With nine days to the 60th annual Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) Conference, some lawyers on social media have queried the inclusion of Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai as one of the key speakers in the forthcoming virtual conference.

NBA had on May 12, 2020, stated that it will hold its Annual General Conference (AGC) slated for August virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Paul Usoro (SAN) who was then president of the association, the decision became necessary following a meeting with the Technical Committee on Conference Planning (TCCP) led by Professor Konyinsola Ajayi (SAN), where it was decided that the 2020 AGC would be held virtually.

The conference is expected to commence from 26th through 29th August 2020.

Speakers at the event include the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, Speaker, Federal House of Assembly, Rt Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon Justice Tanko Mohammed.

Other key speakers include former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai, Former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami, President of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA), Brian Speers and Director of Training at the Judicial Institute for Africa; Hon Dame Linda, Dobbs

Reacting to the inclusion of governor El-Rufai’s name on the list of key speakers, one of the lawyers identified as Itong Washington who deregistered from being part of the virtual conference wrote on Twitter “Dear @NigBarAssoc, I just ran through the list of speakers in the forthcoming virtual conference and Gov. El-Rufai’s name is on the list. I’ll be withdrawing my attendance and cancelling my registration for the conference. Thank you”.

The lawyer, however, did not state the reason behind his action after seeing El-Rufai’s name on the list and NBA was yet to react to the development as at the time of filing this report.

Reacting, @Lugard_Tareotu tweeted: Governor @elrufai has no business addressing lawyers at the @NigBarAssoc conference. As lawyers, it is our duty to uphold the rule of law. Courts have found that El-rufai’s Government has illegally arrested & incarcerated people. I hereby withdraw my attendance from the conference.

The user added: And I call on other well meaning lawyers to also boycott the conference, except El-rufai is withdrawn from speaking at the event. The Kaduna State Government does not have a track record of respect for the rule of law and protecting the rights to life and property.

@itongwashington wrote: Dear @NigBarAssoc, I just ran through the list of speakers in the forthcoming virtual conference and Gov. El-Rufai’s name is on the list. I’ll be withdrawing my attendance and cancelling my registration for the conference.

@SKefason: Dear @NigBarAssoc, I hope you take the outcry against your nomination of Gov Nasir Elrufai as one of the speakers in your upcoming conference serious and remove him from the list. Don’t give me reason to believe that the NBA has lost its essence.

@the_ngozi: I love that Lawyers are boycotting the NBA AGC because Paul Usoro deemed El-Rufai, of all people, fit to actually speak? This joke is not even funny. With El-Rufai’s track record, you want him to speak to lawyers? Boycott it, let only Paul & his Bestie attend.

@Jummiest2: Have you noticed that the numbers of lawyers withdrawing from NBA annual conference because it has El-rufai as one of the speakers, no southern Kaduna lawyer yet as of the time I read, now you said SK people are troublesome.

@friarsomadina: Is it proper for the Paul Usoro-led @NigBarAssoc to allow those associated with disobedience of court orders to address her conference. The NBA should be a symbol of rule of law.

@AsiruAbbas: NBA is becoming more or less a useless organization. El-Rufai that threatened to return foreign election observers in body bags on NTA Tuesday live in 2019 before the general elections, making him one of the speakers is outlandishly preposterous. Is NBA dancing on the grave?

Meanwhile, El-Rufai has stated that Southern Kaduna leaders accusing him of being inactive over the incessant killings want “brown envelope”.

The governor spoke on Channels Television’s programme, Sunday Politics.

“I have no time for nonsense. I will not appease idle people who have nothing to do but to raise a spectre of genocide. They do that to get money into their bank accounts and get donations from abroad instead of standing up,” he said.

Matthew Page, former United States intelligence community’s Nigeria expert, insisted that the communal violence in southern Kaduna is well documented.

“Those affected by it are not angling to be invited to cocktail parties. El-Rufai is either working toward peace and a durable political and socio-economic solution – or he is part of the problem”, he tweeted on Tuesday.

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Prince Arthur Eze:  Humiliated by President Buhari

Controversial as Prince Arthur Eze, has become in his desperate bid to become the godfather of Anambra state which has earned him the moniker of “Money Miss Road”, he may not be a fool, after all.

 Aware that his mission of taking a handful of obscure traditional rulers from Anambra state on Wednesday, August 5, to the Presidential Villa with the sole purpose of criticizing Governor Willie Obiano, before President Muhammadu Buhari, on Friday, August 7, was dangerous, he carefully made sure that his half-brother, Dr Robert Eze who is the monarch of Ukpo in Dunukofia Local Government Area, did not make the trip.

 Dr. Eze received the 12 traditional rulers in his palace while they were on their way to the airport, but did not follow them to Abuja.

Humiliated by President Muhammadu Buhari, in Abuja and now suspended by the Anambra state government, the traditional rulers are feeling swindled.

 Arthur Eze’s brother, a medical doctor, did not suffer any humiliation because he committed no offence. Why didn’t he join?
 He probably felt that they are not in the same class. The 12 traditional rulers are pipsqueaks; they are individuals whom most Anambra people have never heard of.

 In a state which boasts of such monarchs as Prof. Laz Ekwueme, winner of Nigeria’s highest honour for intellectual and artistic excellence, just like Prof. Vincent Chukwuemeka Ike, and Agbogidi Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe, an alumnus of Stanford and Columbia universities, who used to be a director of Shell International in London, it is unimaginable that a handful of villagers would arrogate to themselves the prerogative to represent the Anambra state Traditional Rulers Council on the national scene. 

Despite President Buhari’s decision not to grant audience to these fellows because they are insignificant and were on a less than noble mission, they chose to remain in Abuja for another week to see if any state House official would see them even for a minute.
 Taking a cue from his boss who had directed Arthur Eze to make peace with the governor “who is doing a very good job,” Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, turned down the request from Arthur Eze and his putative monarchs to see him. 

Chief Chris Uba: Failed in his bid to be godfather in Anambra state

Interestingly, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, who had arranged the botched meeting between the President and these traditional rulers led by Arthur Eze on Friday, August 7, declined meeting the chiefs whom Prof. Olatunji Dare once famously described as sociological artifacts. 

The President’s Chief of Staff, Prof. Ibrahim Agboola Gambari, decided, out of pity, to see them on Thursday, August 13, for a few minutes. 

Prof. Gambari, 75, is a diplomat of international repute who not only represented Nigeria at the United Nations, but also served the UN in different capacities.

 He adopted the policy well known to diplomats as “Let us keep the fool happy,” and so met Arthur Eze, together with those now referred to in Anambra state as “ndigwe Arthur”, that is,   Arthur Eze’s monarchs.
 Even so, it was on certain conditions, including that not even one line in their speech would be critical of Gov. Obiano in recognition of his impressive record. In fact, the speech was vetted very well in advance. 

This vetting led the monarchs to claim that they were in Abuja not to abuse Gov. Obiano because they know his good record. but to praise President Buhari, for his work in Anambra state like the reconstruction of failed federal roads in Anambra state; the building of the Second Niger Bridge, and the completion of the Zik Mausoleum.

 It is also worthy of note that only two out of the five traditional rulers were allowed into Prof. Gambari’s office, as the other seven had left Abuja the previous week out of frustration.

 Indeed, one fellow who has been pretending to be the Awka monarch but has never been recognized, Chief Austine Ndigwe, has even denied going to Abuja with the monarchs in spite of various trending videos showing him conspicuously everywhere!
 To add insult to injury, the monarchs were last Thursday kept at the outer Banquet Hall at State House for long. And yet they all endured! What for!

It is a pity Arthur Eze has brought the royal institution to its lowest ebb in Nigeria’s history. Last Friday, for instance, the suspended traditional ruler of Alor in Idemili South Local Government Area, Igwe Mac-Anthony Okonkwo, was on the Anambra state Broadcasting Service apologizing profusely to the Anambra people and the state Traditional Rulers Council for his gross misconduct.  The video, as expected, went viral. 

Still, this degrading video is not as bad as a series of videos showing the monarchs collecting raw cash from Arthur Eze, in both Anambra State and Abuja to do his bidding!

 There is hardly any person from Anambra state, whether at home or abroad, who has not watched the videos. 
Thanks to the ubiquity of modern technology, the videos have been watched far more than the popular Sani Abacha video of the late 1990’s showing top generals in government and elsewhere crying like babies when their coup plot against Abacha was discovered and they were matched to the military ruler, Sani, who pretended to be moved by their cries and so offered someone like Gen. Oladipo Diya, his second in command, a handkerchief to clean his face and running nostrils.  

Why has Arthur Eze brought the revered traditional institution to these depths? Just in a desperate bid to become the godfather of Anambra State! 

Why would anyone aspire to be called Anambra state godfather after the notoriety which the term has acquired in the state, thanks to such inelegant fellows as Chris Uba? 

After the state’s liberation by Dr. Chris Ngige, on July 10, 2003, from the stranglehold of godfathers, it will be a tragic mistake for anyone to seek to be considered a godfather. 

Since the liberation, Anambra State has been witnessing fantastic growth and development up to this day. Therefore, our people can never, never tolerate a situation that will remind them of the dark days of godfatherism, let alone take them back to the days which the locusts consumed.  

Finally, people who know Arthur Eze should counsel him to desist from acting in a way which confirms the worst notions about him. 
Whether in State House in Abuja or in his village of Ukpo, people refer to him as a money bag in a way they do not refer to wealthier Nigerians like Femi Otedola, Mike Adenuga, Tony Elumelu and Aliko Dangote because they consider these younger people thoughtful.

 In fact, they call Arthur Eze in his back a “Money Miss Road”. Quite painfully, he seems to be acting in ways which validate this unflattering reputation.

 Probably with his blessing, his agents posted on the social media last Thursday the story that he has donated a Lexus SUV to each of the 12 traditional rulers who travelled to Abuja with him on Wednesday, August 5.

 Of course, no one has seen any of the monarchs with the fabled vehicles. But must Arthur Eze behave in a way which suggests that his world begins and ends with money, money and money? 

At 71, Arthur Eze has lost it completely.

 Dr Okemmadu is a Lagos-based medical doctor and writer. 

The Nigerian Government has concluded plans to end evacuation flights following the repatriation of thousands of citizens stranded in various parts of the world as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr Boss Mustapha, who is the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, disclosed this to reporters on Monday in Abuja.

“We wish to state that all evacuation flights will end on August 22, 2020, after which airports will be given sufficient time to prepare for reopening,” he said.

Following the outbreak of the disease which brought the world on its knees, thousands of Nigerians trapped abroad had indicated their interest to return home.

While some of those seeking to be evacuated had travelled for holiday, business, and education purposes, others left Nigeria in search of greener pastures but only got to the foreign land to become victims of human traffickers.

In the last few months, the Federal Government had partnered some groups and organisations to evacuate its citizens back home.

Away from the evacuation of stranded persons, Mustapha who is also the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) commended the level of compliance with the COVID-19 protocols in various schools.

This comes as students in Senior Secondary School 3 classes begin the West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) administered by the West African Examination Council (WAEC).

“Today, the Senior Secondary School Certificate (SSCE) examinations commenced all over the country, like in other West African States, and the PTF is happy to note the high level of compliance with the protocols for the re-opening of exit classes,” the PTF chairman stated.

He added, “It is in this light that we appreciate the call by the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) for the reopening of tertiary institutions.

“As a listening government, we wish to state that education is topmost on the priority list and the reopening of our institutions remain critical, within set safety parameters.”

Mustapha, however, decried that while a good number of Nigerians were sharing their experiences with the coronavirus and encouraging others to take responsibility, a few others were bent on spreading misleading information.

He stressed that the war against COVID-19 would only be won when the people take responsibility individually and collectively.

The SGF urged Nigerians to continue to comply with the measures, wear their face masks properly, wash their hands regularly, stay away from crowds, maintain social distancing, and join the campaign to curb the virus.

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Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Lagos Zonal Office, has arrested a serving military personnel, Lance Corporal Ajayi Kayode and 26 others for alleged internet fraud in the Lekki axis of Lagos State.

Kayode, with service number NAF18/34732, was arrested in his military attire during an early morning raid at 6B, Fatai Idowu Arobike, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos, on Saturday, August 15, 2020, following intelligence received from concerned members of the public about his alleged involvement in criminal activities.

He was arrested alongside Kalu Emmanue; Hassan Sunday; Odinaka David Okem; Victor Ochiabuito; Christopher Prince; Victor Ologhu; Alex Aka; Miracle Onyekwere; Habeeb Ayomide; Olakunle Ajeigbu, Rasheed Olanrewaju and Salam Hakeem.

Others are: Adeniran Nurudeen; Opeyemi Ojo Chris; Derrick Moris; Shehu Oluoti; Fuad Akinbayo; Babatunde Idowu; Uzo Igwe Nathaniel; Debowale Adedoyin; Shegun Emmanuel; Godswill Maduchem; Samson Kazeem; Oluwatobi Oluwatoba, Olaitan Ajao and Oyindamola Kareem.

In his statement to the EFCC, Kayode said the “big shot yahoo yahoo boys” in whose company he was arrested, were his friends and that they had been teaching him how to make money through cybercrime.

While the “boys” are members of Organised Cyber Criminal Syndicate Network, OCCSN, the ladies arrested with them confirmed the involvement of their “boyfriends” in internet fraud.
Items recovered from the suspects include diamond jewelry, exotic cars and expensive phones.

The suspects will be charged to court soon.

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The Coordinator of Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Dr. Sani Aliyu, has clarified that the resumption of international flights will be from the August 29, 2020, and not on that date.

According to him, August 29th is not sacrosanct but if aviation authorities meet the criteria for resumption on the 29th, they will be given the green light to resume.

The Minister of Aviation, Heidi Sirika, explained that the resumption will begin with Lagos and Abuja as did with the domestic flight resumption.

Aliyu said: “We will spend a whole day discussing international travel and how this will be done. We are grateful to CACOVID and it’s partners for helping to support this process because it would help us to expedite the opening of the airport.

And if I may clarify, we said from the 29th of August, we didn’t say on the 29th of August.

So, very similar to what we did for the domestic. Don’t come back and say that we promised we will open on the 29th, that 29th is not sacrosanct but we will work towards it, we will seriously try and deliver it but from the 29th as far as the PTF is concern, if aviation comes to us and say they are ready from the 29th, we will say please go ahead.

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