orders (6)
Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has ordered the authorities of Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma, to investigate the allegation of sexual harassment against P.O. Otubu, a lecturer in the electrical/electronic department of the state-owned university.
The governor’s order followed a video whcih has been on the internet, which revealed the disgrace faced by Otubu after one Judith Okosun, a 400-level student of mechanical engineering, who he allegedly pestered for sex, set him up.
The video was recorded when Judith reportedly found out that Engineer Otubu had failed her in a course after she forcefully had sex with her. The lecturer later claimed to Judith that he forgot her matriculation number promising to give her a better grade after another opportunity. An enraged Judith then engaged her friends to videotape an encounter with the lecturer, after she reportedly tried in vain to get the university to intervene on her behalf.
Engineer Otubu, a lecturer of Electrical/Electronics teaches a faculty-wide course in the faculty of engineering and technology .
Spokesman for the university, Chris Adama-Igbo, told Saharareporters that following the governor’s order, the registrar of the university had issued queries to both Mr. Otubu and Ms. Okosun.
They have up till Monday, July 26, to respond to the queries, after which they face a panel to be constituted soon by the university..
Mr. Adama-Igbo said until the office of the governor drew the university’s attention to the publication, the institution was not aware of the matter.
He explained that the university does not condone such sharp practices but that students hardly come forward to report lecturers who mistreat them or known to indulge in unethical conducts.
“There is a safeguard against such malpractices. But at times, students fear that they will be stigmatized,” Mr. Adama-Igbo said. “They also fear reprisals from other lecturers, that others might fail them. So they keep their experiences to themselves.”
He disclosed that three years ago, a lecturer who was found guilty of sexual harassment in Ms. Okosun’s mechanical engineering department was dismissed from the university..
Speculations abound that Ribadu is to head the vacant INEC chairman post recently vacated by Maurice Iwu .
Jonathan orders police boss to restore Ribadu’s rank as AIG • Wants Ex-EFCC Chairman’s sack changed to retirement
It emerged at the weekend that President Jonathan ordered the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ogbonna Onovo and the Police Service Commission (PSC) to reverse Ribadu’s sack from the police, restore him to his former rank of Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) and thereafter, retire him with full benefits.
The directive was said to have been given on Thursday, the day Yar’Adua was being buried.
Sources said Jonathan is considering Ribadu for the chairmanship of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Making efforts at clearing all obstacles that may prevent Ribadu from being cleared by the Senate for the INEC job, President Jonathan on Thursday, wrote to the Police Service Commission’s chairman, Parry Osayande, a retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG) and copied the IGP, requesting that the indictment of Ribadu be reversed and the ex-policeman returned back to his former position as an AIG in the Police, before he ran into trouble with the Yar’Adua government.
He also ordered in the letter that, the dismissal letter issued to him be withdrawn with immediate effect and replaced with a retirement letter, with full benefits, returned to him.
Ribadu was sacked from the Nigeria Police on December 23, 2008, following indictment over acts of insubordination by a panel headed by the current IGP, Onovo, who was then a DIG.
Ribadu had earlier been demoted from the rank of AIG to that of Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), but he refused to wear police uniform bearing the rank of a DCP and also refused to report for duty at his new duty post in Benin.
For this, he was re-tried, found wanting and recommended for dismissal. Following the indictment and recommendation for dismissal, the Police Service Commission (PSC) headed by Osanyande after a marathon meeting acceded to the recommendation and ordered the dismissal of Ribadu.
Ribadu, who went on exile after his dismissal was thereafter, charged before the Code of Conduct Tribunal for non-declaration of assets, but had the charges dropped last week by the government also on the orders of Jonathan..
Force Public Relations Officer, (FPRO) Emmanuel Ojukwu, when contacted, said he was not aware of the letter from the President ordering the reversal of Ribadu’s sack, and could not say, if the IGP has received such.
He added that if such letter existed, it will only be for the notification of the IGP as the power to sack and recall senior police officers rests squarely with the Police Service Commission.
However, efforts to confirm the receipt of the letter by the PSC were unsuccessful at press time as most of those who were contacted, including the image maker of the Commission, Ikechukwu Ani, neither picked their calls nor replied to text messages from our correspondent.
It would be recalled that the sack of Ribadu was announced via a statement signed by then Force Spokesman, Akpoebi Agberebi, for alleged acts of indiscipline, insubordination and absence from duty.
Ribadu was one of the six police officers nominated and sent on senior executive course at the Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos in 2008.
While on course, he was demoted to the rank of DCP along with 139 officers, who were believed to have been wrongfully promoted.
According to the police statement in which Ribadu’s sack was announced, the act of misconduct levelled against Ribadu are improper dressing when he appeared before the President on November 13, 2008 with other NIPSS participants, in plain clothes, where others were properly dressed.
He was also accused of instituting legal proceedings against the Inspector-General of Police, Attorney General of the Federation and the Police Service Commission, at a Federal High Court in Lagos, without proper authority from government.
These conducts, the statement added, are prejudicial to discipline, proper administration of the force and unbecoming of an officer, contrary to sections 352 and 367 of the Police Act and against Rules 030402 of the Police Service Rules 2006.
The former EFCC boss was also accused of flagrantly disobeying the order and directive of the IG to report to the Force Headquarters on November 24, 2008 along with his NIPSS course mates, at the completion of their studies.
Furthermore, Ribadu was said to have disregarded his posting order and refused to proceed on transfer when he was posted to Zone 5, Benin, as DCP in charge of Administration, since November 21, contrary to sections 349, 348 and 347 of the Police Act.
His fortune has however changed following the withdrawal of charges of non-declaration of assets instituted against him by the Federal Government under the leadership of late President Yar’Adua, at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, by the Jonathan-led presidency.
Last Tuesday, Murtala Sani Adebayo-led tribunal struck out the charges and vacated the warrant of arrest issued by the tribunal on Ribadu last year by its immediate past chairman, Justice Constance Momoh (rtd).
Adebayo at the Tribunal sitting stated that the Attorney General of the Federation’s application asking that the charges be withdrawn and struck out was in line with the provisions of section 174 of the 1999 Constitution.
He said that aspect of the constitution “no doubt confers extensive powers to Federal Attorney General to withdraw criminal trial. The application is withdrawn and it is hereby struck out.”
The tribunal had also in its ruling said that the action of the AGF was in line with Section 24 (1) and section 7 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which it argued, is sufficient ground to strike out the charges as prayed.
Counsel to the AGF, Joshua Olatoke had earlier applied for the withdrawal of the matter, based on the powers given to the AGF by the constitution to withdraw any criminal charge against anybody before judgment is entered in the matter.
The withdrawal of the charges against Ribadu it was said, was to pave the way for him to emerge as the 10th Chairman of the INEC.
A retired IGP who spoke with Sunday Independent on Saturday on the development said: “If the President’s directive is true, then the government would have unknowingly institutionalised indiscipline in the Police Force and I can assure you, the directive has the capacity of opening a floodgate of complaints where the Ribadu saga would be cited.”
As the Police reverted from the gunshot wounds that was alleged to have slaughtered Rimi saying it was heart failure. The
Driver of the late Abubakar Rimi yesterday gave a blow-by-blow account of how the former Kano Stategovernor died, saying Rimi began gasping soon after he saw wounds in his brother’s head after a brush with armed robbers on Sunday night.
Alhaji Haruna Abdullahi, who worked with the Rimi family since 1979 when the late politician was elected governor, said their vehicle was forced to stop by a gang of armed robbers along the road to Darki/Gadar Janna near Wudil, south-east of Kano.
“The robbers had completely taken over the road when we approached Darki/Gadar Janna,” he said. “It therefore became compulsory for us to stop, otherwise they would shoot at us.”
“As we stopped, they searched us and collected our money and our handsets. They also beat my boss’ younger brother who was seated right behind me. The security aide to my boss was sitting at the front.
“The robbers were armed, but they did not use their weapons. They asked for money and we gave them. They asked me to open the boot and when I opened it, they searched all our luggage, including that of my boss, but one of the bags was difficult to open.
“At that time, I tried to frighten them by telling them that the police could come and open fire on us all.” Abdullahi said one of the robbers responded by saying: “to hell with the police!”
He said after the robbers were done with them, they asked them to proceed on the journey. As they moved on, Rimi said to him: “You see what robbery is nowadays. These men have now cheated us.” The deceased then said he would never travel at night again, because this was not the first time they encountered robbers.
“They have robbed us once and robbed us twice, therefore we should not fall victims again,” the driver quoted the late Rimi as saying.
He said at that point, Rimi’s brother Alhaji Sule Sa’a told them he was injured in the head and arm by the robbers. Rimi asked to see the wounds and immediately he saw them, he started coughing and gasping. He said as they got to Wudil town, Rimi’s son Nura rang the guard, whose hidden cell phone was not taken by the robbers.
Abdullahi said Nura suggested to them to take the late Rimi straight to hospital instead of coming home, though they assured him that Rimi was not physically attacked by the robbers.
“At that moment my boss started sweating to the extent that Alhaji Sa’a advised me to put on the car air conditioner. As we approached Gano town, my boss said to me ‘take me to Classic Clinic as soon as we get to Kano.’” At the Classic Clinic, Abdullahi said, “after he was examined by a female doctor, we were asked to take him to Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH).” He said Rimi was already unconscious by the time they got to the teaching hospital.
“We—myself, Nura and the bodyguard—lifted him into the emergency ward. They later asked us to leave the room so that he could take fresh air. So I came out, but shortly Nura came out and started calling friends and family members to inform them that my boss was dead,” Abdullahi said.
Rimi, a former minister of communications and presidential aspirant, died Sunday night of complications from high blood pressure an hour after he had an encounter with armed robbers on his way back to Kano from Bauchi. (Daily Trust)
