20 feared killed as Nigerian troops arrest Shiite leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky

The leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, a Shi’te Islamic group in Nigeria, Ibrahim Elzakzaky, has been arrested by Nigerian troops, following a siege on his Zaria residence, PREMIUM TIMES can reveal.

Ibrahim El-Zakzaky - The Shiite Leader

Inside sources in the sect’s hierarchy told PREMIUM TIMES that a top leader of the movement, Muhammadu Turi, and the head of the medical team of the sect, Mustapha Saidu, and several others were killed during the siege.

The Nigerian Army and members of the sect have accused each other of instigating attacks that led to the death of members of the movement on Saturday.

While the Army accused the Shiite followers of attempting to assassinate Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, the Islamic movement said soldiers simply decided to attack “defenseless people”.

It was gathered that the Nigerian troops sustained a crackdown on the members of the sect throughout the night as heavy shootings and sounds of explosions were heard in Gellesu and Sokoto Road, where Hussainiyya – the spiritual centre of the sect – is located.

Residents of the area told our reporter that they saw armoured tanks demolishing the Hussainiyya shrine and the residence of the leader of the sect.

A source at the military hospital in Chindit Barracks Depot of the Nigerian Army, Zaria, told PREMIUM TIMES that they received 19 bodies of people killed in the encounter.

The spokesman of the Nigerian Army, Sani Usman, could not be reached for comments and is yet to release a statement on the arrest.

Source: Premium Times NG

I Gave N600million To Bode George, Peter Odili, Attahiru Bafarawa, Jim Nwobodo And Others- Former Minister Yuguda

The embattled former Minister of State, Bashir Yuguda, has told the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that he gave a total of N600million cash to six chairmen of the Contact and Mobilisation Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2015 general election.

Bode George and Peter odiliSahara Reporters Media

He listed the beneficiaries as Bode George (South-West); Amb. Yerima Abdullahi (North-East); Peter Odili (South-South); Attahiru Bafarawa (North-West);  Jim Nwobodo (South -East); and Ahmadu Ali (North-Central).

He said he instructed Jabbama Limited to transfer N300million to BAM Properties whose account detail was given to him by a former National Chairman of PDP, Bello Haliru.

Yuguda, who made the allegations in a Statement of Witness/ Caution which he wrote on oath, said he sent N200million to the erstwhile PDP Governorship candidate in Kebbi State, Bello Sarkin Yaki.

He said a former Governor of Zamfara State, Mahmud Aliyu Shinkafi, also got N100million.

The statement is part of the proof of evidence against the former minister whose trial is scheduled to commence this week at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Yuguda will stand trial with ex-Governor Attahiru Bafarawa and his son, Sagir Attahiru; Dalhatu Investment Limited.

The ex-minister is expected to account for over N3.050billion including N1.1billion being part of the funds in the account of the ONSA and aggregate sum of N1,950,000 belonging to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which sum was transferred to Jabbama Ada Global Services.

The ex-minister said: “For the cash disbursement of N600million, it was meant for the six zonal chairmen for Contact and Mobilisation Committees for Election of 2015. The chairmen are Bode George, Amb. Yerima Abdullahi; Peter Odili; Attahiru Bafarawa; Jim Nwobodo; Ahmadu  Ali. The sum of N100million was given to each chairman. I gave the money in company of Prof. Alkali, who was Political Adviser to former president. The zonal chairmen are for the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP). I also instructed Jabbama Limited to transfer the sum of N100m to Dalhatu Limited on the request of Attahiru Bafarawa.

“I also remember that Bello Sarkin Yaki was among the people that the then NSA instructed that I send the sum of N200million to. He was the PDP gubernatorial candidate in Kebbi State.”

Yuguda, who claimed that he had liaised with Stallion Limited, gave the details of other disbursements.

His words: “I knew the chairman of Stallion Limited whose second name I cannot remember. Between December 2014 to June 2015, on the instruction of the then NSA, I introduced Jabbama Limited to a staff of the company on the instruction of the chairman.

“When the account was in credit, disbursement was made from time to time on the instruction of the then NSA. Part in foreign exchange or transfers.

“I wish to add that sometime in February 2015, I instructed Jabbama to transfer the sum of N300m to BAM Properties. The account was given to me by Bello Haliru as one of the people the former NSA requested me to give money. I also remember that Mahmud Aliyu Shinkafi was sent the sum of N100million on the instruction of the then NSA.

“Further to my statement of 30th November, 2015, I have brought the sum of $829,800(equivalent to N200m) and N600m was given to me to distribute to the six PDP Zonal Committee chairmen. I don’t know who are the directors of Dalhatu Investment Limited but funds were transferred to the company’s account on the instruction of Dalhatu Bafarawa for the total amount of N1.5billion received from the then NSA by Jabbama Limited.

“I shall endeavour to recover the sum of N600million given to the six zonal PDP committee chairmen, while I appeal to the commission to use their machineries to trace the remaining balance of the money transferred to various accounts.”

The former minister however denied receiving another N200million credited to him.

“I have been shown transaction of N200million from the Office of the Accountant-General to Jabbama which Jabbama said it’s on my instruction but I cannot remember this instruction until I crosscheck,” he said.

Some of the charges against Yuguda are: “That you Col. Mohammed Sambo Dasuki whilst being National Security Adviser and Shaibu Salisu, whilst being the Director of Finance and Administration in the Office of the National Security Adviser, Bashir Yuguda whilst being the Minister of State for Finance between 5th February and 16th April 2015 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court entrusted with dominion over certain properties to wit: an aggregate sum of N1.1billion being part of the funds in the account of the National Security Adviser with CBN committed criminal breach of trust in respect of the said property when you transferred same to the account of Jabbama Ada Global Services Nigeria Limited for the purpose of financing the campaign of PDP in the 2015 general election and you thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 315 of the Penal Code Act, Cap 532, Vol.4, LFN 2004.

“That you, Bashir Yuguda whilst being Minister of State for Finance between 23rd December 2014 and 10th February, 2015 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court dishonestly misappropriated certain property to wit: an aggregate sum of $9,809,619 which was an equivalent of the aggregate sum of N1,950,000 belonging to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which sum was transferred to Jabbama Ada Global Services to be converted into the said dollars and you  thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 309  of the Penal Code Act, Cap 532, Vol.4, LFN 2004.”

Meanwhile, a former Governor of Sokoto State, Alh. Attahiru Bafarawa, admitted that he collected N100million from Yuguda through Sagir Attahiru.

Bafarawa, in his statement to the EFCC, said: “I know Bashir Yuguda. He called me to tell me there is money to be given for (sic) the North-West Campaign Committee which I asked how much and he told me is N100million for the seven states and ask (sic) to give it to Sagir which he did and the money was sent to the states campaign committee between 20th and 21st of February 2015 for the PDP Campaign for General Election.

“He did not tell me where the money was coming from. I did not ask him where the money was coming from.

“Sagir is my son and I directed Sagir to send the money to state chairmen campaign committee for PDP North-West.

“I also received N100million (dollar equivalent) from the North-West Campaign Committee. The money was given to me in the PDP National Chairman, Alh. Adamu Muazu house in Abuja in the presence of all the zonal chairmen as listed …and after collecting all this (sic) money, I gave the money to Abdullahi Yauri who was the Secretary of the North-West Campaign Committee to share to the state chapter and Yuguda didn’t tell me where he got the money from.”

Source: The Nation

Poor Economic Situation, Naira Depreciation Consequences Of Past Mismanagement, Massive Looting - FG

The Federal Government has said the poor state of the country's economy, especially the depreciation in the Naira exchange rate, is the direct consequence of the incomprehensible mismanagement of the economy and the mindless looting of the national treasury under the immediate past Administration, rather than any so-called mismanagement by the Buhari Administration.

Nigeria's Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed

''If there was still any honour left among thieves, there is no way the leaders of a party under whose watch the nation's economy suffered a monumental mismanagement and the Central Bank was turned to the ATM or piggy bank of a few people will have the temerity to insult a government that is working hard to turn things around or the citizens who are bearing the brunt of such mismanagement,'' the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said in a statement on Sunday.

''It is now clear to all Nigerians that if the PDP had won the last general elections, Nigeria's economy would not have survived one more month, considering the battering it received under
the immediate past Administration. It is therefore unconscionable that those who should show contrition and hunker down to avoid public opprobrium are the same ones pointing an accusing finger at the Buhari Administration,'' he said.

Alhaji Mohammed described the comments credited to Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, that businesses may collapse in the next six months because the Buhari Administration has
mismanaged the economy, as the clearest indication yet that the PDP and its leaders are still in denial about the massive body blows they inflicted on the Nigerian economy.

''Senator Ekweremadu complained about the depreciation of the Naira without telling Nigerians who 'dollarized' the Nigerian economy by bribing many individuals and groups with dollars during the last elections, thus inflicting a knock-out punch on the local currency. He also failed to tell Nigerians which government presided over the frenzied mop-up of dollars, either for 'armsgate' or for slush fund purposes, from the CBN to a point where it almost ran out of the hard currency,'' he said

The Minister said even though the Buhari Administration met an economy that was in coma, it had refused to use that as an excuse for inaction, hence has been working hard on measures that
will turn the economy around and greatly offer relief to Nigerians by lifting millions, not thousands, of people out of poverty through a massive social intervention policy.

''The outcome of the months of hard work will manifest soon in the 2016 national budget that will give succour to millions of Nigerians who are reeling from fallout of the solecism of the
immediate past Administration that turned the country into a cash bazaar,'' the Minister said

He advised the leaders of the PDP and members of the immediate past Administration who are involved in the emerging cases of looting binge to urgently return, to government coffers, the funds they have squirreled out of the commonwealth.

''They are lucky that Nigerians are not as incautious as they are, otherwise they would not be able to walk around freely, not to talk of having the effrontery to fire darts at the government
that inherited their rot or the people who are suffering the consequences.

''They looted the billions of Naira that were allocated for the fight against insurgency, causing many innocent and patriotic soldiers to die needlessly, yet they are not remorseful. They looted
the treasury to influence the last elections, doling out money as if it was going out of fashion, yet they continue to grandstand.

''In the latest revelation, a Minister under the immediate past dispensation admitted to sharing 600 million Naira to six Chairmen of the Contact and Mobilization Committee of the PDP for the last general elections, 300 million Naira to an account given by a former PDP chairman, 200 million Naira to a PDP governorship candidate and 100 million Naira to a former PDP governor. This
is just one case out of many, yet these revelations are but a tip of the iceberg of what Nigerians will hear in the days ahead,'' Alhaji Mohammed said.

The Minister assured that despite the mind-boggling revelations about looting and the mismanagement by self-styled economic wizards, the economy will bounce back under the watch of President Muhammadu Buhari, who is bringing probity and transparency back into governance.

Segun Adeyemi
SA to Hon Minister of Information and Culture
Abuja

Wammako accuses NSA Dasuki of planning to rig for Jonathan.

Published on March 14, 2015 by pmnews

Governor Aliyu Wamakko, said that the Peoples Democratic Party plans to induce returning officers through the National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki to rig the forth coming general elections in the north western states of Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara.

Wammako spoke Friday in Sokoto while receiving members of the Savannah Centre Council of the Wise led by its Coordinator, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari who paid him a courtesy visit.

Gov. Aliyu Wammako: accuses NSA Dasuki of plotting to rig in North West for Jonathan

He said that the people will resist the planned rigging.

” We had uncovered plots by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd.) in connivance with former Governor Attahiru Bafarawa, to induce some university dons who would serve as returning officers to rig the March 28 presidential poll in Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara States in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He alleged that the NSA held a secret meeting with the university dons few days ago in the three states in a bid to induce them so that they would announce the results of the presidential poll even before the conclusion of the election.

” We are battle ready as we will resist any act capable of forcing unpopular leader on us ” he said.

Col. Sambo Dasuki, National Security Adviser: linked with rigging plot

Wamakko alleged that Dasuki’s sinister plots for the three states was to justify the position he occupies and the money collected from the presidency.

“Let me tell you frankly that just last few days, the NSA came to Sokoto and he was in Kebbi because he is trying to justify that he is working for Jonathan.

“He went extra mile to consult with some university lecturers who are going to serve as returning officers in Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara States that when the election is going on, they should go ahead and announce the result and they will be given military and police protection.

“And whatever happens, he does not care. So, I want this council and Nigerians to be aware that whatever that will happen in these three states, Dasuki should be held responsible.

“He came personally and made these plans in connivance with Bafarawa and a former minister so that results are going to be announced even before the election is finished. They are people who do not wish this country well,” he said.

He stated that the wanton killings in the North-east was enough to warrant the resignation of all the service chiefs including the NSA.

Wamakko accused Jonathan of desperation to remain in power at all costs and likened him to former Ivorien President, Laurent Gbagbo.

“I have to say this before you that there is a grand design by the PDP because they know they will not win the forth coming general election.

Speaking earlier, Gambari called on Nigerians to vote according to their conscience.

He said that good leaders will only emerged through the people’s wish and called on the electorate to desist from all kinds of violence so as to ensure the conduct of a free fair and transparent election.

Credit: PM News

T.B Joshua named 2015 ‘Yoruba Man Of The Year’

The ‘Egbe Omo Oodua Parapo’, a coalition of 35 Pan-Yoruba groups drawn from across the world, Friday, named controversial Nigerian Pastor T.B. Joshua, founder of The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations, SCOAN, as the 2015 ‘Yoruba Man Of The Year’.

Dr. Akinwale Adewunmi, the Chairman of the award committee, in a statement following the group’s annual conference in the US, said, “We give this award to Pastor Joshua out of over 500 nominees screened by the Planning Committee of the Association.

Adewunmi said the award was presented based on “the honour and admiration the pastor had brought to the Yoruba nation especially through his diverse philanthropic activities.

“We are proud that you are a Yoruba man with a global image in the annals of charity. Your charitable projects span 45 countries and aid ‘millions’ on a yearly basis, irrespective of their religion or ethnicity.

“Pastor Joshua started as a poor boy,” the statement added, acknowledging the cleric’s uncanny rise to prominence from a poverty-stricken home in Ondo State, Nigeria. He had no access to education neither did he enjoy any outstanding benefit from his society, yet he built himself. He educated himself and today stands out like a Professor in the greater university of life and living.

“Across the world, many ask travellers from Nigeria: ‘Oh, you are From Pastor T.B. Joshua’s country?

“We are proud that this generation has produced a Yoruba man, a Nigerian and an African that stands this tall,” the statement concluded.

Source: DAILY POST NG.

No Going Back on the "Anti-Social Media Bill" - Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah (Deputy Senate Leader)

Deputy Senate Leader, Bala Ibn Na’Allah, in this interview with SUNDAY ABORISADE of PUNCH, dismisses arguments against the ‘anti-social media bill’, insisting that the senate will go ahead with it!

What informed your decision to sponsor the Anti-Frivolity Bill, otherwise known as the anti-social media bill?

First of all, I want to tell you that the social media is an important platform for the economic, social and political development of a country. But what we hate is its negative use which has a very damaging effect on our desire to develop as a nation. I am surprised that people are calling it an anti-social media bill. The title of the bill is ‘Frivolous Petitions and other Matters Connected therewith.’ When it came out for a second reading, the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, suggested that we could even change it to ‘Public Petitions Procedure Law’ so that we can prescribe procedures for the way we do things in this country. We are not too far from forgetting the fact that we just finished a ministerial screening. I have served in the Public Petitions Committee of the House of Representatives for eight years. I am now the Deputy Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions. You must give me the benefit of the doubt about my background and experience to know the dangerous implications of publishing frivolous petitions. What have the proponents of the protests against the bill been able to show clearly against it? Has any of them said the contents of the proposed bill infringed on the provisions of the constitution? Certainly not. All they do is to give a vague explanation that it is going to cage or gag people from expressing their opinion on public issues.

What are the dangers that the bill is expected to protect against?

We said that in the past, we had situations where simply because someone wants to remove the chief executive of a government agency or institution or even of a private firm, he or she goes somewhere and writes a fictitious petition to put the affected official and his or her family in trouble based on allegations that are not correct. Wherein then lies the wisdom of writing petitions based on falsehood when you have the opportunity of checking information about the activities of the person in the agency, firm or institution where he or she works courtesy of the Freedom of Information law which I helped to put in place? Even at that, we said fine, you are free to write whatever you want to write but you must accompany your document with a sworn affidavit. What we are trying to do is to bring you within the old act so that if what you write has been discovered to be untrue, then you should be ready to bear the consequence. It means you have lied on oath and this is known as perjury. The writer can be subjected to trial. This is how to bring sanity to the way we are doing things.

But one of the arguments of those who are condemning the proposed bill is that there are many aspects of our existing laws that take care of all you say your bill is designed to address?

As a parliament, we have flexibility. This is one example of sunset legislation. For God’s sake, if we say we are a country of godly people as we claim, what is wrong in asking people to go and tell the truth?

There are insinuations that the proponents of the bill have something to hide …

I am Bala Ibn Na’Allah, and have never changed from being who I was. I am challenging Nigerians now that whoever has anything against me should come and say it openly. God will not cover anybody who fails to expose my bad acts if any.

You can speak for yourself, but can you also say the same thing for your colleagues?

I don’t care about any other person. I am the one who brought the bill. I don’t want Nigerians to like me for doing the right thing; I want them to hate me for doing the right thing. The health bill of the United States of America was more controversial than this proposed bill but it was eventually passed. Are Americans not happy with President Barack Obama today? I don’t belong to the class of leaders that will tell their people lies simply because they want to be loved as leaders. I have no cause to do that. I believe in this bill and I challenge any lawyer to a national debate on it. They should come and tell me which provision of this law violates the provision of our constitution. I am interested in that.

Is it true that the Senate is considering dropping the bill because some Nigerians are protesting against it?

That is not possible. If I want people to demonstrate in support of the bill, I am capable of mobilising more than one million people to do that. But let me tell you that in this country, the era of renting a crowd, trying to swing people into doing the wrong thing has gone and it will never come back. Our investigation has shown that most of the people who write and publish frivolous petitions are criminals. Go and check what some of them write and publish on either social or traditional media; there is no single suggestion on how the country would be developed. Rather, what they have done is to recruit some boys in various places to look for civil servants who are crooks and bring up facts about their wrongdoing and publish it. Those ones would run to them and pay them money. You cannot continue to use social media to commit crimes and think that we will just be looking at you. I will not.

President Muhammadu Buhari has been quoted as saying that he was not part of the bill.

No, don’t misquote Mr. President. He, in a very clear term, said, that he would uphold the freedom of speech as contained in the constitution based on the oath of office he had taken but freedom of speech is not the only freedom that is contained in the constitution. The same responsibility he has to uphold the freedom of speech extends to his responsibility to defend the dignity of persons. While should we continue to allow a faceless person to continue to malign and bring repression on the people? In any case, Mr. President belongs to the executive arm of government and I have not seen anything wrong with what Mr. President said. In fact, we are on the same page. He even said he was not averse to any regulation that will take care of the matter provided it is done within the constitution.

But the bill was not given the desired publicity. Many Nigerians are still not aware of the details before you hurriedly passed it for first and second readings.

Don’t talk about the popularity of a bill. Whether we do something about social media today or not, this country will have cause to revisit it. Go and write it down. Wherein lies the wisdom of allowing the social media to go on rampage on their own, and then on the other hand, asking the National Broadcasting Commission to regulate the electronic media? Why don’t you remove the regulatory agencies in charge of print and electronic media so that everybody writes and publish whatever they like? That is when we will now know that we have freedom of speech and that everybody is free to say whatever they like. If there is any country that needs regulation on social media, it is Nigeria and this is because of its complexities. We have seen people going on social media putting a lot of things that are dividing the country and tearing it apart. The only reason we swore to an oath of office as leaders is because the public puts trust in us to have the ability to solve their problems. Hence, the oath of office requested us to do our duties without fear or favour, affection or ill will and then we will not allow our personal interest to affect our official conduct and decisions. On that I stand as a senator.

Why is the Senate in a hurry to pass the bill?

There is nothing like being in a hurry about this bill. The public hearing is going to take place. The bill is passing through the normal procedure. Every Nigerian has a representative in the Senate and I remember when I moved for the second reading of the bill, the Senate President asked whether any senator wished to speak against it or not. None of them spoke. Why didn’t the public speak through their representatives then? And now that everybody wants to claim credit, you think I should just sit down? Let me tell you, I am ready to give my life to doing what is good for this country. I didn’t come to the Senate because I like what I am doing. I am in the Senate for a purpose.

Some Nigerians believe that you are pushing for this bill on behalf of the Senate President who has cases in court based on petitions against him.

I am too old for the Senate President to toss around. Go and tell him I said so. Those who know me properly will tell you that I don’t have a boss. I am an independent person. There is nothing God has not done for me. For your information, I am a lawyer, pilot, senator and traditional ruler with three titles. Tell me, which of these jobs cannot give me food to eat that you think would make me to be following Saraki about? Whatever one does in this country, there are people who would want to read into it in order to discourage one. I don’t belong to the class of those leaders.

Civil society groups and owners of some online media organisations protested at the National Assembly, vowing to stop the bill through the court if you insist on going ahead with it. What do you say?

Let them go to court. I am a lawyer. Do you think I am afraid of the court? I have spent the best part of my life as a lawyer and I am sure that there is virtually no part of this country where people don’t know me as a lawyer. As to whether I am a ‘jagajaga’ lawyer or not is your own opinion, but I do know that based on my little understanding of the law, I possess the capacity to defend this.

Source; http://www.punchng.com/blackmail-wont-stop-us-from-passing-bill-naallah/