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As The Nigerian Government Combats CNN.

‌By Sonala Olumhense


I do not know if the Government of Muhammadu Buhari has noticed the crying question awaiting its attention: Who are Ogueri Ugochukwu Pascal and Olasehinde Micah?

The Government’s new Open Treasury Portal shows that late in 2019, it paid to the first man in 306 tranches, an astounding ₦1.6bn, and to the second (in 34 tranches), ₦1.4bn. The payments are part of an astounding N4.6bn paid—in various shades of opaqueness—to 21 private citizens, including Mr. Paschal and Mr. Micah.

The revelation is contained in an investigation of the portal published by Premium Times on Monday. The Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, which was headed by former Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, made the payments.

The Ministry of Power was taken from Mr. Fashola at the beginning of Mr. Buhari’s second term and is now headed by Saleh Mamman. Mr. Fashola retained Works and Housing.

The Open Treasury Portal was launched by Mr. Buhari on December 9, 2019 ostensibly to advance the Government’s “Financial Transparency Policy” and “Fulfillment of the President’s promise to Nigerians in an effort to build public trust in Government.”

In a tweet on that day, the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Mr. Waziri Adio, said all Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Government would publish: “Daily Reports of Payments from N5m; Monthly Budget Performance; Quarterly Financial Statements; and Annual Financial Statements…within stipulated deadlines…” on the portal.

Some of the records date from 2018, but the links are often broken, often returning Error 404 reports: “Oops… Page Not Found! We’re sorry, but the page you were looking for doesn’t exist.”

But Premium Times found enough to establish that an incredible ₦4.6bn was “illegally paid into the private accounts of some directors and employees” of Mr. Fashola’s former Ministry.

In a similar review last June, Civic Advocacy Group, BudgIT, discovered that between January and July 2019, various large and suspicious sums totalling about N51bn were paid into personal accounts, many of them impossible to trace to anyone.

“Over 2,900 payments to individuals were recorded at an aggregate value of ₦51bn,” it said.

It reported such sums as “₦2.04bn, ₦2.04bn and ₦1bn paid into personal accounts on the 21st of June, 2019 without any payment description.” It also found an entry of ₦68m payment to someone merely identified as “Ogunsuyi,” and yet another for the sum of ₦15.8m to “International”.

BudgIt also said: “At least 5,000 payment records valued at ₦278bn were without descriptions and 275 payment records with a value of ₦43bn were without beneficiary name.”

You read that right: N278bn.

Premium Times observed the same, apparently deliberate obfuscation. Referring to entries in the portal on October 26, 2019, for instance, the newspaper noted that “Mr Pascal was paid a total of ₦159m under such descriptions as “Zonal Revenue Tour,” “Disbursement of Funds for Right Of Way,” “Verification Exercise,” “Quarterly Budget Implementation,” the “2019 Senior Staff Promotion Exercise,” and “Junior Staff Promotion in The Housing Sector.”

That report appeared on Monday. The Presidency did not utter a word. Minister (Lai) Mohammed did not. Minister Fashola did not.

CNN happened two days later.

Its story, “How A Bloody Night Of Bullets And Brutality Quashed A Young Protest Movement,” investigated the scandal involving how the Nigerian Military inconceivably aimed Nigerian bullets at peaceful Nigerian protesters on a Nigerian street on the night of 20th October, 2020.

To that one, Minister Mohammed appeared without delay in front of cameras and microphones to denounce the report as “a poor piece of journalistic work by a reputable international news organisation.”

“This is very serious and CNN should be sanctioned for that,” he declared, offering no material contradiction of the story.

The trouble with Governance in Nigeria is that powerful officials are often far more powerful than the facts, which—in exercise of their power—they do not bother with.

There is additional irony here: only in February, Mr. Mohammed was agitating for a massive $500m slice of Buhari’s projected $29.96bn foreign loan to make the Nigerian Television Authority another CNN. But this CNN story is a reminder that the media is not infrastructure and not propaganda: it is work and professional values.

Were there shootings and killing of peaceful protesters at the Lekki toll gates on October 20? All the evidence: videos, bullets, photos, injuries, affirm that there were. And circumstantial evidence such as the removal of area cameras and the switching-off of streetlights prior to the shootings indicated a level of official complicity!

It would be recalled that the Nigerian Army first denied that it was even at the scene, describing reports of it as “fake news” only to change its narrative as evidence began to emerge. It then said it was the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwa-Olu, who had invited soldiers to the protest on the grounds that the police could not cope, but still maintained that its men fired no live rounds.

CNN’s reporting, including the mining of metadata, location and time-stamping of videos and expert identification of bullets found at the scene, punctured holes into the Government’s shifting tales.

But Mr. Mohammed was too powerful to challenge “a poor piece of journalistic work” which, for that reason, ought to have been easy to disprove. As a result, he achieved what he evidently feared the most: advertising to the world the ad hoc and ramshackle nature of a Government, the allegiance of which is to endless assertions and propaganda, not service. On the CNN website on Thursday evening, the Nigeria shooting cover-up story was trending, the broadcaster asserting that its reporting, having been dutifully researched, was standing by it.

What follows? Perhaps Buhari, being the African Union’s anti-corruption hero, will ban CNN from every inch of Africa!

But his Government should tread with care: last week Buhari warned that he will not allow another #EndSARS protest, as if his permission were sought the first time. As difficult as its analogue impulses are, the Nigerian Government must understand that this is a different age and that you do not need to lick a stamp to mail a letter.

Last month, Amnesty International published a timeline of the Nigerian Army team leaving Bonny Camp at 6.29 pm local time on October 20, arriving at the Lekki toll gates at 6.45pm, when it opened fire on the protesters.

About 10 days ago, 81 scholars of African Studies asked the incoming United States administration of President-elect Joe Biden to impose a travel ban on Nigerian officials culpable in the Lekki attack.

And tomorrow, November 23, the British Parliament will debate sanctions against the same officials.

Last week, the Buhari Government was continuing its malicious witch-hunt of the protesters rather than confronting the problems which led to the protests, such as a government department paying billions into the private accounts of officials.

CNN did not say that. The Government itself did.

So: who are Messrs. Pascal and Micah, and how are Nigerian officials making away with billions meant for the public interest?

[This column welcomes rebuttals from interested government officials.]

THE EMPLOYEE’S COMPENSATION ACT 2010 AT A GLANCE BY GERALD AJOKU ESQ

INTRODUCTION

The Employee Compensation Act 2010, was an important piece of legislation passed in order to provide for employees who were injured, disabled, or died during the course of their employment. The Employee’s Compensation Act is a social security/welfare scheme that provides comprehensive compensation to employees who suffer from occupational diseases or sustain injuries arising from accidents at the workplace or in the course of employment. The basis or justification for ‘compensation’ is the employer’s duty of care. The idea of compensation suggests that someone has suffered a wrong for which he has to be compensated monetarily. This implies that another person has a duty to prevent the occurrence of the wrong suffered.

Payment of compensation by the employer to the employee is rooted in the accepted principle that the employer has a duty of care, a duty to protect the health, welfare and safety of workers at work. Where the worker sustains injuries, gets ill or dies in work-related circumstances, the employer is liable to pay compensation to the worker or to his dependents, in the event of death. The foregoing forms the underlying philosophy behind the enactment of the Employee’s Compensation Act, 2010.

The Objectives of the Act:

These are laudable objectives that should bring reliefs to many employees in the country. These objectives are specifically provided by the Act.

By the provision of Section 1 (a) of the Employee’s Compensation Act, 2010 the objectives of the Act states and provides for an open and fair system of guaranteed and adequate compensation for all employees or their dependants for any death, injury, disease or disability arising out of or in the course of employment; 

(b) provide rehabilitation to employees with work-related disabilities as    provided in this Act; 

(c) establish and maintain a solvent compensation fund managed in the interest of employees and employers; 

(d) provide for fair and adequate assessments for employers; 

(e) provide an appeal procedure that is simple, fair and accessible,with minimal delays; and 

(f) combine efforts and resources of relevant stakeholders for the prevention of workplace disabilities, including the enforcement of occupational safety and health standards.

Further to the objectives laid out above, the act took into consideration the broad application of the Actors who would be required to facilitate the effective dispensation of the fact as well as some tools that could be utilized in the course of applying the letter of the law. Specifically:

1.     The Law is applicable to all employers and employees in the public and private sectors throughout the Federal Republic of Nigeria. See section 2 [1] of the Act

2.     The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund Management Board is empowered to implement the Act and the Fund established under it. Section 56 of the Act.

3.     The Employer must report this information to the NSITF Management Board within 7 days of receiving notification from the employee or his/her dependants. In the case of a death it must be reported immediately. Failure to make a report is an offence under the Employee’s Compensation Act.

4.     An application for compensation must be made by the employee or his/her dependants within one year after the date of death, injury or disability arising from an occupational accident or disease, or else the claim will be refused (except if special circumstances for the delay existed). Section 6 [1][2][3] of the Act. 

5.     Any employee who suffers any disabling injury out of or in the course of employment is entitled to compensation, whether or not it occurred in the workplace. See section 7, 11 of the Act.

6.     An employee is entitled to payment of compensation with respect to any accident sustained while on the way between the place of work and –

  • The employee’s principal or secondary residence
  • The place where the employee usually takes meals, or
  • The place where he usually receives remuneration provided that the employer has prior notification of such employee

7.     An employee is entitled to compensation for mental stress arising from an acute reaction to a sudden and unexpected traumatic event arising out of or in  the course of the employee’s employment. See section 7 of the Act.

   Subject to sub-section (2) of this section, an employee shall be entitled to compensation for mental stress not resulting from an injury for which the employee is otherwise entitled to compensation, only if the mental stress is – 

(a) an acute reaction to a sudden and unexpected traumatic event arising    out of or in the course of the employee’s employment; or 

(b) diagnosed by an accredited medical practitioner as a mental or physical condition amounting to mental stress arising out of the nature of work or the occurrence of any event in the course of the employee’s employment.

In WesternNigeria Trading Co. Ltd v. Busari Ajao [1965] NMLR 178,  a splinter of steel entered into the eyes of Ajao, causing injury. The employer argued that it was not liable as the employee was negligent in not using the goggles provided, the court, relying on Nolan v. Dental Manufacturing Co. Ltd, held that it was the duty of the employers, not just to supply Personal Protective Equipment such as goggles, but to also ensure that they are used by strict orders and effective supervision. The employer’s defence of not being liable on grounds of employee’s negligence and self inflicted injury in refusing to use personal protective equipment was rejected.

8. Section 14[1] No employer shall, either directly or indirectly, deduct from the remuneration of an employee any part of a sum which the employer is or may become liable to pay into the Fund established under section 56 of this Act, or to require or permit the employee to contribute in any manner towards indemnifying the employer against a liability which the employer has incurred or may incur under this Act. 

(2) Any person who contravenes the provisions of sub-section (1) of this section, commits an offence and shall –

 (a) be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding I year or to a fine of not less than N100,000.00 or to both such imprisonment and fine; and the course of the employee’s employment.

9.   In the case of death of the employee, compensation is paid to the employee’s widow(er) and/or child(ren) on a scale ranging from 30%- 90% monthly of the employee’s remuneration depending on the circumstances of the dependants. See section 56 of the Act.

10.    Every employer is to make a minimum monthly contribution of 1% of the total monthly payroll into the Employee Compensation Fund.

   Note that without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of this Act, this Act shall not apply to any member of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria other than a person employed in a civilian capacity. 

PROCEDURES FOR MAKING CLAIMS  

     The procedures for making claims are contained in Section 4(1) of the Act. It provides that in every case of an injury or disabling occupational disease to an employee in a workplace within the scope of this Act, the employee, or in case of death the dependant, shall within 14 days of the occurrence or receipt of the information of the occurrence, inform the employer by giving information of the disease or injury to a manager, supervisor, first aid attendant, agent in charge of the work where the injury occurred or other appropriate representative of the employer, and the information shall include – 

(a) the name of the employee; 

(b) the time and place of the occurrence; and 

(c) in ordinary language, the nature and cause of the disease or injury if any

     It is important to note that failure to provide the information required under sub-section (1) of this section is a bar to a claim for compensation under this Act, unless the Board is satisfied that the – (a) information, although imperfect in some respects, is sufficient to describe the disease or injury suffered; 

CONCLUSION:

The Act was enacted to give an employee the wider coast of indemnity and compensation in the course of his employment. The Act gives human face to employer/ Employee contractual relationship.The Act represents a major step in the right direction in respect of labour rights and protection in Nigeria. I am convinced that the Act has enhanced the productivity of Nigeria workers as a result of the motivation it has derived from many of its provisions. It has safeguarded the rights, well being and moral of the workforce not only in the interest of the workers themselves but also that of the employers and the economy. Though must employers of labour are oblivious of the Act.The new Employee’s Compensation Actis a laudable and commendable social security system, it is however, one thing to have a scheme in place with an elaborate legal framework, it is another thing to drive the scheme to fruition. I therefore urge the Federal Government, Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs), and other civil society groups to organise workshop, seminars to tutur both the employer and employee on the provisions of the Act. 

REFERENCES

  1. The  Employee’s Compensation Act, 2010
  2.  www.lawpadi.com via http://lawpadi.com/11-things-every-nigerian-know-employee-compensation-act
  3. Oshin, W. (2010). NIA tackles FG on workers’ compensation scheme in Tribune, 27 May 2010, Lagos Nigeria.
  4. Alagler Okorie, A critical review of the employee’s compensation ACT, 2010

Lekki shootings: New report shows CNN is desperate —Lai Mohammed

Lai Mohammed

Sodiq Oyeleke

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has accused CNN of desperation over its second report on the Lekki toll plaza shootings that happened on October 20.

The Minister said this on NTA on Wednesday.

The PUNCH reports that CNN had on Tuesday released a second ‘investigative report’ on the shootings at Lekki toll plaza during the #EndSARS protests amid threats of sanction from the Federal Government.

But the minister faulted CNN’s reports, saying it lacked credible sources.

When asked about the second CNN’s report, Mohammed said, “It shows that they (CNN) are desperate. The so-called recent development has been seen before. There is nothing new. If there is anything new, it is a contradiction of CNN’s position.

“What we are asking CNN is that where is your evidence? The military has been consistent. CNN contravenes the basic principles of journalism – fairness, and balance.

‘They did the story without contacting the Federal Government for its own side. They relied on second and third parties narratives.

“They (CNN) were caught spreading fake news and they are trying to escape.

“We are accusing them (CNN) of basing their stories on videos sourced on social media. CNN has been inconsistent. It also doctored the video it got.

We are confident in our position.”

On the letter addressed to Jonathan Hawkins, VP (Communications), CNN Centre, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, the minister said, “We have received an acknowledgment and we were told that the letter has been passed to the editorial team.”

CNN, in its second report titled, ‘Analysis of CCTV footage from Lekki toll gate raises new questions about shooting’, stated that it had obtained the video and subsequently analysed its content.

CNN also compared the CCTV footage with some of the videos on social media which the National Broadcasting Commission had sanctioned three local television stations for using and concluded that the authorities had more questions to answer.

The fresh report also shows the Commander, 81 Division, Brig.Gen Ahmed Taiwo, admitting before the judicial panel that his men indeed took live ammunition to the tollgate.

The CNN report also highlights the fact that Brig.Gen Taiwo’s claim is at variance with that of the minister who had claimed last week that the army fired blank bullets.(Punchng)

REVEALED: Nigerian Army Commander, Brigadier-General Ahmed Ibrahim Taiwo, Who Claimed No Killing Occurred At Lekki Toll Gate Despite Evidence Is Son Of Late Colonel Behind Killing Of Over 700 Civilians In 1967 Asaba Massacre

Taiwo, Commander of 81 Division of the Nigeria Army, the unit of the army that sent troops to Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos on the evening of October 20, 2020 to disperse peaceful protesters, and late Colonel Ibrahim Taiwo, a former military governor of Kwara State, who ordered the killing of hundreds of civilians during the Nigeria-Biafra war and also participated in the plotting and execution of at least two coup d’etats.

The incident at Lekki Toll Gate led to the shooting and killing of at least 12 protesters, according to Amnesty International and other prominent rights groups.

Brigadier General Taiwo, who has been explaining the role the army played in that incident at the sitting of the Judicial Panel of Inquiry set up by the Lagos State Government to unravel the mystery behind the incident and also hear other cases of police brutality from victims, has been discovered to be the biological son of late Colonel Taiwo.

Brigadier General Ahmed Ibrahim Taiwo

Since the incident of October 20, the Nigerian Army, through Taiwo, has given at least seven inconsistent accounts of what truly transpired at the Lekki Toll Gate that fateful night.

The most recent of his narrative came last Saturday when Taiwo told the panel that soldiers deployed to the scene led by Col. S.O. Bello, Commanding Officer of 65 Battalion, and Brig.-Gen. F.O. Omata actually went there with live ammunition – a claim totally in contrast with his earlier position on the issue. 

He, however, said the live ammunition was for backup purpose and not used by soldiers deployed to the scene.

Before then, the Nigerian Army headquarters had lied on the day of the incident that soldiers were never at Lekki Toll Gate to attack protesters as claimed in the media, branding the story as fake news – a position they had since backtracked from.

While Brigadier General Taiwo has made different headlines in recent days following his inconsistent narratives on the incident of October 20 at Lekki Toll Gate, similar infamous acts by his late father during his lifetime are well documented and a subject of scrutiny any day.

Serving as military governor of Kwara between July 1975 to February 1976 under the regime of General Muritala Mohammed, late Colonel Taiwo was famous for his involvement in the overthrow of some military regimes in the country.

Late Colonel Taiwo

As a captain at the Lagos Garrison in Yaba, he joined Lieutenant Muhammadu Buhari (incumbent President of Nigeria), 2nd Lieutenant Sani Abacha, Lt Colonel Murtala Muhammed, Major Theophilus Danjuma among others to stage the counter-coup of 1966 over disagreements with General Aguiyi Ironsi’s government, which they claimed was Igbo dominated.

This led to the murder of Ironsi and Lt Colonel Adekunle Fajuyi, opening room for Yakubu Gowon to emerge as Head of State.

Taiwo played a leading role in the coup that ousted Gowon and threw up Mohammed as Head of State.

On February 13, 1976, however, he was killed during a failed coup, which also killed Mohammed and led to Olusegun Obasanjo’s emergence as Head of State.

Before his death, Taiwo had in October 1967 after leading some Nigerian troops to Asaba, Delta State, during the war against Biafra, given direct orders for the killing of no less than 700 people including children.

For fear of being killed by the Nigerian Army, local leaders in Asaba assembled their people dressed in the ceremonial white attire to sing, dance and chant “one Nigeria” as soldiers drove by.

But late Colonel Taiwo ignoring this peaceful gesture ordered his men to ransack houses in Asaba and kill civilians, claiming that they were Biafran sympathisers.

He ordered the separation of men and teenage boys from women at an open square in Ogbe-Osowa Village and had his men open fire on them, killing more than 700 on the spot including children.

The massacre continued for days after the Ogbe-Osowa incident, which saw women being raped and others forcibly married to Nigerian troops.

The bodies of the victims were reportedly buried in mass graves in present day Delta State.

Curiously, some 53 years after, son of the same man, who ordered the massacre of civilians in Asaba in 1976, Brigadier General Taiwo, is at the centre of troops deployment to the Lekki Toll Gate on the request of Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on October 20, 2020 to violently disperse peaceful protesters demanding an end to police brutality and bad governance in the country.

Like it happened in Asaba in 1967, soldiers opened fire on Nigerian citizens clad in the country’s flag and singing the national anthem at Lekki Toll Gate, killing many of them in the process and injuring dozens more.

The incident has drawn global outrage with many calling for severe sanctions to be meted on all those, who played roles in the incident. (SaharaReporters)

Aisha Yesufu, Uyaiedu Ikpe-Etim make BBC 100 Women 2020 list

Co-convener of Bring Back Our Girls movement Aisha Yesufu and LGBTQ+ activist Uyaiedu Ikpe-Etim have made the BBC 100 Women list for 2020.

The list was drawn from over 60 countries to celebrate inspiring and influential women who are leading change around the world.

The BBC says “one name on the 100 Women list has been left blank as a tribute” to women in such “an extraordinary year.”

Uyaiedu is the director of Nigeria’s first lesbian movie Ife while Yesufu has been actively demanding good governance and accountability.

Other Africans on the list include singer Angelique Kidjo, Kenyan doctor Jemimah Kariuki, Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate, Ugandan psychiatrist Ethel Nakimuli-Mpungu and Congolese journalist Douce Namwezi N’Ibamba.

Others are South African singer/songwriter Bulelwa Mkutukana, Mozambican social justice activist Josina Machel, South African activist Ishtar Lakhani and Zambian artist and curator Mulenga Kapwepwe.

Buhari: Modular refineries to end fuel importation, increase availability

President Muhammadu Buhari says the construction of modular refineries in Nigeria will make petroleum products available in the country and eliminate importation.

Buhari said this during a virtual inauguration of the 5,000 barrels per day (bpd) Waltersmith modular refinery in Ibigwe, Imo state and ground-breaking ceremony for the second phase to expand the refinery’s capacity to 50,000bpd.

He said deployment of modular refineries was one of the four key elements of his administration’s refinery roadmap rolled out in 2018, adding that its implementation will make Nigeria a net exporter of petroleum products.

”The realisation of the refinery roadmap will ultimately lead us to becoming a net exporter of petroleum products not only to our neighbouring countries but to the worldwide market,” Buhari said.

”This is the largest commissioned modular refinery in the country today.

”The role played by the federal government through the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in going into collaboration with Waltersmith Refining and Petrochemical Company is novel in concept and superb in delivery.”

WalterSmith Petroman Oil Limited owns 70 percent of the Refinery, while NCDMB holds 30 percent equity on behalf of the Federal Government.

He directed ministry of petroleum resources, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and other relevant government agencies to provide Waltersmith with all necessary support to access crude oil and condensate feedstock for timely delivery of the additional capacity.

He hoped that the construction of the second phase will create bigger additional employment opportunities than the first phase.

He pledged that the refinery will bring prosperity and economic development to the host community.

Buhari commended NCDMB for making the public-private partnership (PPP) a success and Waltersmith for their professionalism and focus in getting the project completed.

Hope Uzodinma, governor of Imo, and Timipre Sylva, minister of state for petroleum resources, cut the tape on behalf of Buhari at the event.

Others who attended the event on ground, were Mele Kyari, group managing director of NNPC; Simbi Wabote, executive secretary of NCDMB; and Abdulrazaq Isa, chairman of Waltersmith.(TheCable)

17-year-old Girl Who Got 7 A1s in WAEC is Dead

A teenager who got 7A1s in the 2019 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) has died.

Chisom Chukwuneke made straights A’s in the exam and emerged the best student from her school, Graceland college in Enugu last year. She went on to win numerous academic awards in her school.

Chisom was reportedly ill and was already recovering before she died.

A photo of her as she sat on her hospital bed has been shared online.

Source: Newspot

Man Caught With 4 Human Skulls, Claims He Sourced Body Parts From Cemetery. Now He’s In Police Net

This world is fast becoming intolerable owing to pervasive wickedness of man against fellow humans. It is as if the fear of God is equally fast eroding.

The case of a 55-year old man, Yesiru Salisu of number 7 Odenusi street Ijebu Igbo, in Ogun State is the talk of the moment.

Dateline Monday, November 23, 2020, the man was arrested by operatives of the State Police Command for being in possession of four human skulls, two dry human hands and three jaws of a human being. .

The arrest of the suspect’ followed a report lodged at Ago Iwoye Police Division that a man was seen with a bag suspected to contain stolen property, and when challenged, he reportedly dropped the bag and ran into a nearby bush.

Upon the report, the Divisional Police Officer, CSP Paul Omiwole, led detectives to the scene where they opened the bag and discovered that it contains dry human parts.

Consequently, the bush he ran into was properly combed and the suspect was subsequently apprehended.

Upon interrogation, the suspect confessed harvesting the human parts from one Christian Cemetery in Oke-Eri area of Ijebu-Ode, alongside one Lekan Bakare who is now at large.

Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed the story.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, CP Edward Awolowo Ajogun, has ordered the immediate transfer of the case to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for further investigation and prosecution. 

The police boss also directed that the fleeing accomplice should be hunted for and brought to justice.

Lekki shootings: Resign now, you’re an embarrassment to Nigeria, Jumu’ah tells AGF Malami

..Applauds CNN on documentaries

Joy Anyim

A Social Commentator and Human Rights Journalist, Jumu’ah Abiodun, has advised the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federal, Mr Abubakar Malami, to resign his position for misleading the world after Lekki toll plaza shootings at #EndSARS protesters by military officers..Jumu’ah via his Instagram handle today berated Malami after Nigerian Army represented by the Commander of the 81 Military Intelligence Brigade, Brig.-Gen. Ahmed Taiwo, last week, admitted military officers took live and blank bullets to the Lekki toll gate in Lagos the venue where #EndSARS protesters staged a peaceful demonstration against police brutality.“AGF Malami is a disgrace to this country and his office, he misinformed the world on the Lekki shootings by military officers at peaceful #EndSARS protesters, its outrageous. In saner climes, he ought to have resigned by now”“I, therefore, enjoin Mallam Malami to honourably resign his position as Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation because he misled the world over Lekki shootings for lying hoodlums were possibly involved in the shootings.”AGF Malami had during an interaction with journalists on Monday, November 3 in Abuja stated that hoodlums were possibly involved in the shootings. “You cannot rule out the possibility of perhaps hoodlums that set in to create a scene…could equally partake in the process,” Malami quoted.The activist also asked the UK, US, Canada and EU to place Malami and his family on a visa restriction ban. “As a further penalty for his blatant lies, I urge the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and European Union governments to take a drastic step and place a visa restriction ban on Mr. Abubakar Malami and his family.”Commenting on Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Nigerian Army statements since October 20, 2020, Black Tuesday event, the activist said: “From the very first day after Lekki shootings, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Nigerian Army are not consistent with their statements.”“Their first statements read: We were not at the Lekki toll gate – Nigerian Army.Forces beyond our direct control shot at protesters at the Lekki toll gate – Mr Sanwo-Olu.”“Later they said: The CCTV cameras were not shut down, the recordings will be available – Mr Sanwo-Olu.The CCTV did not capture Lekki Shooting – LCC.”“Later, the Nigerian Army told us: We were there, but we didn’t shoot at protesters.Addressing Nigerians, Mr Sanwo-Olu said: #EndSARS protesters were shot at but only got injured, no casualties.”“I don’t have the power to order soldiers, Sanwo-Olu said during a live TV interview.The governor invited us to the Lekki toll gate – Nigerian Army in an official statement.”Jumu’ah showered encomium on American based Cable News Network (CNN) for doing a great job in revealing more details on the Lekki toll gate event. “CNN remains one of the best and credible news platforms in the world. I always participate in the CITIZEN by CNN where we analyze issues with facts, not hypotheses as claimed by the Nigerian government,” he cited.He concluded: “CNN has done a fantastic job with the documentaries, they revealed details of bullets used at the Lekki shootings, the person that died. Nigerian government should prove CNN wrong if they have any other information aside from that, not threatening CNN.”

WTO DG: Coast is clear for Okonjo-Iweala as Korean candidate, Myung-hee, quits race

The coast is almost clear for Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to emerge as the next Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Her only opponent, South Korean Yoo Myung-hee, is set to quit the race.

A report by Washington Trade Daily said that South Korea had decided to withdraw its candidate, Myung-hee, who is its trade minister from the WTO top job.

Washington Trade Daily quoted sources to have said that South Korea had notified the US of its decision and was expected to make it public “in the coming days.”

The report further stated: “Washington refused to accept the recommendation made by the selection panel chaired by General Council Chair Ambassador David Walker that Mrs Okonjo-Iweala is the candidate most likely of the two to attract consensus because she clearly carried the largest support by members in the final round and clearly enjoyed broad support from members from all levels of development and from all geographic regions and has done so throughout the process.

“Yoo from Korea failed to receive enough support from members of all levels of development that is developed, developing and least developing countries, as well as geographically in comparison to the ‘largest’ support received by Mrs Okonjo-Iweala.”

Okonjo-Iweala had secured the popular vote by a wide margin, in fact a vast majority of the 164 member nations, on October 28 but was not named DG because the US opposed her candidacy.

After the October 28 meeting, WTO also said Okonjo-Iweala had the best chance of getting a consensus.

A November 9, 2020 general council meeting scheduled to consider the appointment of the next DG was postponed.

Another general council meeting has been scheduled for December 17 to finalize the process.

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