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Imo: Uzodimma Appoints Chike-Obi Chairman, ADAPALM, inaugurates Board

By
The Source
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Chike Obi - Chairman Fidelity Bank

In one of his best and most  strategic appointments so far, Imo State Governor, on Thursday, appointed Anambra State born Dr Mustapha Chike-Obi as the Chairman of ADAPALM.

Chike-Obi, University of Lagos-trained Mathematician, MBA, Stanfoford,  is the Chairman of Fidelity Bank Plc. He was, until recently, the MD/CEO of Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON. He is, also, a Wallstreet Veteran.

Inaugurating the Board, on Thursday, February 3, at the Executive Chambers, Government House, Owerri, Uzodimma pledged non- interference by his Government.

He promised that government will not meddle in the operations of the organisation.

Governor Uzodimma reminded the members which include Mr. Paul Roche, the Managing Director of Roche West Africa Limited, among others, that they are independent and that the Government will only expect result from them.

a release signed by  Oguwike Nwachuku, Media Adviser/ Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Uzodimma charged the Board to “adhere strictly to laid down procedures in the execution of their mandate” promising on behalf of his Government, to avail them of the much needed support they require to succeed.

His words: “This ceremony is significant in the affairs of the State in three ways. First, it underscores the State’s determination to ensure the turnaround of the State’s economy through agriculture and industrialization.

“Second, it is a yardstick for the confirmation of the workability of the private public partnership (PPP) for the good of the people.  Finally, it gives impetus to the State’s drive to empower indigenes by making them co-owners of the Company cited in their locality.”

The Governor informed of his Administration’s efforts in the reactivation of the moribund industries he inherited and “determination to empower Imo people to take their destinies into their hands.”

He said to achieve these, “indigenes shall no longer be spectators in the running of companies located in their area but co-owners as this will make them accountable for the successful operations of such companies in their homeland.”

The Governor explained that in line with the 3-R mantra of his government, he deemed it fit to “explore ways to bring Adapalm back to life with the overall objective to stimulate the economy, generate employment and add value to the lives of Imo people.”

He expressed joy that efforts made so far in the revival of Adapalm yielded the expected results, hence the inauguration of the Board.

Making reference to the old  thinking that Government cannot successfully run companies of ADAPALM magnitude for obvious reasons, the Governor said his Government decided to enter into a tripartite agreement involving the Government, core investors and the host Community.

He said under the PPP, Roche West Africa Limited, an Irish Company and Advanced Palmoil Limited are partnering the State Government and Ohaji Community for the smooth and profitable running of the Company.

Governor  Uzodimma emphasized that “unlike before when the Company concentrated solely on the production of Palm oil, the current agreement will involve the production of other ancilliary products such as margarine, processed wood, palm kernels and many more products that result from palm trees. In other words, there will be value chain activities in the company.”

Again, the Governor informed that to assist the Company in its operations, Government has already procured and planted 140, 000 seedlings across 4,000 hectares of land to feed the mill.

“In return it is expected that more than 30,000 jobs will be created when the Company reaches optimal productivity.  This year alone, 2,500 direct jobs will be generated.This is why the host Community which is the ultimate beneficiaries of the turnaround of Adapalm Ltd should do everything humanly possible to safeguard and protect the company and ensure it flourishes,” the Governor explained.

Reassuring Imo people of what to expect in the years ahead, the Governor said what his Administration has done in ADAPALM shall be replicated in other Government owned Companies which have been abandond for many years.

He said the State Government has already initiated talks with Israeli Company that built Imo Modern Poultry, Avutu, so that jointly it will be revived and run for profitability.

He reiterated his determination to resuscitate and re-energize all the legacies left by late former Governor of Imo State, Sam Mbakwe.

The Governor, however, noted that the Board he inaugurated for Adapalm is more or less a pilot scheme to test-run how the PPP works for Imo people, and charged the Board and Management to work extra hard to prove their mettle.

He reiterated that their successes in ADAPALM will be a road map towards the realization of his administration’s dreams for other moribund industries.

The Governor said:  “You cannot afford to fail.”

This, he predicated on the fact that all members of the Board were carefully selected based on their track record of service.

He then urged them to “avail the company of their experience, expertise and competence for its anticipated success.”

In his acceptance remarks on behalf of his colleagues, the Chairman of the Board said they are humbled to have been selected for the assignment and assured of putting in their best to ensure that the aims and objectives of reviving Adapalm are realized.

He acknowledged that the Governor has put a lot of facilities in place to ensure that the Company reaches the target of economic turnaround, job creation and empowerment of the Community and therefore promised that the Company, under his watch, will not fail the indigenes, the Government and people of Imo State.

Present at the inauguration were: the Deputy Governor of Imo State,  Prof. Placid Njoku and members of expanded Executive Council.

Eng. Uche Orji and Taiwo Ajayi of Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) and leaders of  Adapalm Communities and other Critical Stakeholders were also present.

AFCON 2021: It’s Salah, Mane Final, As Host, Cameroon Crashes Out

By
Akinwale Kasali
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Indomitable Lions of Cameroon

By Akinwale Kasali

The hopes of the vociferous fans at the Olembe Stadium was dashed, as their joy and cheers suddenly turned to sadness and despair.  Their team and tournament host, the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, crashed out of the African Cup of Nations Championship.

No one would have thought that the Pharaohs of Egypt that started the tournament on a bad note would  get to the finals. The resilience, determination and zeal of the Coach Carlos Queiroz players propelled them to a 3-1 penalty shootout score line after 120 minutes of goalless action.

The match was dominated by the host who had two of their shots hit the goal post, and outstanding saves by Ali Gabaski in goal for the Egyptians.  A last gasp save by Cameroon’s Andre Onana in the closing stages of the match saw the match go into penalties.

Coach Sergio Conceicao of the Cameroon team was not clinical in penalties, losing three spot kicks, with the Egyptians converting theirs to edge closer to their Eighth AFCON glory.

The defeat of Cameroon by the Egyptians could be said to be a sweet revenge for the North Africans who are yet to come to terms with their 2-1 defeat in the hands of the Central African country at the 2017 AFCON final.

Defeating Cameroon on home soil was a superb payback for them, as the Mohammed Salah captained Egyptian teams’ joy knew no bounds.

The final of the 33rd Edition of the African Cup of Nations tournament will be a Liverpool Football Club affair, as the Club’s most priced players, Sadio Mane and Mohammed Salah will trade tackles for the coveted Continent ’s silverware.

The Teranga Lions of Senegal will be aiming to win the coveted AFCON title for the first time, with the Egyptians standing as an obstacle in achieving this feat.

Though, Egypt’s record in AFCON history is scintillating, but Salah and his teammates will be gunning to make history also as none of the players in the squad has ever won the AFCON trophy.

The last time Egypt lifted the AFCON trophy was at the 2010 AFCON tournament in Angola, with Mohammed Aboutrika leading the Egyptians to achieving the feat.

Mane and Salah are the assets of their teams and the burden falls on their shoulders.

Senegal will be aiming to avoid a repeat of 2019 AFCON final where it lost to the Desert Warriors of Algeria through a Baghdad Boudnejah striker. Facing another North African team in a final of such magnitude would avoid another defeat.

Like in 2002 when the Senegalese lost the AFCON final to Cameroon, the Senegal team were tagged the ‘golden generation’ just like the present crops of players, but failed to achieve any meaningful success via a silverware, these set of Teranga Lions would be gunning to write their names on gold.

It is also a battle of coaches between indigenous and foreign. Coach Aliou Cisse of Senegal was part of the 2002 AFCON squad that lost the final to Cameroon in Mali, he would be targeting to win the trophy that eluded him as player and winning it as a coach, while Queiroz, a former Manchester United Football Club assistant Coach to legendary Coach, Alex Ferguson will want to achieve such huge success as a coach by winning the AFCON tournament with Egypt.

On Sunday, February 6th, 2022, history will be made, either a newly crowned AFCON champion will emerge or Egypt will add to his Seven AFCON trophy tally, this will be known when both team square up against each other at the Olembe Stadium in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

“There Is A Plot To Kill Me” – Ogun State Governor, Abiodun

By
Akinwale Kasali
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0

By Akinwale Kasali

The Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun has revealed that there is a plot by some unscrupulous elements and criminals in the State to assassinate him.

Abiodun raised the alarm that criminals were threatening to  kill him during a joint Security meeting with his Oyo State counterpart, Seyi Makinde.

The Security Meeting tagged; “Ogun and Oyo Joint Security Meeting”, is a bilateral session organised by Ogun and Oyo State Governments to find solutions to the insecurity challenges in their states.

Governor Abiodun said that his zero-tolerance to Crime in the State has made him a prime target for the criminally-minded persons.

He alleged that criminals have decided to come after him “because he is making life unbearable for them” He dared them by saying “I am waiting for them.”

His words:

“After we launched our OP-MESA last week, I understand that they have been working extremely hard, in fact, what I hear is that those criminals are now saying that Dapo Abiodun is making life unbearable for them and that they are going after me, well, let me assure you that I will continue to make life intolerable and unbearable for you and I’m waiting for you.”

Abiodun noted that kidnappings and other crimes are rampant at the border communities of the two States, hence, the bilateral agreement.

Revealing that both States have peculiar security challenges and have been tackling it independently with their own mechanisms, he added that the joint security effort would promote sustained economic development in the neighboring states.

The Governor also said criminals have been feeling the heat of the anti-crime battles in the state following the recent relaunch of the security outfit OP-MESA.

The Ogun State Governor said he will continue to make life intolerable for them (criminals) and I will continue to do it.”

On his part, Governor Makinde said the joint security meeting “is the right thing to do and it is absolutely important we do it.”

Maintaining that State policing is vital to addressing insecurity challenges at the grassroots, he further averred that  he and Abiodun had defied political party differences and pursued a common goal of fighting insecurity in their States.

Why I Am Suing Air Peace; Conditions To Withdraw Case – Emeka Ugwuonye

By
Adesina Soyooye
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Emeka Ugwuonye and Air Peace

By Adesina Soyooye

Nigerians are used to flight delays by Airlines. It is not out of tune for Airlines to, because of a number of reasons ranging from bad weather, operational reasons, logistic reasons, late arrival of operating aircraft, delay flights, atimes, unduly.

Often times, passengers are not informed of the delays. They are left to guess why. They are left to bear the burden of the delays. When it is weather-related, people don’t bother. But they want to be informed. They want to be told the truth. Some of the Airlines don’t think it matters because, usually, in Nigeria, passengers only murmur, and take no actions.

That may begin to change.

An aggrieved passenger, Emeka Ugwuonye, a Harvard – trained Lawyer, has risen in anger against Air Peace Airline.

Trouble between Air Peace,  Nigeria’s biggest fleet, and Ugwuonye started on January 27, 2022.

Ugwuonye said he had purchased the Airlines’ ticket out of Abuja to Lagos on their 4.25pm flight. On getting to the Airport by 2.00pm, however, he was told that his flight has been rescheduled to 8.10pm. No reason was offered. But he was offered a Business Class seat for a flight which would leave two hours earlier if he would pay N40,000 extra.

He decided to wait till 8.10pm. But later, his flight was rescheduled, again, to 10.00pm, and like before no reason offered. He, then, decided to go back to Abuja, as he felt it would be too late for him to leave the Lagos Airport for his Ikoyi residence that late. But he met a brickwall. He was told his luggage had been taken to Lagos on an earlier flight.

Ugwuonye said he, then, had no choice but to wait. But again, the flight was rescheduled to 11pm. Just as before, no reason was offered. The flight eventually  took off by 11.43pm, and arrived Lagos by 12.33am.

But Ugwuonye’s problem was just beginning. It took him over an hour to locate his luggage. And when he did, no car would take him to his house that late, for safety reasons. When he, eventually, found one, it was at the cost of fifteen thousand Naira. He, finally, arrived his house by 3.00am.

Ugwuonye is angry at what he describes as a shabby treatment and mental torture and negligence and discomfort. His anger boiled to high heavens when he noticed later that, indeed, the Airline sent a text to him, by 2 55am,  and rescheduled his flight to 6.25pm. His worry: Why was he not put on the 6.25pm flight when indeed, he had arrived the airport by 2.00pm?  His anger rose a notch higher when he learnt the Airline attributed the eight-hour delay to bad weather. The questions: If so, how did his luggage arrive on an earlier flight? Was his flight not the one he was asked to pay an extra 40,000 for a Business Class ticket?

He is accusing the Airline of just selling tickets, and distributing passengers as they deem fit. He says the Airline flies passengers at their own time, not at the passengers time for a scheduled flight. He said he was scandalised to find out it was not a one-off situation  on Air Peace. He said many of the Airline’s passengers had at one time or the other, suffered same fate, or even worse.

So, Ugwuonye said he and others are set to institute a class action against Air Peace. A register has been opened for aggrieved passengers, and their Lawyers have gone to work.

But, in a letter to the Management of the Airline, he listed the conditions under which the legal action could be discontinued.

Hereunder is Ugwuonye’s letter to the Management of Air Peace Airlines where he narrated his ordeal, and listed the conditions under which he could back-down.

It was dated 31st January, 2022, addressed to the the Managing Director, and delivered through DHL

COMPLAINT AND DEMAND

“Please permit me to address you concerning the mistreatment I suffered in the hands of Air Peace management and staff on Thursday, 27th January, 2022.

“On the said date, I was to travel from Abuja to Lagos. I was to fly back to Lagos via your 4:25pm flight. I got to the airport by 2pm. At the Air Peace check-in counter, I was told by Air Peace staff that my flight had been rescheduled for 8:10pm the same day. The staff who attended to me did not give me any reason for the change of schedule. Instead, she offered me a business class seat on an Air Peace flight leaving within two hours, if I were willing to pay N40,000 to upgrade my ticket. I felt disappointed, but I had no choice than to wait.

“I checked in my one-piece luggage and was issued a boarding pass showing a departure time of 8:10pm.

I had to wait at the departure lounge for the 8:10pm flight. The rescheduling of my flight caused me to cancel a meeting I was to have with my staff in Lagos by 7pm that evening. At 8:10pm, Air Peace did not call for boarding. I became anxious and wondered what that meant.

“By 9pm, there was an announcement that my flight had been moved again, now to 10:00pm. At this point, I tried to return to the city of Abuja, as I felt it would be too late for me to be in the streets of Lagos by midnight in order to travel from Murtala Mohammed Airport to my residence in Ikoyi.

“However, Air Peace staff could not retrieve my luggage because they had flown it to Lagos on some flight that departed Abuja to Lagos between 2pm and 8pm. So, I was forced to stay back at the Abuja airport, as I could not go back into the city without my luggage.

“By 10:00pm, there was yet another announcement indicating that the departure time for my flight had been moved again, this time to 11pm. Finally, my flight took off by 11:43pm and we arrived Lagos by 12:33am. I spent over an hour at the Murtala Mohammed Airport looking for my luggage which arrived Lagos in an earlier flight.

“I finally made it out of the arrival lounge and into an area where I could find a driver that would take me to Ikoyi. That took quite some time, as the few driver still at the airport all refused to go to Ikoyi out of concern for their safety. I finally found a driver who charged me N15,000 and I made it home by 3:00am.

“In the end, I felt deeply hurt and humiliated by your staff in the manner they handle my trip. It was only later that I began to hear that the reason for delaying my flight for 8 hours was due to weather.

“I did not believe this to be the case because my luggage was flown to Lagos during the same time period that weather was said to have prevented all flights from Abuja to Lagos. I was compelled by my ordeal to post on my Facebook Forum, (Movement for Peaceful Change) the experience I had with your Airline. I was shocked by the reactions of the public to my post.

“Upon investigation as to why I was not aware that my 4:25pm flight had been rescheduled, I discovered that indeed a message was sent to me by Air Peace. The message was sent by 2:17am on 27th of January stating that the 4:25pm flight on 27th January was being rescheduled to 6:25pm (different from 8:10pm I was told when I got to the airport). It is very dubious that Air Peace knew by 2:17am that there would be a weather problem by 4:25pm. Indeed, the 2:17am message stated:

“Dear esteemed passenger, due to operational reasons, we regret to announce the time change in your flight programme. Flight 7135, Abuja to Lagos for today, 27th January, 2022 will now depart at 6:25pm. We truly regret the impact of this sudden time change on your travel plans. Please bear with us…”

“That shows dishonesty in the subsequent excuses of weather conditions. Essentially, Air Peace had its capricious and selfish reasons for changing the flight time, and it lied about it.

“My best assessment of what happened was that Air Peace has a practice of booking passengers for flights without any commitment to the passengers’ preferred departure or arrival time. It gathers all those travelling on a particular day and a given city, and then begin to assign them to different flight schedules in a manner to ensure that each flight was as full as possible, regardless of the passengers’ preferred schedule.

“Air Peace passengers fly not when they want to fly, but when Air Peace wants them to fly. This is a very primitive and underhanded practice in airline booking. All those excuses about weather or operational reasons seem to be mere pretext to cover up this bizarre practice.

“Whereas I had thought that what happened to me was an exceptional event, on the contrary, I was inundated with cries and complaints from other travelers who had similar or worse experience from Air Peace. The sheer number of these unhappy travelers and the agonizing tales they had to tell left a very profound impression on me. I became quite disturbed the more I realized the implications of what happened to me. I perceived a culture of impunity, not just within Air Peace, but equally, in the manner other airlines treated travelers. I was left with no choice than to seek redress in a court of law unless Air Peace would agree to the following demands:

“(1) That Air Peace tender a public apology to its customers who have been similarly hurt and mistreated. Such apology should come from the top management of Air Peace. It should admit wrongdoing and show genuine remorse, and promise to improve. Air Peace has to understand that the people are not stupid. They did not buy the general weather excuse. It was too convenient for Air Peace to invoke that excuse whenever it liked, believing that the travelers wouldn’t know any better.

“(2) That Air Peace agree to observe the following standards when dealing with customer complaints:

(a) Where a flight is delayed beyond 3 hours, Air Peace shall:

“(i) offer the traveler the option of rebooking his flight to another day at no further fees or costs, or

(ii) rebook him in a flight with any other airline that is departing to his destination.

“Example: If an Air Peace flight originally scheduled for 2pm cannot take off by 5pm, Air Peace should place the affected passenger in, say, Dana flight to the person’s destination, without any additional fee from the passenger, or

“(iii) offer the affected traveler a full refund of what he paid for the ticket.

NOTE: It is not fair that when an airline has an excuse to delay flights, it will be only the passenger that suffers it. The airline should bear the cost of such weather-induced delay. As it is now, Air Peace loses nothing if a delay keeps people at the airport for 10 hours. Air Peace still makes the profit it would have made if there was no such delay. So, Air Peace has no incentive to avoid delays because the affected passenger has absolutely no option than to wait or forfeit his ticket fee. But by refunding passengers their money, Air Peace will have an incentive to avoid delays. The passenger should not be the only person to lose each time there is a weather problem. The airline should bear that loss or at least share in it.

“(3) Where Air Peace notices that there will be a delay need to reschedule a flight, it must notify the passenger honestly and reasonably.

“(4) If, as a result of more than 3-hours delay, a passenger arrives at his destination airport after 10pm, Air Peace shall provide a vehicle to convey the person to his final destination or shall pay for a bed and breakfast for that person in a hotel near to the airport. Leaving a traveler stranded at the airport or risking his life trying to get home by midnight in such circumstance is wrong and unacceptable.

“(5) Air Peace shall commit to providing further training for its staff that deal directly with customers to reduce the humiliation that passengers have reported to have endured in the hands of Air Peace staff.

“(6) Air Peace shall commit to establishing its own claims department with capacity to effectively treat passenger complaints. At present, Air Peace complaint unit either does not exist or it is poorly staff and equipped. Hence, complaints are not attended to in an effective or responsive manner.

“(7) If a passenger arrives at his destination other than his city of residence, while his luggage was left behind or mistakenly sent to a different destination, Air Peace shall offer a reasonable amount of money to enable the passenger to purchase toiletries and clothes to wear until his luggage arrives within a reasonable time, not longer than 48 hours.

“(8) If a passenger’s luggage is lost by Air Peace, it shall make an offer to pay compensation for the lost luggage within two weeks.

“(9) If a passenger mistakenly pays twice for the same ticket, Air Peace shall refund the excess payment within 24 hours.

“(10) In the event that an altercation between a passenger and staff of Air Peace is video-recorded by the passenger or a third party, Air Peace shall treat such video recording as valid evidence that belongs to the owner or maker of the video recording, and not try to destroy such evidence.

“All the above ten demands can be met in the initial stage by a public statement and declaration of principles and objectives by Air Peace management, and then followed up with concrete measures within a reasonable time.

“We believe that Air Peace is the leader of the commercial aviation industry in Nigeria. It is in a strong position to implement these standards, and they will be followed by other airlines in Nigeria. Once there is a commitment to these reforms and improvements in standards of passenger treatment, We shall not proceed with litigation.

Also Read: Trouble Pours For Okorocha, As He Loses Battle For Imo APC

“However, if Air Peace rejects these demands, we shall be left with no option than to pursue a class action lawsuit against Air Peace. And for that purpose, we have commenced the process of preparing a register of victims of Air Peace.

“Thank you for your consideration of my letter.

Yours truly,

Ephraim Emeka Ugwuonye, Esquire
DPA founder and CEO”

Thieving Bank MDs, Directors Risk 20-Year Jail Term

By
Bayo Bernard
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CBN Gov Emefiele

By Fola James

Thieving managing directors, top management staff and other bank employees will no longer escape with a slap on the wrist punishment, if the House of Representatives passes the current amendment bill before it into law. The new bill seeks to amend the Bank Employees (Declaration of Assets) Act 2004 which prescribes 10 years jail term for offenders.

Last year, Okey Nwosu, the former managing director of Defunct FinBank and three other former directors were sentenced to just three years jail term after  stealing N10.9 billion from the bank.

Also in June same year, a Lagos High court jailed a former Managing Director of defunct Bank PHB Francis Atuche for six years for stealing over N25 billion from the bank.

But the new amendment prescribes 20 years jail term and forfeiture of proceeds of fraud as punishment for any thieving bank employee and management staff.

Close watchers of the industry insist that the amendment is timely, particularly now that bank fraud is rising at an alarming rate in the country.

The situation, Industry watchers insist has become so bad that banks management sometimes cover up for thieving staff in order not to bring their banks to disrepute, whereas some banks have lost the trust of many observant customers.

The amendment bill, sponsored by Francis Waive, when passed by the legislature will likely reduce the incidences of fraud in the banking and financial sector, experts say.

Section 7 (1) of the existing Act states that “it shall be an offence for an employee of a bank to own assets in excess of his legitimate, known and provable income and assets”, while section 7 (2) states that a bank employee found guilty of the offence in subsection 1 “shall on conviction be liable to imprisonment for ten years and shall, in addition, forfeit the excess assets or its equivalent in money to the federal government”. But speaking in the Chamber on Wednesday Waive, said the existing law needed to be amended in such a way that offenders of fraud will be brough to account and severely sanctioned for their crimes.

According to him, banking fraud “has consistently been on the rise,” noting that “it is also true that most of the online fraud carried out is perpetuated with bank staff as collaborators, and in some cases involving staff who is no longer in the employment of the bank.

“There are currently a lot of reported cases of fraudulent activities by bank employees which include fraudulent transfers/withdrawals, cash suppression, unauthorised credits and fraudulent conversion of cheques, diversion of customer deposits, diversion of bank charges, burglary and presentation of forged or stolen cheques.

“Research shows that some bank staff, aside from documentary fraud, sometimes stage-manage robbery or connive with outsiders to perpetrate such act.

“On further research, it has also been revealed in police investigations on the activities of corrupt bank staff that the fraudsters scout for obituaries of well-to-do members of the public, use bank employees to determine the deceased’s account balance, clone their SIM cards for online transfer, and all sorts.

“The amendment sought on section 7 of the Act is therefore necessary to increase the punishment accrued to a guilty bank employee from a lesser punishment of 10 years imprisonment to a higher punishment of 20 years, to serve as a deterrent to all bank staff from such acts.”

According to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc report released in February 2021, banks lost a whopping N5 billion to various fraudulent practices within nine months in 2020.The details of the report indicate that eight commercial banks lost a total of N1.9 billion to fraud.

The banks are Zenith Bank Plc, Access Bank Plc, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank, Wema Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, Polaris Bank Plc and Sterling Bank Plc. The report further indicated that Polaris and Zenith incurred the biggest losses as a result of fraud, after losing N938 million and N360 million respectively.

Polaris, according to the report recorded 134 cases of fraud in 2020. The breakdown includes 43 Automated Teller Machine fraud, three Internet bank fraud cases, 46 mobile fraud cases, three impersonation fraud cases, one theft case, 25 outright theft and 113 general fraud cases.

Update: Teenagers Who Killed Girlfriend For Money Ritual Remanded In Prison

By
Akinwale Kasali
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0
Ogun Teenage Boys

By Akinwale Kasali

The quartet of Balogun Mustakeem, 20, Majekodunmi Soliudeen, 18, Abdulgafa Lukman, 19, and Waris Oladeinde, 18, who confessed to killing a teenage friend for money ritual, have been remanded in Prison custody till March 14, 2022, by Magistrate I.O Abudu.

They were arraigned before a Magistrate Court in Abeokuta, Ogun State Capital, for killing, beheading and burning the head of Sofiat Kehinde on Saturday, 29 January, 2022 in an uncompleted building in Oke-Aregba Kugbe area of Abeokuta, Ogun State.

The suspects were charged on a two-count charge of conspiracy and murder.

Magistrate Abudu did not take the plea of the defendants to be released on bail by their Counsel, rather, she ordered that the suspects be remanded in prison custody.

Abudu ordered that the defendants be remanded in Oba Correctional Centre, pending legal advice from Ogun State Director of Public Prosecution (DPP).

The Prosecutor, Inspector Lawrence Balogun, told the Court that the defendants committed the offence on January, 28, at about 11:00pm at Oke-Aregba Kugbe area in Abeokuta.

Balogun alleged that the defendants conspired among themselves and murdered one Sofiat Kehinde who was a girl friend to one of the defendants, Soliudeen.

He said the defendants killed her by beheading her with a cutlass.

According to the Prosecutor, the defendants murdered sofiat with the plan to use her for money ritual.

The prosecutor, said that the offence committed contravened sections 324, 316 of the Criminal Code Laws of Ogun 2006.

Sign Re-amended Electoral Bill Into Law Now, CNPP Urges Buhari

By
The Source
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0
Chief Willy Ezugwu

Following the confirmation of the transmission of the re-amended Electoral Bill recently passed by the National Assembly to President Muhammadu Buhari, the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) has called on Mr. President to “assent the bill without further delay as the lawmakers has removed the contentious clause on direct party primary elections.”

President Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Babajide Omoworare, had, on Monday, confirmed the transmission of the re-amended bill to the President.

He had explained that the transmission of the bill to Mr. President was in line with the provisions of Section 58 (3) of the 1999 Constitution and the Acts Authentication Act Cap. A2 LFN 2004.

However, in a statement signed by its Secretary General, Chief Willy Ezugwu, the CNPP said “nothing should be a stumbling block to the assent of the bill by Mr. President as the National Assembly has done his bidding.

“Nigerian democracy is at the crossroads and improving our electoral system is a must for the survival of the country itself.

“The best legacy Mr. President can leave at this time of our national life is to bequeath on the country transparent elections, of which assent to the Electoral Act Amendment is critical.

“We hereby join other well-meaning Nigerians to call on Mr. President to immediately sign the re-amended Electoral Bill in demonstration of a genuine commitment to electoral reform as both a victim of electoral manipulation and a beneficiary of improved electoral system under the President Goodluck Jonathan administration in 2015.

“Therefore, we urge Mr. President to ensure that he is on the right side of history and be referenced as electoral reform ambassador at the end of his tenure”, the CNPP said.

OPINION: Police Recruitment: Behind the Figures

By
The Source
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0
Azu Ishiekwene

By Azu Ishiekwene

A small news item from a police statement tucked inside the print edition of PUNCH on Wednesday stirred more interest than usual. In the statement, the police had asked those who applied for the position of constables to resume at the state commands between February 1 and 20.

But that’s not the story. While the police needed only 10,000 constables, about 130,000 candidates applied; that is, for every single successful applicant, 12 will not be considered, all things being equal. It evoked sad memories of the 2014 tragedy, when six million applied for 4,000 vacancies at the Nigeria Immigration Service, and thousands were locked in a stampede at one interview venue, leaving dozens dead; only this time the potential for such a deadly outcome seemed remote.

But that’s not even the main story. In a country as ethnically charged as Nigeria, numbers are not just numbers, they also have tribal marks and ethnic roots. And the story took its headline from these roots. Even though it was inside in print, it got 1.3k comments and over 240 shares in four days on the PUNCH Facebook page.

According to the report taken from police records, out of the nearly 130,000 candidates who applied for the position of constables, 104,403 are northerners, while 23,088 are southerners; which means that one of every four applicants is a northerner. To drive the point home, for example, while Lagos (pop. 20m) has 562 applicants, Kano (pop. 21m) has 7,557 applicants.

That raised more than a few eyebrows. How can the lopsidedness be explained? Is it that in spite of the rampant insecurity in the country, applicants in some parts are not interested in or do not see the need to apply to the force? Is it the nature of the position advertised? Or are there systemic issues that limit applicants from sections of the country?

To start, recruitment into the police force itself has been – and remains – a subject of dispute for the past three or four years. The Police Service Commission (PSC) and the management of the force have been locked in a dispute over who has the authority to recruit. Two years ago, the court ruled in favour of the PSC but the hiring pipeline had already been congested as a result of a backlog.

To save the force from collapsing irretrievably under the weight of understaffing, among its many miseries, the PSC and the management decided to bury the hatchet,  and suspended the implementation of the court ruling to allow management handle recruitment for 2020.

But the police management has extended the period of its own grace and in spite of the court ruling to the contrary, gone ahead to conduct the recruitment for 2021 without reference to the PSC, an action which may not have a direct bearing on the matter at hand, but is perhaps an indication of a deeper underlying problem with the force.

To understand the possible reasons for the lopsidedness in the applications for this year – which has in fact been the trend in the last two years, at least – we’ll need to go beyond the infighting between the police management and the PSC.

Why, despite the high level of insecurity in the southeast, are able and qualified young people in the region not interested in enrolling in the force to secure their communities? Why do the two regions with Nigeria’s highest rate of unemployment (south-south at 37 percent and southeast 29.1 percent, according to the NBS) have the lowest applicants for the police jobs?

Even though the aggregate number of applicants across the country this year far outstrips the available vacancies, why have applications dropped by 35 percent (from over 200,000 two years ago), with the police now having to make special appeals for applicants to come forward?

The answer, in shorthand, is that the police force is no longer fit for purpose. Yet the nature and impact of its obsolescence can hardly be captured in shorthand.

Once the military hijacked the decentralised and regionalised police force after the 1966 coup, it ensured that everything was brought under a central command, without regard to the needs of states and local communities. Whatever survived that deadly raid was finished off in the 1980s after the overthrow of President Shehu Shagari’s government. The army not only purged the force, it raided its armoury and squeezed the life out of any wiggle room left of police independence, even though the services had different and clearly separate constitutional roles.

The net effect of this power grab was that the police force lost its way. It changed from a regional service attuned, responsive and accountable to the needs of local communities to one where a central command in the Force Headquarters decides everything from the cost of stationery to suppliers and from the cost of fueling patrol vans to awards of contracts for uniforms, recruitment, promotion and discipline across the 774 local governments in Nigeria.

As the police-civilian ratio plummeted reaching 1:541, the force became overwhelmed. While officers turned a blind eye, the rank-and-file improvised methods for their own survival. These methods included but were not limited to extortions at roadblocks and hiring out of weapons in their care, the proceeds of which sometimes were demanded by and reached the very top.

Until the elite themselves became targets and victims of the upsurge in crimes as a result of the near total collapse of the police force, they didn’t bother. They were happy to pay for and be assigned policemen for their personal protection and for those of their family members, while the rest of the population was left to look out for themselves. Skyrocketing crimes, especially banditry and kidnappings, changed that. Today, the military has been forced, in many instances, to become the first line of defence even in the forte of the police: internal maintenance of law and order and crime prevention.

The system cannot cope any longer.

Why would the All Progressives Congress (APC), a party that promised change and reform and which currently controls the majority at the National Assembly, refuse to implement the recommendations of its own governors, up and down the country, about the need to restructure the system and emplace state and community police?

Why isn’t it obvious to the Federal Government that, on the whole, apart from lending itself for use in private errands and election rigging, the police force is hardly serviceable for anything else? Yet the same states that Abuja is unwilling to relinquish control to are the ones funding the force without the benefit of holding them to account.

I watched the comical video of the House constitution review committee voting down the proposal for state police by a vote 14 – 11, and couldn’t for the life of me understand if the committee chairman was counting hands for those for state police and counting hands and legs for those against it. The vote would have made nice comedy, if it wasn’t a serious matter.

Advertising for a larger pool for the Nigeria police is not the answer. The lukewarm response from sections of the country should make the message loud and clear.

The current system where recruitment into the police is done on the basis of local government quotas, will naturally, tilt the numbers in favour of states with more local governments. And in this instance, recruitment at the level of constables which requires lower certification, may attract a larger pool from areas where such applicants are in significantly larger numbers.

But what really is the sense in maintaining the current recruitment/operational structure of the police that is based on quotas that completely and willfully ignore the peculiar security needs and challenges of communities? Whose interest does this system serve?

The flawed recruitment system, which is prevalent in the security services, neither enhances the image of the services nor inspires confidence in them. And worse, the bulk of the recruits end up in communities from which they feel alienated and, which in turn, do not feel obliged to share confidence vital to get the job done. Large sections of the country can’t see a future for themselves in the Nigeria police. That’s why the applications are falling.

It’s instructive that while the Eastern Security Network, IPOB, Amotekun and even the hisbah continue to attract droves of talented and enthusiastic young people, a number of who are happy to serve on voluntary basis, the Nigeria police is at its wit’s end to find competent recruits for the service.

The force has passed its sell by date. What the Federal government needs is a relatively small, highly resourced Federal police, whose powers and functions, by law, need not conflict with those in regional and state forces, especially in areas of federal and cross-border crimes.

Of the 54 commonwealth countries – including those with spectacularly unitary systems of government – Nigeria has the reputation, closely followed by Uganda and Sierra Leone, of having one of the most notoriously centralised police forces. Yet, Nigeria is a federal state.

The system is not working. The force must reform or face extinction.

Ishiekwene is Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP

It’s Not Yet Over On APC Gov Primary In Ekiti – Defeated Aspirants Insist

By
Ayodele Oni
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0
APC Party
APC Party

By Ayodele Oni

A scenario which played out in Bayelsa State when the victory of a Governor-elect was upturned in favour of another political party is unfolding in Ekiti State going by threats of seven defeated Governorship Aspirants during last Thursday’s Primary Election by the All Progressive Congress, (APC).

The Supreme Court had upturned the election of the candidate of APC in Bayelsa State a day to his inauguration, and gave victory to the flagbearer of People’s Democratic Party, (PDP).

Seven of the aspirants, including the Senator representing Ekiti Central, Opeyemi Bamidele and a House of Representatives member, Femi Bamisile, have vowed to pursue alleged injustice observed during the primary to its logical conclusion.

Making the threat a week after the primary of the APC in Ekiti state was held, some of the losers insisted that Governor Kayode Fayemi was involved in rigging the party primary.

The Aspirants, insisted that the Election Committee from Abuja aided the rigging plan laid down by Governor Fayemi.

“One thing I can assure you is that the last is yet to be heard about the Ekiti Governorship Primary. We will not stop at anything to seek justice.

“We should take every step that will challenge this political misbehaviour from repeating itself in future so that politicians can learn how to take caution and be civil.”

“Majority of Ekiti people are seriously disappointed with the way the election went.

“I thought the election would be free and fair because I thought Dr. Kayode Fayemi won’t get involved in things that will deprive the party of a free and fair process and that he will provide a level playing ground.

“Only history will judge me whether I was right or not. I thought I knew him, but I didn’t know that I didn’t  know him quite enough.”

These were the submissions of Senator Opeyemi on the role of Dr Fayemi during the primary.

“Speaking further on behalf of others, he explained that the Badaru-led committee hijacked the process by distributing materials a day before the election, changed collation centres and arbitrarily appointed those that would do Oyebanji’s biddings to compromise the process and subvert the will of the people.

“The Ad hoc staff were to be adopted for the conduct of the poll because it was assumed that every member in Ekiti would have taken position. When you talk of ad hoc staff, it means those that would be brought from the national secretariat of the party or APC members from other states.

“The process was totally hijacked by the Badaru Committee. What we saw were campaign managers, sponsors and promoters of Biodun Oyebanji being appointed and saddled with the responsibility of being Returning Officers in the 16 local governments.

“The election materials were to be distributed early on Thursday before the start of the primary and to be distributed in the presence of agents of aspirants, INEC, security chiefs and monitoring teams.

“But materials, both sensitive and nonsensitive, were distributed the previous night. We got calls that as of 11pm, Governor Badaru had handed over materials to Returning Officers from the 16 councils.

“Out of the 16 Returning Officers appointed, 11 of them were with Oyebanji when he collected his expression of interest form at the party Secretariat in Abuja.

“In several of our Local Governments, the venues of our Collation Centres were changed. At the appropriate time, we will give evidence that will put all of us in public court and that will be useful in the court of law. Available INEC report shows that there was no voting, no valid primary election in Ekiti.”

Police Recruitment: PSC, NPF Now To Synergize

By
Ayodele Oni
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0
Nigeria Police

By Ayodele Oni

The Police Service Commission, (PSC) and the Nigeria Police Force are now to jointly carry out recruitment of new officers into the force.

Already, officials of PSC have been deployed to recruitment centres nationwide to participate in the on- going 2021 screening of applicants for employment into the Constable cadre of the Nigeria Police Force.

This was coming after workers of the Commission embarked on a protest which led to the closing down of the office of the Commission last week.

They were protesting against their being sidelined in the recruitment of new Constables into the Police Force and the non implementation of some of their entitlements.

Spokesman of PSC, Ikechukwu Ani, in a statement, said “after a tripartite  meeting with the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force and the Commission’s staff Union leadership, chaired by Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Commission, Chief William Alo, decided to deploy its Staff to the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory for the exercise.

“The Commission’s offices shut down in the wake of the three- day sit at home order by its two Unions were opened on Tuesday February 1st at the expiration of the order.

“The Commission had the same day received in audience a delegation of the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force led by DIG Mohammed Danmallam,  DIG Training, while PSC team was led by the Permanent Secretary, Secretary to the Commission, Chief William Alo, where the two parties resolved some and other contending  issues that led to staff unrest in the Commission.

The Parties resolved to work together and avoid such unnecessary and avoidable occurrances in the future.

“The Commission staff are expected to proceed to States of deployment and are expected to partner with the other stakeholders to ensure that the exercise is transparent, fair and credible.

“The Commission says it will continue to ensure and insist that Police recruitment at any level must be merit driven with  observance of the guidelines of the Federal Character Commission.

“A total of 10,000 applicants are expected to be recruited from the exercise.”

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