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EFCC: Why I've Not Taken Over From Lamorde -Waziri
By Our Reporter
The new acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), retired
Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) Faraida Waziri is yet to take over office from Ibrahim Lamorde due to the latter's absence.
Lamorde was appointed by the presidency to take over from the former EFCC boss, Nuhu Ribadu, who left for studies at the prestigious Nigeria Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos, Plateau State, late last year pending when a better replacement would be found by government for him.
Waziri was named in acting capacity as the new boss of the Commission and would eventually take charge after the Senate had formally confirmed her appointment.
Speaking with Sunday Independent on phone on Friday after confirming receipt of her letter of appointment, Waziri said she was yet to take over office fully from her predecessor because Lamorde, who is to hand over to her is currently not available.
Her words: " I am yet to take over because the man who is to hand over to me is not around now. I hear he is out of the country and until he returns, I don't think I will effectively take over office of the Chairman, because there should be proper handing and taking over notes."
She however expressed hope that as soon as Lamorde returns from his trip she will take over from him since the letter appointing her into the office of the EFCC Chairman directed that she resumes immediately.
Waziri who said she has a lot to do with the Commission when she settles down for business however told this newspaper that she cannot unveil her plans until the formal handover is carried out.
It will be recalled that President Umaru Yar'Adua on Thursday forwarded the name of Waziri to the Senate for confirmation as EFCC Chairperson.
A source close to Aso Rock said in Abuja on Thursday that the Senate is expected to approve the appointment expeditiously.
Sunday Independent had reported exclusively on February 24 that Waziri would be the new EFCC boss.
She has a reputation in the police as a 'no nonsense' officer who rose through the ranks, and held several appointments, including the headship of the Federal Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), and International Police (Interpol) in Lagos.
Inspector General of Police (IG), Mike Okiro, last December sent former EFCC Chairman, Ribadu, to a course at the NIPPS, an initiative that sparked controversy.
Ribadu was also replaced by Lamorde in an acting capacity.
With the appointment of Waziri, Yar'Adua has made a clean break from the era of Ribadu, who many believed was former President Olusegun Obasanjo's hatchet man.
Waziri's appointment is strongly supported by several members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Police Service Commission (PSC).
Waziri's confirmation may be handled by the Senate Committee of the Whole, and not the Committee on Drugs, Narcotics and Financial Crimes, because of its sensitive nature, according to our source.
Source: Daily Independent, 18th May 2008.
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Lagos Pipeline fire: Don’t blame us! State gov tackles NNPC
Written by Wale Akinola, Olasunkanmi Akoni
...5 victims still missing, Son returned to school to die—Grandma
Lagos State government has hit back at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, over the claim by the NNPC that the state government should be held responsible for last Thursday’s pipeline fire in a Lagos suburb, Ijegun that claimed several lives.
The state government yesterday said that the incident was a tragedy waiting to happen “and there should be no passing of buck”
Also, 48 hours after the Lagos pipeline fire, smell of smoke and burnt bodies remained thick at the scene of the tragedy.
Of the seven persons officially declared missing by the Nigerian Red Cross as a result of the inferno, two were found dead.
One of the dead victims was simply identified as Jude Ude while the other was an 11-year old primary three pupil who was believed to have been crushed in the stampede that attended the fire disaster in Ijegun Community Primary School.
The name of the deceased pupil was given as Boluwatife Oduntan.
The 73-year old grandma of the pupil, Mope Kilase, told Sunday Vanguard, yesterday, that she regretted allowing the boy to return to school on the fateful day after his teacher sent him back home for not bringing to school seeds he alongside his colleagues were supposed to plant at the school farm.
According to the grandmother, she gave Boluwatife money to buy the seeds only to return to school to die.
Yesterday, Lagos State government commenced the process of repairing the pipeline that got broken after a bulldozer involved in construction work exhumed it and ignited the fire.
A bulldozer was clearing the scene, yesterday afternoon, preparatory to locating the burst pipe for the
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, to effect repairs.
Also at the scene was the monarch-elect of Ijegun, Alhaji Nureni Akinremi (aka Olomitutu),who pleaded for compensation for victims.
Akinremi, whose several properties were burnt and seven workers at his block making factory around the fire scene suffered first degree burns, urged the state government not to abandon the construction of the road because of the tragedy.
Dismissing the claim by the NNPC that Lagos State government caused the fire tragedy because it embarked on construction work along NNPC Right of Way, ROW, in the area without authorization from it, the state government, yesterday, said the accusation amounted to buck passing.
The state special duties commissioner, Dr. Tola Kasali, who addressed a press conference in Ikeja alongside his counterpart in the health ministry, Dr. Jide Idris, said his ministry had, in a move to identify buildings likely to have been built under NNPC’s ROW, written to the corporation about a month ago asking for the ROW.
“But, unfortunately, they promised to make it ready at a later day”, Kasali stated.
The commissioner went on: “Our plan is to embark on sensitisation campaign targeted at the residents on the need to be extra careful in handling fire situation as well as marking some of the houses for demolition. We are going to collaborate with the NNPC to avoid re-occurrence. We have about 125 kilometres of pipeline layout in Lagos. As soon as we have the map, we shall start informing the affected residents.
“On the fire disaster, it was a tragedy waiting to happen ... and there should be no passing of buck”..
On behalf of the state government, he commiserated with the affected families and disclosed that survivors were receiving medical treatment at hospitals in Alimosho and Isolo as well as Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) Ikeja. He said only 16 persons died in the fire incident while 15 victims had been discharged from hospital after treatment.
According to Kasali, it was imperative to correct the erroneous information being disseminated to the public that more than 100 victims died in the tragedy as such information was capable of causing panic in the already tensed environment.
His words: “When this incident happened on Thursday, all agencies responsible for emergency were mobilised and went into action. Private organisations were also around to render assistance. It was the combined efforts of all these agencies that curtailed the fire and saved it from recording high casualties. All the victims were removed to our various hospitals.
“The people recorded dead and accounted for the high figure may have been those who had minor injuries. You cannot hide dead bodies, they can be seen. If there are organisations that say they have dead bodies, they should be brought to us. Up to date, we have 16 dead victims.
“Where would they have been? We are using this opportunity to correct the mis-information that has been making the rounds putting the figure at over 100. This is quite unfortunate.
“If there are groups or individuals who have information concerning dead bodies, let us know, because we have sent out teams on further rescue exercise.””
According to Kasali, measures had been put in place to get information on missing people. “We have officials still on ground who have been gathering information on the situation of things”, the commissioner stated.
On whether the state government was planning a relief camp for the victims, Kasali said, “As at yesterday (Friday), we had only 14 people displaced but, as at this morning, we had only two left, which will not be enough to open a camp. In situations like this, the state government has a system of intervening. We are collating figures and materials, government will come at the appropriate time to mitigate the damages”.
Idris, at the briefing, expressed the state government’s condolence to the victims, saying, “We want to reiterate the statistics we gave on the figures of the disaster from all the hospitals we have visited. As at today, 16 people have been confirmed dead. Injured victims are in the custody of LASUTH and General Hospital Isolo, they are receiving care, 15 people have been discharged as of today.
“We therefore appeal to those who are still seeking attention in the private hospitals to transfer such victims to our public hospitals so that they can be treated free of charge as well as receive adequate medical attention.”
The Nigerian Red Cross officials, yesterday, said two of the seven persons declared missing were dead But the grandmother of Boluwatife, the pupil who died, narrated her experience on the day of the incident up till the time the boy was found dead in a private hospital at Isheri-Osun.
Speaking yesterday to Sunday Vanguard at her No. 5, Lateef Toriola Street, Ijedodo, she said the victim had gone to school as usual that day, only to return home moments later on the grounds that his teacher sent him home because he did not bring seeds to be planted at the school farm as instructed earlier.
According to her, the cost of the seeds was N5, but the boy demanded N20.
In the end, the boy got N5 and returned to school, ostensibly after buying the seeds.
The woman said she regretted allowing the boy to return to school after she heard of the fire incident as it was only Boluwatife, of all his colleagues living around the area, that failed to return home.
Mrs. Kilase said she enlisted the assistance of relations far and near before the corpse of the boy was found yesterday at a private clinic in Isheri-Osun where he and other victims were taken for treatment.
The team clearing the tragedy scene to enable repair work commence on the broken oil pipeline, yesterday, was led by the special adviser to Lagos State governor on works and infrastructure, Mr. Ganiyu Johnson.
The area was cordoned off by the police to ensure that the clearing was hitch free while a fire service vehicle also remained on standby at the scene.
The bulldozer doing the clearing had removed the ill-fated bulldozer which digger did the damage to the pipeline from the disaster point. Diggers trying to locate the damaged pipeline were at work.
Source: Vanguard, 18th May 2008.
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Lamorde shocked by EFCC posting
By Eni Akinsola
The man who was holding fort at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Lamorde, it has been revealed, like most Nigerians was shocked by the announcement last Thursday of a change of guards at the corruption fighting agency. The Nation learnt that the operatives were also caught unawares by the posting, which may well lead to some revelations on the once dreaded agency.
The former acting chairman according to our sources was away abroad when the news came that he has been relieved of his post. The source added that he has taken ill some days before the announcement and had gone abroad for treatment and to convalesce. He had no inkling that he was going to be removed as acting chair the source said. The fact that his removal is to take immediate effect further came as a rude shock to the man who came on board after Nuhu Ribadu, the pioneer chair was asked to proceed on a course at the prestigious Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, near Jos.
The Nation
learnt that Lamorde, who had shifted his command post to Abuja from Lagos where he had hitherto operated as Head of Operations had, in spite of his indisposition, scheduled a meeting with operatives for Lagos to hold yesterday before the hammer fell on his short tenure as the acting chair of the agency. It was not known if he planned to be present at the meeting or if he had detailed another senior officer to stand in for him. Whichever, the meeting did not hold as scheduled.
To underline the shock that pervaded the hierarchy of the agency as a result of the announcement, Ibrahim Wakili, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) and the substantive Head of Bank Fraud of the organisation, had to cancel, at the last minute, an arrangement that would have seen him at the closing ceremony of a training programme for operatives. In his place, the Head of Administration had to declare the session closed to the bewildering look of trainees.
Our source said it is mixed feelings among low ranking operatives. One fact that may be exposed as a result of the latest posting to the EFCC is the unexpressed feeling of marginalisation and favouritism in the agency. For one, Wakili who was recently promoted to the post of Deputy Director of Operation still operates as Head pf Operations while maintaining the former position of Head of Bank Fraud.
Sources close to The Nation claims that though Wakili is not despised by operatives, instances like his, where operatives from a particular section of the country have better opportunities over and above equally, if not better, qualified operatives abound in the agency.
Some operatives have before the recent postings, complained of the dominance of Northern, nay Adamawa operatives, in the agency. If these undercurrents played any part in the posting of Mrs. Waziri is not confirmed yet. What can be surmised according to our source is that there is a situation of expectation that some perceived wrongs could be corrected once and for all by the new woman.
Another source said that instances abound in which some operatives have benefited from overseas training more than five times while some, with better qualifications, have been left in the cold. Also, local trainings are said to be arranged in a skewed format, fuelling feelings of domination and marginalisation.
But these are not the only developments that may follow the deployment of Mrs Waziri to the EFCC. Our source said that with the wide powers of the Chairman of the agency, several high-ranking operatives may have to leave on their own. Also support staff and professionals who have helped in the day to day non-investigative activities of the organisation may be on their ways out.
As with most postings, it is likely The Nation learnt that the new helmswoman may want to work with her own people. A source close to the agency says, Dapo Olorunyomi, a foremost journalist and Chief of Staff to Ribadu may be one of the first to leave if noting is done to make him stay. For one, Dapo is a principled person who obviously must have been convinced of the course and cause Ribadu was pursuing before deciding to work with him. With the possibility of the return of Ribadu to the agency now a closed chapter, Olorunyomi may be on his way to a new job.
The Nation was told that though most operatives believe that it is too early though to conclude on what might follow the EFCC deployments, they are expecting sundry changes to reposition the agency.
Source: Nation, 18th May 2008.
Waziri is New EFCC Chairman
From Funso Muraina in Abuja
Speculations as to the fate of Mallam Nuhu Ribadu as the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) were laid to rest yesterday.
Five months after he was controversially sidelined and ordered to proceed on study leave, Ribadu was yesterday officially replaced as the chairman of the anti-graft agency.
President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua approved the appointment of Mrs. Farida Waziri, a retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police, as EFCC chairman, replacing Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde who had taken over from Ribadu in an acting capacity after Ribadu resumed at the National Institute for Strategic and Policy Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Plateau State.
Waziri will hold forte in an acting capacity until she is confirmed by the Senate as stipulated in the EFCC Act.
In a letter signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, he stated that the new chairman’s appointment took effect from yesterday.
Waziri has LLB (Hons) and LLM degrees from the University of Lagos, BL from the Nigerian Law School, MSc in Strategic Studies from the University of Ibadan and attended the Nigeria War College, Abuja.
The SSG’s letter added that Waziri attended various professional and administrative courses at home and abroad, mostly on investigations and operations.
Also, the president has approved that Mr. Emmanuel Akomaye, whose tenure as member and Secretary of the commission expired in April, 2008, should continue in the same office in acting capacity.
Akomoaye is a lawyer and has been with the commission since 2003.
THISDAY learnt that the appointment of Waziri, who hails from Benue State, had been in the pipeline for a while, but the President was said to have initially asked those sponsoring her nomination to “hold on”.
However, her sponsors, who are said to be some former and serving governors and a former presidential aide, were said to have sealed the deal to have her appointed last weekend in Bayelsa State after a governorship campaign rally.
Kingibe’s statement was silent on the fate of Lamorde, although it is assumed that he would go back to his position as Director of Operations.
However, there were strong indications that he too may be sent on compulsory study leave which was aborted in January as a result of insinuations that the EFCC was being deliberately weakened by the Federal Government to protect some individuals.
Source: This Day, 16th May 2008.
Waziri: On The Hot Seat
By Paul Ohia
On her way to being a Catholic nun where she would have devoted her entire life to chastity and poverty, Mrs. Farida Mzamber Waziri made a U-turn from Queen of Holy Rosary Convent in 1963 and discovered an essential life of sacrifice in secular life.
She ended up in the Police Force and today all eyes are on her as she takes over at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nigeria's foremost anti-fraud agency. She replaces Nuhu Ribadu, an anti corruption czar who courted many enemies as well as admirers in his days.
Believers in predestination would say that this could be the consummation of Waziri's training at the nunnery.
In the force she had a reputation as a “no nonsense” officer who rose from the ladder to enviable position of Assistant Inspector General before retiring. She held several appointments in the police force including headship of the Federal Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) and Interpol.
The extent she will bring the no-nonsense attitude to bear in her new posting will be the focus of pundits in the days ahead. Critics say her appointment was made at the behest of some corrupt politicians who wanted Ribadu out at all cost.
Waziri would be expected to continue the arraignment of some former political office holders and also identify new corrupt office holders.
It is believed in some quarters that since the removal of Ribadu, the EFCC has been incapacitated by some powerful people in and out of government especially those under trial.
Accusing fingers point at some sitting and former governors as the movers of Waziri’s appointment.
She headed the police Anti-Fraud Unit between 1996 and 1999 during which Ribadu and the EFCC Director of Operations, Mr Ibrahim Lamorde, were trained by her.
She is a tough and disciplined anti-graft crusader and a very hard worker, those who know her say.
She will be expected to restore public confidence in the EFCC and would seek to work closely with international agencies and governments engaged in reducing fraud and corruption.
It is said that Waziri has not engaged in partisan political activity and has a deserved reputation for being unafraid of pursuing those in her sights.
She is well thought of in police circles in Nigeria as well as among the lawyers and judges with whom she works.
On the issue of Advanced Fee Fraud aka 419, she has done enough research and written a book on this titled, Advance Fee Fraud, National Security and the Law and this would be her bible while fighting the cankerworm.
She may prove critics wrong and wage an all out war on corruption, though analysts say she may not be well desposed to chasing alleged corrupt officials down to airports like his predecessor.
If confirmed by the Senate, Waziri will also be expected to prosecute those who might be indicted by the various committees in the Senate and House of Representatives and analysts believe former President Olusegun Obasanjo and his daughter, Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, may come under her prosecutorial hammer if indicted, to take attention away from the former governors.
The new EFCC chairman was born in Gboko, Benue State on July 7, 1946. She started her education at Dawn School, Gboko from where she proceeded to St. John's Primary School, Gboko and then Queen of The Holy Rosary Convent also in Gboko.
Waziri later joined Federal Training Centre, Kaduna from where she gained admission to the University of Lagos and graduated with a degree in Law in 1992. She went to the Nigerian Law School and became a Barrister at Law.
At present, she has two Master’s degrees in Law and Strategic Studies respectively.
Since her enlistment in the police in 1966, the new EFCC chairman has attended more than nine training courses to sharpen her acumen in crime fighting. She has participated in special branch course, basic and advanced, detective counter espionage course, subversion and sabotage course, administrative and staff college of Nigeria higher management courses and recently War College Abuja where she carried out a research in Advance Free Fraud phenomenon in Nigeria.
Her dissertation in this field resulted in the publication of a book.
Positions she has held during her career put her on the pedestal of someone who has risen through the lowest to the highest rank in the police force and no other woman has yet recorded the phenomenal progression in the entire force yet.
After recruitment she became the confidential registrar, special branch of the Nigeria Police in Kaduna. In 1970, she worked as the Special Branch Desk Officer/Detective in the same state and held the same position four years later at Force Headquarters in Lagos.
In 1976, she moved to the National Security Organisation (NSO), now State Security Service (SSS).
She started hitting the peak in her career as the Assistant Commissioner of Police (personel), Force Headuartres, Lagos and later consummated it as the AIG E Department (in charge of police training institutions including police colleges country wide) after having served as Commissioner of Police at various locations including Alagbon, Lagos, Force CID and Fraud Unit among others.
Before retiring from active service, the new EFCC boss had had some international exposures and training. She led a delegation on West African Update on AFF attended by over 42 countries in Lyons, France in 1996 and attended a Money Laundering, Currency Counterfeiting course organised by the Canadian government in 1997.
She presented a paper in New York, USA at the seminar on Nigerian economy on a democratic set up and ways to attract investors in 1999.
In the same year, she was in Calofornia, USA to testify in a suit involving Jim Adler and Federal Government of Nigeria.
Waziri is a member of several professional organisations including Chiefs of Police Association, USA, International Association of Women Police (IAWP), Soroptomists of Nigeria, Federation of Women Lawyers, African Women Leaders Think-Tank. She is also the Vice-President, Alumni Association of the National War College (AANWAC).
Source: This Day, 16th May 2008.
Yar’Adua Removes Lamorde, Appoints Waziri to Head EFCC
By Tobi Soniyi, Onyedi Ojiabor and Mudiaga Affe
The Federal Government on Thursday ended its prevarication over the removal of the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, following the appointment of Mrs. Farida Waziri as the acting chairman of the anti-graft agency.
THE PUNCH had reported exclusively on March 17 that the Presidency had settled for Waziri long before forwarding her name to the Senate for confirmation.
In a statement signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Alhaji Babagana Kingibe, the government said that Waziri‘s appointment took effect from Thursday (yesterday).
In the same vein, Yar‘Adua also approved the appointment of the Secretary to the commission, Mr. Emmanuel Akomaye.
He is however to continue in that office in an Acting capacity.
The statement was silent on the acting Chairman and Head of Operations of the commission, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde.
The statement read, “The President, Alhaji Umaru Yar‘Adua, has approved the appointment of Mrs. Farida M. Waziri, retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police as the Chairman of the EFCC in an acting capacity with effect from today, May 15, 2008.
“Mrs. Waziri obtained her LLB (Hons) and LLM degrees from the University of Lagos, BL from the Nigerian Law School, M.Sc. in strategic studies from the University of Ibadan, and attended the National War College, Abuja.
”In a career spanning some 35 years, Waziri attended various professional and administrative courses at home and abroad, mostly on investigations and operations.
”She started her career with the Nigeria Police Force as a recruit in 1965 and rose through the ranks until she retired as an Assistant Inspector-General of Police in the year 2,000 on reaching the mandatory retirement point of 35 years‘ service. Waziri is married and has four children.
“The President has also approved the appointment of Mr. Emmanuel Akomaye, whose tenure as Member/Secretary of the commission expired in April, 2008, to continue in the same office in an ongoing capacity.
“Akomaye is an experienced lawyer who has had a varied experience in private legal practice and corporate legal services, and has been with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission since 2003.”
Waziri hails from Benue State and is married to Ambassador Adamu Waziri from Gombe State who until November 2007, was the nation’s ambassador to Turkey.
Waziri had in December 2005, written a book titled ‘Advance Fee Fraud, National Security and the Law.’
The book x-rays the harm that advance fee fraud (419) scourge has impacted on the nation.
She is said to have got favourable recommendations for the job because she headed the Police Anti-Fraud Unit between 1996 and 1999 during which Ribadu and the EFCC Director of Operations, Lamorde were trained by her.
When her name was forwarded to the Senate for confirmation, our correspondent had gathered from a lawmaker that Waziri had distinguished herself all through her career in the Nigerian Police Force.
He said, ”The choice is retired AIG Waziri, a woman, who was said to have done very well when she headed the investigation department before she was retired.”
Widely described as a tough anti-graft crusader while in service, Waziri was retired from the Police in 2,000.
Former senator Joseph Waku and a former Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, were quoted to have said recently that with Waziri, the anti-corruption war in the country could only get tougher.
Ribadu was in February, sent on a course at the Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Plateau State by the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mike Okiro.
The Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN), said Waziri’s appointment as acting EFCC chief, meant that there was still substantive head.
He said, “If she is acting, it means she is not substantive. It means that there is a substantive chief executive.”
Source: Punch, 16th May 2008.
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MASSOB Hoists Flags
From Lawrence Njoku, Enugu
AHEAD of the May 22-30 planned protests by the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) in all the states of the Southeast against the killing of its members, major roads and streets in Enugu State have been dotted with Biafran Flags.
The green-red and black colour flags, which adorn strategic places and billboards, started emerging on Friday night when groups of boys, dressed in all-black attire and bearing long ladders, began to place them to the utter surprise of some residents.
Although their leader refused press comment, sources said that the hoisting of the flags was part of the preparation for this year's protest march by the Movement aimed at putting a stop to the alleged torture and killing of its members by security agents in the country.
At a briefing last week, Regional Administrator of the Movement, Chief Ikechukwu Ekwe, had told journalists that over 2,000 of MASSOB's registered members were killed by security agents between May 22, 2000 and April 22 this year in various cities across the country.
He also disclosed that a greater number sustained various degrees of injuries resulting from gunshot wounds, adding that more than 1,000 of the members were currently languishing in prisons.
Despite the alleged killings and tortures, Ekwe said the organisation was not deterred in the agitation to achieve a sovereign state of Biafra and freedom for its people.
He said that their members would walk from Okwe in Imo State to Enugu and Onitsha in a non-violent manner to protest the continued killing and unlawful detention of members of the organisation in the country.
Addressing a mock session in which the organisation released a comprehensive list of its members killed in the cause of the struggle, the regional administrator alleged that security personnel carried out the act "in the continued genocide against our members."
The compendium, which contained city by city, the names of members of the group allegedly killed within the period had Okigwe in Imo State as 1,044, Aba and Owerri 498, Enugu and Abakaliki 398 while Onitsha and Awka have 300 fatalities.
Ekwe, who gave breakdown on the location where the killings were done, said they were openly carried out on the members in rallies at Awgu, Okigwe and Aba, adding that the security operatives, who carried out the act, allegedly on the orders of the past administration.
Thousands of members of the group, who gathered in Enugu including men and women, were dressed in black, an indication that they were in mournful mood and chanted dirge of various kinds in the process.
He said: "The state-organised killing of Ndigbo started in northern part of Nigeria in 1953, during the agitation for Nigeria's independence. The massacre continued in January and July of 1966, in most parts of the North and indeed western Nigeria. That also resulted in the Nigeria/Biafra war of 1967-1970.
"Since the end of the said civil war, there has been no end to the genocide against the Igbo ethnic group, arising from religious crisis, moreover in northern Nigeria. As lives and property of Ndigbo could not be guaranteed in Nigeria, the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) was floated in 1999, to continue in a non-violent manner, the pursuit of a separate independent state, for the people of Eastern Nigeria."
He continued: "Irrespective of the non-violent approach of MASSOB, the Nigerian State continued its genocide against our people. From May 22, 2000 to April 22, 2008 more than 2,000 registered members of MASSOB in various cities in Nigeria were killed by Nigerian security personnel.
"It is believed that unrecorded casualties may be higher than that. Presently, more than one thousand MASSOB members are languishing in various prisons in Nigeria."
Ekwe noted that the organisation has continued to support families of their fallen members, adding that, they had not received any form of sympathy from government over the unfortunate incidents.
Insisting that the group would not retreat, despite threats on the lives of its members, he called on the international community and "men of goodwill" to dissuade the leadership of the country from its continued genocide against the group as well as release her members from detention.
"We believe that it is our inalienable right to agitate for our freedom through non-violent means. We also believe that no amount of hardship and danger will deny us this right," he said.
Source: The Guardian, 18th May 2008.
MASSOB Hoists Biafran Flags
From Francis Ugwoke in Enugu
As part of its threat to bring commercial activities to a halt in the five states of the South East in protest over the killing of 2000 members in the seven years of the administration of Prsident Olusegun Obasanjo, the Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) yesterday hoisted Biafran flags in all major roads and streets in Enugu.
Residents of the coal city had woken up in the morning to notice that green-red and black colour flags were hanging in strategic places and bill boards in the city.
Many residents who expressed surprise over the development said that the flags were mounted on Friday night in what must have been to evade the wrath of law enforcement agents in the state.
Sources said that the flags were mounted by various groups of boys said to be dressed in all black attire.
The movement had about two weeks ago claimed that no fewer than 2000 of its registered members were killed by security agents between May 22, 2000 and April 22, this year, and said that they will protest the killing for about one week, beginning from May 22 to May 30.
During the protest which is to commemorate the 31st Anniversary of Biafra, members of MASSOB are expected to walk from Okwe in Onu-Imo Local Government of Imo State to Enugu via Owerri and Onitsha in a non-violent manner .
The Regional Administrator of the Movement in Enugu, Chief Ikechukwu Ekwe in a breakdown of the killings said that those who died in Okigwe massacre of March 2003 were 1044, while 448 other members were also killed in Aba and Owerri.
According to the Movement, 198 other members of MASSOB were also killed at Enugu and Abakiliki, while 60 members were killed at Abia North Region between 2000 and 2008.
Ekwe said that most of the killings were allegedly ordered by former President Obasanjo who according to MASAOB used the Police.
Displaying a 40-page book containing the list of those who were victims, Ekwe said that the Movement wants the killers to be brought to book.
He claimed that apart from the killings, over 1,000 MASSOB members were being detained in various prisons in the country, a development which he said was inhuman since the organization was not violent in its agitation for the state of Biafra.
“Irrespective of the non-violent approach of MASSOB, the Nigeria State continued its genocide against our people. From May 22, 2000 to April 22, 2008, more than 2000 registered members of MASSOB in various cities in Nigeria were killed by Nigerian security personnel. It is believed that unrecorded casualties may be higher than that. Presently, more than one thousand MASSOB members are languishing in various prisons in Nigeria”, he said.
Ekwe said he was calling on the international community to dissuade the Federal Government to stop using security forces against members of MASSOB, adding that government has no reason to attack the Movement since its activities were non-violent.
He also maintained that despite the killings, members of the group will not be deterred and will continue the struggle for the state of Biafra.
Source: This Day, 18th May 2008.
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Dokubo vows to continue with N’Delta struggle
By Ibanga Isine
The Leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, Alhaji Asari-Dokubo, on Friday said nothing could stop the genuine struggle for the emancipation of the Niger Delta people.
Dokubo, who spoke to newsmen during a rally to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the death of Isaac Adaka Boro in Port Harcourt, accused the Federal Government of insincerity in its pursuit of peace in the region.
The visibly agitated NDPVF‘s leader said, “Our people are not free yet. Our resources are still under the control of a few persons and development is nowhere to be found here. So, we will continue in this struggle until we achieve what we want.”
He said the rally was meant to unite the Niger Delta people so as to keep alive the memories of the late soldier and freedom fighter.
According to him, it was from Borro that those involved in the genuine struggle in the region inherited the spirit, adding that the departed freedom fighter showed the people the light amidst the darkness of his time.
He continued, “The struggle we have inherited was started by the likes of Adaka Boro. He showed us light while we were in the dark, so we owe him this duty as a hero.”
Other speakers at the rally called on the Federal Government to grant sincere amnesty to persons who have been involved in violence during the long drawn struggle.
Hundreds of youths from various parts of the region marched along major streets and roads in Port Harcourt, carrying placards with messages which called for peace and genuine development in the area.
Source: Punch, 18th May 2008.
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Niger Delta: Militants Vow to Resume Hostilities
From Isaac Ombe, Yenagoa
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Bayelsa State chapter says the destruction of Oil pipelines would begin as it warned Daewoo and other companies operating in the state to stop work immediately.
The chapter also accused the federal government of only enriching some people in the name of making an elusive peace in the oil rich region.
It also explained why the militants must continue to be in the creeks, while decrying the Joint Task Force (JTF) as “a lucrative posting business”.
In a statement titled“ Blowing of gas pipelines begins in Bayelsa State”, and signed by Commander Joshua Macaiva, MEND leader in the state which was sent to The Nation by E-mail at the weekend, the group noted that there would be peace in the region if only the Nigerian nation gives what rightly belongs to the downtrodden people of the Niger Delta especially Bayelsa.
"We want rapid development of our communities and not human development", the statement added.
The group warned Daewoo not to continue with its pipeline laying project in the Southern Ijaw area of the state, saying "if they do, we shall start hostility in Bayelsa state as the relative peace enjoyed in the state will be broken immediately as we have alerted our boys to be on the watch next week"
The group also accused the federal government of conniving with some multinational companies to illegally want to ship out the nation gas resources.
He regretted that the agreement reached between Daewoo and its host communities haven’t been met. The communities, he noted are running out of patience.
"The future and what it brings will tell if we are satisfied or not. While other Nigerians have become millionaires and billionaires by looting the proceeds from our Oil wealth, we live in abject poverty", the group lamented.
He stressed that the "the unbridled continues exploitation of crude oil and natural gas beneath the farms, fisheries and houses of the Ijaw over the past fifty years has caused indescribable and irremediable environmental destruction of Ijaw land"
"They said we are slaves and hostages in our land; freedom is the solution to oppression, and we now import fish to eat because pollution by highly toxic hydrocarbons from ceaseless oil spillages had caused the virtual extinction of fish in the river. It is as a result of this that we take to the creeks for the government to be aware of our pains and cry", the commander lamented.
Since it rose to prominence two years ago, MEND has carried out the vast majority of the large-scale attacks on foreign oil companies operating in the Niger Delta.
Such attacks, together with sabotage operations by local communities, have cut Nigeria’s production by about a quarter over the past two years.
Source: Nation, 18th May 2008.
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S’East insists on parity of states
By Fidelis Soriwei
Top politicians from the South-East are demanding the creation of an additional state for the zone, among other pressing issues that should be on the agenda of the Constitution Review Committee.
The former National Publicity Secretary of the All Nigeria Peoples Party, Chief Nnamdi Olebara; the founding Chairman of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, Chief Chekwas Okorie, and the state governorship candidate of the Action Congress, Chief Uche Onyeagucha, all pressed for parity of states among the zones in the country.
Speaking in different telephone interviews with our correspondent on Friday, the politicians argued that it was not proper for some zones to have as many as seven states, while other bigger places were clustered into five states, specifically the South-East zone.
Olebara stated that if conscious steps had been taken to address the issue of justice and fairness in the country, there would have been no need to worry about geopolitical zones.
He demanded equality of states among the zones, just as there are three senatorial zones from each of the states of the federation in the National Assembly.
He also called attention to the need to ensure the inclusion of the rotation of the presidency in the country, instead of leaving the issue to be determined by the individual political parties.
According to him, the issue should be effectively addressed in such a way the select zone should be able to produce the president irrespective of positions of the different political parties.
Olebara also insisted that the issue of democratic development and sustenance could only be achieved by making it constitutionally impossible for the military to take over political power in the country.
He called the Nigerians to also examine in a critical and fair manner, the issue of military service chiefs, which he said, had not been produced by some parts of the country.
However, Okorie called for a proper definition of the federation, which, according to him, was not properly defined in the constitution.
He demanded an arrangement, which would make the six zones, the federating units rather than making the states.
Okorie said that such an arrangement in the constitution would bring to an end the rampant cries of marginalisation caused by inequity in states and local government areas‘ creation tilted in favour of some geopolitical zones in the country.
He said that constitutional lapse was responsible for the situation in which, a zone like the South-East had five states and 95 local government areas as against the 188 by the North West, which also has seven zones.
Okorie also called on the citizenry to look at the issue of revenue allocation, which he said should revert to the pre-war regime of 50 per cent to address the tension and violence in the oil-producing areas, as well as the issue of the independent of the Independent National Electoral Commission.
In his opinion, Onyeagucha who highlighted the issue of state police as a critical factor, also called for decentralisation of political powers in the country.
He situated the rancour, violence and desperation for the presidency on the concentration of too much powers at the centre, which was impeding the development of the country.
Onyeagucha also suggested examination of the revenue allocation formula which he said should be 100 per cent with the producing areas paying taxes to the central government.
Source: Punch, 18th May 2008.
South-East leaders tango over new state
By Fidelis Soriwei, Owerri
Since the indication emerged that the National Assembly would embark on the amendment of the 1999 Constitution, the struggle for state creation has gathered momentum in the South-East. Specifically, efforts are being intensified towards the creation of Njaba State.
There is the popular contention that Njaba State has very good prospects of being selected as the proposed additional state for the South East as agreed during the last National Political Reform Conference. The odds also seem to favour the creation of the proposed state from the Imo/Anambra axis, even though there had been some contention from the Adada and Abia areas of the region.
During the conference, the leaders of leadership in the South East had called the attention of their fellow compatriots from other parts of the country to the inequity in state creation and pressed for a national consensus on the issue. This demand was granted without opposition. But the proposed state later failed along with other proposals in the botched constitutional amendments, as a result of the emphasis on a third term for the president and governors.
However, with recent indications that the constitution might be amended, those in the forefront of the Njaba State Creation Movement have seen an opportunity to excavate the idea, almost three years after. The heightened agitation has since taken top leaders of the Orlu Senatorial Zone of Imo State and their kinsmen from Ihiala, Anambra State to the National Assembly to canvass for the support of the House of Representatives.
However, investigations have revealed that the state does not seem to enjoy the support and backing of a good number of highly respected politicians, especially in the Owerri and Okigwe senatorial zones. The aversion for the state extends even to the Orlu Senatorial Zone, which is expected to be combined with Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State to form the new state.
To many, Njaba is a state that is being pursued from the Imo and Anambra axes on a platform of political division and vendetta. Perhaps, among the greatest obstacles on the path of the agitation for the state is the politics of oil and revenue allocation to oil producing states.
In Imo State, the two oil producing local government areas, Orlu and Ohaji Egbema, which have put the state in the league of those under the interventionist efforts of the Niger Delta Development Commission, fall under the Orlu Senatorial Zone. By implication, the removal of the 12 local government areas making up the Orlu Senatorial Zone from Imo State and admission into the proposed Njaba State will leave whatever is left of Imo without a drop of oil. By the stroke of the pen, therefore, Imo will be left as a non-oil producing state! This fear of losing out in the oil politics in the country has turned top politicians from Owerri and Okigwe senatorial zones against the proposed Njaba State. The prevailing contention is that while the proposed creation of an additional state in the South-East is desirable, the present composition of Njaba does not take into consideration the welfare of the Igbo people. Specifically, those fighting the proposed state from Imo State are insisting that it is an absurdity to create a supposed additional state with the intent of killing an existing one.
On Friday, April 18, 2008, the Publisher of the Champion Newspapers, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, called a well-attended meeting in Owerri. At the meeting, it was agreed with unanimity that people from Owerri and Okigwe should oppose the composition of Njaba State because it is inimical to the interest of Imo and indeed the Igbo people. Iwuanyanwu and his kinsmen from Owerri and Okigwe are pressing for the sharing of the two oil producing local government areas between Imo and Njaba, to put the South-East in a vantage position to produce three oil producing states.
To them, Orlu could go with Oguta, while Ohaji should be left in Imo. Iwuanyanwu and respected elders like a former minister of Establishments, Innocent Nwoga, who spoke with our correspondent on the sensitive issue argued that the composition of the proposed state contradicted the position of Igbo leaders in Ohanaeze Ndigbo to attain three oil producing states.
Curiously, even the people of Ohaji Egbema, which forms part of the Orlu Senatorial Zone, have condemned their planned inclusion in the proposed state. Speaking on behalf of the people of Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area in the meeting, the current State Commissioner in charge of the NDDC, Chief Emma Aso, said that his people were against being included in Njaba State. It was argued that the Ohaji/Egbema people had no cultural links with Orlu or Njaba and would prefer to be left with Imo State. The people are insisting that they would even prefer to be joined with their kinsmen in the neighbouring Rivers State instead of being included in Njaba.
Present at the meeting were the senator representing the Owerri Zone, Senator Chris Anyanwu; the state Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Marcelinus Nlemigbo; former senator representing Okigwe Zone, Chief Boniface Agunane; the All Progressives Grand Alliance governorship candidate in the April 2007 election, Chief Martin Agbaso; former State Chairman of the All Nigeria Peoples Party, Dr. Edwin Onyebuchi; members of the House of Representatives, Imo State House of Assembly; and other political leaders from the two senatorial zones.
These views were, however, dismissed by the Secretary of the Publicity Committee on the proposed creation of Njaba State, Mr. Emeka Omeihe, in a telephone interview with our correspondent. Omeihe argued that it was not proper to balkanise the Orlu Senatorial Zone, which is represented by a senator in the National Assembly, on the basis of oil as a factor for state creation. Omeihe’s views were supported by the founding Chairman of APGA, Chief Chekwas Okorie, who urged the Imo elders to consider the wider interest of the Igbo people and withdraw their opposition to Njaba. Okorie, who believes that Njaba will be viable if created, contended that what made a state capable was not the deposit of oil it had but the industry of the people. He contended that the leaders from Owerri and Okigwe should effectively exploit the silence of other competing groups to move for the promotion of Njaba, stressing that no state created in the South-East could be said to be unviable.
Yet there are ominous signs of disunity, even in the Orlu Senatorial zone, which are threatening the realisation of Njaba State. The kinsmen of Senator Arthur Nzeribe in Oguta, which is another oil producing local government area of the state under the Orlu Senatorial zone, have opted out of the arrangement. Unlike their Ohaji/Egbema brothers, the Oguta people are insisting that they will prefer to join their Oru kinsmen in Urashi State. The Oguta contention was contained in a communiqué issued during a meeting held at the Obieze Palace of the Eze-Igwe of Oguta. Nzeribe’s kinsmen also threatened in the communiqué to put in process a move at boundary adjustment to redress the situation if they were included in the planned Njaba State.
Many keen observers have, however, identified Urashi, the state canvassed by Nzeribe, as the greatest threat to the realisation of the proposed Njaba. Such analysts aver that the serious political face-off between the former governor of Imo State, Chief Achike Udenwa, and Nzeribe was traceable to the proposed state. The two top politicians from Orlu Zone had gone their different paths when Nzeribe opposed the Orlu position presented by retired Justice Anthony Alinor, and made a case instead for Urashi at a meeting of Igbo elders on state creation. The meeting took place at the Governor’s Lodge in 2005 under the chairmanship of Senator Ifeanyi Araraume, who was the chairman of the South Caucus Committee on State Creation.
Nzeribe had told Igbo elders present at the meeting that he was not even consulted on the issue of the creation of the proposed Orlu/Njaba State and wondered if the local government areas, which Alinor said were to be taken away from Imo State, were the ones under his representation. His conclusion that the people of the zone would not condone marginalisation by Orlu people, whom he said already enjoy political landmarks such as Orlu town, Orlu Local Government Area, Orlu state and federal constituencies and Orlu Senatorial Zone.
Nzeribe’s open opposition to Orlu/Njaba State has deepened the hatred of a clique of Orlu people for him. The resultant face off between Udenwa and Nzeribe culminated in a rivalry, which eventually led to the defeat of Nzeribe in the 2007 senatorial election to Udenwa’s candidate.
There is the view that Nzeribe does not seem to belong to the class of politicians who would easily bow out of his clash with Udenwa and his Orlu kinsmen. Perhaps, putting his massive resources into stopping the realisation of Njaba State situated at the core of his political losses, would suffice in making a statement in the zone he had represented four times in the Senate.
Source: Punch, 17th May 2008.
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NNPC Blames Lagos Govt For Pipeline Fire
- Victim To Miss JAMB Exam Today
- Red Cross Puts Death Toll At 50
By Muyiwa Adeyemi, Debo Oladimeji And Bertram Nwannekanma
EVEN as families of the Thursday fire disaster in Ijegun, Lagos suburb were yesterday burying their dead, among wailings, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), owner of the burst pipe, has blamed the Lagos State Government for the accident.
Spokesperson of the NNPC, Dr. Levi Ajuonuma, in a statement last night said the construction work embarked upon by the state government along NNPC right of way was being done without authorization from the NNPC.
According to him: "It should be noted that this avoidable incident was caused by a bulldozer belonging to Alimosho Local Council of Lagos State, which ostensibly was working unauthorized along NNPC Petroleum Right of Way."
He continued: "May we use this opportunity to once again appeal to the public to respect and stop encroaching on NNPC Right of Way (ROW).
While commiserating with the families of the deceased, Ajuonuma said the fire had been put out and the maintenance Engineers of the NNPC have been mobilized to effect repairs."
Efforts to get the reaction of the Lagos State government to the NNPC allegations last night proved abortive as some officers contacted declined comments or promised to call back but failed to do so.
As at last night, there were still conflicting casualty figures. But, while the deputy governor of the state, Mrs Sarah Sosan put the figure at 15, the Chairman of the Lagos State branch of the Red Cross said the number of the dead was more than 50.
Meanwhile the death toll has continued to rise, as two more bodies were discovered at the scene yesterday.
Besides, one of the survivors who was rushed to the hospital on Thursday died in the early morning of yesterday, while a mother had declared her four children who were in that school missing.
Speaking at the scene of the incident, the Mrs Sosan said: "We thank God that this accident concerning explosion has been contained. The correct figure of the causality is in negation of the number that both the local and international newspapers reported. Fifteen people died, including two children, 15 victims have been treated and discharged and 17 people are receiving treatment in the hospital all at the expense of the Lagos State Government."
According to her, the Lagos State Government urgently responded to contain the incident." Our women Affairs Commissioner was here with all agencies of Lagos State Government throughout yesterday.
"We want to assure the citizens that the state government is on course. We want to appeal to the residents that in this type of situation, they should always make way for rescue operation to have access to the scene of the incident."
She sympathised with the people that were affected by the incident and thanked everybody that contributed to the rescue operation.
"We want to say thank you to Julius Berger, they were here to put off the fire with members of the State Fire Brigade and the NNPC for stopping the flow of the fuel. Even the men of the Nigerian Navy, we met them here this morning and they confirmed that the fire was totally put out at 2.45 am and the early morning rain helped as well. We thank God that everything is under control," she said in an emotion-laden voice.
The Commissioner for Special Duties, Kola Kasali also corroborated the fact that the emergency aid operation responded swiftly to the fire incident
"Through the report of LASEMA, LASEMBUS, 15 people were confirmed dead. We still have in the hospital about 17 people with various degrees of burns receiving treatment at General Hospital in Ikeja and Igando General Hospital."
The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, said if there were other causalities in the hospital in the neighbourhood, they should be transferred to the government hospital.
At the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) surgical wards, Burns Unit and Female Unit, the Deputy Governor also visited the victims.
The Deputy Governor told one of the victims with burns, Miss Chugo Emenen, who lamented that she might miss her JAMB exam for which she was on the way to attend tutorials, that God would preserve her life to witness many more JAMB examinations.
Mrs. Sosan commended the entire medical team of LASUTH for the promptness they displayed in taking care of all the injured, saying from what she had seen, adequate attention was being given to the sick.
Mukadat Aina Bello, the regent of Ijegun, declared that the fire was as a result of negligence on the part of the site engineer. "There was an indicator there that a pipe line ran through the area. Before the caterpillar came to work, the site engineer must have accessed the depth of the pipe. It is the duty of the site engineer to mark the danger areas for the caterpillar to work. At the time Abesan road was being done, the site engineer marked the danger areas, the same thing happened when they were constructing Idimu roundabout.
According to him, one should not blame the earth-mover operator, because he didn't understand the terrain, and was not guided by anybody.
He exonerated the victims of the disaster but said the fire was a warning to those people who disobeyed the law and constructed shops close to the pipelines.
He urged the government to avoid a recurrence by ensuring that any construction like this was guided. "There should be a map showing the danger areas to pave way for the people constructing the road to pass," he said.
As for compensation he said: " I don't see any compensation here. The thing is more or less a national disaster. I am not vast in the law concerning compensation but do you want the government to compensate for disobedience?" he asked.
He blamed the school authority of the Ijegun Comprehensive Secondary School for the number of causalities in their school. "There are four schools here. You have the Baptist Model High School, the school was able to arrange his pupils to go out without injuries. But the public schools, they did not follow the due process. They were pulling down the fence by themselves in order to get out whereas the teachers should have arranged them out. It is true that they were doing their WAEC examination, but the teachers had to wait for the higher authority to stop the examination," he agonised.
He continued: "Rather than for the students to wait for instruction, they started stampeding themselves. Go there you see papers, notebooks, bags, sandals littering the ground. If things had been done orderly, that would not have happened."
HE however commended the rescue operation for a job well done.
He enjoined the government not to be discouraged from constructing the road. "No; it is one of those things. It can happen to anybody. The construction should continue from tomorrow," he said with optimism.
Rev. Olaseni Soewu a resident of Isolo Road Ijegun Road, one of the community leaders who lost his shops to the inferno, said the fire incident was as a result of carelessness and utter disregard of rule of law. "The pipeline is conspicuous enough; why didn't the caterpillar man follow it rigidly?" he queried.
He urged the government to come to their rescue. "This is not our own making; government should come to our aid. Although we cannot bring back the dead, let the people see that the government has compassion for them...," he said.
He urged the government and the NNPC to clear off the illegal shops for the people to see clearly where the pipeline passed through.
Chief Sharifat Asojuoba of Ijegun regretted the building of the primary school very close to the pipeline.
"We told them that the primary school was wrongly cited. It is supposed to be a market and we have a land to move the school to. It is painful that so many children were affected. What we want the government to do is to help the families that were affected and compensate them," he said.
Mr Oladipo Oladele the chairman of Red Cross Society Lagos State Branch said the Red Cross had set up a tracing centre for the people to come and tell them the name of their missing ones to be able to locate them.
"We thank Alimosho Local Council for giving them temporary shelter at the council. People should come and assist us. It is not true that 200 people died. So far now, only about 50 people have been confirmed dead."
Meanwhile, the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Vincent Eze Ogbulafor (OFR), members of the National Working Committee and the entire members of the party have commiserated with the government and people of Lagos State over the disaster.
The party urged the parents and relations of the victims to take solace in God Almighty as the giver and taker of life who gave and took whenever it pleased Him. It appealed to the relevant agencies responsible for oil pipeline maintenance to come up with fresh ideas that would prevent future occurrences.
Source: The Guardian, 17th May 2008.
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Why Henry Okah’s secret trial is unacceptable –IYC leader
By EMEKA MADUNAGU
Last week, there was a bomb attack on the secretariat of the Bayelsa State secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party. How is the Ijaw Youth Council working to check some of these militant attacks?
But you know we are still experiencing crisis in some parts of the state. We still hear of hostage taking and all that.
That assumption is not actually true because I am a Bayelsan and I know what it used to be before now. Hostage taking and vandalism of oil pipelines used to be the order of the day. But things are changing and peace is gradually taking root in the state. There are certain things that are happening and we think they have a political undertone. It is rather unfortunate that the Federal Government is still trying Henry Okah secretly, despite calls for them to try him openly. It is wrong for people not to have access to his trial. As a people, we do not accept that trial and we will not be a part of whatever comes out of it. If they convict him as a result of this kangaroo trial, we will not accept it. This is a revolutionary struggle and the Federal Government should be able to take responsibility for all the hostilities. This is because the long years of neglect caused all this. Henry Okah is an Ijaw son who believes in this struggle. So, if they think they will secretly try him and come up with any verdict, we won’t accept it. We have always cried for a fair share of our natural resources. How come that when we cry out for what rightly belongs to us, people call us names? That is why we have continued to insist that Henry Okah should either be released or tried in an open court where everybody will be able to know what is happening to him. It is the height of injustice for anybody to think that we will accept the judgment that will be pronounced on him. Except that they are doing this to see what the Ijaw people will do, there is no reason why Henry Okah should not have the right to see his wife and family members whenever he wants to see them, or whenever they want to see him. There is no reason why the government should insist that they will not try him openly if they do not have other motives.
There are still reported cases of militant activities in Bayelsa State. How come we cannot still have peace in that state?
This is not really true. It may interest you to note that cases of restiveness in Bayelsa have reduced to the barest minimum. Of course, in the past, there were such cases as attacks on oil installations. But the state government under the former administration of Timipre Sylva, in collaboration with the Niger Delta Peace and Conflict Resolution Committee, really did a great job. Everybody in the Niger Delta can attest to the fact that there has been peace in the state. There is something that people fail to realise, and that is the fact that there have been so many changes in Bayelsa State . I tell you, if we have had not had peace in Bayelsa, the kind of development we have seen in this state would have eluded us. Also, our leaders would still have been spending what they call security vote. In case you don’t know, that is where a good chunk of our money used to go into. That is why we are glad that our struggle is not in vain. Fine, we have not reached where we actually ought to be, but we are sure that we will get there. You know it was very painful to all of us that the last AMAA (African Movie Awards) awards had to be moved out of Bayelsa to Abuja. And this is what I talked about earlier, that there are people who pray that there should be no peace in Bayelsa so that they will make money. Can you imagine that even now, there are people who are spreading rumours that Bayelsa is still not at peace? They are also saying that the May 24 rerun election should not hold because people’s lives, especially those of INEC officials, are not safe? Can you imagine this kind of deadly rumours that are meant to destroy us as a people? Let me use this opportunity to tell Nigerians and the Niger Delta people in particular that Ijaw youths have since resorted to peaceful means of solving our common problems. We suffered in the past for things we did and things we did not do and we are now saying no to violence. Anybody who thinks he can use the youths to cause violence, especially now that we are getting ready for a fresh election, is living in the past because we have since left that stage. All we want now is peace and peace alone can give us the needed development, just as we have seen in the last one year in Bayelsa.
Next Saturday, Bayelsa State will go back to the polls to elect a governor. How is the IYC sensitising the youths for the election?
Yeah, the IYC is taking this as a priority. This is because if leaders come to rule people without the youths being involved, of course they won’t be accountable to us. That is why the IYC is taking steps to monitor the elections. If the elections come without any violence, which is what we are striving to achieve because nobody will use our youths as political thugs again, then we would have achieved our dream. We are insisting that there must be transparency in this election. Before now, the IYC had taken upon itself the duty of mobilising the youths for this election and I think everyone in Bayelsa State is prepared is prepared to be involved in this election. We are encouraging all the politicians to come out and participate in this election.
Source: Punch, 17th May 2008.
'It Is A Mistake For Government To Try MEND Leader, Henry Okah, In Secret'
BY ONYEDIKA AGBEDO
After months of inactivity as a result of illness, the coordinator of Ijaw Monitoring Group (IMG), Comrade Joseph Evah is now back to life. He speaks on his experience and some issues that took centre stage in the country while he was sick.
You are just out of your sick bed. What was it like being out of activity for so long given that as an activist, you were always on the move?
It was very painful because a lot of things were happening in the country and one was not able to do anything. I was completely helpless. That is to tell you the power of nature. I was on oxygen for two days and was almost gone. It was God Almighty that revived me because prayers were coming from all parts of the country and the devil had no other option than to leave.
When I began to improve, I always sent my wife to buy papers for me. At a point, the medical director of the hospital told me that I wanted to get angry again and increase my problem by reading papers but I needed to keep tab with what was going on in the country. God said I have not finished the assignment he gave to me. That is why I am back and will continue to do what God asked me to do on earth.
What was the finding of your doctors because
Nigerians would like to know the nature of the illness that actually struck you down?
The doctors said my blood pressure (BP) rose above all known records in medical history. I was already off. I fainted and for two days could not recognize people. That is to tell you the trauma. Meanwhile, in the hospital that I was admitted, there are records that I don't have BP problem before this time.
I saw through what happened that Nigerians are concerned and appreciate the type of thing some of us are doing. I received calls from all categories of people and organizations in the country and thank every body that showed concern. I also want to use this opportunity to apologise to all those who came to see me in the hospital but were not allowed access when I was unconscious. It was not deliberate. It was my condition then that made the doctors turn people back.
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