By Professor Ben Nwabueze, SAN,

In this piece, Elder statesman and legal icon, Professor Ben Nwabueze, SAN, writes on the state of the nation, how the constitution is being subverted and why and how Nigeria’s democracy can be deepened.

On subversion of the EFCC Act and the Constitution
Section 2(3) of the EFCC Act provides that “the Chairman and members of the Commission other than ex officio members shall be appointed by the President and the appointment shall be subject to confirmation of the Senate.” It needs to be emphasised that it is the appointment, not the nomination, that is subject to Senate confirmation, but an appointment made by the President, while valid in a formal sense, is not complete until it is confirmed by the Senate; it is at best inchoate, and Senate confirmation is needed to complete it and make it fully effective or, putting it differently, it (the appointment) is not completely constituted without the Senate confirmation; until it is so confirmed, the appointee cannot begin to act.

The statement by the Vice-President that “(Ibrahim) Magu will be EFCC chairman as long as Buhari and I remain in office” is thus a manifest subversion of section 2(3) of the EFCC Act. Magu was in fact kept as EFCC acting chairman for four and half years without Senate confirmation; his tenure of the office for those years is illegal, a gross manifestation of personal rule.

Subversion of the constitution
In all the cases under the Constitution where the approval of the Senate is required for a proposed appointment by the President, the approval is a condition for the validity of the appointment; the appointment cannot take effect without the approval. The deployment of any members of the armed forces on combat duty outside the country must be approved by the senate in advance (s.5(3)(b).

The appointment of various categories of public officers requires the prior or subsequent approval of the senate to be effective. Three formulas are employed. In the case of ministers, the president first makes nominations which, if confirmed by the senate, are then finalized by formal appointment by the president (s.147(2). The Senate must make a response to the nominations within twenty-one days of receiving them or else the appointments will be deemed to have been made (s.147(6).

It seems that this provision is satisfied if a nomination, without being confirmed or rejected, is merely returned for more information. For the second category of officers, ambassadors, high commissioners or other principal representatives of the country abroad, it is provided that their appointment by the president shall not take effect unless it is confirmed by the senate (s. 157(4). The appointment is first made by the president but its effect is postponed pending the senate’s approval. The third formula permits an appointment to be made in the first place by the president with immediate effect, subject to subsequent confirmation by the senate.

It lapses in the event of the senate’s rejection. This relates to appointed members of the civil service commission, electoral commission, judicial service commission, national population commission and police service commission (s.157(2), the auditor-general (s.80[1]), the chief justice of Nigeria (s.211(1), justices of the supreme court (s.211[2]), president of the court of appeal (s.218(1), and members of the code of conduct bureau (5th Sch., para. 16[2]).

It is provided that where any authority or person has the power to make, recommend or approve an appointment to an office, such power shall be construed as including the power to make, recommend or approve a person for such appointment, whether on promotion or otherwise, or to act in any such office (s. 277[2]). The power given to the president to appoint an acting auditor-general (s. 80[2])is thus subject to senate approval like the substantive appointment itself. The provision does not, however, apply to the appointment of a person to act as Chief Justice of Nigeria or president of the court of appeal, because of the specific provision that, without the approval of the senate, it shall cease to have effect after three months (ss. 211[4] and [5] and 218[4] and[5]).

As regards the removal power, the President’s power to remove the Chief Justice of Nigeria, the auditor-general, the chairman and members of the civil service commission, the council of state, electoral commission, judicial service commission, national population commission and the police service commission is also checked by the requirement of Senate approval. Again different wording is employed in the three cases, but the effect of the provision relating to the chief justice and the chairmen and members of the named executive bodies is that the approval of the senate is a condition for removal; the president cannot remove without it.

The provision relating to the auditor-general says that he shall be removed from office by the president upon an address by the senate praying for his removal s. 81[2]). In all these cases the address of the senate praying for removal must be supported by a two-thirds majority of its members and be based on the ground of inability to discharge the functions of the office (whether arising from infirmity of mind or body) or misconduct.

What, then, is the rationale in a constitutional democracy for requiring senate approval for the appointment or removal by the president of certain important or strategic state functionaries, like the chairman of the EFCC?

On the democratic rationale for requiring Senate approval for certain appointments or proposed appointments “Checks and balances” is a device whereby in a constitutional democracy the legislative assembly is enabled to check the exercise by the president of the enormous power vested in him to appoint or remove important or strategic state functionaries. The device has not escaped criticism.

According to Professor Charles Mcllwain, the president’s election is a mandate for him to govern, and to choose his principal assistants. He has full responsibility for his choice, and that responsibility he owes to the electorate that gave him the mandate. Accordingly, his ability to create a working administration as speedily as possible should not be fettered by the interposition of senate approval.

“Among all the modern fallacies that have obscured the true teachings of constitutional history,” he says, “few are worse than the indiscriminate use of the phrase “checks and balances.” He maintains that the only restraints necessary for constitutionalism are the ancient legal restraint of a guarantee of civil liberties enforceable by an independent court and the modern concept of the full responsibility of government to the whole mass of the governed”.

The criticism misses the point about the purpose which senate approval is intended to serve. The conferment by the electorate of a mandate to govern in no way implies that the public should no longer be concerned about the way the mandate is exercised. It is of the essence of constitutional democracy that the light of public scrutiny should at all times be focused on the exercise of executive power by the president.

And for this purpose the senate is the “public eye” for ensuring that the appointment of the president’s principal assistants conforms to the standards of integrity, competence and national interest required for the efficient management of the nation’s affairs. Apart from the scrutiny of the character and suitability of the persons for ministerial and other strategic appointments, the check also enables the Senate to ensure that such appointments comply with constitutional provisions prescribing qualifications and disqualifications for such appointments, and that, as directed by the Constitution, it reflects the federal character of the country.

The president may well lose sight of these in a desire to favour friends or to satisfy pressure from party leaders. There is, of course, nothing in the Constitution to prevent the president from re-submitting a name earlier rejected or the senate from reversing an earlier rejection if it is satisfied, on the basis of fresh information, that the earlier decision had been wrong, but a reversal is not to be lightly made if the senate is to retain credibility with the public.

The requirement of approval by the senate of certain acts of the president tends sometimes to be misunderstood. Its effect is not to subordinate the president to the senate, for it neither divests him of discretion in the exercise of the power in question nor makes the function a joint responsibility.

The fact that an appointment can only be validly made with the approval of the Senate does not make the appointment the joint responsibility of the president and the senate. As the U.S. Supreme Court has held, the approval of the senate does not make an appointment; this still remains an act of the president and is also a voluntary act – see Myers v United States 272 U.S. 52 (1926); Mabury v. Madison, Cranch 13, 155 (1813).

Implications of keeping Magu in office without Senate confirmation
Ibrahim Magu was appointed by President Buhari as Chairman of EFCC in an acting capacity on 9 November 2016, and his appointment was sent to the Senate for confirmation but was twice rejected, based on an adverse report by the Department of State Service (DSS) which impugned his credentials as a person unfit for the appointment.

But instead of sending another person to replace him the Vice-President Professor Osibanjo, was reported to have said: “Magu will be EFCC chairman as long as Buhari and I remain in office.” Coming from an esteemed constitutionalist, this is an incredible thing to say. The statement amounted to a defiance not only of the command of the Constitution requiring the approval of the Senate for everyone to occupy certain important or strategic offices in the state (see section 147), but it is also a defiance of the decision of the Senate which twice rejected the appointment of Magu for weighty enough reasons. The statement is also a repudiation of the cogent reason, as stated above, for requiring Senate approval for important, strategic appointments.

And so it happened that, for nearly four and half years, Magu functioned, albeit in an acting capacity, as chairman of EFCC without Senate approval. The implication, from the legal standpoint, is that the President and Vice-President who enabled him to so act and who defiantly stood by him while he was so acting are vicariously liable for his acts. Indeed, their liability is more than a vicarious one; by standing defiantly behind him for nearly four and half years while he did those acts, they are directly liable; it is as if they did the acts by themselves directly.

On INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu’s hand-over to acting chairman, Muazu pending Senate confirmation. We must appreciate Professor Mahmood Yakubu, a professor of History from Bauchi State for saving Nigeria’s constitutional democracy from emasculation.

Professor Mahmood Yakubu was reappointed chairman of INEC by President Buhari in October 2020 and his appointment expired on the 9th of November, 2020.

As he stated on 9th November 2020, “the renewal of my tenure as Chairman of the Commission has been announced, subject to confirmation by the Senate. Our work as election managers requires us to enforce the law, regulations and guidelines.

In doing so, we must demonstrate strict respect for, and compliance with, the Constitution of Nigeria and subsidiary laws. Consequently, it will be inappropriate for me to remain in office beyond today, 9th November 2020, without confirmation by the Senate and swearing to another oath of office as provided by law.

Pending the conclusion of the statutory process, the remaining National Commissioners have resolved that AVM Ahmed Mu’azu (rtd) will oversee the affairs of the Commission. It is therefore my pleasure to hand over to him in the interim.” Professor Mahmood must be commended for not perpetuating the illegality of elongating his tenure after its expiration without Senate confirmation.

Culled from vanguardngr

The Federal Government has begun the gradual phase-out of the Annual Performance Evaluation Report (APER), with the take-off of the service-wide training for officers on Performance Management System (PMS) in Abuja.

The exercise is part of its commitment to enhancing service delivery in the public service.

The Head of Service of the Federation, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, made the disclosure at the opening of the three-day training at the Public Service Institute of Nigeria, (PSIN), Abuja.

The training is a partnership of the Office of the Head of Service, the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPM) and the Africa Initiative for Governance (AIG).

Yemi-Esan said the obvious limitations of APER gave rise to PMS, noting that the latter which is digitally-driven would help prepare all categories of public officers for goal and objective setting.

She said: “What we are doing today is a training workshop on the new Performance Management System that will replace the APER that has been used for years and has quite a number of limitations.

“One of the limitations we have seen is that it doesn’t really give any sense of reward or what the officer has done. And what we discovered recently is that officers just sit down and fill forms themselves with no clear objectivity and there is no appraisal whatsoever with the APER form. And the APER form is filled just once a year. So whatever you’ve done wrongly or rightly throughout the year sometimes can be missed. Again, APER is a paper-based appraisal.

“But the new Performance Management System that we are introducing now is a digital system and every officer will have to go online and fill in his/her target for the year.

“At the beginning of every year, the officer will agree with his immediate superior on a target based on the departmental strategy as well as the national strategy. So, the officer will be able to relate to the national goals.

“This is unlike sitting in the office and not knowing what the national goals are. We want every officer in the public service to relate with the national goals.”

The Head of Service while calling on participants to pay attention to key aspects of the training added that PMS will form part of the determinants for promotion of public officers in the future, saying, “in setting an objective for the officer, it must be related with the institutional goals, the departmental or unit goals and once we do that, there would be quarterly appraisals.

“The information is online and is also real-time. You don’t need to look for forms. When it is time for promotion, what the Director, Human Resources will do is to forward the summary of the individuals’ appraisal, and translate it to the Office of the Head of Service for onward transmission to the Federal Civil Service Commission. This will give every officer a sense of ownership and belonging that he or she is working towards the institutional goals,” she added.

Highlighting the importance of the training, the Head of Service noted that “institutionalising PMS is one of the key building blocks for repositioning the public service,” adding that the programme is anchored on “the principles of accountability, transparency, equity, and ownership and when fully operational, every individual, unit, department, and institution in the public service would be held accountable on a continuous basis, to ensure that national development goals are achieved.”

There were goodwill messages from notable personalities including Dr. Magdalene Ajani, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Transportation, and Mrs. Titi Akinsanya, Vice President, Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria, among others.

Ibrahim Magu, suspended acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), will not appear before the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) on Tuesday, TheCable reports.

CCB had summoned Magu even as he is currently being investigated by a presidential panel over alleged misappropriation of recovered assets under his watch.

In the letter dated November 2, 2020, CCB asked Magu “to come along with the certified true copies (CTC) of the following: Acknowledgement slips of all your assets declaration to the Code of Conduct Bureau since you joined public service. Copies of your appointment letter, acceptance, records of service and pay slips from January to May, 2020. All documents of your landed properties, both developed and undeveloped”.

The CCB said the invitation was made pursuant to its mandate and power as enshrined in the constitution.

But TheCable understands Magu will be writing to the bureau to seek an extension on the ground that he is unable to access his office for the requested documents.

“He is writing CCB to give him more time to enable him access requested documents in his office,” a source told TheCable.

In July, TheCable had reported how CCB was prepared charges against Magu for allegedly failing to declare his assets.

Wahab Shittu, his lawyer, however, had described the allegation of not declaring his assets as “gross misrepresentation and blatant falsehood”.

Magu’s probe followed a memo by Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation (AGF), who accused him of grave malfeasance.

He has, however, denied the allegations.

In its interim report submitted in August, the panel headed by Ayo Salami, retired president of the court of appeal, had recommended that Magu, a commissioner of police, should be sacked and prosecuted over allegations of corruption and abuse of office.

A former Executive Secretary of the Adamawa State Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board, Bishop Luscious Mayo has been handed a seven-year jail term for financial misappropriation.

A cashier who served under him, Rhoda Thompson, was similarly jailed seven years.

A high court in the state capital, Yola, passed the judgement on Monday, freeing two other defendants against whom the court could not find evidence of fraud.

The state High Court IV, on the other hand, said it found the former Executive Secretary, Luscious Mayo and his cashier, Rhoda Thompson guilty of misappropriating various funds put in their charge while they were at the board between August and December 2016.

Passing judgement on the case filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against Dr Luscious Jinga Mayo and Three Others, Justice Danladi Mohammed convicted and sentenced Luscious Mayo and Rhoda Thompson to seven years each without option of fine.

The EFCC had initially brought 9 charges against the four defendants but the suit was amended to a 10-count charge bordering on conspiracy to obtain money by false pretence, misappropriation, forgery, diversion of funds and non-declaration of assets.

On count 3 and 4, Justice Mohammed sentenced the ex-executive secretary to 7 years each without an option of fine, while on count 5 the first defendant was sentenced to one year imprisonment with an option of N100, 000 fine, while on count 8 and 9 he was sentenced to two years imprisonment or an option of 100,000 fine while on count 10, the first defendant was sentenced to five years imprisonment without option of fine.

On count two the two convicts are to refund N84,948,600 while on count 3 the first defendant will refund N50,000 deposit made by each of the Christian pilgrims who upgraded their BTA from $500 to $750, amounting to N26,348,750.

On count four, the first respondent will return N15,690,000 to Adamawa State Government while on count 6 he is to refund N2,540,760 to four Christian pilgrims who deposited the funds to enable them perform the spiritual exercise but which he diverted.

The two convicts will serve seven years jail term each as their sentences are to run concurrently.

Buba Galadima, a former ally of President Muhammadu Buhari, has condemned the clampdown on some #EndSARS protesters.

The CBN had secured a court order, directing some banks to freeze the accounts of 19 individuals and a company linked to the #EndSARS protests on allegations of terrorism financing.

Modupe Odele, a member of the feminist coalition who offered legal aid to persons arrested during the demonstrations, had also said the Nigerian Immigration Service seized her passport.

Speaking when he featured on Arise TV on Monday, Galadima asked Buhari to order that the affected bank accounts be unfrozen.

Galadima described the move as unconstitutional, amd reminded the president that Nigeria operates in a democracy, not in a military regime.

“What the government has done is not right. It has no such right or powers to block bonafide Nigerians from travelling out of the country or from accessing their (bank) accounts. Blocked for what? What have they done?” Galadima asked.

“These young men were peacefully protesting the actions, omissions or commissions of government. Why do you, after you persuaded them or after agents of government allegedly attacked or killed them, follow this draconian disposition of blocking their accounts? That is not constitutional.

“I’m sending this message to Mr President whether he knows or he doesn’t know, let him be shown what I am saying. His people have no right to do what they are doing.

“Please, they should desist and unblock the accounts of these young people and allow them to carry on with their normal activities as Nigerians. You cannot harass them. We are in a democracy; we are not in a military regime.”

Ahead of the 2023 general elec­tions, there are fresh intrigues threatening to tear the Indepen­dent National Electoral Commis­sion (INEC) apart and completely erode its independence as a body that should serve the inter­est of all political parties, Daily Independent reports..

This followed the formal handover by its National Chairman, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, last week, pending the Senate’s confirmation for the renewal of his tenure as chairman of the commis­sion.

Also, there are strong indications that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is going through a re­gime of crisis as a result of intense power play among key players within the party’s leadership cadre who have constituted themselves into strong power blocks within the context of who holds which sphere of influence, preparatory to the 2023 gen­eral elections.

In this mix of power play is also a minister from the North-West geo-political zone who is angling to seek the governorship of his state in 2023.

One of the signs of the power play emerged penul­timate week, following the announcement by Presi­dent Muhammadu Buhari that the tenure of Professor Yakubu and some national commissioners have been renewed.

This was done in total disregard to the constitution that says that the president in the exercise of his power to make appointment to INEC, ‘shall’ consult the Council of State made up of ex-presi­dents and all serving gover­nors of all political parties.

A credible source in­formed our correspondent that such announcements are usually made after the Council of State meeting through the instrumental­ity of a letter written to the Senate for a reconfirmation of a renewal of the tenure for such appointments.

The President of the Sen­ate, it was gathered, usually reads out the letter from the executive signed by President Buhari, requesting Senate confirmation.

Informed sources within Aso Villa, the APC leader­ship cadre and the Senate disclosed that the announce­ment was made “with a view to checkmating other moves by members of other power blocks angling to take over control of INEC”.

In fact, the simmering contention in the APC over the timely organisation of its national convention, where members of its Na­tional Executive Committee (NEC) are expected to be voted into office, is not un­connected to the unfolding power game which has INEC as its centrepiece.

Whereas there were con­flicting signals regarding what went into the renewal of the tenure of Professor Yakubu, and those for now outsmarted threatening to open up can of worms in the days coming, notwithstand­ing the perceptible dismal showing and the deep in the esteem of INEC as a result of election outcomes that con­tinue to draw the indignation of members of the public, civil society and some foreign election observers – apart from the recently conducted governorship election in Edo State adjudged by many to be free and fair – there is palpa­ble apprehension that the re­newal of Professor Yakubu’s appointment by the Senate may be stormy.

Until the Edo election, the incremental progress insti­tuted by Professor Attahiru Jega, the immediate past national chairman of INEC, had suffered tremendous damage in the hands of the present EMB.

While there are indica­tions that the Senate may not resume its plenary sit­ting until January 2021, as a result of on-going work on next year’s budget by various committees, the information floating around is that there is pressure being mounted by the power block in APC behind Prof. Yakubu’s reap­pointment on the leadership of the Senate, to reconvene this week for the purpose of sealing the renewal of Profes­sor Yakubu reappointment.

The push for the resump­tion of the Senate is report­edly being spearheaded by a very powerful member of its leadership whose hands is said to be fully in the plot for the retention of the chairmanship of INEC by Professor Yakubu.

Indeed, from the Senate end, there are said to be two power blocks interested in not just the headship of INEC, but the fresh appoint­ments of national commis­sioners and resident elec­toral commissioners who are either party members or sympathisers. This move will ensure that current ex­perienced commissioners who have acted truly inde­pendent and had exhibited neutrality in the conduct of elections that should be ele­vated are possibly removed.

Two very powerful offi­cers in the Senate are said to be in opposing camps and both are of the APC.

While one is for the reten­tion of Professor Yakubu, the other, said to be acting in concert with some other forces within Aso Rock Pres­idential Villa, is believed to be rooting for the appoint­ment of one of the national commissioners who hails from his own geo-political zone and an in-law to take over from the incumbent.

At the executive branch is powerful minister from the North-West who wants to be a governor. He had penciled down his own chairman­ship candidate nominee and those who should be commissioners but has been outsmarted for now by one of the blocks behind Profes­sor Yakubu.

From the camp of the APC leadership, the reap­pointment of Yakubu is seen as a potential repudiation of further push from the South-West zone regarding what an insider described as a “seeming entitlement of a takeover in 2023 after President Buhari.”

This calculation thrusts into the battlefield, as well as pours cold water on the aspirations of both Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and the former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Yet, a source within INEC made it clear that “the poten­tial series of crises that are likely to overwhelm INEC are going to rear their heads with the filling of slots that would soon be vacant in North-East – on account of tenures that have ended – as well as operational nuanc­es that may alter long-held procedures of engendering elections that would stand the test of time.

“Some of the new people that Nigerians will begin to see within the commission will likely signpost the type of election Nigerians will witness in 2023. All those whose faces represent a hopeful future for credible elections in the system at the moment may be eased out instead of been elevated as national commissioners.

“At least, the nomination of a known presidential aide as a national commissioner was a clear indication of what is to come and meant to test the waters and Nigeri­ans should not be fooled into believing that there will be an independent commission but rather all efforts are be­ing made to compromise the composition of the commis­sion with partisan individ­uals for total control,” the source lamented.

“As of last week, there were ripples within INEC over the moves to bring in another national com­missioner nominee from the same state of Gombe where the acting chairman, AVM Mauzu (rtd.) hails from within the North-East geo-political zone.

“This is apart from sur­reptitious moves being made to upturn the balance in the ethnic configuration of the top management of the commission, with an emerging plot to reverse a Federal Government of Nigeria circular which sus­pended the tenure policy in the Federal Civil Service to achieve what insiders in INEC described as planned ethnic cleansing of individ­uals holding directorates that must be yielded to a favour some others.

“Some of the moves go­ing-on now over the struggle for the takeover and control of INEC are said to be part of the fallout of the demise of both former Chief of Staff to the President, late Mallam Abba Kyari and Ismaila Isa Funtua, as well as the absence from active participation in Villa pol­itics of Mallam Mamman Daura, who wanted a re­branding of INEC and had wanted a new chairman with track records that Nige­rians would applaud to boost the image of the electoral management body and the country and such a choice should possibly come from the South.

The intended move by Daura, sources say, is part of efforts to help President Buhari leave behind a leg­acy, even as his presidency struggles to do away with the perception of ethnic bigotry.

Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike has warned move by the Federal Government to implement its Executive Order 10 will destroy the criminal justice system in states.

Wike said the order, which allows the deduction of funds from each state’s account to finance the judiciary, was politically motivated and geared towards the 2023 general election.

A statement by Wike’s Special Assistant, Media, Kelvin Ebiri, said Wike spoke at the 3rd Annual Nigerian Criminal Law Review Conference organised by the Rule of Law Development Foundation in Abuja on Monday.

The Governor said ahead of the 2023 general elections, the Federal Government, which he said had been hostile to judges, wanted to lure the judiciary by presenting a body language it believed in independence of judiciary.

He said: “Independence is not to take resources and preside over award of contract. If you cannot give judgment according to your conscience; if you cannot give judgment according to the law, then there is no independence. And this of course affects the criminal justice system.”

Wike also said the politicisation of security by the Federal Government had continued to negatively affect the criminal justice system in the country.

He said the prevailing cases of kidnapping, banditry and armed robbery threatening the existence and stability of the nation clearly justified the establishment of state or community police.

He noted while establishment of state police might require amendment of the extant Section 214(1) of the 1999 Constitution, the Rivers State Government was of the opinion that community police or neighbourhood watch could be established without constitutional amendment.

Wike said: “The truth of the matter is that with the current strength of the Nigeria Police Force which stands at about 372,000 the Nigeria Police Force lacks the operational capacity to fulfill its primary or core mandate of crime detection, crime prevention and maintenance of public safety, law and order or protection of lives and property of persons in Nigeria.

“To put it plainly, the Nigeria Police lacks the operational capacity to police the nation which is a federation of about 923.768km (356.669 sqm) with an estimated population of 195.9 million.

“It is this stark reality that informs call for establishment of State Police to provide complementary role to the Nigeria Police Force in crime detection, prevention, and maintenance of law and order.”

The Governor explained it was against the backdrop that Rivers enacted the Rivers State Neighbourhood Safety Corps Law, No. 8 of 2018 which established the Rivers state Neighbourhood Safety Corps Agency as a corporate body.

He said the agency was vested with powers to set up uniformed Neighbourhood Safety Corps in the 23 Local government Areas of the State and prescribe regulations guiding the operations of the corps and any other local government vigilant groups in the state.

He said following the law, his government began recruitment and training of members of the uninformed Neighbourhood Safety Corps at the NYSC orientation camp , Nonwa in Tai LGA, after obtaining all necessary approvals from the Nigerian Army and other relevant security agencies.

But he said the exercise was violently disrupted by the Nigerian Army, claiming it was illegal and unconstitutional.

Wike noted despite the recent ruling of a competent court of jurisdiction upholding the constitutionality of the Rivers state Neighbourhood Safety Corps, the Army had refused to allow it carry out its recruitment and training of personnel.

He said: “The point being made here is that as long as the Federal Government continues to politicise issues of security whether national or local, so long shall our criminal justice system remain seriously jeopardise.

“The suzerain power exercisable by the Federal Government over matters of security is made manifest by the irregular postings of Commissioners of Police to the Rivers state Police Command”.

Wike emphasised the need for critical stakeholders in the criminal justice sector to rethink the system through reform designed to address current challenges.

A magistrate court in Yaba, Lagos State has set November 17 for the bail hearing of Eromosele Adene, an EndSARS campaigner after the police asked to detain him for 30 days.

Adene was arraigned before the magistrate court today on charges bordering on criminal incitement, cyberstalking as well as provoking a breach of public peace.

He was returned to Lagos on Sunday night to be arraigned in court on Monday.

Adene was arraigned at the magistrate court, Yaba on Monday, having been detained for eight days already.

Speaking to newsmen, Tunde Jinadu, lawyer to the accused, condemned Adene’s transfer to Abuja without the knowledge of neither his families nor counsel, saying, “This sharp practice of the police needs to stop.

“We were not served. We were not called that he was being brought to SCID. An ACP told me they didn’t know where he was. This sharp practice of the police needs to stop. They just wanted to shut us out. That was how they flew him to Abuja last week without my knowledge.

“Luckily, some good people informed me that he (Eromosele) had been taken to a magistrate court. Thank God I have a car. I was able to quickly arrive at the court. “

Jinadu, however, revealed that his timely arrival at the court prevented Eromosele from being detained for 30 more days.

“The police asked for an order to remand the activist for 30 more days,” he said.

Adene was reportedly arrested at his home on November 7 for participating in the #EndSars protest and was later transferred to Abuja without the knowledge of his family.

The Enugu state government has confirmed reports of strange deaths in three local government areas.

Ikechukwu Obi, the state commissioner for health, said in a statement that it is not yet confirmed whether the deaths are linked to Yellow fever as previous cases.

TheCable had reported strange deaths in Igbo Eze north local government area in Enugu, which health authorities later confirmed to be as a result of a Yellow fever outbreak.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) later confirmed that a similar outbreak in Delta and Bauchi has led to 76 deaths in total.

Obi said on Sunday the state government received reports of some deaths with no known cause in two more LGAs, and that it is awaiting test results of samples taken.

He said: “Following the confirmed cases of Yellow Fever in Igbo Eze North LGA of Enugu State and the concerted efforts to control the situation in the LGA by the State Government, Stakeholders and Partners; Federal and International, reports have also been received of ‘strange deaths’ within communities in Nsukka, Isi-Uzo and Igbo-Etiti LGAs.

“The Enugu State Ministry of Health Rapid Response Team, LGA Rapid Response Teams, International and National Partners have also visited these LGAs to investigate the reports and take samples for testing just as was done for the reports at Igboeze North.

“The new set of samples from these LGAs have been sent to the National Reference Laboratory at the Federal Capital Territory Abuja for a thorough and complete examination to determine conclusively the reasons for these new set of reports and the results are expected back early this week.”

He asked residents to take necessary precautions against Yellow fever, adding that those who have been recently vaccinated do not need to do so again.

“It takes 10 days or more for Yellow fever vaccine to start working after you have received it,” he said, adding: “If you or your loved one are not feeling well, please visit or take your loved one to a nearby hospital for treatment.”

….Tackles agency on 2021 budget

…Moves to save agency N2.4 billion 

Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Narcotic Drugs, Dr. Francis  Ottah Agbo, has challenged the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, to learn from the experience of former Director General of NAFDAC, late Prof. Dora Akunyili on how to effectively run NDLEA in the face of paucity funds.

Dr. Ottah Agbo gave the challenge during the 2020 Budget Performance and 2020 Budget Defense Hearing of his committee with the NDLEA on Monday.

He recalled that only little was known about NAFDAC before Prof. Akunyili became the Director General of the agency but said she was able to use her influence to make impact in spite of poor funding.

He said, “Before the late Prof. Dora Akunyili became the DG of NAFDAC, most people didn’t know of the existence of NAFDAC in Nigeria.

“NAFDAC was underfunded, underequipped and understaffed like NDLEA, but when she came in as DG of NAFDAC, she changed the narrative and many people began to know about NAFDAC in Nigeria.”

Dr. Ottah Agbo said though the management of NDLEA is doing its best, but its best is not good enough and called on it to work harder.

He said, “Chairman and management team of NDLEA need to work harder so that Nigerians would truly know about the existence of the NDLEA the way they knew about NAFDAC when Akunyili was DG in the face of poor funding.”

The House Committee chairman  offered to intervene to save the NDLEA the sum of N2.4 billion contained in its budget which it is proposing to use to purchase property for use as office.

Dr. Ottah  Agbo who represents Ado/Ogbadibo/Okpokwu Federal Constituency, said his committee would liaise with the ministry of Justice to have one of the property seized as proceeds of financial crime by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, handed over to them instead of spending money to purchase a new office.

Dr. Ottah Agbo popularly known as the Ozigizaga of Enone Politics, suggested that rather than allocate N2.4 billion for the purchase of property which would eat deeply into the budget of the agency, it would be better to explore the process set by the Federal Government to hand over some of the confiscated property to the agency.

He said this would enable the NDLEA which has been complaining of poor funding to have more funds at its disposal to purchase arms, ammunition, more sniffer dogs,scanners, vehicles and so on to achieve its core mandate of fighting the menace of drug addiction in the country.

Dr. Ottah Agbo regretted the fact that many of the weapons used by NDLEA to fight drug traffickers were those used during the civil war, a situation he noted has made Nigeria a laughing stock in the international communities!

He enjoined members of the committee of Narcotic Drugs to help NDLEA in sensitising Nigerians against drug addiction by budgeting for it in the mail 2021 Appropriation.

“We should look at what the budget for sensitisation is and see if it is enough. If it is not enough as a committee we do something about it,” he stated.

Ottah Agbo who is the Spokesman of the Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives, said his committee did not remove, amend or adjust any figure in the 2020 budget as presented by the NDLEA because it believed it got its priority right.

The Lawmaker said his committee will decline to pass the 2021 Appropriation if at  any point it has evidence of lack of due diligence in the implementation of the 2020  budget.

He said with the challenges facing Nigeria owing to the Covid-19 Pandemic, year 2021 presents an opportunity to re-appraise, re-strategise and reposition.

“The role of the NDLEA at this time can never be less challenging than it was. Whilst I do not envy you at this time, I urge you to rise up and vigorously work in conjunction with other sister agencies and international organisations to ensure the attainment of your mandate.

He said the process where over the years, budget defense has been turned into ritual of rhetoric without corresponding action must stop.

“For us to attain greatness and be respected in the committee of Nations, we have to translate our budget to tangible outcomes,” he added.

The NDLEA chairman, Alhaji Mohammed Mustapha Abdallah had stated while presenting the 2021 budget estimate of the agency that the agency has 49 formations with one each in all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory as well as in sea ports and airports.

He said the NDLEA is however finding it difficult to fund the formations with N15 million allocated for that purpose  per month.

He said there’s need for increase surveillance in all local governments in the country.

The NDLEA is proposing N12.688,496, 733 billion as budget estimate for 2021 out of which it is proposing to spend N9.195, 395, 368, 466 as recurrent expenditure and over N3 billion as capital with N398, 073 million for overhead.

He said the agency is yet to have an  office headquarters in Abuja and appealed to the House Committee to come to the aid of agency.

The NDLEA chairman said the NDLEA currently lacks funds for information gathering and for other operations saying funding will go a long way in curbing corruption among the rank and file of the work force and reduce threat of insecurity and enhace a drug free Nigeria.

On the issue of declassifying Cannabis for economic advantage, the NDLEA chairman said Cannabis by law is not allowed in Nigeria and that it is not true that it has medicinal value.