House of Reps denies knowledge of EFCC, ICPC merger

The House of Representatives, yesterday, dispelled media report on the recently approved merger of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, ICPC, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, by the Federal Government.The House said such a merger could not have been sealed without the National Assembly being duly carried along.The merging of the EFCC and the ICPC was part of recommendations made by the Steve Orosanye-led Presidential Committee on Rationalisation and Restructuring of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies.
The merger of the two agencies was reported to have received the approval of the Federal Executive Council, and was part of the restructuring in the public service.House Committee Chairman on Anti-Corruption, James Abiodun Faleke, representing Ikeja Federal Constituency, Lagos State, who disclosed this in a chat with newsmen, stated that since the two agencies were creation of laws passed by the National Assembly, the Federal Government would not effect any merger between them without the consent of the National Assembly.Faleke said the two anti-graft agencies performed different functions as specified by the laws which gave lives to them, dismissing as mere speculations report of their merger.
The ICPC and the EFCC were established in 2000 and 2003 respectively by the Acts of National Assembly.Whereas the ICPC was saddled with the task of investigating cases of corruption within the public sector while making recommendations for prosecution of offenders, the EFCC on the other hand, was charged with the task of investigating financial crimes, such as Advance Fee Fraud (419) and money laundering, although there had been reports that one of the agencies had been interloping in the functions of the other.However, separate sources from both ICPC and EFCC said they were not aware of any plan by the Federal Government to merge their agencies, as they described the report by Orosanye’s committee as mere recommendations.They made clear that there had never been a White Paper published on the merger of the two agencies, stating that for such merger to take place, the government would have consulted with the management of the two agencies.Recently, chairman of ICPC, Barrister Ekpo Nta, affirmed the relevance of his commission in the fight against corruption which, according to him, has been commanding the attention of the international community.
He disclosed that the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, UNCAC, required that every country had a dedicated anti-corruption agency separate from the police since corruption, as a menace, was getting increasingly pervasive and intrusive across the globe.The ICPC Boss attested that many countries now had anti-corruption agencies, stating that proponents and advocates of a merger of ICPC and other anti corruption agencies with the Nigerian Police might not have been aware of the international desire on the mode of fighting corruption across the globe.

We won’t allow indiscipline in PDP, says Jonathan

We won’t allow indiscipline in PDP, says Jonathan

President Jonathan told the Rivers PDP delegation that indiscipline would no longer be tolerated in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).He said: “Rivers State is a key state to Southeasterners. It is a key state that needs very strong, focused, committed leadership and maximum political unity and stability. Otherwise, anything could happen and affect the whole country.

“For us to have a stable democracy, we have to have a strong political party. And that is why we get worried when we notice some of the indiscipline in some of the political parties. And the new PDP that we are all working together for will no longer tolerate indiscipline.
“All over the world, parties are supposed to build on ideological differences. These may be close. If you look at the classical case of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the National Republican Convention (NRC) that were created by the military, their ideologies were a little to the right and a little to the left.
“That is the essence of politics. But, in a situation where somebody is in a particular political party but his faith is in another political party… For those who are not holding political offices, yes you can excuse…But if you are holding an elective office, you won’t be in that party and be working for another party. Otherwise, why are you there?”
Jonathan added: “I have listened to the introductions and being a Rivers person, I know key political actors in Rivers State; the who’s who in Rivers State; and they are here. I want to thank you for building this political structure for the state, for the interest of Rivers State and to position Rivers State in the politics of the country.
“To me, I have been working with people of Rivers State for quite some time before I got here. I have had a robust relationship with my brothers and sisters in Rivers State. They are very reliable people who I believe will not speak with both sides of their mouths.”

Amaechi to IG: Redeploy Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mbu now

GOVERNOR Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State, yesterday, threatened to stop funding the police, unless the Inspector General of Police and the Federal Government redeploy the state Police Commissioner, Mr Joseph Mbu to another state.He warned that the continued stay of Mbu was worsening the security situation in the state, particularly, with the recent kidnap of three National Youth Service Corps, NYSC members, adding that he (Mbu) had refused to do the job for which he was posted to the state.
He also accused Mbu of being arrogant and disrespectful to constituted authorities.
“I don’t want a Commissioner of Police that will work for me. I want a Commissioner of Police that will work for the state, the Rivers people. So, it is not only me that you should complain to, talk to Inspector-General of Police and those who transferred the Commissioner of Police that was working in the interest of Rivers people.

Port Harcourt is becoming unsafe, and more NYSC members may be kidnapped, except they remove Joseph Mbu.  It will worsen when we (the state government) stop funding the Police, because we will soon stop funding them.”
Amaechi who spoke when the Chairman of the Governing Board of NYSC, Chief Gordon Bozimo led a delegation to him at Government House, Port Harcourt. He said the state Police Commissioner had long abandoned his constitutional role of securing lives and property in the state.
The governor said the crime situation had risen, noting that as Chief Security Officer of the state, there was no way he could achieve any meaningful result in the fight against crime with Mbu as Commissioner of Police.
Amaechi said that the Police Commissioner was a politician, adding that he attends political meetings with those who allegedly brought him to the state.
The governor said: “The Federal Government should post a new Commissioner of Police to Rivers State.  I have no control over the current Commissioner of Police, Mbu, even though the constitution says so.  He called a press conference, where he said, he does not report to the governor of the state, who is the Chief Security Officer of the state. So, how do I (Amaechi) protect our citizens?” Amaechi queried.
“The Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mbu is a politician, because he attends political meetings with those who brought him to our state and there is no way you can stop that.  The only way you can stop that is to ask the politicians in Abuja to withdraw their Commissioner of Police and allow us to secure Rivers State.
“My fear is that his stay in Rivers State is intended to kill the conducive business climate in Port Harcourt and the fast growing economy of our state,” Amaechi said.
“We used to have a wonderful security system and Commissioners of Police, who understood their functions and knew what to do.  But since the Police in Abuja, suddenly withdrew the predecessor of this current Commissioner of Police and posted the person called Joseph Mbu, nothing has been working.
“Mbu has been sitting with politicians  and the security system is down and out.  Since he came, we have never had peace. We held security council meetings two or three times. But before Mbu came, we held security meetings two or three times every month. We know where our NYSC members are and we knew the level of security arrangement we put in place to protect them.  We also sent operatives of Department of State Security, DSS to watch over them.
“We have equipment that monitors what happens in the state.  The only way they will not kidnap Corpers is to send Joseph Mbu back to where he came from and post us a Commissioner of Police that will serve the interest of this state.”
Earlier, Chief Bozimo said they were at Government House, to thank the governor for his support for the NYSC scheme, lamenting the recent kidnap of three corps members serving in the state. He appealed to the governor to take steps to guarantee the safety of corps members in the state.

Governor Amaechi Escapes Death As Suspicious Vehicle Rams Into His Convoy

The Rivers State Governor Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi yesterday miraculously escaped unhurt as a suspicious vehicle rammed into his convoy along Igwuruta road on the Governor’s way to the Port Harcourt International Airport.According to eyewitness account, the accident was caused by the intrusion of a Toyota Avensis with registration number AAA 767 AQ that rammed into the Governor’s convoy from the opposite side of the dual carriageway, just after the C4I Security Post along the Port Harcourt International Airport Road.
Fortunately no life was lost and the driver of the vehicle was apprehended and handed over to the police.
Rivers State since the last 3 months have been in the news as political bigwigs in the state outwit themselves in a bid to wrest political power and control the political landscape of the oil rich state. Events reached their climax recently when the Rivers State Police Commissioner, Joseph Mbu openly lambasted the Governor whom he described as a Dictator.
The governor earlier in the day was reported to have demanded the redeployment of the Commissioner of Police whom many believe has pitched tent with Abuja-based politicians who are the governor’s political adversaries. The Police high command, in the meantime has however denied knowledge of any affray between Governor Amaechi and the Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mbu.

No need for Amaechi to leave –PDP

Peoples Democratic Party leadership has asked Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State not to leave the party.

 

It noted that with the ongoing reconciliation in the party, there was no need for any of its aggrieved members to defect to another party.

The party’s acting National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Tony Okeke, stated this in Abuja on Monday.

Okeke was responding to a threat by Amaechi that he could defect to another party if the PDP no longer wanted to accommodate him.

 

But Okeke, who spoke to one of our correspondents on Monday, said, “There is no need for him (Amaechi) or anyone to leave the party. The reconciliation efforts going on in the party now are all encompassing and we are very positive and hopeful and because of this, there is no need for anyone to leave the party, not even now or in the future.”

 

The PDP, which suspended Amaechi from the party on May 27, set up a committee to investigate the anti-party activities accusations levelled against him.

 

Meanwhile, a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Austin Opara, has dismissed Amaechi’s claim that he made him (Opara) a principal officer of the House of Representatives.

 

Opara, who spoke with journalists in Abuja, also said it was wrong for the governor to tag him a betrayer.
 

He wondered how Amaechi, as the then Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, could have influenced his emergence as a principal officer of the House of Representatives, when he was not even a member of the National Assembly.
 

He said, “The process of electing the presiding officers of the House of Representatives is well known. It is through election on the floor of the House.
 

“Since the office of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives was zoned to the South-South, I spoke to all the governors from the zone and my state governor. How did Amaechi make me the Deputy Speaker?”
 

Also, a member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Dakuku Peterside, has warned that the PDP will lose the 2015 election if it fails to reconcile its aggrieved members and resolve the crisis rocking it.
 

Peterside, who represents Opobo/Nkoro/Andoni Federal Constituency, stated that without reconciling members of the party, it would be difficult for it to win the next general elections in the country.

The lawmaker said the PDP was currently in disarray, adding that any political party in such a situation would not win any election.
 

Peterside, who is the Chairman, House Committee on Petroleum Downstream, said though Amaechi was still in the PDP, he would not hesitate to leave the party if the governor decides to defect to another party.
 

The lawmaker said, “If you say the PDP in Rivers State is in disarray, are you not sure the party (PDP) in Nigeria is in disarray?”

STF killed more than 100 bandits in Langtang – Commander

The Special Task Force (STF), maintaining the peace in Plateau killed “more than 100’’ of the bandits that attacked Lantang villages last week, according to its Commander, Brig. Gen. Henry Ayoola.
“The latest figure of the attackers that fell to our fire works in the counter gun duel is more than 100. We really devastated them because we circled them up from various angles. They have never been so hit.
“STF troops deployed to Magama had first engaged them before they were later supported by additional troops that came from Shndam,’’ Ayoola told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos on Wednesday.

Alleged ThisDay bomber fails to stop trial

 

 

An Abuja Federal High Court on Tuesday held that a suspected Boko Haram member, Mustapha Umar, who was accused of attempting to bomb a plaza housing the offices of some newspapers in Kaduna in April 2012, had a case to answer.

 

The court presided over by Justice Adeniyi Ademola dismissed a no-case submission filed by the accused after the prosecution had concluded calling witnesses against him.

 

Umar’s lawyer, Nureini Sulaiman, had in the application argued that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against his client.

 

But Justice Ademola ruled that the suspect had a case to answer, and ordered him to open his defence.

 

As a result of the development, Umar testified in his own defence, claiming that he was innocent of the one count of terrorism filed against him.

 

He denied the confessional statement he made in a video-evidence tendered by the prosecution and admitted as evidence by the court.

 

Umar said the video, where he admitted the charge, was doctored by his interrogators, who he accused of excluding where he was tortured and compelled to confess to the crime.

 

In the said video, Umar was seen freely answering questions put to him by a police interrogator.

Man, 73, arrested for defiling boy

The Jigawa State Command of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps(NSCDC) yesterday arrested a 73-year-old man, Ibrahim Hassan, while allegedly  defiling a seven year old boy in a bush in Bigidan town of Birnin-Kudud Local Government Area of the state.

 Addressing newsmen, Commandant of NSCDC in the state, Muhammad Gidado, said his men monitored the movement of the suspect for nine days before they caught him in the act, adding that the suspect admitted that he has been sleeping with little boys for some years.

 

The boy, according to the commandant, confessed that this is the fourth time the old man is sleeping with him. Gidado said a medical examination would be conducted to ascertain the condition of the boy.

Female Boko Haram Member Loses Leg To IED She Was Planting

A middle aged woman suspected to be a member of Islamist sect Boko Haram on Sunday had one of her legs shattered while trying to plant an Improvised Explosive Device, IED, on a Baga Road market square in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital

The woman said to be carrying the IED to the area where it would have been planted, but it detonated before she reached her destination.
An eyewitness who identified herself as Abubakar Kundiri said: “We were sitting under this tree with two of my friends when the woman passed by carrying something in her bag that looked like a tin of cowbell milk. Immediately when she reached there, (pointing to the area) she bent over and put the object she was carrying on the ground.
“No sooner had she stood up than we heard a loud sound and her leg was torn into pieces.
“In fact, we were very lucky to be alive as we never knew she was carrying a device which could have exploded and killed all of us,” she stated.
The ‘Civilian JTF’, a group of youths assisting security agents in the offensive against Boko Haram in the state, also arrested two women with AK47 rifles at the Monday Market yesterday, as women’s involvement in the Islamist sect group gets bigger.

Vigilante Burns Down Borno ANPP Chairman's House For Sponsoring Boko Haram

The Borno state Chairman of the All Nigeria Peoples Party, Alhaji Mala Othman narrowly escaped death, when Volunteer Youth group, popularly known as Civilian JTF stormed his New GRA residence in Maiduguri on Monday and raised it down, alleging that he is one of the sponsors of Boko Haram militants.DailyPost in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital has gathered that as early as 10:30 am, the youth in their hundreds stormed the politician’s house, demanding for his arrest and burnt down his building, chanting Sai mun Kawo Karshensu, meaning (we must bring to an end their activities).
The youth blocked the entire major streets leading to his house to avoid harming innocent people passing through the area. Efforts by the youth to track down the politician proved abortive, as he was later sneaked out of the house by security operatives.
On realizing that the ANPP chairman has been smuggled out, the youth set his house ablaze and proceeded to the house of his boss, the former Governor, Ali Modu Sheriff, chanting “Saura Mai Gidan shi” meaning ( His boss’ house is the next), but they were prevented by the security men who manned the gate. The security men also shot sporadically into the air to disperse the rampaging youth.
It would be recalled that the youth have been hunting for the ANPP chairman, Alhaji Mala Othman, alleging that both the Chairman and his boss were responsible for the ongoing crisis in the state.