The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC Adams Oshiomhole has scored another political point in Edo State.
Oshiomhole who’s in a running battle with Governor Godwin Obaseki over the soul of the party and the state has succeeded in boosting his camp with a prominent politician, Ize Iyamu, the governorship candidate of the opposition PDP in the 2016 governorship election.
Iyamo, a pastor lost the election to Governor Obaseki who at the time was the favorite candidate of the APC chairman for the governorship.
But the once solid relationship has since waxed cold between the two former political allies, to the extent that the rivalry sometimes turned bloody.
Recently, Governor Obaseki was attacked by those considered to be supporters of Oshiomhole, a former governor of the state.
The incident occurred right in the palatial home of the APC boss, where the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu was also present.
Obaseki has blamed the camp of his predecessor for the attack.
But the embattled governor now has much to worry about, considering that Oshiomhole has continued to swell his camp with who is who in the state ahead the 2020 governorship election.
The governor has indicated his interest to stand for the election the second time. APC Chairman opposed his re-election.
Those that know in the state told the magazine that Iyamu has his eyes fixed in next year’s election, the reason why he dumped PDP for the ruling party.
While leading many of his supporters to APC, the former PDP governorship candidate said he was tired of his party.
He said the PDP has lost the vision of its founding fathers and therefore, the party is no longer relevant in the state.
He explained further that his vision aligned with that of President Muhamadu Buhari, who in his estimation has brought development to the country.
The defection of the former PDP stalwart coincided with the ongoing meeting of APC big wigs in Abuja.
The party had earlier this morning held a caucus meeting, attended by President Buhari, Senate President Ahmad Lawan, his Deputy, Ovie Omo Agege, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, APC governors and others.
The caucus meeting preceded the National Executive Council meeting holding in few hours in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
Among other issues, the NEC is expected to pass a vote of confidence on Oshiomhole, who for sometimes has been trenchantly criticized by top APC chieftains over his failure to hold the NEC.
The NEC meeting is coming on the crest of penultimate week call by the Director General of APC Governor’s Forum, on the party’s chairman to resign his position.
But the magazine learned that the image of the APC boss has been further bolstered in recent times as a result of the victory the party recorded in governorship election in Kogi and Bayelsa states.
Its candidates Governor Yahaya Bello and David Lyon trounced their opponents in the keenly contested elections.
Recently too, President Buhari, the magazine had reported, directed some governors bent on removing the APC chairman to sheathe their swords.
The aggrieved governors are not happy with the fierce political battle in Oshiomhole’s state, Edo where the former labor leader appears bent on denying Governor Obaseki re-election.
Two African Women, Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli and Agness Binagwaho were appointed members of the Board of Trustees of the Rockefeller Foudation, the Foundation announced Thursday.
Nwuneli is from Nigeria while Binagwaho is from Ruwanda.
Making the announcement on their Facebook page Thursday, the foundation says their appointment takes effect immediately.
Board Chairman Richard D. Parsons said that both women were recognized for their dedication to leadership.
“It is a pleasure to welcome Agnes and Ndidi to our Board of Trustees. As the Foundation works to lift up the most vulnerable people in communities around the world, their deep global development expertise and longstanding commitment to improving lives will be invaluable to the organization. Agnes and Ndidi have demonstrated and been recognized for their dedication and leadership in global health and agriculture, respectively, which are core areas of the Foundation’s work. I know I speak for the entire Board in saying we are thrilled to welcome them to The Rockefeller Foundation”, he said.
Extolling their deep personal commitment and extensive experience, Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President of The Foundation said: “I feel extremely fortunate to have Agnes and Ndidi join our Board of Trustees. Agnes has helped change the national health landscape as a member of the government of Rwanda, and is an important leader in the field of global health. Ndidi has worked with the public and private sectors to champion solutions that have improved the lives of vulnerable people in Nigeria and around the world. Their deep personal commitment and extensive experience will make them invaluable to our efforts to advance The Rockefeller Foundation’s mission to inspire and foster large-scale human impact that promotes the well-being of humanity throughout the world.”
Dr. Binagwaho has served as Vice Chancellor of the University of Global Health Equity, an initiative of Partners In Health, since 2017. From 2002-2016, she served the Rwandan Health Sector in high-level government positions, first as the Executive Secretary of Rwanda’s National AIDS Control Commission, then as Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, and later spent five years as the Minister of Health. She is also a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, a Professor of the Practice of Global Health Delivery at the University of Global Health Equity in Rwanda, and an Adjunct Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. She completed her MD in General Medicine at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles and her MA in Pediatrics at the Universite de Bretagne Occidentale.
“I have long admired the work of The Rockefeller Foundation and I am delighted to join the Board of Trustees. The Foundation’s work advancing new frontiers, especially with respect to health and science, continues to touch the lives of so many around the world, and I look forward to helping support the advancement of that work,” said Dr. Agnes Binagwaho.
Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli is a Co-Founder of Sahel Consulting: Agriculture & Nutrition Ltd. and serves as its managing partner helping shape agriculture strategy and policy and implementing large-scale, innovative programs in West Africa in partnership with the public, private and nonprofit sectors. With more than 23 years of experience in international development, Ms. Nwuneli was recognized as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, received a National Honour (Member of the Federal Republic) from the Nigerian Government and was listed as one of the 20 Youngest Power African Women by Forbes. Ms. Nwuneli is also the co-founder of AACE Foods, a social enterprise that processes nutritious food made from the best of West Africa’s cereals, herbs, pulses and spices. She is the founder of LEAP Africa, which works across Africa inspiring, empowering and equipping the next generation of dynamic, principled and innovative young leaders. Ms. Nwuneli received her MBA from Harvard Business School, and her undergraduate degree with honors in Multinational and Strategic Management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
“The Rockefeller Foundation’s efforts to scale innovations that help meet the needs of the most vulnerable communities around the world are just as important now as they were when the Foundation was founded. I am honored to join the Board of Trustees to support the Foundation as it continues to build on its legacy of leveraging data, technology and innovation to improve the well-being of humanity,” said Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli.
According to Wikipedia, Rockefeller Foundation was established by the six-generation Rockefeller family. The Foundation was started by Standard Oil owner John D. Rockefeller, along with his son John D. Rockefeller Jr., and Rockefeller Senior’s principal oil and gas business and philanthropic advisor, Frederick Taylor Gates, in New York State on May 14, 1913, when its charter was formally accepted by the New York State Legislature.[4]
As of 2015, the Foundation was ranked as the 39th largest U.S. foundation by total giving. By year-end 2016 assets were tallied at $4.1 billion (unchanged from 2015), with annual grants of $173 million.
Internet Celebrity, Ismaila Mustapha, popularly known as Mompha, has sued the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to court. He is demanding for the sum of N5 million. His claim: Infringement on his Fundamental Human Rights.
Mompha, through his Counsel, Gboyega Oyewole, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, filed a fundamental rights enforcement suit against the Crimes Commission, alleging unlawful detention, and a violation of his rights at the Igbosere High Court in Lagos.
Mompha was arrested by the EFCC in October on allegations of cybercrime and money laundering. But he is urging the court to award N5m against the EFCC for detaining him beyond the constitutionally-allowed period without being charged to court.
He prayed the court to order the EFCC to either immediately charge him to court, or release him if it was not ready to charge him to court.
Oyewole said that his client was entitled to the protection of his fundamental rights under sections 34, 35 and 36 of the 1999 constitution.
He added that his client was arrested on October 19 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja by the EFCC which accused him of money laundering, and since then, he hasn’t been taken to court for prosecution.
The Justice Usman Na’Abba, presiding over a Kano High Court, has dissolved the newly created Emirates in Kano, ordering the reversal to the former status of the Emirate.
Before the creation of additional emirates, Kano was one single emirate ruled by the current Emir, Mohammed Sanusi II.
Recall that the Kano House of Assembly created four new Emirates in Kano in a bill which was quickly accented to by the Governor, Umar Ganduje. Ganduje was alleged to have sponsored the bill by proxy.
The bill effectively reduced the Emirate of Muhammed Sanusi, former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor who is currently the emir of Kano. Both Ganduje and Sanusi appear to have unresolved differences.
The four additional emirates with first class emirs were in Bichi, Rano, Karaye and Gaya.
Delivering judgment Thursday, the Court nullified the law creating the emirates, relying on the argument of a faulty petition for their creation. It also accused the Kano State House of Assembly of violating the provision of Section 101 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), which allows the assembly to make laws.
A member of Kano state House of Assembly, Rabiu Gwarzo, had approached the Court with the some prayers. Part of his prayers was that “ the declaration that the petition titled ‘Appointment and Upgrading of Some Traditional Rulers to the Status of 1st Class Emirs (Head Chiefs) dated 6th May 2019 written by Mallam Ibrahim Salisu Chambers was not properly taken by the House on 6th May 2019” and therefore should be declared null and void.
He also faulted the way the house was convened prior to the passing of the bill and prayed for a “declaration that the non compliance or violation of Order I Rule 14(b) of the Kano State House of Assembly, Rules 2019 which provides for the procedure for reconvening the House, particularly the existence of a requisition and concurrence of the majority and minority leaders of the House of amounts to illegality which vitiate the proceedings and decisions of the Kano State House of Assembly conducted on 6th, 7th and 8th of May 2019 thereby rendering same null and void.”
The Court granted his request.
It is not yet clear whether the defendants will go on appeal.
Brickbats, attacks and counter attacks are the order of the day since the statement made by President Muhammadu Buhari, and corroborated by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences, ICPC, over the alleged mismanaged N1 Trillion Constituency Projects by National Assembly members.
The Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, faulted the ICPC, saying the National Assembly could also scrutinise the Commission’s finances to determine the amount budgeted for its operations, and how it was spent.
Gbajabiamila, who tactically avoided mentioning Buhari in his comments, said the ICPC should be blamed for the criticisms by the President.
The Speaker said, “I think it is a bit of the collective privilege of the whole House, not just one person. My concern is the unintended consequences of words spoken. These are words emanating from the report by the ICPC. There are unintended consequences that could come out of this. It will put people’s wellbeing at risk.
“I will use this medium to send this message across to the ICPC and all other such agencies that they should do thorough investigations; that there is a difference between monies budgeted and monies released. It is as simple as ABC. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to know that there is a difference.”
At a news conference, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, senators said Buhari’s statement was erroneous because constituency projects were usually funded and executed by the executive.
Speaking on behalf of his PDP colleagues, the Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said Buhari should question his ministers and heads of federal agencies if he claimed that he was not comfortable with the level of the projects implementation.
He said, “We are not worried by the statement because we know that it was a statement that was erroneous. We know that somebody must have written a speech and put false information in the speech.
“I have done constituency project and we have always said that constituency projects are not executed by the senators or the House of Representatives’ members.
“Constituency projects are domiciled in the executive who executes them. So if the President said he had not seen anything for it he should ask his ministers and the agencies under him because they are the people who have been executing these projects.”
In the same vein, the Acting spokesman for the Senate, Godiya Akwashiki, said the statement credited to the President Buhari indicting the National Assembly had not been officially transmitted to the Senate.
Akwashiki said if the President had concerns about the National Assembly, “there is a communication channel for him” to reach its leadership.
Akwashiki added that the issue is being overflogged by the media as the President is the President of this country, and he spoke as the Chief Executive but the media can be funny atimes.
“Mr President has not written to the National Assembly officially on this matter. We have modes of communication and I want to believe, if he has anything, he will write to us.”
But the House wondered how the ICPC arrived at N1tn when the budgets for the constituency projects over the years were not properly funded.
The Nigeria Beach Soccer team, Super Sand Eagles, are set for their opening FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup opener against European and former Champions, Portugal, in Asuncion, Paraguay, tagged ‘Paraguay 2019’.
Nigeria is grouped alongside Brazil, Portugal and Oman in a group, tagged, ‘Group of Death’. The Super Sand Eagles promises to spring surprises at the competition.
Nigeria earned a ticket to feature in the 16-team World Cup finals after finishing second at the CAF Beach Soccer Cup of Nations held in Egypt in December 2018. The team fell to eventual Champions, Senegal in the pulsating final.
Nigeria, winners of the African title in 2007 and 2009, and quarter-finalists at the World Cup in 2007 and 2011, will campaign in a fierce Group D that also has world number one team, Brazil and Oman, ranked number 14 in the world. Nigeria is ranked 21st in the world.
Host nation, Paraguay, will tackle Japan in the tournament opening game on Thursday. After their first game against Portugal on Friday, the Supersand Eagles will take to the beach against Oman on Sunday, November 24, and then, against Brazil two days later.
Head Coach, Adamu, has listed veterans Abu Azeez and Victor Tale in his final squad of 12, with Emmanuel Ohwoferia, Emeka Ogbonna, Godspower Igudia, Dami Paul and Taiwo Adams also in.
Others are; Godwin Tale (Victor’s younger brother), Egan-Osi Ekujimi, Babatunde Badmus, Godwin Iorbee and Hameed Kareem.
The match against Portugal comes up tomorrow evening.
A group of women had come visiting. The women, most of them, Choristers came from the Cathedral Of The Transfiguration Of The Lord, (CATOL), Anglican Communion, Owerri. They came to rejoice with one of their own, Hon. Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme, PhD, who had just come back from the Lion’s den. In her words she came out from the land of the dead.
So, the women came to celebrate with her and her family, to praise God for His mercies and protection.
Nwosu-Iheme, is CATOL’s parishioner.
From the gate to her residence in Owerri, the women ushered themselves into her living room, heartily singing, and dancing to a popular Church victory song: “He (God) has given us victory, we will lift Him Higher, Jehovah, we will lift Him higher”
As they entered, everybody in the house, including Nwosu-Iheme and her doting husband, stood up, and sang and danced along. It was like a dancing competition, with hands and eyes lifted unto God. For about 25 minutes, Church songs, one after the other held sway. The praise songs, and the dancing, were apt.
For two weeks, Nwosu-Iheme’s house was so quiet that the drop of a pin would be heard. It was a house in mourning. The mother and the rock of the house has been abducted, her fate unknown.
Nkwerre, her maiden and marital community, fared no better. The town was like one big mourning home. Their influential Traditional Ruler, the Eshi of Nkwerre, declared days of fasting. The women decided to bring out their wrappers for sale. The proceeds was to be their contribution to the demands of her abductors. They had also prepared for war. They set a date to march to, and on the Government House, Owerri. The Eshi prevailed on them to wait. Rich, Nkwerre young men were rearing to go. The Church was also hit.
The Dioceses of Nkwerre and Owerri declared prayers and fasting. At the Synod of Egbu Diocese, the Bishop, The Rt. Rev. Geoffrey Okorafor, made her ordeal a prayer point. The Judiciary, her constituency, was not left behind. The National President of the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, Paul Usoro, SAN, issued a strongly-worded statement, deriding and decrying her abduction. Both the Edo and Imo branches of the NBA boycotted the Courts for days, in protest.
Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme was abducted inside Benin City, around 11.30am, on October 30, not along the Benin- Agbor road as was reported in the media.
For four days, her abductors made no contact with her family or anybody. On the 5th day, they did, and named their price.
And negotiations began
Days ran into two weeks. The negotiation went back on forth. An agreement was reached. On the 13th day, they called for the ransom money to be delivered. They promised to release her that night, somewhere, in Benin. It didn’t happen. And they made no other contact.
But on the 14th day, late evening, Her Lordship’s voice was the sweetest heard by her family in decades of her being wife and mom.
She called from the Protea Hotel, Benin City, to say she has been released; that she was free, and safe.
The CATOL women who came visiting just wanted to see her. To thank God. To pray with, and for her. And to hear her voice, even one word, one sentence.
They got more than they bargained for. They heard the story of her ordeal, why, and how she was abducted.
At some point, a number of the women became emotional. And so did Nwosu-Iheme, especially, when she spoke about her Police Orderly of 12 years, an Inspector. Her voice cracked. Tears rolled down her cheeks. “He was my friend, my kid brother, my Chief Security Officer. He was different. An honest police officer. He lived with me for 12 years. For those 12 years, he protected me with his skin. And finally, he gave his life for me. As long as I live , as long as my family members live, his family will never suffer. His six children will go to any school of their choice, to any level. That’s a promise we, as a family, have made to God.”
Following, is Hon Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme’s story.
Abduction, Not Pre-planned. She Ran Into Her Abductors
Justice Nwosu-Iheme’s abduction shocked Nigerians and the International community. Nigeria’s first female Judge to have a PhD, reputed for her fearlessness and no-nonsense stand on issues, she had handled many sensitive cases, including the notorious ‘Otokoto case’. At a very young age, she fearlessly, took on the case which had been rejected by a couple of other Judges. The fear when she was abducted was: Who dunnit?
Of the Appeal Court Division, Benin, she was presiding over appeal cases emanating from the 2019 General election at the time of her abduction. So, was she kidnapped because of the cases the Court was handling and/or had handled – Political or otherwise?
But she rubbished such fears and thoughts. The Appeal Court, unlike the High Court, is not a-one man show. Usually, three Judges sit on an Appeal.
Her abduction was not pre-planned, she emphasized. She was at the right place at the wrong time.
Done with her duties in Benin,the Judge was on her way to Owerri when the unfortunate incident amazingly took place inside Benin City.
The abduction scene was a stretch of bad road in the city. Every motorist usually slowed down there. As her car was approaching the spot, there were “uniformed policemen” there. Well-kitted, they packed their double-decked Hilux vehicle, stood-by, AK 47 guns in hand.
They were kidnappers. She didn’t know. Nobody knew. They had already, earlier, kidnapped four people, including, mother and daughter. There was, also, a young ex-FUTO student, an engineer, who wept like a baby as soon as she recognised Nwosu-Iheme. He was classmates with her son at FUTO. The Judge was in the habit of feeding all of them fat, and giving them pocket money each time they visited.
The Kidnappers were waiting to kidnap more people when Her Lordship’s SUV, bearing an FG plate number and Judiciary, approached. They saw a Policeman sitting in front, and knew that whoever must have a kidnap value. They smiled, and readied themselves for action.
As her vehicle slowed down, they saluted her. She raised her hand and took their compliments. That was when they struck.
Before she brought down the hand she had just used to take the compliments, a volley of gun shots rained. Confused, she wondered where the shots came from. Momentarily, she relaxed, thinking she was in the midst of Policemen. But, instinctively, she bent her head down. And so did her Orderly, or so she thought. She didn’t know that he had been fatally shot. He was wearing a bullet proof vest. They knew and, so, aimed at his forehead.
Before she could comprehend what was happening, scores of bullets rained again, this time, shattering her car’s two back tyres.
She told her driver to drive on. Since it was in the city, broad day light, she thought, an intervention would come. None came.
She said she had two options: To feign she was dead, or to allow them take her. She discarded the former. If she feigned she was dead, they may in anger, for losing a high profile price, pump bullets into her. She opted to be brought out from the car, and put in the Hilux. That was where she met the others earlier kidnapped.
Six men, wearing Police uniform did the job.
“I was not a target. I was not trailed. Nobody double-crossed my car. I was not on the Benin-Agbor road. It was in Benin city. I ran into them. Four people had been kidnapped before me. If I had delayed anywhere by 20 minutes, that would have saved us. They would have driven off before our arrival”.
The Joy Of The Kidnappers
As soon as they put her in the hilux, the first thing they did was to grab her wrist watch. They looked at it, they screamed. Their joy knew no bounds. These guys knew the make. Then, they grabbed her rings and her bangles, and screamed some more. They went back to her car, took her hand bag, saw the quality, and knew they had hit a jackpot. Then, they went back and grabbed her suit case. They took their time. Yet, the thousands of Security personnel in Benin – Military, Police, Civil Defence, Para- military – were nowhere near! God has buttered their bread, the abductors exclaimed. They, therefore, discarded the idea of waiting for some more victims. Justice Nwosu-Iheme was more than enough. They drove off, unconfronted. And this was inside Benin City!
They asked their five victims to bend down, as they drove on, just so nobody would see them and suspect anything. But there was no need. They knew their route. Until they got to their final destination, they met no military or police check-point.
Madam Justice, You Have Broken The Internet
Final destination was a house – completed, not uncompleted, as had been speculated.
By the next morning, they had known her identity, fully. Smart guys, they relied on the internet to follow reactions to their exploits of the previous day. The Social media provided that. It was awash with her very rich Curriculum Vitae. What they read gave them joy unlimited. A Judge of the Appeal Court. (They called it Appeal Supreme Court). Nigeria’s first female Judge to have a PhD. Well respected and regarded. Holds the key to a city in the USA. Dotting husband. Well behaved children – all lawyers, medical doctor, engineer. Had handled high profile sensitive cases. What else? The Social media had it all. So, they told her: “Madam Justice, you have broken the internet. We thank God for providing you for us. We are happy you are in our midst. After you, we will not embark on any other job for the next six months. God has blessed us with you in our midst”.
They Treated Her With Respect And Dignity
Once they confirmed her kidnap value, with the help of the Social Media, they knew they had to protect their high profile victim by all means.
So, they treated her with respect and reverence. She was neither blind-folded nor molested in anyway. For her sake, they extended same to the other abductees. Madam Justice, they called her. Atimes, with a bow.
They provided her with a new mattress. “Madam Justice, see it, it is a new mattress”. They brought new bedsheets, told her same thing, tore the covering water-proof open before her to prove it’s new. They brought new Ankara wrapper, and told her: “It is a new one, Madam Justice.” She was wearing a boo-boo when she was abducted. So, the wrapper came in- handy. She could, at least, use it to ward off mosquitoes. There was no light.
They provided drinking water, and with apologies, told her: “We are sorry. We don’t have bottled water here. We have pure water. Look at the label. It is a good one. We know you don’t drink it, but manage it. You use you teeth to tear it open.” I know, she told them.
Every morning, they would boil hot water for her to take her bath.
And, they regularly asked her what she wanted to eat. “There is bread, rice beans, yam, anything you want”. She rejected all. But was grateful for the pure water. It would help her to re-hydrate. She had a small cut on the forehead which was bleeding. When they noticed it, they quickly put a call through to their boss. He asked them to quickly stop the bleeding. When she complained “of cough,” they called their boss who asked them to urgently get her the best cough medicine. They did. But, she didn’t take it.
Her Most Difficult Days
When they bought a new mattress for her, she knew she would be with them for a long time. But the first one week was her most difficult. Water was her most delicious food.
Where Is My Orderly? Tell Me The Truth, Did You Kill My Orderly?
Her Orderly.
After four days, one of them became friendly with her. On the fifth day, she asked him, “Where is my Orderly. Please, tell me the truth. Did you kill my Orderly?”
He answered her in the negative. “No, we did not kill him. We only took his AK 47 gun from him”.
Nwosu-Iheme was happy. She said she wanted both of them to tell the story of their ordeal together.
But, the next day, she asked him again: ” Tell me the truth, did you kill my Orderly? The friendly kidnapper hesitated, and again denied. But She is a Judge. She understood. She broke down, and wept. For days, she wept non-stop, mourning her Orderly who she describes as the best.
But the other woman, who was earlier kidnapped, along with her daughter, scolded and consoled her both, at once. “Stop crying. Be consoled that you are alive. You will tell his family what happened. With the number of bullets fired at your car, it is a miracle you were not killed. So, stop”.
The remaining number of days she stayed with the kidnappers was a healing period for her to come to terms with the death of her Orderly. “I will miss him forever”, she says.
The Negotiation: They wanted Osinbajo’s Trader-moni
The negotiation for her release was long and tough. For the first four days, her abductors made no contact with her family. That almost killed them. Said her husband :”I was finished and walking on my head. I didn’t know what to tell our children, grown up as they are. I was very worried about them. My wife is very close to our children. Our grand children knew what happened, and were in tears , everyday. As for me, I was a finished man already.”
Then, the kidnappers called. They asked for a ransom of, wait for this, One Billion Naira! The haggling began. They came down to N500million. Every offer made was rejected. They said the Federal Government should bring the money. She told them she was not working for the FG, but the Judiciary. “Your car plate number bears FG”, they countered. Then, they told her that Vice President Osinbajo should pay them Trader-moni. President Buhari should order him to do so. When she told them it doesn’t work that way, they rained curses on both men. The day the NASS expressed concern over the new trend of abducting Judges, using her case as a peg, and asked for adequate protection for Judiciary officers, they called them useless people. “It is now that they know they need to protect them. Useless people”.
The Release Through A Tunnel And The Prayers With The Kidnappers
Finally, a compromise was reached. They called the family, Tuesday, guided them on what to do and told them she would be released somewhere in Benin, which would be communicated to them.
All through that Tuesday night, they did not communicate with the family. The whole of Wednesday morning and afternoon, nothing.
Night came, no calls. The family’s hope of a re-union they thought would be quick after “the settlement” was ebbing.
But the abductee said she knew she would be released that Wednesday. What she didn’t know was the time.
How: “They were happy. Very happy. And were anxious to move on. Every abductee, but one, had “done something”. Even at that, they didn’t mind. They had enough to cover his. So, why waste time?
At the appointed time they brought the five of them out, asked them to sit down. Then, the abductors called for prayers – prayers for God’s protection as they depart. They asked their victims if they were shocked that they too pray. To support their behaviour, they quoted the Bible, and told the story of Saul, who persecuted Christians, no end, but later repented, and even became a Saint – St Paul.
The harrowing journey to freedom began. It was through a tunnel. To go through it, they all had to bend down, guided by their abductors. It was a long stretch. At a point, her strength failed. She had not eaten for days. But God intervened. She trudged on. When they got to the end of the tunnel, there was a steaming vehicle, waiting for them.
They entered, and drove off at a break- neck, suicidal speed. Fear gripped them. “They had their hearts in their stomach” What if a trailer crushed them? But God was in charge.
They gave them N2,000 each, for transportation, and dropped them in the middle of nowhere. Three roads confronted them. One to Lagos, another to Benin, and the other to another town. They told their victims motorcyclists usually took that route. So, they stood there.
Soon motorcyclists began to drive-by.
The Good Samaritan
Justice Nwosu-Iheme took the first one. She was wearing a boo-boo, not comfortable for such a ride “This is my first time of taking an Okada.Please, take it easy, she appealed. He asked what they were doing at that lonely stretch. She told him they were kidnap victims, and asked to be dropped where she could get a taxi.
The motorcyclist turned out to be the biblican good Samaritan. He refused to take money from her. “Madam, they kidnap you, you came out, and you wan pay me. No ma.” Good young man, he waited until a taxi, carrying no other passenger came. She insisted on being the only occupant in any taxi.
Nwosu-Iheme was so touched by the man’s kindness that she asked him to write his phone number somewhere for her.
“For your kindness to me, when I get back to my family alive, by the grace of God, you will not be an Okada rider again. I will help you in life”, she told the motorcyclist. She is sticking to that promise.
Free At Last
She asked the taxi driver to take her to Protea Hotel, Benin. At the reception, she begged the receptionist to use their phone. She remembered her husband’s phone number. His youngest son, the negotiator, who suddenly became the voice of the family picked the call. When he heard his mother’s voice, he screamed: “Daddy, she is alive, she is free”.
Is She Bitter?
Not quite. But she is human. The killing of her Police Orderly is too much for her. It’s like a sore on the palm. She shudders each time she remembers him. And, it is often. Her Orderly’s family members were worried about her, knowing how close they were. On her way back to Owerri the day after her release, she went to the Police station where her bullet-riddled car was parked. She wanted to look at the car where her Orderly died, for the last time.
She attributed the fate that befell her to God’s wish, her destiny. God wanted to strengthen me, to show me His face and His love for me.
I owe Him. I will thank Him everyday of my life. It is thanksgiving to Him everyday.
“I love my job. And I love my country. I was appointed a Judge at a very young age. I have kept clean hands. I have never seen black and called it white. I have never seen white and called it black. In the shadows of death, I sang to God, I asked Him to judge me by my actions. God saw my heart, and saved me from the clutches of death. I appreciate Him.
May God bless our country. May God’s name be praised “.
This is the second time the family would go through this harrowing experience. A couple of years back, one of her twin sons was kidnapped in Owerri.
After several false steps that resulted in a British Court slamming a whopping $200 million for stay on asset seizure that could have resulted in $9 billion worth of national assets being seized, Nigeria finally files an appeal.
Recall that a British Court had declared that Nigeria pay $200 million as fine for stay on execution of the asset seizure case which involved a deal with Process and industrial Development, P&ID gone sour.
P&ID, under a 2010 contract, won a $6.6 billion arbitration award after the deal crumbled. The award has been accruing interest since 2013 and is now worth more than $9 billion, according to Reuters.
It was a private firm set up to carry out a gas project with Nigeria then.
The President Goodluck Jonathan Administration had started the Arbitration process with the firm, but the Buhari government abandoned the negotiations and got a ruling behind their back awarding $6.6 billion in assets against Nigeria. A court in London granted stay on execution to the tune of $200 million, which the Nigerian government is now challenging.
The company belonged to two Irish nationals said to be portfolio investors with no experience in Oil and Gas.
Attorney General Abubakar Malami had said they have filed an appeal, though he did not say when the Appeal was filed. Neither did he say anything about the response of the Court.
Industry watchers have agreed that it was sheer negligence for the government not to have followed up on the arbitration which, this Magazine learnt, was part of the hand over note from President Jonathan. Opposition has claimed that Buhari abandoned the arbitration in order to blame his predecessor for the mess, but “it has come back to haunt him”, an analyst said yesterday.
For the appellate Court to set aside the ruling of the lower Court, it must be proven that there is an error in the ruling.
Meanwhile, Justice Okon Abang of Abuja High Court has refused to grant adjournment to a related case involving the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and a Briton, James Nolan. Nolan had sought adjournment to the case, an application the Court refused.
Last October, the EFCC arraigned Nolan and Adam Quinn (currently at large), over their alleged complicity in the 9.6 billion dollars judgment against Nigeria, several weeks after two P&ID directors were convicted over the deal.
The case between embattled Former Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode and the Mudashiru-Obasa led Lagos State House of Assembly has been scheduled against January 2020.
Ambode had gone to court to challenge the constitutional right of the Assembly to probe his administration’s procurement of 820 buses for public transportation, allegedly, without budgetary appropriation.
The suit against the State Assembly, forced it to suspend the probe following an order from the court which directed all parties to maintain status quo.
Aside the House, other defendants are the Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa; House Clerk, Mr A.A Sanni; Chairman of the Ad hoc Committee set up by the House to probe the procurement, Fatai Mojeed and members of the Committee. They are Gbolahan Yishawu, A.A Yusuff, Yinka Ogundimu, Mojisola Lasbat Meranda, M.L Makinde, Kehinde Joseph, T.A Adewale and O.S Afinni.
At the resumption of the matter on Wednesday before Justice Y.A Adesanya, a team of lawyers to the defendants led by Lawal Pedro (SAN) and Olukayode Enitan (SAN) informed the court of the counter affidavit filed in opposition to the motion for interlocutory injunction and a notice of preliminary objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the matter.
Already, Pedro said he had been served with claimant’s (Ambode’s) written reply on point of law to the counter affidavit with a written address.
In section 1 of the Bill, the 1st Defendant (House of Assembly) authorized the total Budget for the year 2018 to be One Trillion, Forty Six Billion, One Hundred and Twenty One Million, One Hundred and Eighty-One Thousand, Six Hundred and Eighty Naira (N1,046,121,181,680.00) comprising the sum of Three Hundred and Forty Seven Billion, Thirty-Eighty Million, Nine Hundred and Thirty-Eight Thousand, Eight-Hundred and Seventy-Two Naira (N347,038,938,872.00) only and Six Hundred and Ninety-Nine Billion, Eighty-Two Million, Two Hundred and Forty-Two Thousand, Eight Hundred and Eighty Naira (N699,082,242,808.00) only as the Recurrent and Capital Expenditures respectively.
“Part of the items authorized by the Bill under Capital Expenditure was: “LAGBUS Public Transport Infrastructure (MEPB); Part financing of 820 buses” which was item 8 under schedule 1- Part C of the Bill,” the former Governor averred.
He added that having prescribed the manner of withdrawal of funds in sections 3 and 4 of the 2018 Appropriation Law, it was unconstitutional for the House to attach another condition in section 9 of the law for further approval to be sought before incurring any expenditure on the purchase of the buses.
Highlighting the specific breach of his constitutional rights to fair hearing by the House, the former Governor said on August 27, 2019 during proceedings of the Assembly, some lawmakers thoroughly vilified and disparaged him as having purchased the buses without budgetary approval and that the procurement was a waste of public funds, while at the end of the proceedings, the House resolved to constitute an Ad Hoc Committee to probe the procurement.
He said it was surprising that the very lawmakers who contributed actively in vilifying, disparaging and denigrating him, constituted the bulk of the members of the Committee, which is a clear derogation of his right to fair hearing.
Ambode added that in continuation of deliberate misrepresentation of facts, the House falsely claimed that an invitation had been extended to him to appear before the Committee but that he failed to honour the said invitation.
“On Thursday 10th October, 2019, the 4th and 5th Defendants (Mojeed and Yishawu) who are Chairman and member of the Committee respectively set up by the 1st Defendant pursuant to the provisions of section 129 of the Constitution again raised on the floor of the House an allegation that the Claimant (Ambode) was invited to appear before the Committee but that he failed to do so whereupon the 2nd Defendant (Speaker) ruled that a warrant of arrest would be issued against the Claimant if he refuses to appear before the Committee.
“The Claimant states that no letter of invitation was delivered to him before the 4th and 5th Defendants made the false allegation against the Claimant which was widely reported by various national Newspapers in the country.
“Further to the foregoing paragraphs, the 1st Defendant had also invited some of the former Commissioners who served under my Government to appear before the 1st Defendant on Tuesday 15th October 2019. These included former Commissioners for Energy, Agriculture and Economic Planning and Budget respectively among others.
He, however, asked for time to react to the process served on him in court by the claimant’s legal team.
In response, the claimant’s counsel, Tayo Oyetibo (SAN) confirmed the receipt of the preliminary objection but informed the court that the defendants were yet to file a defence to the suit.
At the instance of both counsels, especially the need to put in all necessary processes, the matter was adjourned to January 16, 2020 for hearing.
Ambode had said contrary to deliberate misrepresentation of facts by the lawmakers, the procurement of the 820 buses was well captured in the 2018 Appropriation Law which was duly approved by the House.
Less than 24 hours after the sack of Mauricio Pochettino as the Manager of North London Club side, Tottenham Hotspurs, the Chairman of the Club, Daniel Levy has announced the appointment of Jose Mourinho as the new Manager of the Club.
Mourinho is the club’s new head coach on a three-year contract. It lasts till the 2022/23 season.
Spurs sacked manager Pochettino on Tuesday following a miserable start to the campaign that has seen last season’s Champions League finalists slide down the Premier League table.
Tottenham sits 14th in England’s top flight after picking up just three wins from their opening 12 games, and were eliminated from the League Cup in September by fourth-tier Colchester United.
Speaking on his appointment, Mourinho said: “I am excited to be joining a club with such a great heritage and such passionate supporters. The quality in both the squad and the academy excites me. Working with these players is what has attracted me.”
Mourinho who was relieved of his job by Manchester United last season following unimpressive performance that saw the Manchester United management and players lose confidence in him. He was replaced with Ole Gunnar Solksjaer as Manchester United manager.
Before his present appointment, Mourinho has been a soccer pundit and had not in any way written off the possibility of returning to the English Premier League.
This will be the third club Mourinho will be handling in the Barclays EPL having managed Manchester United and Chelsea previously.
