Masquerade Alleged To Have Killed Islamic Cleric Now At Large

THE SUSPECTS PARADED BY THE POLICE IN ABEOKUTA

The masquerade that allegedly shot dead an Islamic cleric, Lateef Amusa , in Ijaye area of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital during Egungun festival has vanished into thin air.State Commissioner of Police, Ikemefuna Okoye, in a press briefing at the Command Headquarters, Eleweran, Abeokuta, said that contrary to media report that the masquerade was among those arrested, the Command did not have the masquerade, known as ‘Leyin Aponle,’ in its custody.
It would be recalled that Amusa was reportedly killed by a masquerade during Egungun festival, which led to the burning down of the masquerade’s family house.
While giving an update on the incident, the Police Command had said four suspects, including a masquerade have been arrested over the death of Amusa; however, when parading 16 suspects for various offences, the Commissioner said only three persons had been arrested.
He said: “As an African, no one can arrest Egungun, only human beings that commit offences that are arrested. We don’t have masquerade in our custody. We have arrested human beings and they would be charged to court after investigation.”
One Ajani Olabimtan, one of the suspects paraded by the police for the alleged murder, claimed the masquerade was a Lagos based bus conductor who absconded after the incident.
According to him, “the masquerade was my boy. I am a transporter in Lagos and I followed Kazeem to Abeokuta to celebrate the festival. He has run away.
“In fact, I came to tell the police about the incident before I was arrested. It was not the masquerade that killed the man. It was done by some cultists who rammed into our procession.”
InformationNigeria

Terrorism And Insurgency: Kaduna To Ban “Okada” Too

Commercial motorbikers in Kaduna

By SaharaReporters, New York

A top security operative in Kaduna State has told SaharaReporters that the state’s body in charge of security matters has finally decided to ban commercial motorcycle riders in major urban areas as part of a new strategy to combat terrorist attacks.
“The decision by the Kaduna State Security Council to outlaw ‘Okada’ motorcycle riders was taken as another measure to contain the kinds of terrorism and insurgency getting a foothold in Kaduna and Zaria towns,” said the source.
The source, a member of the Security Council, told our correspondent that the council made the decision at yesterday’s session at Kaduna Government House. The meeting was chaired by Governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero of Kaduna.
The source revealed that the council was concerned that bandits and suspected terrorists were infiltrating Kaduna from neighboring states that had banned motorcycles as a form of commercial transport. He cited a rise in the number of attacks carried out by people riding bikes in Kaduna and Zaria towns.
In addition to Kaduna and Zaria, the ban on “Okada” will also be implemented in Kafanchan, another hot sport in southern Kaduna area. Our source said the Security Council was preparing a bill to be sent to the Kaduna State House of Assembly in due course.
The Nigeria news sources have quoted the state’s Commissioner of Information, Saidu Abdullahi Adamu, as confirming the plan to ban “Okada.” “It is all about the issue of security,” said Mr. Adamu. “We are all aware; we don't even need to be told. The menace and the security threat these motor cycles are creating, not only in Kaduna but everywhere in Nigeria, cannot be overemphasized.
We are all aware of what is happening, how some elements are using these motorcycles to foment trouble, to commit murder. We know, of course, that there could be some hardship here and there, knowing fully that some of the nooks and crannies that a motor cycle can move in, a tricycle cannot, or a taxi or bus. But notwithstanding, we have to look at the issue of security and the way some of these motorcycles are been used to cause a lot of troubles, a lot of insecurity.”

Confusion: “There is no cease fire” – ’2nd-in-command’ Boko Haram leader claims

inShare

by Isi Esene
There is confusion over the ceasefire announcement purportedly made by a faction of the Boko Haram Islamic sect which has terrorised many parts of northern Nigeria for the past few years killing many innocent people.
Mujhahedeen Marwana, another second-in-command to the group’s leader, Ibrahim Skekau, had in an interview made public by a US based online news portal ruled out any form of planned dialogue with the FG accusing it of not showing readiness to engage it in talks going by its continued attacks on the sect members.
The Punch Newspapers reports goes thus:

On Sunday, a man, Muhammed Abdulaziz, who also   claimed to be the organisation’s  Second  Commander (southern and northern Borno), had in a statement said  they had agreed to  cease fire because of talks they had with the Borno State Government.
Abdulaziz advised members of the sect to lay down their arms, warning that anyone that failed to do so  risked  arrest by security agencies.
 “We are going to comply with the cease- fire order, ‘ he added and then went ahead to proudly announce that “once top members of our group, including Imam Abubakar Shekau, are in support of the need for a ceasefire, other smaller factions can be dealt with easily.”
But in the interview reported by SaharaReporters, Marwana was reported to have  spoken authoritatively about meetings between members of the  group and some top Northerners, including Governor Sule Lamido of  Jigawa  State, a former Minister of Defence, Haliru Bello, and Sheik Dahiru Bauchi.
According to the report, the translation of the interview into English did not provide any context to the meetings.
Marwana   also explained Boko Haram’s predicament in Kano, stating that four principal members of the group were being “unjustly” held there.
Insisting that the four members must first be released as a pre-condition for any future developments, he added that there were others also being held in Abuja, Maiduguri and other locations in the North.
Marwana told his interviewer in Bauchi,   “Many people have called us for dialogue many times but the government is fooling itself, thinking they are clever but [are] deceiving themselves. They are insisting they don’t know us.
“It is false. We have met their representatives many times but because of their evil plan, they kept denying (us) because of their greed and wickedness.”
Marwana, who  reiterated that Boko Haram was following Allah’s instruction to serve Him,  added that the group  was not attacking anyone unjustly.
He asked,  “Before they attack us, have you ever seen us attacking them and their cronies from the beginning? Even pressmen, we have no problem with them except where there were some plots.”
Accusing the government of treachery,  he recalled “the first meeting” following the execution of the former leader of  Boko Haram, Mohammed Yusuf, in Maiduguri.
He said, “We were six in Shehu’s palace in Borno. From there, we were 40 that met in Damaturu and only three of us survived. We went to Kaduna and met in Arewa House; out of 11 of us, 10 were killed by special squad of security agencies around Tafa on Abuja Highway.With all these, who  is  a cheat and who wants trouble? We sat with Governor Sule Lamido, former minister of defence, Haliru Bello and Sheik Dahiru Bauchi. This is what we want our Muslim Ummah to know.”
When contacted, Mr. Emeka Nwakpa, the  Media aide to  Bello, said, “Right now, he (Bello) is not in the country. I have made efforts to reach him and have not been able to.  I will get back to you as soon as I am able to.”
Also, the Director of Information and Communication in Jigawa State, Umaru Kyari, said he was not aware of the meeting.
 “I’m not aware of that meeting, please. I was not told and did not know anything about that,” Kyari said.
The Federal Government had while reacting to the ceasefire  announced by Abdulaziz on Tuesday, said  it would only take Boko Haram  seriously, if it stopped violence in the North for one month.
But the Executive Director of the Civil Rights Congress, Mallam Shehu Sani, on Wednesday  said while he would welcome any attempt to end the violence, he would do so only if it was genuine.
He noted that  Abdulaziz had in the past announced such an offer which only witnessed an escalation of the killings.
A source in Borno State confided in  one of our correspondents that top commanders of the sect had a face-to -face meeting  with government officials.
The meeting was said to have been  informed  by some of the sect members in detention.
The source,  who pleaded anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media on the issue, said, “Yes, there was a meeting. Both sides are tired of the violence and the senseless loss of lives.
“The conditions of their members in detention have been improved with the provision of some basic amenities, in exchange they have been cooperating.”
When contacted, the Director of Press to the Borno State Governor, Mallam Isa Gusau, was non-committal  about the meeting.
He, however, said the governor welcomed the offer of ceasefire and “any move towards bringing lasting peace to Borno State.”
Gusau said, “His Excellency has always said at the end of the day, dialogue would be the solution. Right from the day he took office, he has offered to hold dialogue with the group to find a way to end the violence which has held out dear state down for so long. We see this as a window of opportunity to end the violence.”

YNaija.com

‘Pipeline vandals recruited from riverine areas’

The Nigerian Police Force has alleged that the suspected vandals that destroyed the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation pipelines at Arepo village, Ogun, were recruited from Ondo State riverine areas.
The Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) in charge of the Inspector-General of Police Special Task Force on Anti-Pipeline Vandalism, Mr. Friday Ibadin, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos on Wednesday.
Ibadin said the Arepo vandals went to Ondo State for the recruitment, after losing 30 of their members to a pipeline explosion recently in Ogun.
He said that preliminary investigations into the last pipeline explosion revealed that some young men were brought to Lagos from riverine areas of Ondo State, to replace the dead members of the group.
The preference for riverine dwellers, NAN learnt, is because of their ability to swim as most of the pipelines being vandalised are in the creeks.
“One of the suspects arrested after the last explosion in Arepo, who identified himself as Computer, claimed that he was invited to Lagos along with two others by one Igbekorowa, (suspected ring leader of pipeline vandals).
“According to the suspect, the person that invited them did not state the nature of the job waiting for them, because they believe he is a big man, and can assist them with good jobs,” Ibadin told NAN.
NaijaCenter

POLICE PENSION SCAM UPDATE: CJN TO INVESTIGATE JUSTICE ABUBAKAR TALBA AND THE CONTROVERSY SURROUNDING HIS JUDGEMENT ...

The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Alooma Mukhtar, has promised that the National Judicial Council (NJC)  look into the controversy surrounding the questionable judgement delivered by Justice Abubakar Talba of the Abuja High Court in the conviction of a self-confessed pension thief, Yakubu Yusufu.
The CJN made the pledge through the chief registrar of the Supreme Court, Mr. Sunday Olorundahunsi, when two groups, the Anti-Corruption Network and the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), led a protest march to the Supreme Court in Abuja yesterday.
The CJN said that there was the need ‘to take appropriate action’ on the matter in order to reassure the public that the judiciary remained the last hope of the common man.
The protest letter of the groups was accepted by Olorundahunsi behalf of the CJN.
Justice Talba  gave the controversial judgement last Monday when he sentenced the former director of Police Pension Board  to a two-year sentence on each of the three-count charge with an option of paying a fine N750,000, a sum the convict promptly paid and regained his freedom.  The development was sequel to the guilty plea where Yusufu admitted that he stole N23billion from the police pension funds.
But the Anti-Corruption Network and NANS, in a joint peaceful protest yesterday, threatened to unleash an Egyptian-like protest within 14 days  if nothing was done to remedy the situation.
The procession, which was led by a former member of House of Representatives, Dino Melaye, in company of NANS president, Yinka Gbadebo, and ex-president of West African Students Union (WASU), Daniel Onjeh, started at 11:36am at the office of the attorney-general and minister of justice, where the protesters delivered a letter of protest entitled: ‘Travesty of Justice and Mockery of Judiciary By Justice Abubakar Talba.’
The police and other security men at the entrance of the Ministry of Justice barricaded the premises, which led to a mild drama where Melaye jumped the fence to register his displeasure with a police officer who had earlier given a no-entry order, resulting in an altercation between the duo after which the protesters proceeded to the Supreme Court complex.
But Melaye, who described Justice Talba’s judgement as ‘satanic’, demanded, among others, a re-trial of the pension theft culprit, investigation of Justice Talba, eradication of plea bargain – which he described as archaic – and the entrenchment of Chinese-type capital punishment where the cost of the execution is paid by the family of the culprit.
The two organisations, according to Melaye, were also giving the CJN a period of 14 days to act, and it failed the protesters would return to occupy the Supreme Court.
The protest march, which ended at the Supreme Court premises, had the protesters carrying placards with various inscriptions like: ‘Judiciary: Hope of the Highest Bidder’, ‘Judicial Corruption our Major Problem’, ‘Jankara Judgement for Pension Thief’, ‘N23bn = N750,000 Talbanism’, ‘CJN Investigate Talba’ just as they chanted ‘Injustice Talba Ole.’
Judgement ridiculous, NBA insists
Meanwhile, the Ibadan branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has condemned  the judgement delivered by Justice Talba against pension fund thief Yusufu, describing it as ridiculous.
Chairman of the association, Mr Oluseun Abimbola, disclosed this yesterday during an interview in Ibadan.
Abimbola contended that the sentence was not commensurate with the crime, saying that it would be difficult to say that justice was truly delivered.
“To say that it borders on the ridiculous is an understatement,” he said. “If someone steals billions and you are asking him to pay a fine of a few thousands and he forfeits assets of a few millions, which he disclosed to you, there is probably a lot more than that undisclosed to you that he gets to keep – and you call that justice?”
“Some people who have supported the plea bargaining structure without a proper knowledge of how it functions in other jurisdictions would be defending that?
“In other jurisdictions where you have plea bargaining, it’s not meant to be a slap on the wrist and told to go and sin no more. It is meant to deter. If your crime is such that entitles a court to sentence you to a maximum term of whether life or 25 years, what happens in other jurisdictions, particularly cases that ordinarily would have entitled you to 25 years, you will do 10 or 7 years, not months.”
He warned that if the plea bargaining facility is not well applied, it would become part of the corruption the nation would have to deal with, especially on the part of the prosecution.
He also called for a review of the nation’s laws that prescribe the different sentences and terms of imprisonment, describing them as deficient.
Court remands Yusufu in Kuje prison
Meanwhile, a Federal High Court in Abuja has remanded Yusufu in Kuje prison till March 1 when his trial will commence for failing to make full disclosure of assets and liability in his assets declaration form, a requirement of all public servants.
The new four-count charge brought on the convict by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission also borders on his failure to declare his interest in a company known as SY-A Global Services Ltd.
Yusufu is alleged to have used the company to lodge N250million with a new generation bank.
Controversy has trailed his light sentence, with the EFCC insisting that Yusufu is supposed to serve time in jail after all his properties might have been seized. This development prompted the anti -graft agency to re-arrest Yusufu over his alleged non-disclosure of assets.
But at his re-arraignment yesterday, Yusufu pleaded not guilty to the four -count charge slammed on him.
Lawyer to EFCC, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), told the court that he was ready to proceed with the trial and had two witnesses ready to give evidence against the accused.
He also prayed the court to remand the accused person in prison custody pending the next adjourned date.
But lawyer to Yusufu, Theodore Mayaki, however, pleaded with the court to rather remand the accused in the EFCC custody.
In his short ruling, Justice Bello ordered that the accused be remanded in prison custody. He consequently adjourned the case till March 1 for trial.
In the fresh charge, the anti-graft agency alleged that Yusufu had, on February 14, 2012, knowingly failed to make full disclosure of his assets and liability in the Declaration of Assets Form which he filled by not declaring his interest in a company known as SY-A Global Services Limited, incorporated by him and solely owned by him and members of his immediate family. The offence is said to be punishable under section 27(3) of the EFCC Act, 2004.
He was also alleged to have failed to declare his interest in a fixed bank deposit worth N250million which was fixed in the name of the said company in an account it maintained at Zenith Bank International Plc.
The company was also alleged to have another N10million fixed deposit in an account it maintains at one of the first generation banks.  Yusufu is the sole signatory to the company’s account.
The EFCC also accused him of fixing another N29million through one Mr. Danjuma Mele, who is also scheduled to testify as a witness in the trial.
The sum was allegedly fixed at Yusufu’s behest through Mele’s company, Jidag Technical Services Ltd, which had an account in Diamond Bank Plc.
Yusufu was last Monday arraigned alongside other former officials of the Pension Office who were alleged to have pilfered about N39 billion from the pension funds.
He had pleaded guilty to counts 18, 19 and 20 wherein he allegedly connived with the other accused persons to embezzle the sum of N24 billion belonging to the Police Pension Office.

YeyeDeSmell

Obamacare 'Glitch' Allows Some Families To Be Priced Out Of Health Insurance

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR

WASHINGTON -- Some families could get priced out of health insurance due to what's being called a glitch in President Barack Obama's overhaul law. IRS regulations issued Wednesday failed to fix the problem as liberal backers of the president's plan had hoped.
As a result, some families that can't afford the employer coverage that they are offered on the job will not be able to get financial assistance from the government to buy private health insurance on their own. How many people will be affected is unclear.
The Obama administration says its hands were tied by the way Congress wrote the law. Officials said the administration tried to mitigate the impact. Families that can't get coverage because of the glitch will not face a tax penalty for remaining uninsured, the IRS rules said.
"This is a very significant problem, and we have urged that it be fixed," said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, an advocacy group that supported the overhaul from its early days. "It is clear that the only way this can be fixed is through legislation and not the regulatory process."
But there's not much hope for an immediate fix from Congress, since the House is controlled by Republicans who would still like to see the whole law repealed.
The affordability glitch is one of a series of problems coming into sharper focus as the law moves to full implementation.
Starting Oct. 1, many middle-class uninsured will be able to sign up for government-subsidized private coverage through new health care marketplaces known as exchanges. Coverage will be effective Jan. 1. Low-income people will be steered to expanded safety-net programs. At the same time, virtually all Americans will be required to carry health insurance, either through an employer, a government program, or by buying their own plan.
Bruce Lesley, president of First Focus, an advocacy group for children, cited estimates that close to 500,000 children could remain uninsured because of the glitch. "The children's community is disappointed by the administration's decision to deny access to coverage for children based on a bogus definition of affordability," Lesley said in a statement.
The problem seems to be the way the law defined affordable.

Congress said affordable coverage can't cost more than 9.5 percent of family income. People with coverage the law considers affordable cannot get subsidies to go into the new insurance markets. The purpose of that restriction was to prevent a stampede away from employer coverage.
Congress went on to say that what counts as affordable is keyed to the cost of self-only coverage offered to an individual worker, not his or her family. A typical workplace plan costs about $5,600 for an individual worker. But the cost of family coverage is nearly three times higher, about $15,700, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
So if the employer isn't willing to chip in for family premiums – as most big companies already do – some families will be out of luck. They may not be able to afford the full premium on their own, and they'd be locked out of the subsidies in the health care overhaul law.
Employers are relieved that the Obama administration didn't try to put the cost of providing family coverage on them.
"They are bound by the law and cannot extend further than what the law provides," said Neil Trautwein, a vice president of the National Retail Federation.
HuffingtonPost

Three students killed by drunken Kogi State Polytechnic lecturer

By Feyi Afisunlu

A Kogi State Polytechnic lecturer who was alleged to have driven under the influence of alcohol on Monday, had reported crushed three student of the school to death.
The lecturer who according to eye witnesses was on high speed knocked down one Miss Taiwo Edilola Omolola, a HND 1 student as she was about to board a commercial motorcycle from the campus and two others waiting to board a cab.
According to the eye witness, the slain student got stock under the lecturer’s car wheel as he dragged her along the expressway.
Miss Taiwo’s disfigured body was later pulled out.

In an attempt to escape being killed by the angry mob, he hit and killed two other students who were waiting to board a cab at the opposite direction.
However, the State Police Spokesperson, ASP Ajayi Akansanmi, the State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), said he was yet to confirm the incident.
DailyPost