Not less than twice, the Senate and the House of Representatives have called for the sack of Service chiefs, believed to have overstayed their tour of duty. But President Muhammadu Buhari has ignored the lawmakers like Newsome gnats.

The Senate has reiterated its call for the sack; and the House of Reps gone a step further to summon the Commander-in-Chief and POTFRON (President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria) to the its hallowed chamber to explain the insecurity especially in the North-east.

But is it another round of hot air, huffing and puffing to no avail, going by the comments of Presidential spokesman, Mr. Garba Shehu? Time will tell.

Following fresh calls for the sack of the Service chiefs after Saturday’s slaughter of over 45 rice farmers, Shehu on Monday night on Arise TV, said, “I am not aware that the tenure of service chiefs is subjected to any law of regulation that is clearly stated. They serve at the pleasure of the president and (if) the president is satisfied with their performance, he keeps them. The buck stops at his table —with due respect to the feelings of Nigerians.

“The clamour for the sack is out of place considering that the president is not subject to the opinion of opposition political party which has clamoured for this all the time. It is entirely his own determination; he decides who he keeps as his service chiefs and for how long.”

Notwithstanding, the House was unequivocal in its summons: Invite President Muhammadu Buhari, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to brief the House of Representatives on the True State of the Security of the Nation;

They condemned the killing of unarmed civilian farmers at Zabarmari village Jere Local Government near Maiduguri, in Borno State by suspected Boko Haram insurgents on Saturday 28th November, 2020.

As far as the Senate is concerned, the Service chiefs have done their utmost best, and should be let go because they have nothing more to offer.

In the resolutions which restate that the failure of the chiefs is that of their commander, the most senior of lawmakers, often referred to as rubber stamps to the Presidency, the Senate noted that President Buhari ought to have visited the bereaved in Borno State instead of sending a delegation.

They also urge the President to immediately initiate the transitionary process of phasing out the current over-stayed security chiefs and replacing them with new ones with new ideas and solutions;

Other resolutions were: “Urge the President  to take immediate steps to restructure, remodel and revamp the country’s entire security architecture and provide enough state-of-the-art weapons and equipment to effectively combat the belligerent power of the insurgents;

“Urge the President to immediately initiate probe into widespread allegations of corruption and leakages  within the security structure and put mechanisms in place to foster transparency and ensure all resources meant and deployed for security are actually spent on the needs on ground;

“Impress on the Federal Government to aggressively explore multilateral and bilateral options of partnership with the neighboring nations of Chad, Niger and Cameroon towards reviving and strengthening the Multinational Joint Task Force and finding a lasting solution to the insurgency to the scourge of insurgency in the Lake Chad region;

“Impress on the Federal Government as a matter of urgency, recruit at least 10,000 civilian JTF, versatile with the local terrain in Borno as Agro-Rangers under the aegis of the NCDSC to complement the efforts of the Nigerian Armed forces; and

“Direct NEMA, NEDC and Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs to compensate the families of the 67 that were killed in this incident, and provide succor and psychological support to the bereaved families;

“Impress on the Federal Government to provide proper welfare for security personnel fighting in the frontlines and give prime attention to the compensation and welfare of fallen soldiers as that would boost the soldiers morale and aid their concentration;

“Finally, as a way of proffering long term solution to Nigeria’s existential security challenges, the Federal and States Government must adequately address all immediate and remote causes of insecurity in the nation”.

The resolutions merely stopped at endorsing the suggestions of Borno Governor, Babagana Zulum.

In the House of Representatives, angry members resisted the attempts by known Presidency supporters to stop the summoning of Buhari and other attendant resolutions.

They summoned President Muhammadu Buhari to appear before the House to explain the never- ending insurgency that has claimed over 30,000 lives and displaced over two million in the North-east, despite claims of successes.

The motion that triggered the summon was the one by lawmakers from Borno on an urgent need to condemn and investigate the insane killing of unarmed farmers in Jere Local Government of Borno State.

The motion by Hon. Ahmed Satomi, Hon. Mohammed Tahir Monguno, Hon. Zainab Gimba, Hon. Muktar Betara, Hon. Mallam Bukar Gana, Hon. Haruna Mshelia, Hon. Ahmadu Usman Jaha, Hon. Ibrahim Mohammed  Bukar, Hon. Usman Zannah, Hon. Abdulkadir Rahis, read:

“Pained that more than 43 people were killed in an “insane” and barbaric attack of rice farmers in Jere Local Government Area of Borno State on Saturday 28th November 2020;

“Troubled that the attackers tied up agricultural labourers working in rice fields and slit their throats in Zabarmari village Jere Local Government near Maiduguri, in Borno State;

“Disturbed that some of the victims were labourers from other States of the Federation who had travelled to work on the rice farm fields in Borno State;

“Worried that the exact number of people killed in the incident is not yet known as over 44 dead bodies were recovered buried, all of them slaughtered, along with six others with serious injuries and many more residents are reported missing;

“Recognises that at the funeral of the victims on Sunday 29th November, 2020 the governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum, statted that “Our people are in very difficult situations, they are in two different extreme conditions: in one side, [if] they stay at home, they may be killed by hunger and starvation; on the other, they go out to their farmlands and risk getting killed by the insurgents.”;

“More worried by the inability of the Military and Security Forces in averting the continued wanton killings by Book Haram insurgents, bandits, and terrorists in the North East and across the country;

“Aware that President Muhammadu Buhari has condemn the senseless killing of several hard-working farmers by terrorists as the entire country is hurt by the dastard;

“Also aware of the urgent need for the President and Commander of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to reorganize the security architecture of the country to end insurgency in the North East, banditry and all acts of terrorism across the nation.”

By Obochi Godsman Akola

The tradition and process of succession to the throne of Attah Igala, the paramount ruler of the Igala people found majorly in Kogi State and at least seven other states in Nigeria considered one of the most harmonious in the country has once again been activated with the recent nomination of Prince Samuel Opaluwa Oguche, a retired civil servant as the new designate to the throne. Opaluwa of the Aju’ Ameachor Ruling House emerged at a conclave held by elders and stakeholders of the royal house which considered his candidature and that of two of his brothers, Prince Matthew Alhaji Oguche and Prince Ocholi Opaluwa.

In over 700 years of the history of the throne there’s never been any major discord in the process of selection. Except for a conflict which erupted in 1958 when the administration in the Northern Nigeria Province supplanted Prince Opaluwa Oguche, the father of the three contestants who had had completed the rites and rituals of ascension to the throne and was awaiting formal coronation. The colonial government instead turbaned another Prince from a different ruling house with no claim whatsoever to the stool at the time and imposed him on the throne. Even that conflict,it is generally conceded was extraneous rather than from any failure or dysfunction in the Igala traditional succession process

Compared to even their neighbors in Kogi State the Igala succession tradition remains a model for consensus and harmony. For instance, the paramount ruler of the second largest ethnicity In Kogi State, the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland for instance fought a protracted legal battle of 18 years from 1997 to 2015 to retain his throne and was twice deposed- first by the State High Court and later the Court of Appeal before he was finally saved by the Supreme Court on the technicality that his challengers were out of time.

Also the Obaro of Kabba the third highest stool in the Kogi State Council of Chief has been mired in litigation since the new occupant was crowned in 2018.

In contrast, however, when the last Attah of Igala who joined his ancestors recently, His Majesty Idakwo Ameh Oboni II was coronated in 2013 despite fundamental issues of injustice raised by two ruling houses affected by the colonial government’s interference in 1958, the matter was amicably resolved without litigation.

A remedy that will permanently redress the injustice complained of was part of the resolution that appeased the two ruling houses. The then Governor of Kogi State Capt Idris Wada assured the two aggrieved ruling houses namely Aju’Ameachor and Aju’ Akogu that a legislation will be enacted to secure their rights to the throne.

The Igala Royalty has four surviving ruling houses namely, The Aju’ Ameachor, the Aju’Akogu, the Aju’ Aku and the Aju’Ocholi. The stool is rotated among these four ruling houses in that order.

Prince Opaluwa Oguche, the father of today’s candidates to the throne, who was denied his crown was of the Aju’Ameachor stock. After his reign the Aju’ Akogu would have been next in line to the throne and then Aju’Aku before returning to Aju’ Ocholi the ruling house that produced Attah Usman Ameh Oboni 1, the King whose transition necessitated Oguche being coronated to ascend the throne.

Instead the British took the then Prince Aliyu Obaje, against all traditions and customs, particularly as it relates to rotation and coronation rites, and installed him as Attah Igala.

Before Ameh Oboni passed away there was a frosty relationship between the monarch and the constituted authority in Kaduna. He stood up to the indirect rule system which subordinated his stool to other rulers in Kaduna and Sokoto. The Igalas deify the Attah their priest-king who is considered infallible. He does not bow to or before anyone. He is the ultimate King.

Oboni a young man who ascended the throne in his mid thirties and an illiterate reveling in the reverence he enjoyed from his subjects could not come to terms with becoming an inferior chief to be ordered around by any one. He was believed to have willfully disregarded directives and orders handed over to him in the period of the Indirect Rule in northern Nigeria, to the extent that a decision was taken to depose him.

However, the Late Oboni, perhaps the most popular Attah in contemporary history, would not grant them the pleasure of subjecting him to the disgrace of deposition, he took the option of harakiri instead. Thus, he died as an Attah forever securing the right of his lineage to royalty and preserving the dignity of the throne.

Analysts believe that the colonial administration was out to avoid having another Attah with the combative disposition of the Late Oboni, hence they cast their net far and wide to recruit an Attah with formal western education who would at least know that the era of sovereignty of tribal kingdoms had ceased.

They believed that late Oboni didn’t recognize any authority on earth as superior to his throne.

This expedient decision of the colonial government made it impossible for the two affected ruling houses to vie successfully for the throne, even when the Attah Aliyu Obaje passed away after ruling for 54 years. This was because of the requirements of tradition that made it imperative that only the direct son of a previous occupant of the throne could be enthroned as Attah.

Opaluwa, who was denied the throne together with his brothers who were children of Attah Oguche Akpa (1911 – 1919) had passed away leaving only his own children and other grandsons of Oguche Akpa. Similarly all direct sons of Atabo Ijomi of the Aju’Akogu who ruled from 1919 to 1926 are no longer alive.
By that tradition, grandsons could not aspire to the throne.

Thus, the Government of Capt Idris Wada enacted legislation which amended earlier statutes that had codified the traditional qualifications for eligibility for the throne.

The major amendment was that in the absence of a direct son of a previous Attah, when it’s the turn of a particular ruling house, grandsons of that house could be crowned; and where there are no grandsons alive, great grandsons could equally ascend the throne.

Also, it restored the traditional rotational hierarchy to start from the Aju’Ameachor which is the first and also next in line after the youngest ruling house, the Aju’Ocholi.

The law titled the “Igala Area Traditional Council (Modification of Native Law and Customs) Order 2015… Procedure and Regulation for Selection and Ascension to The Stool of Attah Igala” reinforced the tradition of the process of selection which starts from the conclave of elders and stakeholders of the ruling house whose turn it is to produce a new Attah.

A candidate nominated from the meeting of the ruling house, going by the provision of that law, will be presented to the three other ruling houses who shall jointly present him to the head of the kingmakers, the Etemahi of Igalamela, another first class traditional ruler. The Etemahi and his body of Kingmakers shall meet and appoint the person so nominated from the family as the Attah Igala.

The Etemahi shall then inform the Achadu who is the traditional prime minister of the Igala Kingdom of the appointment, who shall in turn forward the name to the Igala Area Traditional Council for onward transmission to the State Council of Chiefs, and to the Governor for his approval.

The law provides that preference shall be given to the eldest son among the contestants.

The leveraging on the new law which awards them the first right in the rotation order, Aju’ Ameachor announced that after its meeting at the Ruling House Headquarters, No 51 Inikpi Street, Idah which is the home of the late Opaluwa Oguche, the choice of Samuel Opaluwa who is the eldest among the grandsons interested in the throne was made.

The convener of the conclave, Prince Yahaya Etu, a former Police Commissioner and eldest member of the clan who announced the choice, commended Prince Matthew Alhaji Oguche, a director in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for his loyalty to the course of the royal house. Prince Oguche had announced his support for the nomination and urged his brother Prince Ocholi Opaluwa a Senior Customs Officer who was absent due to official engagements to equally support the family’s choice.

But the exultation that attended the exercise is now rapidly giving way to apprehension and anxiety on the part of the Aju’Ameachors who last tasted the throne 101 years ago.

For a start, when they sought to present their nominee to the other ruling houses, two of the three, according to President of the Aju’Ameachor Descendants Association, Prince Agono Atodo, became evasive.

Addressing Achadu (the traditional prime minister of the Igala kingdom), Atodo said the family later heard that some members of the Aju’Akogu and Aju’ Aku were individually making bids for the throne, hence the reluctance of their ruling houses to perform their traditional and legal obligation of receiving the choice of the Aju’Ameachor.

Already, there are reports that some persons have been submitting applications to the Head of the Kingmakers, His Royal Highness Abel Etuh, the Etemahi of Igalamela. Names of at least 10 persons were released in an online report as candidates who have submitted their applications to the Etemahi. Curiosly even the two younger Opaluwa Princess, Prince Ocholi and Prince Matthew, said to have earlier stepped down, were reported to have submitted applications.

Also, a great grandson named Gideon Okoliko Opaluwa, a Special Assistant to the Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, is said to have also submitted an application to Etemahi.

The others are : Usman Atodo (Aju Akogu clan); Igono Adaji (Aju Ameachor clan) ; Ekele Atodo (Aju Akogu) ; Adejoh Obaje, (Aju Akwu); NIsah Achimugu (Aju Ameacho); and Abdullahi Musa (Aju Akwu).

This turn of events is already endangering the harmony and concord that has been the hallmark of succession in the kingdom since the first Attah, a Wukari princess, Ebule Jonu, established the dynasty over 700 years ago.

There have been 27 Attahs produced already without record of any major dispute. There has been only one litigation over the Stool when Prince Oguche Opaluwa challenged the 1958 imposition of Aliyu Obaje. Even then, he was prevailed upon to withdraw the case from court by stakeholders of the kingdom interested in protecting and preserving the sanctity of the institution.

The Aju’Ameachor are aggrieved by this development and have reportedly commenced efforts to ensure that the throne is restored to the house.

So far, the Etemahi has not commented openly on the legitimacy of collecting applications from candidates, contrary to the traditional practice and the provision of succession law.

However, the kingmakers’ handling of this tussle, alien to the experience and record of smooth succession, in the coming days, will determine to what extent the sanctity and reverence of the Attah Igala stool will endure.

Barely four days after the Sultan of Sokoto, Sultan Sa’ad Abubakar III warned the three tiers of government of dire consequences if steps are not taken to meet the yearnings of Nigerians, a popular pastor, known for telling the future, the leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elisah Ayodele, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to resign over the litany of woes, including the killing of 43 farmers in Borno, that have beset the country.

Monday, Primatw Ayodele, in a Monday report by Metrowatchonline.com said: “The killings that took place in Borno on Saturday are saddening, disheartening and shame to our dear country.

“The stubbornness of President Muhammadu Buhari and not listening to advise has affected his government.”

On Friday at the 5th coronation anniversary lecture of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, held at the Banquet Hall of Premier Hotel, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, the Sultan reiterated what he said the previous day in Abuja that the northern part of the country was increasingly becoming a dangerous place to live on account of insecurity there.

His words: “I am not going to talk politics; I am not a politician, but I am the father of politicians. I can talk politics from now till tomorrow, it may not get into some people’s heads, but I know some words will get into some people’s heads, whether they like it or not.”

“If you check the newspapers today almost all of them have this very bold headlines on what I said on Thursday. It means some people are watching; they are listening, they are reading.

“What we want is for them to implement, act. If you listen, you will hear what people have been saying and crying for. When you don’t act, then things will get worse. When things get worse, they will get worst. When they get worst, of course, it is only Almighty Allah who will come and help us.

“So, let’s not allow that; let’s rise up and make things change in this great country. Almighty couldn’t have made a mistake when He put this country together. And if He wants to do whatever He wants to do, He will just do it. He will separate this country, divide it into one million little pieces and you will need visa to go somewhere and you may not get the visa.”

The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Adeyemi, praised the Sultan for saying the truth to the authorities even at the highest level in Nigeria,

Primate Ayodele insisted that President Muhammadu Buhari needs to sack his service chiefs before the security in Nigeria can improve, while describing the present ones as ‘weak and tired’

He adds, “He knows what to do to control it but it’s as if he has made up his mind to shed blood of Nigerians. God is not happy with this government because lots of blood has been sucked and there is no way the government won’t pay for it.

“This is sad, I’m sure the number is more than that, and that is why Buhari isn’t capable of leading this country again, he should resign honourably and let someone else who has the capacity to be there, he has failed Nigerians and there is no way God will be happy with him. How long will we continue to experience this.

“The service chiefs are tired, they don’t know what to do, they are confused, they are just there making noise, they don’t have the stamina and idea.

“My concern is Buhari has all it takes to do a positive thing about the security of the country but he has ignored the people, there is no peace, we have killings, armed robbery attack, it’s a shame to the government, he should have resigned honourably and have peace of mind.’

Meanwhile, Primate Ayodele in his annual book of Prophecy titled Warning to the nation had warned against the recent sad occurrence that happened in Ondo and Borno States.

On page 37 under Borno section, Primate Ayodele noted that Jere Local government should be careful of strange and unexpected attacks, which eventually happened.

Also on Page 86 under Ondo state section, he categorically said that the state should pray against losing a king or dethronement of a king, as he warned, news had it last week that a first class monarch in Ondo was shot dead by unknown armed men.

▪︎ Additional reports by Metrowatchonline.com

Operatives of intelligence service in a collaboration with men of anti-corruption agency in Nigeria on Monday evening, arrested Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina, in a town in Niger Republic, PRNigeria has learnt.

A top intelligence officer told PRNigeria that the arrest was made possible due to an existing mutual relationship and security agreement between the two neighbouring countries.

Maina, a former Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT), is facing a 12-count money laundering charge levelled against him and a firm by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

EFCC alleged that Maina, as Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, used the account of the firm for money laundering to the tune of about N2 billion, part of which he used to acquire landed properties in Abuja.

He however, has not been attending trial since the September 29, 2020 proceedings, a development that prompted Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court to order Senator Ali Ndume’s remand last Monday.

But the Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday granted bail to the Borno South Senator, over his suretyship for Maina, believed to have jumped bail.

Justice Abang, in a ruling, said he chose to grant the senator bail based on his record of good behaviour before the court, notwithstanding that the other grounds of his bail application failed.

The judge granted bail to the senator pending the hearing and determination of Ndume’s appeal filed at the Court of Appeal to challenge Monday’s order sending him to jail for his inability to produce the fleeing Maina.

▪︎ Report by PRNigeria

With a list of six demands, Governor Babagana Zulum greeted a federal delegation that came to commiserate with Borno over Saturday’s slaughtering of over 43 farmers insisting on bringing back foreign mercenaries and employment of the State indigenes into security forces.

The previous Goodluck Jonathan administration utilised foreign mercenaries, including South Africans, against Boko Haram; mainly in the build-up to the 2015 general elections. The mercenaries are believed to have contributed to the successes the military recorded in the few weeks leading to the 2015 general election. The Buhari administration, however, jettisoned the use of mercenaries, promising to equip and empower the Nigerian military to defeat the insurgents.

On Saturday, rice farmers in Zabarmari community in Jere Local Government Area of Borno State.

On Monday, the federal government delegation was led by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, who was accompanied by the Chief of Staff to the President, Ibrahim Gambari, the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno and other ministers.

Mr Lawan conveyed the sympathy of the federal government over the killings in Jere even as he reiterated the commitment of the Buhari administration to end the 11 years old insurgency.

But Mr Zulum seemed unimpressed with the depth of the federal government’s commitment towards ending the decade-old war.

The governor, therefore, made six key recommendations to the federal government to resolve the insurgency.

“One of our recommendations as possible solutions to end the insurgency is the immediate recruitment of our youths into military and paramilitary services to complement the efforts of the Nigerian forces,” he said.

“Our second recommendation is to engage the services of our immediate neighbours, especially the government of Chad, Cameroon and Niger Republic, in clearing the remnants of Boko Haram hiding in the shores of the Lake Chad.

“Our third recommendation is for him to engage the services of the mercenaries to clear the entire Sambisa forest.

“Our fourth recommendation is for him to provide the police and the military, with armed resistant armoured personnel carriers and other related equipment.

“We are also soliciting the support of the federal government to support the Borno state repatriation of our displaced persons currently residing in Cameroon and Niger Republic,” he said.

The governor also called on President Buhari to increase federal support for residents of Borno State.

The governor said though the insurgency had dragged on for 11 years, it was persistent because efforts have not been well coordinated.

He described Saturday’s killings and many others as avoidable occurrences if adequate support and infrastructure had been provided for the Northeast and military.

The governor said one of the major reasons the insurgency persisted was due to a lack of critical infrastructure like good roads in the region.

He said the federal government-owned ministry of works had not constructed or rehabilitated roads in the last 25 years “in Borno State and most parts of the North-east.”

“If the federal can fix the bad roads in Borno and the North-east, the insurgency would be reduced by 60 per cent,” he said.

Earlier the Senate President said his delegation was in the state to commiserate with the people over the gruesome and barbaric killing of the farmers.

He said the president was told that some other farmers in Zabarmari were yet to be accounted for at the time of the visit.

“No efforts will be spared, as the government will do anything and everything until we take the fight against insurgency to their enclaves.

“In this regard, the government will continue to provide resources to our armed forces and other security agencies and also intensify bilateral and multilateral operations with our neighbours, particularly to ensure that the insurgents have nowhere to fight when they are chased out of our country.”

The federal government delegation later paid a visit to the Shehu of Borno, Abubakar Elkanemi, who also called for more support from the federal government.

Governor Zulum later led the delegation to the attacked community in Zabarmari where Mr Lawan and his co-visitors met and sympathised with the bereaved villagers.

The team of high level officials representing the Executive and Legislative arms of government deliver a message of condolence and solidarity with the government and people of Borno State following the recent Boko Haram killing of 43 farm workers.

The Senate President, Dr. Ahmed Lawan spoke for the team and the Chief of Staff, Professor Ibrahim Gambari representing President Muhammadu Buhari presented a joint message, on behalf of the President, the government and people of Nigeria to the Governor, the Shehu of Borno, and the bereaved Zabarmari community, describing the massacre of the farm workers as the worst form of “senseless, barbaric and gruesome murder,” according to a statement by his spokesman, Mr. Garba Shehu, who earlier in the day caused a stir when he suggested in a BBC interview that the farmers were to blame for their own death.

The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has berated the Presidency for blaming the slain farmers, adding that Shehu’s remarks smacks of support for insurgency.

In the presidential message, President Buhari expressed the condolences of the government and people of Nigeria and gave strong assurances of his continuous commitment to fighting insurgency and all forms of insecurity in Borno State and all over Nigeria.

The President committed himself to making more resources available to the military to prosecute the war, adding that he will “work closely with neighbouring countries on bilateral and multilateral levels to ensure that there is no hiding place for the terrorists.

“Nothing is more important than ensuring the security of lives and property of the people. Everything is secondary when security is at a stake.

“As we mourn the loss of our sons in Zabarmari, the Armed Forces have been given the marching order to take the fight to the insurgents, not on a one-off, but on a continuous basis until we root out the terrorists,” said the President.

President Buhari commended Governor Babagana Zulum for his leadership in running the affairs of the state.

At the palace of the Shehu of Borno, His Eminence Abubakar Umar Ibn Garbai, the traditional ruler described as “madness,” the gruesome killings and urged his subjects to pray and offer useful information to the security agencies.

He thanked President Buhari for his efforts in returning normalcy to the state.

“Before this administration came, all 27 local councils and the Emirs had migrated to Maiduguri. We had no power from the National Grid, Telephone services were discontinued and the airport was closed,” he said, commending the President for changing all that for the better.

The delegation was also in Zabarmari, Jere Local Government where the incident took place.

The local Imam, Alhaji Idris who responded on behalf of the community said they were touched by the President’s gesture, saying, “we are happy that the President is with us in our moment of grief. Tell him that we are very happy with him.”

Aside the Senate President and Chief of Staff to the President, the delegation included the House Majority Whip, Tahir Monguno, the Ministers of the Federal Capital Territory, Muhammed Musa Bello, Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, Agriculture (State), Mustapha Shehuri and Works and Housing (State), Engineer Abubakar Aliyu.

Others are National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno (Rtd) and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.

The PDP expressed alarm at what it termed “the reckless and bizarre attempt by the Buhari Presidency to rationalize the gruesome beheading of 43 innocent Nigerians by insurgents in Zabarmari, Borno state.”

It adds, in a statement, “The PDP is outraged by the Buhari Presidency’s claims that the farmers were killed because they failed to get clearance before going to their farms; a statement, which is also an admission that the Buhari administration has been overwhelmed by terrorists and can no longer guarantee our compatriots a normal life.

“Our party submits that it is weird, reprehensible and repulsive that the Buhari Presidency now seeks to turn itself into a mouthpiece of terrorists by this subtle attempt to rationalize the killing of innocent and hard working Nigerians.

“This unpatriotic stance smacks of support for acts of terrorism and mindless killing of our compatriots by a government whose Commander-in-Chief had promised Nigerians to lead the battle against insurgents from the front.

“Our party is forced to hold that attitudes such as the unpatriotic remark of the Buhari Presidency embolden insurgents in their ceaseless attacks in our country.

“Such also provides further insights into the escalation of acts of terrorism in our country in the last five years.

“It is indeed shocking that the Buhari Presidency has graduated from making bogus claims of having degraded terrorism to the embarrassing point of blaming unprotected and helpless Nigerians for falling victims of terrorist attacks. This, to say the least, is the height of leadership failure of the lazy, lethargic and incompetent Buhari administration.

“It is therefore insensitive for the Buhari Presidency to have shown this huge lack of empathy, which amounts to a spat on the grave of the slain as well as an unpardonable slap on the faces of the generality of mourning Nigerians.

“Perhaps this also informs why their party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), has not deemed it fit to have a word of lamentation for the death nor consolation for the bereaved.

“Our party therefore calls on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately withdraw the offensive statement by his Presidency and apologize to Nigerians, particularly the people of Borno state.

“The PDP also restate our call to Mr. President to heed the demands by Nigerians to rejig our security architecture as well as replace his service chiefs with more competent hands in the interest of our nation.”

▪︎Additional reports by Premium Times

By OKEYIKECHUKWU (EDIFYING ELUCIDATIONS)

A recent lengthy submission from the elder statesman, Ahmed Joda, rested on a telling conclusion: Northern Nigeria is not developing its human capital. It also does not have the time to do so anymore. Therefore, it is now ill-equipped to fit into either the knowledge-driven world of today or the new world of tomorrow. It needs at least 20 years to become significant in any way. But, rather than wake up to this benumbing fact, there is the pursuit of the illusion of dominance. Meanwhile the people of the region lack the skills for tomorrow, as majority of its youth lack everything that could make them part of a 21st century world. The major point in Joda’s intervention is that the triumphalism of cattle rearers whose illusion of invulnerability is fuelled and sustained by a national security framework that is skewed to promote insecurity in specific regions of the country will go burst sooner than later. Confiscation of the headship of institutions of state is not the same thing as creating a “replacement generation” that could be part of a 21st Century world.
Since most of the northern states have abandoned, ungoverned and even ungovernable spaces, its currently consumption-driven elite is really in no position to do anything, beyond maintaining a hollow swagger that is backed by nothing but the fact that they are living mostly in Abuja and floating on free state funds. Look more closely and you will be reminded of what was said of the House of Eli in the Bible: “Any ear that hears” the judgment of The Lord on that household will tingle.
I take us back to an article which appeared on this page on April 17, 2019, titled “As the North Goes Under.” It spoke of a visit to Zamfara State in 2014, which was “at once frightening, sobering and demoralising.” The then “Secretary to the State Government explained how he abandoned his farm and ranch because of cattle rustling and fear for his personal safety.” He confessed that “it was impossible to deploy law enforcement agents, even for himself, in any meaningful way” because they were mostly outnumbered, ill equipped and answerable to Abuja. Have matters improved in Zamfara State today, or gotten worse, in almost every state of the federation?
Just as the then Zamfara State governor complained that “the misfortunes” of his people centred around “derivation, as a lot of gold was mined in the state and carted away while his people were ravaged by poverty,” many other states are not faring any better. Look at Bauchi State, with its new MoU on service delivery with development partners. Is that what the state needs at the moment; with its pathetic human development index profile? Is it any different in Jigawa, Kebbi, Sokoto, Kano, Katsina, Edo, Rivers and the others? Even Northern states with over 30% of their geographical space occupied by marauders have been drafting and implementing budgets and development projects covering these areas, where no one lives.
Elite myopia, leadership illiteracy and abysmal ignorance of both 21st Century leadership and cultural anthropology of the Nigerian state are working together here. Most of Nigeria’s poor are northerners, even as most high profile political and economically rewarding positions are held by Northerners. While the South laments the asphyxiation of the Nigerian security infrastructure by its exclusive Northern domination, the very north is being systematically wiped out. Unlike what happened during the mass massacre of Igbos in the 60s, no religion, ethnic, or political affiliation exonerates anyone today. For once, the North is actually giving the greatest evidence ever in its history of both political illiteracy and failure to follow the rules of self-preservation.
The former leather works sites of many Northern states, clothes factories and groundnut pyramids of Kano and Kaduna, are now like graveyards. Question: Are leaders of the North, and our leaders of various regions today generally, doing any form of costs/benefits analysis in their expenditures and use of public funds? I think not. No matter how generous you would like to be in evaluating the situation of the North today, you must come away with the painful conclusion that all might not be well with the people for a long time to come. The trouble is that the collateral damage moving from the North to other regions is now like a sickness unto death, thanks to Bola Ahmed Tinubu. To think that many political leaders who were celebrating their political dominance a few years ago shall henceforth live in full knowledge of what the Mighty Maytones, the reggae singers of the 70s, meant by “weeping and wailing and moaning and gnashing of teeth.”
There is hardly any recent event (and I am talking about the last 15 years) in the home, or village, of most Northern politicians where the guests are not usually overwhelmed by at least 100 shabby looking youths, who are either prowling the vicinity, directly affronting guests, or raiding laid out tables. They are looking for nothing other than scraps of edibles and, not even a full meal. And the big men themselves are usually not embarrassed by the spectacle. And, by the way, Governor Ikpeazu of Abia State took his place in the pantheon of depraved leadership when he personally handed out wraps of Eba and a helping of poor quality soup as COVID-19 palliative to his people. In M.I. Okpara’s State; which was also once governed by Dee Sam Mbakwe? Ejikwa m Ogu o!
The dreadful disconnect between the 21st century and the Nigerian political religious, traditional and even academic elite is palpable. Has lasting school enrollment or academic performance improved in the North, in the last ten years, even as all the governors are announcing massive “investments” in education? Has the region shown any real increase in the number of people registering for SSCE, NECO and similar competitive examinations? If no, then an inevitable implosion will yet come. The current leadership culture of impunity portends ill. As “their people” come from Chad and Niger, their own youths are begging in the streets; or in the forests. Everywhere is turning into a no-man’s-land, where even revered traditional rulers and religious leaders are no longer safe. A backlash will come when the Sudanese, Chadians and North Africans will suddenly not be so welcome; especially after the Northerners discover that they are displaced in their very homes.
When foreigners are the ones with Nigerian ID cards in the North, when foreigners are voters in the North, when the total number of registered candidates for all competitive examinations from the 19 states of the north continues to stand much lower than that of one particular state in the South, when even the cattle business is now in the hands of roaming bands who have no conception of a brotherhood, the modern state, you will realize what the Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, meant by his two books, “Fear and Trembling” and “The Sickness Unto Death.” By then it would already be too late.
As I said then, over a year ago, “…relentless, daily killings are going on in all the northern states, while everyone thinks that power resides in the north. … The northern political elite would seem to have been diligently digging its own grave for quite some time now, but without knowing it. They have allowed a new breed of wild youths, not sufficiently socialised even in line with the ‘Ranka dede’ culture to … to become dominant.

Drugs, poverty, motiveless criminality and rapacious daredevilry have chased all the northern big men to Abuja. But for how long will they be in exile? Is Abuja itself still safe? Are some high profile estates and exclusive neighbourhoods in Abuja not being quietly attacked these days?”
As property rates crash in the North, as investors flee, as local economies collapse, as re-desertification takes over many places, as farmlands and animal husbandry are abandoned, as the proceeds of crime become the new means for the unlettered, the threat to the children of the elite will multiply. The peace of mind of those who had the chance to make a difference but failed to do so will evaporate. The free-band society of cattle herders will collapse before their very eyes, as much of the North is taken over by “degenerate marauders who know nothing about modern statehood, law and order etc.” Is anyone thinking of what to expect in the “very near future”?
But the pretense persists, that “The North” is on course. The CAMA 2020, the Water Resources Bill, the suffocation of institutions of stage by lopsided appointments will deliver nothing lasting. To still conclude on the note of the said article of last year: “A region that has the highest allocation from oil revenue, the highest earnings from tax mostly paid by other regions, the highest earning from bunkering and the highest earnings from the illegal mining of gold and other natural resources, is ravaged by poverty, underdevelopment and a burgeoning population of unemployable youths. Is this right? Is this normal? Is anyone paying attention – as the North goes under?

The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has on Monday suspended Deputy Comptroller of Corrections, Abubakar Mohammed Sani, after his arraignment by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, before Justice Hadiza Sabi’u Shagari of the Federal High Court Katsina.

The suspended officer, according to statement by the Public Relation officer of corrections, Mr. A. C Njoku, was arraigned by the EFCC on a six-count charge of conspiracy and obtaining by false pretence.

It stated that, “The Service on the approval of Civil Defence, Corrections, Fire and Immigration Services Board (CDCFIB) had on the 26th October, 2020 suspended the above-mentioned officer based on the charge of grouse misconduct reported against him.

“The Controller General of Corrections Ja’afaru Ahmed, said the Service will not take lightly any case of misconduct against any personnel of the service.

“It can be recalled that, recently, the CDCFIB approved the dismissal of seven senior officers from the Service based on the recommendation of the Senior Officers Disciplinary Committee.

“The CGC called on members of the Public with similar or any case against members of staff to forward such to the office for appropriate disciplinary actions.

He assures the Public of the safe and humane custody of all those legally committed,” it added.

Justice A.R. Mohammed of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday, refused to admit as an exhibit a document tendered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the ongoing trial of a former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Andrew Yakubu, for alleged money laundering.

The EFCC arraigned Yakubu after its operatives recovered $9,772, 800 and £74,000 from his home in Sabon Tasha area of Kaduna South local government area of Kaduna State in 2017.

The commission’s counsel, Mohammed Abubakar, had on November 5 tendered a document which the ex-NNPC chief filed at the Supreme Court to seek an order of stay of execution on a court’s order for forfeiture of the money.

The prosecution counsel presented the document to counter Yakubu’s claim that he only got to know from the EFCC that the recovered money was being kept at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) office in Kano.

Yakubu’s lawyer, Ahmed Raji (SAN), urged the court not to admit the document as an exhibit on the grounds that it was not the certified true copy of his client’s statement

Justice Mohammed, who relied on Section 35 of the Evidence Act 2011, said for such document to be admitted as secondary evidence it must be certified.

He said: “It is hereby rejected and shall be marked: tendered and rejected accordingly.”

The judge adjourned further hearing on the matter till January 14.

A Federal High Court in Lagos will on Tuesday resume hearing an application by businessman Jimoh Ibrahim seeking to lift an interim order that authorised the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to take over his properties over an alleged N69.4billion debt.

Justice Rilwan Aikawa fixed the date after taking arguments from Ibrahim’s counsel Chief Niyi Akintola (SAN) on Monday.

The judge made the seizure order on November 4, and on November 18, AMCON announced that it effectively took over 12 properties belonging to the businessman and his firms.

The properties include the NICON Investment Limited building Plot 242, Muhammadu Buhari Way, Central Business District, Abuja; NICON Hotels Limited building at Plot 557, Port-Harcourt Crescent, off Gimbiya Street, Abuja and the building of NICON Lekki Limited also at No. 5, Customs Street, Lagos.

AMCON’s action is against Ibrahim, NICON Investment Limited and Global Fleet Oil and Gas Limited.

Displeased with the assets seizure, Ibrahim and his firms, through Akintola, approached the court with a Motion on Notice, seeking to discharge the interim seizure order.

They contended that the court made the seizure order in error because AMCON allegedly concealed material facts in its ex parte application leading to the seizure order.

They urged the court to set aside the order for “non-disclosure and misrepresentation of material facts.”

The applicants further prayed the court to order AMCON to pay them N50billion indemnity for their alleged “failure to conduct due diligence before obtaining the said order sought to be set aside and for misrepresentation and concealment of fact.”

They described the move by AMCON leading to the seizure order as an abuse of court processes.

But AMCON, through its lawyer, Mr Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), vehemently opposed the defendants’ Motion on Notice and prayed the court to dismiss same.

A lawyer in AMCON’s legal department, Imelda Raheem, said, “The plaintiff, at the time of obtaining the orders on the 4th day of November, 2020, made full and substantial disclosure of all material facts in relation to the subject matter of this suit.”

Justice Aikawa adjourned further hearing in the matter till Tuesday.