National Assembly Blocked Obasanjo’s Attempt To Introduce Stiffer Laws Against Corruption – Atiku

As reactions continue to trail the mild judgement of an Abuja High Court in the case of John Yakubu Yesufu, a former Director of Police Pension Office, former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, has also reacted, saying, via his Facebook page, that the country’s Legislature needs to come up with tougher sanctions for graft and corrupt practices, adding that only such would successfully tackle the high rate of corruption in the country.

According to the statement, “There is a need for the Federal Government and National Assembly to make the anti-corruption law stiffer to serve the purpose of deterrence against white-collar criminals in the country… The outrage that greeted the two-year sentence passed on a pension crime convict has brought to light the major defects of the anti-corruption law.

“Former President Olusegun Obasanjo submitted a stiffer draft law which, however, was watered down by the then National Assembly… Rather than trading blames, Nigerians should also look at the weaknesses in these laws and call for urgent review of the laws. The purpose of punishment is deterrence and the ultimate desire to produce remorse in the hearts and minds of offenders.

“This, however, could not be achieved when the punishment is made so light as to make criminality attractive… A situation where the majority believes the law is designed against the poor or petty offenders is not too good for the credibility of the anti-corruption war… The recent outrage over the light conviction of the pension offender could send the wrong signal to the international community about the seriousness or sincerity of Nigeria to fight corruption.

“The existing penal provisions of the anti-corruption law make it impossible to impose punishments that fit the gravity of the offences committed by white-collar criminals… Having played an active role in the formulation of the anti-corruption laws and creation of the EFCC, I believe that more than a decade after, it was about time the provisions of the law is reviewed to strengthen the commission and the anti-graft war.”

TalkOfNaija

The 'kindly' Auschwitz commander who sent youngsters to gas chambers then went home to play hide and seek with his children

• Book uses testimonies from women who worked in homes of SS officers
• Reveals 'ordinary lives' of men responsible for mass murder
• Maid said camp's commander Rudolf Hoess was 'kind to animals'
• Another reveals that a senior officer's wife had 'numerous affairs'

  By Allan Hall In Berlin

'Kindly': Rudolf Hoess, commandant of Auschwitz Concentration camp, (pictured here at his war crimes trial) was kind to animals and to his children according to a new book

By day he ordered the deaths of thousands of people - but at home he was a loving father and husband who enjoyed playing games with his children.
These are the two faces of Rudolf Hoess, the ruthless commandant of Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland during World War II as remembered by the Polish maid who once worked in his family's house.
Her memories of life in the Hoess home are revealed in a new book which has given a chilling insight into the family lives of Nazi officers at the infamous prison camp whose day jobs involved mass murder.
'The Private Life of the SS in Auschwitz' by historian Piotr Setkiewicz attempts to give a human face to inhumane people in those hours when they were off duty in one of the world's most horrific places.

The testimony about the killers is unique because it comes from the Polish maids assigned to keep their houses and witnessed at first hand their interaction with their families on a day to day basis.
Hoess, who was hanged after the war at Auschwitz by the Polish authorities for overseeing the extermination of at least 1.2 million people and the enslavement of at least that number, was obsessively kind to animals and his five children.
He would have no moral qualms about ordering the gassing of child inmates of his camp, but in his garden he would play hide-and-seek with his five children and recited poetry to them.

Shocking: The book contains the memories of Polish maids who once served the SS officers at Auschwitz. Here Hoess (centre) socialises with (left) Dr Josef Mengele and (right) Josef Kramer (Commandant of Birkenau concentration camp)

Relaxing: Enjoying a cigarette, Hoess does not display a hint of guilt or concern, despite regularly sending thousands to their death

Maid Janina Szczurek, 32, said; 'He tucked his children into bed every night and he kissed his wife each morning. He wrote poems about the 'beauty of Auschwitz.'

'On one occasion, the children came to me and asked me to sew bands with signs for them, just like the ones worn by the prisoners. I was not aware of what the consequences would be from this.

 

'Klaus put a 'capo [trusty]' band on his sleeve, and the other children had the coloured triangle sewn to their clothing.

'The happy children, running around the garden, met their father, who noticed the signs and took them into the house. I don't know what happened but he was not pleased.'

Included among the stories are those of Hoess's deputy Karl Fritsch and Gerhard Palitzsch who personally killed hundreds of prisoners at the Wall of Death - the execution site where inmates were murdered.

Horror: The main gate of Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, which was liberated by the Russians, in January 1945. The sign over the gate reads: 'Arbeit macht frei' (Work Sets You Free)

Revelations: Gerhard Palitzsch (right) carried out executions of prisoners by shooting them against a wall in Auschwitz. The book reveals that his wife had numerous affairs

Domestic: The wife and children of Auschwitz SS-Unterschafuhrer (junior leader) Ernst Scholz. The new book gives an insight into the family lives of those whose day jobs was to assist in mass murder

Palitzsch illustrates perfectly the duality of the lives of the SS at Auschwitz.

At the wall of death he beat prisoners and tormented them before they were killed - while off duty, he was obsessed with being a 'good father' to his children and made them tea and bread.
A portrait of him was supplied by Helena Klysowa, his 19-year-old Polish maid, who testifed to authorities after the war that the Palitzch family 'lived quietly and they loved each other. They didn't receive guests, they didn't organise drinking parties.
'I arrived each day at 8.00 am. I looked after the children. I would go on walks with the girl. When Palitzsch was at home, I could not speak to the prisoners who worked in the house or garden.
'The prisoners themselves warned me against this.They were afraid that he would write down their number and they would die in the camp.

Family: Dr Horst Fischer (right) with his wife. He was one of the SS doctors responsible for deciding which Jews would live or die when they arrived at Birkenau. After the war he was tried and executed

Loved ones: Auschwitz doctor Werna Rohde with her daughter (left). The wife and daughter of SS-Unterschafuhrer (junior leader) Ernst Scholz are pictured right

Revealing: The book casts new light on the ordinary lives of SS officers who worked at Auschwitz, including their relationships with their wives and children

Perspective: The book's author said he wanted to examine the lives of the prison camp staff in an 'unemotional way.' Here, an SS officer plays with his pet dog

'I spoke to them anyway and found that the terror of the camp was Palitzsch. I could not believe it. At home, he was a wonderful man, so kind and loving to his children who he gave tea and bread to. He loved his children madly.'
Palitzsch died in 1944 after being transferred to the Russian front.
SS officer Wolfgang Guessgen, who took turns at 'the ramp' selecting those Jews who were to be gassed upon arrival and those who were to be allowed to live as slave labourers, was a cuckolded man whose wife cheated on him at every turn according to the book. He rewarded her with beatings.

Danuta Rzempiel, who was 16 when she worked at his home on the camp periphery, said; 'Mrs. Guessgen was not a faithful wife.

'When he went away somewhere,various SS men would appear at the house, or a trusty prisoner from the locksmith shop who won her favour.
'She was not embarrassed by my presence at all and would lead her guests straight to her bedroom.
'It would happen that Guessgen, upon returning home, would find one of these guests. Then he would order me to go do the laundry or to the basement, and when I returned, the guest would not be in the house.

Two sides to the story: The Private Life Of The SS, left, takes a unique look at the men who oversaw the death and torture of inmates at Auschwitz, many of whom were children, pictured right

'Mrs Guessgen was often covered in bruises, so I guessed that it was Mr Guessgen.
'This didn't seen to dissuade her, and she exploited every opportunity. It got to the point that Guessgen shot a certain SS man, and as punishment, he was transferred to Oranienburg, and shortly after from there to the front.'

Other stories feature the domestic lives of doctors who carried out selection processes of Jews and who performed horrific experiments, as well as the day-to-day lives of camp guards and lower SS ranks.

'The purpose of the book is to try and show the lives of SS men objectively,' Mr Setkiewicz told local media.
'Their image has forever been written in dark colours and in the pursuit of objective truth I wanted to view the subject unemotionally,' he said.

Punishment: Moments before Hoess is executed for his crimes, in Auschwitz - where he once had the power of life and death over thousands of prisoners

MailOnline

Even a North Korean dictator needs a cigarette break! Kim Jong-un stops off 'for smoke in HOSPITAL

• Dictator questioned staff about hospital's cleanliness
• He told them hospitals should be 'neat and splendid'
• South Korea warns 'don't make the mistake of a third nuclear test'
• North Korea reported to be under martial law and ready for war
• Country's third nuclear weapon test expected imminently

By Sean O'hare
Kim Jong-un has been pictured smoking a cigarette while inspecting a newly built hospital in North Korea, as his country gears up for war.
Mr Kim reportedly asked questions to staff about the cleanliness of the Taesongsan General Hospital built by the People's Army in Pyongyang and said that hospitals in general should be 'neat and splendid.'
The latest picture of the young dictator comes amid reports North Korea has been placed under martial law with the leader telling his troops to 'be ready for a war.'
South Korea recently warned the North not to make the mistake of conducting a third nuclear test and its president summoned top security officials for an unscheduled meeting on Thursday, amid signs the rival was moving ahead with preparations.

Mr Kim reportedly asked questions to staff about the cleanliness of the hospital and said that hospitals in general should be 'neat and splendid', while touring with a cigarette in hand

In an emergency meeting of his top defence and security officials on Saturday,Kim Jong-Un issued a series of orders that included the conclusion of preparations for a new nuclear test, the Joongang Daily reported.
The decision to press on with North Korea's third nuclear test comes despite international pressure to refrain from doing so.
South Korean protesters yesterday wore masks of the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, right, and his wife Ri Sol Ju during a rally in Seoul against a possible nuclear test.

 

Earlier this month the US and China made a deal under which the UN Security Council will expand existing sanctions against North Korea for staging a ballistic missile test.
North Korea has gradually become more isolated and unpredictable since it started its nuclear weapons testing programme.
The fear among the west is that repeated testing will eventually give the country the technology to fire long range nuclear missiles to mainland America.
Whether the stress of international pressure explains why Mr Kim is seen smoking in the hospital is unclear, but what is for sure is Mr Kim's penchant for a smoke.

Relieved: Kim Jong Un smokes a cigarette at the General Satellite Control and Command Centre after the launch of the Unha-3 (Milky Way 3) rocket carrying the second version of Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite

In December a set of photographs were released showing him smoking moments after North Korea successfully launched a satellite into space, an act that earned him virtual global condemnation, alienating even long-standing allies such as China and Russia.
Despite the success, experts say North Korea is years from even having a shot at developing reliable missiles that could bombard the American mainland and other distant targets.
A missile program is built on decades of systematic, intricate testing, something extremely difficult for economically struggling Pyongyang, which faces guaranteed sanctions and world disapproval each time it stages an expensive launch.
North Korea will need larger and more dependable missiles, and more advanced nuclear weapons, to threaten U.S. shores, though it already poses a shorter-range missile threat to its neighbors.

South Korean protesters wear masks of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, right, and his wife Ri Sol Ju during a rally in Seoul yesterday against a possible nuclear test by North Korea

MailOnline

Victoria's Secret worker scarred for life when niqab-wearing attacker threw acid in her face as she walked home from shop

By Emma Reynolds

• Naomi Oni, 20, was almost blinded and will need years of skin grafts
• She was heading back to her flat from the bus stop when she was injured
• Had been talking to her boyfriend on the phone after a late shift
• Says the apparently random attack has 'destroyed' her life
• The shop assistant no longer wants to go out in public
• She was inspired to share her story by acid-attack victim Katie Piper

A Victoria's Secret shop assistant was scarred for life when a mysterious figure wearing a niqab threw acid in her face as she walked home from work.
Naomi Oni, 20, was left with severe burns on her head, neck, arms, legs and body after she was attacked in Dagenham, east London.
She has spent the past month having skin grafts and almost went blind, although she has now recovered her vision in her left eye and has partial sight in her right.

Shocking: Naomi Oni, 20, was on the phone to her boyfriend when someone wearing a niqab threw acid at her

Her attacker was dressed like a Muslim woman in a niqab, so Ms Oni could not see their face. Police have no idea who was responsible for the vicious attack, or why they did it.

 

The shop assistant - who is sole carer for her disabled mother Marian Yalekhue, 52 - was making the five-minute journey back to their flat from the bus stop when she heard someone behind her.

Hidden: Police have not managed to identify who did attacked Ms Oni because they were wearing a niqab (file picture)

She had just finished a late shift at the Westfield Stratford store and was on the phone to her boyfriend Ato Owede, 23, at 12.40am.
'I’d been working a late shift and was talking to my boyfriend about what we were going to do for New Year when I saw this Muslim woman wearing a niqab covering her face,' she told the Evening Standard.
'I thought it was a bit strange at that time of night, but she didn’t say anything and I kept on walking.
'Then I felt a splash on my face. It burned and I screamed out. I started running and screaming, holding my face, all the way home. I didn’t look back.
'I got home and I was screaming and banging on the door. I was hysterical. Luckily my godmother, who is a pharmacist, was at home with my mum and she helped me and kept dipping my face in water and trying to calm me down until the police and ambulance got there.
'I was in shock. Saying: "Who would do that? Who would do that?" How could anyone do this?'.
She has released the shocking images of her disfigured face in an appeal for help to catch the attacker whose identity was concealed behind the Muslim women’s dress which completely covers the face apart from the eyes.
Ms Oni decided to speak out after police failed to establish any motive behind the December 30 attack or identify a suspect.
She said the attack had 'destroyed' her life and left her too afraid to venture out or even show her face in public.
'I look in the mirror and it just isn’t me. I’ll never look the same again,' she said. 'I’ve always been outgoing and confident in my job and in my personal life, used to getting attention for the way I dress or my hair, but now I don’t want anyone looking at me.

Devastating: Ms Oni had just finished a shift at Westfield Stratford shopping centre and was minutes from home

Life-altering: A woman walks past a shopping centre Victoria's Secret shop similar to the one where Ms Oni worked before the attack

'I don’t want people to see me in public. I don’t want to get the Tube or the bus. If I have to go to the hospital I take a taxi.
'I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to go back to my job. I was planning to go to college in September to study media and fashion, but I don’t even know if I’ll be able to do that.'
The store assistant has been told she faces months if not years of skin grafts and further plastic surgery and even then is likely to be left with severe facial scarring.
She and her mother say they are too afraid to go back to their council flat in Dagenham. They are currently sleeping on a friend’s sofa-bed after turning down the offer to be rehoused in Tottenham on safety grounds.
Ms Oni said she had been inspired by the story of Katie Piper, the model who launched a charity and spoke out publicly after falling victim to an acid attack orchestrated by her boyfriend, but that she would never feel safe with her attacker still at large.
'Even with the support of my family and friends and boyfriend I feel very alone,' she said. 'Nothing is going to be same anymore.'
A Scotland Yard spokesman said acid attacks were 'extremely rare' and that detectives were keeping an 'open mind as to the motive.'
Officers from Barking and Dagenham are investigating. No arrests have been made and inquiries are ongoing.

• Anyone with information should contact police on 0203 276 1058 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111
• MailOnline

CFR: Hillary Rodham Clinton's Last Speech as Secretary of State

Hillary Cliton

Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered her final remarks as U.S. Secretary of State yesterday at the Council on Foreign Relations’ Washington office. In her speech, Secretary Clinton reflected on her four years leading the State Department and announced that President Obama made the office of Global Women’s Issues, created under her leadership in 2009, permanent this week.

“[T]he jury is in, the evidence is absolutely indisputable: If women and girls everywhere were treated as equal to men in rights, dignity, and opportunity, we would see political and economic progress everywhere,” she
said. “So this is not only a moral issue, which, of course, it is. It is an economic issue and a security issue, and it is the unfinished business of the 21st century. It therefore must be central to U.S. foreign policy.”

Clinton also took questions on America’s standing in the world, the State Department’s budget, immigration, and redefining American priorities.

“As President Obama has said, the old postwar architecture is crumbling under the weight of new threats. So the geometry of global power has become more distributed and diffuse as the challenges we face have become more complex and cross-cutting,” she said. “Simply put, we have to be smart about how we use our power, not because we have less of it. Indeed, the might of our military, the size of our economy, the influence of our diplomacy and the creative energy of our people remain unrivaled. No, it's because as the world has changed, so too have the levers of power that can most effectively shape international affairs. I've come to think of it like this. Truman and Atcheson were building the Parthenon, with classical geometry and clear lines. The pillars were a handful of big institutions and alliances dominated by major powers. And that structure delivered unprecedented peace and prosperity. But time takes its toll even on the greatest edifice.

And we do need a new architecture for this new world, more Frank Ghery than formal Greek.”

 PSN

Edo State Government Worried Over Increase In Number Of Beggars, Other Destitute People

Edo State health officials have decried what they described as the explosion in the population of beggars in the state capital, Benin.

According to the Director of Primary Health Care, Edo State Ministry of Health, Dr. Casmir Amebenomo, during a one-day workshop on “Contraceptive Technology Update for Technocrats, Managers, Service Providers and Policy Makers,” organised by Nigerian Urban Health Reproductive Initiative (NURHI), the development is worrisome and a source for concern.

Amebenomo expressed fear that “unless some drastic measures are taken to control the high rate of population increase in the state, especially among the physically challenged beggars along Mission Road in Benin, the effect might become uncomplimentary to government efforts at improving the standard of living of the people in Edo State.”
Commending officials of NURHI for involving public healthcare facilities in their family activities, he urged them to extend their services to the community of physically challenged persons in the state in order for them to benefit from proper family planning.

TalkOfNaija

PDP denies rift with Jonathan, governors

 by Fidelis Mac-Leva

Bamanga Tukur, PDP Chairman

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has denied division in its leadership as members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party said they are solidly behind the party’s national chairman Alhaji Bamanga Tukur.

The NWC said it totally supports the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan adding that it has no problem at all with PDP state governors contrary to speculations.

PDP national publicity secretary, Olisa Metuh said the party’s National Working Committee is united under Bamanga’s leadership and has been working in one accord to ensure good governance in the country.

 “There is no division in the leadership of our party. We are solidly behind our national chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur and we are focused on ensuring good governance in the country. Some people are not just happy that we are working together, so they come out with all sorts of speculations to see that they cause disaffection in our party but I want to assure that we will not be distracted in our focus to ensure that we continue to deliver the dividends of democracy to our people,” Metuh said.

 He said the party’s leadership is working with President Jonathan to ensure the delivery of his transformation agenda which is aimed at ensuring rapid development in all sectors of the economy for the benefit of all.

 “The leadership of the party is solidly behind President Goodluck Jonathan in his transformation agenda. We have one focus and that is to ensure massive development of the country in line with the manifesto of our party”, he said, adding that the party leadership is working in harmony with the governors and that there was no issue in contention between the two parties.  

DailyTrust