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TY Danjuma warns Perpetrators as North East may pull out of Nigeria

From PAUL ORUDE, Bauchi Former Minister of Establishment and central committee Chairman, North East Forum for Unity and Development (NEFUD)…

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The Delta State governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan, yesterday stressed the need for increased funding for the police, especially during the electoral processes, saying the reported N17 billion allocated to the Nigeria Police Force for the purpose of monitoring the conduct of the forthcoming April elections was inadequate.

Mr. Uduaghan made the criticism at the opening ceremony of a two-day national conference on partnering the police for free, fair, and credible 2011 elections, organised by the management of Vanguard Newspapers in collaboration with the South-South governors in Asaba, capital of Delta State.

According to the state governor, the call to increase funding to the police was as a result of its key role in all the stages of electoral processes in the country, which he noted was as important as that of INEC in ensuring free, fair, and credible elections...

He observed that as a result of concerns about the success in the forthcoming general elections, the National Assembly has always considered speedily the budget and demands of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Asking for more

"I think INEC has the fastest budget ever passed by the National Assembly members in the history of Nigeria. This means that funding is required for the conduct of successful elections," Mr. Uduaghan said.

"I also believe that police require appropriate funding if we want to achieve violence-free, fair and credible elections in 2011 and beyond. What I read in the newspapers, I don't know if it was correct, that the federal government approved N17 billion for the police for the purpose of elections monitoring.

"If that is correct, then it is underfunding of the police for this coming elections. If it is N17 billion for the police to cover the whole Nigeria for the purpose of the April general elections, I want to say that money is not enough and not adequate.

"Except it is officially allowed or permitted that the states have to do something. I want to appeal that we should have a second look at the money budgeted for the police," Mr. Uduaghan said.

He said the logistics need for the police is quite high, and called on government to find a way to assist the police in meeting its expectations for the polls.

The publisher of Vanguard Newspaper and chief facilitator of the event, Sam Amuka, said Nigeria had an unpalatable history of democracy resulting from disputed elections results.

He observed that the imperfections in the nation's electoral process has degenerated since the 1999 political dispensation, especially with the "do or die" syndrome that was built into the 2007 general elections, adding that the process led to political war between candidates of different political parties.

The conference was aimed at identifying causes of violence during elections in the country.

condemn the use of corpers:

Politicians at a stakeholders election forum organised by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Asaba, Delta State, have cautioned against plan that could turn youth corps members as sacrificial lambs in the forthcoming April polls.

They  also called on the Federal Government to double the strength of the police force in order to effectively man polling units, which in the  past witnessed ballot snatching and changing of results.

Leading the campaign for INEC to reconsider its stand on the use of  corps members, Delta north senatorial candidate for All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP), Ambassador Elizabeth Ogbon-day, said the corps members would be exposed to great risk in an environment they were not familiar with and that when pressure mounted on them, they could compromise their integrity.

According to her, the corps members would be exposed to more dangers in the light of a poor security arrangement where the few unarmed policemen at the voting centres would not be able to match the horde of thugs and other political rascals.

Ogbon-day recalled the January 6 rerun election in the state  at her community, Ogoni in Olomu clan where corps members used as INEC officials had to obey instructions from thugs in order to remain alive.

Another speaker maintained that in case of litigation after election, the  corps members used for election would not come to testify at tribunals.

The participants were of the view that INEC should purge itself in the discharge of its duties, because people, including the international community were watching.

Earlier, Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Delta State, Dr. Gabriel Adah, said INEC had resolved to use corpers in the election and that any who fumbled would have their services extended.

According to him, two corpers who faked their kidnap and others who were involved in fraudulent practices in the re-run election in the state in January  had their services extended by six months.

However, he commended some corpers who returned to INEC as much as N20,000 given to them as gratification by politicians to do their bidding.

Dr. Adah disclosed that any polling unit where ballot boxes were snatched or the number of votes cast exceeded the number of accredited voters would be cancelled and a fresh election conducted after two days, all to sanitise the electoral process.

A police officer, Funke Jimoh, has sued the Nigeria Police Force and the Police Service Commission in a Federal High Court in Abuja, for allegedly violating her right to medical attention. According to an affidavit submitted by Ms. Jimoh in court, she was participating in a mandatory police cross country race training exercise at the Eleyele Police Training School in Ibadan, Oyo state, in July 2000, when she suffered a hip injury.

Her femoral head, which is the highest part of the bone between the hip and the knee joint, was damaged. She received treatment at a police clinic at the time. In February 2011, Ms. Jimoh claims that the injury flared up again, and she was referred from the clinic to University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, which advised her to seek medical treatment abroad to get a femoral head replacement. She wrote a letter through the commissioner of police, Oyo State, to the inspector-general of police to provide financial assistance for a surgical operation in Germany as recommended by UCH, but was surprised by the force’s response.

“To my utter dismay, instead of the defendants to accede to my request by providing financial assistance for my medical treatment abroad, the defendants on 16 August, 2004 discharged me from the force on medical grounds without any compensation whatsoever.”

The plaintiff also claimed that the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions, after an investigation, concluded in a report that she was wrongfully discharged from the force, and the committee passed a resolution for her reinstatement, along with the payment of her entitlements and the provision of adequate medical attention. So far, according to the plaintiff, the police has ignored the committee’s resolution...

Search for reinstatement

Ms. Jimoh is seeking a declaration from the court stating that the refusal of the defendants to provide medical treatment for the replacement of her femoral head, which was damaged while taking part in a police exercise, is illegal and unconstitutional according to Article 16 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights Ratification and Enforcement Act. She is also seeking a declaration stating that the refusal of the defendants to pay her salary and allowances from August 16, 2004 is illegal and unconstitutional. Other requests include an order directing the defendants to provide the plaintiff with medical treatment at the University Teaching Hospital/Clinic in Ulm, Germany, and an order directing the defendants to immediately effect the payment of all arrears owed to the plaintiff. The presiding judge, Abdul Kafarati, adjourned the matter until March 9 for hearing.

A member of a notorious robbery syndicate terrorising the people of Oyo town and its neighbourhood in Oyo State, has paid the supreme price with his life in an encounter with the men of the Special Anti Robbery Squad, Oyo Zone.

The cars with stolen goats

CRIME DIGEST learnt that the gang, which specialised in stealing goats, ran into trouble in the ancient town in the wee hours of February 1, 2011.

According to the police, the gang had a network of members within Oyo town and outside. The officer-in-charge of the Oyo SARS, Mr. Olusola Aremu, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, explained that the suspects moved from house to house to lure local goats with corn and beans that had been soaked in salt and water solution.

The corn with salt solution, CRIME DIGEST was told, weaken the goats and prevent them from bleating while they were being taken away.

But things turned awry for the gang when they ran into a police patrol team in Oyo town around 2 am.

Aremu said, "The police saw three men in the vehicle all appearing very rough. The police followed their vehicle to track them down. At first, when the police waved them down, the robbers did not obey but tried to escape by increasing their speed. They were, however, given a chase.

"They bumped into a deep pothole and lost one of their tyres. But before the police got to the vehicle, the syndicate abandoned their vehicle and fled into a nearby bush."

CRIME DIGEST gathered that some goats were recovered from the grey Nissan Primera marked BG 372 RSH. The patrol team was said to have taken the vehicle to the station, while some of the detectives laid in an ambush...

"The patrol team came back to the scene in an unmarked vehicle. Shortly after they returned, they noticed another Nissan Primera saloon car (blue colour) with three occupants also looking very rough in it. Immediately the suspects noticed that the police were approaching, they sped off. The police gave them a chase up to Sasa area of Ibadan, Oyo State capital. Unfortunately, the robbers also bumped into a ditch and lost one of their tyres," a police source said.

In the encounter, they reportedly opened fire on the police patrol team. In the shoot-out between the suspects and the police, one of the robbers fell to police bullets, while the other gang members fled before the police got to the vehicle.

Aremu said items recovered from the vehicle included 40 goats (all of them were she-goats) with six of them dead, while 34 goats were still alive.

He added that the goats, most of which were pregnant, had their mouths tied with masking tape.

Also recovered from the vehicle, with registration number Lagos DL 135 GGE, were a locally-made pistol, live cartridges and some Indian hemp.

The police said they noticed that the bandits on board the vehicle were strangers because it appeared that they were not conversant with the terrain.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Oyo State Commend, Mr. Olatunji Ajimuda, who confirmed the incident, said some of the owners of the goats had started coming forward with evidence to claim them.

Emmanuel Macaulay, who resides at the Police Officers' Quarters in Ikeja, Lagos State, says his landlady, a female deputy superintendent of police, ordered his eviction and brutalisation.

Mr Macaulay petitioned the Commissioner of Police, Marvel Akpoyibo, over the issue. He said that in the morning of November 22, 2010, his landlady, Ngozi Judea, said to be serving at the Force Headquarters Annex in Obalende, came with thugs who she ordered to forcefully evict him from the one room he had rented from her since July 2009. "It was early in the morning at about 7am when she came with three guys," he said. "She used teargas on me. They beat me up, threw my things outside and threw me down the stair case. I was only in boxers (shorts) when one Okada man pitied me and took me to the police state command before I went for treatment at Plato Hospital, located at PWD Bus Stop in Ikeja. I was burning. My body was red as a result of the tear gas."

Mr Macaulay, who is a businessman and student at the University of Lagos, said in the course of the alleged brutality, he lost his Blackberry and Nokia mobile phones and the sum of N820,000 belonging to a client who had paid him for the purchase of a car. "Sir, please I want you to use your good office to look into this matter and ensure justice for the voiceless like me and help recover my stolen properties and money," read the letter which was acknowledged by the commissioner of police on the same day..

How it all began

According to Mr Macaulay, in June 2009 he met one Mama Ada, also resident in the same police quarters located along Oba Ladejobi Street. She acted as the agent who introduced him to Ms Judea. One month later, in the presence of his sister, Hope Macaulay, who was then five months pregnant, and Mama Ada, he said he handed Ms Judea N150,000 as two years rent payment for a one room in her boy's quarters; with his tenancy to elapse July 2011. He said six months into his tenancy, Ms Judea first expressed her disapproval over his fraternity with other residents of the police quarters. This later degenerated to her cutting his power supply when she asked him to pay exorbitant electricity fees. "Look at the wire which supplies me electricity from her house in front," he said. "She cut it just to ensure she frustrates me to leave before my rent expires. When she saw I connected my light from another tenant, she later called me one day on the phone and told me she wants me to pack from the BQ. She never even suggested wanting to refund my money. I don't know why but I suspect she wants to give the place to one man that has come here several times."

Never ending investigations

At the Police Provost Unit of the Lagos State Police Command, where Mr Akpoyibo referred the case to, it was discovered that all parties were invited in view of resolving the problem. An officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said M. Judea has not being cooperative with the case. "We investigated and we discovered she was at fault," he said. "But she is well connected and there are people who are covering her. But we've done our own and that is why we came and ordered he (Mr Macaulay) should move back in."

Subsequently, officers from the unit packed Mr Macaulay's property back into the house, and asked Ms Judea to refrain from further victimisation. The state police spokesperson, Frank Mba, said from his enquiry, Ms Judea did not collect any money from Mr Macaulay. "The matter is being investigated," he said. "But the lady in question says she gave him the place purely on humanitarian grounds. As regards the claims he was beaten, you can't see one sign of any injury. I mean if you see someone beaten, you will know. We should not allow ourselves to be used for blackmail."

But Mr Macaulay says he is bewildered and scared. "Why would she give me a place for free?," he said. "We are not family. There is nothing connecting us, except the money I gave her. Right now I am living here in fear. I am telling my story should anything happen to me so that the world knows."

Abuja Bomb Blast: Ben Jessy (wanted)

Huhuonline.com can disclose that barely 72

hours after Abuja bomb explosions, the NigeriaPolice has confirmed the arrest of a suspect.But the identity of the arrested suspect was not disclosed for security reasons.

.

“Their motive was to cut short the joy of men and women of goodwill and to pour shame and contempt on our President and indeed the entire nation, in the very presence of dignitaries and eminent persons from around the world. “Certainly, these operators of an evil enterprise had targeted to commit mass murder of innocent children, young and old men and women, and members of the international community who had gathered to partake in our nation’s glorious moment.

Abuja Bomb Blast: Chima Orlu (Wanted)

“To the glory of God, their act of wickedness was frustrated by the tight security put in place at the Eagle Square .

The police have issued a warning for harassment against an airport worker after he allegedly took a photo of a female colleague as she went through a full-body scanner at Heathrow airport.

The incident, which occurred at terminal 5 on 10 March, is believed to be the first time an airport worker has been formally disciplined for misusing the scanners..

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "Police received an allegation regarding an incident that happened at Heathrow Terminal 5 on March 10. A first-instance harassment warning has been issued to a 25-year-old male."

BAA said: "We treat any allegations of inappropriate behaviour or misuse of security equipment very seriously and these claims are being investigated thoroughly," a BAA spokesman said. "If found to be substantiated we will take appropriate action."

The incident is likely to reignite privacy concerns over the scanners by civil liberty groups. The Equality and Human Rights Commission last month warned that the government needed to take action to bring its policy for body-scanning passengers at UK airports within the law.

The commission said it had concerns about the apparent absence of safeguards to ensure the scanners were operated in a lawful, fair and non-discriminatory manner. It raised doubts as to whether the decision to install them at all UK airports was legal.

The scanners were introduced at Manchester and Heathrow last month after the Christmas Day bombing attempt over Detroit in the US. The £80,000 Rapiscan machines show a clear body outline and have been described by critics as the equivalent of "virtual strip searching".

While American transport authorities offer passengers a choice between going through the full-body scanner or going through a metal-arch scanner and a physical search, the British government has said that a refusal to go through the body scanner would bar passengers from boarding aircraft.

Earlier this month two women, one a Muslim, became the first people to be barred from boarding a flight at Manchester airport because they refused to go through a full-body scanner. The women, who were booked to fly to Islamabad with Pakistan International Airlines, were told they could not get on the plane after they refused to be scanned for medical and religious reasons.

A House of Commons home affairs committee report on airport securitytoday welcomed the scanners' deployment and said it should have come sooner.

"Having witnessed these full-body scanners working at first-hand, we are confident that the privacy concerns that have been expressed in relation to these devices are overstated and that full-body scanners are no more an invasion of privacy than manual "pat-downs" or searches of bags," the committee said.

"Air passengers already tolerate a large invasion of their privacy and we do not feel that full-body scanners add greatly to this situation. Privacy concerns should not prevent the deployment of scanners."

• This article was amended on 11 June 2010 to remove information about a BAA employee, along with a quote, reported from another media source, that has since been contested

Etim Canice Okon, a naval officer, is trying to convince the Nigerian police in Calabar that he had not been raping his daughter, but cleaning her up when her cry attracted people to his house, leading to his arrest.

The 48-year-old officer, who said it was not unusual for babies to cry at that age, allegedly started sleeping with the toddler when she was just one year old and had previously threatened to send his wife packing should she report his action to family members or members of the public.

But news of the alleged assault eventually got out and a representative of the federation of women lawyers in Cross River State, Rosemary Onah, petitioned the state commissioner of Police and commissioner of Women Affairs on behalf of Mrs Etim, the victims’ mother over the rape.

Confirming the arrest of the victim, the state Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Baba Ahmed said the suspect had raped his daughter about four times before the act became public, stressing that the incident started when the victim was only one year old.

“Raping of minors, especially one year old girls, is becoming rampant here. Maybe it is done for ritual purposes; if not, how come a man of almost 50 years of age will defile his daughter.

This is unbelievable and abominable”, Mr Ahmed said..

Prepared for court

He said the suspect will not be released until investigation is completed, adding that he will be taken to court as soon as possible to obtain a court order to remanded him in police custody pending further investigations.

“We are not going to release him on bail because the offence is criminal,” he said, “We will take him to court for court order which will enable us remand him in our custody for further investigations.” The Police Commissioner said the family has conducted medical examination on the baby, which confirmed that she had been raped several times.

“Our findings revealed that before now, the father of the victim was living together with the wife and six other children made up of five boys and a girl who is the victim of rape.

The poor girl happens to be his last born. This girl is likely to grow up with this trauma. How will she get over it?” he said.

Meanwhile, the mother and other children have relocated to an undisclosed apartment in Calabar where they are fending for themselves.

The Nigeria Police have commenced the transfer of some of its officers in the South-East in an effort to combat the increasing spate of violent crimes in the zone. The News Agency of Nigeria,in Awka, on Monday, gathered that the transfers affected mainly officers in Anambra and Abia States commands because of the rampant cases of kidnapping in the areas.

Police Public Relations Officer in Anambra, Emeka Chukwuemeka, confirmed that the transfers had started, but said he could not ascertain the number of officers transferred from the state. “The exercise is ongoing and involves officers, who have spent five years and above in one location,” he said.

A police source, who asked not to be named, said that policemen who had stayed long in the states were either abetting crime or sabotaging the efforts of the command. The source said that in Anambra alone, more than 3,000 officers and men were affected by the transfer to other states, including Sokoto and Borno. “More than 500 senior police officers are also affected,” he said...

The dramatic search for James Ibori, the former Delta State governor who has been declared wanted for financial misdemeanour, by the Nigerian Police and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), may be nothing but a ruse.

Sources who spoke with NEXT over the weekend said that not only is Mr. Ibori hiding in Agbor, a town in his home state, but the two anti corruption agencies, the EFCC and the police, are aware of Mr. Ibori’s whereabouts. Contrary to reports that the former governor has been hiding in his country home in Oghara, he is allegedly hiding with a friend of his in Agbor, a small town which is about 2 hours away from Oghara.

Multiple sources in the Nigerian security circles told NEXT that the EFCC is aware of Mr. Ibori’s current location and that this would not be the first time that the anti corruption agency would be feigning ignorance of his whereabouts.

“The EFCC knows that Ibori is not in his hometown. When the EFCC first said that they were looking for Ibori and went looking for him in Oghara, they knew that he was right here in Abuja. He was at that time in the Kwara Guest House, in Asokoro,” a source said.

The police’s charade

Behind the elaborate display shown by the Nigerian police in a bid to arrest Mr. Ibori, was an apparent decision to do the contrary, sources said. Security sources who spoke to NEXT said the authority chosen to effect Mr. Ibori‘s arrest, showed that the police was not really interested in arresting the former governor.

“If they really wanted to arrest him, why would they pick the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), for works and for operations to be in charge of the operation? Why not use the DIG in charge of the Force Criminal Investigation Department,” a security source queried.

“The police intelligence is fully aware of Ibori’s movement but there appears to be the lack of operational will,” our source added.

The police spokesman, Emmanuel Ojukwu however denied that the police has any knowledge of Mr. Ibori’s current location saying that the police is still looking for the former governor.

“We are still looking for him wherever he is. I cannot say that the police is aware of where he is but all I can say is that we are looking for him,” Mr. Ojukwu said.

EFCC responds

The EFCC also says that it is at the moment working on a new strategy to beat Mr. Ibori to his game. A strategy which the commission says it is no longer interested in sharing with the Nigerian public.

“We don’t want to discuss this because every information we give out gets back to him [Mr. Ibori],” the spokesman of the commission, Femi Babafemi, told NEXT in Abuja.

Mr. Ibori’s spokesperson, Tony Elumunor, however said that Mr. Ibori’s current location is not relevant and should not be a subject of public debate.

“The man you are talking about is a private citizen and he is not on the run but simply obeying the court ruling which asked that everyone should maintain the status quo,” Mr. Elumunor said in a telephone interview with NEXT..

In the last two weeks, media reports have placed Mr. Ibori in several places; Oghara- his home town, the Niger-Delta Creeks, and as having escaped the country en route Dubai. The latest location,

has in history served as a refuge for a larcenous prince who ran away from his home town.

A discharged soldier, Idris Oyinbo, and a dismissed police officer, Gideon Baba, both went to the Apapa Wharf on March 15, 2010 with one mission in mind: commandeer and escort a trailer load of bags of sugar to awaiting buyers in Mushin, a suburb in Lagos State.PHOTO:

At about 6:30pm the same day, the duo, partially dressed in army and police outfits, met with their sponsor, one Kingsley (at large), who is believed to have masterminded the operation. In turn, Kingsley introduced them to Soji Smart, who would drive the trailer to their destination.

Having understood their roles, they followed the trailer, which had just left the wharf outward Lagos, in a chartered taxi, till it got to the Marine Bridge in Apapa. They then intercepted the truck and dragged the driver out of the truck into the taxi, while Mr. Smart together with his escorts drove off.

Mr. Smart said he was contracted to drive the truck for N4,000. Narrating how they were caught, he said luck ran out on them when they were stopped by officers of the Nigeria Police and the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) while in traffic.

"A woman Police Inspector stopped us in go-slow. She asked for my driving license but I did not have. The two men said they were Force men, so she asked for their ID cards. The policeman showed his own but because the army man did not have his own, she asked everyone to come down," Mr. Smart said.

Other police officers quickly gathered at the scene and arrested the suspects, though Kingsley successfully got away.

In his confession, Mr. Oyinbo, a 40-year-old pensioner and father of two children, said he was discharged from the Army in March 2005 while serving as a corporal in the army's 81 Division.

Since then, he had been involved in various crimes, including car theft, while parading himself as a serving military personnel.

"I knew Kingsley late 2009 at Apapa Wharf. It was him who approached me to carry out the operation. I then called my police friend to follow me to escort the goods. I know it is not legal to do escort, but man must survive," Mr. Oyinbo said.

On his part, Mr. Baba, who comes from Kaduna, said after a prolonged leg injury, leading to his dismissal as a corporal from the police in 2006, he also began rendering escort services to sustain himself and his family.

In his words, "I know it is wrong to use my ID card, but I have to help myself because I am a family man".

Commenting on the arrests, the Lagos State Police spokesperson, Frank Mba, said the suspects led the police to Mushin where one Rukayat Abubakar and her friend, Kudi (at large), were waiting to receive the about 300 stolen bags of sugar valued at several millions.

"Our detectives within a space of twelve hours were able to make the whole arrest. The lady is actually one of the receivers just waiting for the syndicate somewhere in Mushin. As soon as investigations are over they would be prosecuted," Mr. Mba said.

Fire fighters from the Federal and Lagos State Fire Services, who on 19 March, 2010 spent almost four hours fighting a fire at the Police Zone 2 Command Headquarters, Onikan, Lagos State, said the lack of fire prevention training by the police contributed to the fire which razed the exhibit unit, monitoring unit and surveillance section of the command.

‘Highly ignorant’

A fire superintendent attached to the Federal Fire Service, who did not want to be named, said the police did not have fire fighting equipment within its premises. He said if the police had fire extinguishers along with fire sensors and sprinklers, the damage of the fire, which razed substantial police evidence and documents, would have being minimal.

“The Police are highly ignorant of what fire precaution is about. They didn’t even have a single fire extinguisher, no fire prevention equipment, nothing. They have never called us to put them through basic fire precaution drill. We just thank God there was no casualty because they don’t even have any first aid,” said the superintendent.

Collateral damage

Assessing the damage of the fire which started at about 11am, the federal controller of works, Ejike Mgbemena, said the fire, which burned directly below the Five Cowry Bridge linking Victoria Island and Onikan, would have some negative impact on the bridge.

“From the look of things, it looks severe,” he said. “It is likely that the fire will affect the structure of the bridge negatively. We believe it is serious. We are working with Julius Berger and in some few hours we will be placing restrictions on the bridge as precaution measures.”

Some police officers NEXT spoke with gave various accounts of the cause of the fire. While some said the fire was caused by an electrical fault, others said the fire was triggered by flame from a food vendor’s stove that caught an electrical wire close to the exhibit room.

Under investigation

However, Azubuko Udah, who is the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 2, which oversees Lagos and Ogun States, said the cause of the fire is still being investigated. He said the situation could have being worse if not for the intervention of the fire services with additional support from some private companies which brought their fire service trucks.

“I was just alerted of the fire as I was away at a meeting. The cause of the fire is still being investigated and I will liaise with my men to know what happened. But I thank God because it could have been worse if not for the fire service that checkmated the incident and put out the fire,” he said.

President Yar’Adua, 58, has not been seen in public since his presumed return to Abuja about two weeks ago in an air ambulance from Saudi Arabia, where
he was flown for medical treatment for heart and kidney conditions.

The secretive manner he was ferried into the country has raised suspicions that his kitchen cabinet led by his wife, Turai had planned to use him
as pawn in their power game to checkmate Acting President, Dr. Goodluck
Jonathan.

Barred from Aso Rock

Thousands who joined the Save Ni.ge.ri.a Group (SNG) to protest the continued absence of President Umaru Yar’Adua were stopped by the police from taking their protest to the Presidential Villa yesterday in Abuja. This is the second protest organised by group in Abuja,

“Section 144 must be invoked,” Yinka Odumakin, the group’s spokesperson, said. “We are tired of a president we cannot see. We need a president we can see, who can talk to us, who can govern. Not one they will be telling us that he said; somebody saw him drinking tea, somebody saw him playing with his grand children. We want to see him and if we cannot see him, we want a functional president.

Diary of a protest

The protesters had trickled in, first in dozens and then in hundreds, to the Unity Statue, beside the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, to demonstrate their displeasure at the state of affairs in the nation.

Buses from Lagos later arrived, bringing in more protesters. Carrying placards with different inscriptions, such as ‘Jonathan, Get decisive now;’ ‘We must know Umaru’s health status;’ and ‘Turai, leave 9ja alone,’ the protesters patiently listened to the speakers.

But just as they began their march to the villa, they were stopped. John Ahmadu, an Assistant Inspector General of Police, explained to the leaders of the SNG that the acting president, Goodluck Jonathan, was on his way to the nearby Transcorp Hilton Hotel, and the protesters had to wait for his motorcade to pass. The protesters reacted with loud crises, but Mr. Ahmadu stood his ground.

“We are here to give you all the necessary protection while you march,” he said. “Because we want to take care of those who may want to hijack your good intentions for a bad intention, please we urge you to go with our people orderly. Until you leave, we shall not stand down.”

The march continued after Mr. Jonathan’s passage and the crowd, now split into about three sections, sang choruses to show their displeasure.

The protesters were, however, stopped again when they got to the Bullet Junction that leads to the presidential villa. They were told by the police boss that they could not go beyond that point.

After over 20 minutes of waiting at the point, and placating speeches by their leaders such as Tunde Bakare, Femi Falana, Najatu Mohammed, and Abdur-Rahman Ahmad, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Yayale Ahmed, arrived to receive the protesters message.

‘This is our message’

“When we received your request that you will like to hand over a letter to Acting President Jonathan, he directed the Secretary to the Government, in my own person, to come and receive it. I find it very easy and natural to come and face you because yours is a demonstration of democracy in action in Nig.eria,” Mr. Ahmed said, despite being booed all the way by angry protesters.

“Your three basic demands are noted,” he said. “One, you want to know the status of your president; it is because you love your president that you want to know his status, because you elected him. Secondly, you want us to take constitutional ways of dealing with it. This government is a creation of the constitution and we will do what the constitution says. Thirdly, we are aware of your concern regarding credible election in this country. Only two weeks ago, the Acting President handed over, again, Uwais committee report unedited, to the National Assembly.”

An assembly of drama

The protesters then moved to the National Assembly to submit the same demands, only to yet again be stopped at the gates by stern looking mobile policemen.

Despite several minutes of discussion between the SNG leaders and the police, the protesters were not allowed into the compound of the National Assembly. But for the intervention of Messrs. Falana and Bakare, the protesters were ready to confront the police.

“Their (members of the National Assembly) days are numbered,” an angry Mr. Bakare declared. “Whether by election or by divine intervention, their days in the National Assembly are numbered. Since they refused to allow Nige.rians, for whom the institution is built, to enter their premises, they can die inside. Nige.ria will flourish again. Nig.eria will conquer our conquerors.”

When contacted, however, the leadership of the Senate denied issuing orders to security officials to bar the protesters from entering into the premises of the National Assembly.

The Senate’s deputy spokesman, Anthony Manzo, said “Certainly, Wole Soyinka and his group are welcome anytime. We are ready to receive anybody that embarks on meaningful protest.”

However, the police officers had claimed they were acting on the orders of the leadership. Two rows of the officers interlocked their elbows to form a formidable barricade.

The Sergeant-at-Arms of the National Assembly, Okere Emeka, who is in charge of the security of the complex, was not immediately reachable to clarify who gave the orders to bar the protesters.

One of the demands of the Save Nigeria Group is that the lawmakers should begin the process to remove Mr. Yar’Adua from office. Mr. Manzo however said the Senate is not contemplating that yet.

Worried by the extra-judicial killings allegedly carried out by officers of the Nigeria Police during the Boko Haram crisis, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Adetokunbo Kayode, has summoned the Inspector General of Police and the police leadership to discuss the issue.

Mr. Kayode said, over the past few weeks, documentary and photographic evidence of extra-judicial killings by Nigeria’s police has dominated national and international discourse.

“Specifically, I am refereeing to the Aljazeera documentary on the Boko Haram unrest and Amnesty International’s report alleging extra-judicial killings by the Nigerian Police,” he said.

The Minister, who briefed the press after his meeting with the National Committee on Torture, said he decided to convene the meeting because of the growing unease about Nigeria’s commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights, and specifically to the government’s position on torture and extra-judicial killings.

He instructed the committee to put administrative measures in place to investigate the documentary on the killings, stating that those who appear on the video clip would be identified and made to face the wrath of the law.

He said the visuals undermine our image as a nation of laws that is committed to the human rights provisions in its constitution as well as its international human rights obligations.

“A democracy as resilient as ours must reject the false choice between our security and fundamental freedoms and this is why we cannot tolerate impunity disguised under the cloak of security or any other guise,” he said.

Furthermore, he said policemen who were involved in the alleged killings are now facing orderly room trial and will be brought to justice.

“Over 600 people, including police officers, have been indicted by the investigating committee set up by the Federal Government to investigate the Boko Haram incident,” he said.

Ignored crimes

Mr. Kayode also said the impression is that extra-judicial execution and other unlawful killings in Nigeria are widespread and go largely uninvestigated and unpunished.PHOTO:Baba Fugu Mohammed's family says he was among those killed

“My judgment on this is a matter of record. In one of my very first speeches as the Attorney General (of the Federation) and Minister of Justice of the Federation, I did state categorically that the Federal Government of Nigeria unequivocally condemns all extra-judicial executions and other unlawful killings,” he said. “Going forward, it is my strong believe that the Federal Government of Nigeria has a solemn duty to criminalise torture and make extra-judicial executions punishable by sanctions commensurate with the gravity of the practice. This is an extraordinarily important responsibility of the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, and it is one that will be carried out assertively irrespective of any political concern.”

excerpts :

Nigerian police and military units carried out extra-judicial killings last year in the aftermath of clashes with members of a Muslim group in the north of the country, footage obtained by Al Jazeera appears to confirm.

An estimated 1,000 people were killed as Nigerian government forces fought Boko Haram in Borno, Yobe, Kano and Bauchi states in July and August of 2009.

But the footage obtained by Al Jazeera shows that many of the deaths occurred only after the fighting was over.

Elements of the security forces staged a follow-up operation in which house-to-house searches were conducted and individuals were apparently selected at random and taken to a police station.

'Shoot him in the chest'

In the video, a number of unarmed men are seen being made to lie down in the road outside a building before they are shot.

As one man is brought out to face death, one of the officers can be heard urging his colleague to "shoot him in the chest not the head - I want his hat".

As the executions continue another man is told: "Sit properly we want to take your picture."

The shootings continue as a crowd gathers further up the street in front of the police station.

Voices can be heard saying: "No mercy, no mercy."

Two officers seen in the video can be clearly identified by the name tags on their chests.

The family of Baba Fugu Mohammed, a respected community leader, told Al Jazeera that he was among those put to death outside the police station.

"He was killed, he was killed, that's what we believe. He was shot by the police," one relative said.

Fugu Mohammed was the father-in-law of Mohammed Yusuf, the Boko Haram leader whose group had battled the police, but the two had become estranged.

His family said that he had come to help police restore order, but was shot.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said in Abeokuta on Wednesday that the committee would be joined by a Deputy Inspector-General of Police among top police officers, who would visit the accident scene near the Babcock University, Ilisan, stretch of the expressway.

Adejobi, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, who said the committee and police officers would visit the robbery accident scene in company with the officers of the state police command, did not, however, say why the committee had decided to visit the site.

Controversy had continued to trail the incident, which occurred on the night of July 31, 2009, but which some people posted on the internet, claiming that it occurred in the later part of February, this year.

The author of the internet version of the story equally narrated how the driver of the luxury (passenger) bus was ordered by the robbers, who had dispossessed the occupants, to run over some of the passengers who were commanded to lie on the road.

In the 2009 accident, a truck driver, one Idahosa, claimed he did not know that the robbers, who struck around 10pm on Friday, July 31, 2009, had placed a barricade on the road, ostensibly to shield some passengers they had ordered to lie on the road.

Idahosa, whose truck, loaded with garri, lost control and crashed into the bush after running over the victims, narrated how he had to climb a tree to avoid the rampaging robbers, who had trailed him and his assistant into the bush.

The committee had summoned the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Ogbonna Onovo, and other police chiefs to appear before it while the driver of the luxury bus, which was coming from the Eastern part of the country to Lagos, and the driver of the truck, whose vehicle inadvertently ran over the distressed passengers, had appeared and testified before the committee.

It is unclear what the committee plans to do with its visit to the site eight months after the incident.