the farmers-herdsmen clashes that have led to killings in Taraba, Benue, Zamfara and Nasarawa. “These problem which the state governments have with the military is that when the military came in, they thought the soldiers were coming to enforce their laws. Is that the military’s responsibility? If the military goes in and says it wants to enforce the state’s anti-grazing laws, then it means the military is doing the work of the state government. The military is not supposed to enforce those laws. So we told them we are coming to make sure that there is security.

“It was also discovered that there were a lot of people carrying arms, including the herdsmen. So we said nobody should carry arms; anybody who carries arms shall be arrested. But they (the state governments) don’t want their own people to surrender their arms. “During this period, we also discovered that some politicians were using their thugs against another community within the same state, and they made it looked as if herdsmen were attacking the people. Some of these people were arrested.
“For instance, in a local government area, there are two communities fighting against each other and we arrested some people with arms. We did not want to blow it up because it will be misinterpreted.
“Some of the suspects arrested and stopped from carrying out that vandalism told us that some politicians sent them against another community to carry out those attacks. So the state government said they did not agree with the army panel, but they have not given any cogent reasons. “The military has no reason to collude with herdsmen because a good number of the troops serving in that operation are from that region. People should not play politics with security issues because if we do, it will not do anybody any good.”

FOU Ikeja Nabs 12 Suspects, Makes 112 Seizures Worth N1.3 Billion

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FOU Ikeja Nabs 12 Suspects, Makes 112 Seizures Worth N1.3 Billion
Comptroller Uba Garba Mohammed
CAC, Federal Operations Unit, Zone ‘A’, Ikeja

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Federal Operations Unit (F.O.U.) Zone ‘A’ of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Ikeja, has intercepted contraband with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N1.34 billion and through interventions, recovered N59.50 million. No fewer than 12 suspects have been nabbed by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone A, Ikeja, Lagos.

It also made 112 different seizures with a duty paid value (DPV) of one billion, three hundred and forty five million, five hundred and seventy two thousand, three hundred and thirteen naira.

Customs Area Controller (CAC), FOU, Zone ‘A’ Ikeja, Comptroller Muhammed Uba Garba who disclosed this in a chat with journalists said the contrabands were seized between 16th May and June 12, 2018, as a result of what he called “reinvigorated anti-smuggling operations” by is officers and men.

The seizures include 15 exotic vehicles including three Toyota C-HR, 2018 models; one Toyota Camry LE, 2018 model; one Toyota Prado, 2018 model; one Toyota Hilux, 2017 model, one Pajero Jeep, 2017 model; and one Mercedes-Benz, 2017 model.

Other seizures include 9,049 bags of foreign parboiled rice, 15 trailers; 1,464 cartons of frozen poultry products; 870 jerry cans of vegetable oil; 273 bales of used clothing, 592 pieces of used tyres popularly called tokunbo.

The CAC explained that the feat was achievable due to the change in the unit operational modalities and strategies via surveillance at the creek, water side and at various locations in the South-West geo-political zone.

He reiterated his commitment to the sustainability of the tempo with a view to re-positioning and re-activating the anti-smuggling ambience of the unit.

The Customs Chief praised the Comptroller General of Customs, Colonel Ibrahim Hameed Ali Ibrahim (retired), NCS management team and the media for what he called “their unflinching support and partnership” in the provision of logistics, motivation, sensitization and educating the public on the ills and dangers of smuggling to the economy of Nigeria.

Continuing, Garba said: “Let me commend our officers who have put their lives on the line in making these seizures possible, most especially the 15 trailers load of rice knowing fully well that it is a big battle at the creeks and bush paths. The resilience and doggedness of these patriotic officers and men is highly commendable.”

 

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Lagos terminals bus construction will be completed by December

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Lagos terminals bus construction will be completed by December

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Mr Ladi Lawanson,on Friday said the construction of 13 bus terminals across the city would be completed before December. Lawanson gave the assurance in Lagos at the opening of “Construction Summit 2018’’ organised by the Faculty of Environmental Sciences, University of Lagos.

Its theme is: “Smart Infrastructure for Sustainable Competitiveness.’’He said that not less than 3,000 jobs would be created at the completion of the bus terminals to enhance the living standards of people in the state.According to him, efficient transportation system is essential for economic development of any nation and needs to be given adequate attention.

The commissioner said that the bus terminals were part of Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode’s gift to the masses of the state, who daily use public transportation.

“The terminals will put an end to insecurity, unreliability, accident, traffic jam and mugging associated with the current commercial bus system in the state,” Lawanson said.

Contributing, Mr Akin Akindoyeni, the Chairman, Institute of Oil and Gas Research and Hydrocarbons Studies, said that housing was the pivotal centre of infrastructural development of any nation.

Akindoyeni said that all infrastructure- energy and power, transportation, communication, among others-, feed into the daily life of the populace.

“Where there is shortage of housing, there is bound to be a shortage of productive manpower, hence, low national production level.

“All participants in the economic effort of the nation should expect that the range of infrastructure available will also allow them to enjoy the comfort of their homes,” he said.

Also, Dr Wale Babalakin, the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman, Governing Council of UNILAG, said that policy inconsistency was a major key to sustainable infrastructural development.

Babalakin said that past administrations lacked adequate sustainable vital policies that could aid infrastructural growth.

According to him, policy somersaults is the causative factor of infrastructural decay and housing challenges in the country.

“The nation needs both social housing and rental housing, and if the government does not maintain policy continuity, the infrastructural and housing problem will remain,” he said.

How Citizens Can Curb The Excesses Of SARS

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How Citizens Can Curb The Excesses Of SARS
Are this men our friends?

[dropcap] D[/dropcap]uring the colonial era, the police force was set up to oppress and intimidate the Nigerian people, coerce and extort taxes from them and prevent them from challenging the ruthless exploitation of the human and natural resources of the country by the British colonial regime. For instance, not less than 55 women were brutally killed by the colonial police during the Aba women’s peaceful marches against excessive taxation in 1929. Twenty years later, 21 Enugu coal miners were also killed by the police while protesting against the slave wages paid by the colonial regime. Similarly, many workers who embarked on strikes to press for improved conditions of service were mowed down in other parts of the colony. In a grand cover up of the serious criminal and racist attacks, the colonial regime never prosecuted the policemen who committed such egregious human rights abuses.

Although Nigeria became politically independent in 1960 the local ruling class did not change the orientation and structure of the police. Professor Claude Ake once observed rather poignantly that “At independence, the form and function of the state in Africa did not change much. State power remained essentially the same, immense, arbitrary, often violent, always threatening.” The situation has remained the same in post colonial Africa where the police force has remained an integral part of the violent state apparatus. In Nigeria, members of the Nigeria Police Force have continued to behave like an army of occupation by subjecting citizens to harassment and brutalization without any sanction whatsoever.

Militarization of SARS The Special Anti Robbery Squad, SARS, is a typical offshoot of the colonial police. No doubt, SARS has acquired notoriety for unleashing violence on the people but its operations are not markedly different from those of the other departments of the Nigeria Police Force and other law enforcement agencies operating in the country.  It is pertinent to recall that SARS was established by the defunct military junta after the civil war to combat the menace of armed robbery. The outfit was set up based on the erroneous belief of former military dictators that armed robbery and other violent crimes could not be contained by armed police personnel.   Even though SARS was constituted by military and police personnel, majority of the members were soldiers. Regrettably, the situation has not changed under the current democratic dispensation.

Since its emergence in the maintenance of law and order in the country SARS has always operated like a military task force which engages in the reckless brutalization of armed robbery suspects and other “bloody civilians” who are accused of committing all manners of offences. All complaints of the excesses of SARS have been treated with disdain by successive military and police authorities. So, the officials of the security outfit operate above the law and have since specialized in the horrendous brutalization of the civilian populace.

Upon the restoration of civilian rule in 1999, the demand of the human rights community for the disbandment of SARS was discountenanced by the Federal Government. As there was no demilitarization of the society at the end of military rule SARS was left intact by the various state governments. It ought to be pointed out that apart from the payment of the salaries of the operatives of SARS by the Federal Government the task force is fully funded by all the state governments. But despite such funding of the operations of SARS, the state governments have failed to monitor the operations of SARS and halt the harassment and intimidation of law abiding citizens by the paramilitary outfit.

Are this men our friends?

The campaign for abolition of  SARS Notwithstanding that the federal and state attorneys-general are in charge of criminal prosecution in the country SARS has been allowed to engage in illegal media parade and extrajudicial execution of armed robbery and kidnap suspects. Before the recent popular agitations, several complaints of the illegal arrest, detention and brutalization of suspects and innocent citizens by SARS were ignored by governments. Owing to the failure of governments to sanction erring operatives of  SARS the impunity of the security outfit has been institutionalised. Having been left in the lurch by governments, many victims of police brutality and other aggrieved citizens have been compelled to join the popular agitation for the abolition of SARS. 

 

In fact, in responding to the campaign for the abolition of the SARS the authorities of the Nigeria Police Force have made it abundantly clear that the security outfit has come to stay. The official response is not surprising in view of the fact that the neo-colonial state has virtually lost the monopoly of violence to armed gangs in all the states of the federation. In the circumstance, the Nigerian people have no other alternative than to organize themselves and prevent SARS and other fascist law enforcement agencies from further brutalizing them. In this regard, the organizers of the #ENDSARS campaign deserve commendation for forcing the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris to embark on the reform of SARS.

Before now, the police headquarters had a penchant for defending the illegal operations of SARS. For instance, in 2009, the London based Amnesty International published a comprehensive book on the illegal killings of a number of suspects and other persons by the SARS in some states of the federation. Although the serious allegations of the gross human rights abuse contained in the book were not denied, the police authorities claimed that the publication was designed to expose the Federal Government to ridicule before the international community!

In 2014, I received many complaints pertaining to alleged disappearances of scores of armed robbery suspects in police custody. In the course of investigating the complaints our law firm found that not less than 532 armed robbery and kidnap suspects were arrested, detained and paraded at crowded press conferences addressed by police commissioners in all the states of the federation. To my utter dismay, majority of the suspects were illegally executed by the operatives of SARS! My call for a public inquiry into the secret executions of the suspects was ignored by the Federal Government. But in my private discussions with senior police officers I was informed that in the recent past, a number of notorious armed robbery suspects who were arraigned in court and admitted to bail pending trial had turned round to kill some of SARS operatives who arrested them. Hence, the resort to the extra judicial execution of armed robbery and kidnap suspects by SARS operatives with the connivance of authorities of the Nigeria Police Force!

Thus, even though armed robbery suspects are regularly paraded by police chiefs majority of them are no longer charged before criminal courts in any part of the country. Hence, when Chukwudume Onwamadike (a.k.a. Evans) was arrested in Lagos last year I had to warn the Inspector-General of Police to ensure that the suspect was not killed while attempting to escape from custody. I also called on the Attorney-General of Lagos State, Adeniji Kazeem Esq. to personally monitor the investigation and prosecution of the suspect.  Apart from the alleged notorious kidnapper only a handful of other armed robbery suspects are currently standing trial in Lagos state!

The danger of the resort to self help by the police is that many suspects who are paraded and killed by the SARS were not involved in armed robbery or any criminal offence whatsoever. There are instances when some operatives of the SARS in Lagos State had broken ranks and turned round to advise family members and friends of detained armed robbery suspects to contact our law firm. In such situations we have intervened    to frustrate the planned extra judicial execution of such suspects by SARS.  Invariably, they have been charged with armed robbery in the Lagos High Court.

I have noted that in a bid to prevent the courts from indicting the operatives of SARS for extrajudicial executions, criminal suspects are now shot in the back to give the impression that they were killed while trying to escape from custody! Others are said to have been killed during “shoot out” with the operatives of SARS. Instead of resorting to such jungle justice I have advised police authorities to request the judiciary to review the granting of bail to armed robbery and kidnap suspects. Whenever the proof of evidence discloses a prima facie case of armed robbery and kidnapping against suspects the courts ought to deny bail and speed up the trial.

While it is commendable that police authorities have resolved to sanction operatives of SARS who infringe on the human rights of the Nigerian people they must ensure that all indicted police officers are prosecuted and made to pay part of the damages awarded by the courts to victims of police brutality. This must be complemented by the determination of the federal and state Attorneys-General to give fiat to victims of police brutality to enforce judgment debts awarded by the courts against the Nigeria Police Force. Furthermore, members of the armed forces should be removed from SARS since it is the constitutional responsibility of the Police to maintain law and order in a democratic society. At the same time, the police personnel in the reconstituted SARS should be well trained, well motivated and well equipped to deal with dangerous crimes in the society. In addition, the teaching of basic human rights ought to be made compulsory in the police academy and similar institutions.

With the recent enactment of the Anti-Terror Act, 2017 by the National Assembly the relations and friends of any suspect killed in police custody should press charges against the culprits. Where the identity of the culprits is not disclosed an inquest  should be conducted to identify them with a view to prosecuting them. The government should also be made to pay compensation to the family members of suspects who are killed illegally in police custody. Using the law to curb the  excesses of SARS Over the years, many victims of police brutality have had to approach the courts for legal redress. Majority of the cases succeeded as the courts awarded damages running to hundreds of millions of naira to the victims of police brutality. But such damages have not been paid to victims as the judgments cannot be enforced against the Police without the fiat of the Attorney-General in line with the provision of section 84 of the Sheriffs and Civil Process Act. Not only are such damages not paid to the victims of police brutality the individual operatives of SARS indicted by the courts for human rights abuse have also been treated like sacred cows by the authorities of the police and the armed forces. In fact, there have been reports of many indicted police and armed forces personnel who have been rewarded with promotions and appointments. Thus, the efforts of the courts to halt the impunity of the police have not had any positive effect on the society.

However, it is germane to draw the attention of the Nigerian people to the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 which if implemented, can put an end to the atrocities of the SARS and other law enforcement agencies. For instance, the law has banned the police from subjecting criminal suspects to torture or degrading or inhuman treatment. To prevent the torture that is usually meted out to suspects the law has enjoined the authorities to provide facilities for video recording of confessional statements made by suspects during investigation. If bail is refused by the Police a suspect is at liberty to apply to a High Court since every suspect in custody is entitled to bail unless there are cogent reasons why bail should be refused. As a police officer is not competent to admit a murder suspect to bail the application shall be made to the High Court.

The law has also prohibited the Police from dabbling into debt recovery and other civil matters. The arrest of any person by the police in lieu of a criminal suspect has also been banned. Most importantly, the fundamental right of suspects to consult their lawyers before making statements has been recognized and protected. If a suspect is indigent and is unable to hire a lawyer the Government shall engage one for him/her. If any person is not going to be arraigned in a competent court within the maximum period of 24 or 48 hours prescribed by the Constitution the Police shall obtain a remand order from a Magistrate Court.  Legal advice in respect of any offence shall be made available not later than 2 weeks after the receipt of a case file by the office of the Attorney-General.

Furthermore, the law requires the Inspector-General of Police to compile the list of arrests made quarterly and enter same in the Central Criminal Registry while the Attorney-General of the Federation shall have a manual and electronic database of all arrests made in the country. An officer in charge of a police station or any other detention centre shall, on the last working day of every month, report to the nearest Magistrate the cases of all suspects arrested without warrant, whether the suspects have been admitted to bail or not. Upon the receipt of the reports the Magistrate shall forward them to the Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee which shall analyse the reports and advise the Attorney-General of the Federation as to the trends of arrests, bail and related matters.

The law has also empowered the Chief Judge of every State to designate Chief Magistrates or senior Magistrates who shall, at least every month, conduct an inspection of police stations and other places of detention within their territorial jurisdiction. During such visitations, the magistrates may order that suspects be admitted to bail or arraigned in competent courts. Based on our law firm’s request, the Chief Judges of Lagos state and the Federal Capital Territory have designated some Magistrates to conduct such visitation. Therefore, the recent announcement of the inspector-General of Police, Mr. Idris to allow the media representatives to inspect detention facilities of the SARS is not a favour. It ought to be pointed out that victims of human rights abuse have the right to file an application in a high court in the state where the violation has occurred or may occur. Even the dependants or representatives of any suspect killed in police custody or in any other detention centre may file a civil claim in a high court for damages payable by the Nigeria Police Force or any other authority or person.

However, indigent citizens who cannot afford the services of legal practitioners to secure the enforcement of their abused fundamental rights have the right to request the Legal Aid Council to provide legal representation for them. In the alternative, victims of human rights abuse have the right to lodge a complaint or submit a petition to the National Human Rights Commission or the Office of the Public Defender or Non-Governmental human rights bodies including the Nigerian Bar Association. Convinced that police brutality cannot end in an atmosphere of impunity, I am compelled to call on the National Assembly to repeal section 84 of the Sheriff and Civil Process Act which provides that a judgment creditor cannot garnishee the accounts of a public institution without seeking and obtaining the fiat of Attorneys-General.

The colonial legacy cannot be justified under section 287 of the Constitution which stipulates that the decisions of the High Court, Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court shall be enforced by all authorities and persons in Nigeria. If the judgment shall be enforced by all persons and authorities why should a judgment creditor seek the leave to enforce a judgment that is binding on the Attorney-General and the government? Happily, the Supreme Court has recently ruled that it is against the rules of natural justice to expect the Attorney-General who has been defeated in court to turn round and grant leave for to the judgment creditor to garnish the account of the government.

Finally, since the human rights community and individual civil rights advocates alone cannot successfully protect the people from the increasing wave of human rights abuse by security forces in the country it is high time that the victims of human rights abuse were mobilized to defend themselves. Therefore, the human rights community should immediately embark on massive enlightenment programmes to empower the people to challenge the infringement of the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights Act.

By Femi Falana-(SAN)
Culled from Vanguard

2019: ATIKU,OBASANJO IN FIGHT TO THE FINISH

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2019: ATIKU,OBASANJO IN FIGHT TO THE FINISH

[dropcap]S[/dropcap]equel to the resignation of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), there have been so many backlashes on the rumoured presidential ambition of the former number two citizen. But of all the criticisms trailing his ambition, the most striking is that of his former boss, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, whom many see as a major obstacle to Atiku’s ambition. Some highly influential Nigerians, including former President Goodluck Jonathan have advised the ex-VP to close ranks with Obasanjo in order to achieve his aim.

Though Atiku has not announced his presidential plans or the platform he will use, Jonathan had recently warned him not to ignore Obasanjo, even if he gets the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket. “If Atiku gets our party ticket, he would compete well. But he would have to reach out to our boss, Baba OBJ, the boss of all bosses.

We’ve all learnt at different times that you ignore OBJ at your peril. OBJ has the magic wand, he is respected at home and abroad”, Jonathan was quoted as saying. As if some Atiku’s traducers were waiting for his exit from the APC, they had immediately put to use an old video of Obasanjo’s interview where he gave reasons for not supporting his former ally.

The video, which had recently gone viral showed the retired General saying he couldn’t have allowed Atiku to succeed him, apparently because of the magnitude of the information at his disposal. “With what I know about Atiku, if I had put Atiku forward, God would not have forgiven me”, Obasanjo claimed in the video, said to have been recorded in 2015.

The insinuations from the video have portrayed Atiku as corrupt in the public view but the ex-VP had on Thursday in Lagos put paid to all the insinuations surrounding his source of wealth where he narrated how he established his business as far back as 1971. With this, it appears that the Atiku camp seems not to be deterred by Obasanjo’s outburst, as the team is also determined to fight back and call the bluff of the ex-president; this, Saturday Telegraph gathered, from sources close to both camps.

An impeccable source within the Obasanjo camp told Saturday Telegraph that with the stance taken by Atiku, it’s going to be a fight to the finish, just as he revealed how Atiku had refused to take advantage of two meetings meant to reconcile the old friends. The source claimed that though Atiku had been to Obasanjo’s home in Abeokuta, he said that was just a publicity stunt, revealing that there were two meetings called specifically for reconciliatory purposes that had been thwarted. “Some people tried to put all these crises to an end, they called two meetings for them within and outside the country but their efforts were frustrated.

It is a pity things are going this way. “But for the steps taken by Atiku and his die-hard supporters, the matter would have been settled long ago. Baba only wanted him to confess the allegations against him and apologise. He could just have done that but he botched it twice. “There had been two meetings called to settle this matter.

On the first occasion, he refused to apologise and he shunned the second one that was to be held outside Nigeria. “He attended the one in Nigeria but was adamant, he didn’t apologise. On the second meeting, baba was actually waiting for him in an East African country but Atiku did not show up. That was a great opportunity he missed. He would have been president if he hadn’t fought his benefactor. “Unknown to many people, baba actually brought him on board in 1999 to succeed him in 2007. If you remember, Atiku was already elected a governor in Adamawa but baba picked him as his

But in response from the other camp, a source linked with Atiku faulted the claim, saying that Obasanjo was becoming too overbearing for his former deputy, hence the need for Atiku to check his excesses. The Atiku’s ally was also of the opinion that the apology demanded by Obasanjo would not have changed anything because the former president had made up his mind and had publicly said he wont back Atiku. “Don’t believe everything they are saying, it is even people in Obasanjo’s camp that are scuttling all the reconciliation moves. They are not sincere.

What else do they want? If we call a meeting, they will make it public. Ask them why? “The last time Atiku was in Abeokuta, it was supposed to be a closed-door meeting, it wasn’t meant to be for the press, but when we got there, they had already briefed the media. “Whatever we do, they have a way of turning it around.

That’s why we went with our team for the Abuja meeting, in case they wanted to play pranks. The one they told you we didn’t attend was supposed to be in Ethiopia. “They didn’t tell you the country but I am telling you now that it was supposed to be in Ethiopia. They told Atiku late and he already had another engagement within the country.

“They can’t blame anybody for that. More so, why are they playing God? Is Obasanjo God? Let nobody play God, whatever would be, would be. 2019 is not a do-or-die matter, if God decrees that Atiku will rule, millions of Obasanjo cant stop it. We shall leave beyond 2019 by God’s grace.”

In the same vein, the National Youth Leaders Forum, has aligned itself with Jonathan, asking Atiku to seek reconciliation with his former boss. The group, in a statement signed by its National President, Comrade Elliot Afiyo, explained that its position is to clear the air, being a group that had been a party to the reconciliatory efforts so far made.Accusing some supporters of the former VP, the group alleged that some of the ex-VP’s aides were the cause of the unending crisis. “We make bold to say that aides of the former Vice President are responsible for the botch attempts to reconcile them, because Atiku, rather than listen to wisdom with no vested interest chose to listen to these aides. “Twice we had made moves to reconcile him with Baba, but, twice he had failed. Atiku is not that hard to bend, but his so-called loyal aides were responsible for those failed times we agreed.

“For the records, we make bold to say that those two times were in Nigeria and outside Nigeria, yet at the last minute, Atiku would bow to his aides and will not come. We want to appreciate Dr. Goodluck Jonathan for hitting the nail on the head.
“It is not too late, we are going to build on the suggestion of Jonathan to reach out to Atiku again for the reconciliation. Baba Obasanjo is the most forgiving person for those who are close to him. When you are wrong or make mistakes he will naturally chide you. “And it is for you to go back to him to apologise and promise not to repeat the mistake. He will surely forgive, that is Baba Obasanjo for you.

But, when your aides are telling you to do without him, then according to Jonathan, you are doing so at your own peril. “NLYF is using this opportunity to call again on Atiku, irrespective of his aspiration or ambition to do away with his aides’ hard stance and seek the reconciliation with Obasanjo and our doors are wide opened to be the channel for such”, the statement reads.

In response to our enquiries, Atiku’s Atiku’s Media Adviser, Mazi Paul Ibe, who spoke with our correspondent on the phone, denied knowledge of any botched meeting or any group that is linked with such reconciliatory efforts. Ibe however assured Nigerians that his principal would work with everybody that matters for the betterment of the nation and towards achieving a united country. “Atiku’s strength is his ability to gather people together and work with all shades of opinion from all sides. Be it Yoruba, Hausa or Igbo, Atiku will work with everybody and he has that ability to carry everybody along.

That is his strength. When probed further on the botched meeting with Obasanjo, he denied knowledge of such, saying, “I am not aware of any meeting and I don’t even know the group you are talking about. “Like I told you, I have said this in a recent interview and I am repeating it. Atiku will not discountenance the importance of carrying everybody along in order to build a consensus. Atiku is opened to all”, Ibe said.

How I started my business in 1971 – Atiku

In what seems like a denial to all the allegations of corruption against him, the former VP, while speaking in Lagos on Thursday explained how he made his money, revealing that he took his first business decision as far back as 1971. Atiku, who urged Nigerian youths to have more drive towards entrepreneurship, spoke after receiving the Honourary Achiever Award, at the Africa’s Youth Entrepreneurs Conference and Award. “I came to Lagos on June 29, 1969, and after my twoyear training with the Nigeria Customs Service; I was posted to the border station of Idi-Iroko.

At that time, the Badagry Road had not been constructed and the only means of transportation to the rest of the West African corridor was through the Idi-Iroko border to what used to be called Dahomey and what is now known as Benin Republic.

“On getting to Idi-Iroko, my first posting, I was not married and what I discovered was that the most promising business was transportation. Many pickup vans were transporting women traders from Ajase (Port Novo) to Lagos every morning, and every evening from Lagos back to Port Novo. “So I asked myself; how can I seize the opportunity of this moving business?

I came over to Lagos and in those days, SCOA was the sole distributor of Peugeot, so I went to SCOA and I signed a hire-purchase agreement and bought four of those pickups and gave them to four different drivers and every day they will bring their returns to me and at the end of the month, I will go to SCOA and pay them.

“I wasn’t married, so my salary was intact, and in addition I was saving from what I was getting from my transport business. So, sometime, to be an entrepreneur you must have the ingenuity to be an entrepreneur”, Atiku said, noting that the country’s education system in the early 1960s provided the Nigerian youths the opportunities to make diverse carrier choice. According to the former Vice President, “the educational system we operated in the First Republic provided our students then the opportunity to either go to universities or go to technical colleges or to go to crafts schools. There was never a dropout in that kind of educational system.

The dullest was trained on a skill and given the capital to start a business.” Atiku however regrets that “suddenly, Nigeria moved away from that to a system of education where you train only job seekers.” He pointed out that the products of this educational system didn’t know how to do anything else other than to seek for jobs, adding that they could not self-employ themselves.

“So, what I am trying to say is that my Nigeria is possible and your own Nigeria is possible”, he said. The former Vice President urged the youth to take advantage of the rebound in railway infrastructure that was built by the last administration to start a business initiative of transportation of goods across the country and reduce the reliance on heavy-duty trucks to convey those goods.

The faces for Imo 2019 Guber elections

Grassroots Newspapers Publishers Network
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The faces for Imo 2019 Guber elections

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t must now be obvious to Imo people that all politics is local and that there is really nothing spectacular about aligning with the government at the center. The most important thing in politics is that a state gets it right with its leadership. This simply means that every state of the Nigerian federation stands alone in defining how it pursues its development and how it interprets its desires. This has nothing to do with how the government at the center expresses its obligations.

For the Imolite therefore, 2019 offers another opportunity to get it right and define the leadership that will explore the potentials of the state and transform it using same.

I guess many in Imo state now realize that the state has since 1999 been on the wrong leadership pedestal. I also hope that the people now do realize that the comfort they had shown with leadership, at all levels, with persons of questionable character, has done the state more harm than good.

It is hoped that the realization of this will spur action towards correcting mistakes of the past with the 2019 general election. This, therefore, means that Imo people must rise beyond the demands of the immediate and begin to think of their state in future tenses.

Being futuristic ought to make the people sit back and evaluate what they have been through in the hands of those they empower to administer the fortunes of the state including House of Assembly members, House of Representatives members, and members of the Senate.

It also means that the people must begin to envision a state where integrity and vision are more cherished values than financial worth.

Sadly, the last has been the bane of leadership in the heartland state. Many will prefer to deal with the moneybag who promises transformation without questioning the sources of wealth. Our preference for such has brought the state to where it is today.

Imo once noted for hard work and integrity, sadly took a dive into a pool where hard work and integrity are no longer essentials for leadership. We forgot that in the labour maxim which says that if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys for workers lies a truth that if you worship cash, you get a Robin Hood, or Dillinger, for a leader.

Those who have followed leadership evolution of Imo state since 1999 will realize that our decent started immediately we allowed persons of questionable wealth to return to hijack our traditional institution.

They became our traditional rulers not an account of inheritance or merit, but on account of the fact of how much they threw around bastardizing the traditional leadership system in the process.

Having successfully hijacked the traditional institution while our youths clapped after working as foot soldiers, they embarked on a conquest process whereby likes were enthroned as red caps dominating the traditional cabinet and community leadership. Such characters eventually took over town union leadership. The conquest was total.

With this gradual erosion of traditional ethos and values, we began a descent into the system whereby our worse became our best. We, therefore, valued financial worth to cerebral worth. Our academics thus meant nothing to us because they did not have the cash to throw around.

Those with technical know-how were derided because they did not have the millions to announce at community luncheon.

Men of value and integrity took the back seat because our communities no longer valued them on account of their lean pockets. And without saying much, we told our children that it was better to come back with deep wallets than a bag of certificates.

Those we supported to conquer our traditional institutions because of their cash, soon realized that the local level was not the place to be. They branched out and made attempts at political representation.

It was for this reason that our political leadership space is dominated by persons whose integrity had huge questions marks. This was possible because we allowed a political recruitment system that honoured money above integrity.

We seemed comfortable with the fact that they used political leadership to launder themselves. They became Governors, Senators, Representatives, Assemblymen etc., but with serious integrity deficits that made it difficult for them to speak truth to power.

Many were always reminded of their past each time they attempted to question policies that worked against those they represent. For this reason, we were left with a dump of leaders who feared their past more than they like their future.

But with deep pockets, they still retain their political leadership positions because they understand that we value how much they shared during elections.

Note that this is not peculiar to Imo state. However, there is nowhere this is more pronounced than in Imo state. For this reason, Ndi Imo has had to settle not for their cerebral bests as political leaders, but for persons who ought to have nothing to do with the leadership of a people noted for scholarship and learning. If we look at the history of Imo state since creation, we will see that those who actually gave the state a name and image, were persons of great learning and industry; academics and professionals whose names opened gates for Imo state.

Compare that to what we have today and see where the decent had dropped us. As 2019 governorship election draws near, the names of hopefuls that make noise impact are those of shadowy characters and wealth, not those of professionals and persons who worked themselves through the public service ladder.

The reason this is so is that we have educated our children to value wealth much more than the names they bear. Whatever happens along the way in the quest to make such wealth, does not necessarily matter because we are told that the end justifies the means.

That phrase –the end justifies the means- has contributed greatly in leaving Imo where it is today on the human development ladder. Imo now has a horde of moneybags who can’t defend the names they bear.

Imo state is now left with political leaders who do not understand critical development issues neither can they articulate, argue nor defend issues of the environment and ecology and their impacts on human development.

Simply put, Imo is left with political leaders who view leadership from the prism of how much every government venture delivers to their private pockets than how well society becomes through strategic investments in education, health, and infrastructure.

Take a look backward. Imagine how much Imo state has made from IGR and intervention funds alone. Is there a suggestion that it is impossible for the state to build and equip just one world-class medical institution that is strategically placed to also attract medical tourism into the state?

This is not an impossible task but because the leadership we have had preferred to stumble through without vision and tact.

Our incumbent went on masturbatory feel with the construction of what he said were general hospitals in each of the 27 council areas of the state none of which is completed more than seven years into his leadership of the state.

Imagine that all the money wasted on the 27 buildings were sunk in building a world-class pediatric and maternal care hospital, or even on improving facilities at the Imo State University Teaching Hospital.

For our love for flowery characters, Imo state is dotted with abandoned projects. For the same reason, Imo is landmarked by failed projects which have left the initiators richer than the state.

In our leadership quest, therefore, we allow our political leadership system to be infested with persons whose sole aim is to become richer. This is why Imo state is suffering such that despite its monthly take home from the federation account, it still has a huge debt burden that weighs negatively on its per capita income.

This is reason Imolites must now sit up and work for the enthronement of a political leadership system that respects integrity and character.

In 2019 therefore, the character of people we elect as governor, senator, representatives, assemblyman etc., must count. Imo people must begin to realize that likes attract likes.

If you insist on empowering questionable characters with your votes, you would have ended up empowering him to surround himself with persons he is comfortable with and such persons cannot be upright characters.

If you give a banana to a monkey, it is expected that other monkeys will join him in the feast. I do not expect a dove to dine with hyenas. We must begin to look at peoples past records to establish what they had accomplished as private citizens before we trust them with political office.

It is trite that no man who has failed in managing private business and resources will make a success in managing public resources.

It is time for the Imolite to review the character quotient of those that seek to lead him and vote in those whose past records won’t stop from questioning issues that affect them.

Grassroots Publishers

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