The federal government is undertaking joint security operations to attack the camps of kidnappers in the south-eastern states, the minister of state for information, Labaran Maku said yesterday in Abuja.

Mr. Maku, who spoke with journalists after the federal executive council meeting, said government is also gathering information about where the kidnappers are staying. He did not however say when the operation against the kidnappers will start.

"The entire communities, especially state government, local government, traditional rulers, community organisation should cooperate," he said. "These criminals are not ghosts, they come from amongst our communities. They don't come from outside.

So, if the public can give cooperation and give sensitive information to security agencies, it will help these security agencies to cordon out some of these camps and flush out those who are engaged in this criminal activities.

This is a very serious matter because without peace and security, we cannot develop and nothing can be done properly," he warned.

The federal government, according to the minister of Information, Dora Akunyili also called on all the communities in the South-East and all other communities where kidnapping has become common to join hands with government and their traditional rulers to fish out the kidnappers.

The Council meeting, which started at five minutes after ten with the vice president and almost all the ministers in attendance, said the issue of kidnapping should be arrested once and for all.

While briefing journalists after the meeting, which lasted for less than two hours, Mrs Akunyili said President Goodluck Jonathan is sad over the increasing rate of kidnapping in the South-East.

Unacceptable practice

She told reporters that during the meeting, "reports were made about the security situation in Nigeria and the minister of police affairs reported efforts being made by Nigerian government to ameliorate the situation. The FCT minister reported that there is improved security in Abuja in the last three months.

President Jonathan expressed sadness over the rate of kidnapping, especially in the South-East and warned that something needs to be done to arrest the situation as soon as possible." She stated that though something is already been done about the situation, "what the president is referring to is that more efforts will be geared toward fighting the kidnapping saga in the South-East.

"The governors of the South-East are already working hard to ensure that this menace is curtailed to the barest minimum, or totally eradicated because it is unacceptable for any human being to pick a fellow human being in the name of kidnapping and demanding for ransom" Mrs. Akunyili added.

Mr. Maku, who was also at the briefing, added that the federal government has called on all communities in the south-east and in other parts of the countries, where security has become an issue, "to cooperate with security agencies that are already undertaking the operation to fish out the criminals wherever they may be hiding and deal with the situation decisively; because the issue of kidnapping is disrupting the normal life and commercial activities in some parts of those states and government cannot stay back and watch criminals take over the entire situation in those states".

Various criminal gangs in several southeastern states, especially in Abia State, are operating seemingly unchallenged by policemen deployed to the states. Many Nigerians and foreigners - including women and children - have been held hostage by gangs who are believed to have the backing of some politicians in the states where they operate..

Members of the House of Representatives cutting across the six geographical zones yesterday gave the Speaker, Dimeji Bankole, seven days to resign, or be disgraced out of office.

The representatives who call themselves the ‘progressives,' said at a press conference in Abuja that Mr Bankole's leadership is corrupt, inept and high-handed. Armed with what they claimed were incriminating documents, the lawmakers said Mr Bankole's leadership led to an unprecedented rift between both arms of the National Assembly and brought the House to disrepute.

Members of the group include: Dino Melaye (PDP, Kogi); George Daika (PDP, Plateau); Bitrus Kaze (PDP, Plateau); Austin Nwachukwu (PDP, Imo); Ehiogie West Idahosa, Anas Adamu (PDP, Jigawa); and Independence Ogunewe (PDP, Imo). Others are Solomon Awhinawhi (PDP, Delta); Ralph Okeke (PDP, Anambra); Darlington Okereke (PDP, Ebonyi); and Asita Honourable (PDP, Rivers).

A litany of complaints

"We hereby, therefore, in strong terms call on Bankole to resign immediately as the speaker of the representatives within 7 days," said Mr Melaye, who spoke for the group. "We are asking him to resign for the following reasons: one, corruption in leadership; two, because of his leadership style, which today is responsible for the rift, disagreement, and disharmony between the two brothers in the National Assembly, the Senate and the Reps. The relationship between the two has never been this bad.

Three, we are also asking him to resign because of his high handedness, disrespect for members; four, his frequent breach of the rules of the House; five, his sweeping and unsubstantiated comments capable of causing disaffection among the various arms of government."

He said the speaker had once openly accused civil servants and the civil service of gross corruption, but failed to substantiate the claims when the then head of service, Ama Pepple, challenged him on the allegations.

"And I want to say that, failure to comply with our call in the interest of the Nigeria and Nigerians, especially the masses of this country, this group has overwhelming evidence, information, everything you see here, they are incriminating records that we will publish, give to you the media, and assure you in seven days, we are going to write a petition that every member including the ones on recess will sign, physically, personally and we will send it to the EFCC, the ICPC, the NSA, the SSS and indeed, the headquarters of his political party."

Bad publicity

Mr Melaye, said under the leadership of Mr Bankole, the sterling qualities, which the House exhibited since 1999, have been lost, stressing that the public perception of the lower chamber has declined.

"We are here this afternoon to unequivocally say without fear of favour, that the House of Representatives, you read about in 1999; the House of Representatives that West Idahosa was a member of; the House of Representatives in 2000; the House of Representatives with its sterling qualities exhibited during (Ghali) Na'Abba; the House of Representatives that was laboriously built by (Aminu) Masari, is not the same today," he said.

"The public perception of the House has ingloriously declined. We used to be the pacesetters of legislative practice in this country, but it is obvious that we have been overtaken because of the ineptitude of leadership (and) because of all these negative manifestations, the House under Bankole has nose-dived and has lost its earned positive reputation."

No child play

Asked if the group will not, like in the past, back down on its demand that Mr Bankole should go, Mr Melaye said, "This is no child play. We have resolved to clean our House. We have resolved and are determined that he who comes to equity must come with cleans hands. And we have resolved that these evidence will be given to each of you and we are ready to defend it anywhere and anytime.

This is not a secret presentation. We are very, very sure of the facts. These documents are incontrovertible."

He said even though Mr Bankole will as usual say that the documents are fake, they intend to challenge him to produce the original.

Collaborating Mr Melaye's claims, Mr Idahosa (PDP Edo state), said the House has never had it so bad in the last 10 years..

"Many of you know that when we talk about the history of the House, I have the privilege of writing the rules together with my colleagues in 1999," he said. "And thereafter, I have served (Salisu) Buhari, Na'Abba, Masari (Patricia) Etteh, and I will say, I have the misfortune of serving in this era. We have never had it so bad. We have never had such a legislative tyranny as we do have now. We have never in this House turned our Ethics and Privileges Committee into a hunting machine of fellow members.''

‘Ostrich display'

In a swift reaction to the demand for Mr Bankole's resignation, the House leadership said Mr Melaye and his group misled the perceptive public with their proverbial ‘ostrich display' by masquerading selfish tendencies for public interest.

"Their activities could best be a swan song but they are advised to avail themselves with the allowances of House rules and extant provisions of the relevant statues," said House spokesperson, Eseme Eyiboh, in the statement. "The present leadership is a creature and creation of the generality of the House and the prevalent synergy culminating in the successful constitution review vindicates the acceptability of the leadership. Those ‘progressives' should vacate their theatre or be absolved and come to join other discernible members to complement the current legislative engagements for executive action."

Chinese student laments high business cost in Nigeria

TALIBAN fighters are burying dirty needles with their bombs in a bid to infect
British troops with HIV, The Sun can reveal..

The heroin needles are feared to be contaminated with hepatitis and HIV. And
if the bomb goes off, the needles become deadly flying shrapnel.

Senior backbencher Mr Mercer said yesterday: "Are there no depths to which
these people will stoop? This is the definition of a dirty war."

Razor blades are also being used. All Royal Engineer and Royal Logistic Corps
bomb search teams have been issued with protective Kevlar gloves.

For only $1,900 a month, you can rent an apartment President Obama lived in during his years at Columbia University.

The apartment itself is shabby, a one-bedroom, third-floor walk-up. And while living there is unlikely to shed any light on the issue, it’s interesting that so little is known about that era of Obama’s life.

Obama spent two years Occidental College in Los Angeles, transferring to Columbia University in New York City in 1981 and graduating two years later. Little is known about Obama’s time at Occidental, but even less is known about his time at Columbia.

The president did not release his transcripts from either school during his campaign for the presidency, as John McCain, John Kerry, George W. Bush and Al Gore did. Occidental and Columbia have said they are prevented by federal law from releasing the transcripts.

Obama’s thesis on nuclear disarmament, on which he spent a year at Columbia, has apparently been lost. Obama says he doesn’t have a copy and his professor at the time thinks he lost it when he moved a few years ago.

Obama barely mentions his years at Columbia in his two autobiographies. He has said he didn’t know many people at Columbia and that he spent most of his time in the library reading, “like a monk.” Indeed, Fox News contacted 400 of Obama’s former classmates – no one remembered him.

Some of Obama’s Columbia classmates have since come forward, saying they remembered Obama there. Both schools have confirmed Obama was their student.

Columbia is where Obama “stopped getting high,” he wrote, which his old roommate verified to reporters.

To the New York Times, Obama “declined repeated requests to talk about his New York years, release his Columbia transcript or identify even a single fellow student, co-worker, roommate or friend from those years.” A spokesman told the Times Obama “doesn’t remember the names of a lot of people in his life.”

At Occidental, Obama was better known by classmates. There, he gave what is thought to be his first public speech. In it, he urged his school to disinvest from South Africa because of apartheid.

In “Dreams From My Father,” Obama wrote he socialized with black students but also “the foreign students. The Chicanos. The Marxist professors and structural feminists and punk-rock performance poets … When we ground out our cigarettes in the hallway carpet or set our stereos so loud that the walls began to shake, we were resisting bourgeois society’s stifling constraints.”

A professor at Occidental, Roger Boesche, told the Los Angeles Times Obama was “a very thoughtful student and a very curious student … You didn’t take my European Modern class without wanting to think about deep ideas.”

The White House did not reply to a request for comment.

More details have emerged of how German auto-maker, Daimler AG, distributed bribes to public officials in Nigeria in exchange for government patronage. The automaker had, in April paid $185 million (N28 billion) to settle allegations that it had violated U.S. anti-bribery laws by giving bribes to foreign government officials to win contracts.

A complaint filed against the company by the United States’ Security and Exchange Commission and obtained by NEXT yesterday indicated that the bribes were distributed to top Nigerian government functionaries through officials of the Anambra Motor Manufacturing Company (Anammco) with which Daimler had a joint venture agreement. The foreign company made the payments, amounting to N2.3 billion, between 1998 and 2005, to corner sales contracts worth approximately $73 million, from at least seven different government customers.

The bribe money given to Nigerian officials comprised of DM 3.9 million, $1million and 230, 000 Euros. Daimler dished out the slush fund - exporting some of it in raw cash from its headquarters in Germany - while unnamed ANAMMCO officials help funnel the money to corrupt government functionaries who approved the contracts. In one instance, the document stated, “Daimler employees withdrew DM 400,000 and $150,000 from the cash desk (in Germany) and transported the Marks. and US dollars to Nigeria to pay bribes to government officials.”

Daimler, ANAMMCO and Nigerian officials involved in the scandal were not named in the document because they are not U.S. citizens. But analysts say if Nigeria has the political will to get to the bottom of the case, it can get full details of the investigation from the US Department of Justice by virtue of the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty it has with the States. While the names of the allegedly corrupt officials remain under wraps, their crimes and modus operandi are clear.

Investigators made the following findings regarding the corrupt payments to Nigerian officials: Daimler made the bribe payments and kept funds that were not properly recorded on its books through four TPAs (third party accounts) that were held by Anambra Motor Manufacturing Company (“Anammco”), a then Daimler-controlled joint venture between Daimler and the military government. Daimler later sold its interest in the joint venture in 2007.

Moreover, a portion of Daimler’s proceeds from the sale of vehicles in Nigeria was credited to the Anammco third party accounts. Senior executives of Daimler then used a portion of these credits to fund improper payments to foreign government officials. Between 1998 and 2005, Daimler made approximately N2.3 billion in improper payments to Nigerian government officials. These payments were either improperly recorded in Daimler’s books and records or were not recorded at all and were made as a result of weak internal controls.

The third party accounts were controlled by a former head of overseas sales, and the former head of Daimler’s Nigerian office through which Daimler carried out its business in Nigeria (the “Nigerian representative office”); he was also the managing director of Anammco.

These two former executives had decision-making authority over the sales operations in Nigeria, and they were able to direct large-scale bribe payments. For example, in order to obtain a deal to sell armoured vehicles to the Nigerian government, the former head of overseas sales authorized the former head of Daimler’s Nigerian representative office to debit an Anammco TPA and pay DM 200,000 and OM 50,000, respectively, to two senior Nigerian government officials, who had decision-making authority over the contract. Daimler employees then wired the funds to the personal foreign bank accounts of these two officials in England and Germany.

Similarly, in order to obtain another deal involving the sale of commercial vehicles to a Nigerian state-owned entity, the former head of the Nigerian representative office effectuated a debit of nearly €200,000 from an Anammco TPA and had the funds wired from a Daimler bank account in Germany to a bank account in England held by the entity’s managing director.*The former head of Overseas Sales and the former head of the Nigerian representative office also routinely withdrew large sums of cash in various currencies from Daimler’s corporate cash desk in Germany to make bribe payments to secure business in Nigeria.

Daimler failed to adequately monitor the amount of cash that could be withdrawn through the cash desk or understand the purpose of the withdrawals. The former head of the Nigerian representative office, for example, was authorized by the former head of Overseas Sales to debit an Anammco TPA to obtain DM 400,000 in cash from the cash desk for use towards the hotel stay, travel, dining and shopping of a senior Nigerian government official, his delegation and their relatives. In connection with the contract to sell buses to a Nigerian state-owned entity, the former head of the Nigeria representative office withdrew $110,000 in cash from the cash desk and delivered the funds from Germany to Nigeria to make bribe payments to government officials affiliated with the entity.

At one point, the former head of the Nigerian representative office and a senior sales manager for Anammco opened up at least two Swiss bank accounts, which were funded by credit balances in Anammco TPAs. The former head of Overseas Sales authorized approximately DM 2.1 million to be transferred from Anammco TPAs into these Swiss bank accounts for payment to government officials to obtain sales contracts with various agencies of the Nigerian government. In all, Daimler is believed to have made improper payments totalling at least $56million to secure business in 22 countries, including Nigeria.

Nigerian probe

Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Farida Waziri, on Monday said her agency had commenced investigations into the matter. cials and representatives of Daimler and Anammco in Nigeria,” Mrs Waziri said. “We have equally gone ahead to seek the assistance of the Attorney-General to obtain the certified true copy of the US judgment from the America authorities. We are working hard to see how we can crack some of these high profile cases with international dimensions”..

Naija don dey hard o ! Even Oil Company staff don dey kidnap !.

Omotayo Mobolaji Johnson, a geologist and staff of Chevron PLC has been arrested in connection with the attempt to kidnap a bank executive at Ikoyi, Lagos.

Two middle-aged suspects, Tommy Ebikeme and Edward Anigbhoro were also arrested during the June 1st kidnaping which the police said was masterminded by Mr. Johnson who allegedly used a pseudo name ‘Olumide.’ He was allegedly assisted by a woman called Anita to recruit both Mr. Ebikeme and Mr. Anighboro who are militants from the Niger Delta, to carry out the kidnap.

Their luck ran out when the police got a tip off and arrested them when they were about to kidnap their victim at Ikoyi.

The Lagos State commissioner of police, Marvel Akpoyibo while parading the suspects at the state command yesterday said the command’s intelligence -led policing strategy led to the arrest of the suspect.

“Events that led to the arrest of the suspects started on June 1st, 2010, when the command’s intelligence Unit intercepted information that a group of persons had perfected plans to kidnap a high profile target in Lagos. Members of the gang recruited from the Niger delta of Nigeria were said to have intended to kidnap the target victim from his office in Lagos island and whisk him away to Ibadan, where Omotayo Mobolaji Johnson had a farm at the outskirt of the town where the victim was to be taken to, after which a demand for ransom will be made.” He said, “Acting on the strength of the information, intelligent and undercover operatives were deployed in and around the office and premises of the target victim for high level surveillance mission, the efforts of the police yielded positive result when hours later, operatives were able to effect the arrest of three suspects connected to the plot.”

Mr. Akpoyibo added that preliminary investigation shows that the kidnap was masterminded by Mr. Johnson.

“His wife works in one of the companies owned by the father of the target victim. The suspect worked with one Anita now at large. Mr. Johnson owns a four star hotel and other investment in Ibadan. He promised the other suspects a cash reward of ten million naira from a windfall of fifty million naira expected to be made from the illicit deal if the victim was taken to Ibadan. Some substances recovered from the suspects include sleep inducing drugs, syringes which they had intended to inject the victim with the substances Halothane and Velum to facilitate his losing consciousness before moving him to Ibadan.” Mr. Akpoyibo said.

Mr. Johnson however declined to comment on his involvement in the crime. He said “I will not say anything until my lawyer is here.” Mr. Ebikeme however confessed to the crime. He indicted Mr. Johnson saying he was the one who recruited them and drove them to the scene of the botched kidnap.

The oil company, Chevron could not be reached as at press time for its comment.

Jega is new INEC chairman

President Goodluck Jonathan has named Attahiru Jega, a former president of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, as the new chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Mr. Jega's appointment was approved today at the meeting of the Council of State, which largely composed of former heads of state and state governors.

His nomination, which still requires the approval of the Senate, followed the recent sack of the former electoral commission boss, Maurice Iwu.

Mr. Jega, a Professor of Political Science, is the current vice chancellor of Bayero University, and a former consultant to the commission and participated in the electoral reform project headed by Justice Mohammed Uwais.'

Confusion over the ban on commercial cyclists, popularly known as ‘Okada', created much tension in Jos on Monday, as the Plateau State government began the enforcement exercise.

Sporadic gun shots had rented the air, especially in the state capital, the Ahmadu Bello Way, and most parts of Jos North as the enforcing team, including the Police, FRSC, VIOs, and NSCDC personnel, engaged the commercial motorcyclists in physical combat.

People ran for dare lives, some banks and business outfits hurriedly closed shop, and many cars had their windscreens smashed by the motorcyclists, who were protesting the confiscation of their motorcycles.

The operators, in their hundreds, had turned out to work, in defiance of warnings and threats by the state government on the need to ensure the deadline issued for their operation, and reportedly met before resuming work, in an apparent readiness for a showdown with the implementation Task Force.

The development threw the relatively calm city into another round of tension as the ‘Okada' operators engaged the law enforcement agents in a free-for-all, in spite of the gun shots warning fired to scare them away.

Inside Jos city and the environs, NAN observed that parents were rushing to pick their children from schools, while others were scampering into all directions for safety.

Mohammed Lerama, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Plateau Police Command, was not available to give useful comments, but the Army Public Relations Officer, 3 Armoured Division, Jos, Shekari, said that "the army is not aware of the new development. We were neither contacted nor involved in the enforcement of the ban," he said.

The Media Officer of the military Special Task Force (STF) on Jos crisis, Kingsley Umoh, also told journalists that the military was not involved.

"But I am sure that the police are capable of enforcing the ban," he said.

Mr. Umoh, however, said the Army "will watch the situation and we will respond appropriately if there is breakdown of law and order.

"I am sure you know that Okada is a very popular means of transportation, so you should expect some tension when you are trying to enforce that ban. But I know we will get over it," he said.

FRSC Sector Commander for Plateau, Samuel Odukoya, said that the ban was being enforced because the state government had signed the bill into law.

Mr. Odukoya added that the ban would have been enforced long time ago but for the intervention by some stakeholders that the Okada riders be given some time.

The Commander did not disclose how many operators had been arrested, but said that they would be charged to court as soon as possible.

Tomb raider arrested in Lagos

BY PATIENCE OGBO June 8, 2010 02:17AM

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Tomb raider arrested in Lagos

The duo of Christine Ibori-Ibie, the only surviving sister of Chief James Ibori,

and Udoamaka Onuigbo (Okoronkwo), Chief Ibori’s mistress, were
today sentenced to 5 YEARS EACH in prison by Judge Christopher Hardy of
a Southwark London Crown Court, We can authoritatively report.

Christine and Udoamaka were last week found guilty by a 12-man jury of various financial crimes including money laundering, mortgage fraud and wire
fraud.

Christine, in her case was found guilty on all counts the prosecution levelled against her while Udoamaka was found guilty only on counts 2, 3, and 4
in the trial with case number T20087009.

Both convicts were remanded in prison at the order of judge Hardy immediately a guilty verdict was passed by the jury last week.

The sentencing did not go without some drama at the courthouse. First, there was a reporting restriction on the case, a Southwark Crown Court
official, who chose to be unnamed told source in a conference call on
Monday afternoon GMT. During our first call, the official said the
sentencing was moved from Court 8, which seats about 25 persons to
Court 9 in order to accommodate more persons.

It was gathered from the source that sentencing was still ongoing as at about 3.30pm GMT.

More to follow soon!

Photos:Christine and Uzoamaka The clipped Jailbirds

adapted from thewill media

We are Now recieving reports from Twitter that Christine Ibori-Ibie and Udoamaka Okoronkwo-Onuigbo, have been sentenced to a total of 21yrs prison terms to run concurrently in the UK

From NeXt Newspapers: