IMPERATIVES OF PRIVATIZING NIGERIA'S REFINERIES.

PETROLEUM Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke’s curious claim that the fears of workers’ agitation were holding up the planned sale of the country’s ailing refineries betrays an attitude of a government willing to justify its deliberate refusal to act in the overall interest of Nigerian citizens. This is hardly a tenable explanation for inaction, especially in a major oil-producing country where the importation of refined petroleum products is preferred to local refining, a choice that has resulted in periodic artificial scarcity in the midst of plenty.

Although workers have threatened to oppose the sale, which is natural, this should not be enough to cow the government into submission. If the government could not give in to electricity workers’ threats and opposition to the sale of another notoriously corrupt and inefficient public organisation — the Power Holding Company of Nigeria — there is no reason for the situation to be different now.

Nigeria’s four refineries at Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna, under the management of a government firm, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, have been perennially producing at an average of 22 per cent capacity. Rather than further the interest of the nation, the refineries, initially designed to take care of Nigeria’s local fuel consumption and even spare some for export, have been turned into conduits for siphoning public funds.

HUMAN PARTS MARKET UNCOVERED IN IBADAN.

Human parts dealers are usually brutal and without the minutest mercy.

To both passers-by and residents of Soka, a satellite community of Ibadan, along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the scene could have been right out of a horror movie.  They were Saturday shocked by the discovery of human skulls, decomposed bodies and dismembered human parts in a site so close to the ever-busy arterial highway.

The circumstances leading to the discovery of the underground house of horror – known as Ajaale in Yoruba language – were still unclear at the time of filing this report. Onlookers converged around the scene in their thousands, confounded by the gory sight. Littered all over the grounds were identity cards (apparently belonging to the victims) as well as discarded clothes and shoes.

Among the unsettling discovery made in the area yesterday were containers of dried dismembered human parts. Several human parts and skulls littered the scene corroborating the allegation that people were being butchered here. Some bodies were also discovered in deep dried wells, where their captors could have dropped them.

A derelict factory building in the area was suspected to be where the captives were slaughtered and sold in parts to their clients.  This was corroborated by bloodstains on the floor and what could have been wooden slaughter slabs.

About 18 emaciated males and five females, chained on their legs, were also freed from captivity in the site. Among the captives freed from the gory abode of horror was an aged woman, who was kidnapped and kept in the dungeon since 2008.

Another female captive, said to have been delivered of a baby early Saturday but the infant was sold, was also released with bloodstains on her. Asked how she found herself in the area, she managed to utter a few words and then fainted. There were also about nine captives lying on the ground, too weak to speak.

More skulls, bones and dismembered parts were discovered in the neighbouring bush. Also discovered were open graves, where bodies were dumped.

It was gathered that the forest was a market of sorts for human parts with buyers visiting the area at night. Eyewitness accounts confirmed that many high-profile people usually patronised the area especially at night. 

A source also revealed that some Fulani herdsmen had often been seen in the area grazing their cattle.

One Akeem Isiaka, 38, was arrested at the scene and taken away by security agents to Sanyo Police station.

When contacted, the Oyo State Police Command spokesperson, Mrs Olabisi Clet-Ilobanafor said some arrests were made Saturday, but the prime suspect is still at large. The police spokesperson also said some security personnel have been detailed to cordon off the scene to prevent people from taking the law into their hands.

It would be recalled that a cobbler was in June last year arrested for the alleged murder of a commercial motorcycle (known as Okada) operator of Northern Nigerian extraction in the Soka area.

The cobbler, Kazeem Bamidele a.k.a. Kazzy International Shoe Works, was arrested with human parts. The police, who had reportedly taken him to the shack, which served as his workshop, discovered the decapitated head and dismembered legs of the victim hidden inside a bush behind the wooden shop.

Bamidele was said to have been apprehended with an accomplice in the act by two members of a vigilante security outfit by around 1 am. The security men were suspicious of their late night activities and had interrogated them.

Nothing has since been heard of this case after the suspects were taken into custody by the police. 

MARY KONYE WHO THREW ACID AT HER FRIEND'S FACE HAS BEEN JAILED FOR 12 YEARS.

A woman who threw acid in the face of a friend while wearing a veil as a disguise has been jailed for 12 years. Naomi Oni, 22, suffered burns to her face and chest in the attack near her home in Dagenham, east London, in December 2012. 

Mary Konye, 22, of Canning Town, allegedly attacked Ms Oni because she had called her ugly. In a victim impact statement, Ms Oni said she had at times felt suicidal since the attack due to her appearance.

Judge David Radford told Konye the consequences of her "deliberate" and "wicked act" had been "devastating to Miss Oni".

It was a "premeditated and callous" plan to "burn and disfigure" her victim, he added.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUARTER FINALS DRAWS.

Draws for the Quarter final matches of the Uefa Champions League was held today. Below are the pairings.

Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid

Real Madrid vs Borrusia Dortmund 

PSG vs Chelsea

Manchester United vs Bayern Munich

D'BANJ'S "KOKO GARRI" IS OUT, SOAK YOURS TODAY.

D'banj has launched his branded garri called "KOKO GARRI" and the commodity is expected to hit the market soon. The launching took place at the One Do Agric Campaign in Abuja on Thursday.

NIS STAMPEDE TRAGEDY AND OUR HYPOCRISY.

Outrage is raging against the death of 19, among them four pregnant women, at the Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS, recruitment exercise. Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, in reaction to calls for his resignation, said he needed to stick around to fix the problem. Nigerians seem aghast at the disregard for life. Why the hypocrisy?

Is this the first time people died during NIS recruitments? What happened about the screaming headlines? When did lives become so unimportant in Nigeria?Morro may be sacked or keep his job. None of the options scratches the problem; none would ensure there is no repeat next year with more casualties.

The only gain from his sack could be that government would start punishing those who allow things go wrong under their charge. It would open a chapter of responsibility in our national life and expectedly new challenges. Who would be punished for thousands of lives lost to Boko Haram attacks? Everybody or nobody, some would argue, since terrorists took those lives. There seems to be a selective appreciation of life.

THE US CORRUPTION REPORT ON NIGERIA - TOTAL TRAGEDY.

THE United States government’s recent report on the role of the government in the proliferation of corruption in Nigeria offers a fresh and undeniable insight into why graft is so deeply entrenched in the Nigerian system. If the government that should stamp out corruption is now actively protecting corrupt individuals, then no amount of posturing will produce results.

However, for a government that is responsive to constructive criticism – a government that means well for the people – the report is an opportunity for the Goodluck Jonathan Administration to act by taking firm, honest and decisive steps to rid Nigeria of the perennial tag of one of the world’s most corrupt nations.

In a detailed and frank assessment that could only be described as stating the obvious, the report, entitled, “Corruption and Lack of Transparency in Government,” confirmed the often-stated view that the efforts of the anti-graft agencies are deliberately stymied by the government. The allegation of deliberately emasculating the anti-corruption agencies brings to mind reports last year in which the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission confessed that it was broke.

In one of such reports, the EFCC Secretary, Emmanuel Adegboyega, told the Senate Committee on Drugs, Narcotics, Financial Crimes and Anti-Corruption in December last year, “We (EFCC) have been complaining that no money has been released to us for operations. As of now, we don’t have up to N2 million. If we can afford to pay salaries this month that is all.” For an agency whose functions are defined by the number of arrests and prosecution of corrupt individuals across the country, how can those functions be effectively discharged without money for legal fees and travel expenses? How can they be motivated if salaries are not paid?

Interestingly, one of the other cases of corrupt practices the US report cited was the curious state pardon granted a former Bayelsa State governor, Diepriye Alamieyeseigha. Aside from his conviction for treasury looting and money laundering, Alamieyeseigha, who is still a wanted person in the United Kingdom, served time in Nigeria and also had his tenure as governor truncated, paving the way for Jonathan, then his deputy, to replace him. The state pardon implies that the former governor, who, as an ex-convict, could not occupy public office, whether appointive or elective, can now do so. Indeed, Jonathan has nominated him to the ongoing National Conference. That is a dangerous signal to the outside world for a government that professes commitment to fighting corruption.

In a similar damning report last year, the then US Ambassador to Nigeria, Terence McCulley, reportedly told the Nigerian government to demonstrate more courage and conviction in its crusade against graft, insisting that it was the only way to “send a clear signal that the country is indeed committed to good governance, to the security of its citizens, and to its rightful place as a significant actor on the global stage.”

Unfortunately, corruption has been identified as the major reason for the arrested development in the country. It is responsible for reduced public spending, which results in huge infrastructure deficits, especially poor roads, lack of electricity, inadequately-equipped hospitals and low quality of education. It is also fingered in the pervasive insecurity in the country, low quality of governance and general poor standard of living. 

Under the current administration, corruption has become particularly daring, even more than anytime before. Even when the President stated clearly his readiness to fight corruption, the government had been less than convincing in its manner of handling corruption cases. For instance, after ordering a series of probes into stolen oil subsidy money in which the country lost more than N2 trillion, an amount far in excess of Nigeria’s capital budget for this year, nobody has been convicted more than two years after.

Faced with brazen and self-evident corruption case in the purchase of two cars for N255 million for a former Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah, it still took the President four months to reluctantly fire her. He initially set up a committee to investigate a straightforward case, apparently to find a way to avoid sacking the minister.

The US report alleges that, in Nigeria, “Massive, widespread and pervasive corruption affected all levels of government and the security forces.” While alleging that judges were not left out of the massive corruption ring, the report accused the government of not implementing the law on corruption effectively, thus deliberately allowing “officials (to) frequently engage in corrupt practices with impunity.” These are, possibly, part of what the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, saw when he cried out that the President’s “body language” encouraged corruption.

Indeed, the US report went far, but only to the extent of the period it covered, which was 2013. Since the beginning of this year, there have been allegations of missing funds, meant for the Federation Account, and for further distribution among federal, state and local governments. But, for alleging that about $12 billion – later $20 billion – had not been accounted for, the Central Bank Governor, Lamido Sanusi, was placed on suspension and a forensic audit ordered later. Why the hurry in suspending the CBN governor instead of investigating his allegations first? The government says the suspension will pave the way for the investigation of allegations of financial recklessness against the CBN governor.

Although both the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and the government said only $10.8 billion was unaccounted for, it is still a huge sum of money. Only a fraction of that money can build the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the East-West Road and the Second Niger Bridge. It is money that could have staved off the prolonged university teachers’ strike that nearly cost the institutions a full academic session.

The Nigerian government owes the people a duty to tackle corruption boldly by adequately funding the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission. Besides, corrupt individuals should never be allowed to go scot-free; that is the only way to stem the tide of impunity in the country.

REPS PROBES DIEZANI'S( MINISTER OF PETROLEUM RESOURCES) N10B EXPENSE ON PRIVATE JET.

The House of Representatives on Thursday passed a resolution to probe an alleged spending of N10bn by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, to charter and maintain a jet for her personal use.

The resolution indicated that the minister spent 500,000 Euros or N130m monthly to maintain the aircraft in the last two years.

“Thus, in the last two years, the minister has committed at least N3.120bn to maintaining the private jet, which is used solely for her personal needs and those of her immediate family, which is an appalling act”, the sponsor of the motion, Mr. Samuel Adejare, told the House.

MEGA ENDORSEMENT DEALS OF NAIJA ENTERTAINERS.

A good number of Nigerian brands, especially in the telecommunications and banking sectors are now associating with creative personages in music and acting, to make their brands more endearing to their targeted audiences.

The trend which started a little over five years ago, has gained more relevance as a result of increasing exposure to television.

The popularity of  the entertainment industry is also giving fillip to brand ambassadorship. Top celebrities in the Nigerian creative industry have, in the last five years, found this growing business a new way of making huge earnings. Some Nigerian top stars who have bagged major endorsement deals include;

NIS STAMPEDE: FOUR SURVIVORS SUE NIS, FG AND MINISTER OF INTERIOR AFFAIRS.

The dust emerging from the NIS nationwide recruitment tragedy last Saturday where about 18 Nigerians including 4 pregnant women lost their lives is yet to settle.

Four survivors of the recent recruitment exercise of the Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS, that resulted in the death of eighteen persons nationwide, yesterday, dragged the Federal Government to court.

In an originating summons they entered before the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, the plaintiffs, Charles Ugwuonye, Friday Danlami, Chinedu Onwuka and Samson Ojo urged the court to declare that the conduct of the recruitment exercise was illegal, unwarranted and amounted to a gross violation of the applicants’ fundamental rights to life.

AMAZING!!!!! BREEDER SELLS 2 DOGS FOR N495M ($3M).

A Chinese dog breeder said that a property developer paid him 18 million yuan ($3 million) for Tibetan mastiff twins, highlighting how the breed has become a status symbol for China's rich.

The large, slobbery dog with massive amounts of hair used to be best known for herding sheep in Tibet, but has now become a luxury for the ultra-rich who want to spread their wealth beyond stocks and real estate.
Breeder Zhang Gengyun said he sold the 1-year-old twin male dogs to a single buyer at a luxury dog fair Tuesday in wealthy Zhejiang province, located on China's east coast. The sales were reported by the local Qianjiang Evening News.

One of the twins — a golden-haired Tibetan mastiff — was sold for $12 million yuan, and his red-haired brother went for $6 million yuan. Zhang said the buyer, from eastern Shandong province, paid him the 18 million yuan with his credit card.



Zhang denied the sale was a ploy by breeders to hype the price of Tibetan mastiffs and said he was reluctant to sell the twins. "It's a real deal," he said.

The more expensive golden-haired dog was 80 centimeters (31.5 inches) tall and weighed 90 kilograms (200 pounds).

"His hair is bright and he has a dead-drop gorgeous face," said the breeder. "Usually he's quiet and gentle, but when a stranger shows up, he could bark endlessly and bite."

Zhang said the unnamed buyer might start breeding Tibetan mastiffs himself.

"The Tibetan mastiff is as treasured in China as the giant panda, so people consider it a symbol of higher social status," he said.

Liu Na, organizer of a Tibetan mastiff fair in Beijing, said the average price for one of the dogs is several hundreds of thousands of dollars. The price tag usually depends on the breeder's expectations, the buyer's appreciation of the dog and the bargaining between the two, she said.

"It's just like deals done when buying antiques," Liu said. "But it isn't uncommon for a breeder to hype a price in order to raise his profile in the industry, just like a celebrity can inflate his or her

NIGERIA DEFEATS COLOMBIA TO REACH NEXT ROUND OF U-17 WOMEN WORLD CUP. COLOMBIA 1 - NIGERIA 2.

COL 1 NIG 2

Nigeria scored a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over a gallant Colombia to earn a quarter-final berth alongside Mexico and at the same time end the hopes of the South Americans.

Needing all three points to stay alive in Group D, Colombia burst out of the blocks with a third minute goal as Angie Rodriguez looped a header from a perfect Nancy Acosta cross over the head of stranded goalkeeper Onyinyechukwu Okeke.

Nigeria drew level just past the midway point of the opening half with Joy Bokiri curling in a perfectly flighted free-kick from the edge of the penalty area.

Nigeria took the lead for the first time approaching the hour mark as some sloppy marking from a corner allowed the tall figure of Uchenna Kanu to nod the ball in unchallenged at the back post.

Midfielder Ihuoma Onyebuchi then rattled the Colombia crossbar with a first time strike from distance with the South Americans increasingly on the back foot.

Colombia goalkeeper Monica Florez memorably pulled off four successive blocks during one almighty goalmouth scramble as they desperately hung on.

The win leaves Nigeria sharing top spot with Mexico, while Colombia will now tackle China PR with each seeking their maiden points of the competition.

VIETNAMESE BLOGGER JAILED FOR 15 MONTHS FOR CRITICAL POSTS AGAINST GOVERNMENT.

A Vietnamese court sentenced a dissident blogger to 15 months in prison for posting online criticism of the government, the latest case in an intensifying crackdown against dissent in the one-party communist country.

At a two-hour trial at the Hanoi People’s Court, Judge Ngo Tu Hoc said on Wednesday that Pham Viet Dao was guilty of “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe the interests of the state” by posting dozens of articles that “distorted, vilified and smeared the senior leaders”.

Dao, 61, confessed to the court and apologised for the “erroneous” details in some of his posts, but said he did not do that on purpose.

JONATHAN IS STILL ON A SACKING SPREE AS NNPC'S DIRECTOR OF EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION LOSES HIS JOB.

President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday sacked the Group Executive Director, Exploration and Production, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mr. Abiye Membere, and appointed five new ones to fill existing vacancies.

According to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, the new appointees and their portfolios are Mr. Ian Udoh, Group Executive Director, Refining and Petrochemicals; Dr. Dan Efebo, Group Executive Director, Corporate Services; and Ms. Aisha Abdurrahman, Group Executive Director, Business Development.

Others are Mr. Adebayo Ibirogba, Group Executive Director, Engineering and Technical; and Dr. Joseph Dawha, Acting Group Executive Director, Exploration and Production. Abati said the appointments took immediate effect. Among the GEDs, the one in charge of the Exploration and Production is one of the most influential in the hierarchy of the NNPC because the department is responsible for producing the crude oil that is the mainstay of the Nigerian economy. It was gathered that some of the old GEDs had retired from the corporation without the government filling their positions, while some served in acting capacities. 

FG OFFERS AUTOMATIC EMPLOYMENT TO FAMILIES OF IMMIGRATION TRAGEDY.

President Goodluck Jonathan has directed that three employment slots be reserved for the families of those who died during the stampede that occurred during the recruitment exercise conducted by the Nigerian Immigration Service on Saturday nationwide.

Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, disclosed this to State House correspondents on Wednesday at the end of the Federal Executive Council meeting which was devoted to the incident.

He said one of the three beneficiaries must be a lady.

ISLAMIC CLERIC WHO ABUSED 13 YEAR OLD GIRL EVADES JAIL.

An Islamic teacher who sexually abused a young girl as he taught her the Koran has been spared prison after a court was told he is on benefits and his wife speaks ‘very little English’.

Spared prison: Islamic teacher Suleman Maknojioa sexually abused a young girl as he taught her the Koran

Suleman Maknojioa, 40, repeatedly rubbed the 11-year-old’s leg and even reached underneath the long folds of her prayer headscarf to squeeze her chest whilst giving her and her two brothers private tuition in Arabic.

(VIDEO) LIVERPOOL DESTROYS MANCHESTER UNITED AT OLD TRAFFORD. ManU 0 Liv 3.

MANU 0 LIV 3

CLICK HERE TO WATCH HOW MANCHESTER WERE EMBARRASSED AT OLD TRAFFORD BY LIVERPOOL.

(HIGHLIGHTS) China 1 - Nigeria 2.. FIFA U-17 Women World Cup

CHINA 1 NIGERIA 2

CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO.

The Constitution Vs. The Generals - Femi

Until a fortnight ago, the Ministry of Defense had no substantive minister for over 22 months. Erelu Olusola Obada, a Minister of State for defense was directed by President Goodluck Jonathan to superintend the defense ministry for over a year. And when she was relieved of her post in a cabinet reshuffle last year the Information Minister, Labaran Maku was saddled with the responsibility of supervising the Ministry of Defense.

It is on record that both Mrs. Obada and Mr. Labaran Maku allowed the Chief of Defense Staff to operate as the de facto Minister of Defense. Under the arrangement the Chief of Defense Staff had direct access to the President. But with the rising onslaught of the Boko Haram sect in the north east zone of the country President Jonathan was recently compelled to appoint a substantive Minister of Defense in the person of General Mohammed Gusau, a retired general and a former National Security Adviser.
 
The new minister assumed duty last week and was reported to have summoned a meeting of the service chiefs to review the state of the war on terror. To the embarrassment of the Minister the Service Chiefs were said to have nominated the Chief of Defense Staff to represent them at the meeting. As if that was not enough the Chief of Defense Staff, Air Vice Marshall Alex Badeh was alleged to
have made it clear to the Minister that he could only relate with the service chiefs through his office.
 
Infuriated by what was considered as an act of insubordination on the part of the Chief of Defense Staff the Minister threatened to resign from the Jonathan Administration. Although the Ministry of Defense promptly denied the rumored resignation of the Minister the crisis has brought to the fore the refusal of the military establishment to subject itself to civil authorities under a
democratic dispensation. Since the military had ruled the country for close to three decades serving military officers have a penchant for treating civil authorities with disdain. The anti-democratic culture is not peculiar to Nigeria. Based on similar experience it is specifically stated in section 87(2)
of the 1994 Ethiopian Constitution, “The Minister of Defense shall be a civilian.”
 
No doubt, the President of the Republic appoints the Chief of Defense Staff and the service chiefs. Pursuant to section 218(3) of the Constitution, “The President may, by directions in writing and subject to such conditions as he may think fit, delegate to any member of the armed forces of the Federation his powers relating to the operational use of the Armed Forces of the Federation”. The
 President pursuant to section 147 of the Constitution equally appoints the Minister of Defense. But the President has, in exercise of his powers under sections 5(1) and 148(1) of the Constitution, delegated his executive powers of
managing the defense ministry to the Minister of Defence. 
 
Apart from such power of superintendence the Minister is recognized as the head of the Ministry of Defense by the Armed Forces Act (CAP A20) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004. Thus, in the Armed Forces Council and the National Defense Council the Minister of Defense is higher than the Chief of Defense Staff and the service chiefs in the ranking of the members. For the avoidance
of doubt, the Minister of Defense is the Chairman while the Chief of Defense Staff is the Vice-Chairman of the Army Council, Navy Board and Air Council (See sections  9, 12 and 15 of the Armed
Forces Act). It is pertinent to note that the permanent secretary who is a civilian is the accounting officer of the Ministry of Defense and a member of the governing councils of the armed forces.
 
In the light of the unambiguous provisions of the Constitution and the Armed Forces Act the Chief of Defense Staff and the Service Chiefs are answerable to the Minister of Defense to whom the President has delegated his executive powers with respect to the defense of the federation. Therefore, the President,
as the Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces should, without any further\ delay, call the Chief of Defense Staff and the service chiefs to order.
 
 
FEMI FALANA, SAN

FEMALE BANKER ARRESTED FOR DEFRAUDING EMIR OF KANO.

The princely amount of N46 million in the dormant bank account of the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, was simply irresistible for the young female banker.

So the suspect, Amina Magaji, was prepared to risk everything to reactivate the account and convert part of the balance there in to her use. The account was said to have been opened  in 1967 but went dormant later. 

The suspect allegedly applied for a cheque book, got it and began to operate the account. By the time the bubble burst, she had, according to a source, withdrawn N17million from the account. Amina, alongside 12 other staffers of the old generation bank, is answering questions from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on the alleged fraud.