Saturday, October 27, 2012

ILLEGAL ARMS SHIPMENT TO NIGERIA-London Court Convicts A Briton


A Briton arms dealer was convicted yesterday by a London court for organising a huge illegal shipment of weapons to Nigeria.
Gary Hyde, a 43-year-old retired British volunteer police constable, was found guilty of helping to organise illegal shipment of 40,000 AK47 assault rifles, 30,000 rifles, 10,000 pistols and 32 million rounds of ammunition from China to Nigeria.
He was convicted by a jury and will be sentenced on 23 November at the Southwark Crown Court, the same court that jailed former Delta State Governor James Ibori for defrauding Nigeria.
Hyde was specifically charged with breaching the UK's Trade in Goods (Control) Order 2003 and concealing criminal property.
He was found guilty of both breaching the law and concealing commission payments, apparently the primary reason why the British tax authorities pursued him and that also led to the uncovering of other offences and eventual conviction.
Prosecutors said he moved the weapons from China to Nigeria between March 2006 and December 2007 without a licence and hid more than one million US dollars in commission payments.
An official of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, Peter Millroy, said: "Hyde was an experienced arms dealer who thought he could deliberately not comply with the law in order to make some extra money to hide offshore.
"He knew full well that his activity required a licence but he decided not to comply with the law, and we are delighted that after an extensive investigation he has been brought to justice".
Hyde had earlier protested his innocence, saying in a written statement to the court: "I do not believe that I engaged in any activity in the UK which I understood to require a licence but where instead I decided to ignore that obligation".
Mr Hyde was accused of involvement--along with his German business partner Karl Kleber--in alleged unlicensed shipment of the weapons from China to Nigeria.
But the case collapsed at the same Southwark Crown Court when the judge, Nicholas Loraine-Smith, declared "that this case has to fail in law" because the 2003 Order on which it was framed had been replaced in 2009.

The Power Of Plunder

Oil, or any natural resources bonanza, has proved to be a curse to less-developed nations. Nigeria is one of the worst examples. The temptation to steal that money is irresistible to many and the result is pockets of luxury surrounded by a sea of poverty. About half the population doesn’t even have electricity. Roads, schools, hospitals and all sorts of infrastructure are in short supply. Even the oil industry infrastructure is plundered, which is why Nigeria only produces about half as much oil (two million barrels a day) that it is capable of. Even that is enough to account for 95 percent of exports and 40 percent of the federal budget. In the last year the government tried, for the first time, to accurately count the losses in the oil industry. The conclusion was that the theft, from pipelines and government bank accounts, amounted to over $10 billion a year in the last decade. The annual GDP of Nigeria is $238 billion, for a population of 165 million ($1,440 per capita). Oil accounts for about 14 percent of GDP and unemployment is currently about 25 percent. The report revealed, in detail and for all to see, what a lot of Nigerians had known for a long time. The theft is so pervasive (40 percent of refined petroleum products are stolen) that the activity is hard to miss. Eliminating the stealing will be difficult, because most politicians and political parties are financed by stolen oil money. The well-funded thieves are organized and determined to hang on to their wealth. Judges and police can be bought and many oil thieves have already been prosecuted and escaped. But there is progress. The oil thieves are under attack, some do lose, but the war will go on for years and there will be a lot of defeats.
In the north there is more and more popular hostility to Boko Haram. The Islamic radicals, despite pledges to clean up corruption and a lot of other problems, are being seen as a cure worse than the disease. As a result police are getting more tips about where Boko Haram members and equipment are hidden.   
Investigations into how Boko Haram gets its weapons revealed that many of them come in via southern ports, taking advantage of corrupt customs officials. Smuggling is a big business and the bribed port officials usually don’t check to see that they are letting in illegally.
In the north police have uncovered a criminal gang that was pretending to be Boko Haram and killing southerners who refused to pay a large amount of cash to get off the hit list. Most paid but enough did not to leave a suspicious pattern of murdered people.
Nigeria and Niger have agreed to conduct joint patrols and coordinate operations along their 1,400 kilometer border, the better to limit Boko Haram movements.
October 21, 2012: In the northeast (Potiskum in Yobe State) the expected Boko Haram attacks took place, leaving over 30 dead and several government buildings burned down over the last two days. Thousands of people have begun leaving the city of Potiskum, which is 230 kilometers west of the Boko Haram stronghold of Maiduguri.
October 19, 2012: In the north (Borno State) a Boko Haram leader (Shuaibu Mohammed Bama) was arrested in the home of a politician (senator Ahmed Zanna) who had been suspected of supporting Boko Haram. Politicians have long been known to make deals with criminal organizations, and Boko Haram is no exception.
In the northeastern city of Maiduguri, troops battled Boko Haram attackers, leaving at least six dead (including a Chinese man shot down by Boko Haram).
October 18, 2012: In the northeast (Yobe State) an army raid hit a new Boko Haram hideout as the group was preparing to launch new attacks. 




source:Strategy Page 

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

NDLEA RECOVERS 2.472KG COCAINE HIDDEN IN JEWELLERIES

*One suspect arrested

Officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arrested one Oluigboka Chukwuemeka Emmanuel in connection with 2.472kg
of Cocaine hidden in jewelleries.
The 33 year old suspect arrived from Brazil aboard a KLM flight and was intercepted at the Murtala Mohammed International
Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
During search, powdery substances that tested positive for cocaine were found in his bag of jewelleries. It took several hours to extract the cocaine from the jewelleries because of the complex method of concealment.
Speaking on the latest discovery, NDLEA Airport Commander, Mr. Hamza Umar said that the drug was factory packed inside assorted jewellery,:“This mode of concealment is strange and it is the first time of discovering drugs inside jewelleries. The drugs were industrially packed in ear rings, buttons, necklaces, bangles as well as in female belts. We had to forcefully open them to recover the drugs. The entire quantity of cocaine found in the jewellery products weighed 2.472kg. One arrest has been made in connection with the seizure” Hamza stated.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect who had lived in Brazil for over five years is believed to be working for a
suspected Brazilian based drug syndicate.
However, Oluigboka Chukwuemeka Emmanuel in his statement said that he was smuggling the drug for a fee. In his
words, “I needed money for the burial anniversary of my late father As the breadwinner, everybody is looking up to me for the sponsorship of the anniversary. I have lived in Brazil for over 5 years but I have no money t undertake this important family responsibility. My interest was the 2,000 Euros they promised to pay me”. Oluigboka who is married with a child hails from Imo State.
Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade warned that the Agency will halt the desperation of drug trafficking syndicates in the country. “Although drug barons are becoming more desperate, the Agency is determined to frustrate their efforts. This seizure is yet an indication that  drug traffickers can go to any length in hiding their drugs from law enforcement
agents” Giade stressed.
The NDLEA boss also called for more public support in the anti-narcotic campaign stating that the factory mode of drug concealment is now worrisome. The suspect will soon be charged to court.


 


 

Friday, October 19, 2012

HAJJ 2012: Saudi Arabia bars Congo, Uganda Muslims over Ebola epidemic


Saudi Arabia has banned Muslims from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda from making the pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca this year because of cholera and Ebola epidemics in the region, a Congolese religious leader said yesterday.
“The Muslims living in DR Congo and even those in Uganda won’t participate in the pilgrimage to Mecca this year,” the head of DR Congo’s Islamic community, Sheik Abdallah Mangala, told AFP.
He said he thought the Saudi government had “made the decision to avoid any contamination from the Ebola and cholera viruses,” which have taken a heavy toll on the region in recent months.
Pilgrims have already begun to arrive in Saudi Arabia for the pilgrimage, the world’s largest annual gathering, which peaks around October 25 this year with more than one million Muslims expected.
DR Congo has been battling an outbreak of cholera, a contagious intestinal infection, for over a year, and of Ebola, one of the world’s most virulent diseases, since mid-August.
According to the World Health Organisation, which has not imposed any travel restrictions on the country, more than 20,000 people in DR Congo were infected with cholera in 2012, with a mortality rate of two percent.
Leodegar Bazira, the WHO official in DR Congo, said the organisation had recorded 74 Ebola cases since August, 36 of them deadly, putting the mortality rate at 50 percent. But he added that the disease was now under control and confined to the northeastern town of Isiro.
In Uganda, Ebola has killed 17 people since July, but officials announced earlier this month that the disease had been brought under control and urged all countries to lift travel restrictions on Uganda.
To date, there is no treatment nor vaccine for Ebola, a rare haemorrhagic disease that kills between 25 percent and 90 percent of patients, depending on the strain of the virus. It is named after a small river in DR Congo.
Cholera, which is caused by ingestion of contaminated food or water, can strike swiftly, causing intense diarrhoea, vomiting and nausea that lead to severe dehydration.

Two Nigerians arrested with hard drugs worth $33,300 in Bangkok

Two Nigerian men, suspected of being part of a drug smuggling ring, were arrested, yesterday, with 500 grams of crystal methamphetamine, also known as ‘ice,’ estimated at about $33,300 in eastern Bangkok’s Ramkhamhaeng area, according to narcotics suppression police.
Identified as Ahamefule Cosmos and Iriegbe Chinonso, the two suspects were detained at a convenience store near Ramkhamhaeng Soi 24.
Police took them to their apartment for further investigation and found 28 packages of crystal meth, weighing in total 500 grams valued at $33,300.
The arrest followed the arrest of Thai national Polsingha Putthasri, who held 100 grams of ‘ice,’ saying he bought the illegal drug from a Nigerian drug syndicate.
According to the initial investigation, the detainees claimed that their friend smuggled the drug for them to sell it to party-goers and tourists in Bangkok’s Ratchada and Nana areas.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

The Paris massacre that time forgot, 51 years on


By Tahar HANI 

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Governor Akpabio implores African Governments to invest in ICT


Posted by Lateef Lawal 

Governments in Africa have been advised to invest their resources in Information Communication Technology (ICT) to enhance development.
The advise was given by Akwa Ibom State Governor, Chief Godswill Akapabio in an interview with journalists at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos yesterday on his way to Dubai to deliver a paper at the Nigerian Day of ITU Telecom World 2012 in Dubai.
Akpabio warned that if governments in the developing countries failed to embrace ICT, it would be impossible for them to meet up with the happenings in the globe, insisting that the importance of ICT in today’s world could not be overstressed.
Akpabio noted that in order not to be caught napping, the Akwa ibom State government recently established an e-library, the first of its kind in the West African sub-region, stressing that the library covers an area of 31 square metres with a building footprint area of 4, 000 square metres.
He explained further that users of the library would have access to over 60 million downloadable e-books, e-journals, audio and video books and would be able to learn new languages in the language laboratory, adding that the library is fitted with anti-theft book security device.
He however observed that Nigeria was not left out in the revolution in the ICT world, which he analysed had moved the country from paltry 600, 000 telephone lines in 1999 to over 100,000,000 mobile functional lines in 2012.
He emphasised that developing nations needed to encourage their citizens to embrace ICT, stressing that this was the greatest gift they could give to their posterity.
He said, “Currently, global statistics on internet usage indicate that Nigeria is 11th in the world and first in Africa with over 50 million estimated users. Among the 20 top countries in internet usage, Nigeria is the only African country included and has more internet users than European countries like Spain, Italy and Turkey.
“Statistics for patronage of the leading social media platform, facebook, also shows that Nigeria comes at number 31 and is the leading country in Africa while South Africa comes second with 32.
“On our e-library in Akwa Ibom State, it was designed as a one stop information and research centre. It has over 30, 000 books and 350 ICT workstations. It comes complete with distance learning support and professional certifications. With spacious conference halls and video conferencing facilities, along with online public access catalogue, we are poised t become a key driver in the ICT sector.”

Friday, October 12, 2012

Ogun State awards N100bn roads contract

*Roads on the list include-Ilo Awela[Sango-Ota], Lafenwa-Ayetoro road,Oke Aro-Ojodu-Abiodun roads,Sango-Ijoko,32 km Sango-Ijoko-Oke Aro-Ojodu Abiodun road etc.,

The Ogun Government yesterday announced the award of N100 billion contract for the re-construction of 12 roads across the three senatorial districts of the state.

In a statement issued in Abeokuta, the Commissioner for Works and Housing, Mr. Olamilekan Adegbite, said the contracts will improve the existing infrastructure in the state..

Adegbite said that the projects would gulp about N100 billion and would be completed within 24 months.

He listed the roads as ,, Oke Aro-Ojodu-Abiodun roads to link motorists direct from Sango-Ota in Ogun to Ojodu Berger in Lagos.

Others are the Sagamu-Benin Express Junction, Oba Erinwole road and Ejirin road-Oluwalogbon Junction in Ijebu-Ode; Ilisan-Ago/Iwoye road and Ikangba-Ilese road, all in the Ogun East Senatorial District.

The project also includes the Ilara-Ijohun road, Lafenwa-Ayetoro road, Ilo-Awela road in Ota and the 32 km Sango-Ijoko-Oke Aro-Ojodu Abiodun road in Ogun West Senatorial District.

According to Adegbite, the Ojere-Adatan Roundabout, OGTV-Brewery Junction and Moshood Abiola Way in the Ogun Central Senatorial District are also included.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

4,000 Nigerians in Turkey prisons –says Police I.G,Abubakar

The Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, yesterday, in Lagos, said that no fewer than  4,000 Nigerians  are in Turkey prisons over drug related and human  trafficking offences.
The IG who arrived from Turkey,  vowed to fish out killers of the four students of University of Port Harcourt and those at Mubi, in Adamawa State.
Briefing  journalists on arrival at the Police Air Wing, Ikeja, Abubakar  explained that  his visit to Turkey was to share experience, exchange ideas and acquire knowledge  from his Turkish  counterpart. He noted that both countries would  soon sign a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU.
He, however, expressed dismay at the number of Nigerians in Turkey prisons, saying:  “Turkey is a very central country and most drug and human traffickers, pass through there. Unfortunately, we have 4,000 Nigerians who are in various prisons in that country. So, you can see that every day in the international airport in Turkey, arrests are made of drug and human traffickers, most of whom are Nigerians.”
He said that investigations into the  circumstance that led to the  gruesome killings of the four University of Port Harcourt students and those at Mubi, Adamawa State, had  commenced. “The investigation will tell what happened. I want to assure Nigerians that we are doing our best to apprehend the culprits of those ugly incidents and we shall not tolerate such barbaric acts in this country.  Nigerians will hear from me as soon as I am briefed by the Commissioners of Police and the Zonal Assistant Inspector Generals, based on their documentations,” he said.
Abubakar debunked insinuations that there was disharmony between the Police and students, explaining that it was improper for the police to storm the premises of any University without a written invitation by the Vice Chancellor.
He added that the responsibility of fishing out the killers rests more on traditional rulers and residents of the areas.

Bonus pay for Parliamentarians vetoed by President Kibaki

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki on Tuesday blocked $110 000 end-of-term bonuses members of parliament awarded themselves after protests and a public outcry at a time when the state has raised taxes to plug a hole in its finances.

Lawmakers in east Africa's biggest economy, already among the best paid in the world, voted to triple the bonus they will all receive when their five-year term ends in January to 9.3 million Kenyan shillings ($109 500).

The total cost, about 2 billion shillings, angered many taxpayers who already consider many of Kenya's members of parliament lazy, corrupt and greedy.

More than 100 Kenyans marched to parliament in the capital Nairobi on Tuesday, punching the air, singing songs and waving placards reading "Wanted! Honest Leaders".

"Enough is enough," shouted Fredrick Odhiambo, a civil rights activist. "What have they done for Kenyans to award themselves extra cash? Kenyans are the ones who pay taxes. They don't pay taxes."

The legislators earn about $13 000 a month, the bulk in tax-free allowances, a huge figure in a country where an unskilled urban labourer may earn as little as $60 a month. Last year the MPs refused to pay back taxes demanded by the government, then bought new chairs worth $2 400 each for themselves to sit on.

But late on Tuesday Kibaki said he had refused to approve the bonus "on the grounds that it was first unconstitutional and secondly untenable in the prevailing economic circumstances in the country".

Unsustainable wage bill

In a statement from the presidency, Kibaki said: "the severance pay for parliamentarians would lead to an unsustainable wage bill at a time when the country requires massive resources to implement the new constitution and meet other competing demands in the economy."

According to the constitution, lawmakers can still force through the bonus if they can muster a two-thirds majority in parliament.

But with elections looming in March, the deputies may opt to avoid a showdown with the president out of fear of provoking an even worse public backlash, said a parliamentary official who declined to be named.

The proposed bonus has especially angered many as it comes less than a week after Finance Minister Robinson Githae introduced new taxes on resource, telecommunications and financial firms to close a 40 billion shilling funding gap for the current financial year.

Apart from a ballooning wage bill following pay rises for striking teachers and doctors, economic growth has slowed and unemployment remains uncomfortably high, while the run-up to the national election in March is likely to trigger a splurge of government spending.

Reuter

Monday, October 8, 2012

More Troubles for the 'pugilist' monarch of Itori


The embattled traditional ruler in Itori, Oba Fatai Akorede Akamo who was suspended along with a Baale in the Ewekoro local government over alleged public affray by the two, is far from getting out of his self-inflicted trouble.
Consequent upon the Ogun State government’s inquiry into the alleged conflict, both the Ministry of Local government and chieftaincy affairs and the secretariat of the body empanelled to look into the matter have been besieged with a deluge of petitions and complaints from all corners of villages in the local government on the character and “highhandedness” of the monarch.
Besides mass protests by various communities in Itori, Arigbajo, Jagunna, Onigbedu, Lapeleke, Elere-Adubi and Aga-Olowo towns, accusing Oba Akamo of “expansionist obsession” as he constantly crosses the boundary of his domain in Itori to disturb the peace and tranquility of other settlements, there is petition galore by aggrieved persons who alleged that the Oba had arrogantly crossed their lines.
In more than a dozen villages within the local government area, Oba Akamo, was alleged to have been instrumental to installation of his surrogates as second Baale with compliments of public stipend at the neglect of bona fide Baales, thereby causing breach of peace and hostility in the area concerned.
As the police continue its investigation into the causes of the imbroglio between the two traditional rulers, both government and the Ogun state traditional council are also busy trying to disentangle any nut in the way of the truth on the matter. The Ogun State council of Baales, has also invited Baale Lapeleke as well as the chairman of the body in Ewekoro local government for questioning on the issue.

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Blast in Taraba State wounds eight

An explosion near a state television studio in Taraba State wounded eight people overnight, the emergency services said on Saturday.
It was the second blast in the remote town of Jalingo, in Nigeria’s volatile ethnically and religiously mixed Middle Belt, in two days.
A blast at an outdoor bar there killed at least one person and wounded 14 on Thursday.
National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) spokesman Yushua Shuaib said by text message that a woman and five children were among the wounded, alongside two others. The blast happened near a studio of the state-owned NTA television station.
There was no claim of responsibility for either blast, although suspicion is likely to fall on Islamist sect Boko Haram, which is waging a low level insurgency against President Goodluck Jonathan’s government.
The insurgents want to carve an Islamic state out of Nigeria, a country of 160 million people split about evenly between Christians and Muslims. reuters

Congo Fever: Two Airline Passengers Monitored

Two people in the UK who came into contact with a man suffering from a potentially deadly viral disease are being monitored.
Health experts treating a man with a potentially deadly viral disease are monitoring two people who they say sat near him on a plane.
The 38-year-old patient remains in a critical condition after contracting Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) - a tick-borne condition which is fatal in around a third of cases.
It is the first recorded case of the disease in the UK, according to the Health Protection Agency.
The man was diagnosed with the infectious disease when he flew into Glasgow on Tuesday from a Dubai stopover. His journey originated in the Afghan capital, Kabul.
Concerns have been raised for people who were sitting close to him on the journey.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said it has identified and contacted four passengers who may have had contact with the patient.
The health board said two of those - one who remained in "close proximity" to the ill man during the flight - will be monitored on a daily basis for the next two weeks for any developments of relative symptoms.
The other two passengers do not require follow-up surveillance and the risk to all other passengers on the flight from Dubai is "extremely low", it added.
In a statement, the board said: "In total, therefore, we are currently following up two passengers from the flight with daily monitoring as a precaution for two weeks - two weeks is the maximum incubation period for the disease."
The ill man was being treated in isolation at Gartnavel General Hospital's Brownlee Centre, which specialises in infectious disease.
But, on Friday, he was flown from Scotland to a high-security infectious diseases unit at London's Royal Free Hospital with the support of the Scottish Ambulance Service and the RAF.
The hospital houses the national specialist centre for the management of patients with hazardous infections.
Dr Syed Ahmed, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde's consultant in public health who is co-ordinating investigations into the case, said: "The risk of person-to-person transmission of Crimean-Congo viral haemorrhagic fever is extremely low as it can only be transmitted by direct contact with infected blood or body fluids.
"It is not a virus which is transmitted through the air. As such, the risk to those who were in close contact with him is minimal. We have already made contact with all the patient's close contacts and they are being followed up appropriately."
The virus is widespread in parts of Africa, Asia, India and the Middle East.
Outbreaks can usually be traced to a person having had contact with blood or body fluids from infected animals or people.
It causes large areas of severe bruising, nosebleeds and uncontrolled bleeding at injection sites.
Early symptoms include headaches, fever, vomiting and back, joint and stomach pain. They can also include red eyes, red spots on the roof of the mouth and jaundice.


source:SKY NEWS

Buhari presents 2021 Budget to National Assembly

President Muhammadu Buhari Thursday , 8,October, 2020, formally tabled the Executive’s proposed budget for the 2021 fiscal year to a joint s...