How President Buhari made Nnamdi Kalu a hero from zero level thinking he was persecuting him - Uwazurike

The former President-General of Igbo Think Tank Tank group, known as Aka Ikenga, Goddy Uwazuruike, has said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s continued detention of leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has transformed the agitator from the status of a nobody to a heroic personality.

In a chat with the media during the weekend, the Igbo intellectual said the celebration of Kanu as a hero and the clamour for his release from Kuje prison was born out of necessity and expediency.

According to him, the call for Kanu’s release and the subsequent hero status he had attracted can be justified by an allusion to an African proverb.

He said “If an individual on his way to work finds a man beating his child on account of disobedience, and the child is still sighted serving the same punishment in the evening, what would the passer-by tell the father? Of course he would wade in and say: ‘this is enough, stop it. It is enough.’

“Who was Nnamdi Kanu before now? He was nobody. But suddenly during this detention, after various court have discharged him, he has become somebody. By government’s action, it has made him an authority.

“Remember some years ago, leader of the Oodua Peoples Congress, Chief Gani Adams, was arrested, just like the late NADECO leader, Chief Abraham Adesanya. But it got a stage that people shouted ‘Leave these people alone.’

“Similarly, we are calling for the release of Kanu, enough is enough. It has nothing to do with the 2019 elections.

“Nnamdi Kanu is not a threat to anybody. You have him in prison for owing a radio station but his detention has not stopped the radio station to stop broadcasting.”

On why the call is being made at this time, he said: “It is never too late to say the truth, even at the point of death.

“Let me put it this way, anyone who keeps silence in the face of oppression and injustice deserves the worse treatment.

“Prof. Soludo, Prof Utomi and the governors have spoken and we are very happy and we call on all Nigerians to join in the call as well. If people are charged for treason because they spoke about injustice and oppression, then they are labeled enemies of the state, then you know what kind of government that is.”

On how to effect the release, he said the Attorney- General of the Federation should advise the President that this treasonable felony trial will do him no good and the charge should be dropped.

“And that is why we advocate the separation of the office of Attorney General from that of the Minister of Justice, the former answers to the people while the latter to the President”, he added.

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EFCC discovers over N400m in abandoned bureau the change in Lagos (VIDEO)

The Lagos State zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has recovered over 400 million naira in an abandoned bureau the change in Lagos State.
The anti-graft agency in a video posted on its Facebook page Friday night said they had counted over N400m while the counting is still ongoing as at 8:33pm.
No details of the area where the money was recovered at the time of this report, but DAILY POST observed that the money was stocked in a ‘Ghana Must Go’ bag.

The development is coming barely one month after the EFCC intercepted N49m at the Kaduna International Airport.

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How Boko Haram insurgents attacked my convoy – Buratai

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, has revealed that his convoy was once attacked by Boko Haram in Borno State.
Buratai revealed this in an interview with The Nation.
According to Buratai, he was leading troops to clear the ambush in Mafa village instead of returning to Maiduguri.

“I was with them and my convoy was ambushed by Boko Haram. Instead of withdrawing back to Maiduguri, I said, ‘No! We are in this together, I can’t go back. We must all go together to clear the ambush,” Buratai said.
“So I advanced with them and that was how we cleared the ambush. If the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) does not turn back, who would turn and run from such an ambush? I advanced with the troops and it paid off.
“Unfortunately, we lost two soldiers; one of them was an officer. One other soldier, a Brigadier-General, got wounded in the attack,” he added.

He added that the troops killed 10 terrorists and captured five.
Buratai also said the terrorist group has been greatly degraded since he took over as army chief.
“My greatest fulfilment is with the progress that has been made in the war against Boko Haram since I resumed as the Chief of Army Staff,” he said.
“We came at a time when truly the challenge of the insurgency was very high. It was at its peak. There is no gainsaying that some progress had been made before we came in. But the progress that was made before we came in was being overtaken by the virtual resurgence of Boko Haram terrorist group.

“At the time we came, there were only four local governments that were not under the Boko Haram terrorist group’s control out of about 27 local governments in Borno. Same in Yobe state; two local governments were still under Boko Haram’s influence. That was the situation we met when we came in July 2015.
“As at today, those two local governments in Yobe state have been reclaimed from Boko Haram. And in Borno, all the 23 LGAs that were under the influence and control of Boko Haram have been liberated and they’ve been effectively put under the control of the elected government. The areas that are remaining are just the peripheral, that lies along the border between Nigeria and Cameroon. And Chad and Niger borders as well. No single local government is under the control of Boko Haram. To me, this is a major achievement and source of fulfilment,” Buratai said.

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I was never involved in N10m bribe – Osinbajo replies Bamaiyi

The Presidency has denied the involvement of the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo in a N10m bribe as claimed by former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Ishaya Bamaiyi(rtd).

Bamaiyi, in his book, “The Vindication of A General” alleged that Osinbanjo was directed to convict him and others within six months during the time, he, Osinbajo was Lagos State Attorney- General.

The former Army claims that Osinbajo shielded the then trial judge, Justice Ade Alabi, whom he accused of demanding a N10 million bribe from him.

However, the Senior Special Assistant to the Vice-President on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, described Bamaiyi’s claims as blatant lies.

In a statement, Akande said Osinbajo was never called to Abuja or given any form of instruction on how to resolve the case.

According to Akande, “ My attention has been drawn to claims made by General Bamaiyi in his book Vindication of a General, where he alleged that the then Attorney-General of Lagos State, Osinbajo, the trial judge, (in the criminal case of his “involvement” in the shooting of Alex Ibru) Justice Ade Alabi and the State Police Commissioner were called to Abuja and “directed to convict us at all costs within six months.”

“That Justice Ade Alabi asked for a N10m bribe through “one Mr. Martin” to facilitate his bail application in the case, and that the National Judicial Council panel composed to investigate the bribery allegation, protected the Judge.

“Specifically that Prof. Osinbajo “brought what he said was the panel report during one of the motions. Unfortunately, pages one through twenty-nine of the report were not produced.”While the Vice President, Osinbajo would take more comprehensive steps to address the evil insinuations made by the retired General, I have confirmed from him, i.e. Prof. Osinbajo, that he was never called to Abuja or at any time given any instructions on how to resolve the case. This blatant lie arose only from the fertile imagination of the author.

“Equally, the shifty recollections of the retired General about Prof. Osinbajo bringing a panel report with pages missing is as ludicrous as it is incongruous. For instance, is the author saying the then Lagos State Attorney-General was responsible for the NJC panel report? That would be incredible and clearly a mischievous proposition.”

Akande stated that Bamaiyi’s counsel, Mike Okoy, who argued the bail application for the former Army Chief had confessed in open court and in several newspaper public notices as ordered by Court that he lied against Justice Alabi.

“Okoye actually had to read his confession and apology in the open court in a case that involved such prominent lawyers like Chief F.R.A Williams, who in particular pressed that Okoye be held fully responsible for his wild accusations.

“It is incredible that after all of this, the author went on to mislead the public. What impudence!” the presidency stated,” Akande added.

Read Bamaiyi’s allegation below…

His words: “We were in prison until we were taken to court in Lagos on December 22, 1999 to face Justice Alabi, who was said to have been called to Abuja with the Attorney-General and Lagos State Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Osinbajo.

“They were said to have been directed to convict us at all costs within six months. Unknown to our persecutors, we had a lot of sympathy within the Presidency, the Police, and the DSS.

“As such, whatever instructions were passed to them got to us within a short while. I applied for bail even though I knew it would not be granted. After the argument by my counsel and the counter-argument by the state, led by the A-G, the case was adjourned without a date for ruling on my bail application.

“After some days, one Mr. Martins came to prison to visit Al Mustapha, who came and told me that he had been sent by Justice Ade Alabi to discuss my bail issue. He told me the judge was ready to grant me bail if I would give him N10 million.

“We discussed this with Al Mustapha and I expressed my fears regarding Mr. Martin’s message. We told Mr. Martins to prove that Justice Alabi had really sent him.

“He left, but after about two weeks, he came back and told us that when next we went to court, the trial judge would give us two months for the ruling on the bail application. This would be his proof that the judge had sent him.

“He said the judge was aware we were in prison and needed time to get money. At our next court appearance, the judge adjourned for two months. This proved to us that Mr. Martins was genuine.

“I informed my counsel, Mr. Mike Okoye, who argued the bail application. He said we should think about it and that he would try to find out the matter. We waited until I decided that I would give nobody any money.

“One day in court, Al Mustapha got fed up and challenged the judge. At the next court date, I asked the judge for permission to speak. He initially hesitated but changed his mind. I believe he thought I was going to apologize for Al Mustapha’s action during the previous hearing.

“I started by saying, ‘I have respect for the rule of law and the judiciary. I also have respect for this court.’ This made the judge relax. I quickly added, ‘But a situation where the judge sends people to collect money from accused persons is unacceptable. You know what I am talking about.’

“The judge ordered me to sit down. I did because I had said what I had wanted to say. Afterwards, we petitioned the National Judicial Council, NJC, against Justice Alabi. He wanted to continue with the case against the advice of lawyers and some judges. Eventually, he was forced to return the case file to the administrative judge.

“The NJC then decided to investigate our allegation. On March 25 to 27, at the Kirikiri Magistrate Court, the panel, headed by a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, started hearing our petition. Unknown to us, the panel had decided to protect Justice Alabi who was working for the government.

“The panel was made up of Justice B.O. Babalakin (Chairman); Amb. M.L. Sambo (member) and T.J. Onomigbo Okpoko, SAN (member). “Justice Ade Alabi brought in Chief Afe Babalola, SAN as lead counsel and he came with Chief Ladi Williams, SAN, Prof. G.A Olawotin, SAN; Kola Awioderin, SAN, Ikenwa Okoli, Gboyega Oyewole, Adebayo Aderipekun. Justice Alabi was docked and examined by Chief Afe Babalola who led him in evidence. He was then cross-examined by Y.C. Maikyau, Bala Ibn Na’Allah and Jingi.

“They succeeded in stopping members of the press from covering theses proceedings. Later we got to know why the press was barred from the panel. The panel report was full of lies. The panel report stated that Justice Alabi was not docked and was not cross-examined by our counsel. I only hope Afe Babalola did not see that panel report. These are clear lies, as Justice Alabi was docked and cross-examined.

“Prof. Osinbajo brought what he said was the panel report during one of the motions. Unfortunately, pages one through 29 of the report were not produced. This was very clear because we, the petitioners, gave evidence and Justice Alabi was examined and cross-examined.

“I believe the missing pages contained our statements and the examination and cross-examination of Justice Alabi by our counsels. I believe these actions are understandable because Justice Ade Alabi was given an assignment to carry out injustice and he had to be protected by those who had given him the assignment.

“We were disappointed with the former Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Babalakin, who disrespected himself and let down all justices of the Supreme Court. Even in retirement, they should be honourable.

“I am looking forward to the day we see the complete report of the panel and the statements made by those who gave evidence. We also hope the investigation of the death of Mr. Martins under suspicious circumstances will be made available one day.”

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