Senate Passes Bill To Establish Electoral Offences Commission by Bode Gbadebo

* Okays 20-yr jail term for candidates caught snatching ballot materials The Senate on Tuesday passed a Bill seeking to establish the Electoral Offences Commission. The passage of the Bill followed the consideration and adoption of a report presented by the Senate Committee on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Chairman of the Committee, Senator Kabiru Gaya (APC, Kano South), in his presentation, said the Bill became imperative in view of INEC’s inability to prosecute electoral offenders in accordance with the provisions of a section 149 and 150(2) of the Electoral Act (as Amended). “By the foregoing statistics, it is unrealistic to expect INEC to conduct free, fair and credible election and simultaneously prosecute Offences arising from the same elections. “Indeed, INEC has at several occasions admitted that it lacks the wherewithal to cleanse the system. “Its failure to prosecute even one percent 870,000 and over 900,000 alleged electoral Offences in 2011 and 2015 general elections respectively is an affirmation of the necessity for a paradigm shift on how we deal with electoral offences”, the lawmaker said. According to him, as a result of electoral flaws in the system, the Justice Uwais Electoral Committee; Sheik Nurudeen Lemu Committee; and Constitution and Electoral Reform Committee were constituted. He recalled that the Committees in their final reports recommended that for INEC to function efficiently, some of the functions currently performed by it should be assigned to other agencies. Accordingly, the Senate during consideration of the INEC Committee report, approved the establishment of the National Electoral Offences Commission. The Commission’s membership consists of the Chairman, Secretary and representatives from the Justice, Interior, Defence, and Information Ministries. The function of the Commission includes investigating electoral Offences created in any laws relating to elections in Nigeria; prosecution of electoral offenders; and maintaining records of all persons investigated and prosecuted. Others are to liaise with the Attorney-General of the Federation and government security and law enforcement bodies and agencies in the discharge of its duties; liaise with other bodies within and outside Nigeria involved in the investigation or prosecution of electoral Offences; and adopting measures to prevent, minimize and eradicate electoral Offences throughout the federation. The Senate in Clause 12 of the bill approved at least five years imprisonment or a fine of at least N10 million naira or both, for any officer or executives of any association or political party that engages in electoral fraud that contravenes the provisions of clauses 221, 225(1)(2)(3) and (4) and 227 of the 1999 Constitution as amended. The upper chamber adopted the Committee’s recommendation of fifteen years imprisonment for any person involved ballot box snatching, supplying voter’s card to persons without due authority, unauthorized printing of voters’ register, illegal printing of ballot paper or electoral document, and importation of any device or mechanism by which ballot paper or results of elections may be extracted, affected or manipulated, and voting at an election when he is not entitled to vote. It also approved ten years imprisonment for any person who sells voter’s card, or in possession of any voter’s card bearing the name of another person, or prepares and prints a document or paper purporting to be a register of voters or a voter’s card. The Senate also gave its nod to a term of at least ten years upon conviction for any election official who willfully prevents any person from voting at the polling station, willfully rejects or refuses to count any ballot paper validly cast, willfully counts any ballot paper not validly cast, gives false evidence or withholds evidence, and announces or declares a false result at an election. The upper chamber in Clause 20(2) approved at least fifteen years imprisonment for any judicial officer or officer of a court or tribunal who corruptly perverts electoral justice, during or after an election. It also gave at least fifteen years jail term or N30 million naira fine for any security personnel or election official engaged by the Independent National Electoral Commission or State Electoral Commission who attempts to influence the outcome of an election. In addition, any person found to disturb the public peace on Election Day by playing musical instruments, singing or holding an assembly where a polling station is located shall be guilty of breaching electoral peace and liable to six months imprisonment or a fine of at least N100,000 or both. Also, any person acting for himself or on behalf of any organization or political party or candidate or his agent with the intention of prejudicing the result of an election, damage or defame, in any manner, the character of any candidate in an election or his family member by making, saying, printing, airing or publishing in the print or electronic media false accusation on any matter shall be guilty of serious corrupt practice and liable on conviction to a term of at least ten years or a fine of ten million naira or both. Any person soliciting or giving votes for or against any political party or candidate at an election, or found to affix campaign materials on any private house, public buildings or structures, or prints posters and banners without the name and address of the political party to which the candidate or person belongs contravenes sub-clause (1) to (5) and guilty of an offence and liable to at least five years or a fine of at least ten million naira, or both. The National Electoral Offences Commission Bill, 2021, prohibits any campaign against national interest. It provides a twenty years jail term without option of fine for any person who propagates information that undermines the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, or unity of the federation. Also, any candidate or agent who damages or snatches ballot boxes, ballot papers or election materials before, during and after an election without the permission of election official in charge of the polling station attracts at least twenty years imprisonment or a fine of at least forty million naira. The Senate approved at least fifteen years imprisonment for any person who conveys voters to and from the poll; and three years imprisonment for any employee who directly or indirectly exerts undue influence on a voter in his employ. The upper chamber approved three years and not more than five years imprisonment for any person who provide false information in any material particular to a public officer. It also gave the nod for at least ten years imprisonment or at least twenty million naira fine or both for any person who uses hate speech to stir up ethnic, religious or racial hatred, social or political insecurity or violence against anyone or group of persons.

Abducted Bethel student, two others rescued in Kaduna Godwin Isenyo

Operatives of the Kaduna State Police Command have rescued three kidnapped victims, including one of the 121 students of Bethel Baptist High School, Kaduna State. The Command’s Public Relations Officer, ASP Mohammed Jalige, said this in a statement in Kaduna on Tuesday. Jalige said the rescue took place on Monday about 3pm, saying a combined team of the police and Civilian Joint Task Force were combing the forest when they stumbled on the three kidnapped victims. The statement gave the names of the victims as Zaharaddeen Ibrahim, Nura Nuhu that were kidnapped recently along Kaduna – Kachia Road and Abraham Aniya one of the students of Bethel Baptist Secondary School. The statement said, “The Kaduna Police Command’s mission to rescue all kidnap victims through intelligence-led Policing and rigorous patrol had yesterday yielded a positive result with the rescue of three victims to safety. “On the 12th July, 2021 at about 1540hrs the Operatives of the Command alongside Civilian JTF on routine rescue patrol around the forest of Tsohon Gaya village of Chikun LGA of Kaduna State stumbled on three kidnapped victims roaming the bush extremely exhausted and weak. “The victims were safely evacuated and rushed to Police Clinic Kaduna were they are currently being resuscitated and will subsequently be handed over to their immediate families. “During the course of investigation, the three (3) victims were identified as Zaharaddeen Ibrahim, Nura Nuhu that were kidnapped recently along Kaduna – Kachia Road and Abraham Aniya one of the students of Bethel Baptist Secondary School, Kujama that were kidnapped the previous week.” The police spokesman said the force won’t relent efforts in ensuring that more kidnapped victims were rescued within the shortest possible time.

BREAKING: Imo govt seals Rochas Foundation College in Owerri by Chidiebube Okeoma

The Imo State Government on Tuesday sealed Rochas Foundation College, Orji, in Owerri, the state capital. Government officials arrived at the location which is the old quarters of the staff of Imo Broadcasting Corporation and sealed it. Our correspondent, who visited the scene, saw that the massive property had been taken over by the state government. The Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Imo State on Print Media, Modestus Nwamkpa, who confirmed the development, said that the governor, Hope Uzodinma, was committed to recovering properties of the state allegedly “looted by Okorocha and his family members”. Nwamkpa said that the governor was implementing the recommendations of various White Papers by committees set up by the state government. When asked, the governor’s aide told The PUNCH that the seal off “is true”, adding that “Governor Hope Uzodinma is committed to recovering all the properties of the state stolen. This is not a personal war it is just the implementation of the recommendations of the whitepapers of the various committees set up the government.” But Okorocha’s spokesperson, Sam Onwuemeodo, when contacted said that Uzodinma was jolted by Okorocha’s enormous political capacity. Okorocha’s aide said, “This is the fourth time Imo State Government has announced that they are sealing that place. EFCC had also announced that they had sealed it but the truth is that Uzodinma should wake up. There is hunger in the state. “This is just the renewal of his war against Okorocha after Okorocha and other strong APC chieftains in Imo State visited APC National Secretariat. Each time Uzodinma realises that the people are not happy with his style of governance, he using Okorocha’s name to distract the people but the truth is poverty and hunger pervade the atmosphere. He should be humble enough to consult Okorocha on how to govern the state."

Nigerian govt moves to control media, allocates N4.8bn to monitor WhatsApp, phone calls

A total of N4.8 billion was allocated to NIA to monitor in the 2021 Supplementary Budget approved by the National Assembly last week. ByQueenEsther Iroanusi July 12, 2021 3 min read A total of N4.8 (4,870,350,000) billion has been allocated to the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) to monitor WhatsApp messages, phone calls, text messages, among others. Of the figure, N1.93 billion was earmarked for “WhatsApp Intercept Solution” and N2.93 billion for “Thuraya Interception Solution” – a communications system used for monitoring voice calls or call-related information, SMS, data traffic, among others. This was contained in the supplementary budget approved by the National Assembly last Wednesday. The lawmakers had approved and passed a supplementary budget of N982 billion (982,729,695,343) for the 2021 fiscal year, against the N895 billion proposed by President Muhammadu Buhari – indicating an increase of about N87 billion. While N123.3 billion was fixed for recurrent (non-debt) expenditure, N895 billion was earmarked for contribution to the Development Fund for Capital Expenditure for the year ending on the 31st day of December, 2021, Another N45 billion was approved for foreign aid/loans. This budgetary allocation comes amidst several attempts by the federal government to limit freedom of expression in the country – an act many have described as a means to gag the media. It comes barely a month after the federal government suspended the operation of Twitter in the country on June 4. Besides, the National Assembly, particularly lawmakers at the House of Representatives, are in the process of amending several media bills with the aim of “regulating the media.” Some of these bills include the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) Act and the Press Council Act. The Minister of information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, had in June asked the House of Representatives to include internet broadcasting under the control of the NBC. He said all online and internet broadcasting entities should be included in section two (c) of the bill – which gives powers to the NBC to “receive, process and consider applications for the establishment, ownership of radio and television stations including…….” “I want to add that internet broadcasting and all online media should be included in the bill,” Mr Mohammed said at a public hearing. Similar proposals are contained in the Press Council Amendment bill. And the bills, if passed with the recommendation of Mr Mohammed, online media entities will have to get approval from the NBC before operating. Many have opposed and rejected the proposed amendments, describing the prescriptions as draconian, ill-advised and an attempt to gag the media on all fronts. In protest of the proposed amendments, major newspapers on Monday, published the same headlines calling on the National Assembly to halt the amendments. It was sponsored by the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Nigerian Guild of Editors and Newspapers’ Proprietors Association of Nigeria. “Information Blackout: This is what the National Assembly wants to achieve with the NPC and NBC (media) amendment bills,” read the front pages of papers like Punch, Vanguard, the Nation, Daily Sun and the Guardian. There were also previous attempts to control the social media space via bills introduced by two Niger senators at the Senate. More details of the budget In the supplementary budget seen by PREMIUM TIMES, N11.48 billion was also allocated to the Defence Headquarters for the purchase of ammunition and another N15.8 billion for the purchase of vehicles and generators. While the Nigerian Army headquarters got N37.6 billion for ammunition, N14.8 billion for arms and N 48.6 billion for “vehicle requirement.” Another N96.5 billion was given to the agency for “payment for purchase of defence equipment”. The equipment was, however, not clearly stated. In the same vein, the Nigerian Navy was given N36.5 billion for “arms and ammo requirement” and N140.7 billion was allocated to the Nigerian Air Force for “additional aircraft requirement.” Under the budget of the Department of State Security, a total of N6.5 billion was earmarked for the construction of multipurpose gatehouses and installation of integrated security systems of the National Assembly. While N1 billion was approved for constitution review, N6.7 billion has been allocated for procurement and installation of new oxygen plants nationwide and repairs of oxygen plants in hospitals in the Federal Capital Territory. The federal government had said the budget is specifically meant to enhance the capacity of the military and paramilitary agencies to tackle the various security challenges in the country. The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, admonished relevant committees of the upper legislative chamber to carry out oversight and ensure that the funds are properly utilised.

Dangote Cement acquires 20,000 vehicles for $150m to boost operations by Haleem Olatunji

Dangote Cement Plc has acquired 20,000 additional vehicles to boost the distribution of products across the country. Tony Chiejine, the company’s spokesman, made this known in a statement on Monday. He said the new vehicles, made up of trucks, trailers and tippers, were acquired at the cost of $150 million. Chiejine said the company had recently taken delivery of another set of trucks, trailers, bulk tankers, tippers, cargo trucks and bulk cement tankers. “These assets would meet the expected increase in demand for transportation of cement to every part of the country and create employment for over 4,000 people in Nigeria,” he said. “We have acquired the new trucks in line with our new expansion capacity in Obajana, Ibese, Gboko and the new cement plant coming up on stream at Okpella, Edo state in few weeks.” Chiejine said Dangote Fertiliser Company recently took delivery of 500 trucks from Dangote Sinotruk West Africa Ltd. to distribute the Urea brand of fertiliser to different parts of the country. He said Dangote Sinotruck West Africa Ltd is a joint venture between Dangote Industries Ltd and Sinotruk China. The spokesman quoted Abdu Dantata, group executive director, logistics and distribution, that the acquisition was due to the growing needs of the business. “This is especially as regards the increased trucking demands encountered lately, due to the surge in the demands for cement,” Dantata said. “The establishment of our clinker export terminals at Apapa and Onne Port led to the purchase of heavy-duty tippers for haulage of clinker from the plants to the terminals. “The introduction of these trucks would improve customers’ demand, improve on job creation in the country, as well as promote the economic development of Nigeria.”

Nigeria most admired OPEC member country –Barkindo - Agency Report

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries has described Nigeria as the most admired member country in the global oil market. The Secretary General of the Organisation, Dr. Mohammad Barkindo, disclosed this in his congratulatory message released on Monday to mark the 50th anniversary of Nigeria’s membership of OPEC. “Nigeria is consistently regarded as one of the most admired and respected member of the OPEC family, particularly in the realm of consensus-building. “Many giants of Nigerian public service have been responsible for this successful relationship. “ Today is an important opportunity to reflect on their legacy and give thanks for the ways in which they have moulded our organisation. “I firmly believe that the partnership between OPEC and Nigeria can continue to flourish over the next 50 years. “In undertaking this noble endeavour, we will continue to rely on your full support,’’ Barkindo said. He quoted President Muhammadu Buhari, as saying on Nigeria’s 60th independence anniversary, that if Nigerians pursue aspirations together, they would be able to achieve much. “These are sagacious words and I see them as a guide for the future of OPEC and Nigeria’s membership of our organisation. We are always stronger together. “Once again, Mr. President, allow me to thank you for your steadfast support for OPEC. You have made an immeasurable contribution to the betterment of our organisation,’’ he said He said the unique relationship between OPEC and Nigeria had a multitude of positive effects for both parties. “The intertwining of the destinies of OPEC and Nigeria even precedes membership. On September 14, 1960, OPEC was founded on the bank of the River Tigris, in Baghdad. “Just two weeks later, on October 1, 1960, Nigeria joined the fraternity of independent nations. “Since these momentous events, both OPEC and Nigeria have repeatedly demonstrated their commitment to the universal values of international cooperation, dialogue, sustainable development and working toward the common good. “These principles have anchored all of our activities despite the many challenges we have faced over the 50 years,’’ he added. Barkindo noted that OPEC family owe Nigeria debt of gratitude for the pivotal role it played in bringing together OPEC and non-OPEC countries and reaching consensus in recent years, particularly through the adoption of the Declaration of Cooperation on December 10, 2016. “You have consistently shown your impeccable credentials as a bastion of the principles underpinning international relations: respect for all nations, fulfilling one’s responsibilities, transparency and fairness. “I thank you most sincerely for your contributions to the broad efforts made to ensure that the DoC evolved from a noble vision to a transformative force-for-good – one that has had a profoundly positive impact on the global oil industry,’’ he said . The OPEC scribe also commended Nigeria for playing a leading and inspirational role on the African continent in oil and gas affairs and cooperation.

Nigerian woman, who escaped Boko Haram captivity, graduates, discloses future plans ByMusikilu Mojeed

Nigerian woman, who escaped Boko Haram captivity, graduates, discloses future plans Mary Katambi, one of the Chibok girls abducted by Boko Haram in 2014, plans to become an entrepreneur, creating jobs for others. One of the 475 students who graduated from the American University of Nigeria (AUN) on Saturday is Mary Katambi. Ms Katambi bagged a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting seven years after she narrowly escaped from the grips of murderous Boko Haram terrorists who stormed her school dormitory in Chibok in 2014 and trucked away 276 girls. She said she escaped by sneaking out of the camp of the terrorists and trudging through the forest back to her village. A few months later, Ms Katambi and 24 other colleagues, who either escaped from the terrorists or were released, arrived at AUN and were admitted for a foundational programme specially created for them by the university. In 2016, after passing her school certificate and the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), she was admitted for a degree in accounting, with a full scholarship provided by AUN. On Saturday, Ms Katambi, dressed in a red academic gown and a red cap, beamed with smiles and those familiar with her strides said there were new steps in her steps as she marched to the podium to receive her certificate from AUN President, Margee Ensign. “I am so proud of her,” Ms Ensign told PREMIUM TIMES hours after the ceremony. She demonstrated strength, resilience and character. She taught us all how to survive and thrive in the face of adversity. She showed us that even if we go through trauma, there’s always a way out. She and her colleagues are our heroes.” AUN Founder, Atiku Abubakar, also praised Ms Katambi’s staying power. “Mary Katambi, I’m proud that seven years after your release from Boko Haram captivity, you’ve beaten the odds to graduate with a degree in accounting from the American University of Nigeria. The best years are still ahead of you,” the former Nigerian vice president said in a post on his Facebook page. The post was accompanied by photographs Mr Atiku took with the new graduate at the commencement ceremony. Mary Katambi and Atiku Abubakar. Mary Katambi and Atiku Abubakar. Now out of school, what next for the budding accountant? Ms Ensign said she offered Ms Katambi a job at AUN but that she declined, saying after seven years, she would like to venture out of Yola, where her university is based, to experience life elsewhere. Ms Katambi described her academic journey in AUN as incredible. “I can’t even describe how I feel now,” she told PREMIUM TIMES by telephone on Sunday morning. “It’s such a big honour. I’m really grateful and excited at the opportunity I was given to study at AUN. I also cannot forget my Boko Haram ordeal and how God brought me out.” On her next plans, she said she would immediately proceed for national service after which she would start a business she was already working on. She said she will also do a masters degree in her field along the line. “I don’t want to be looking for a job,” she said. “I want to run a business and create jobs for Nigerian youth.” When asked what kind of business she would be starting, she laughed and then said it was premature to disclose that information. Akinwumi Adesina, Mary Katambi and Atiku Abubakar. Akinwumi Adesina, Mary Katambi and Atiku Abubakar. The extremist Boko Haram sect had on April 14, 2014, abducted Ms Katambi and 275 other girls from Government Secondary School, Chibok. A presidential committee said 57 of the girls immediately escaped from their abductors. When the President Muhammadu Buhari administration came to power in 2015, it began negotiation with the Boko Haram sect. That yielded the release of 21 of the girls in October 2016 and another 82 in May 2017. Not much has been heard of the remaining 112 girls, although the Federal Government says it is still working on getting them released.