Bomb Razes Opposition Building In Rivers

Port Harcourt - Unknown assailants threw
dynamite at an opposition coalition secretariat in
Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta on Friday,
destroying the building but not claiming any
casualties, police and party officials said.
"Around 3 a.m. today the youths attacked the
APC secretariat at Ngor. The entire building was
razed to the ground in the fire. I'm calling on the
commissioner of police to investigate the matter,"
local opposition All Progressives Congress (APC)
official Ikwut Emmanuel said of the incident in
Rivers state.
Ahmed Muhammad, a police spokesman for
Rivers, confirmed the incident but had no details
as it was still being investigated, he said.

Also read: Bomb found at Ebonyi APC
headquarter

Nigeria holds presidential and governorship
elections on Feb. 14 that are likely to be its
closest and hardest-contested since the end of
military rule in 1999, with President Goodluck
Jonathan facing off against former military ruler
Muhammadu Buhari of the APC.
Violence is rising ahead of the polls, and Rivers
state, where outgoing Governor Rotimi Ameachi
defected to the APC in 2013, is considered one of
the major flashpoints.
Nigeria has a history of political thuggery and
intimidation that have often marred its polls. The
insurgency by Islamist group Boko Haram, which
wants to establish an Islamic state in northeast
Nigeria, is also surging ahead of the election.

President Goodluck Jonathan Hopeful Of Female President

Abakaliki - President Goodluck Jonathan on
Friday expressed the hope of a woman
becoming Nigeria’s president in his life time.
Jonathan, who said this at the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) presidential rally in
Abakaliki, Ebonyi, noted that women in the
country were intelligent and hard working.
He insisted that women should be
encouraged to participate in governance,
especially politics.
"My hope is that a female will one day
occupy the position of the president of this
country.

       "I will also like to see Nigerian women who
have distinguished themselves in their
various field make more global impact,’’ he
said.
Jonathan, who commended women for
supporting PDP, solicited their support by
voting for him in the Feb. 14 presidential poll.
Similarly, the First Lady, Dame Patience
Jonathan, who addressed women at the
campaign, urged them to vote for the
president as "one of their own".
"Nigerian women, you cannot exchange your
own for another.
"You must belong to a place or group where
you are accorded full recognition.
"And PDP is that place; we have no other
party," she said.

Nwike Escapes Death As Gunmen Storms Rally

The governorship candidate
of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in
Rivers State, Nyesom Wike on Thursday
escaped death as unknown gunmen shot
sporadically to disrupt his campaign rally at
Abua Central in Abua/Odual local government
area of the state, reports Daily Post.
The gunmen fired shots to dispel Wike and
his supporters, who had gathered at the
Palace of the Abua kingdom.
They were in the palace for royal blessings.

One of the attackers was shot dead by one
of the security operative attached to Wike.
aspirant.
Wike accused the ruling All Progressives
Congress (APC) in the state of
masterminding the attack.

Former Adamawa acting governor dumps PDP for APC

State, James Barka has dumped the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) for the All
Progressives Congress (APC), reports
Premium Times.
Barka, who was also a former Speaker of the
state assembly announced his defection
during the APC campaign rally in Ganye.
He said he left the PDP as a result of the
party’s failure to conduct it’s affairs in
accordance with the provision of its
constitution and democratic norms.
         Barka had aspired for the PDP governorship ticket but lost to Nuhu Ribadu.

Fuel Subsidy Fraud: Court Adjourns Trial Of Oil Marketer

Ikeja- An Ikeja High Court on Tuesday adjourned
the trial of an oil marketer, Rowaye Jubril,
charged with N963.7 million fuel subsidy fraud, till
Feb. 16, 2015.
Jubril was charged before Justice Lateefat
Okunnu by the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC).
He is being prosecuted alongside his company,
Brila Energy Ltd., over the alleged N963.7 million
fuel subsidy fraud.
The EFCC alleged that the defendant obtained the
money from the Federal Government for the
purported importation of 13 500 metric tonnes of
petrol.
At the resumption of proceedings, the judge said
that the EFCC counsel, Seidu Atteh, had sent a
letter to the court, in which he apologised for his
absence.
Atteh had informed the court that he had travelled
to Malta for an official training and pleaded for an
adjournment.
The defence team, led by Raphael Oluyede, did
not oppose Atteh’s request for an adjournment.
Okunnu, therefore, adjourned the matter till
February 16, for continuation of trial.

Top cleric doubts military in Boko Haram fight

Kano - One of Nigeria's most powerful Muslim
leaders, the emir of Kano, has voiced support for
vigilantes fighting Boko Haram, urging others to
form civilian militias and questioning the
competence of the military.
The comments were made by Sanusi Lamido
Sanusi, who became emir earlier this year after
being sacked from his post as the central bank
governor, where he was one of the government's
most high-profile critics.
It is extremely rare for Nigeria's clerics to speak
explicitly about political and military affairs, but
many expected Sanusi to defy convention and
inject himself into public debate after assuming
the highly influential post.
"People should be sensitised on the importance of
being on the alert. And they should prepare, they
should acquire what they will defend themselves
with," Sanusi said during Friday prayers at the
central mosque in Kano, the largest city in
Nigeria's mainly Muslim north.
AFP obtained a copy of the transcript of the
recording on Monday. While Sanusi did not
mention Boko Haram by name, it was clear he
was discussing efforts to resist the Islamist
rebels.
"Those that are endowed as hunters and
vigilantes should apply this endowment given to
them by Allah as an avenue of earning divine
reward in defending their nation," he said.
Nigeria's military has been cooperating with
various vigilante forces in the northeast for more
than a year, often relying on civilians to do the
bulk of the fighting against the insurgents.
Witnesses said it was vigilantes who recaptured
the symbolically important northeast town of
Chibok from Boko Haram at the weekend, with
troops staying clear of the heavy fighting.
Chibok was where the extremists kidnapped 276
schoolgirls in April. Fifty-seven have escaped.
"We should not wait for soldiers to come, before
they come the carnage will have been done,"
Sanusi told the congregation. "Some of them drop
their guns and flee."
The military has repeatedly been accused of
leaving civilians defenceless against Boko Haram
attacks and failing to respond to distress calls
made in advance of raids.
While Sanusi's comments were similar to those
made by President Goodluck Jonathan's critics,
they may feed added resentment towards the
government because the emir of Kano is expected
to stay above the political fray.
Days after Jonathan sacked him from the central
bank, Sanusi told AFP that the president was a
"simple" man who had been misled and
manipulated by incompetent advisors.
Officially, Sanusi is the number two Islamic cleric
in Nigeria, home to more than 80 million Muslims.
But many consider the emir of Kano to be more
influential than the sultan of Sokoto, who is the
country's top Islamic leader.

N25bn Fraud: Igbinedion, Others will know fate January 30 - EFCC

Find the EFCC press release below.... 

Federal High Court sitting in Benin, Edo State yesterday reserved ruling in the N25billion money laundering and abuse of office charge brought against Micheal Igbinedion and Charles Eboigbodin by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for January 30, 2015.

Justice J. Liman on Friday November 14, 2014, fixed the January 30 date for judgement after the adoption of written addresses by counsel: Rotimi Jacob SAN for the prosecution and Mike Ozekhome SAN, Ricky Tafa SAN and Barr. Richard O. Ahonaruogo for the accused persons

 The accused persons along with their companies: Gava Corporation Limited; Romrig Nigeria Limited; PML Securities Company Limited and PML Nigeria Limited, were arraigned by the anti- graft agency on a 81-count charge bothering on Money Laundering, Misappropriation of funds, conspiracy and Abuse of office.

While addressing the court, Jacobs hinged his submission on the testimonies of prosecution witnesses which, according to him, corroborated the charge, with emphasis on the several public funds deposited into private accounts, and how government funds were used to repay loans collected by former governor Lucky Igbinedion while he was in office.

Jacobs then prayed the court to "accept the prosecution’s case as presented and convict the accused persons as charged".
But before closing his address, the prosecuting counsel called the attention of the court to the inability of the bailiff to serve the summon earlier issued by it on the former Edo State governor, who failed to present himself in court, after the Appeal Court decision in April, asking him to return to the High Court for trial.
Jacobs disclosed that all efforts by the bailiff to serve Lucky Igbinedion with the summon, met a brick wall as  he was always turned back from the gate by security men who told him on all occasions that Igbinedion was out of town.

The EFCC counsel then prayed the court to permit a substituted service of the summon on the last known address of Igbinedion.
"May I apply that the first accused person be served by allowing the prosecution paste the notice at the known address,” he said.

But Justice Liman advised the prosecuting counsel to make an application. According to him, "the summon has expired, you can reapply or ask for a substituted service as there are other means of service. Prosecution must make another application."

Wilson Uwujaren
Head, Media & Publicity
14th November, 2014