BREAKING NEWS:Customs Retires 34 Top Officers In Massive Shake Up

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Friday announced the exit of 34 senior offices in the first major shake up since the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd) took office a few weeks back.

Those eased out from the service include five Deputy Comptrollers-General of Customs.  (DCGs) who Thursday gave notification of their voluntary retirement. They are John Atte MFR, Ibrahim Mera OON, Musa Tahir mni, Austin Nwosu and Akinade Adewuyi, Customs Public Relations Officer, Mr. Wale Adeniyi said in a statement.

“Three others, of the rank of Assistant Comptroller-General are also affected in the  re-organisation exercise. They are Madu Mohammed mni, Secretary to the Nigeria Customs Board, Victor Gbemudu, Zonal Coordinator Zone ‘A’ and Bello Liman, Assistant Comptroller-General, (Headquarters). The rest are of the rank of Comptrollers serving in Customs Headquarters, Zonal Offices and various Area Commands.

“The Comptroller-General of Customs stated that the retirements were part of measures to kick-start the repositioning of the Service for improved performance."

PIRATES KIDNAP LITHUANI,UKRAINIAN SAILORS OFF NIGERIA COAST

Gunmen have kidnapped two Lithuanian and two Ukrainian sailors off southern Nigeria, in the latest incident in a region described as a piracy hotspot, Lithuania's government said Tuesday.

"We have received information that it was an armed abduction," government official Rimantas Vaitkus told AFP in the Baltic state's capital, Vilnius.

He said 19 sailors were on board the ship, comprising three Ukrainians and 16 Lithuanians, but refused to disclose the name of the vessel.

"We have not received any contact from the abductors so far," he added.

The government said the ship, flagged in the Comoro Islands, was attacked on Monday evening near Nigeria's oil hub, Port Harcourt.

Scores of kidnappings for ransom have occurred in the Niger Delta, and most of the hostages have been freed after payment of a ransom.

The Lithuanian government said it had set up a task force to deal with the latest incident.

(AFP)

‘Violation of rules by Iranian pilgrims caused stampede’

Saudi Gazette report

MINA — Violation of the pilgrims’ grouping regulations by some 300 Iranian pilgrims resulted in the stampede in Mina which killed 769 Hajis and injured 934, Asharq Al-Awsat daily reported on Saturday quoting an official of the Tawafa Establishment for the Iranian Pilgrims.

The official, who requested anonymity, said the violation of rules by this group of Iranian pilgrims started from their very first movement from Muzdalifah on Thursday morning to Jamarat to perform the first day’s stoning ritual. They were clearly instructed to go to their tents from Muzdalifah instead of moving to Jamarat with their baggage. They had been instructed to take rest in their tents and wait for the time allotted for them to perform their stoning ritual.

Moreover, these pilgrims moved back to their tents from Jamarat through Street 204 in the opposite direction of pilgrims’ movement, the official said. The flow of pilgrims from two opposite directions resulted in the overcrowding and the stampede ensued, the official said.

According to sources, there are cameras installed in the tunnels leading to Jamarat and it will be obvious from the visuals that the Iranian pilgrims committed  violations with regard to their movement to Jamarat. 

It was mandatory for all tawafa establishments to abide by the pilgrims’ grouping regulations.

HAJJ ENDS ON A TRAGIC NOTE

Saudi Arabia deployed large numbers of special forces yesterday (Saturday) the last day of Haj.

Dozens of “special emergency force” troops were seen on one level of the Jamarat Bridge, a five-storey structure in Mina where pilgrims ritually stone the devil.

Many more special troops patrolled the network of roads leading to the Jamarat Bridge.

Pilgrims on Saturday flooded the area to perform the stoning for a third time on the last day of Haj.

Most pilgrims begin leaving on Saturday, returning to Makkah where they circumambulate the holy Kaaba before going home.

“We are thankful to our brothers in Saudi Arabia for this effort,” said Abdullah Ali, a 38-year-old Emirati, who blamed other pilgrims for the deadly stampede and urged more awareness.

A breakdown of the nationalities of the 769 pilgrims killed in the stampede is yet to be officially issued as the difficult process of identification continues.

But several foreign countries, largely African and Asian, have announced deaths.

Only around 250 deaths in total have been officially confirmed by foreign officials.

Indian government raised its estimated death toll for Indian citizens from 14 to 18, while Pakistan raised its estimated death toll from eight to 11.

Iran claimed in a state TV broadcast that among those Iranians still missing are Ghazanfar Roknabadi, a former ambassador to Lebanon, as well as two Iranian state TV reporters and a prominent political analyst. 

According to the TV report, 134 Iranian pilgrims died and 85 were injured in the Thursday incident, while 354 Iranian pilgrims remain missing.

Meanwhile, frustrated families have been left with the painful task of trying to find out for themselves whether loved ones are dead or alive.

“They say they don’t have his name registered,” an Egyptian pilgrim said after arguing with reception staff at Mina Emergency Hospital.

The pilgrim, who gave his name only as Abdullah, said he was searching for his 36-year-old neighbour.

“I’ve been going around hospitals but couldn’t find him. They told me go to the morgue,” said Abdullah. “We can’t find him, neither among the wounded nor among the dead.”

Leaving the hospital was another Egyptian, looking for a fellow pilgrim who was staying in the same part of Mina’s tent city used for the hajj.

“I don’t have the nerves to talk,” he said. “His wife is breaking down at the camp. She didn’t even perform the hajj rituals.”

Upstairs, another man, Tareq, went from room to room seeking the wife of a fellow pilgrim.

“Her husband is at the camp and couldn’t look for himself, he’s in such a state of shock. We are helping him,” said the Egyptian, rushing from internal medicine to the surgical ward.

Rushing up and down the stairs, Mohammed Bilal, also Egyptian, looked in vain for a friend’s 60-year-old mother, whose phone has been switched off since the disaster.

“The first thing we did was go check if she’s among the dead in Muaisem, but we found nothing,” he said, referring to an area near Mina where the morgue is located. “We then began going from hospital to hospital.”

At the information desk, a frustrated black-clad Saudi woman, who was with her husband, asked about her missing 43-year-old brother.

They had been searching hospitals, floor by floor, to find him, she said, asking not to be named.

“We gave his name and picture to all hospitals,” and the family asked relatives in other Saudi cities to also check, in case he had been transferred elsewhere, she said.

Officials referred them to the Muaisem morgue. The brother wasn’t there but her husband came out in tears, distraught at the scene he had witnessed. 

Saudi Gazette

 

 

RESIGN NOW ! Labour, others tell Saraki

Nigerian workers, under the umbrellas of the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress, have asked the President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki, to vacate his office pending the determination of his case at the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

The workers, who spoke across the country, said although Saraki is still on trial and has not been found guilty of the allegations against him, it is morally right for him to vacate his office as Senate President to defend himself.

The Office of the Attorney General of the Federation is prosecuting Saraki for alleged false declaration of his assets at the Code of Conduct Bureau.

Saraki had, last Tuesday, stepped into the dock at the CCT in Abuja, where he was arraigned for false assets declaration charges.

He pleaded not guilty to all the 13 charges slammed on him by the CCB and his trial has been scheduled to hold on October 21, 22 and 23.

Leaders of the NLC and the TUC, who spoke to SUNDAY PUNCH on Saturday, said it had become necessary for Saraki to step aside from Senate presidency to answer the charges preferred against him.

Organised labour had on, September 10, 2015, held nationwide protests against corruption, while seeking death penalty for public treasury looters.

Labour said it was only by killing looters that the anti-corruption crusade being championed by President Muhammadu Buhari could succeed.

President of the TUC, Mr. Bobboi Bala, in an interview with one of our correspondents, said Saraki has a moral burden to resign.

He said, “Resignation is a moral burden on people. But if somebody feels that he will carry his cross, go to the courts and try to exonerate himself, he should be given the opportunity. But it would be too bad if at the end of the day, he is found guilty. It does not speak well of public office holders.

“In other climes, as soon as such things happen, people tender their letters of resignation. Obviously, it is a moral burden on him. We hope all politicians will begin to know that no matter how highly placed they are, one day, they will definitely have to account for their stewardship.”

Several chapters of the NLC and the TUC across the states also asked for Saraki’s resignation on Saturday.

The Chairman, TUC, Ogun State, Mr. Olubunmi Fajobi, told one of our correspondents that if it were in a civilised clime, the Senate President would have stepped aside to allow for free and fair trial.

He said, “As it were, the Senate President is sitting on a delicate seat. If it were a civilised society, he would have stepped aside to allow for a fair trial, so that he won’t allow his official position to influence the decision of the tribunal.”

Also, the Ekiti State Chairman of the NLC, Mr. Raymond Adesanmi, advised Saraki to step down from office.

He said, “If it were in other climes, he would have resigned. My advice for him would be to step down as the Senate President to answer the charges against him. If at the end of the day he is not found guilty, he could return to his position.”

Adesanmi’s TUC counterpart in Ekiti, Mr. Adesoye Adedayo, corroborated him.

He said, “Although the case against him has political undertone, I would advise him to resign to prove his innocence.”

In Cross River State, the Chairman of the TUC, Mr. Clarkson Otu, who noted that labour unions had yet to meet to take a definite position on Saraki’s trial, said the Senate President should resign his position.

He said, “This whole thing is politics. The said irregularities allegedly discovered in Sariki’s assets declaration are issues before the CCT, but having got himself involved in this controversy, he should quit as senate president based on moral grounds.

“If he does not quit, he will keep battling to retain that position. This is my personal view and not that of the TUC.”

The factional Chairman of the NLC in Delta State, Mr. Williams Akporeha, the state chapter of the union was in support of Saraki’s resignation.

“We are saying that he should step aside because he is facing trial that borders on allegations of fraud and misinformation. He should resign on a clean slate instead of his continued stay in office in shameless aberration,” he said.

In the same vein, Chairman of the TUC in Delta, Mr. Myke Arinze, said, “Senator Saraki should resign and set the record straight because he cannot be facing trial and be dictating as Senate President.”

CNPP, CODER, SERAP, others ask Senate President to quit

Second Republic Governor of old Kaduna State and Chairman of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties, Mr. Balarabe Musa, in an interview with SUNDAY PUNCH on Saturday, also urged Saraki to step down as Senate President as a show of respect for his office.

Musa said, “First of all, it depends on his conscience. If he knows that the allegations against him have anything bordering on genuineness and if he knows that he has not done anything above board, he should succumb to his conscience.

“In honour of the institution he represents, it is therefore best for him to resign in order not to undermine the position of the judge.

“If he knows that there are elements of truth in the allegations against him, he should not cost the government so much in court and thereby undermine the integrity of the bench; he should just resign. He is still young; he still has a lot of opportunities.”

Also, the Coalition against Corrupt Leaders called for Saraki’s resignation.

The Executive Chairman, CACOL, Mr. Debo Adeniran, said, “He should resign for now. If he is found to be innocent, then Nigerians would have reason to apologise to him and his dignity will be restored. If he continues to hold on to power, he is likely to lose more dignity; nobody will respect him for doing so.”

Similarly, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project described Nigeria as a peculiar place, where issues of probity, integrity and adherence to the rule of law would be questioned and politicians would continue to remain in public office “as if those things don’t matter.”

According to the Executive Director of SERAP, Adetokunbo Mumuni, in saner climes, when public figures would have such burden on them, the first thing to do would be to get off the seat to clear their name by virtue of the rule of law and due process.

Mumuni said, “If people are saying he should resign, I also support that move because as the number three man in Nigeria, he has not set a very good example. It is not a question of ‘If I was not declared senate president, nobody will remember what I did 10 years ago.’ Why didn’t he declare his assets when he was governor?

“If we are talking about equity, then we must be able to come to equity with clean hands. That is the way I see it. I have never been a subscriber to the idea of witch-hunting. Why can’t they just follow the law? The question of witch-hunting, to me, is neither here nor there. Did they comply with the law? I don’t believe in the idea that they have enemies somewhere.

“Why shouldn’t we do what is needful and proper and we now start talking about witch-hunting? Matters of criminal infraction don’t have limitations. I have never seen a defence to an infraction of law where one would say, ‘Some people were not dealt with, so I cannot be dealt with.’”

Also, the Convener, Coalition of Northern Politicians, Academics, Professionals and Businessmen, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, faulted those who call Saraki’s trial a witch-hunt. He said the Senate President should resign.

He said, “I believe it will be good for the Senate and the country – for political responsibility – for Bukola Saraki to resign. Unless that is done, his political influence will interfere in the process.”

In the same vein, the Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reform said even though Saraki remained innocent until the tribunal finds him guilty, it had become morally necessary for the Senate President to resign from office.

Convener of CODER, Chief Ayo Opadokun, who was the General Secretary of the National Democratic Coalition and an ex-Secretary-General of the Afenifere, said it was not possible for all lawbreakers in the country to be tried at once. He said, “They have to be picked one by one.”

He said although other lawmakers in the National Assembly might have committed similar offences on assets declaration, Saraki’s trial would serve as a good lesson to others.

Opadokun said, “Saraki’s trial has more fundamental dimension because of the fact that someone crookedly emerged as leader of the Nigerian legislature and he has been charged for false declaration (of assets), which is a criminal offence and which carries significant punishment fashioned by the Nigerian criminal law system.

“He should resign to face the charges against him. He should have resigned long ago.”

 

OVER 300 KILLED IN HAJJ STAMPEDE

At least 720 people have been killed in a stampede at the annual Hajj pilgrimage,Saudi Arabia's civil defence directorate said.

The directorate said  close to 800 other pilgrims were injured in Thursday's stampede, which took place in Mina, on the outskirts of the holy city of Mecca.

The injured have been evacuated to four different hospitals in the Mina region, according to a civil defence spokesman.

Mina is where pilgrims carry out a symbolic stoning of the devil by throwing pebbles against three stone walls. It also houses more than 160,000 tents where pilgrims spend the night during the pilgrimage.

Al Jazeera's Basma Atassi, reporting from Mina, said the incident took place in a street between pilgrim camps.

"The street where it happened is named Street 204. This stampede did not happen at the site of the 'stoning of the devil' ritual, which was happening today.

"During and after the stampede the pilgrims continued to flock into Mina to perform the devil stoning ritual."

Amateur video shared on social media showed a horrific scene, with scores of bodies - the men dressed in the simple terry cloth garments worn during Hajj - lying alongside crushed wheelchairs and water bottles.

The head of the Central Hajj Committee, Prince Khaled al-Faisal, blamed the stampede on "some pilgrims from African nationalities," Saudi-owned al-Arabiya TV channel reported.

Survivors assessed the scene by standing on the top of roadside stalls as rescue workers in orange and yellow vests combed the area.

About 4,000 people from the rescue services were participating in the operation to help the injured and about 220 ambulances were directed to the scene, a civil defence spokesman said.

Photos released by the defence directorate on its official Twitter account showed rescue workers helping the wounded onto stretchers and loading them onto ambulances near some of the tents.

Al Jazeera's Omar Alsaleh, reporting from Mecca, said the number of deaths may rise.

"This is only the initial number ... The Hajj season was already overshadowed by the crane accident that killed 107 people and wounded more than 200," Alsaleh said, adding: "The area has turned to a big massive construction site to allow more pilgrims to visit Mecca during Hajj.

"Mina has more than 160,000 tents divided over several camps, and with the 1.9 million people taking part in this year's Hajj, you will understand the logistical nightmare that the Saudi authorities are facing."

Deadly Hajj incidents

Saudi authorities take extensive precautions to ensure the security of the Hajj and the safety of pilgrims. But tragedies are not uncommon.

In 2006, more than 360 pilgrims were killed in a stampede, also in Mina.

The day before the 2006 Hajj began, an eight-story building being used as a hostel near the Grand Mosque in Mecca collapsed, killing at least 73 people.

Two years earlier, a crush at Mina killed 244 and injured hundreds on the final day of the pilgrimage.

And, in 2001, a stampede at Mina killed 35 people.

The worst hajj-related tragedy, which happened in 1990, killed 1,426 pilgrims in a stampede in an overcrowded pedestrian tunnel leading to holy sites in Mecca.

SUB-STANDARDS GOODS IN NIGERIA: A CASE STUDY FOR THE RETURN OF S.O.N TO THE PORTS

By Uche Anigbata

It is no more news that Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) was expelled from our sea and Airports in 2011. 

It is equally no more news that both the Nigeria government and people appear to have collectively consented to suffer the perpetual damage inflicted on them by massive dumping of fake and substandard products mainly from Asia on our soil.

There is no doubt that Nigeria ranks first among the countries  with substandard dumps such as drugs food and beverages, articles, electrical materials, electronics, household appliances and equipment, building materials, automobiles, spare parts and tyres to mention but a few.

It is sad that this absurdity appears to be under-captured and under estimated by both government and the general public. Part of the reason is that we have become accustomed to abnormalities and oddities. 

In Nigeria, lives and properties are lost due to building collapse or fire outbreak occasioned by substandard building and electrical materials; many lives are lost every day on our roads as a result of substandard or twisted tyres, fake brake oil and other substandard parts. 

Nigerians are not getting value for their money because they probably spend five times more replacing and maintaining these products because of their inferior quality, a clear case of huge economic waste and losses.

Dumping constitutes a substantial disincentive to indigenous production and investment in Nigeria. Massive dumping is responsible for failure of many small and medium scale industries in Nigeria. 

This substantially retards our effort towards developing a robust and sustainable industrial base that will actualize our dreams in terms of industrialization and employment generation.

Massive dumping of substandard products constitutes undue pressure on our environment. As a result of waste generated through unnecessary high frequency of replacements caused by use of poor quality products, our environment is always littered and overburdened with replaced and unusable items and packing waste. 

The chain effects of environmental pressure and pollution from this problem as they relate to our farmland marine and aquatic life, blockage of our canals and drainage channels are monumental.

This is a big drain on our economy. Some law-abiding entrepreneurs even lose out under the undue competitive advantages enjoyed by the perpetrators of this  economic crime. Sometimes these entrepreneurs end up in the hands of the EFCC as financial defaulters. 

Some fraudulent business people including Chinese, Indian, Lebanese companies and their Nigerian collaborators sometimes indulge in shipping different qualities of the same product to different importers in Nigeria in order to create artificial competition among themselves to the undue advantage of the exporter and at the expense of our lives and economy.

Dumping has diminished and deformed our sense of quality. Today, Nigerians are more ‘price’ driven than quality. People tend to be more concerned about ‘’what price’’ than value or quality. This dangerous trend is even affecting the quality of our locally manufactured goods. 

Our low quality consciousness which is partly caused by dumping is one of the factors responsible for the poor competitiveness of our locally manufactured products at the international market. Manufacturers are more concerned about survival than quality in the face of the huge pressure presented by dumping.

Dumping creates strong pressure on our foreign exchange portfolio. It constitutes a lot of pressure on our lean foreign exchange earnings because in most cases, the rubbish must be paid for. It therefore has a significant element of capital flight.

In all these, we end up sacrificing lives and so much of our hard earned resources, fatally injuring our economy while growing the GDP and employment index of the exporting countries of these rubbish as well as enriching the pockets of the partners-in-crime including Nigerians and their foreign collaborators.

Therefore there is no justification for the expulsion of SON from our sea and airports. In the face of the danger and threat posed by fake and substandard products flooding our markets, SON must be allowed to return to our sea ports and airports. It is a well-known fact that over 80% of substandard products imported into Nigeria come through the sea and airports. 

If the above points are correct, why is SON not allowed to operate in the Ports which actually present more economical, convenient and efficient environment for result oriented operation? 

In the Port, SON enjoys great synergy working in partner-ship with other agencies of government including customs and security agents. 

Outside the Port these agenciesare working alone with very limited capacity in terms of staff, logistics, security and facilities.

It is true that the security challenges in our country today have also placedsignificant limitation on the capacity and reach of SON. Outside the Port, SON’s activities are seriously hindered due to poor security and the attendant risk of trying to apprehend offenders.

 But returning to the Ports, SON must raise its bar on the issue of the quality, professionalism and integrity of its staff. 

Focus should be more on proactive measures and prevention followed by appropriate penalty like destruction of the imported sub-standard goods and punishment of the criminal as this sometimes end up in huge economic losses that on some occasion trigger a chain of deep rooted negative economic consequences including business failure, bank default and job losses among others. 

For instance, it is  in the overall interest of our socio-economic system  that a criminal is discouraged from embarking on importation of defective electric  cables than catching him  and destroying N50million worth of such product after he borrowed from the bank to effect the transaction.

Less time and resources should be spent on paper work, registrations and renewals and processing of payments by developing a more efficient and cost effective wayof achieving  the required result. Energy and resources released or saved should be directed to greater enforcement of preventive measures including education, public enlightenment, intelligence gathering, surveillance and monitoring.

SON should strongly engage major stake holders including all the arms of Government, the business community, the consumers and the general public by bringing to the front burner the litany of challenges militating against the war on dumping in Nigeria. 

For instance the Act establishing SON is prostate and comprehensively deficient when it comes to punishment regarding offences relating to standards. It is baffling, that the highest penalty for violation of the law on standards is one year imprisonment or fine of N1000. 

How come our legislators have not bothered to increase the punishment for buying and sale of sub-standard products in Nigeria.

As part of its proactive strategy, SON should take the war on sub-standard products to China, the major country of manufacture of majority of these fake and inferior products. First, the relationship between SON and its service providers like Intertek and Cotecna should be reviewed to impose serious penalty on these providers for contractual default. 

There should be a new arrangement which makes clear provision for holding the service providers responsible for failure to perform as stipulated in the contract in terms of assessment of quality of goods coming to Nigeria. 

It may be more useful for SON to consider sending some Nigerian quality experts to China to do this work instead of relying fully on these international service providers that are becoming unreliable and expensive.

SON should also focus more on result than ritual on the issue of bureaucracy as it relates to SONCAP at the country of shipment.

Emphasis should be directed more on the assessment of the quality of the system producing the product and its irreversible capacity to produce quality and standard product than on the product itself. For instance for a factory to qualify to be issued  a product certificate, its Quality Assurance System should have been assessed, audited and dully  certified indicating that any product that passes through that system is ok, quality wise. 

The factory should also commit itself by undertaking that any product bearing its  name or identity as manufacturer must have passed through the Quality Assurance System for which it was certified. 

This certificate should be renewed every year and the manufacturer should bear the major part of the cost of processing or renewal of the certificate. In this way, the cumbersome and costly system which requires that SONCAP certificate be issued for every shipment will stop. 

By this way, the quality Assessment Professionals like Intertek or Cotecna jointly working with some Nigerian experts will only be engaged at the point assessment of the factory’s Quality Assurance System.  This system will be both cheaper and more effective.

Back home in Nigeria, the government should invest more on building of accredited laboratories as well as training and retraining of SON personnel to deepen their professional as well as strengthen our facility capacities. 

It is only when these things are in place that both the manufacturer/exporter and service providers can even take us serious because it will be clear to them that we have the capacity both in human resources and facility to randomly collect sample and test any item or product shipped to us and checkmate any act of short changing or compromise from their end.

It is very apposite now for President Buhari government to convene a summit on fake and substandard products in Nigeria in which all Stakeholders-Government to convene a summit on fake and substandard products in Nigeria in which all Stakeholders-Government, lawmakers, the Judiciary, Business people, Consumers, Consumers Protection Agencies, the Public and Private Sectors, Embassies of major exporting countries, SON, NAFDAC, Customs, Immigration, MAN, and other related agencies will attend and chart a new path to tackling the hydra-headedmenace of substandard products in our market.

Meanwhile, let the Buhari government do the needful by first returning SON to the Ports where it primarily belongs and was more effective. Expecting SON from the Airports is like expelling the Customs from the Ports or asking Immigration to vacate the borders. 

It is really funny and to some extent makes a mockery of our sense of judgment. It is hoped that the Buhari government will bring SON back to the Airports.

Uche Anigbata is a business executive.

Kidnapped journalist freed in Nigeria

A senior Nigerian journalist who was seized from her home last month has been released, her newspaper and police said on Saturday.

The Vanguard newspaper announced on its website that Donu Kogbara, who was kidnapped on August 30, was no longer being held but gave no further details.

Ahmed Mohammed, police spokesperson in the southern Rivers state, told AFP: "Donu Kogbara has regained her freedom.

"She was released some minutes after two [Saturday morning]. She is fine. I was with her in her house in Port Harcourt until seven this morning.

"The investigation is still ongoing on the motives for her abduction but we would not want to go into details at this stage."

Unknown gunmen abducted Kogbara, who has written a column for the Vanguard daily for 30 years and also worked for British newspapers the Daily Mail and Sunday Times plus broadcasters the BBC and Channel 4.

The motive for her capture was not clear but her columns have previously aired strong opinions on politics and social issues in Nigeria.

The Committee for the Protection of Journalists said last week she had previously called for employees of former president Goodluck Jonathan to be "rounded up, one by one, and arrested, named, blamed, shamed and jailed".

Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers state, is the hub of the oil-rich Niger delta and seen as a stronghold of Jonathan, who hails from neighbouring Bayelsa state.

Kidnapping for ransom is common in the region and in the past has even seen family members of serving government ministers seized.

Most victims are set free unharmed once the ransom has been paid.

Jonathan, Dieziani, Obuah implicated in $6.9 million “campaign

"Details of the financial heist committed under former President Goodluck Jonathan is gradually coming to into the open as the probe instituted into the rape of financial resources of Nigeria under his administration by his successor, President Muhammadu Buhari gathers steam."

Documents made available to journalists yesterday (Saturday) by sources at the presidential villa indicated that one of the scandalous spending now engaging the attention of investigators was alleged purchase of three mobile stages, costing $6.9 million in a deal in which the former President, his Chief Security Officer, Gordon Obuah; and former Minister of Petroleum,Diezani Alison-Madueke have been implicated.

The funds, according to sources, was withdrawn from one of the numerous accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC to buy three 40-feet mobile stages for use by the former President during public events.

But preliminary investigations was said to have revealed that the costs of the stages were not just grossly overstated, the funds were diverted into private account of a company owned by Obuah.

Investigators noted for instance that not even big musicians in advanced countries would pay as much as over $2m per stage while process of procurement also did not follow due process as neither the Auditor-General nor the Accountant-General was involved in the entire process.

Documents made available by presidential sources indicated that the suspicious transaction began with a memo by Jonathan’s CSO to the former President on October 17, 2011, asking for the purchase of three mobile stages.

Obuah had in the memo recalled his earlier discussion with the former President on the security implication of his public appearances and his subsequent directive on the need to procure a secured presidential platform.

The investigators discovered that the former President approved the request on the same day, indicating that he did not seek any financial advice or purchase order reviews.

The former President had in the memo asked the then Minister for Petroleum Resources to fund the purchase of the three stages.

Following Jonathan’s memo, documents made available to journalists revealed, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Administrative Matters, Matt Aikhionbere, had on the same 17 Oct. wrote another letter requesting the minister to take action on the request to purchase the stages for $6.9m.

NNPC, according to investigators, made the funds available a few weeks after through payment voucher, number 3840336.
The Corporation directed that the funds should be sourced from one of its accounts in New York CITIBANK with sort code CITIUS 33, and Routing number 021000089.

The investigators said they discovered that the funds was first routed from the US bank to an NNPC account in Zenith Bank account number 5000026593, Maitama branch in Abuja, from where the money it was sent to a private account.

The $6.9miilion was promptly paid on Nov. 29, 2011 into a private account belonging to the former CSO.

“The sum of $6.9m was then credited to a Sterling Bank account of one J. Marine Logistics Limited, Abuja, a company the investigators said belonged to Obuah.

The investigators said the CSO has not been able to show proof of the purchase of the stages while his bosses at the SSS also complained that he overreached his power in making the request.

The procedure, as indicated in the investigation documents was that the CSO would have informed the service, which will then review the situation and take the necessary actions.

The investigators added that apart from the clear case of embezzlement, multiple infractions of the law were also committed in the award of the contract by Jonathan.

“The former President approved the procurement of the mobile platforms without due process and bypassing the Procurement Act; neither was there an appropriation in the 2011 budget for such facility,” the document quoted investigators as saying.

The investigators also added that neither the then Minister of Finance nor the Director-General of the Budget Office was aware of the deal.

They also noted the $6.9 million phoney deal is just one of the several instances, in which the Jonathan government used secret NNPC accounts to fund phony projects intended to benefit cronies of the administration.

“Already, the CSO has been questioned over his role and activities in the Jonathan Presidency,” the investigators noted in the document.

Source:PM NEWS

Farmers' Market proposed for Akinale, Ogun State

A farmers' market, to serve as outlet for organic agriculture products in Nigeria, is to be established at Akinale, south of Abeokuta, Ewekoro local government, Ogun State.

The CEO of Africa 2000, a United Kingdom based Charity company and promoter of theproject, Mr. Femi Renner and the Traditional ruler of Akinale, Oba Olufemi Adewunmi Ogunleye, were engaged in preliminary discussions at a London Hotel, penultimate week-end, on the feasibility of the project.

Mr Renner said the proposed market for Akinale would be one of four of its type earmarked for Nigeria under the Africa Industrialization program designed to promote sustainable development and ultimate eradication of poverty in the continent, adding that Akinale's market would be devoted for promotion and exploitation of organic agriculture and food products for local and export outlets.

The Africa Industrialization program, it was further explained, would encourage communities to organise themselves into registered cooperatives to own and run various food manufacturing, processing and packaging units, exploiting the resources locally available to them to produce world class products.

At the meeting which was also attended by associate interests like consultants in community development, agricultural bio-technologists and geo-partial communication specialists, Oba Ogunleye said Akinale is a naturally endowed land for agriculture which has been the traditional vocation of the founders since two centuries ago and that it remains a veritable resource for sustainable organic food production for local and export consumption.

He announced that farmers in Akinale are already in synergy with specialists in organic agriculture to improve their skills towards sustainable organic food production for healthy living and export marketing.

Akinale is 23 kilometer south of Abeokuta with regular power supply from the national grid, pipe-borne water and is about 45 minutes drive from the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos .

Besides series of cottage industries like integrated farming scheme, poultries, animal husbandry and food processing, the Ogun state government has established a model secondary school in the locale to enhance educational development of the youth. In addition, a federal government built dam to promote rural water supply and aquatic agriculture as well as a proposed cargo airport are within the corridor of the town.

British accountant asks court to quash $8.8m fraud charge

A British chartered accountant, Deepak Khilnani, last Wednesday asked an Ikeja High Court to quash the $8.8 million fraud charge preferred against him by the Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Khilnani made the request in a preliminary notice of objection filed by his counsel, Mr Kayode Ajekigbe, before Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Khilnani and one  Sushil Chandra are facing a a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy, cheating, stealing and false representation.

The DPP had charged them for allegedly duping his Nigerian partner, Green Fuels Limited, to the tune of $8.8 million in 2008.

The prosecution alleged that they “fraudulently tricked Green Fuels Limited to pay greater sum for machinery purchased from Gentec Limited than it would have paid for such machinery.”

They were also accused of making false statement to the Corporate Affairs Commission in order to facilitate the fraud. 

The judge had fixed Wednesday for their arraignment following the failure of their counsel to produce them in court on July 31.

However at the resumption of proceedings, the Director of the DPP, Mrs Idowu Alakija told the court of the prosecution's intention to amend the proof of evidence by substitution.

Alakija told the court that the prosecution had also received information from the Police that they had carried out further investigation on the matter which might be useful to the case.

She further confirmed that the preliminary notice of objection was served on the prosecution on Aug.11.

Alakija therefore asked the court for a substantial time to respond to the application, hear from the police and also amend the proof of evidence.

Responding, Ajekigbe said the defence had filed a preliminary objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the charge.

He said: "The Information dated April 30 has breached a cardinal rule of drafting charges in that the charges do not contain the essential ingredients of the offences charged.

"The proofs of evidence filed by the prosecution do not disclose the offences alleged against the applicants in counts 2,3 and 4 of the criminal charge.

"The initiation of the Information by the Office of the Attorney-General of Lagos State was done without regard to public interest, interest of justice and the need to prevent abuse of legal process."  

According to him, the charge constitutes an abuse of the process of the court because it attempts to criminalise a matter bordering on contractual arrangement.

Ajekigbe further argued that the charge was fundamentally defective in the sense that the alleged offences contained therein were charged under a repealed and non-existent law.

On the failure of the accused persons to appear in court, he argued that there was nothing in the judicial law that made it mandatory for them to be in court for the hearing of the application.

Following their submissions, the judge adjourned the matter till Nov.10 for hearing of the application.