Few days after the Ondo State Security Network Agency known as operation Amotekun was launched by Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, armed men suspected to be kidnappers have struck in the state.

The gunmen on Saturday night were said to have kidnapped one Surajudeen Alao, a native of Oba Akoko. Another yet-to-be-identified victim was also kidnapped alongside Alao.

The two were said to have been abducted on Ikun-Oba Akoko road while returning from Ikun Day Festival.

It was gathered that the incident caused anxiety among residents of Oba Akoko.

Akoko axis in the Northern Senatorial District of the state has been a notorious route for bandits where they operate unhindered.

The families of the victims claimed they were yet to be contacted by the abductors.

thepodiummedia

• Commission boss, Pondei, faces fresh probe September

The Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions has said the information at its disposal is not sufficient to commence the probe of senators indicted in the alleged contract scam at the Niger Delta Development Commission.

The ad hoc committee set up to unravel the alleged financial recklessness by the Interim Management Committee of the NDDC had recommended an internal mechanism to investigate lawmakers indicted by the agency to have secured multi-billion naira projects without executing them.

There has been an outcry over the billions of naira stolen from the commission, even as a member of the NDDC Forensic Audit Committee, Prof Isa Sadiq Raddah, said recently that no fewer than 12,000 projects, some of which were partly paid for, had been abandoned.

Speaking at a workshop organised by the Network for Justice on Budget Monitoring and Tracking in Sokoto, Raddah, who is a member of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, said 1,700 contractors took mobilisation fees and disappeared.

He said, “NDDC for 20 years has got over $40bn. And when you convert $40bn to naira, we are talking of N116tn.

“The entire money was taken away by their young people,  leaders, agitators, activists and now the Niger Delta is as bad as many of the rural areas you find in Northern Nigeria.”

But the chairman of the senate panel saddled with the responsibility of carrying out the probe within four weeks, Senator Ayo Akinyelure, told one of our correspondents in Abuja that the ad hoc committee did not provide relevant details that could assist him in carrying out the task.

Akinyelure also said the probe of a fresh petition against the Managing Director of the NDDC, Prof Daniel Pondei, would wait till September when the National Assembly resumes its current annual vacation.

He said his committee members, who would need sufficient time to study all the allegations contained in the petition, were currently not available following the adjournment of legislative activities till September 15.The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, had said during an investigative hearing by the House of Representatives in July that some lawmakers were beneficiaries of NDDC projects.

He subsequently released a list of the contractors, including a senator from Delta State, who allegedly had 53 projects against his name; another senator from the state with six projects against his name; a senator from Edo State, who also had six projects against his name; and a former senator from Imo State, who had 19 projects against his name.

Others were a former chairman of the Reps committee on NDDC, who had 74 contracts against his name; a former Delta State governor and another former governor of Abia State.

While the identified persons denied the allegations, the NDDC Director of Corporate Affairs, Charles Odili, said in a statement that the Interim Management Committee of the commission stood by the list released by the minister. It said the names emanated from files in the possession of the forensic auditors.

The statement added, “It is not an Akpabio list but the NDDC’s list; the list is part of the volume of 8,000 documents already handed over to the forensic auditors. The ongoing forensic audit would unearth those behind the contracts.”

But in his interview with one of our correspondents, Akinyelure argued that the information at its disposal at the moment from the ad hoc committee on the senators accused of failed contracts, could not allow his panel do justice to the issue.

Lack of information hampers deep investigation –Panel

He said, “We have yet to receive detailed information from the ad hoc committee. Before my committee can entertain any petition, there must be specific allegations against certain sets of people and the allegations must be clear.

“We must have details of the contracts collected. There must be sufficient details about specific contracts, the level of execution, period of award, contract sum and amount collected. All these are not in the recommendations of the ad hoc committee.

“The ad hoc committee has not given details of the one they want my committee to sit on. We are still expecting them to supply us with information about the specific allegations against the affected senators. We need to have their identity.”

…insists Akpabio must provide more details on allegations

He explained that the committee needed to know the contract the senators collected without execution, adding that there must be specific allegations for the committee to verify and that the minister who made the allegation would need to supply more information.

He added, “I am aware that senators don’t award contract but if it is the ones they facilitated for their constituencies, we would investigate their links to the contractors.

“We will find out the procurement process they went through before the contracts were awarded, those who paid the contractors, and to whose account was the money paid to, was the contract executed or not?

“It is when we have these details that we could ask questions. So, we are still expecting the details of the petition to be forwarded to my committee. The minister (Akpabio), who made the allegations, will also need to supply adequate details.

“We want to know the senators who allegedly collected contracts and those who allegedly demanded bribe. It is when we get all the facts that we could do justice and present our report and recommendations.”

… says Pondei’s probe shifted till September

On the fresh petition against Pondei,  Akinyelure said, “We will start the investigation when we resume plenary in September. We have to take our time to find out those behind the petition and other details that would guide us on who to invite to come and give evidence.

“If we don’t have all these details, we cannot do anything. Moreover, most of my committee members are now on vacation. I cannot sit alone as chairman and claim that I’m conducting public hearing.”

He assured the public that the Senate would do justice to the issue.

My c’mttee has no further details on indicted lawmakers – Adetunmbi

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Senate ad hoc committee that probed the alleged reckless spending at the NDDC between October 2019 and May 2020, Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi,  has said his committee has no further details on the issue apart from the ones already provided in its report.

He said his panel did an explicit job based on submissions of all stakeholders who were requested to provide both written and oral submissions while the exercise lasted.

He said, “I have done the work that was given to me. My report was explicit about the recommendations. I have yet to see details of what Senator Ayo Akinyelure’s committee was asked to do.

“All the information before us were considered and we have written our report. I don’t have any other information apart from what is contained in the report which the Senate had considered, approved and acted upon.”

CSOs ask NASS to submit lawmakers for probe

Two civil society organisations, Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, and Transparency International, have demanded that the Senate and the House of Representatives turn in their members indicted in the NDDC contracts for probe.

CACOL’s Executive Chairman, Debo Adeniran, asked the leadership of the National Assembly not to shield their indicted members from the ongoing probe.

He said, “We have made that call for long that the National Assembly should surrender its indicted members to the relevant anti-corruption agencies to investigate the allegations against them. Let them defend themselves. If they come out clean, they will be okay and if they don’t, let them face the consequences.

“If nothing has happened to the lawmakers indicted, the minister may not reveal further names. But the minister seems ready to spill the beans. There must be a reason why the National Assembly does not want him to continue talking.”

Also, the Head of the Transparency International in Nigeria, Musa Rafsanjani, said, “First and foremost, the National Assembly has the moral burden and they must ensure that they carry out their work with sincerity and compliance with the ethical values of the legislature.

“Some of the National Assembly members who have been accused and fingered in these allegations must be investigated. We expected by now that there should have been a thorough probe into the allegations made by the minister, Akpabio.”

Sunday Punch

TUKUR MUNTARI

The Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, has directed the Chairman of the State Public Complaint and Anti-Corruption Commission, Muhyi Rimingado, not to compromise in the fight against corruption in the state, whoever it might involve.

The governor gave the directive on Saturday while on an inspection tour of the renovation taking place at the commission’s headquarters in the state capital.

The governor also stated that the Federal Government could not fight corruption alone without replication at the state and local government levels.

He said, “Whoever falls in the commission’s trap should be made to face the consequences. I will have nothing to do with it. I will not interfere in any case, whoever might be involved. With the way corruption is fighting back, and being an agenda of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to fight against corruption, the Federal Government cannot fight corruption alone; it needs domestication in the states and the local governments to succeed.”

In his remarks, the chairman of the commission, Rimingado commended Ganduje’s political will in the fight against corruption in the state.

The agency had last week recovered N310,000 from the Special Adviser on Religious Affairs, Ali Fagge, who was alleged to have defrauded imams who participated in a special prayer session against COVID-19 and insecurity.

The embattled aide was said to have deducted N45,000 out of N50,000 approved by the governor for each of the 360 clerics who participated in the prayer session.

In what has been described as a notable achievement, Nigeria’s foremost legal technologies company, LawPavilion Business Solutions Limited, in collaboration with Telnet Group recently concluded a 2-day virtual conference. The conference which had the keynote speech delivered by His Excellency, Prof Yemi Osinbajo SAN, GCON, with goodwill messages from His Lordship, Hon. Justice Tanko Muhammad CFR,  Chief Justice of Nigeria and Paul Usoro SAN, outgoing President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA),  has been praised as a timely conference about the important role that technology now occupies in provision of legal services and administration of justice in Nigeria.

One of the highpoints of the conference was the unveiling and launching of the E-Library of the Laws of Lagos State on the LawPavilion platform by His Excellency, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Executive Governor of Lagos State, represented by Mr. Moyo Onigbanjo SAN, Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of Lagos State. Working in collaboration with the Law Reform Commission of Lagos State, the e-library platform will make the Laws of Lagos State easily accessible and relevant for the use of Lagosians and the public. The Annotated e-laws of Lagos State on platform will also highlight how the courts and populace interact with the laws, leveraging on machine learning and artificial intelligence. This approach will ensure that new laws and decisions of court are data-driven, with its finger on the pulse of the general citizenry.

Another noteworthy highlight of the conference was the unveiling of the LawRights App, a solution from the stables of LawPavilion, for the use of the general public to know and understand their constitutional rights, have access to lawyers and law firms from within the app and where necessary, initiate the process of adjudication where rights have been abused or trampled upon.

In his remarks, the Honourable CJN alluded to the giant strides that had been taken by the apex court in recent years by adopting the use of court management software, demonstrating a marked departure from the analogue system of adjudication. He reiterated the support of the Judiciary in adopting new technologies that accelerate the delivery of justice to Nigerians.

In a related vein, the NBA President pointed out that access to justice and upholding rule of law will remain a mirage where the average citizen is ignorant of his rights under the law or is deprived of widespread access to regulatory bodies and government agencies that can ensure that citizens’ rights are not trampled upon and commended the LawRights App that had just being unveiled by LawPavilion, as a ground-breaking solution for Nigerians, including stakeholders in the administration of justice and legal services industries.

Consolidating on the remarks of the CJN and NBA President, the Vice President, Prof Osinbajo, SAN, GCON expressed his elation at the willingness and rapid adoption of technology exemplified by the Supreme Court in giving its stamp of approval to virtual court sittings. he also drew attention to the fact that technology has aided the democratization of law and justice in Nigeria and called for purpose-built solutions for the administration of justice in Nigeria by local legal and technology companies in the country, pledging the Federal Government’s commitment to support tech companies Nigerians adapt to the new global realities powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and sophisticated technology solutions.

Speaking in another vein, with focus on young Nigerians, Gbenga Sesan, CEO of Paradigm Initiatives, pointed out there was the need to use technology to accelerate access to justice, especially as the country adjusts to the realities of the pandemic, citing several examples of interaction with law enforcement agencies which ended in wanton abuse of the human rights and dignity of the affected victims. He advocated for a rapid adoption of a law that enshrines the digital rights of citizens and pointed out that Nigeria could become a leader among to other African countries in this regard. He concluded that innovation cannot thrive in an environment where justice is stifled and rights trampled upon with impunity and no redress, calling for practical demonstration of justice in the protection of rights, especially digital rights.

During panel discussion, in response to the question about the readiness of the Nigerian judiciary to adapt technology as needed in a post COVID-19 environment, his Lordship, Hon Justice Olukayode Ariwoola JSC submitted that the Nigerian judiciary has demonstrated and continues to demonstrate a willingness to adopt technologies and adapt court processes, in a bid to ensure that delivery of justice is not delayed or hampered.

Dr Babatunde Ajibade remarked that while there isn’t yet a national consensus about the adoption of technology, there needs to be more thinking about how technology can be harnessed to facilitate the delivery of justice, with the corresponding financial and human resources investments required. He pointed out that there are still significant pockets of technologically challenged members of the Bar and the Bench.

In terms of whether the legal service and judiciary are walking the talk when it comes to using technology to enhance and improve delivery of services, Mr. Folorunsho Aliu, MD of Telnet Group took an optimistic view that the sector and Nigeria is on a journey to getting better in how technology is used and harnessed for justice and economic growth. He was of the opinion that lessons and ideas that will emerge from the conference will be instrumental towards more widespread adoption and use of legal technology in Nigeria.

During the breakout session on managing law firms and legal departments, members of the panel demonstrated extensive understanding in articulating the solutions their law firms or legal departments had utilized to improve efficiency.  Sesan Sobowale of Union Bank Legal Department and his counterpart, Raymond Mgbeokwere of First Bank shared unique insights about the deployment of bespoke LawPavilion Case Management Solution for Legal Departments, to automate the administration and coordination of their legal teams while Mr Seun Abimbola, former Attorney General of Oyo State shared insights of his experience in running a government department and urged that bespoke legal technologies solutions were the way forward to meet the competing demands on the legal department or law office, particularly in this pandemic.

Speaking on whether the legal ecosystem is an evolution or a revolution, Lere Fashola, publisher of ESQ Magazine contributed that the eco-system is both an evolution, looking at how far the legal services industry had come in Nigeria and also a revolution, because COVID-19 has altered how people interact and do businesses, thereby necessitating the adoption of virtual court hearings and progressive use of several technology platform to provide services to clients.

There were several engaging discussion and panel sessions, including a session displaying e-filing and court management processes and solutions, aimed at accelerating case management of the entire court system from end to end as well. The private sector was not left out as the Conference featured showcase pieces of new and existing solutions within the legal services industry and in the areas of digital transformation and indeed opened a new vista in the annals of law and technology innovation in Nigeria.

The Nigerian Military has cautioned Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, against making public remarks about what it described as unverified allegations against its personnel in the theatre of operations.

This formed part of the recommendations of an investigative team set up to verify the allegations that soldiers in the war front have been engaging in farming and fishing activities.

The team lead, Major General Felix Omoigui, who is also the Deputy Theatre Commander Operation Lafiya Dole, briefed reporters on the findings of the team on Friday in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

He revealed that the allegations emanated from personnel of some security agencies, which were neither investigated nor verified before reporting same to the governor.

Omoigui who described the allegations as false and malicious explained that when the team visited Baga town, there were no records of fishing or farming by the troops as alleged.

“The prohibition of troops from engaging in farming and fishing activities in Area of Responsibility is contained in the Standing Operative Procedures,” he stated.

The deputy theatre commander insisted that soldiers have been constantly warned not to get involved in any farming and fishing activities.

He stressed that the investigative team also found that the entire area of Baga was too heavily mined with Improvised Explosive Device (IED) to encourage any farming activity, adding that 55 mines have so far been detonated since the town was reclaimed.

Overzealous Security Agencies?
“The allegations were conjured by some overzealous security agencies who for personal glory and without recourse for the tenets of inter-agency cooperation decided to propagate falsehood.

“The Governor of Borno State believed these allegations levelled against troops of the 19 Brigade in Baga given his recent utterances,” Omoigui said.

He added, “Remarks of highly placed persons is capable of demoralising the troops which would negatively impact on operations and the confidence of the locals in the military.”

The major general said the report faulted the governor has been in constant touch with the Theatre Commander and the Sector 3 Commander for not reporting the allegation for investigation.

He decried, “Allegations of such nature could be avoided if the military authority was contacted on issues concerning troops activities before going public.

“The realisations that the allegation emanated from security agencies could trigger reactions and animosity among troops and attendant negative consequences.”

According to him, the report recommends that Governor Zulum should be advised on the need to contact the Headquarters of the Theatre Command to verify any allegation against troops in Operation Lafiya Dole.

While declining to name the supposed security outfit responsible for the allegations, Omoigui advised security agencies to educate their personnel on the need to verify issues before disseminating same as intelligent reports.

When contacted, the governor’s aide on media and strategy, Isa Gusau, stated that his principal had gone beyond that.

He said, “He (Zulum) made his point which was not personal, and has moved forward.

“The governor has throughout this week, been engaged with high-level meetings at the Presidency and with the military’s service chiefs whom he visited in Abuja, to enhance collaboration on the more urgent issue of reclaiming peace in Borno.”

Culled from Channels Tv

FORMER Nigerian Attorney-General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke, has asked a London court to order redaction of witness statements attributed to him by his successor, Abubaker Malami in the P&ID trial.

Filing an application of defamation at the Commercial Court of the Property and Business Courts of England and Wales in London stating some referenced portions of Malami’s witness statements filed in defence of Nigeria’s case at the court as defamatory and malicious against him.

He also urged the court to delete the alleged “offensive” portions of the said statements.

The nine-page application, titled, ‘False evidence about Mohammed Bello Adoke, SAN, in the P&ID case being heard in England’, stated that Malami in the statements filed at the London court “repeatedly described” Adoke “as corrupt”.

Delivered by his lawyer, Paul Erokoro (SAN), Adoke asked Malami to retract some referenced portions of his statements, tender an apology for the alleged damage done to his name by the claims, and pay monetary compensation for the alleged harm, which should be done within seven days.

His letter cited multiple portions of Malami’s witness statements, where the former AGF was accused of “thinly” defending Nigerian interest at the P&ID arbitration hearing “with a view to ensuring an award in P&ID’s favour”.

Malami had filed the two statements as a witness in defence of the Federal Government at the London court on December 5, 2019, and March 6, 2020, seeking to have the $9.6 billion arbitral award issued against Nigeria and in favour of a British Virgin Island firm, Process and Industrial Development.

He denied all the corruption allegations including the one in which he was accused of benefitting from the alleged fraudulent Malabu Oil deals.

Adoke who described Malami’s statements as constituting an act of abuse of his office informed the London court that the allegedly offending comments would lead to a miscarriage of justice in his defence of the criminal charged preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC in Nigeria.

“That the conduct of the Honourable Abubakar Malami as HAGF in submitting the offending statements contained in the fourth and sixth witness statements will result in a miscarriage of justice.

“In my defence of the criminal charges filed against me in Nigeria as the conduct of the HAGF clearly an abuse of office by his breach of section 36(6) of the 1999 constitution of Nigeria in breach of his oath of office,” a section of the application reads.

He also denied all the corruption allegations including the one in which he was accused of benefitting from the alleged fraudulent Malabu Oil deals.

“The N300 million that is alleged that I have received from Malabu Oil was, in fact, a mortgage loan that I took from Unity Bank Plc in Nigeria to buy a house in Abuja with the purchase price of N500 million, and that when I could not raise the balance of the purchase price of N200 million after the initial payment of N300 million with the mortgage advance secured from Unity Bank Plc.

“The vendor sold the property to the Central Bank of Nigeria for N500 million and refunded part payment of the purchase price of the property paid with the mortgage advance of N300 million secured by from the Unity Bank Plc in the discharge of my mortgage,” the application read.

The P&ID case attained crisis levels for Nigeria last year when a UK judge ruled that P&ID could enforce an arbitration tribunal’s 2017 ruling, now adding $9.6 billion including interest, which found the country breached the agreement.

Nigeria’s chances of annulling the giant penalty lie on proving the 2010 gas supply arrangement was a sham designed to fail by P&ID and government officials.