Major police tracking equipment down, detectives struggle to trace bandits, others by Eniola Akinkuotu, Stephen Angbulu, GODFREY GEORGE and PERCY ANI

Key tracking equipment deployed by the police to go after kidnappers, bandits and terrorists has remained inactive since the beginning of the year amid raging violent crimes across the country, Sunday PUNCH has learnt. Multiple reliable sources, who confided in Sunday PUNCH, attributed the downtime to non-subscription and failure to engage the relevant company to carry out system upgrade, among other challenges. At least 2,943 people in Nigeria have been abducted across the country in the last six months since the critical tracking technology was down. Experts have noted that the use of mobile devices by kidnappers to negotiate ransoms makes it possible for law enforcement agencies to determine the movements of the cell phone owners. Even if users have their location services, cellular data and Wi-Fi disabled, tracking system enables law enforcement agencies to have access to the technology that can determine the location of a mobile device at a specified time. Senior police officers, including two commissioners of police who spoke to one of our correspondents on condition of anonymity, said the platforms used in tracking phones had been bad since January. They said in certain cases that were of national interest, the police had to rely on the Office of the National Security Adviser in tracking bandits. One of the commissioners of police, who spoke to one of our correspondents on the condition of anonymity, said the equipment was handed over to the police by the Nigerian government a few years ago during the tenure of IGP Solomon Arase and was installed by a Nigerian company. “The equipment was given to us by President Buhari. The thing has not been working because those who are supposed to ensure that it runs well have not played their part. “They claim that they are being owed money for the subscription.” he said. When asked to explain how the subscription works, the CP said the police had not paid the fees since 2015 and the police had had to rely on the DSS. He added, “From what I gathered, subscription fees are meant to be paid yearly but you won’t believe that the police have not paid since 2015. Initially, the company gave us a grace period but they have now cut off the police completely. We now rely solely on DSS and NSA office. It’s a terrible situation and it has worsened the insecurity in the country. The Police Trust Fund promised to help but we have not seen any action yet.” Another police commissioner confirmed the development but said efforts were being made to restore the equipment. The police commissioner added that the platform was undergoing a system upgrade which would soon be completed. He added, “You know this thing is technology just like computer so we do upgrades from time to time. A lot of people on the field don’t even understand how it works. It is undergoing an upgrade because you have new features coming in from time to time. There are new technologies that you have to update to enhance their capacity. “We have some new equipment which we need to adjust so they can link together. Some are still working. It is not as if all components are shut. That is what is happening.” Efforts to speak with the Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, proved abortive as he neither responded to calls nor a text message on Friday. Amid the prolonged police tracking system glitches, at least 2, 943 people in Nigeria have been abducted across the country in the last six months even as the police platform used in tracking phones has shut down, making it difficult for the police to track bandits, Sunday PUNCH has learnt. Sunday PUNCH also reports that at least 348 students are still in captivity including the 121 students of Bethel Baptist School, Kaduna. The figure on the abductions is based on data obtained from the Nigeria Security Tracker, a project of the Council on Foreign Relations, an American think tank, and edited by a former United States Ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell. Some of the data was also verified by this newspaper through a manual tally of media reports from several newspapers in the last six months The NST tracks violence in Nigeria through data based on weekly surveys of Nigerian and international media and only records cases that have officially been reported. Of all the states that are mostly affected, only the Kaduna State Government has been releasing a quarterly report on abductions and had stated that between January and March alone, 949 persons were kidnapped in the state. Sunday PUNCH observed that of about 3,000 people abducted this year, not less than 800 are students. The figure doesn’t include the 344 schoolchildren of Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, and 80 pupils of Islamiyya School, Mahuta, both in Katsina State in December 2020. Some of the notable mass school kidnappings of 2021 include the abduction of 279 schoolgirls of Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe, Zamfara State on February 26; the kidnapping of 136 pupils of Salihu Tanko Islamiyya School, Tegina, Niger State on May 30; the abduction of 94 students of Federal Government College, Birnin Yauri, Kebbi State on June 17 and the latest abduction of 140 pupils of Bethel Baptist School, Kaduna, out of which 19 escaped. About 39 students at the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Kaduna were kidnapped on March 11 while 23 students of Greenfield University, Kaduna were also taken on April 20. According to the NST, between January and June 2021, the North-West had the highest number of abductions with 1, 405 cases reported. The North-Central witnessed 942 kidnappings while the North-East had 210. The South-South witnessed 140 cases of abductions while the South-West and the South-East recorded 169 and 77 respectively. The local governments with the highest number of abductions were Rafi in Niger State (443), Talata Marafa in Zamfara State (317) and Shiroro in Niger State (225). Maru in Zamfara State recorded 195 abductions while Kajuru in Kaduna State witnessed 145 kidnappings within the period. According to NST, Niger State had the highest number of abductions at 795 followed by Zamfara State which witnessed 523 kidnappings. Kaduna had the third-highest number of abductions at 479 while Katsina recorded 289. Borno and Kebbi states recorded 115 and 103 cases respectively while Oyo had 63. According to the data, the month of June recorded the highest number of abductions at 1, 344 followed by February which had 709 cases. Buhari gives military fresh orders to crush bandits The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Saturday issued fresh orders to the military to crush bandits operating across the nation. This was contained in a statement, titled ‘President Buhari Demanda Crushing Response Against Bandits ,‘ and signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu. In the statement, the President noted that the military and other security agencies were now working on new methods and policies that are yielding good results in many of the troubled parts of the country. The statement read in part, “President Muhammadu Buhari Saturday condemned repeated bandit killings in Zamfara and Kaduna States, urging the nation’s military to respond to the worrying situation in a language that the bandits understand.” Buhari also said the nation, its military and the entire population, needed to summon the courage required to defeat the bandits and terrorists. He further condemned some politicians making utterances on security, advising them to join the ongoing genuine efforts aimed at finding lasting solutions to the challenges confronting the nation. He expressed the nation’s sorrow over the loss of lives, urging security agencies to do everything possible to prevent the recurrence of attacks with impunity. Utomi, Ekhomu, SANs canvass state policing A former presidential candidate and professor of Economics, Pat Utomi; senior advocates of Nigeria, Babatunde Ogala and Tayo Oyetibo, and a renowned security expert, Ona Ekhomu, have said the country needs a more community-based police structure to tackle the security crisis in the country. They spoke against the backdrop of the bill for the creation of state police in the country passing second reading in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, July 6, 2021. The bill which seeks to amend the 1999 Constitution to allow for the creation of state police and legalise regional security outfits, was championed by the member representing Etinan/Nsit-Ibom/Nsit-Ubium Federal Constituency and Chairman of the House Committee on Judiciary, Onofiok Luke. Luke proposed to alter the Constitution to provide for state police and other state government security services to enhance security and preservation of lives and properties in Nigeria. Utomi said community policing was the solution to Nigeria’s security challenges. He said policemen should not live in barracks but within the communities where they are stationed to track down criminals and protect lives and properties, adding that knowledge of the community allows the policeman to see “something unusual and do something”. According to him, policing was local and should not be domiciled at the centre alone as police officers would be more effective when policing is decentralised. Utomi said, “Policing is fundamentally local. Police officers should live within the community. When they do, they will know who the criminals are and who the law-abiding citizens are. When something goes wrong, members of the community will walk up to them and register their concerns. This is what helps their investigation. “I lived in a small town in America, in graduate school, and that university has its police force. The city has its police force, so do the county and the state. All of them operate within the town I lived in, each having its various functions. “The concept of the police as an army of occupation needs to change to make policing more effective. You cannot have this (concept) and say, ‘Police is your friend!’ No. Police are your occupiers. You are terrorised by them. But when the police officers are in the community, they become your friends. Everyone will be free to tell them what they saw during a crime and not be afraid of being harassed. That is what policing is about.” On his part, a security expert, Ona Ekhomu, in his reaction, said the bill was a welcome development as the current security structure was not adequate to cater to the security challenges of the country and could not provide proper protection for lives and properties in the country. Ekhomu said, “People are being slaughtered all over the country by non-state actors in a way that appears almost impossible to defend. This bill is long overdue and required. “What the legislature has done with the passing of the bill is to show that they are an equal member and participant in this administration. By taking the initiative to pass this bill now, seeing as they have in times past ceded all initiative to the executive in terms of actions that will better the lives of Nigerians and resigned themselves to playing second fiddle, they have shown they now understand the amount of power they wield. Also, they now realise how to use this power to better the plight of Nigerians affected by killer herdsmen and bandits as they have stepped up to their duties.” He stated further that the bill is the first step in the long route to progress in the security department of the country. “Nigeria is still a long way from where it should rightly be security-wise, but the bill that allows the creation of state police is the first step in the right direction. Also commenting on the issue, Tayo Oyetibo, SAN, maintained that Nigeria could not have a centrally-controlled police force if it wanted to be efficient. He said, “I made a presentation to the National Assembly some years back on this issue. You cannot sit in Abuja and police the remotest part of Nigeria. You need the police that would be on the ground and one who has the intelligence from the people to be able to do so.” “While the Federal police is maintained, the need for state police is necessary. Nigeria is a big nation in terms of landmass and population, so to be able to police the people, we need police that would have their ears to the ground. It is quite obvious that a centrally controlled police cannot successfully achieve this in Nigeria”. Also, Babatunde Ogala, SAN, said he subscribes to community or state policing, because with it in place, it would be easier to curb most crimes committed in various communities within the country. Ogala added, “Tracking criminals would be much easier as the police officers are part of society and know the people. It would also help to boost the morale of the police officers as fighting crime would be made much easier.” PUNCH.

Flight delays: Airlines list conditions for 100% airfare refund to passengers by Kayode Oyero

Following the pronouncement of the Federal Government that airline operators must refund the full cost of travel tickets to passengers after a two-hour delay, commercial airlines have listed the conditions for such reimbursement. The airline operators made this known in separate interviews with Sunday PUNCH. The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, had, on Thursday at the weekly State House Briefing in Aso Villa, Abuja, read out some of the rights of air passengers as enshrined in Part 19 of the Consumer Protection Regulations of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (2015) and charged them to demand their rights whenever they were being trampled upon by airlines. “On domestic flights, for delay beyond one hour, carrier should provide refreshment, and one telephone call, or one SMS, or one e-mail. They should send you an SMS or email or call you to say, ‘I am sorry, I am delaying for one hour’. “For delay for two hours and beyond, the carrier shall reimburse passengers the full volume of their tickets. “For delay between 10pm and 4am, carrier shall provide hotel accommodation, refreshment, meal, two free calls, SMS, email and transport to-and-fro airport,” Sirika had said, adding that the same rules applied for international flights. The minister, who said his ministry had started sanctioning some airlines who defaulted on consumer rights, however, urged passengers not to be unruly at airports. In recent times, air transportation has become the darling of travellers in Nigeria, no thanks to the rising cases of robbery attacks, kidnappings and killings on highways across the country. According to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, there are over 20 airports spread across Nigeria, with at least three airports in each of the six geopolitical zones of the country, making almost every part of the country accessible by air. But as the aviation sector enjoys patronage, flight cancellations and delays have characterised inter-city air transportation in the country. According to recent statistics obtained by Sunday PUNCH from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, there are 19 international airlines and nine local carriers currently operating within the country. The local airlines include Azman Air, Overland Airways, Max Air, Ibom Air, Air Peace, Aero Contractors, Dana Air, Arik Air and United Nigeria Airlines. The NCAA data showed that 1,871 international flights have been recorded within the country’s airspace from January to March 2021 but 562 of those flights were delayed while nine were cancelled. The regulator’s data also showed that 14,662 local flights were recorded in Nigeria between January and March 2021. However, 7,554 of those flights were delayed while 149 were cancelled. Operators of airlines in the country had justified the delay and cancellations of domestic flights recently. The operators, led by the Chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, had, on Tuesday before the Senate Committee on Aviation chaired by Senator Smart Adeyemi, hinged the reason on non-availability and rising cost of aviation fuel, also known as JetA1 and inadequate parking spaces at airports. Other reasons cited by the operators were non-availability of forex for spare parts and maintenance, sudden change of weather, delay due to VIP movement, inefficient passenger access and facilitation, delayed clearance of spare parts from Customs and inadequate screening and exit points at departure. Efforts to get the Air Peace Chairman’s comment on the recent statement of the minister proved abortive as he neither took our correspondent’s calls nor responded to text messages sent to his line as of the time of filing this report. However, speaking with Sunday PUNCH, Air Peace’s spokesman, Stanley Olisa, said the airline does refund passengers whenever there is flight cancellation due to weather or technical glitches. Responding to a question by our correspondent, he said, “Yes, we refund our customers based on the terms and conditions of our tickets. Refund can be voluntary, where the customer is refunded 75 per cent of the fare and this occurs when they no longer wish to fly on the service paid for. It is involuntary when we cancel the flight and the passenger is refunded the full fare. The refund process takes three to four weeks.” The spokesman for Dana Air, Kingsley Ezenwa, said what the minister read at the presidential briefing was not new but that airlines would rather delay or cancel flights and ensure the safety of their passengers than fly when it is technically unsafe to do so. He said, “What he said is not new, it has been in existence in the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations 2015. We refund when passengers request for refund, we provide accommodation when flight is cancelled in the night. We transport passengers from the airports to the hotel and bring them back in the morning. We also compensate where necessary after providing all these things. “Flight delay is a peculiarity of the industry and these issues come up once in a while. No airline can say it has not had one or two hours delay due to bad weather, technical issues, documentation and other factors. “No airline will delay deliberately but when it has to do with safety and best standard practices, we will rather do the right thing and take the bashing. We need to ensure the safety of our passengers at all times. “It is quite understandable when passengers are angry because they have paid. It is understandable because they have commitments and appointments but there are times when we just have to do the right thing and these may cause delay in take-off.” Ezenwa agreed with the minister that when there were issues that necessitated flight cancellations and or delay beyond scheduled time, timely communication and engagement with the passengers could make the difference. Also speaking with Sunday PUNCH, an official of Aero Contractors who did not want to be named said the airline had been complying with the regulations of the Federal Government. “I can tell you that Aero is going to comply with the standard procedure based on regulatory and government policies and based on the new comment the minister made yesterday (Thursday). When there is AOG (aircraft on ground) due to technical faults, we cancel the flight. When there is weather issue, we cancel the flight. Passengers are either refunded or if they are willing, they can reschedule to fly again without any penalty or additional cost. That has been the normal procedure,” he said. When asked of the conditions for refund, he said, “It depends on the circumstances. If they pay cash, they will get cash; if it is PoS, their funds will be transferred to them.” The official, however, did not give the duration of refund which he said “it is not cast in iron”. When contacted, Arik Air’s Public Relations and Communications Manager, Banji Ola, kept mum on the matter. “I don’t have any comment to make,” he told our correspondent over the phone. Also, one of the new entrants into the space, United Nigeria Airlines, told our correspondent that the operator would make its position known soon. “The company will make its official position known. There are different issues between regulatory authorities and ministerial pronouncements,” spokesman for the airline, Achielieus Uchegbu, told Sunday PUNCH. Efforts to get the Chief Executive Officer of Azman Air, Yunusa Sarina, proved abortive as of the time of filing this report as he did not take calls put across to his line by our correspondent. Meanwhile, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency in its weather forecast outlook on Friday, said thunderstorms were expected over parts of Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina, Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Adamawa, Taraba, Yobe and Borno States while other parts of the northern region would be under cloudy skies. PUNCH.

Sound Sultan dies at 44 By Samuel Oamen

Popular rapper Lanre Fasasi aka Sound Sultan is dead. The family of the 44-year-old ‘Jagbajantis’ crooner confirmed his death on Sunday in a statement. Read Also: 12 memorable facts about Sound Sultan Below is a statement from late Sound Sultan’s brother Dr Kayode Fasasi “IT IS WITH HEAVY HEARTS THAT WE ANNOUNCE THE PASSING OF MULTITALENTED VETERAN SINGER, RAPPER. SONGWRITER OLANREWAJU FASASI A.K.A SOUNDSULTAN HE PASSED AWAY AT THE AGE OF 44 FOLLOWING A HARD FOUGHT BATTLE WITH ANGIOIMMUNOBLASTIC T-CELL LYMPHOMA. HE IS SURVIVED BY HIS WIFE, THREE CHILDREN AND HIS SIBLINGS. WE HIS FAMILY WILL APPRECIATE THE UTMOST PRIVACY AS WE COME TO GRIPS WITH THIS TRAGIC LOSS.”

Remain positive about the nation, ex-Head of State Gowon begs Nigerians

Former military Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, says he is optimistic that the Peace Corps of Nigeria Bill currently before the National Assembly will be passed by the lawmakers. He also expressed optimism that the President, Major General Muhammad Buhari (retd) would sign the passed bill into law. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Gowon spoke on Saturday at a ceremony to mark the 23rd anniversary of PCN. The retired Army General served as the chairman of the occasion held in Abuja. Represented by retired Maj. Gen. Chris Garba, Gowon said that volunteer activities of the corps needed to be further supported by way of legislation to offer the outfit the legal instrument crucial to enhancing its operations. He urged Nigerians to remain positive about the nation, declaring that the current state of insecurity and instability was “only a passing phase that will not be with us forever.” He also urged citizens to pray and support the government in the fight against insecurity, incessant attacks and kidnapping. “The seventh, eighth and ninth assembly have made several inputs and enhancement on the bill. “The ninth assembly will do further justice to pass the bill; I am very optimistic that President Muhammadu Buhari will assent to it,” Gowon said. Earlier, the National Commandant of PCN, Prof. Dickson Akoh, had said that July 10 of every year was very significant to the PCN calendar, being its founders day and his (Akoh’s) birthday. “This is a unique opportunity for stocktaking and Thanksgiving to God for divine sustenance and also project the way forward for the organisation,” he declared. According to him, the PCN was birthed in 1998 as a tiny ember of his imagination with only few individuals. “It has now blossomed into a colossus with over 187,000 youths comprising of regular members and volunteers, mostly graduates of different disciplines.” The national commandant urged the Federal Government to take urgent steps to create job opportunities for unemployed youths in order to keep them busy. He called on the youths to stay away from all forms of violence and endless agitations. Several government dignitaries, politicians, youth organisations and traditional rulers attended the occasion. Among the traditional rulers was Adamu Inusa, Ona of Abaji and Chairman, Council of Traditional Rulers in the Federal Capital Territory. (NAN)

For The Record: Witnesses whose testimonies sent Farouk Lawan to jail By Ade Adesomoju

The judge says the evidence of the five witnesses presented by the prosecution convincingly incriminated the former lawmaker as a corrupt public officer. As Farouk Lawan, a former flamboyant lawmaker, adjusts to a new life in prison, a journey through the memory lane of his eight years trial brings back the incriminating testimonies that took him to his new abode. The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Apo, Abuja, sentenced the former lawmaker to seven years in jail for bribery and corruption on June 22. The judge, Angela Otaluka, who indulged his dilatory tactics for the last five years of the trial, convicted Mr Lawan of corruptly demanding $3 million and eventually taking $500,000 from billionaire oil mogul, Femi Otedola, to exonerate the businessman’s company from an allegation of fuel subsidy fraud in 2012. Mr Lawan, who had become known as Mr Integrity, in tribute to his roles in leading some self-appointed puritan legislators at the time, was the chairman of the ad hoc committee of the House of Representatives asked to investigate the multi-billion-naira fraud in the subsidy scheme at the time. In the report issued at the end of its inquiry, the committee indicted Mr Otedola’s Zenon Oil and Gas Ltd and many other firms, attracting applause as bearing witness to Mr Lawan’s guts to expose corruption no matter whose ox was gored. Specifically, the committee accused Zenon Oil of fraudulently obtaining over $230 million foreign exchange from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to import petrol under the subsidy scheme, but failed to use it for the purpose. The story, however, changed when Mr Lawan later removed Zenon Oil’s name from the list of indicted firms after receiving $500,000 from Mr Otedola as the first tranche of the “agreed” $3 million bribe, the judge was told. Ms Otaluka said the evidence of the five witnesses presented by the prosecution convincingly incriminated the former lawmaker as a corrupt public officer. Here are the five witnesses presented by the prosecution team led by Adegboyega Awomolo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, and the highlights of what they said: Boniface Emenalo (PW1) Boniface Emenalo was the secretary to the then House of Representatives ad-hoc committee. Although he started as a co-accused person in the trial, he ended up being the first prosecution witness (PW1) whose testimony contributed to the evidence that sent Mr Lawan to jail. Messrs Lawan and Emenalo were first arraigned together by the Attorney-General of the Federation’s office which engaged Mr Awomolo as the prosecutor, on seven counts of bribery and corruption, on February 1, 2013. During their arraignment, they pleaded not guilty before Mudashiru Oniyangi, then a judge of the FCT High Court who would later quit the case following his elevation to the Court of Appeal bench. The case was reassigned to Bukola Banjoko, another judge of the court. No tangible progress had been recorded when Mr Lawan wrote a petition to then Chief Judge, Ishaq Bello, accusing the new trial judge of bias. The development made Ms Banjoko to voluntarily withdraw from the case, which was then re-assigned to Ms Otaluka. The movement of the case to Ms Otaluka’s court saw the prosecution fundamentally changing their tactics. They amended the charges, pruning down the number of counts from seven to three. In addition, they turned Mr Emenalo, who had been Mr Lawan’s co-accused for three years, to a prosecution witness. After these bouts of rigmarole that saw the case file tumbling through three courtrooms in the first three years, the prosecution was able to present its first prosecution witness on February 2, 2016. The case was later going to be caught in another web of legal shenanigans after the prosecution had called four out of its five witnesses. It took a trip to the fourth judge, Yusuf Halilu, but shortly after returned to Ms Otaluka who concluded the trial. Mr Emenalo, an employee of the National Assembly, who was summoned through a subpoena served on the Clerk of the House of Representatives, tendered some exhibits during his first court appearance as prosecution witness. In his testimony, he recalled that the committee’s report was presented before the House of Representatives on April 18, 2012. He described how he visited Mr Otedola in his house on April 24, 2012, on the instruction of Mr Lawan, where the businessman gave him $100,000 in two bundles. He said he handed over the $100,000 to Mr Lawan with a forwarding memo and he acknowledged receipt. Although, under cross-examination by defence lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, Mr Emenalo said he received the $100,000 from Mr Otedola as a proof that indicted firms were mounting pressure on the committee to exonerate them. David Igbodo (PW2) David Igbodo, who testified as the second prosecution witness, was the investigating police officer in the Special Investigation Unit of the Office of the Inspector General of Police. A lawyer and then Commissioner of Police, Legal Services, Force Headquarters, Mr Igbodo testified that he investigated the allegation against Mr Lawan and found out that the ex-lawmaker demanded $3 million from Mr Otedola to remove the name of Zenon Oil and Gas Ltd from the list of companies indicted for subsidy scam. According to him, his findings showed that Mr Lawan visited Mr Otedola’s house at about 3.47 a.m. on April 24, 2012, to collect $500,000 from the billionaire. He said the ex-lawmaker was caught on video receiving the money from Mr Otedola.

“The purpose of the demand and acceptance was to remove the name of Zenon Oil and AP Petroleum from the list of indicted companies. “On the same April 24, 2012, the defendant after collecting the sum at the house of Otedola, crossed the name of Zenon Oil earlier indicted in a report before the committee at the House of Representatives,” he said. He said Mr Lawan admitted going to Mr Otedola’s house to collect the $500, 000, and went on to cross out the name of Zenon from the list indicted companies. He also recalled Mr Lawan admitting that he collected the money and gave it to another legislator, Adams Jagaba, Chairman House of Representatives on Narcotics and Financial Crimes. ‎He said Mr Emenalo, who was secretary to the ad hoc committee, also visited Mr Otedola between 9 to 10a.m. on April 24, 2012 and was caught on video collecting $100,000 from Mr Otedola. ‎The police investigator said he found out that Mr Emenalo gave the $100,000 he received from Mr Otedola to Mr Lawan. He added that Mr Lawan only reported the $100,000 to then chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as an afterthought, five days after he was given the money. The defendant failed to disclose to the anti-corruption agency that he had earlier collected $500,000 from Mr Otedola, the witness also said. David Ojatah (PW3) David Ojatah, a Principal Staff Officer Technical Services in the SSS, testified as the third prosecution witness (PW3). The SSS operative told the court how the security agency received a petition from Mr Otedola accusing Mr Lawan of trying to extort him. He described how he and his team members interacted with Mr Otedola and mounted a video recording device in the sitting room of his house where he was scheduled to meet with Mr Lawan. The witness explained that the meeting between the two men was captured on video. He said the video clip showed Mr Lawan collecting a parcel from Mr Otedola. The video clip was produced, admitted as an exhibit, and played in the open court. Adams Jagaba (PW4) Adams Jagaba, a former colleague of Mr Lawan in the House of Representatives representing Kachia/Kagarko Federal Constituency of Kaduna State, testified as the fourth prosecution witness (PW4). His testimony ended up dealing the most fatal blow to Mr Lawan’s narrative of receiving money from Mr Otedola to obtain evidence of bribery against the businessman. Mr Lawan had claimed that he handed over the total of $620,000 received from Mr Otedola to Mr Jagaba with a covering letter characterising the money as an exhibit. The $620,000, according to Mr Lawan, comprised the $500,000 he personally took from Mr Otedola, and the $120,000 taken from the billionaire by Mr Emenalo.

Mr Jagaba, who was the Chairman of the House Committee on Narcotics and Financial Crimes in the 2011-2015 legislative session, vehemently denied receiving such money from Mr Lawan. Asked by the prosecution to respond to the claim that Mr Lawan visited him at about 3 a.m. on April 24, 2012, to report and submit the $620,000 offered to the ad hoc committee by Mr Otedola as bribe, Mr Jagaba said he was deeply asleep at the time. “My lord, the defendant was not in my house in the early hours of April 24, 2012,” he said. “I went to bed after 9 p.m. after taking my drugs. I live alone in the house so nobody could have opened the door for him. “By 10 p.m. all gates of the estates were closed and would not be opened to anybody no matter how highly placed. “My lord, I never saw or received such money from the defendant. “The money is not with me. I cannot have what was not given to me,” the ex-lawmaker told the court. He said he read about Mr Lawan’s claim on the pages of newspapers but decided not to react until he was invited by the police in Abuja. He recalled requesting to be paired with Mr Lawan during the scheduled police interrogation. His request was granted by the police and the two ex-lawmakers were made to sit next to each other and Mr Jagaban said Mr Lawan was asked to repeat his previous claims. According to the witness, Mr Lawan responded that he had only made the claims following his lawyers’ legal advice. During his testimony, Mr Jagaba confirmed from the House’s Votes and Proceedings of April 24, 2012, earlier tendered as an exhibit, that Mr Lawan, at the said proceedings, proposed an amendment of the ad hoc committee’s Recommendation 9, deleting items V and VI from the list of indicted firms. Femi Otedola (PW5) Mr Otedola, a principal character in the matter, testified as the prosecution’s fifth witness on November 21, 2018. Speaking of his encounter with Mr Lawan in the course of the House probe, Mr Otedola said the lawmaker reached out to him threatening to indict his firms for fraud in the fuel subsidy scheme. In response, Mr Otedola said he told Mr Lawan that there was no basis for the indictment because none of his two firms operating in the oil industry participated in the fuel subsidy scheme. He recalled telling Mr Lawan that the EFCC had investigated his two companies – African Petroleum Ltd and Zenon Oil and Gas Ltd – and found out that they were not involved in the scheme. Mr Otedola told the trial court that despite the clarification, and his companies’ importation documents submitted to the House committee, the then lawmaker visited his home on June 18, 2012, demanding $3million to free Zenon Oil from indictment.

Mr Otedola testified that he saw on television on April 18, 2012, that the House committee’s report was submitted to the House of Representatives plenary, “and I saw that my company was listed as one of the companies involved in the subsidy scam.” This, he said, prompted him to write a petition to the Director-General of SSS to report the alleged extortion. He described how SSS operatives later planned a “sting operation” with him to capture Mr Lawan on camera receiving “serialised United States dollars.” “After handing over the $500,000 USD to the defendant, I asked him what next, he said he would go to the House and discuss with its leadership. He said I should watch House plenary on the television,” Mr Otedola had told the judge. He added that on April 24, 2012, the secretary of the ad-hoc committee, Mr Emenalo who testified as PW1, also demanded $120,000 which he handed over to him the same day. According to him, Mr Lawan went on to remove Zenon Oil’s name from the list of the indicted firms and thereafter demanded the $2.5 million balance. He said he promised the then lawmaker that the money was being arranged and would soon be loaded into an Abuja-bound aircraft.

INEC: Despite criticisms, Senate panel set to recommend Onochie’s confirmation by Sunday Aborisade

There are strong indications on Friday that the Senate Committee on the Independent National Electoral Commission may recommend the confirmation of the appointment of a presidential aide, Lauretta Onochie, as a National Commissioner for the electoral umpire. The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, (retd.), had in a letter dated 12th October, 2020, and read by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, the following week, sought the Senate confirmation for Onochie and other nominees. The letter read, “Pursuant to Paragraph 14 of Part I(F) of the Third Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended, I hereby forward for confirmation by the Senate, the appointment of the following four (4) Commissioners for the Independent National Electoral Commission.” The nominees listed by the President are Prof. Muhammad Sani Kallah (Katsina); Prof. Kunle Ajayi ( Ekiti); and Saidu Ahmad (Jigawa) The red chamber suspended action on the nominees based on the controversy it generated with the inclusion of Onochie, the Special Assistant to the President on New Media, who critics believed is a card-carrying member of the All Progressives Congress. However, Lawan on Wednesday, June 9, 2021, surprisingly, asked the committee on INEC to screen for confirmation, the appointments of Onochie and five others as INEC commissioners. Two new nominees, Professors Sani Adam (North-Central), and Baba Bila (North-East), were added to the list. The development came eight months after the President sent the list of the nominees to the Senate for screening. The Senate INEC Committee led by Kabiru Gaya, screened the nominees including Onochie on Thursday. Onochie in her opening remarks, acknowledged a series of petitions against her which bothered on her membership of the APC and the fact that someone from her state was already on the board of INEC She renounced the party three times before the Senate committee. She admitted being part of the Buhari’s campaign organisation in 2015 before her appointment as Special Assistant on Social Media. Onochie also, admitted deposing an affidavit at the Abuja Federal High Court that she was a member of the APC. She nevertheless said she stopped being a member of the party immediately after the 2019 elections. She said, “Since 2019, I have not had anything to do with any political organisation, including Buhari support groups. “When the APC was doing re-validation of party members, I did not take part in that exercise. “As I’m sitting down here, I’m not a member of any political party in this country. I have no partisanship in my blood. “I have seen many petitions against my nomination not only from the Peoples Democratic Party, but also from some APC members. “I’m not partisan, they know. It is about the law. No one has any reason to fear for my nomination as INEC commissioner representing Delta. “As far as I’m concerned, I’m madam due process. That’s why all the attacks. I follow due process, I follow the law.” However, an affidavit dated 30th June, 2021, she swore to at an FCT High Court, attached to one of the petitions against her, contradicted her claims. She deposed to the affidavit at the High Court of the FCT in a case involving her as plaintiff an Emeka Ugwuonye (defendant). Onochie in her witness statement on oath, affirmed among others that, “I am also a member of the All Progressives Congress and a volunteer at the Buhari Support Organisation.” She further told the panel that Mrs May Agbamuche, a serving INEC national commissioner from Delta State, is actually representing Cross River on the board of the electoral umpire. There was a sharp disagreement among the senators on whether Onochie should say the denial on oath or not but Gaya ruled that it was not necessary for her to do so, and subsequently adjourned the proceedings. Meanwhile, investigations by our correspondent have revealed that some APC members in the panel are currently trying to influence the confirmation of Onochie by putting it in the committee report which would be laid next week. A member of the panel told our correspondent on condition of anonymity that the basis for writing petitions against Onochie had been defeated. He said, ‘The various petitions that we received on Onochie centred on her membership of the APC and the fact that her confirmation would make Delta State produce the two slots meant for the South-South region on the board of INEC. “However, Onochie has told the panel that she is not a member of the APC. She has also said the Delta State-born woman on the INEC board is actually representing Cross River. “If the argument is that she is a political appointee, even the Chairman of INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, was a Federal Government appointee because he served as the Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund during former President Goodluck Jonathan administration. “Personally, despite being an APC card-carrying member and senator, I don’t want Lauretta Onochie to be confirmed but we really don’t have anything to hold her back because she has cleared herself.” Asked if the affidavit she swore to at the court could not be used against her, the Senator argued that events had overtaken it. He said, “You can only argue based on moral grounds but the facts before us did not really empower us to disqualify her. “The law said nominees for INEC appointment should not be a card-carrying member of any party and she said she had stopped being a member of the APC since 2019.” Another senator, who equally spoke on condition of anonymity, said the committee was already in possession of a letter from the APC Secretariat, declaring that Onochie had ceased to be a member of the party. He said, “I don’t know how else they want the woman to defend herself. She has said that she is not a member of the party and we have a letter written from the APC National Secretariat that she is not their member. “As far as the committee is concerned, the petitions before us seeking Onochie’s disqualification has been addressed,” the source added. Senator Lawal Gumau warned other members of the committee against taking any hasty decision that the Senate might regret later. He said, “Nigerians were quick to condemn the former Minister of Finance (Kemi Adeosun) but we are all surprised when the court vindicated her recently. “I don’t want us to do anything that we will regret in case we discovered later that she is not a card-carrying member of the APC.” But a PDP Senator, who is a member of the committee, insisted that Onochie must be disqualified because she should not be appointed. He told our correspondent on condition of anonymity that “the section of the constitution which disqualified her from the appointment states that she should never have been a member of any political party.’ When contacted on Friday, the Chairman of the INEC Committee, declined comments on the issue. Gaya said, “I will not make any comments on the issue now. Our committee is still working on the report.” Meanwhile, further findings by our correspondent revealed that the opposition senators have vowed to resolve the issue by physical voting during the confirmation at the Senate panel. PUNCH.

2023: PDP may counter Southern govs on zoning, throw presidential ticket open by Olusola Fabiyi,John Alechenu, Tobi Aworinde and Gbenga Odogun

As the clamour for the emergence of a southerner as the president in 2023 continues to generate comments, there are indications that the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party, may throw the contest open to all Nigerians, irrespective of their zone. This comes days after southern state governors, on Monday, met in Lagos and agreed that the successor to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), should come from the region. The 17 southern governors in attendance, who belong to different political parties, also deliberated on insecurity, constitution amendment, the Petroleum Industry Bill and anti-open grazing law in all member-states. Similarly, members of the House of Representatives from the southern part of Nigeria adopted the resolutions by the Southern Governors’ Forum on the issues, including the rotation of the presidency in 2023. The lawmakers said members of the House from the 17 southern states “unanimously and unequivocally endorse the patriotic resolution of the SGF on the resolve that the next president of Nigeria should emerge from the southern region.” However, multiple sources among the members of the National Working Committee of the party told Saturday PUNCH that the decision to also zone would be left to the National Executive Committee of the party. The sources also explained that it would be too early to arrive at which zone would produce the party’s presidential standard-bearer now, when the race had yet to be declared open. However, they stated that it would be wrong for an opposition party to zone its tickets, saying the party would have to look at some variables and other strategies that could make it win the election in 2023. They pointed out that, of the 16 years the PDP was in power, southerners were president for about 14 years. One of the sources noted that the PDP had to take many things into consideration, the first being that the party was not in power. According to the PDP chieftain, the party must, therefore, think about many things before giving out its ticket for 2023. The source said, “Recall that we (the PDP) were in power for 16 years. Out of that 16 years, former President Olusegun Obasanjo was in power for eight years. He handed over to President Umaru Yar’Adua in 2007. Unfortunately, the former governor of Katsina State died in May 2010. “That was when his deputy, Goodluck Jonathan, was sworn in as president. Jonathan was re-elected president and was in power till 2015 when he was defeated by the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Muhammadu Buhari. So, you will see that the PDP has produced more southerners as presidents. “Let me also say that as sound as this argument is, it is not the final say because the NEC would have to decide. But the fact still remains that no political party would want to field a weak candidate against a strong opponent and no political party would also want to marginalise other areas and concentrate power at a particular area.” The NWC member argued that no single zone could singlehandedly produce the president. “The North needs the South and the South also needs the North. You need to recall the number of years President Buhari had contested the presidential election before the southerners, especially the South-West, embraced him in 2015 and gave him their votes,” the source said. Another top source stated that the southern governors needed to have gone to their political parties to convince them of the need to zone the ticket to the southern part of the country, adding that their approach could be misinterpreted as ganging up against another zone. “I think the governors in the South should sell their idea to their colleagues from the North, and then, we will take it up from there,” the source added. It was learnt that apart from a former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Governor Aminu Tambuwal had also indicated to his close friends his desire to run for the presidency in 2023. Tambuwal, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, was among other aspirants that were defeated by Atiku at the PDP convention in 2018. No southerner in the party has shown interest in the 2023 presidential race so far. Our correspondents gathered that a former Governor of Anambra State, Mr Peter Obi, who was a running mate to Atiku in 2019, had yet to indicate if he would run for president in 2023. It is also unclear whether the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, will be throwing his hat into the ring. Wike was, however, a die-hard supporter of Tambuwal during the 2018 race for the presidential ticket of the PDP. “It will be difficult for us to impose candidates on the southern part of the country, if there are no aspirants there who are willing to contest,” another source stated. When contacted, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan, in a telephone interview, said the party had yet to take a position on the issue of a possible southern presidential candidate in the 2023 election. Ologbondiyan said, “Currently, the party has not yet taken a position. But the conversation has started with our leaders. Usually, that is how the conversation will start until it crystallises. As some of the leaders of the party are speaking, a discussion has been opened in the public space, but it is not yet before the party.” APC caretaker committee dodges zoning, leaves decision to incoming exco Meanwhile, the Caretaker Extra-Ordinary Convention Planning Committee of the ruling All Progressives Congress has decided not to speak on the contentious issue of zoning. It was also gathered that the party’s leadership had decided to leave the decision to the members of the party’s NWC to be elected at its national convention, whose date has yet to be fixed. The Governor of Ondo State, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), read the communiqué of the southern governors after their meeting. Akeredolu, a member of the APC, is the Chairman, Southern Governors’ Forum. It was gathered that because the issue of rotation was believed to be sensitive, the party’s leadership was being careful about how to handle it. The acting National Secretary of the party, Senator John Akpanudoedehe, told our correspondent that the caretaker committee was planning a national convention and that the issue of the rotational presidency was not part of the committee’s assignments. “We are planning a convention and the issue of the rotational presidency is not part of our mandate. Wait until after the convention,” he said in response to an enquiry by our correspondent. 2023: Kogi gov, Bello, disagrees with southern govs over zoning In a related development, the Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, has said the concept of the rotational presidency is no longer feasible because Nigerians are now yearning for visionary leadership more than ever before. He said even if the issue of zoning was being considered, the North-Central region had been marginalised in the scheme of things. Bello spoke at the First Annual GYB Seminar, in Abuja, on Friday. He challenged proponents of rotational presidency to show the world which part of the Nigerian Constitution or the constitution of the APC supports rotation. Bello said, “I have always asked this question, there has been (power) rotation so to speak from the PDP almost all this while, and what has been our result between then and now? If zoning will solve our problem as at the time, President Olusegun Obasanjo was the president two times, all the problems of the South should have been solved. “As of the time President Musa Yar’Adua of blessed memory came on board, the whole problems of the North should have been solved. Or when it returned back to the South-South, the problem of the Riverine, Niger Delta or of the whole of the South should have been solved. “Now we have President Muhammadu Buhari and it is expected that the problem of the North should have been solved. I am not saying these various leaders have not tried their best. “They have tried their best within the circumstances they found themselves in the office or the situation of things at those times and what Mr President is doing today. For crying out loud, he is at his best practice. “When we are talking of democracy, it is about free choice. And it is about the number. Let the majority be allowed the free will to choose who they want. Let political parties not limit Nigerians to who they want to elect into offices. “When you look at it, I think it is unconstitutional. Not in our own constitution — APC —­ and it is not there in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended. We cannot be picking and choosing when it suits us. North should produce next president –Ex-lawmaker A two-time member of the House of Representatives in Kogi State, Sunday Karimi, has said the North should produce the president in 2023. The lawmaker argued that the South had a total of 14 years in power, while the North would complete 10 years in 2023. He added that, for the sake of equity, the next president should emerge from another geopolitical zone in the North, “preferably the North-Central.” PUNCH.