Private sector aids 60% illicit financial flows out of Africa — ICPC Chairman By Fortune Eromosele.

The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, has disclosed that the private sector was responsible for over 60 percent illegal movement of funds from Africa to foreign countries. He made this known during the visit of council members of the African Bar Association, AFBA, led by its President, Mr. Hanniba Uwaifo to the corporate headquarters of the ICPC in Abuja. According to a statement by the Commission’s spokesperson, Mrs. Azuka Ogugua, the ICPC boss explained that the perpetrators of illicit financial flows (IFFs) channeled the funds through commercial activities enabled by the private sector. He said, “A bulk of corruption going on in the country is caused or perpetuated by the private sector. About 60 percent of funds taken or stolen away from Africa through illicit financial flows are being done by the private sector, basically, through commercial transactions, seemingly harmless transactions that are put together by accountants, auditors, and bankers.” Owasanoye, who commented on attacks on staff of the Commission and other anti-corruption agencies by suspects under investigations, said that it was fuelled by impunity and weak laws. He stressed that corruption was debilitating the country, maintaining that the ICPC is focusing on public sector corruption because of its impact on the country and the private sector. Meanwhile, he charged the African Bar Association (AFBA) to play a positive role in regulating lawyers’ effectiveness in the fight against corruption and pledged the Commission’s commitment to support the upcoming Anti-Corruption Conference of the AFBA scheduled to hold in Niamey, Republic of Niger. To this end, he listed some of the progress made by the Commission to include: de-emphasizing confession-based investigation, a world-class forensic lab, staff auditing, and capacity building. Earlier in his remarks, the AFBA President, Mr. Hanniba Uwaifo traced the problem in Africa to corruption which, according to him, has led to the underdevelopment of the continent. He stressed that the continent cannot grow unless corruption was uprooted, adding that the world is worried about the level of corruption in Africa. Uwaifo lamented that the public sector corruption by government officials has held the country back from achieving its great potentials. He also highlighted some of the corrupt practices perpetrated by government officials to include: election malpractices, banditry, and influencing the employment of lackeys into anti-corruption agencies in order to aid their corrupt practices. Speaking on the profitable solutions, Uwaifo noted that issues of preventing corruption from taking place in the anti-graft agencies can be enhanced through constant audits of staff and materials. He commended the ICPC for its due diligence and rule of law in the prosecution of accused persons. “I want to commend the ICPC for performing creditably and not engaging in media trial and abuse of the rights of accused persons. I hope the Commission will continue to perform its duties as constitutionally required,” he said. Vanguard News Nigeria

ICYMI: Igboho seeks asylum in Benin Republic by Kayode Oyero and Lesi Nwisagbo

FG delegation in court, wants agitator in custody until extradition Desperately wanted by the Department of State Services in Nigeria, with an international arrest warrant hanging around his neck, and facing immigration-related offences in Cotonou, the embattled Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, aka Sunday Igboho, is seeking asylum in the Republic of Benin, Saturday PUNCH has learnt. It was gathered that the 48-year-old activist resorted to the option after he was arrested on Monday, July 19, 2021, by the International Criminal Police Organisation at the Cadjèhoun Airport in Cotonou, Republic of Benin. Igboho was arrested with his Germany-based wife, Ropo, at the airport while they reportedly tried to catch a flight to Germany around 8 pm on Monday. Although the Cour De’appal De Cotonou ruled on Thursday that Ropo should be released unconditionally as there were no charges against her, Igboho is spending his first weekend in a police cell in Cotonou. He is being tried for migration-related issues after he was allegedly caught with a fake Beninese passport at the point of his departure to Germany through an Air France flight. “He (Igboho) was already at the airport with a passport. The immigration officers suspected his passport to be fake and so they stopped him. A passport was allegedly forged for Igboho in the Benin Republic for the purpose of the Germany trip. At the airport, they discovered he was the one,” a source familiar with the matter told Saturday PUNCH. The source, who craved anonymity, however, said although an application had been filed for Igboho as a political refugee in Germany, processes had also been completed to file another application for asylum for him in Benin Republic. “Igboho has already applied for asylum in Germany and he hopes to file a similar application in Benin Republic in the coming days,” the source said. The source also said that there was the possibility that the Beninese Government would drop the migration-related offences brought against Igboho over alleged forgery of passport. The leader of Igboho’s legal team, Yomi Alliyu (SAN), had also in a statement noted that his client could not be extradited because the 1984 Extradition Treaty between Nigeria, Benin and two other countries excluded political refugees like Igboho. Meanwhile, upon their arrest, Igboho and his wife were detained in police custody in Cotonou but the Cour De’appal De Cotonou ruled on Thursday that Ropo should be released unconditionally as there were no charges against her. The court session lasted for about six hours with intermittent breaks. The court, however, ruled that Igboho be remanded in police custody till the next date of adjournment which is likely to be next week. Igboho spends weekend in Beninese cell, court resumes sitting next week Although the Cour De’appal De Cotonou, adjourned the hearing of the case against Igboho, till Friday (yesterday), the hearing didn’t hold. The implication of this is that Igboho would spend the weekend in the Beninese cell. Saturday PUNCH gathered that the hearing would hold next week while the umbrella body of Yoruba Self-Determination Groups, Ilana Omo Oodua, said it would hold on Monday. The group, led by ex-Senator Banji Akintoye, was in court to monitor Thursday’s hearing. The group disclosed this in a statement signed by its Communications Manager, Maxwell Adeleye, and titled, ‘Update on Chief Sunday Adeyemo Igboho’s Case in the Republic of Benin by Ilana Omo Oodua.’ The statement, which was released on Friday, partly read, “Yesterday (Thursday), the court set Mrs Adeyemo, lgboho’s wife, free since it has been found that she has committed no offence and there’s no complaint whatsoever against her. Consequently, her German passport was returned to her. “The case has been adjourned till Monday, July 26, to allow the Nigerian Government to bring up whatever evidence they may have, and Mr lgboho has been taken back to the police custody.” Igboho is a gunrunner, Nigeria tells court Meanwhile, Saturday PUNCH learnt that the Nigerian Government, which has been mum on the issue, sent representatives to court on, Thursday and accused Igboho of importing firearms. The source told Saturday PUNCH, “The Nigerian Government has made attempts to get him (Igboho) but Benin Republic didn’t release him. The Nigerian Government has requested him but the Beninese Government has not released him because the latter has not even identified him as a Nigerian. “The only instrument they can use to identify him as a Nigerian is the passport, but that is not what was found on him.” The source added, “The Nigerian Government was in court on Thursday through its legal representatives. They demanded that Igboho be remanded pending the time the government would file proper documents for his extradition. The Nigerian government told the court that Igboho is a gunrunner and appealed to the court to remand Igboho until further notice. “Nothing is happening on extradition for now because the priority case for the Benin Republic is that he is alleged to have committed an offence against their law. So, they can’t hold any extradition hearing until they get to the root of the matter on how he got the Benin Republic passport. “I am suspecting that even if the court orders his release, he will be rearrested because of the Nigerian Government’s accusation that he is a gunrunner.” Also, the Akintoye-led group in its statement said, “What Nigerian Government came up with were mere allegations against Ighoho such as trafficking in arms and inciting violence that could result in social disturbance without evidence, which the Government of Benin Republic considered spurious and untenable, and insufficient to warrant extradition.” When contacted, a member of Igboho’s legal team, Pelumi Olajengbesi, declined comments on the case of his client and the details of the court hearing on Thursday. The lawyer, however, told Saturday PUNCH that the team was hopeful that the court would grant Igboho bail and won’t extradite the activist illegally to Nigeria. When asked whether Igboho would get bail in court, the lawyer simply told our correspondent, “We are hopeful.” Olajengbesi restated his conviction that Benin Republic had shown itself to be a country that respects the rule of law and due process. “The disposition of Benin Republic is that it is a country that respects the rule of law. We are making efforts that he is not repatriated wrongly to Nigeria. We are ensuring that everything is done in accordance with the law and we are very hopeful that we would succeed,” he stressed. Reacting to the forgery allegation against his client, Olajengbesi said, “Igboho is in the spotlight now and people can come up with allegations. There can be issues of facts, or mis-facts anywhere but no charge has been officially brought against Igboho by the court. Until there is charge against him and investigation to prove that he is found guilty or innocent, every other thing anyone is saying is baseless.” Meanwhile, Ibrahim Salami, a counsel for Igboho, has said that the rights activist was arrested with Nigerian and German passports. This is contrary to claims that Igboho was tried for possessing a Beninese passport despite not being a citizen of the country. Salami told BBC Yoruba, “It is not true that the Benin Republic passport was found on Sunday Igboho when he was arrested. “What was found on him were Nigerian and German passports. His wife had only her German passport on her at the point of arrest.” Meanwhile, reports have indicated that Igboho may face 21 years’ imprisonment over the Beninese passport he allegedly tendered before his aborted trip. Although it officially denied it, the Nigeria Immigration Service had reportedly on July 9 placed Igboho on a stop-list. NIS alerted the Nigeria Police, the DSS and the National Intelligence Agency that he was making efforts to acquire a new Nigerian passport as part of plans to flee the country. As the authorities uncovered his strategy, Igboho, it was gathered, allegedly made arrangements for a Beninese passport. Expressing fear over the fate of Igboho, a lawmaker in Benin, identified as Tolulase, in an interview with the BBC Yoruba, said the situation was not looking good for the agitator. The legislator explained that although Benin is a small country, laws are strictly enforced there. He said, “On this passport issue, take me for instance, I’m from Benin but married to an Ijebu woman from Nigeria. We have five kids. She gave birth to two in Nigeria, three in Benin. “Only the three have Beninese passports, the two others and my wife do not have. She can only apply if we married legally in Benin. “Even after the court wedding, the passport is not issued immediately. She will wait for some years and must go through the processes. “The first thing you must have is the National Identity Card. Now, if you’re not a citizen, the only way you can get a passport is if you legally marry a Beninoise. “You can see it’s not easy. So, if you procure a fake one, you’ll be uncovered because you don’t have a National Identity Card. The details are linked. “The card must have a family name. About three to five of your relatives must confirm to the government that they know you and your early years. “It is after they testify that the court will issue the card, which can then be used to apply for a passport. If such is doctored, the punishment is 21 years’ imprisonment. It’s a serious offence. “And it’s not just the owner of the fake passport that will be prosecuted; all those who know about it will be charged to court. “On Chief Sunday Igboho, the Beninese Government will carry out a detailed investigation that will expose everyone involved in his passport obtainment.” Fighting against extradition Meanwhile, Igboho’s lawyers are fighting against his extradition to Nigeria, where he may face treason charges. The Federal Government, its agencies and South-West governors remain silent on his ordeal, but his supporters within and outside Nigeria are calling for his unconditional release, insisting self-determination is not a crime. The President, Women Arise and Centre for Change, Joe Okei-Odumakin, has appealed to the Beninese Government not to repatriate Igboho. She said Igboho could not be assured of safety or justice in Nigeria and “will come to grief if he is extradited under the prevailing circumstances.” Nigeria’s best interest’ll top our extradition approach -AGF’s aide Meanwhile, the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice has explained that the Minister was considering Nigeria’s best interest while exercising his discretion in filing extradition charges against the Yoruba activist, Igboho. Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations to the AGF, Dr. Jibrilu Gwandu, said this in response to enquiries from Saturday PUNCH, on Friday. He was responding to a question on why the Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, was yet to file extradition charges against the activist. Gwandu said, the “Attorney General is considering and I believe is not bound by time limitations in exercising that discretion and considering the beneficial approach.” He explained that Malami, who was conscious about public interest and the interest of justice at all times, would, at the appropriate time, do the needful. There have been concerns over the seeming delay by the Federal Government to file extradition charges against Igboho who was earlier declared wanted by the DSS after its operatives raided his Soka residence, killing two people and arresting 12 others in the process. Court gives DSS six days to produce Igboho’s aides Meanwhile, a Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday gave the Department of State Services six days within which to produce Igboho’s aides in court. It also ordered the DSS to show cause why the 12 applicants should not be admitted to bail on July 29, which is the next adjourned date. Earlier, the counsel for the 12 detained aides of the activist, Pelumi Olajengbesi, while arguing his ex parte motion before the court, said his clients who were applicants in the case, were arrested by agents of the state and had not been heard from since their detention. He stated that the exhibit which formed part of his motion was a letter written to the DSS to enable the applicants to gain access to their lawyers and family members. The lawyer lamented that in spite of the letter, the DSS did not oblige them access to the applicants who had been in their custody for over 20 days. Olajengbesi craved the indulgence of the court in the interest of justice to grant the reliefs sought. In his ex parte motion, Olajengbesi prayed the court on behalf of the applicants for an order “mandating and compelling the respondents to produce the applicants to enable the court to inquire into the circumstances constituting the grounds of their arrest and detention since July 1, 2021.” The lawyer also sought the order of the court mandating and compelling the respondents to produce the applicants before the court and “show cause as to why the applicants should not be granted bail in accordance with the provision of Section 32 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 and other extant laws in Nigeria.” Olajengbesi argued that the applicants are citizens of Nigeria with inherent rights. The ex-parte motion was supported with an eight-paragraph affidavit, exhibit, eleven-paragraph affidavit of extreme urgency, affidavit of non-complicity of action, and a written address. The detained aides had instituted a suit against the DSS and its Director-General, Yusuf Bichi, following their arrest and detention on July 1, 2021 after the DSS’ raid on Igboho’s residence in the Soka area of Ibadan, Oyo State. The applicants are Abdulateef Ofeyagbe, Amoda Babatunde, Tajudeen Erinoyen, Diekola Ademola, Abideen Shittu, Jamiu Noah, and Ayobami Donald. Others are Adelabe Usman, Oluwapelimi Kunle, Raji Kazeem, Taiwo Opeyemi, and Bamidele Sunday. PUNCH.

Controversial Electoral bill exposes Nigerian lawmakers by Sunday Aborisade

SUNDAY ABORISADE highlights the views of experts and stakeholders on the implications of two bills recently passed by the National Assembly aimed at guaranteeing free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria Last week, the two chambers of the National Assembly passed the Electoral Act (Amendment ) Bill 2021 and the Electoral Offences Establishment Bill as part of efforts to ensure that Nigerians’ votes count during polls. While the bill seeking to establish a commission that would be saddled with the responsibilities of prosecuting electoral offenders was passed without much ado, that of amendment to the Electoral Act generated serious controversies both in the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Electoral Offences bill, among other provisions, okayed a 20-year jail term for anybody caught snatching ballot materials. The Joint Senate and House Committee on Independent National Electoral Commission in Clause 52(3) provides for electronic transmission of election results by INEC where and when practicable but the All Progressives Congress senators rejected it and voted for an amendment made by Senator Aliyu Abdullahi ( APC Niger North) . Abdullahi had added a proviso that “INEC may consider electronic transmission of results provided the national network coverage is adjudged to be adequate and secure by the Nigerian Communications Commission and approved by the National Assembly.” However, the Peoples Democratic Party Senators stuck to the recommendation of the joint panel which states that, “The Commission (INEC) may transmit results of elections by electronic means where and when practicable.” The voice vote adopted by the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, to determine the winner in favour of the APC, was rejected by the Senate Minority Leader , Enyinnaya Abaribe, and he called for a division after a stalemate which could not be resolved behind closed doors. The Clerk of the Senate, Ibrahim El–Ladan, conducted the headcount and a total of 80 Senators voted; while 50 APC senators and two from the PDP voted for the amendment made by Abdullahi, 28 PDP lawmakers voted for the original provision of the clause. The clerk said 28 senators were absent during the division and voting session. In the House of Representatives, however, the original provision recommended by the joint panel was retained but members of the opposition PDP staged a walk-out, following an unsuccessful attempt to make it mandatory for INEC to transmit election results, electronically. Stakeholders and experts who expressed their views on the developments, however, expressed divergent opinions. For instance, the Executive Director, Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, kicked against the version passed by the Senate which according to him, would erode the independence of INEC. He also said the attempt to guarantee free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria would be a mirage if such a provision was retained. Itodo said, “it is important to underscore the fact that the bill as passed by both chambers of the National Assembly is not a law yet until the President assents his signature to the bill. “Given all the controversies and how both the Senate and the House of Representatives voted, it is clear that there is a consensus among lawmakers from the ruling APC to maintain the status quo as it relates to results collation and transmission and not to adopt an electronic transmission of results for subsequent elections. “This is a testament to the fact that the beneficiaries of a jaundice, very porous, vulnerable results collation process do not want to end these level of vulnerability and compromise that has plagued results collation over the years and it is disturbing. This is because over the years, it has encouraged election rigging and results falsification and they don’t want to introduce technology that would curb that fraud. That is why Nigerians should resist it with their attempt to exclude INEC from electronic transmission of results.” He further explained, “The electronic transmission of results as contemplated within our electoral process is to serve as a check on the manual process and not necessarily replace or supplant the manual process of collating election results with the electronic transmission. “Results collation happens at different levels depending on the elections. It can happen at the ward, local, state and national levels. The decentralised stages of results collation to a large extent, also serve as a check. We need to note that the integrity of the 2023 elections is going to be hinged on how results are collated, transmitted and how declarations are made. If there is an attempt to stop or preclude INEC from transmitting results electronically, we are simply saying goodbye to election integrity in 2023.” On the 20-year jail term prescribed for ballot box snatchers, in the new bill, Itodo said, “I don’t think it will end electoral violence. On one hand, it is not about having a legislation, it is about holding defaulters to account. Politicians are the main culprit.” He added, “They are the ones who made the law, and they are the ones who also compromise the judiciary. At the end of the day, I doubt if it will end electoral violence. I just feel that it shouldn’t be limited to those who snatch ballot boxes, the sponsors should also be captured in the law because they are the real beneficiaries of ballot box snitching. We should look for a way to sanction conspirators, their sponsors, and not just the perpetrators of the act.” The National General Secretary, Campaign for Democracy, Ifeanyi Odili, said the electronic transmission of results was rejected by the retrogressive members of the National Assembly while the real progressives among then embraced it. Odili said, “The end result of the electronic transmission of results will be very productive, un-hazardous, helpful and would not be counter-productive. “This is because it will prevent candidates heading to challenge election results in the election petition tribunal, since everybody would have been in possession of the results as they keep coming in before the official announcement. “The staggered elections we have today in Nigeria is a consequence of election rigging and the attended legal battles. If we imbibe this culture, snatching of ballot boxes will become history. Rejecting the bill can only come from retrogressive minds. “I want to draw an inference here that if we take a critical look at the foundation of the lawmakers who are opposed to it, it would be readily concluded that they are the ones who got elected through the back door, I mean those who subverted the wishes of the electorate to get to position. “I have a strong feeling that any lawmaker that is opposed to it has a retrogressive mind who found his or her way to the hallowed chambers though the back door. I mean they are the real products of election fraud.” He further pointed, “It is appalling and absurd to hear that in this computer age and the global spread of the ICT, a federal lawmaker, very popular on social media, could oppose electronic transmission of results. Such affected lawmakers should have their brains examined by medical experts. Also, asking INEC to seek approval from the Nigerian Communications Commission and the National Assembly cannot work because it will compromise the independence of INEC. “That will strip the commission of its independence. That opinion can only come from the pit of hell.” Odili said the establishment of a commission to try electoral offenders would curb rigging and violence during polls. He said, “Our people are stone-hearted, very difficult to predict. However, it is good tactics to stop snatching of ballot boxes. “With this bill, I can see that we are heading somewhere. It is abnormal and insane for any person to snatch ballot boxes because it is subversive. It takes the entire process backward. “However, a 20-year jail term is not enough punishment for someone who subverts our collective wishes, it is treasonable, it is mutiny and should be treated as such.” A human rights activist, who represented the Kaduna Central Senatorial District in the 8th National Assembly, Senator Shehu Sani, said there could be chaos and anarchy if the National Assembly passed the Senate version of the Electoral Act (Amendment ) Bill. Sani said, “There are three implications of the clause passed by the Senate on the 2023 general elections. “First, the independence of INEC has been compromised. We now have three electoral bodies-the real INEC, the NCC and the National Assembly. “The second implication is that the ruling party with dominance in the National Assembly, would now be determining whether the results of an election conducted by the INEC should be released or not. “The third aspect is that announcements of results can be stalled by an appointee of Mr President who is the chairman of the NCC. “Another implication is the fact that the National Assembly is not usually functional during elections because legislative activities are usually suspended two weeks before the elections and resume two weeks after the polls. “The National Assembly members are politicians who are members of political parties. If the ruling party is losing the election for instance, there is no way the National Assembly will allow the release of that result. “There is a tendency that the President of the Senate could be compelled not to convene the Senate that would approve the release of the election results. “The President can compel the Ahmad Lawan-led leadership of the Senate not to convene the Parliament.” On the Electoral Offences Bill, Sani said, “It depends on who is going to do the arrest.” He said, “In Kogi State, the police shielded thugs of the ruling party until there was pressure. So, it all depend on who the police want to prosecute. “They have the sole power to make arrest. They may decide to arrest thugs of the opposition and shield those of the ruling party. “The election offences commission is , however, a good idea but it will unfortunately be subjected to the whims and caprices of the police.” However, a professor of Political Science at the University of Ilorin, Gbade Ojo, has a different view. He said the raging controversy over the decision of the Senate was unnecessary, adding that the parliament reserved the powers to make laws for any agency of government, including INEC. Rather, Ojo asked Nigerians to mount pressure on the Federal Government to boost network coverage across the country instead of blaming the Senate for its action. He said, “The independence nature or character of INEC does not in any way makes it a law onto itself. INEC as an independent body must still operate within the ambit of the law; it is the primary responsibility of the National Assembly to enact laws. “It is the law made by the National Assembly that INEC must work with. Globally, electoral bodies make use of electoral laws. The electoral body is as good as the laws that guide it. “In that wise, electoral laws are made by the National Assembly. So, the raging controversy is unnecessary. “If the National Assembly should legislate that whatever INEC wants to do, they must seek the consent of the NCC; if it is necessary for them to do so, so be it. “This is because INEC and the National Assembly are not the authority when it comes to information technology. “I do not expect members of the National Assembly, as many as they are, to be making laws blindly. They have to seek experts’ opinion. That is what they did with the NCC. “If the NCC should say that it cannot guarantee election result’s transmission in more than 50 per cent of the areas in Nigeria, then, why can we not wait until we mount pressure on the executive arm to pump money into technology? “The Federal Ministry of Science and Technology is there doing nothing. It is unfortunate if we cannot invest money in space technology. “Since 1960 that Nigeria got independence, the country has never been serious when it comes to research. A country with a high level of cleptocracy, serious corruption, cannot be forced to put an arrangement that would guarantee election result’s transmission in place immediately unless they will disrupt the whole process and there will be crisis. “The card readers are not functional in virtually all polling units in rural areas without network. I am not sure three quarter of the 774 local government areas are connected to electricity in their council secretariat. “We need to be serious with technology first before we can be talking of results transmission. Of what use would it be, if you vote at a polling unit and the results cannot be transmitted until 24 hours after? “If we don’t get it right, hackers could infiltrate the INEC facilities and send fake results to its servers; after all people get fake bank alerts from hackers. “Russia was accused of assisting Donald Trump in transmitting incorrect election results. If developed countries could be having such problems, how much less, a third world like Nigeria, deeply involved in corruption? “Anybody can tamper with INEC server and mess us up. We are producing professors of Science and Technology and those of Computer but without implements for them to work with. No funding to do research. That’s the problem.” On the electoral offences commission, Ojo said the National Assembly was unnecessarily increasing the numbers of bureaucracy by coming up with the bill. He said, “It is a sheer waste of resources. It is the primary responsibility of the police to make arrest and charge whoever with whatever offence. “If since 1960 till date that we have been having elections in this country, nobody is in prison over election offences; that means with the establishment of that commission, policemen with mere batons at polling units who cannot face miscreants wielding guns, would just be watching and expect members of the commission to go and make arrest and take offenders to court. “I think the fundamental problem of those in the National Assembly is the fact that they do not carry experts along in their process of law-making. “It is not just about public hearing, it is about the National Assembly commissioning experts to review their proposed legislation and offer informed opinions and suggestions especially on the implications of such laws. “We don’t need another commission presently. INEC should work with the police to ensure that electoral offenders are arrested and prosecuted. “Instead of recruiting more people to the proposed commission, more personnel should be recruited to the Nigeria Police Force and empower the NPF with equipment to work with.” In the meantime, Nigerians would have to wait till the National Assembly resumes in September to set up a joint panel to harmonise the different positions of the Senate and House of Representatives on the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2021, before knowing the final verdict on the controversial electoral bill. t PUNCH.

FG replaces controversial RUGA with new scheme, begins camps in six states by Okechukwu Nnodim and Jesusegun Alagbe

Two years after the suspension of the controversial Rural Grazing Area scheme in July 2019, the Federal Government has introduced a replacement scheme called the Livestock Intervention Programme to address the lingering farmer-herder crisis across the country. This comes amid the Federal Government’s intensified efforts to revive colonial-era grazing routes in many states across the country as per the directive by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd). According to documents from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development sighted by one of our correspondents, the LIP scheme will see the Federal Government establishing eight large herders’ settlements in each of the six pilot states, namely Adamawa, Kwara, Niger, Bauchi, Kaduna and Gombe. The scheme is expected to be extended to other states, following a successful outing in the pilot states. The documents as well as interviews with some officials of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development showed that the LIP is already being implemented in the six pilot states. The officials confirmed that the six states accepted the establishment of the large herders’ settlements and had already provided land for the purpose. Unlike the controversial RUGA settlements, which started with 12 pilot states, the ministry officials said the government chose to start the LIP settlements with six pilot states, pending the extension to other states. They said eight large LIP settlements would be built for herders in each of the states. Asked if the Federal Government would reactivate the suspended RUGA programme since the clashes between herders and farmers had yet to abate, the acting Director, Animal Husbandry Department, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Winnie Lai-Solarin, replied, “What we have now is the Livestock Intervention Project. And this intervention will take place in the settlements. It might also interest you to know that right now, the intervention has been reduced to six states.” According to the director, the six pilot states for the LIP are in the North because the region has large settlements and land to grow pasture. “The states are Adamawa, Kwara, Niger, Bauchi, Kaduna and Gombe,” she noted. Lai-Solarin confirmed that the Federal Government was establishing the livestock settlement in eight locations in each of the six states. On why the government reduced the intervention to six pilot states, unlike the RUGA settlements that started with 12 states, the FMARD official explained that the outcry against plans to establish RUGA settlements led to the cutdown. She, however, noted that some states were still showing interest, despite the initial widespread outcry in many parts of Nigeria. Lai-Solarin said, “When we started, the states were 12 in number. They included Taraba, Adamawa, Plateau, Niger, Nasarawa, Katsina, Zamfara, Kaduna, Sokoto, Kebbi, and Kogi. They were 12 originally. “And all the states are in the North. The speculation and media reports made people start saying the government wanted to take people’s lands in the South-West, South-East and others.” She added, “There was never a time that we included states in the South. Rather, speculation and miscommunication gave rise to the concerns by the people that the government was coming to take their land. “The wrong information went out. Once they heard RUGA, they kicked against it. However, the concept of RUGA was to meet pastoralists where they are in their settlements and provide infrastructure for them there. “But when that information went out, and because you have settlements in the South and other regions too, it was easy for people to turn it around and say, ‘They (herders) are coming to our states to take our land.’ “But this was when there was no such plan ab initio. Never was such a plan made by the Federal Government.” Lai-Solarin added that the ministry had been carrying out diverse other interventions to mitigate the clashes between herders and farmers nationwide. The immediate past Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, had in May 2019 announced that Buhari approved the RUGA initiative to address the farmer-herder crisis. A month later, a former Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mohammed Umar, announced that the Federal Government was to commence the pilot phase of the RUGA project in 11 states for a start, including Sokoto, Adamawa, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Kogi, Taraba, Katsina, Plateau, Kebbi, Zamfara and Niger. “The RUGA settlement will attract a lot of investments to Nigeria and it is our belief that in the next five years, each RUGA settlement will provide nothing less than 2,000 employment opportunities. We are collaborating with the cattle breeders associations in Nigeria,” Umar said at the time. The scheme, however, met with stiff opposition by southern states whose people saw the move as a land-grabbing move by the Federal Government for Fulani herders. The Benue State House of Assembly, for instance, called for the removal of the signboards erected in the communities earmarked for RUGA settlements. Many southern states called for ranching, saying since cattle rearing was a private business, herders ought to buy land and graze their cattle on it, adding that the measure would stop the frequent clashes between herders and farmers. Also, many lawyers, including a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, kicked against the plan to establish RUGA settlements in parts of the country, describing it as “illegal.” Falana argued that the Supreme Court had held that the entire land in each state was vested in the governor. Amid the outcry that trailed the RUGA scheme, the Federal Government suspended the initiative in July 2019. The government said the reason RUGA was suspended was because it was inconsistent with the National Livestock Transformation Plan, an initiative to establish ranches across the states. The NLTP was approved by the National Council of Agriculture in conjunction with the National Economic Council. States that keyed into the NLTP are to receive 49 per cent funding from the Federal Government, while the remaining 51 per cent funding is to be sourced by the state, private sector and development partners. In February 2021, the Federal Government said it had mapped out 30 grazing reserves across the country for the NLTP implementation. Meanwhile, as of June 2021, of the over 20 states said to have assented to the NLTP, only four states – Nasarawa, Plateau, Adamawa, and Kaduna – were said to be ready for the scheme’s take-off, according to the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Agriculture, Dr Andrew Kwasari. While the scheme is awaiting full take-off, in a new twist recently, Buhari, in a move believed to challenge the ban on open grazing by southern governors, said in an interview with Arise News that the grazing routes across the country would be revived. Buhari said he had directed the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), to produce a gazette which delineated grazing routes in all parts of the country in the First Republic. The President stated, “What I did was to ask him (Malami) to go and dig out the gazette of the First Republic when people were obeying laws. “There were cattle routes and grazing areas. Cattle routes were for when they (herdsmen) were moving up-country, north to south or east to west. They had to go through there.” The President’s statement followed Malami’s criticism of southern governors for banning open grazing, saying their action was like banning the sale of spare parts in the North. However, several southern states and institutions like the Nigerian Bar Association and the Pan-Niger Delta Forum faulted the President for the revival of old grazing routes. Southern states, including Ondo, Delta, Cross River, Enugu, Benue, Akwa Ibom, and Oyo, said there was no existence of a gazette that marked out grazing routes for cattle across the country. The state governments also insisted on the ban on open grazing, despite the President’s opposition to it. Also, many lawyers, including the Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Ajibola Basiru, insisted that there was no law on grazing routes in any part of Nigeria. PUNCH.

10 most iconic Olympic boxing bouts. Agency Report

OLYMPIC boxing has introduced some of the most legendary names ever to grace the sport. The Games is the ultimate prize for every amateur boxer and the perfect way to sign off before heading into the professional ranks. Over the years, dazzling performances, shock decisions and even history-making bouts have lit up the Olympics. Below are some of the most iconic moments and bouts in Olympic boxing history Cassius Clay, Rome 1960 The man who would be known as Muhammad Ali almost decided not make the Games in Italy, due to a fear of flying, and even strapped on a parachute on the plane. But The Greatest must have been thankful that he did make the trip as he went on to win the gold, beating Pole Zbigniew Pietrzykowski in the final. Ali travelled to the 1960 Rome Games to compete in the light heavyweight division. Despite being only 18, he won all four of his fights easily. Little did anyone know it would spark one of the most iconic careers ever, not only in boxing, but in all of sports. Clay turned professional and won the heavyweight World Championship for the first time in 1964, beating Sonny Liston in a legendary fight. Over the next four years he defended his title nine times, converted to Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali. Sugar Ray Leonard, Montreal 1976 Leonard goes down as one of the most technically gifted fighters of all time, blessed with speed, timing and magical footwork. And it was all on display in Canada, where he showed off his famous ‘shoeshine’ technique of throwing lots of fast combinations to catch the judges eye. Leonard beat Cuba’s Andres Aldama for gold and in the pros later became a five-weight world champion as part of the ‘Four Kings’ era, with classic fights against Roberto Duran, Tommy Hearns and the late Marvin Hagler. Leonard now keeps his gold medal locked up tight in a safety deposit box, but he says he’s allowed it to grace other people’s necks on rare occasions. “When some friends or just individuals come over sometimes I’ll show it, let them take a picture of it around their neck, ‘Here you go. You get one around your neck,’” the former athlete told PEOPLE. Roy Jones Jr, Seoul 1988 In one of boxing’s darkest and most infamous hours, Jones was robbed of Olympic gold against Park Si-hun of South Korea. Years later it emerged the offending judges had been wined and dined by Korean organisers, but the International Olympic Committee stated “there is no evidence of corruption in the boxing events in Seoul.” The outcome drew instant criticism and disdain, even from South Koreans, who heckled Park at the podium and bombarded local TV stations with phone calls protesting that the country’s home advantage had gone too far. Jones went on to have a phenomenal professional career, becoming a four-weight champ in the pros – even winning a heavyweight belt – and retiring in 2018 with a 66-9 record that cemented him as one of the sport’s all-time greats. Park, the last South Korean boxer to win an Olympic gold, said last year he had spent the past 32 years wishing it was a silver. “There’s hardened resentment built up in me that I will probably carry for the rest of my life,” Park, 54, who now coaches the small municipal boxing team of Seogwipo City in the island province of Jeju, said. “I didn’t want my hand to be raised (after the fight with Jones), but it did go up, and my life became gloomy because of that.” Lennox Lewis, Seoul 1988 Lewis, who was born in London but moved to Ontario aged 12, represented Canada in Korea. At the age of 18, he represented Canada in the 1984 Summer Olympics as a super heavyweight but lost by decision in the quarter-finals to American, Tyrell Biggs, the eventual gold medalist. Lewis being a true competitor decided that he would return to the Olympic Games and win gold. In 1988 at the Seoul Olympics, he did as he said he would and brought home the Gold medal to Canada in the Super Heavyweight division. This set the stage for Lewis’s illustrious boxing career. It was American Riddick Bowe that he beat to win gold, sparking a heated rivalry with the heavyweight. It carried on into the pros but they never re-matched, with Bowe even binning his WBC belt to avoid fighting Lewis. Floyd Mayweather, Atlanta 1996 In another ugly night for boxing, Mayweather lost to Bulgarian Serafiv Todorov in the semi-finals – but had clearly been robbed. So much so, that the referee even raised his wrong hand in confusion as Todorov was announced the winner. Mayweather reached the semi-finals following a tight contest against future Olympic silver medalist Lorenzo Aragon of Cuba. Standing between him and a place for the gold medal bout was three-time world champion Todorov. Mayweather seemed the more dominant fighter of the two as he kept landing shots while avoiding ones thrown towards him. The referee raised his hand and it looked like the United States could add another gold to their medal tally. This is where drama struck. The judges announced Todorov as the winner with the score reading 10-9, much to the shock of the American team. Mayweather was inconsolable after the fight and left the interview in tears. Despite the heartbreak of winning only bronze, it was the last time Mayweather – who retired 50-0 after turning pro – ever tasted defeat. Wladimir Klitschko, Atlanta 1996 The younger Klitschko won gold against Tongan Paea Wolfgramm in America. It was not such an easy transformation into the paid ranks for the Ukrainian, though, who suffered three defeats in his early career. But under the guidance of legendary trainer Emanuel Steward, Klitschko went on to have a dominant nine-year reign as champ before losing to Tyson Fury in 2015. Deontay Wilder, Beijing 2008 American Wilder, then 22, was beaten by Italian ex-cop Clemente Russo in the semi-final in China to claim bronze. But it was the third-place prize which inspired his current nickname the ‘Bronze Bomber.’ Paying homage to the ‘Brown Bomber’ Joe Louis, also from Wilder’s home state of Alabama, the nickname has become synonymous with modern-day heavyweight boxing. Anthony Joshua, London 2012 Joshua went into the 2012 London Olympics as a novice on the international scene, despite being a world silver medalist. Only four years after taking up boxing, Joshua beat Italian legend and reigning Olympic champion and former two-time world champion Roberto Cammarelle in front of adoring fans in the capital. After conceding the first two rounds to Cammarelle, an adversary he had already beaten the previous year, Joshua grew into the fight and fought back to level the scores after the third round, before he was announced winner via count-back. It was the night Britain’s newest superstar was born and within a year of AJ’s pro debut he was a household name. Fast forward to the present and he is one of the biggest poster boys in boxing, a two-time unified champ and a mega commercial attraction. Nicola Adams, London 2012 The 2012 Games was a landmark for boxing as it was the first to involve women’s competiton. And it was Britain’s Adams who was the first to medal, brilliantly beating world No.1 Ren Cancan from China to win gold. She added a further flyweight gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and was victorious at the 2015 European Games in Baku. The following year was just as successful, with Leeds-born Adams winning her first World Championship gold before defending her flyweight title at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, and turning professional in 2017. Adams followed it up with a pro world title and retired in 2019 unbeaten in six fights. PUNCH.

Igboho: People are working behind the scenes, says Sanwo-Olu by Victoria Edeme

The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has stated that people are ” working behind the scenes” concerning the arrest and trial of Yoruba Nation activist, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho. The governor made this known while addressing the Press at the Polling Unit 019 Ward 08, Ikoyi II, where he cast his vote during the Local Government/Council Areas election on Saturday. PUNCH Online was live at the venue and our correspondent on ground asked the governor about the presumed silence of South West governors on the arrest of Igboho. In response, the governor explained that “people” are working behind the scenes, stating that the case doesn’t have to be a public conversation. “These are very difficult times for all of us. I can assure you that people are working behind the scenes. “At occasions like this, it’s not by how many Press people you call. “I’m aware that a lot of people have responses that they are doing quietly and privately and it doesn’t have to be a public conversation.” The PUNCH earlier reported that the 48-year-old activist was arrested on Monday, July 19, 2021, by the International Criminal Police Organisation at the Cadjèhoun Airport in Cotonou, Republic of Benin. Igboho was arrested with his Germany-based wife, Ropo, at the airport while they reportedly tried to catch a flight to Germany around 8 pm on Monday. Five days after the arrest and planned extradition of Yoruba Nation agitator, the six governors in the South-West geopolitical zone of Nigeria have kept mum over the matter. The governors are Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Gboyega Oyetola (Osun), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), and Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos). Efforts to get the comments of Akeredolu, who is the Chairman of South-West Governors’ Forum, proved abortive as the Ondo State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Donald Ojogo, neither took several calls to his line nor replied a text message sent to his line by our correspondent.

How unscrupulous politicians undermine Nigeria’s democracy by Jide Ojo

Wealth Without Work Pleasure Without Conscience Knowledge Without Character Commerce (Business) Without Morality (Ethics) Science Without Humanity Religion Without Sacrifice Politics Without Principle – Seven Deadly Sins by former Prime Minster of India, Mahatma Ghandi Renowned Professor of Political Economy, Claude Ake, of the blessed memory, said Nigeria is running democracy without democrats. That has been the bane of the country’s democratic sojourn. From the First to this Fourth Republic, Nigerian politicians have shown undiluted egocentrism. That is the reason what happened last week at the National Assembly concerning electoral reform was not too surprising. Nigerians are too naïve to think that the country’s political elite will work only for public good. Section 4 (2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, says, “The National Assembly shall have power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the Federation…” That’s fair enough but who determines what those adjectives mean? Our lawmakers interpret for themselves and by themselves what peace, order and good government mean. The Ninth National Assembly raised our hopes to high heaven and decided to dash it at the last minute. They played us to believe they were serious with this electoral reform. They set up a joint committee comprising of the Senate Committee on INEC chaired by Senator Kabir Gaya, a former governor of Kano State and House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters, chaired by Aisha Dukku. For close to two years, they walked us through the process. They sponsored a Private Member Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill and several other electoral reform bills, about seven of them. The bill passed through the first and second reading and was sent to the committee on electoral reform for further legislative actions. The committee organised public hearings after receiving over 70 memoranda. The promise was that the bill would be passed by December 2020, then they said that was no longer realistic and pledged first quarter of 2021. When that was no longer feasible, they shifted the goalpost to the second quarter of 2021. That too was missed only for them to pass the bill on the last day of sitting before they proceeded on their two months’ annual vacation. This was done deliberately. I had it on good authority that the technical committee that comprised the joint NASS committee on electoral reform, Office of Attorney General and the representative of the Independent National Electoral Commission had finished with their task since March 2021 and that the report could have been laid by April. This was not to be. Because of the hatchet job they intended to do, they left the consideration of the bill till the last day of their sitting. For the uninitiated, what the Senate did by passing the controversial Section 52 (2) in the manner they did by asking INEC to get approval from the National Communications Commission and the National Assembly before the commission will deploy electronic transmission of results was not part of what was agreed to at the technical committee level. Why then did the Senate decide to insert it into the version of their own bill? The simple answer is that they had to do that in order to derail the electoral reform process so that the status quo of having manual election result collation will be sustained. Meanwhile, every election observer knows that collation of election result is the weakest link in the electoral process as that is the pressure point for manipulation of election results. The Senate that passed the controversial Section 52 (2) in the manner they did knew what they did is unconstitutional, ultra vires, null and void in the light of constitutional provisions in Sections 78, 160 and Paragraph 15 (a) of the Third Schedule of the 1999 Constitution as amended. Many of them were aware that in 2018, when they introduced the controversial Clause 25 (1) which increased the number of election days from two to three and order sequence of elections for INEC, the President vetoed that bill on the grounds that the NASS has no such power to so influence INEC. Why would the senators repeat this same mistake with the controversial Clause 52 (2)? I say it without equivocation that it was done deliberately. Many of us who watched the House of Representatives deliberation on the bill saw how the Deputy Speaker who presided over the deliberation rigged the voice vote over the controversial Clause 52 (2) last Thursday. Even when the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, decided to invite the NCC to tell his members about Internet connectivity and security of our cyberspace for electronic transmission of results, it was an act with a predetermined outcome. Why should the NCC commissioner that came be given the members dated information. The man gave Internet connectivity as of 2018 when we are in 2021. NASS is talking of possibility of hacking but they forgot that INEC has been doing electronic (biometric) voter registration since 2006 without much hassles. Nigerian banks have been doing Internet banking for over a decade despite the fear of hackers. We have been registering National Identification Number registration, Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, passport and driving licence electronically without any considerable backlash. In order to expose the perfidious treachery of the National Assembly, INEC had come out to say that it had the capacity to transmit election results electronically from all parts of Nigeria. “We have uploaded results from very remote areas, even from areas where you have to use human carriers to access. We have made our own position very clear, that we have the capacity and we have the will to deepen the use of technology in the electoral process,” INEC’s National Chairman and Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Mr. Festus Okoye, said on Channels Television last Saturday. Away from the shenanigans of the National Assembly on electoral reform, it is on record that it is the unscrupulous and desperate politicians that engage in election violence. They recruit political thugs to foment trouble during party primaries, campaigns and elections. They engage in underage voter registration, multiple registration and multiple voting. Recall that there is a serving governor INEC had exposed as having registered twice, both in Abuja and his state capital. This same breed of politicians which cut across party lines engage in vote-buying and spend over and above legal campaign finance limit. It is these same desperate politicians who would put INEC Returning Officers under pressure to make a wrong declaration as happened in Imo State during the 2019 National Assembly elections. They also use all legal and extra legal means including inducing INEC staff in order to rig election for them. One of such instances was exposed when nemesis caught up with a professor in University of Calabar who aided and abetted a notable politician to rig election in Akwa Ibom State. On March 25, 2021, High Court in Akwa-Ibom State sentenced Peter Ogban to three years in prison, for election fraud. The court, which found Ogban guilty of fraudulent manipulation of election results, publishing and announcing of false results, also asked the professor to pay N100,000 fine. Ogban, a professor of soil science, and a returning officer in the 2019 elections in Akwa Ibom North-West District, was charged for manipulating the election results of two local government areas – Oruk Anam and Etim Ekpo. Unprincipled politicians stop at nothing to win elections. They kill, maim, rig, induce and do everything humanly possible to undermine the electoral process. They use the security agencies to harass and molest opposition candidates and parties in order to pave the way for election rigging. They chase away agents of opposition candidates and even buy out judges of election petitions tribunals in order to win elections. There are ample cases in point. It happened in the Ekiti State governorship election of 2014, Osun State governorship supplementary election of 2018, and Kogi State governorship election of 2019. Space will not allow me to recount the testimonies of some past political leaders on how they rig elections in Nigeria. First is the account of former Cross River State Governor, Donald Duke, who in July 2010 at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja gave a blow by blow account of the modus operandi of governors and Resident Electoral Commissioners to thwart the mandate of the electorate. Former Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu, eight years after the confession of Duke also informed the world on Channels Television that he helped his party — the Peoples Democratic Party — rig elections in the past. He said he helped the party to rig the elections by bribing officials of INEC as well as security agents. Until Nigeria is able to thwart the self-serving and egoistic efforts of these unscrupulous and unprincipled desperate politicians, our elections will continue to be a hollow ritual. It will continue to be the contest for the most violent, richest, and undesirable elements. Citizen action is needed to safeguard this democracy from being completely hijacked by political hawks who masquerade as democrats. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.