Fake Arms everywhere

PRESIDENT GOODLUCK JONATHAN (R) INSPECTING ARMS AND AMMUNITION SEIZED FROM INSURGENTS BY THE NIGERIAN TROOPS IN BAGA DURING HIS VISIT TO NORTH EAST ON THURSDAY

•Security agencies must get to the root of the seized 661 pump-action rifles
NOTHING illustrates better the seriousness of the acute security challenge confronting Nigeria than the interception and seizure on January 22, by security agents, of 661 pieces of pump-action rifles in Lagos. The illegal and very alarming imports, surreptitiously brought into the country through China and routed via Turkey, were reportedly packed in 49 boxes and loaded in a 40-foot container cleverly hidden among other goods, including steel doors.
But for the alertness and sense of duty of the Federal Operations Unit (FOU) of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), which apprehended the deadly consignment being transported in a Mack truck, with registration number BUG 265 XG, along Apapa-Mile 2 Road, the substantial arms haul would have found its way into Nigeria’s booming market for illicit arms.
We commend the decisiveness with which the requisite arms of the NCS moved to apprehend all those involved in the dastardly transaction leading to the arrest of three suspects who were accompanying the arms to its destination, as well as the Customs officials who initially gave the containers a clean bill of health and cleared it to slip through the ports undetected.
Obviously aware of the grievous danger that this discovery poses for national security, the Comptroller-General of the NCS, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), declared that “investigations have already commenced and I have directed that the dragnet should be wide enough to fish out all persons involved in the importation and clearing of the consignment”.
This surely is the kind of resoluteness needed to expose, apprehend and neutralise the brains behind what can only be a vast and intricate syndicate specialising in the clandestine importation of illegal arms. It is particularly noteworthy, as the NCS comptroller-general explained, that the seized rifles were under absolute prohibition and thus could not be legitimately brought into the country. Yet, the fact that those behind this devilish transaction could brazenly have tried to bring such a large number of arms into the country through the ports is an indication of the high level of confidence they had in their capacity to compromise and beat the security at the ports.
It is thus not unreasonable to assume that this may not have been their first time of seeking to bring in arms illegally but for mother luck that failed to smile on them this time around. There is certainly a close link between the massive influx of undetected arms into the country and the ever escalating rate of violent crimes. Thus, apart from the now thankfully largely checkmated Boko Haram terrorists as well as murderous Fulani herdsmen rampaging host communities, who are armed with sophisticated weaponry of all kinds, armed robbers, kidnappers and cultists are also aided in their nefarious activities by access to arms through unofficial channels. There is also no doubt that the perceived inability of the security agencies to effectively check crime in the country may be a motivating factor for individuals to seek to procure arms illegally for self defence.
Col. Ali was therefore spot on when he averred that “such deadly contravention of the law is even more unacceptable considering the fragile security situation in some parts of the country”. Given the complex route the arms consignment traversed on its way to Nigeria as well as within the country, the operations most likely involved a far higher number of accomplices than those currently identified. The NCS must thus seek the cooperation of other security agencies to get to the root of illicit arms importation rings that may lead to other discoveries capable of helping to stem the tide of illegal arms inflow into the country.
Equally critical is the need for the NCS to invest heavily in boosting the professional efficacy of its officers through the acquisition of cutting edge technology that can ensure that the service remains well ahead of criminal elements trying to subvert its structures, processes and systems.

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2face to be a dead man if a protest holds against Mr President anytime - Presidency

 
The office of the acting president Osinbajo says it is going to be hazardous to the young man 2face Idibai if he tries in his life again holding a protest against his own president just because he is out of the country for some rest which he will soon resume his office.
In their meeting in Aso rock yesterday, they made it clear that Nigerians should stop speaking evil concerning president Buhari.

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Nigerians still asking 2face why he failed them via the protest - see details

Dear Nigerians, after due consultations, it has become clear that the #OneVoiceNigeria protest scheduled to hold in Lagos and Abuja on Monday the 6th of February is under serious threat of hijack by interests not aligned with our ideals. The point I am intent on making is that is (sic) not worth the life of any Nigerian. It is in fact motivated by the need to negotiate a better deal for the ordinary Nigerian. I therefore announce the cancellation of the planned protest. We would share further information in due course. We appreciate the massive support. I am convinced that our voices have been heard… “
That was Innocent Tuface Idibia, in a short video to announce the cancellation of his highly publicised march on Saturday night. Yours truly obviously saw it coming. It takes an appreciation of the massive psychological operation (psych-ops) deployed against the movement’s leading light of the march in the past week alone to see why the event stood to chance of being held. Indeed, it is a miracle that the man still had the presence of mind to prepare what is evidently a hastily prepared visual to the public.
As for the trophy for the abortion of the legitimate protest, that deservedly goes to Fatai Owoseni – the Lagos top cop who insisted that the constitution and the law counted for little when it comes to his idea of law and order. To him, what the constitution and the law guarantee are only as far as the old discredited colonial-style law enforcement template would allow. To him, it was sufficient that no official request came from the protesters notifying security agencies of their plan; moreover, he would add that intelligence report indicated that criminals might hijack the process to foment trouble. And so in Owoseni’s book, individuals or group of persons who may wish to embark on civil demonstration should inform the police until adequate security can be arranged for them!
To imagine that this is the individual in charge of policing the home of dissent – the acclaimed Centre of Excellence, a fast transforming mega-city; not only does it leave little imagination about his suitability for the challenge but raises serious questions about his understanding of role of the police institution in a modern, democratic state! Should one also talk of the chief law officer of the federation who would rather be missing in action where contestations are about issues of law and justice crop up? What about the Pontius Pilate presidency that would go on to speak from both sides of the mouth at a time the rights of citizens are being trampled under?
I perfectly understand the pains of the Buharists for whom the Tuface capitulation merely presented ample occasion to gloat, and settle scores: “A man who did not protest against music Piracy that is affecting his business and did not protest against the massive corruption in his home state did not look to me as a man will balls to lead any other form of protest. He was given the go ahead by the Vice President and the Police but you can’t protest over nothing.” That was the message of Anasieze Donatus, in an interview with Premium Times. Tayo Ayano, speaking to the same medium was just as blunt: “Tuface should start from his wife’s state, Akwa Ibom where the ‘uncommon governor’ practically stole his people blind and then move to Delta State where they celebrate thieves and common criminals.”
To those who insist on Tuface being an unlikely saint and so stand disqualified on the roll of those that could cast the proverbial stone, I would argue that he never sought to cast himself in that role. To the best of my knowledge, what he sought to do was merely galvanise like minds to engage the government on the raging issues of the day; the very issues that define our existence such as being echoed in bars and street corners. These are the untamed cost of living that have left most households pauperised; the collapse of industries, of the national currency; the unprecedented below par performance of Buhari’s ministers in the face of the dire emergency, the continuing meltdown in state institutions and the apparent lack of direction all of which have bred despair in the polity.
The problem, it appears, is that a high flier has chosen to lead the charge in seeking to articulate the very issues that agitate Nigerians daily.
In aborting the protests, the federal government may have spared itself the embarrassing spectacle of watching the hordes of angry, frustrated Nigerians rant to no end about its supreme incompetence before a global audience in the age of the new media; that no way diminishes the tragedy of that botched outing nor the weight of their undelivered message. However, let’s even Let’s assume that the government is able to put down the resurgent culture of civil protests – which seems increasing doubtful in the age of the new media – what about the problems of governance created by its own inertia that is at the heart of the distrust and ill-will? Would these also be decreed out of existence?
Now that the messenger is at least temporarily out of the way, the question is – what becomes of the message? Put it another way: why do the people rage? Why the anger?
The answer is not hard to hazard: not in our recent history have we seen an administration utterly lacking both in direction and cohesion. But then, that itself is an understatement. How do you describe a government which after bungling the budgetary process shops for alibis? A government that has made such a mess of its Mid-Term Expenditure that the National Assembly could not but sneer at what it described as its sophomoric effort? Imagine an administration laying a $30 billion loan request before parliament with no specific projects attached to the request? How bad can things get? And considering how bad things are, where is the sense of emergency?
Think of members of the nation’s Economic Management Team – the monetary and fiscal monetary authorities –working in cross purposes with each other. Only in Nigeria can this be contemplated –at a time of dire emergency!
Where are the strategies to get our industries revving back to life? Where are the strategic plans to wean our industries off their dependence on imported raw materials and hence foreign exchange in the medium term? In short, where are the clear-sighted, forward-looking strategies to get the nation out of the current challenges other than the same old, tired ideas that brought us to this point?
Left to pick between #IstandwithBuhari and #IstandwithNigeria, the choice should be obvious.

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Military not arming Fulani herdsmen to kill Christians, says Govt

The Federal Government yesterday warned religious leaders against incendiary messages capable of causing religious war in the country.
It also said allegations bordering on Islamisation of Nigeria and persecution of Christians were mere fallacies.
It said conflicts between Muslims and Christians were often fuelled by political motivation, ethnic differences, extremism, intolerance and terrorism.
It described as ridiculous the accusation by some leaders that the military was arming Fulani herdsmen to kill Christians.
Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed made the government’s position known at the North Central Town Hall meeting in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, yesterday.
The session was the eighth in the series of the Town Hall Meetings which was started in Lagos on April 25, 2016 by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Mohammed said the government was worried about comments from religious leaders.
The Minister said: “Without equivocating, let me say that a lot has been achieved by this administration, despite the challenges that we have faced since assuming office. But whatever has been achieved in all spheres will pale into insignificance if there is no peace in the country.
” And there is no bigger threat to the peace and unity of our country today than religion-coated incendiary messages, which are being carelessly sent out there by some religious, political and opinion leaders.
“In recent times, the media has been increasingly awash with incendiary statements that seem designed to pitch the adherents of the two prominent religions in the country, Christians and Muslims against one another.”
He described as fallacies such insinuations that the government was either out to Islamise Nigeria or persecute Christians.
He added: “Such fallacies like the Islamisation of Nigeria, the killing of Christians by Muslims, the labelling of Nigeria as the most dangerous place for Christians in the world can only serve one purpose: trigger a religious war. Needless to say that no nation ever survived a religious war.
“Those who are making these allegations know that they are not true, but they have found in religion another tool to demonise the government of the day, divert attention from the government’s anti-corruption stance and create undue tension in the polity.
“The alleged Islamisation of Nigeria under the current Administration is totally false and should be perceived in its entirety as a campaign of calumny.
“The secular nature of Nigeria’s Constitution makes the issue of religious dominance and impunity improbable.”
Mohammed said the government believes that some comments by religious leaders had political connotations.
He said: “It is also important to note that the underlying principle of religious conflict may not be purely religious, but more often than not coloured with political connotations as vividly depicted in the case of the terrorist group Boko Haram.
“And more often than not, conflicts between Muslims and Christians are fuelled by political motivations, ethnic differences, extremism, intolerance and terrorism.”
He said the government considers it ludicrous to claim that the nation’s military was arming Fulani herdsmen to kill Christians.
He said: “Before I end my speech, let me appeal to the media to desist from providing a platform for exponents of incendiary statements, those who will latch on to religion and ethnicity to divide us, and those who have no qualms about leveraging their privileged positions to give Nigeria a bad name in the international community.
“Their foreign collaborators, including a section of the international media, have even gone as far as accusing the Nigerian military, a symbol of the country’s unity, of arming Fulani herdsmen to kill Christians, as if the army is made up of officers and men from only one religion.
“The Federal Government rejects this ludicrous and nonsensical accusation against the military and warns those behind it to desist forthwith.”

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