Jurors Convict Abu Ghaith, Bin Laden Son-in-Law, in Terror Case

Suleiman Abu Ghaith, after conviction yesterday.

More than a dozen years after the Sept. 11 attacks, a man who came to speak for Osama bin Laden in a series of impassioned videotaped messages that praised the attacks and promised more, was convicted by a federal jury on Wednesday of conspiring to kill Americans and of other terrorism charges.

The defendant, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, was the most senior Bin Laden confederate to be tried in a civilian court in the United States since Sept. 11, and his swift conviction on all counts would seem to serve as a rejoinder to critics of the Obama administration’s efforts to try suspected terrorists in civilian courts, rather than before a military tribunal.

“It was appropriate that this defendant, who publicly rejoiced over the attacks on the World Trade Center, faced trial in the shadow of where those buildings once stood,” the United States attorney general, Eric H. Holder Jr., said in a statement.

Citing the success of the civilian courts in “hundreds of other cases involving terrorism defendants,” he added, “it would be a good thing for the country if this case has the result of putting that political debate to rest.”

The verdict, returned after six hours of deliberations, comes a little more than a year after Mr. Abu Ghaith, a son-in-law of Bin Laden, was turned over to United States authorities in Jordan and flown to New York to face charges. The trial lasted three weeks.

The decision to prosecute Mr. Abu Ghaith in federal court reignited the debate over whether international terrorists should be placed in military custody and sent to the United States naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina who sharply criticized that decision, said that while he was pleased with the verdict, he still believed Mr. Abu Ghaith should have been held by the military “as an enemy combatant for intelligence gathering purposes.”

Nonetheless, the successful prosecution of Mr. Abu Ghaith could further smooth the way for the Justice Department to pursue the cases of other suspected terrorists in federal court if they are captured; for example, Ayman al-Zawahri, the current leader of Al Qaeda, remains under indictment in Manhattan.

Mr. Abu Ghaith, a 48-year-old Kuwaiti-born cleric known for his fiery oratory, was so trusted by Bin Laden that on the night of Sept. 11, the Qaeda leader invited him to his remote Afghan cave.

“He said, ‘Come in, sit down.’ He said, ‘Did you learn about what happened?’ ” Mr. Abu Ghaith testified at the trial. “He said, ‘We are the ones who did it.’ ”

The next day, at Bin Laden’s request, Mr. Abu Ghaith issued the first of a series of videotaped statements that helped Bin Laden spread his global message of terror, energize Qaeda fighters and recruit new ones, prosecutors told the jury.

Mr. Abu Ghaith has not been accused of having a role in the plot to attack the World Trade Center or of knowing about it. But when asked by a prosecutor if he “knew something big was coming from Al Qaeda,” he responded, “Yes.”

He was convicted on three counts: conspiracy to kill Americans, for which he could face life in prison; and providing material support to terrorists and conspiring to do so; each of those counts carries a maximum term of 15 years. The judge, Lewis A. Kaplan, said the defendant would be sentenced on Sept. 8.

Mr. Abu Ghaith, who used an Arabic interpreter in Federal District Court in Manhattan, appeared impassive as the judge’s deputy clerk, Andrew Mohan, read the verdict aloud, repeating “guilty” three times.

Mr. Abu Ghaith’s lead lawyer, Stanley L. Cohen, said later that his client was stoic and “at ease.”

“He has confidence that this is not the end but the beginning,” Mr. Cohen said, adding that there were “a number of compelling issues” for appeal.

Crucial among them, Mr. Cohen said, was the judge’s refusal to allow the defense to introduce testimony from Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the self-described architect of the Sept. 11 attacks who is detained at Guantánamo Bay. Mr. Cohen had argued that Mr. Mohammed, with his unsurpassed knowledge of Qaeda operations, could help exculpate his client.

Mr. Cohen also said the prosecution had “gone out of its way to exploit the anguish and pain of 9/11 to fill an enormous evidentiary vacuum,” making it “literally impossible for a jury of New Yorkers to look objectively” at the case.

The prosecution team of John P. Cronan, Michael Ferrara and Nicholas J. Lewin told the jury there was overwhelming evidence that Mr. Abu Ghaith had participated in a conspiracy to kill Americans and had provided support to terrorists.

They cited the videos he had made for Bin Laden, in which he praised the Sept. 11 attacks and warned repeatedly that the “storm of airplanes” would not abate, a clear reference, they said, to future attacks.

In one video, Mr. Abu Ghaith warned Muslims in the United States and Britain “not to board aircraft” and “not to live in high rises.”

In another, he attributed the Sept. 11 attacks to the United States’ policies toward Muslims. “The American people must know that they bear full responsibility,” he declared.

The prosecution roundly rejected Mr. Cohen’s argument that Mr. Abu Ghaith had not always been speaking for Al Qaeda on the videos, and his suggestion that his client was an Islamic theologian, speaking for Muslims more broadly.

“This man twisted and manipulated that religion beyond all recognition,” Mr. Ferrara said in the government’s rebuttal, “and he did so in the service of motivating young men to kill Americans.”

The prosecutors also cited Mr. Abu Ghaith’s interrogation by an agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and a deputy United States marshal as he was flown to New York in early 2013, and his admissions in court when he unexpectedly testified.

It was in that testimony that he described being summoned by Bin Laden on the night of Sept. 11 for his opinion on how the United States would respond.

They met again the next day, Mr. Abu Ghaith testified, and he agreed to Bin Laden’s request that he help spread the Qaeda leader’s message to the world.

That day, Mr. Abu Ghaith appeared in a widely disseminated video, which was shown to the jury, with Bin Laden; Mr. al-Zawahri, then his deputy; and a military commander.

“In the days and months after Sept. 11, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith literally sat at Osama bin Laden’s right hand,” Mr. Cronan told the jury.

Before being brought to the United States, Mr. Abu Ghaith said, he was imprisoned for about a decade in Iran, where, around 2008, he married Bin Laden’s daughter, Fatima — a fact that was not disclosed to the anonymous jury of nine women and three men.

Preet Bharara, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, said, “Like the others who have faced terrorism charges in Manhattan’s federal courthouse before him, Abu Ghaith received a fair trial, after which a unanimous jury rendered its verdict, justly holding him accountable for his crimes.”

“We hope this verdict brings some small measure of comfort to the families of the victims of Al Qaeda’s murderous designs,” Mr. Bharara added.

source:New York Times

Egypt sentences 529 Muslim Brotherhood members to death

An Egyptian court sentenced 529 members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood to death on charges including murder on Monday, a defence lawyer said, in a sharp escalation of a crackdown on the movement.
The ruling was the biggest mass death sentence handed out in Egypt's modern history, lawyers said.
Turmoil has deepened since the army overthrew Egypt's first freely elected president, Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood, in July. Security forces have killed hundreds of Brotherhood members in the streets, and arrested thousands.
Most of the defendants at Monday's hearing were detained during clashes which erupted in the southern province of Minya after the forced dispersal of two Muslim Brotherhood protest camps in Cairo on August 14.
Islamists have also stepped up attacks on the police and army since Mursi's ouster, killing hundreds and carrying out high profile operations against Interior Ministry officials.
"The court has decided to sentence to death 529 defendants, and 16 were acquitted," lawyer Ahmed al-Sharif told Reuters. The ruling can be appealed.
The charges against the group, on trial in Minya since Saturday, include violence, inciting murder, storming a police station, attacking persons and damaging public and private property.
"This is the quickest case and the number sentenced to death is the largest in the history of the judiciary," said lawyer Nabil Abdel Salam, who defends some Brotherhood leaders including Mursi.
State television reported the sentences without comment. A government spokesman did not immediately respond to calls.

ATTACKS
Only 123 of the defendants were present. The rest were either released, out on bail or on the run.
"When the trial starts on Saturday and it is just a procedural hearing, and the judge doesn't listen to any lawyers or witnesses and doesn't even call the defendants, you are before a group of thugs and not the judiciary," Walid, a relative of one of the defendants, said by phone.
It was not possible to confirm his account of the proceedings independently.
The government has declared the Brotherhood a "terrorist" group. The Brotherhood says it is committed to peaceful activism.
Analysts say some of its members could turn violent if the state keeps up pressure on the movement, which won the vast majority of elections since an army-backed popular uprising toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
Egyptian authorities make no distinction between the Brotherhood and hardcore militant groups based in the Sinai peninsula who pose a major security challenge to the state despite army offensives against their fighters.
Mursi and other top Brotherhood leaders, who are on trial on a range of charges, accuse the military of staging a coup and undermining democracy.(Reporting by Asma al-Sharif; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Andrew Heavens)(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014.

PASTOR MOSES ILOH AT 84

By Kola Johnson

Is Nigeria a jinxed nation? I ask this question in the light of the astounding surfeit of vast resources it has pleased the supreme universal divinity above, to bestow on the geo-political terra firma embodying the corporate frame of the Nigerian nationhood.

 

It is presumed that my allusion to resources in the connotative context of this piece, should understandably embrace not only the God given bounties of material resources, but also the associated co-ordinate of human endowment.

 

It becomes utmostly necessary to emphasize right away at this juncture, that this piece is decidedly orientated to a disquisitionary elucidation of the human divide of the bipolar concept in question.  

 

In this regard it becomes apposite to defer once again, to the repetitive ritual of emphatic restatement bordering on the propensity in the Nigerian system, to maroon the very cream of its vast human resource pearl, to frustrative wastage.

 

One of such clear examples is Pastor (Dr) Moses Iloh; a fiery social critic, distinguished patriot and statesman respected cleric and General Overseer of Soul Winning Chapel,Ebute-Metta Lagos, Ex Chairman International Cycling Federation ex Vice Chairman International Olympic Committee, ex board member, Nigeria Football Association (NFA)  renowned footballer and member of the First Eleven, Plateau Highlander, and later ex First Eleven member of the Nigerian Ports Authority Football Club; founder of the Eclectic Movement, now Eclectic Network, a socio-political pressure group which ruled the political, waves in the 90s,a prolific writer orator, polemicist, philosopher, thinker, unusually deep mind, inspirational beacon of light, Veteran Labour Leader and indeed a stormy petrel and enfant terrible in the labour arena; redoubtable soldier of Christ; National Executive Member of CAN and PFN and one of the greatest humanitarian figures ever to have traversed the vast earthly space. Interestingly to the glory of God, this peculiar breed of homosapien an icon and legend of our time, clocked an 84 grand old age just recently.

 

A multidimensional man of many parts Iloh’s enigmatic frame is such that conjures the imagery of the blindmen and the elephant in the context of an argument among the former, who beholding the diversely constituent anatomy of the elephantine entity, was locked in combative contention as each had sought with authoritative assertiveness to outbid others to the effect that the defining frame of the elephant is none, but the particular anatomical feature beheld by him.

 

Indeed, at that point in time, when the renowned literary leviathan, and nobel laureate,Wole Soyinka described himself as belonging to the host of a wasted generation, thosepriviledged enough to know the man Iloh, would agree that no other epitaph would have been more apt enough, to vivify the abysmal underutilization bordering almost on sheer wastage – of this exemplary icon, legend, visionary figure and inspirational luminary.

 

His earliest manifest baptism in political activism and conscientization could be traced back to his days as a fiery member of the zikist movement in those epoch of the nationalist ferment, in a progressive synergy, that saw him rub shoulders with fellow veterans in the likes of Comrade Mokwugo Okoye, M.C.K Ajuluchukwu, Chike Ekuyasi,Tunji Otegbeye, Adewale Fashanu, Osita Agwuna, Mazi Mbonu Ojike, Raji Abdallahand a host of others, who shook the bastion of British Colonial stranglehold on Nigeria, to its very foundation .

 

Iloh who openly confessed to an inspirational tutelage from Michael Omnibus Imoudu, the number one labour leader of blessed memory – was also Ex president of the Amalgamated Tin Mines of Nigeria Ltd – an affiliate of a larger industrial macrocosm known as African Mines Workers Union which included Ghana, Sierra-Leone, among others.

 

An event which was to spell a major watershed during his stint as a labour leader,actually came about on a particular fateful occasion, when an European receptionist at Plateau Hotel, run by the British miners called a member of the Amalgamated Tin Mines a monkey.

 

Iloh in his official capacity as President of the ATMN which also was an affiliate of the British Miners Union, had invited an expert in the person of Mr. Hienson, from Britain, to empower the ATMN with industrial tutelage towards a deeper know-how of running their own union.

 

On the day in question, he sent on executive member of the union, to bring Hienson to their meeting venue, at a place known as Bukuru Iloh was shocked as the emissary came back with the report that he could not reach Hienson at the Plateau Hotel, run by the British Miners where he (Hienson) was lodged; as the European receptionist he met there, called him a monkey.

 

Coincidentally, Queen Elizabeth of England who would be arriving Nigeria vey soon then, would also be visiting the mines field. A highly enraged Iloh immediately served the management a three week ultimatum to get the gentleman repatriated or risk a total strike action, which if carried out, will make it impossible for the queen to visit the mines – field as scheduled.

 

This declaration by Iloh, was to elicit a back lash of severe threat, by the British-led management of the corporation, who a dubbed him a communist agent, and censored every letter that came through his post box in Jos, where he lived and worked.  

 

Two Senior Police Officers, namely Macphaean, a Briton and a Nigerian, known as TunjiGbadebo were specifically detailed to monitor his movement. He was reported to the British colonial governor of the northern region and also the colonial resident, also a Briton.

 

The worst of it according to Iloh was an editorial in the Daily Times, during the epoch ofAlhaji Babatunde Jose, which  dismissed Iloh as an irresponsible leader. “But I was determined to suffer the consequences”, said Iloh who refused to budge. Eventually, the racist-apartheid apostle of a secretary was repartriated out of the country.

 

As a seasoned footballer, Iloh,a dashing left winger, was a regular member of the first eleven of the famous Plateau Highlander, now Mighty Jets of Jos. Affectionately known as the flying scorpion, he was a darling of football fans in the then northern region, including the fanatical soccer buff who would ever seize every available opportunity to register their presence at the then popular King George V Stadium, later Onikan Stadium, and now eventually named after the immortal soccer legend, Thunder Tesilimi AkaniBalogun A.K.A Thunderbolt – where Iloh was noted as a regular face, who thrilled fans with his soccer artistry, during his regular playing tours with his Plateau based Club to Lagos.

 

This prolific footballer, would also recall that he was among the team of players of the Plateau – based team who was delegated to meet and co-opt the legendary Thunder into the playing team of the Plateau – Highlanders. Balogun accepted, unfortunately, he failed to replicate the scoring streak for which he was idolized as an all-time legend, during his stint with the Plateau Club.

 

As a social critic, Iloh is hot, fiery, fearless courageous, valiant and no holds barred. He passes easily as the most consistently vocal and visible clergyman in the province of social criticism. The name Iloh resonates with a talismanic ring. Like the quintessential Lion he is, his voice shakes, quakes, rumbles, and richochets like a thunder in the jungle of social criticism. His fang is better not unleashed. Indeed to engage Iloh in a combative intellectual duel, is to risk and court hell. With his powerful gift of the gab, his stupefying gift of repertoire, his forensic wits, the compelling force of his logic and acute intellect, he packs a devastating punch that lands you silly on the canvas. He is the Nigerian version of the legendary Martin Luther King – that black power symbol of blessed memory – on the Nigerian landscape of reformational criticism.  

 

The radical temper he exudes, his revolutionary propensity and justified impatience at socio-political derangement and dysfunction, is the exact form and content that essentially converge to the making of guerilla warriors in the mould of the Fidel Castro’s,che gue vera and their ilks, usually animated by justifiable restive impatience to topple the apple-cart of systemic negativities ravaging the fabric of society.

 

Were the status quo, as it is contemporarily extant, in the socio-political canvass, to be the same constituted scenario as was prevalent in Iloh’s younger days, when the adrenalin gush oozed with uncontainable quantum force, the seismic consequences would have been anybody’s guess.

 

His pathological streak of non-conformism and unaffectedly independent temper, was to manifest in a dramatically bizarre manner, when on a particular occasion, members of his Plateau-based club, paid a courtesy visit to the then ex-premier of the old northern region, in the person of Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, popularly known as the Sardauna of Sokoto

 

On that occasion, the players and contingent of the Plateau –based club, who had sought to impress and massage the huge ego of the flambuoyant Hausa Fulani potentate had unanimously chosen of theirown accord, to squat on the floor of the reception.

 

But Iloh’s iconoclastic turn of mind was such that you could predict with reasonablecertitude, that he would differ. And so did he. To be sure, in his customary code of dissidence – predicated often though on the solid rock of logic - he had perceived no credible reason why he would subject his inherent self-esteem and dignity to servile defilement, by crouching in a fit of subhuman debasement on bare ground, while a surfeit of beautiful but inanimate dumb chairs proudly stare down at them.

 

Thus did Iloh, refuse in his determined streak of non-conformism to squat or sit; but erect on his two feet in supreme confidence. Thus as the ebullient Sardauna eventually breezed in, he cast a queer strange look at the young Iloh. But the later at least, had succeeded in making his point.

 

It is therefore not surprising that today, Pastor Iloh stands out on account of the sophisticated evolution of his political mind, as heralding the first serious strategic, systematized, determined sustained and intensified drive at political proselytization and evangelism in the ecumenical firmament, based on his vigorous efforts atconsicentization of the general corpus of devotees on the Christian religious divide to partake as prime-movers on the collective deck of participation in the political life of their people and the larger national community.

 

It is against this background that it doesn’t occur as anything surprising that as a social critic and reformer, Iloh stands out in his own unique class in terms of the pugilistic devastation of his no holds barred mode of critical aggression.

 

As a gadfly of an eminently Socratic strain it goes without saying that Iloh remains an exemplary motivating model of emulation, setting the pace for the Chris Okoties, theTunde Bakares and Co, on the inherent primacy of ecumenical interventionism in the pivotal theater of the political process – as a factor of utilitarian pragmatism to the rebirth of an egalitarian nationhood.

 

Only recently when this man clocked a grand 84 years of age, one would have expected that such indicative milestone will be accompanied with the ritual cutting of cake, clinking of wine glasses among other celebrative item of rituals that make such annual anniversary usually tick.

 

Afterall, here is a man with every thing going well for him. Marvelous crop of offspring’s that stand out from every available indices, as invaluable treasured source of pride of every father. A heart throb, life and soul mate, better half and quintessential jewel of inestimable value, of whom the proud lucky husband, Pastor Iloh, would ever seize every available opportunity to boast about, to the envy of those who were not so lucky. Good name, reputation, integrity, fulfillment, vigorously blessed health.              

 

Materially, he is comfortable, even though decidedly not in the league of money bag clerics, bursting at the seams with questionable derivation of wealth.

 

“Decidedly”, as afore-mentioned, because he could well have been, had he chosen of his own accord, to bring the primal will into play. Yet this distinguished man of peculiarly iconoclastic world view, had refused to mark the day even if with the minimally cheapest popping of a bottle of mineral, let alone any convening of a formal gathering.

 

Why? he would rather confess his hitherto subdued state of anger at the increasingly progressive failure of the political leadership, within the context of achievements receding in abysmally parlous proportion from the egalitarian vision of the national founding fathers.

 

This leading cleric of high repute expressed his perennial state of anguish and utterperplexion, at the worsening misery of the poor and downtrodden, the dungeonichopelessness of this lamentably pitiable under-priviledged bracket, accelerating at an ever-increasing tempo-more-so, in the face of the increasingly fattening lots of thelarcenic cabal of few priviledged oppressors.

 

But the highly respectable cleric is all the more miffed, enraged and iracund by the anti-progressive intervention of the ecumenical macrocosm of the general Christian body, held by him as culpable of reactionary pro-establishmentarian compromise with the power cabal of the moment.

 

That the general corpus of the body of Christ not only find it a herculean task to bind the demon of corruption but directly, or indirectly forge a rapportorial partnership with the contemporary power cabal, to foster its fissiparous multiplication across the socio-cultural landscape, is one malignant sore-point that have never ceased to haunt and traumatize his psyche. On this, those who know him would always readily testify; and extremely passionately too.

 

It was therefore no surprise that rather than all the ritual of merriment that was always the hall-mark of such occasion, Iloh chose the season of his birthday, to spring a grippingly exciting drama.

 

He used the occasion to launch a boutique in the church. A boutique in the church? Yes. That is why it was a boutique with a difference. A free boutique, where you do not pay to buy. A boutique, where you buy free. Absolutely free, with no dime in exchange, for as many as you were able to grab or garner.

 

That day visitors to the Soul Winning Chapel of the Ilohs, located at Bornu Way, EbuteMetta, will certainly marvel at the unusual spectacle. A bewildering array of choice textile items, clothing wears and shoes, which embraced the male and female species, including headties, sports wears, native wears, suites, jackets and ties – all inundated the bowel of the church auditorium. They glittered in the beauty of their innate quality – which in turn, lent the church a convivial aura and ambience. Members of the public were already gathered, including of course, the devoted host members of the church, in their multitude too.

 

As the main business of the day commenced in earnest, each section of guests seated at various points of the auditorium, were given a ticket each. Pronto, they sprung forth with every zeal and enthusiastic sense of catch, to help themselves with the best the boutique could offer.

 

The same process was repeated again and again with issuance of fresh tickets, until all items on offer at the shelves were vanished into one private coffer or the other – all in exchange with no dime.          

 

Faces glittered and beamed in smiles as members and non-members alike, grabbed and hugged one another, while they compared their respective birthday booties.   That is vintage Iloh.

 

Indeed, details of the humantarian exploits of Pastor Iloh and his dear wife, Rev. Mrs. Edith Iloh, though inexhaustible, would have to be told another day. This in a nutshell, is to allude to the Hope Kindergaten Nursery School, run by Pastor Iloh and his wife, with tuition, uniform, books, all free, including regular feeding of the pupils.

 

This is apart from the regular feeding of the poor and the widows, provision of medical care for them, and poverty alienation initiatives in form of regular vocational training aimed at placing them on a proper footing for self reliance.

 

Yet its interesting to know that a huge chunk of the beneficiaries are not members of the Soul Winning Chapel of the Ilohs, but rather residents within the neighbourhood, which included a considerable number of Muslims.  

 

Kola Johnson is a Journalist and writes from Lagos

 

Underage arrested after reaching top of World Trade Centre

Underage arrested after reaching top of World Trade CentreA New Jersey teenager, 16, was arrested at 6 a.m. on Sunday and charged with trespassing after managing to get past security to reach the top of the new World Trade Center, officials said.

Justin Casquejo, of Weehawken, N.J., allegedly crawled through a 12-by-12-inch hole in the exterior fence, climbed the scaffolding and gained access to the interior of the building, Joe Pentangelo, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the trade center site, told USA TODAY Network.

The teen evaded an "inattentive" guard, who has since been fired, on the 104th floor, Pentangelo said.

The teen's motive is under investigation.

Port Authority police arrested him inside the skyscraper. Pentangelo said it appears that the teen got through the fence at 4:10 a.m. The misdemeanor charges include one count of criminal trespass in the third degree and one count of trespass, according to the criminal complaint.

Casquejo was quoted in the criminal complaint as telling the Port Authority police officer, "I walked around the construction site and figured out how to access the Freedom Tower rooftop. I found a way up through the scaffolding, climbed onto the 6th floor, and took the elevator up to the 88th floor. I then took the staircase up to 104th [floor]. I went to the rooftop and climbed the ladder all the way to the antenna."

When he was arrested, the teen had a cellphone and camera on him, which were seized and are being searched by police after they obtained a search warrant.

"We take security and these type of infractions extremely seriously and will prosecute violators," Joseph Dunne, chief security officer for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said in a statement. "We continue to reassess our security posture at the site and are constantly working to make this site as secure as possible."

The complaint said Casquejo was observed inside the Freedom Tower building beyond signs that said, "Do not enter. No trespassing. Violators will be prosecuted."

The teen tweeted on March 16 from Manhattan, N.Y.: "A long way from home."

Extremists attack northern Nigeria city

Suspected Islamic militants struck the northern city of Maiduguri yesterday(Friday) morning, attacking the main military barracks and causing panicked residents to flee.
Children walking to school when the shooting erupted cried in fear and confusion.

Soldiers had a shootout with the insurgents near the main Giwa Military Barracks. It appeared the extremists' mission is to hit the military in their stronghold. The barracks are the headquarters of a 10-month-old security forces offensive to halt the Islamic uprising in northeast Nigeria using draconian state of emergency powers.

Maiduguri is the birthplace of the Boko Haram terrorist network that is blamed for the deaths of thousands of Muslims and Christians in a 4-year-old uprising aimed at transforming Nigeria into an Islamic state under strict shariah law. Nigeria's population of 170 million, the biggest in Africa, is comprised of almost equal numbers of Christians living mainly in the south and Muslims in the north.

The military cut cell phone service on Wednesday in Maiduguri, as part of a renewed offensive, so there was no way to contact officials.

It was the third attack in recent months in Maiduguri, capital of Borno state: Twin car bombs exploded in a bustling marketplace in Maiduguri on March 2, killing more than 50 people. A January 14 bomb killed 40 residents. A bold assault December 5 on the air force base and a military barracks on the city outskirts killed an unknown number of security forces and extremists who destroyed five aircraft on the runway.

The uprising and the fallout from an often brutal military response has forced about half a million people from their homes since 2012 — some 470,000 people displaced in the country and at least 30,000 across borders in Chad, Niger and Cameroon, according to the UN refugee agency.

"The horrific attacks by Boko Haram are having a devastating impact on northern Nigerians," Human Rights Watch said in a report Friday calling for the government to help refugees. The New York-based advocacy group put the death toll at more than 700 killed this year in attacks on more than 40 villages.

Friday's attack is a major blow to the military's claims of successes in air raids and ground assaults on forest hideouts and mountain caves that they said have killed scores of fighters and had others on the run.

A series of military press releases have been issued in the past two weeks following unprecedented criticism of the failure to halt ever-deadlier attacks, including assaults in which soldiers are reported to have abandoned checkpoints and left civilians at the mercy of the militants.

President Goodluck Jonathan has responded by firing his entire military command last month and appointing a new defense minister last week. This comes in the run-up to February 2015 elections that will be the most hotly contested since decades of military dictatorship ended in 1999.

A statement Thursday from the security forces' joint security information committee "noted with great concern the orchestrated attack on the morale of the Nigerian security forces engaged in the fight against terrorism by a section of the political elite." It accused them of encouraging a mutiny.

On Tuesday, a Defense Ministry statement said captured extremists had confessed their struggle was in jeopardy with fighters starving and under constant aerial bombardment. It claimed that some had confessed their clerics "declared that the operation of the sect had come to an end as the mission could no longer be sustained."

Such claims have been dismissed by politicians. House of Assembly speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal said Tuesday the country has run out of excuses for its inability to defend citizens against "an orgy of deaths, destruction and waste." He spoke at a special session in memory of 59 high school students gunned down or burned to death in a locked dormitory in a February attack in neighboring Yobe state.

Witnesses reported that soldiers had abandoned a checkpoint on the road to the school just hours before the attackers struck.

Borno Gov. Kashim Shettima has asked if there is collusion between some high-ranking military officers and the militants. Several lower ranks were arrested last year on charges of feeding information and otherwise aiding the extremists. They were to be tried by courts-martial but their fate is unknown.

Over 207 Boko Haram Gunmen Killed in Maiduguri – Civilian JTF

Over 207 Boko Haram gunmen were killed in the attack in Maiduguri, the Borno capital, yesterday.
Abdullahi Dere, who is the Chairman of Sector 5 of the Civilian JTF in Jidari Polo near the Giwa barrack which was attacked by suspected militants , said several Boko Haram gunmen fled the town for their hideouts with series of injuries.
“We counted 207 dead bodies of Boko Haram members shot dead by the military in Jidari Polo area alone. The suspected Boko Haram members had attacked Giwa Barracks and freed some of the detainees but the military were able to go after them and killed them.
“As we speak the dead bodies of the terrorists are still within our area unattended to .
“We were also able to capture some fleeing Boko Haram suspects and handed them over to the military,” he said.
Corroborating Dere on the casualties figure , the Vice Chairman of the vigilante group in the area, Tijjani Bello, said apart from 207 killed close to the barracks, many more were killed in different parts of the city.
“Many Boko Haram members were also killed apart from the ones killed in Jidari Polo. But we only fear that some innocent residents may be among those killed,” he said.
The gunmen had stormed the Barracks through the nearby riverside as early as 6:30 am and started shooting at about 8:30 am at every possible target making many residents to flee their homes.
Borno State Police Commissioner Lawal Tanko while confirmed the incident refused to give details as he told inquisitive journalists that “We are in operation please I have no details now.”

Prince Bola Ajibola: CELEBRATING A LEGAL LUMINARY & STATESMAN AT 80 !

By Oba Femi Ogunleye

There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heaven, so says the scripture. I am glad to be around at this season and time to celebrate my own, a great achiever and an accomplished icon, His Excellency, Judge Prince AbdulJabar Bolasodun Adesunmbo Ajibola,SAN, KBE, CFR, a renowned international jurist, world court judge, acknowledged scholar, benefactor par excellence and founder of a citadel of learning in the historic city of Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria as he marks 80 years birthday anniversary and 8th founder’s day of the first Islamic University in Nigeria, the Crescent University, Abeokuta.
As a pre-destined “abiku” toddler in the early 40s, the only survivor of 14 siblings of same mother, I was an over guided ward within the entire neghbourhood comprising Alebiosu, Awaye, Labuta, Osupori, Ajanbadan, Apaara, Oyegaa, Ekerin and Osumo’s houses (all in a seeming deliberately delineated family circus in Totoro, Owu, Abeokuta); suffice it to understand why, despite the closeness of our houses and families, (Awaye’s House where I was born is the next door neghbour to Alebiosu House which belongs to the Ajibolas) I had a faint recognition of a wonderful brother Omo-Oba Bolasodun Ajibola, even as he attended the popular Alfa Bisi’s Quranic class in Ajambadan compound which I also attended within that period.
Howbeit, I was usually a delightful guest to our Royal father, Olowu Gbadela Ajibola at the Owu palace, Oke-Ago Owu, Abeokuta each time I accompanied my mother to pay homage to her cousin, the kabiyesi who often would exude his affection for me by placing me on his laps, fiddled with the metal bangles on my both ankles to produce the desired musical sound and ran his fingers through the plaited hair on my head, all to the joy of all the Owu traditional religionists with whom my mother and I had come to the palace and on leaving, my pockets and hands would be full of pot-pourri of gifts from kabiyesi, making our accompanied drummers to assign me a signature song: “Okesoto Iyanda, a n’iyi l’owu, Oke omo iya oloosa”.

Prince Bola Ajibola

One of my early lessons as a child from the reverend Olowu Gbadela Ajibola was that he was an epitome of love and kindness to all and sundry. Although a devout Muslim, Kabiyesi never shunned people who kept faith in other religions particularly the traditional ones who often thronged the palace. He might not believe in their faith but as the custodian of culture and tradition of his people, he was open and available all the times for the pleasure of his subjects. Not only would he grant them royal pleasance, he would also give them bounty gifts before they departed the palace. He was a listening royal father who was adored by his people from Abeokuta to all the hinterland villages and hamlets.

In later life when I came across Prince Bola Ajibola, the truism in the Yoruba proverb “Omo t’erin ba bi, erin ni yio jo” (the calf of an elephant is not unlikely to replicate any other animal) is self-pronounced in his character. I took notice of this indefatigable and hard working lawyer in 1978 when I was in Nigeria Airways Public Relations and he was among our choice of lawyers for the public inquiry before Justice Oluwa over the F.28 plane disaster at Emene, Enugu. His faithfulness to his creator, his humility, his humaneness, his care, hospitable mien and attention to details throughout the celebrated inquiry and thereafter accentuated my memory of Olowu Ajibola and made me often thankful to God for being an Owu man.
Three reckonable musketeers in Owu kingdom, Abeokuta that surfaced in the 50s and are still available today are in the persons of eminent personalities, Chief Olusegun Okikiola Aremu Obasanjo, Judge Bola Ajibola and Oba Olusanya Adegboyega Dosunmu, the Olowu of Owu Kingdom. These three people are often a delight to meet together and share from their memorabilia. The three people are either classmates or school mates at the prestigious Baptist Boys High School, Okegunya where they shared the same hilly and sloppiness of the high ambience of the legendary school depicting a philosophical lesson that if you work hard, you are bound to be on top but if you do otherwise, the sloppiness is the route downward! Judge Bola Ajibola particularly is a reservoir of hilarious but scintillating humor.
Prince Bola Ajibola’s success in life is illustrative of Time and Chance lesson which says: “The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favour to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all”. If he was not elected as the President of the Nigerian Bar Association at the time he was, perhaps, he would not have been picked to represent the Bar in General Ibrahim Babangida government as Attorney General and Minister of Justice. If he was not the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Nigeria, perhaps would not have had the opportunity to have the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria compiled and published at such an audacious political climate nor could the Hague’s doors be opened to him to complete the terms of late Justice Taslm Elias and get other dignified appointments that followed. What a time and chance!
Besides Judge Ajibola’s brilliance and contributions to advocacy, arbitration, jurisprudence, legal education and administration as well as diplomacy which are distinctively admirable, his consummate love for humanity propelled him into floating two major NGOs, the first being African Concern, dedicated to eradicate poverty, hunger, disease and human displacements, among the various wounds of the Africans and the second, the Islamic Mission for Africa, established to present the Islamic religion in a positive, peaceful and tolerant manner throughout the continent of Africa.
While the African Concern has created sustainable impact in the life of Africans through donations of series of relief materials to the needy, peaceful resolutions of disputes here and there in the continent and rehabilitation of refugees also in many parts of Africa as well as provision of information, knowledge and entertainment through the communication organ of the NGO, the African Concern Magazine, IMA which came ahead of its time, taking the serious damage being done to the image of an otherwise peaceful and tolerant religion of Islam by the generally abhorred Boko Haram in some parts of Nigeria, is now best placed to engage in structured communication with other Islamic leaders in the country to find lasting solutions to the spreading carnage odiously labeled religious.
The ice on the cake of the profound legacies of Prince Bola Ajibola is the establishment of the first Islamic University in Nigeria, the Crescent University in Abeokuta, opened in 2005. The vision of the University, according to Judge Ajibola, is to provide a peaceful and conducive atmosphere for youths from different cultures and religions to mix and interact peacefully and mature into a skilled, honest and responsible Nigerian and global citizens.
In its 8th year of existence, Crescent University has fulfilled its objectives and visions as the campus has become a mini Nigerian city where though tribes and tongue may differ, in oneness they are vivere, amare, discere (living, loving and learning) with large population of sponsored students from various states in the north and south of Nigeria. The environment of the university is serene; the architecture is uniquely fascinating with quality academic facilities including teaching and resource materials. Understandably, the University’s College of Law, named after the proprietor, though still young, is radiating great signs of future leadership in its class. Judging by the performance of graduates from the university and their placements either in other academia for advancement or employment, in Nigeria and abroad, the university is riding high in the ocean of credibility and accreditation.
Judge Bola Ajibola’s accomplishments coupled with series of awards and honours granted him so far are impressively massive that time and space are not permitting to list them but as a living testimony to the passion and selflessness with which he handled London outpost as Nigeria’s High Commission in the UK between 1999 and 2002,I say here without being immodest that his contributions to the betterment of Nigerians and governance in Nigeria in all sectors are yet to be surpassed.
Locally in his traditional domain as Olori Omo-Oba in Owu kingdom, Judge Ajibola remains a unifying factor in the monumental change in the traditional jurisprudence of his clans in Egbaland. When some village heads (Baales) were to be promoted coronets to facilitate socio-economic development for the rural areas of their dominance, Omo-Oba Ajibola was at the ceremony in Olowu’s palace to pronounce the instrument of installation of the Owu Obas and charged them to be loyal to the Owu crown as they ensured the unity and healthy development of their respective domains and Egbaland in general. In addition, he teamed up with the Balogun Owu, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Olori Parakoyi Owu, Chief M. Ola Yusuf and Olowu, Oba Olusanya Adegboyega Dosunmu, to design and fund an empowerment program for the rural areas where the coronets were appointed.
While wishing Omo-Oba Ajibola more years of good health and added wisdom to guide him in fulfilling the commands of his creator, I like to commit him to this lesson from the scripture: “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.”


Oba Olufemi Ogunleye,Towulade of Akinale town, Ogun State

The loquacious Prince and the Sacred Scarcow

By Tola Adeniyi

I thought I should let my mind wander in the body of Aba Saheed this week and give my readers a taste of the Abasaheedic satiric elegance of the days of yore. Two prominent figures presented themselves for lampooning this week: one, a most talkative, vengeful and reckless individual, the other a most provocative, frightful and controversial individual who has assumed the fabled character of one Mrs Virginia Bottomley in Tola Adeniyi’s classical play; Deaths in the Thighs.
Mr Loquacious was never my candidate for the exalted position which Federal Character awarded to him. We must concede to him that he is one of the most brilliant Minds the country could ever boast of. Mr Loquacious is intelligent, very intelligent, bright, bold and extremely expressive. In communication prowess, he hardly has a peer. He is very good. But the downside is that he does not know his limits. He operates as if the world order is not governed by boundaries.
In some of my previous writings I had referred to Mr Loquacious, the megalomaniac Prince as the de facto Head of state. He behaves and parades himself in a way to suggest that the office he occupied, and which he still technically occupies, places him at par with Mr President.
When he was given the job of regulating the banking and financial sector of the country’s economy, he saw in the post, a most calculated opportunity to humiliate all his former colleagues and seniors in the banking profession, and to further rub insult on an open sore, he chose to satanically take away the commanding heights of the banking industry from a section of the country where banking had held sway when Mr Loquacious grand grand parents were still in the womb. And as the Yoruba would say, his forefathers were still pouring down rains from heaven!
So, last week when the extraordinarily ambitious prince was thrown out of the window, not many people sympathised with him.
But the other side of the coin of the ‘Suspend Me, I expose You saga’ is that the circumstances leading to the de-robbing of Mr Loquacious did not go down well with many Nigerians who believed, rightly so, that the Prince was being victimised because he dared to dare the sacred Scarecrow in the most corrupt government of this Century.
$20 Billion, a humongous figure, a sum that could create many Refineries, create many Universities, create many industrial estates to absorb some of 75 million unemployed people of this country is said to have found its way to the throat and stomach of some sacred cows under the watch of both the Scarecrow and her employer!
Nigerians, the subject of my forthcoming book titled NIGERIA: A COUNTRY OF IDIOTS, would not have heard of this reckless and heatless theft if the now embattled Prince had not blown the whistle. I think, for this, Nigerians will forever remain grateful to him, and perhaps forgive him some of his alleged sins.
The government at the Centre in Nigeria is a product of a most discredited father by the name of PDP. That father has many aliases. He is called Power! He is called Impunity. He is called Thief-Thief Unlimited. He is called Gormandiser. He is called Beast of no nation. He is called Shamelessness. It is this father shielded by a shredded Umbrella that has produced the current Sectionalised national government which has now become notorious for shielding all sorts of the most corrupt elements in the country.
Most men like women. But most men do not allow women to override their judgement. Most women enjoy the aroma of sensuous perfume. But most men do not allow such aroma to intoxicate them. Most men enjoy the company of women with tantalising endowments. But most men have learnt a lesson from the misfortune of Samson Agonistes.
Sorry for the diversion.
There is a Government cabinet in Africa, luckily not Nigeria, which is populated by women who are more powerful than their head of state. The women have been accused of so many horrendous crimes, but their head of state usually turned the deaf ear when issues about these women take centre stage in the country’s media!
Back to our sacred cow. It is difficult to understand why a woman so clearly embarrassing to the government should be allowed to remain in the cabinet. And she is not the only one. The continued stay of this woman whose uncommon pair of glasses can frighten a young lad into fits is going to be subject for PhD researchers in many years to come. Somebody somewhere must be deriving some pleasure in having this woman continue to taint the not-too-bright pane of this administration.
Impunity is the word. “You can go and hang!”. That is what Nigerians have been told a million times in any matter that concerns this woman, who unfortunately does not have the grace to call it quits.
But matters have now come to a head. The loquacious prince may be the death knell of Madam Bottomley. We shall see how matters will resolve themselves when motions are tabled in court.
The whole world is watching. But that is not likely to matter to a government that has no conscience.
On a more serious note, if and when I am coming back to this world God does not create me a woman and endow me with sweet thighs, I will take Him to court. Christians and Muslims tell us their God is a Man, so it is safe to refer to that Arab-Judaic God as He. If he therefore fails to make me a woman and send me to Nigeria to become a Minister under a most corrupt government, I will rescue Him to a standstill.

Source:Premium Times

Nigeria to accept bids for 10 power plants on March 7

Nigeria will accept offers from 42 pre-qualified bidders for 10 state-owned power plants on March 7, the privatisation agency said on Monday, in a continuation of one of President Goodluck Jonathan's most important policies.
Private buyers took ownership of the bulk of the state electricity company in September, ending a slow and costly $2.5 billion selloff, which nonetheless could be the best chance yet to unblock a major bottleneck to development.
If successful it could seal Jonathan's legacy, although significant improvements are unlikely before elections next year.
Now Nigeria is selling 10 gas-fired power plants nestled in the Niger Delta, which holds a large portion of the world's ninth-largest natural gas reserves.
"The joint meeting chaired by Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo, directed that the bids be opened on Friday, March 7," the Bureau of Public Enterprises said in a statement, in line with plans to sell the plants by mid-2014.
Chronic power shortages are the biggest constraint on business growth in Africa's second-largest economy and one of the primary complaints of 170 million people who are provided with only a few hours a day of electricity, if any.
Jonathan pledged more than three years ago to privatise the bulk of the state-owned electricity sector as he looks to boost power output tenfold by 2020.
Experts say this is unrealistic although improvements could be felt in around two years.
The 10 plants will have combined electricity generation output of around 5,000 megawatts, which amounts to more than Nigeria currently produces, although some of the plants are not yet finished and others require renovation.
These power plants make up the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP), a plan set up in 2004 by then-President Olusegun Obasanjo as a "fast-track" solution.
Nigeria has so far spent $15 billion to $20 billion on the mismanaged NIPP, industry experts say. It is unlikely the sale of the plants will come close to recouping these funds, which could prompt wrangling among disgruntled politicians.
A lack of investment in the transmission network, which remains in public hands, poor gas supply and labour disputes threaten to delay progress in boosting power output further.*reuters

Anti-Russian rants are just PR ahead of EU parliamentary poll – Russian officials

The various anti-Russian statements voiced by EU officials should be taken with a grain of salt as they are just attempting to lure voters ahead of the May poll, and are not interested in Ukraine actually joining the EU, a senior Russian senator holds.

“All this hysteria in the European Union are nothing more than a PR bubble created in the lead-up to European Parliamentary elections on May 25,” Andrey Klimov, a deputy head of the Federation Council’s committee for international relations, told Russian mass circulation daily Izvestia.

“All forecasts say that its next composition will have a lot of Euroskeptics and the current commissioners headed by President Jose Manuel Barroso will have to resign. For this reason their current statements should be divided by at least two – people often lie during election campaigns,” Klimov said.

The comment was made ahead of the urgent meeting of foreign ministers of the EU countries dedicated to the current situation in Ukraine and the possible measures against Russia that had already announced its readiness to protect its citizens, ethnic Russians and Russian-speakers caught in the Ukrainian turmoil.

Other European reaction to the Russian political support of the Eastern regions of Ukraine ranged from statements of concern to recalling of ambassadors from Russia to a request for an extraordinary session of the NATO council.

Klimov noted that it was very unlikely that EU officials would continue the current course of supporting the ‘Maidan’ authorities in Kiev after the May elections are over – according to the Russian senator, the realists among European politicians understand very well that the European economy cannot afford another hanger-on.

The senator also commented on the threats of economic sanctions against Russia made by US officials and politicians, such as former Ambassador to Moscow Michael McFaul. Klimov noted that the current trade turnover between the US and Russia is far from anything serious and such sanctions on the part of the US would not do Russia any sufficient harm.

On the other hand, the mutual dependence between Russia and European Union is very strong and there is no common position among EU members on the current crisis, the politician added. This means that the European countries can soon start separate talks with Russia, Klimov concluded.

“In the current situation I would recommend that Brussels and Washington introduce sanctions against each other. The US must answer for instigating a civil war and adding to the explosive situation in Europe. A number of EU countries should be made responsible for opening the Pandora’s box by violating the February 21 agreement of Ukrainian stabilization,” he noted.

Many top-level Russian politicians observed in public addresses that no one in Russia was interested in war with its neighbor. Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said during a Sunday televised panel discussion that Russian diplomats strongly opposed the unfounded accusations of war-mongering.

“We will support all forces that favor the strengthening of bilateral relations between our countries, especially now when the European stability depends on these relations. Western politicians who are currently cursing us must understand this,” Karasin stated.

In the same program the head of the Russian upper house, Valentina Matvienko, reiterated her position that only Ukrainian people can decide who will run their state and this decision must be made through an honest, clear, transparent and lawful elections. The head of Russian senate also supported the idea of rendering financial and humanitarian aid to the Ukrainian people.

The chairman of the State Duma committee for CIS affairs, Leonid Slutsky, said that all Russia had done in Crimea was defend sites belonging to its Navy, but it can also extend this protection to everyone who asks for this as this is a noble thing to do.

The Russian upper house has approved Vladimir Putin’s request to sanction the military involvement in the standoff between pro-Russian population of the Eastern regions of Ukraine and the new authorities in Kiev. However, Putin not only has not given orders to the troops, but according to presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, has not yet taken the decision that such involvement was necessary.

On Sunday Vladimir Putin spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the two leaders agreed to immediately establish a commission of enquiry as well as a contact group, possibly under the direction of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.


http://rt.com/politics/russian-eu-elections-ukraine-527/

The Rise & Fall of Lamido Sanusi Lamido

Source: Economic Confidential

Devoid of politics, there have been serious allegations of financial irregularities against Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) but SANYA ADEJOKUN of the Economic Confidential writes that timing of his removal by President Goodluck Jonathan sent wrong signals across the world with many linking government’s move to allegations of monumental fraud bedevilling the oil that Sanusi has been unravelling in recent times.

On December 30, 2013, there were clandestine but frantic calls across business, economic and high governmental circles around Nigeria where editors and correspondents made desperate efforts to scoop the rumour that Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Sanusi Lamido Sanusi had resigned his appointment. 

It turned out to be a hoax. Until the following morning when no medium reported it however, were afraid that they were missing an important story. Again during most of the second week of January 2014, speculations were rife that President Jonathan had asked the Governor to step down. By the end of the week however, unofficial but firm confirmation emanated from the apex bank that the President actually asked Sanusi to officially proceed on pre-disengagement leave to which the latter firmly declined.

Normally, most senior government or business executives go on pre-retirement leave but that would seem not to be the practice at the CBN where governors stay until the last day in office. Chief Joseph Sanusi expected that President Olusegun Obasanjo would announce a tenure extension for him. There were wicked insinuations about how badly the old man took news that the name of his successor had been forwarded to the Senate for confirmation. As for Soludo, he also had assurance from the then first lady that he would be re-appointed and so, he continued with his work until the last day. Following precedence therefore, Sanusi also decided to stay put until the final day of his tenure even though he said it several times that he was no longer interested in continuing as Governor upon the expiration of his term.

However, things were no longer at ease between Sanusi and President Jonathan. Before his appointment as Governor of the CBN, Sanusi had been a vocal activist and he found it impossible to curtail his activism and criticism even while serving as the apex banker. On many occasions, he publicly disagreed with economic policies of the Federal Government. At times, Sanusi’s view was populist and at other times like his vehement opposition to fuel subsidy, he was seen as elitist.

In July 2012, a House of Representatives report on the near collapse of the capital market says it has found evidence of forgery and fraudulent misrepresentation involving the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, and other top industry officials in the controversial nationalization of three commercial banks.

The report said nationalisation of Afribank Plc, Spring Bank and Bank PHB violated statutory provisions and remained a “major source” of investors’ loss of confidence in the troubled Nigerian capital market.

“This committee is of the view that due process was not followed, and that investors interests were not considered in nationalizing the banks. Public officers charged with the responsibility of protecting investors and depositors did not act in good faith, and there were evidence to suggest fraud, misrepresentations, and forgeries”, the report stated. The committee faulted Sanusi for a range of several other anomalies and breach of procedures, and accused him of deliberately withholding information from the lawmakers during the investigation.

The committee detailed shocking highlights of the behind-the-scenes leading to the change in the name of Afribank to mainstreet Bank Limited, a private company with share capital of 100,000 ordinary shares of N1 each, owned by two persons, Gideon Agbedo, a lawyer, and a certain Innocent Obi.

The committee said it discovered the Articles and Memorandum of Association transferring the ownership to the individuals, was stamped and verified by the CAC authorizing them to “assume all or part only of the deposits and liabilities of Afribank” and to “purchase such assets of Afribank” as are acceptable to the board.

For Bank PHB, changed to Keystone bank, the committee said a similar fraud was perpetuated with share capital of 100 000 ordinary shares of N1 each were owned by one Benson Igbanoi and the same Innocent Obi of Mainstreet Bank. The object of Keystone Bank ltd was similar to that of the Mainstreet Bank, and has a Certificate of Incorporation no RC 969956 which certifies that Keystone Bank Ltd was previously called Michi Noku Resolution Limited, another alleged fraud. This meant a publicly quoted company was acquired by a private company owned by two persons, the committee said.

Likewise in May 2013, the public accounts committee of the House also queried several expenditure items amounting to N4.7 billion in the CBN accounts including the N2.8 billion expended on the renovation of its Port Harcourt branch. Auditor General of the Federation had earlier observed the spending as extravagant more so, when documents were not attached for verification.

Chairman of the House Committee on Public Accounts, Solomon Olamilekan alleged that due process was not followed in expenditure as no documents were provided. Some of the bank transactions equally queried included the N23 million and N50 million claimed to have been spent for the same purpose of renovating the governor’s official residence as well as N848 million spent on the purchase of a property from the National Planning Commission without any transaction agreement.

Now, there are a number of powerful individuals who were not happy with the style of Sanusi especially because of the way he handled the financial sector upheaval of 2008/2009. Many of them believe that the CBN Governor himself was not an especially prudent and transparent person in the management of the bank’s finances and so it was hypocritical of him to continue to condemn corruption and lack of transparency in public while doing the exact opposite behind closed doors. In addition, Sanusi had greatly offended the National Assembly by branding them as corrupt and constituting a big drain to the national treasury. At a point, he alleged that the National Assembly was consuming a whooping five percent of the national budget despite their insignificant number. At a public hearing, Senators challenged the former governor about the budget of the CBN, which they put at N300 billion in that year but Sanusi refused to submit the bank’s budget for public scrutiny. This in fact prompted current attempt to amend the CBN Act.

According to top government sources, at a meeting abroad, some of these businessmen (Nigerians and foreigners) approached President Jonathan and intimated him about some of the alleged financial misdeeds. The CBN Act makes the Governor powerful such that an occupier of the office is also Chairman of the Board, Chairman of the powerful Monetary Policy Committee, approves the bank budget and also appoints external auditors to look into its books. The audit report is only presented to the President of the country. At that meeting, Jonathan was convinced of the need to send the 2012 audited report to the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC) formerly Nigerian Accounting Standards Board for proper scrutiny. At that time, audit report was lying on the President’s table after his Economic Adviser had certified it fit and complying with the CBN Act.

Upon arrival, from the trip, Jonathan was said to have summoned Jim Obazee, Executive Secretary/ Chief Executive Officer at the Financial Reporting Council, Nigeria and handed the CBN audit report to him. It was the first time ever that CBN audited report was subjected to a forensic examination by the Presidency. Somehow, Sanusi got wind of the move and approached the Minister of Trade and investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga who supervises Obazee. Aganga according to another source, asked Obazee to avail him with a copy of his observations but the Executive Secretary technically rebuffed the idea. The Council submitted its observations but Jonathan returned it, insisting that he was not satisfied with the initial job done. Finally on May 6, 2013, the President sent a 22-point query to the governor on the audit bank’s 2012 financial report audited by Ernst and Young an international audit firm, which incidentally did not sign it but penning the simple comment that it complied with the CBN Act.

Some of the issues to which the President sought clarifications included a huge but dubious investment in an Islamic bank in Malaysia; write-off of about N3.5 billion CBN staff housing loan; donation of about one billion naira to an opposition political party made under the special access item in the account; refusal of the apex bank to consolidate in its account, the trillion debt owed by the Asset Management Company, AMCON, and the non-disclosure of the total liabilities through the bond floated by the company; The governor was also asked to explain the discrepancies noted in the 2012 account regarding the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company, a subsidiary of the apex bank; donations made to some higher institutions in the country. Investigations have shown that some of the donations were inflated in the bank’s books. For example, while the Bayero University Kano, BUK, was said to have collected N4billion, the school authorities claimed it got only N1billion.

Although Sanusi was given 48 hours to reply to the query, he did not submit his reply until May 21. And it is also an irony the an institution in the habit of railroading banks into complying with its regulations and guidelines in a hurry asked for seven long years to comply with the new reporting guidelines of the Financial Reporting Standards Board.

A few months later however, specifically in September 25, 2013, Sanusi went on the offensive by writing a comprehensive missive to Jonathan detailing alleged diversion of funds meant for the Federation Account to the tune of $48.9 billion between 2012 and 2013 which represented 76% of the value of crude oil lifting during the period. CBN said in the letter, “Our analysis of the value of crude oil export proceeds based on the documentation received from pre-shipment inspectors shows that between January 2012 and July 2013, NNPC lifted 594,024,107 barrels of crude valued at $65,332,350,514.57. Out of this amount, NNPC repatriated only $15,528,410,098.77 representing 24% of the value. This means the NNPC is yet to account for, and repatriate to the Federation Account, an amount in excess of $49.804 billion of the value of oil lifted in the same period.” The governor illustrated his facts with inferences from an attached table of analysis of the crude oil lifting and repatriations as prepared by the CBN. He noted that failure to repatriate the amounts constitutes not only a violation of constitutional provisions but also of both Nigeria’s foreign exchange and pre-shipment inspection of exports laws.

Citing his previous warnings, about shortfalls in remittances to the Federation Account in spite of the strong recovery in the price of oil, Sanusi said a point of departure ought to be to insist that the NNPC account fully for all proceeds that were diverted from its accounts with the CBN and the Federation Account. “As an indicator of how bad this situation has become, please note that in 2012 alone, the Federation Account received $28.51 billion in Petroleum Profits and related taxes but only $1013 from crude oil proceeds. In the period January-July 2013, the corresponding figures are $16.65 billion and $5.39 billion, respectively. This means, Your Excellency, that in the first seven months of the year, taxes accounted for 76% of the total inflow from this sector, while NNPC crude oil proceeds accounted for only 24%”, he observed. Incidentally, the letter remained a secret until ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo wrote an open letter to Jonathan titled “Before It is Too Late” on December 2, 2013 but which appeared got to the media around December 10. Part of the letter reads “The serious and strong allegation of non-remittance of about $7bn from the NNPC to central bank occurring from export of some 300,000 barrels per day, amounting to $900 million a month, to be refined and with refined products of only $400m returned and Atlantic Oil loading about 130,000 barrels sold by Shell and managed on behalf of NPDC with no sale proceeds paid into NPDC account is incredible. The allegation was buttressed by the letter of the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria to you on non-remittance to the central bank. This allegation will not fly away by non-action, cover-up, denial or bribing possible investigators. Please deal with this allegation transparently and let the truth be known.”
Sanusi was therefore accused of leaking contents of his letter to the President to Obasanjo. Speculations followed that Jonathan was planning to sack Sanusi but the Governor swiftly moved to pre-empt the move by announcing that the President lacks power to sack him. He insisted that only two third of Senators can effect his removal and that he did not even plan to go on pre-retirement leave from March 1. During a heated telephone exchange early in January 2014 where Jonathan asked Sanusi to put in his letter of resignation, the Governor reportedly insisted that he did not harbour any such intentions.

However, following a reconciliation of accounts sponsored by Federal Ministry of Finance, Lamido recanted his earlier position on $49.8 billion oil revenue, saying rather the sum of only about $12 billion was what is yet to be accounted for. But at the meeting where Sanusi made the adjustment, Minister of Finance Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala interjected saying reconciled records showed that it was $10.8bn that had not been fully accounted for.

During their conversation, the President accused him of leaking the letter to Obasanjo, which enabled the latter to use it as one of many allegations he levelled against Jonathan in his letter. Sanusi denied leaking his letter to Obasanjo. He also told the president that the letter was available in the presidential villa, available in the finance ministry and available in the central bank and wondered how he (Sanusi) could have leaked the letter, which was so widely available, to a former two-term president of Nigeria who has his people all over the place. Sanusi also expressed surprise that he was the one being asked to resign instead of those responsible for the non-remittance of the funds.

His response, which threw the president aback, degenerated into a heated exchange during which Sanusi told the president that as the federal government’s Chief Economic Adviser, mandatorily required to bring issues of critical economic importance to the attention of the President, he had done a patriotic duty to his country. He equally told Jonathan that it is necessary to deal with the issues and not the letter that had been leaked since it has since been established that it was not $49.8 billion that had not been remitted to the Federation Account, but $10.8 billion, which was still in dispute and by any stretch of imagination was still a large sum. Sanusi then held a meeting in his office and briefed his close aides about the conversation.

Yet on February 4, 2014, the CBN Governor raise another allegation against the NNPC of a $20 billion crude revenue not remitted to the Federation Account. Sanusi told members of the Senate Committee on Finance at the National Assembly “it is established that of the $67 billion crude shipped by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) between January 2012 and July 2013, $47 billion was remitted to the Federation Account. It is now up to NNPC, given all the issues raised, to produce the proof that the $20billion unremitted either did not belong to the Federation or was legally and constitutionally spent,” the CBN boss said. And concluded “there is no dispute that $20 billion out of $67 billion has not been paid into any account with the CBN.” The Committee was still sitting when very early on February 20, 2014, President Jonathan suspended Sanusi from his position and asked him to hand over to Deputy Governor, Economic Policy, Dr. Sarah Alade.

The statement signed by Reuben Abati, Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity) reads “Having taken special notice of reports of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria and other investigating bodies, which indicate clearly that Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s tenure has been characterized by various acts of financial recklessness and misconduct which are inconsistent with the administration’s vision of a Central Bank propelled by the core values of focused economic management, prudence,…transparency and financial discipline; Being also deeply concerned about far-reaching irregularities under Mallam Sanusi’s watch which have distracted the Central Bank away from the pursuit and achievement of its statutory mandate; and

“Being determined to urgently re-position the Central Bank of Nigeria for greater efficiency, respect for due process and accountability, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has ordered the immediate suspension of Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi from the Office of Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. President Jonathan has further ordered that Mallam Sanusi should hand over to the most senior Deputy Governor of the CBN, Dr Sarah Alade who will serve as Acting Governor until the conclusion of on-going investigations into breaches of enabling laws, due process and mandate of the CBN. The President expects that as Acting Governor of the Central Bank, Dr. Alade will focus on the core mandate of the Bank and conduct its affairs with greater professionalism, prudence and propriety to restore domestic and international confidence in the country’s apex bank. The Federal Government of Nigeria reassures all stakeholders in Nigeria’s financial and monetary system that this decision has been taken in absolute good faith, in the overall interest of the Nigerian economy and in accordance with our laws and due process.”

The move immediately attracted varying reaction from the populace but with many saying that the President ought to have allowed Sanusi to serve out the remaining three months of his five year tenure. Sanusi who was attending an official ECOWAS function in Niger Republic along Alade took the next flight home to Lagos where he was briefly detained by men of the Department of State Security and his passport confiscated.