Protesters storm INEC office, demand election postponement

A group of Nigerian youths not favorably disposed to going ahead with this month’s general elections,due to the inability of many registered voters to collect their Permanent Voter Cards,PVCs, protested to the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, yesterday,to demand postponement.

Eight Days To Judgment.

With barely eight days to the January 30 date fixed for the judgment in the N25billion money laundering charge against Michael Igbinedion, brother of ex- Edo state governor, Lucky Igbinedion and Charles Eboigbodin by Justice J. Liman of the Federal High Court, Benin,  alarm has been raised over surreptitious moves to compromise the case. Lucky Igbinedion Premium Times

One of the accused persons, is alleged for have confided in close aides that he has been sending money to persons that could help him ensure a soft landing in the matter, including overtures to the prosecution and the judge. He boasted to have reached out  with an offer of N50million to one of the parties, after the adoption of final addresses in the case last November.
This is the second time issue of bribery is coming into the open in the case, a few months ago, a lawyer who was approached by the same accused person declined to take his brief after he was told in no uncertain terms that the judge had been “spoken to”..
These innuendos are  worrisome, as they cast a pall of doubt on the integrity of the proposed judgment. “These claims put the judge into focus. His integrity is a stake, and it is important that he puts those who want to pervert the cause of justice to shame,” a knowledgeable source said
A few years ago, Lucky Igbinedion, former Edo Sate governor who is also an accused person, in this case,  received a slap on the wrist in a controversial judgment by the Federal High Court, Enugu. Justice Abdullahi Kafarati  offered him an option of N3.5million fine after finding him guilty on one count charge of corruption. Till today, the judge is still haunted by the ruling.

Charles Eboigbodin and Micheal Igbinedion, along with their companies; Gava Corporation Limited; Romrig Nigeria Limited; PML Securities Company Limited and PML Nigeria Limited are being prosecuted by the EFCC. for an N25Billion scam, bothering on; Money Laundering, Misappropriation of funds, conspiracy and Abuse of office.
At the last adjourned date, November 14, 2014, January 30 was reserved for judgement after the  adoption of written addresses by both the prosecuting counsel Rotimi Jacob SAN, and the defense counsels: Mike Ozekhome SAN, Ricky Tafa SAN and Barr. Richard O. Ahonaruogo.
While addressing the court, Jacobs hinged his submission on the testimonies of both the prosecutions witnesses and those of the defence which according to him collaborated the charge, with emphasis on the several public funds deposited into private accounts, and how government funds were used to repay several loans collected by the former governor while he was in office.  
Jacobs then prayed the court to "accept the prosecutions case as presented and convict the accused persons as charged".
It would be recalled that during trial, a prosecution witness Mr. Ajoyo Sowale, an Accounts Officer with the Guaranty Trust Bank, identified various account statements and account opening documents of the accused persons and confirmed to the court that several lodgements were made into the various accounts, and that he printed the various account statements and got them certified by the appropriate authority.
Another witness Mr. Eriyo Amadiayagbon David who was a Personal Assistant to Micheal Igbinedion also told the court how he was instructed on several occasions to make lodgements into his GTB account and those of Romrig Nigeria Limited and Gava Corporation. According to David, he usually received cash from the Accountant at the Government House and paid into the account of the second accused person, "and after paying the government entourage, the remaining cash was usually given to the ADC to the Governor". David further identified his name on the printed account statement of Michael Igbinedion, which is part of the exhibits before the court.
Abdullahi Hamza an EFCC operative who was also a witness in the trial, further gave a detailed account of how investigations were conducted and how it was discovered that state funds were diverted by the accused persons for other personal purposes, such as buying of various shares, and several payments made into the account of Ekpenyong and Sons, a company owned by the first accused person, Patrick Eboigbodin.

JONATHAN WANTS ELECTIONS POSTPONED BY 6 MONTHS

Plans by President Goodluck Jonathan and his team to scuttle the general elections scheduled for February have come to light, with National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki openly calling for postponement of the elections.

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz dies

Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz has died, royal officials have announced, weeks after he was admitted to hospital.

Abdullah bin Abdulaziz was the fifth of his brothers to take the throne.

Abdullah, who had ruled since 2005 and was said to be aged about 90, had been suffering from a lung infection.
His 79-year-old half-brother, Salman, has been confirmed as the new king.
Within hours of his accession to the throne of the oil-rich kingdom, King Salman vowed to maintain the same policies as his predecessors.
"We will continue adhering to the correct policies which Saudi Arabia has followed since its establishment," he said in a speech broadcast on state television.
Abdullah had suffered frequent bouts of ill health in recent years, and King Salman had recently taken on the ailing monarch's responsibilities.
Prior to announcing Abdullah's death, Saudi television cut to Koranic verses, which often signifies the passing of a senior royal.
A statement said Abdullah had died at 01:00 (22:00 GMT Thursday).

BBC News, Jeddah Correspondent Sylvia Smith,

Here in Saudi Arabia's second city, the streets were quiet this morning as many people flocked to mosques for Friday prayers. There is a subdued sadness in the air as Saudis take in the loss of their king.
People throughout the kingdom are mourning a man whom many viewed as a good monarch. A Jedawi I spoke to said that although it was known that Abdullah was ailing, to wake up to news of the king's death was distressing. Another Jedawi referred to the loss as like a family member passing away.
It is only after the king is later laid to rest, that people here and in the kingdom at large can begin to adjust to his passing.

Another of the late king's half-brothers, Muqrin, who is in his late 60s, has been named the new crown prince, according to an official statement.
Abdullah, Salman and Muqrin are all sons of the founder of modern Saudi Arabia, King Abdulaziz, usually referred to as Ibn Saud, who died in 1953.
King Salman called on the royal family's Allegiance Council to recognize Muqrin as his heir. He swiftly appointed Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef as deputy crown prince, making him second in line to the throne, and named his own son, Mohammed bin Salman, as defense minister.
Other ministers, including foreign, oil and finance were kept in place, state TV reported.

King Salman

• Born on 31 December 1935
• Son of Princess Hassa al-Sudairi
• Governor of Riyadh from 1955-1960 and 1963-2011
• Appointed defense minister upon death of his brother Crown Prince Sultan
• Owns important stake in one of the Arab world's largest media groups

Profile: King Salman

The new king's profile was updated on his official Twitter account, where he wrote: "I ask God to help me succeed in my service of the dear [Saudi] people."
In keeping with traditions of Wahhabism - the ultra-conservative form of Sunni Islam followed by the kingdom - King Abdullah will be buried in an unmarked grave immediately after Friday prayers.
The Saudi religious establishment views every aspect of life and death as a submission to God's supreme will, and protocol permits no official mourning period. Government offices stay open and flags remain at full mast.

Analysis: Frank Gardner, BBC security correspondent Saudi Arabia under King Salman faces a number of challenges. The first is ensuring the succession passes smoothly without any divisive jockeying for power within the ruling family. Then there is the ongoing threat from jihadists, both at home and across its borders.
Saudi Arabia is now sandwiched between an aggressive Islamic State (IS) to the north and al-Qaeda in Yemen to the south. Saudi warplanes have joined the US-led coalition in air strikes against IS, but this is deeply unpopular with many Saudis.
The government has yet to find a way to cope with mild calls for reforms, and is abusing anti-terror laws to silence reformers and punish its critics. Longer term, it faces a growing unemployment problem. About half the population is under 25 and there are nowhere near enough meaningful jobs for young Saudis.
But the country does at least have oil in its favor. With prices below $45 a barrel, Saudi Arabia is one of the very few exporting countries to still make big margins on production and exploration. That puts it in a powerful position on the world stage.

US President Barack Obama expressed his personal sympathies, and those of the American people, on Abdullah's death.
"As a leader, he was always candid and had the courage of his convictions. One of those convictions was his steadfast and passionate belief in the importance of the US-Saudi relationship as a force for stability and security in the Middle East and beyond," he said.
Vice-President Joe Biden tweeted that he would lead a delegation to Riyadh to pay respects.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron said Abdullah would be remembered for his "commitment to peace and for strengthening understanding between faiths".
Jordan's King Abdullah II cut short a visit to Davos, Switzerland, to travel to Saudi Arabia, as Jordan's royal court declared 40 days of mourning.
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin praised Abdullah's "grounded, considered and responsible leadership", while Iran offered Saudi Arabia its condolences and said its foreign minister would travel to Riyadh for an "official ceremony" on Saturday.

Frank Gardner says Saudi Arabia could face an increasing internal security problem following the death of King Abdullah

King Abdullah was the 13th of the 45 sons of King Abdulaziz. He is believed to have been born in August 1924 in Riyadh, although there is some dispute about his actual birth date.
In 1962 he was appointed commander of the Saudi National Guard, where he earned the respect and loyalty of the desert tribes.
When he came to the throne in 2005 he succeeded another half-brother, Fahd. However, he had already been Saudi Arabia's de-facto leader for 10 years because his predecessor had been debilitated by a stroke.
Correspondents say Abdullah was seen as a reformer at home, albeit a slow and steady one.
He allowed mild criticism of his government in the press, and hinted that more women should be allowed to work.
King Salman spent 48 years as governor of Riyadh Province before becoming crown prince and defense minister.
BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says it is thought unlikely that he will embark on any great changes.
In a recent meeting with the BBC in Jeddah, he appeared alert and well-briefed but walked with the aid of a stick, our correspondent adds.

 

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2015: FG will improve security in Northeast – Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday said that Nigeria’s Armed Forces and security agencies will sustain and intensify ongoing operations against insurgents in the northeast to achieve significantly improved security ahead of the 2015 general elections.

Speaking at an audience with the Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Uriel Palti, President Jonathan said that Nigeria will also continue to work with neighbouring countries for the effective implementation of the regional security arrangements which were recently concluded to enhance multilateral cooperation against extremism, terrorism, insurgency and other cross-border crimes.

According to a statement issued by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Dr. Reuben Abati, President Jonathan told the Israeli Ambassador that the Federal Government was actively and progressively enhancing the ability of Nigeria’s Armed Forces and security agencies to deal decisively with terrorists and insurgents.

The positive effects of steps taken by his administration in that regard, he said, will become increasingly apparent very soon.

The Israeli ambassador conveyed the condolences of the country’s Prime Minister, Mr. Benjamin Netenyahu, to President Jonathan and the people of Nigeria on the loss of lives in recent terrorist attacks.

He thanked President Jonathan for his recent visits to Israel.

BOKOHARAM AND APC'S CHANGING NARRATIVE

THESE are particularly trying times for Nigeria, make no mistakes about that.  The nation is under constant attacks by a terrorist group, Boko Haram, which has sworn to impose its warped understanding of Islamic law on everybody.  The other day, it was in Borno; and now, it is Kano and Damaturu.
As body counts continue to rise over the wicked bombing of the Central Mosque in Kano yet again by the merchants of death, so is the justified anger and frustration of the people over the ability of the security agencies to protect them.
Yes, when the body bags of innocent citizens, including women and children, cut down in mid-trajectory keep piling, it is natural to question the role of government in protecting its citizens.  Yet in all the frustrations, can we find the sobriety and good conscience to consider, for once, if President Goodluck Jonathan has been fairly judged and treated in this matter?
It is patently mischievous, misleading and incendiary to link the government, let alone accuse it of throwing bombs at its own citizens just to score cheap political points.  This is precisely what the statement released by Jama’atu Nasril Islam (NJI), the apex Northern Islamic body, headed by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar 11, on the recent bombing of the Kano Mosque, suggested.
These are the precise words of Dr. Khalid Abubakar Aliyu, the secretary of JNI at a press conference in Kaduna: “We are indeed shocked and pained beyond words over the news of the bomb blasts in Kano Central Mosque, which claimed the lives of over one hundred innocent Muslims … But must blood be spilled to justify the extension of the state of emergency? Why is it that any time the ineffective state of emergency is about to elapse and or an extension is being sought, attacks are carried out with sophistication?”
What the JNI and its political wing in the opposition, the All Progressives Congress (APC) conveniently forgot to tell Nigerians is that, there has been a series of bombings in the country each time it was anticipated that the President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, would want to declare his re-election bid. In fact, a day before the President’s declaration, several innocent students were killed by a suicide bomber at Government Comprehensive Secondary School, Potiskum in Yobe state.
And as has been their script, the APC accused President Jonathan of insensitivity and callousness for not cancelling the political engagement that had long been fixed for that day because of the Boko Haram attack at the Potiskum College.  This is the same Jonathan who is now being accused of sponsoring Boko Haram attacks on the very people who elected him some three years ago and the same people he is asking to renew the mandate in 2015.  If this is a joke, somebody is definitely taking it too far!
There is no argument that Boko Haram considers any Nigerian who believes in a free society a targeted enemy.  The insurgents have been killing both Muslims and Christians without any discrimination. That said, no one can contest the fact that more Christians have been slain by the murderous insurgents in their jihadist campaigns. More churches have equally been destroyed in the Northeast.  What point is being made here?  President Jonathan is a Christian. Hey, he is the victim here; not the aggressor!
It is very unfortunate and intriguing that JNI, an organisation headed by the Sultan, which has been very reticent in condemning the nefarious and terrorist activities of the Boko Haram group for the past three years is now finding its voice.  Are there any fears that the attacks are gradually coming closer to Sokoto?  Or, is this part of the APC script to get Jonathan out of power by any means possible?  As you might have known, another Sokoto boy in APC is already spear-heading the impeachment of the President in the House of Representatives, lest Jonathan wins in 2015 and keeps the North waiting again till 2019.
What the apex Muslim organisation in our country, the JNI, may have wittingly or unwittingly achieved with its incendiary statement is to play into the hands of the Boko Haram sect.  One of the apparent strategies of the group apart from terror is to create animosity between Christians and Muslims and thus divert their attention and concerted efforts in confronting what is the common enemy of the people. Nobody should lose sight of the fact that our soldiers, policemen and women, staff members of the Department of State Security (DSS), hunters and members of the civilian JTF on daily basis put their lives on the line in the fight against this insurgency. Many have been killed so far trying to protect all of us including those fanning the embers of insurgency.  We cannot throw away all their sacrifices in one feat of anger and bickering.
If there is anything the opposition politicians in the APC wish they can achieve as the nation inches towards the 2015 general elections, it will certainly be to change the narrative of the Boko Haram terrorism in the country.
Not a few of our countrymen and women rightly or wrongly believe that there is something about the Boko Haram insurgency that the APC people know about.  Not with the fundamentalist antecedents of some of their leaders, and the way they often gloat whenever Boko Haram bombs rip open the entrails and shatter the limbs of Nigerians, by seeing it as another problem for Jonathan to deal with.
They are even going about boasting of how they will stop the insurgency once they are elected in 2015. That perhaps explains why the Janjaweed cloth that Olisa Metuh, the spokesperson of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) sew for APC has fitted very well.  Give it to the opposition; they have been very strong in the media. In fact, the ruling PDP ought to go on apprenticeship in publicity and propaganda at the APC secretariat.  Yet, in spite of all their skills, the APC people know that the association of their party with insurgency is a masterstroke in the hands of PDP and they are leaving no stones unturned in order to change the narrative.
It all started with, one Steven Davis, a self-appointed Boko Haram “negotiator” who opened his mouth and claimed that the former Chief Army Staff, General Azubuike Ihejirika, who gallantly routed the insurgents and pushed them into the Sambisa forest was one of the main sponsors of Boko Haram.
Today, APC is claiming that Jonathan, the man whom its members promised a hellish time as president, is now the sponsor of the same insurgency targeting to bring down his presidency simply because he wants to renew the state of emergency in the three north-east states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe. C’mon, APC, you can’t spin this!


Mr. Femi Ayelabowo, a commentator on national issues, wrote from Ibadan, Oyo State.

RISE OF OIL SUBSIDY UNDER GOODLUCK JONATHAN BY RT. HON CHIBUIKE ROTIMI AMEACHI

PORT HARCOURT: Governor Chibuike Amaechi has lashed at the federal government for mismanaging the fuel subsidy program, saying it confirmed the high level of corruption at the centre.
The governor who spoke in Government House, Port Harcourt, when he received a presidential aspirant in his party, Alhaji Rabiu Musa Kwankwanso who was in the state to seek support of delegates, also blamed what he termed the indecisiveness of the federal government for the worsening security situation in the north eastern part of the country.
“You are aware we met in the governors’ forum. Under Obasanjo, oil subsidy was N200 billion and rose to N300 billion. Under President Yar’Adua, it remained at N300 billion. President Yar’Adua died in 2011, six months of President Goodluck Jonathan, oil subsidy rose from N300 billion to N2.3trillion. You can ask him, it’s public knowledge,” Amaechi said.
Governor Amaechi charged delegates of the party to ensure they worked for victory of the party at the general polls, stressing that there was need to vote out the Peoples Democratic Party.
He further assured that delegates of the party had resolved to work with any aspirant that would emerge from the party’s presidential primaries.
“Delegates of the party have all agreed to work with any of the Presidential aspirants that emerges as the Presidential flag bearer of the APC. I urge all the party delegates to be watchful and ensure total commitment to support APC to win the 2015 general elections,” He said.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubarka , a presidential aspirant of the APC was also in the state to solicit the support of delegates.