BREAKING NEWS, Political Briefs
–
IT WAS a major victory for Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, suspended governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, against the federal government on Thursday, April 3. A federal high court sitting in Lagos, declared his arrest and seizure of his international passport on February 20, unlawful. Justice Ibrahim Buba who delivered the judgement awarded Sanusi N50 million as damages and ordered the government to tender a public apology to him. The suspended CBN governor had taken the government to court saying government had abused his rights. Respondents in the suit were the attorney-general of the federation, inspector-general of Police and Department of State Services, DSS.
However, the DSS, through its counsel, served notice of appeal against the judgement on Thursday night. Marilyn Ogar, deputy director, public relations of DSS, who confirmed the decision but did not give details said in an interview: “We are appealing the judgment immediately,”
Peace Efforts at Crossroads
RECONCILIATION efforts between farmers and Fulani herdsmen seems to have suffered setback following the killing of 19 herdsmen at a funeral in a settlement in Keana town in Keana Local Government, Nasarawa State, on Thursday, April 3. The incident occurred at a Fulani settlement on Giza Road, Gidan Ardo Sodangi axis in the local government. Reports said all was tense in some parts of the state in the aftermath of the killing.
Residents alleged that soldiers carried out the killing. One eye-witness alleged that some soldiers stormed the house of Ardo Sodangi, a community leader in the Fulani settlement on Giza Road, and opened fire on mourners. The source said 15 died at the funeral, while the other four died in the hospital. He also claimed that the military men invaded Secretariat Road in Keana where they allegedly killed two more herdsmen behind the Federal Government Girls College. “The soldiers stormed the settlement where the mourners had converged on the house of the Fulani Community leader, Ardo Sodangi Saudi. The mourners had assumed that the soldiers were around to sympathise with them only for them to open fire. This led to the instant killing of 15 people on the spot. Others died while being evacuated to Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital in Lafia. No one suspected such bizarre killings because Keana area had witnessed peaceful coexistence between farmers and Fulani herdsmen. We cannot understand why these troops invaded a peaceful area,” the source said.
Corroborating some of the allegations, Sale Bayari, national secretary of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, MACBAN, and member of the Fulani Herdsmen-Farmers Peace and Reconciliation Committee raised by the inspector-general of police, said the herdsmen were in the settlement, which is less than 10 kilometers to Keana to mourn an old man who died and they were just finishing the burial, the military opened fire on them. “They shot over 20 but 15 had been buried. On Monday, we began a reconciliation tour of 10 states. We had visited Benue and Nasarawa states. But we barely got to the third state (Taraba) on Thursday when this incident happened. We thought we had achieved a ceasefire only for this military intervention to draw us back. This incident will affect the ongoing peace process,” Bayari said.
He however appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan to save Fulani herdsmen from being made military target for elimination. He warned: “The consequence will be grievous because about 87 percent of the beef being consumed in this country is provided by us. For this kind of jungle justice to be meted out is unfair and inhuman.”
Chris Olukolade, a major-general and director of defence information at the Defence Headquarters, said no such report had been received but promised that the matter would be investigated.
Oduah’s Five-Hour Ordeal
STELLA Oduah, former aviation minister, was grilled for about five by officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Thursday, April 3. The former minister was teh guest of the anti-graft agency for r her involvement in the controversial purchase of N255 million bullet cars which eventually led to her sack on February 11, this year.
After the five-hour interrogation, Oduah was given a provisional bail pending the time she would be recalled for further questioning. It was unclear at press time when Oduah will return to the commission for more questioning. But a team of the EFCC officials was said to have started to analyse Odua’s response to identify areas for further clarification. It was gathered that Oduah arrived quietly at the EFCC Headquarters in Abuja at about 10am, and did not leave until about 3:30pm.
The EFCC was also said in receipt of the reports of an administrative committee set up by President Goodluck Jonathan and House of Representatives committee on aviation on the car scam, to guide the commission in its investigations. Prior to her sack, the president in October 2013, set up a three-man administrative panel of inquiry into the car scandal. The panel comprised Sali Bello, a former head of service of the federation; Sambo Dasuki, a retired colonel and national security adviser and Dick Iruenebere, a retired air vice-marshal. The report of the inquiry was not made public. But that of the House of Representatives committee on aviation that investigated the scandal was. The committee listed 12 infractions against Oduah and made some far-reaching recommendations, including sacking of the minister.
More Troubles for Drexel
THERE appears to be more trouble for DREXEL Technologies Limited, the outsourcing company engaged by to conduct recruitment interview for the Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS, for March 15, 2014. Human Capital Providers Association of Nigeria, HuCaPAN, an umbrella body of outsourcing companies in Nigeria alleged that Drexel was not registered for such a responsibility. HuCaPAN said was the outcome of its investigation from the ministry of labour and productivity.
The association also faulted the claims by Abba Moro, minister of Interior, that the company passed through the ministerial tender board, declaring that the four companies shortlisted before Drexel were given the job were not registered by the federal government.
Neye Enemigan, president of HuCaPAN, in a chat with journalists at a national workshop on “Strengthening the role of private employment agencies, PEAs in Human resources development”, jointly organised by the federal ministry of labour and productivity and HuCaPAN, in Lagos, lamented that the government could engage the services of a company not known to law. “The unfortunate death was avoidable. It is something that should not have happened in any civilized country. It is a shame and for me I feel very sad. I express my condolence to the family. The outsourcing company is not our member. But what is worse is that we have taken pain to investigate and we have found out this outsourcing company is not even registered to recruit. For example, the Minister of Internal Affair, Mr. Abba Moro said that they followed due process and that they shortlisted four companies; Pyrich Global Limited, Bosmos Infotech Limited, Rosebonny Technologies Limited and Drexel Technologies Limited, and that all of them went through the ministerial tenders board.
“We have investigated and found out that all the four companies are not registered to recruit. In other word, the one that got the job, Drexel Technologies Limited is not registered, licenced or authorised by law to engage in that exercise. By Nigerian labour law and to be specific, section 23, 24, 25 and 71 of the Labour Act laws of the federation of Nigeria, 2004 makes it clear that the minister of labour and productivity, will licence any organisation that is a recruiter. So, if you have not been licenced by the minister of labour and productivity as a recruiter, what you have doing is illegal. It is a shame that the federal government will engage a company that is not known by law to carry out this type of exercise on Nigerians.”
About 20 job seekers were killed in the exercise nationwide, March 15.
— Apr. 14, 2014 @ 01:00 GMT
Tags: Abba Moro Ardo Sodangi Saudi aviation minister Central Bank of Nigeria Chris Olukolade Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital Defence Headquarters Department of State Services Dick Iruenebere DREXEL Technologies Limited Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC Fulani Community Fulani herdsmen Fulani Herdsmen-Farmers Peace and Reconciliation Committee Gidan Ardo Sodangi HuCaPAN Human Capital Providers Association of Nigeria Marilyn Ogar Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria Neye Enemigan police Sali Bello Sambo Dasuki Stella Oduah sweet victory
