Former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday responded to General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida’s dismissal of his eight-year rule as a failure, describing the former military president as a fool at 70.

Babangida had on Tuesday in Minna, Niger State on the occasion of his 70th birthday, described Obasanjo as lacking in foresight and imagination.
Barely 48 hours after, Obasanjo replied him. He had conducted a team from the United States (US) round the Olusegun Obasanjo Library in Abeokuta,Ogun State. He told reporters that Babangida’s description of him as a failure was not only the ranting of a drowning man, but that of a fool at 70.

The ex- president, who was dressed in a blue guinea brocade and a cap to match, was initially hesitant when journalists who learnt of the inspection few hours earlier, asked him to react to Babangida’s comment.
His words: “I did not believe my ears when the news came to me until I read it in some national dailies.”

Quoting from the book of Proverbs chapter 26 verses 4 and 5, Obasanjo justified his reason for referring to Babangida as a fool, adding that the statements ascribed to the ex-military president were not well thought-out.
He added: “Well, normally when I read these things I don’t believe them. Yesterday (Wednesday), when somebody phoned me and said this was said, I said don’t believe it. He said check all the papers and I said get me all the papers. They got me the papers and I read. It’s a little bit unlike Babangida.

“But if Babangida had decided on becoming a septuagenarian that will be a fool, I think one should probably do what the Bible says in Proverbs chapter 26, verse 4. It says: ‘don’t answer a fool because you may also become like him.’

“When you go to the same Proverbs chapter 26, verse 5, it says, answer a fool so that he will not think he’s a wise man. So, I am now torn between which of the two verses I should follow in this respect. Some of the things he said, unfortunately, were not well thought-out.” According to Obasanjo, no successive government after he left as military Head of State in 1979 built any new dam to complement the ones at Jebba and Shiroro built under him except the Egbin Plant that he initiated and was later completed by the Shehu Shagari-led government.

He wondered why Babangida would describe his eight-year rule as wasted, explaining that he (Babangida) had the opportunity to build more power plants and dams when he was President, considering the amount of money the nation had in its coffers then. “When I was the military Head of State, I built Jebba dam; built Shiroro dam, I prepared the foundation of Egbin Plant, which President Shagari completed and commissioned. That time the money we were making was not up to the money Babangida was making annually for his eight years and yet, we built two dams. Because it was important, you know that power is the driving force for development and for any developing country.

“But since the building of Egbin Power Plant, until I came back in 1999, there was not any generating plant for almost 20 years and Babangida spent eight years out of that. Now, he has the audacity to talk about anybody. I think that is unfortunate.” Obasanjo stressed that Babangida’s comment on his tenure as a civilian president between 1999 and 2007 was unfortunate, adding that rather than being angry, he felt the former military president deserved sympathy.

“I also read where he said in his time, he gave the dividends of democracy and at the same time he regretted. When I read that, well, I said, Babangida should be pitied and shown sympathy rather than anger or condemnation because the old saying which says a fool at 40 is a fool forever and I would say a regret at 70 is regret too late. Well, a regret at 70 is a regret to the grave.”

On el-Rufai’s allegations at the just-concluded probe of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Obasanjo confirmed that he actually blocked the privatization of the Nigeria Airways which he said was deliberate, considering the heavy burden the sale of the Airways would put on the country. Obasanjo recalled that during his regime as military ruler, Nigeria Airways had 32 aircraft, but had only one left by the time he returned as elected president, 20 years later.

His words: “I blocked the sale of Nigeria Airways, not that I attempted to block the sale of Nigeria Airways. When I was military Head of State, Nigeria Airways had 32 aircraft, by the time I came back as elected president, Nigeria Airways had only one aircraft. “ One of the 32 was a wide body, they have all gone and the report on which we worked is here, the amount of money we will have to pay if Nigeria Airways was sold, what we would get out of it is less than 10 per cent of the debt we have to pay. That will be the debt Nigeria taxpayers will have to pay; that will not be the way to run the affairs of this country.

“I won’t run my own affairs that way, so, I opted for liquidation. So, it was bankrupt, it was liquidated; in which case whatever you gain from liquidation which is also a form of sale, it means the burden will be shared by all the creditors and everybody. So, if I owe you 10 dollars and what I sell when I am liquidated is two. That’s what you get.

“I did not allow normal privatization or sale because it would have put a very heavy burden on Nigeria. So, Nigerians should know that and in fact, my administration should be commended for that. It’s not that I did not allow that sale because the law establishing its sale and liquidation is also a form of sale.” Asked whether he would honour any invitation from the panel that investigated the BPE, Obasanjo said he was ready to appear before any panel, adding jokingly:  “I’m available.”

The erratic power supply in the country also attracted the attention of the former president, assuring Nigerians that if the Goodluck Jonathan administration continued with the trend of building power plants as being done in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, the country  by 2013, would be generating nothing less than 10,000 megawatts annually.
He said  that his civilian administration built Papalanto, Omotosho and two other power plants to boost power supply.

“Then as elected president, I built Papalanto, Omotosho and two others. I started five of what they called Independent Power Plants (IPP) which were stopped for two and a half years. Now the present administration has started building a new power project at Uyo.

“As a country, Nigeria should be adding nothing less than 1,500 megawatts annually. South Africa with a population of 50 million people generates 50,000 megawatts. Nigeria with a population of about 165 million, we are not generating. We, as at 1999 met 1,500 megawatts before we took it up to 4,000 megawatts. They have started building on what we initiated,” he concluded.

Medical students of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology have resorted to odd jobs like catering and barbing, following lack of lectures for 14 months.


Some of the students, who visited PUNCH Office in Osogbo on Thursday, cried as they recounted how the ownership crisis between Oyo and Osun states had put their medical education on hold.


The 400, 500 and 600-level students, said they last received lectures in June 2010 when the Oyo State Government, under Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, ordered the medical students to report to a yet-to-be-accredited teaching hospital in Ogbomoso, Oyo State.


Ogbomoso is the hometown of Alao-Akala, who lost his re-election bid last April.


Violence erupted in Ogbomoso campus of the university on Wednesday when some Oyo State indigenes working in LAUTECH decided to lock the gates of the institution against Osun State workers and students.


A statement by the medical students, who did not want his name in print for fear of being victimised by the school authorities said, “We have spent 14 months without lectures and this has prompted some of us to venture into catering, fashion designing, buying and selling and hairdressing.


“We engaged in these ventures hoping that in a matter of weeks, the crisis would be resolved and we would continue with our ambitions of becoming medical doctors. Little did we realise that there was no light at the end of our tunnel.”


Urging the owner states – Oyo and Osun – to ensure that they continued their studies at the College of Medicine, Osogbo, the students said the resources spent on them by their parents and guardians in the last 14 months were wasted.


The students added that the Faculty of Medicine built by the Alao-Akala administration in Ogbomoso lacked facilities to support medical training.

The popular cliché of the Nigeria Police Force; ‘Police is your friend,’ does not seem to affect Taiwo Alabi, a 25 year-old commercial bus driver, whose newly acquired 24-seater bus was allegedly set ablaze by policemen in Lagos State.


Alabi said the bus with the number plate, LAGOS XX 255 EKV was burnt because he refused to give bribe to policemen attached to the Alapere Police Divisional Headquarters in the state. Now, Alabi is jobless with no hope of getting justice, while his creditors are on his neck to pay up because he bought the vehicle on hire purchase.


Narrating his ordeal in tears, Alabi told PUNCH METRO that on May, 25, 2011; the vehicle developed a fault on the Third Mainland Bridge and he had to tow it to his mechanic workshop. He said it was while he was on the way to his destination that he met the policemen, who ruined his life.


He said, “I was on my way to Ketu with passengers when the bus developed fault. After getting all the passengers into another bus, a good Samaritan driving a truck, who saw me pushing the bus parked on the side of the road and offered to help me to tow my bus since he was going my way.


“Due to heavy traffic on the expressway, we passed through Alapere estate which was an alternative route. As soon as we were a few metres away from the Alapere police station, a man in mufti flagged us down.


“He said he was a policeman attached to the station and demanded for our vehicle document. I gave it to him and afterwards, he demanded that we present a permit for towing the vehicle.”


Alabi said that the Good Samaritan took exception to the policeman’s latest request and accused the policeman of being mischievous.


“The policeman in response, threatened to lock us up for arguing with him. After much argument, he said that I should pay N10, 000 or he would not release the bus. In anger, the man disconnected the chains he used in towing my vehicle and drove off, leaving my conductor and me at the mercy of the cop,” he said.


Alabi said that the policeman later got angry and started beating him up.


“He then beckoned on one other policeman around the scene. They pounced on us and subsequently seized my phone as well as N15, 000 which I had in my pocket.


“While they were beating me, one woman who sells bread near the station started shouting, ‘Corporal Kola, do you want to kill him’ that was how I knew his name.”


Alabi told PUNCH METRO that during his ordeal, he saw another policeman who was in uniform and beckoned to him for help. He added that the policeman took sides with his colleagues.


He said, “The newcomer even kicked me in the stomach and said if I did not co-operate with them, he would personally lock me up.


“The policeman got into the bus and asked the other two policemen to push my bus into the police station so that I would come back the following day to pay extra money. While they were pushing the bus, I think the stub of the cigarette which he was smoking, accidentally fell on the fuel pump and the bus caught fire.”


Alabi added that immediately the bus caught fire, the three policemen ran into the station, leaving the bus to burn beyond repair.


“The next day, May 26, I went to Alapere to report the incident to the Divisional Police Officer, Mr. Odion Okosun, a Superintendent of Police. After narrating my ordeal, Okosun met with his men and was able to establish that I was telling the truth. He told me to come back later so we could discuss further and I agreed.


“Unfortunately, after that day, it was impossible for me to see him as I was always told by the policemen in the station that the DPO was not around.”


Alabi said 10 days after the meeting, he finally got to see the DPO and when he presented the case again, the DPO threatened to lock him up if he ever set foot in the Police station again.


“I bought that bus on hire purchase. I only acquired the bus three weeks before the incident. I have paid only N200, 000 and I still have about N1.3m to balance.


“In fact, the N15, 000 which was stolen from me by policemen was part of the money I had planned on depositing in the account of my creditor because the agreement was that I pay the seller back in instalments. I don’t have any other job and I have an aged mother who I’m taking care of,” Alabi told PUNCH METRO.


Reacting to the allegations, Okosun said Alabi’s vehicle was not burnt by the policemen. He said it got burnt due to overheating.


Okosun said, “In a statement dictated by Alabi and written by policemen because of his inability to read and write, Alabi actually claimed that the vehicle got burnt while he was driving the vehicle as the vehicle was overheating. I don’t know why he would be changing his statement now and making false accusations.”


He said it was not true that he threatened to arrest Alabi.


“Why would I threaten to arrest him? The first time he came to the station, I received him well. Why then would I suddenly change my attitude towards him?” he said.


The spokesman for the state Police Command, Mr. Samuel Jinadu, however, declined comment.


However when our correspondent visited Alapere, the majority of those who spoke with him on condition of anonymity, because of perceived reprisal by the policemen, said although the policemen did not plan to burn Alabi’s bus; it caught fire while it was in their hands.

Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has condemned former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former Ogun State Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, of portraying themselves as among those who think Nigeria belongs to them.


He specifically said they have been playing God.


He also described the former president as a script writer and director of all affairs.


Soyinka spoke on Sunday at the investiture of Ade Oyenekan as the 45th President of Rotary Club of Ikeja District 9110, Nigeria, where he was the guest speaker.


Speaking on ‘The Impact of Exile on Home Video’, the the Nobel Laureate likened former key political players as “movie directors and masters of Nollywood films that never took place.”


Soyinka said, “OGD was God written upside down. And his presence as God Almighty was felt in Ogun State by sneaking in a minority speaker, shutting down the House of Assembly, dismissing the majority and passed over 20 bills in two hours. Of course, you know the lion took the lion’s share.


“Power is pranks, authority is enduring. Authority without power is nothing. Without power, authority validates itself. There is still life after power. Thus, we should look forward to a creative collaboration between him and his Kiliwood director, as they have kept the images of their videos for future blackmailing.


“The essence of all what I am saying is that we should not lose hope in and out of exile. Creativity will continue in and out of exile. Don’t stop at just hearing from an individual’s imagination,


He added, “To put originality to it, the actors don’t feature as living stars but as exiles, specifically the non-recallable exiles, who cannot comment on the challenges of their roles in the videos. These stars are those the actor tries so hard to terminate prematurely.”


Soyinka dedicated the lecture to his late friend Banjo Solarin.


“There are many forms of exile including terminal exile. There is the internal exile also called ‘Sidon look exile’. This form of exile could be read as the short term of all exiles. Just like Bola Ige, MKO Abiola was sent on permanent exile. Internal exile is the passive type, watching the world go by. I have been trying to join that school, but since I cant, soon I’ll join them in the grave.”

An Assistant Superintendent of Police, Mr. Jasper Ireaku, on Wednesday told an Ikeja Magistrate’s Court how an accused, Mr. Timothy Moses, attempted to defraud a former Lagos State commissioner of police, Mr. Marvel Akpoyibo, of N1.7m.


Ireaku, a prosecution witness, told the court presided over by Magistrate Olufemi Isaac, that Moses and others, said to be at large, had wanted to defraud the police chief through a non-existing contract.


He said he was part of the team, who arrested 36-year-old Moses, while trying to cash the money at a branch of Fidelity Bank in Umuahia, Abia State.


Ireaku said the group perpetrated the fraud and the money was paid into their account in Lagos, but preferred to cash the money in Umuahia in their bid to evade arrest.


The witness said sometimes in September 2009, one person from Moses’ group contacted the former CP on the telephone and proposed a non-existing contract.


Ireaku said the accused proposed a deal of procuring and supplying 100 packets of “oil indicator rings,” adding that each of the packet worth N850,000.


He said although the police chief was suspicious of the caller, he went ahead to tell the suspects that he was interested in the contract.


The witness said the former CP subsequently directed him to act on his behalf.


Ireaku, who was led in evidence by the prosecutor, Mr. Bartholomew Nwankwenye, said the alleged fraudsters proposed to the police chief that when the rings were procured they would readily sell them at the rate of N1m per packet to a stand-by buyer, Mrs. Grace Ebih.


He also testified that one member of the gang, identified simply as Charles, had called him, promising that the profit on each of the packet would be shared between him and the police chief in ratio 40 to 60 per cent respectively.


The witness said Ebih, a suspected member of the group, later called him for the supply of two of the packets of the ring as samples, adding that Charles asked him to approach Moses for the supply of the rings.


Ireaku, said Moses, who posed as a pastor and Manager of Cable Metals Limited, Oba Akran, Lagos, asked him to pay the sum of N1.7m to his Fidelity Bank account in Lagos for the supply of two of the rings.


He said an officer of the Umuahia Area Police Command alerted him on September 29, 2010, telling him that they had arrested the accused while trying to cash the money in Umuahia.


The matter was adjourned till August 31 for continuation of trial.

President Goodluck Jonathan’s plan to send a bill to the National Assembly for a single six-year term for President and governors was yesterday criticized by opposition parties.
In unison, they argued that the plan is deceptive, fraudulent and an attempt at tenure elongation by Jonathan.

The President had said that he will not benefit from the proposed constitution amendment whose implementation would begin in 2015

The country currently operates a four-year tenure that could extend to a second term. Elected officers have often turned the aspiration for a second term to a do-or-die affair which brings with it sad memories. The papers were awash with President Jonathan’s proposal yesterday.

Reacting to the proposed tenure, Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) condemned the plan, which it termed ‘reckless move’ by the President ‘not only to divert the attention of Nigerians from the looting going on in the land under his watch or railroad Nigerians into forum shopping; but to elongate his tenure through the back door’.

In a statement issued in Enugu yesterday and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Osita Okechukwu, the CNPP said: “We cannot remember when President Jonathan canvassed tenure elongation during his presidential campaign and cannot locate how the extension of tenure will improve the welfare or security of Nigerians who today are groaning under the yoke of functioning anarchy, which is sliding dangerously into a failed state.

“It is highly regrettable and a pity that President Jonathan, rather than submitting an executive bill to alter the Constitution from unitary system of government to true federalism; a centre which is too heavy, indolent and corrupt; is submitting a bill on tenure elongation aimed at self-glorification.
“If President Jonathan is truly committed to free and fair elections he could have submitted an executive bill which will incorporate the core recommendations of the Uwais Electoral Reform Committee Report in the Constitution; rather a tepid attempt to extend his tenure”, it said. The statement noted that the bill to elongate the tenure of the Office of the President and Governors from all indication “is not only in bad faith, inconsequential, diversionary; but has exposed the perfidy of the Jonathan regime.
“Finally, CNPP is of the candid view that seven to 10 years tenure cannot prevent ‘food-is-ready’ politicians from do-or-die political culture, rigging the elections and foisting surrogates on the electorate; unless the Constitution is amended to allow for the core recommendations of the Uwais Electoral Reform Committee.

Also reacting, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) described the plan as fraudulent, deceptive and a misadventure.

In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in Ibadan, yesterday, the party said the plan also ‘confirms the fears that this President enjoys power for the sake of it, instead of using it to the benefit of Nigerians’.  It said the single tenure project is fraudulent because President Jonathan never for once promised Nigerians, during his campaign, that it would be his priority project once elected into office, adding that the issue was also not known to be in the manifesto of his party, the PDP.

The ACN said the project “is also self-serving because, despite the deceptive proviso that President Jonathan will not benefit from it, there is nothing in the Constitution that bars him from seeking another term in 2015 and, in any case, he has not told anyone that he will not run again after his current tenure. “This is nothing but tenure elongation by subterfuge and it is worse than the Third Term misadventure of his godfather. All it takes for the proviso, inserted to hoodwink gullible people, to be knocked off is for anyone to seek a declarative court ruling that he (President Jonathan) is indeed qualified to seek another term. After all, he did not go that far to disown his party’s zoning principle, which he signed on to”,’ the party said.

The ACN is worried that the ill-conceived project could prove to be a divisive issue, further threatening the country’s fragile unity, which took some beating by the President’s volte-face on zoning in the PDP.
”Much as most Nigerians are shocked by President Jonathan’s plan, we are sure it did not come to them as a total surprise, because it is in line with his style since assuming office. After the death of President Umaru Yar’Adua and his (President Jonathan’s) ascension to office, he cannot be remembered for anything beyond stoking the fire of zoning or no zoning, which burned brightly until he was elected President.

“Now, three months after he promised Nigerians heaven and earth in his inauguration speech, but delivered nothing, while Nigerians are daily being subjected to hellish living, all he has come up with is a bill to amend the Constitution so the President and state governors can serve only one term. How is this issue more important than taking measures to grow our moribund economy; or to ensure that millions of our jobless youths are gainfully employed?

“How does this check the widespread insecurity of lives and property in the land, especially in areas under the stranglehold of Boko Haram? How are the so-called merits of the plan, which its promoters said include checking the acrimony that accompanies re-election campaign, more important than making kerosene, diesel and aviation fuel abundantly available to slash the rising costs? How does this project turn around the appalling state of our infrastructure? And how does it check the spiralling exchange rate of the Naira to the major currencies, with its bandwagon effects?

“We therefore, urge all Nigerians to reject this evil project instead of playing the game of President Jonathan and his cohorts, who simply want to use the ensuing debate to divert attention from the worsening standard of living of Nigerians and the bad governance to which they have been subjected by to most elected officials in the over 12 years of democratic rule,’’ it said.
The All Nigerian People’s Party (ANPP), however, urged the President and the National Assembly to put the interest of the nation above every other consideration.

Reacting to the proposed executive bill on  single term, in a statement in Abuja, yesterday, the party said Nigerians would resist any attempt by anybody to manipulate the process for his own gain.
“Our great party has taken notice of the reported intention of Mr. President to forward a bill to the National Assembly proposing the amendment of the Constitution to limit the tenure of Office of the President and Governors to a single term of six years. We have also taken cognizance of the effective date of the year 2015 for the amendment, if passed and assented to, to become effective.
“The experience of the recent past in similar efforts in this regard should remind all true patriots that Nigerians will resist any attempt to manipulate the constitutional amendment process to further any hidden agenda.

“We call on all our members in the National Assembly to remain vigilant. We assure all Nigerians that our great party is carefully studying developments in this regard. In due course, our National Chairman will speak on this issue as events unfold”, the statement, signed by Emma Eneukwu, National Publicity Secretary of the party said.

It was a show of muscle flexing yesterday, between the organized Labour and Kaduna State Governor, Patrick Yakowa over the contentious new national minimum wage.
General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Owei Lakemfa had taken a swipe at the Federal Government and the state governors over the perceived less than transparent manner they have been handling the issue of implementation.

The NLC scribe, who spoke on the occasion of the 2nd triennial Delegate Conference of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), had reiterated the position of Labour that any governor who could not pay the new wage to the state workers should quit as he had no business being in the office.

He also made allusion to the comment by Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam that even if the Labour should go on strike for one year, some of the governors would not be able to pay.
When it was the turn of the Kaduna Deputy Governor, Mukhtar Rammallan Yero, who represented the governor, to speak, he took exception to what he called threats by the Labour, saying Labour had been threatening the governors in the wake of the disagreements over the new wage.
Though amid shouts of ‘No’ by the delegates and other Labour leaders, Alhaji Yero said no governors would be moved by the threats and neither would any of them quit office because of inability to pay the new wage.

He explained that he was once a member of SSANU and had the experience of Labour activism and the thinking of unionists concerning issues like wage rise and now being a part of policy formulator, he had seen the difference that Labour threats could not move mountains.
According to him, if the Labours should find themselves in government they would also have the same opinion as the governors.
With shouts of ‘No’ intermittently from the audience, the deputy governor tried to cite an instance with the Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, who was a former NLC president, as one of the governors having running battles with his workers over the new wage, but the unionists insisted, he would pay.

“Has he paid? What we are saying is you need to be on the other side to understand what I am saying just like the vice chancellor said earlier, strike will not solve the problem and neither threat too, so we have to understand ourselves because give or take, the governors will pay eventually.
“No governor will leave his seat because he cannot pay the new wage. Labour should reconsider the use of threat that any governor who cannot pay should go. Governors need to be encouraged and not discourage,” he stated.

Earlier, Owei had given an analysis of the position of Labour over the new wage and the claim of subsidy, which the governors were pressurising the Federal Government to remove so that the state would have more money to pay the new wage.
The NLC scribe dismissed the claim, saying Nigerian government was exporting crude oil only to import refined products because it was ‘crude in thinking’, pointing out that many countries smaller than Nigeria run up to 30 refineries for adequate supply of petroleum to their citizen while Nigeria, which prides itself as giants of Africa could not run one refinery successfully.

Later in an interview, he described the position of Governor Suswam as irresponsible, wondering why a state government whose industry was civil service would say it was not concerned if the state civil service was shut down.
“Such governor who is not ready to pay the new wage cannot govern peacefully, because this is a matter of law, the governor as the chief security officer of their states cannot afford to be lawless, otherwise who will be expected to be law abiding?” Owei argued.
He disclosed that Labour would continue its meeting with government today and insisted that the deadline remains the end of this month as all categories of worker must have their August salaries reflect the new pay across board.

In his speech earlier, Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Abdulahi Mustapha, urged Labour to exercise caution in its agitation and that strike which was usually the last option was the most destructive when care was not taken.
Outgoing president of SSANU, Promise Adewusi, who is also the deputy president of the NLC, sided with his NLC colleague when he lamented that the government was pushing Labour to the wall with its attitude.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s warning on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) zoning is sheer hypocrisy, his former deputy, Atiku Abubakar has said.

The former vice president was responding to reports credited to Obasanjo in  national dailies yesterday, that the party should go back to its zoning arrangement.
He suggested that House of Representatives Speaker, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal and his deputy, Emeka Ihedioha should quit office after two years in order to revive zoning.   
To this, the former vice president described the call as an insult on the intelligence of Nigerians.
Atiku, in a press statement recalled that Obasanjo was the biggest beneficiary of zoning and rotation of power, which made him to occupy office for eight years.

He, however, expressed surprise that Obasanjo made a u-turn on the sanctity of zoning in the run up to the last PDP national convention when he told the nation that zoning did not exist, despite court rulings maintaining that it did, in the ruling party’s constitution.
“It is surprising that former President Obasanjo is now posturing as the apostle of zoning when indeed, he was the one who did everything to destroy that equitable means of power sharing among all sections of Nigerian,” Atiku said.

According to him, Obasanjo’s arbitrariness and despotism were largely responsible for the destruction of the noble objectives of zoning, saying rather than taking responsibility for ruining the party in the South-west, the former President is now deceiving Nigerians on the issue.
“It is on record that Obasanjo has no respect for the PDP constitution. He remains the problem in the PDP and governance in the country by trying to control every President he deems to have installed in power, something he could not have tolerated from others while he was in power,” he said.
He said Obasanjo has no power to determine the fate of the Speaker and his deputy, which was absolutely the responsibility of the House members who voted them freely into office.

Atiku said the honourable thing for Obasanjo to do is to quit public life and keep quiet.
In the run up to the 2011 presidential elections, the zoning took the front burner resulting in  two camps. The Northern Elders Forum of the PDP headed by Mallam Adamu Ciroma vowed to uphold zoning.
Obasanjo, was at the forefront of those who said the arrangement was alien to the party’s constitution.

It was a gloomy afternoon on Tuesday in Kogi State when two corps members who were just discharged from their orientation camp and one National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) staff lost their lives in an auto crash along Kabba/Okene Road.

The incident happened at about 2.15 pm when the corps members, numbering five, including a lady, were travelling in a Honda Accord car with registration number HG 777 EKY belonging to the NYSC staff from the Asaya Orientation Camp, Kabba, to Lokoja, the Kogi State capital.
According to an eyewitness account, the fatal accident occurred when the Honda car conveying the corps members had a head-on collision with a DAF truck with registration number XT 850 LNG heading to Ekiti State.

The account said as a result of the fatal accident, the bodies of the corps members were dismembered and scattered on the highway and could only be identified through their uniforms.
Some of the corps members, it was gathered, had disembarked from a Toyota Hiace bus, which was originally conveying them from Kabba and joined the NYSC staff in his car, who volunteered to give them a ride to Lokoja.
Speaking with Daily Sun, the state Coordinator of NYSC, Frank Ekpunobi, described the incident as touchy and sad.

He said out of the deceased corps members one was a new corps member newly posted to Lokoja while the other was a Batch A corps member who had gone to the camp to felicitate with his friends, while he gave the name of the late staff as Rufai Ahmed who was employed last year.
Ekpunobi who said efforts were being made to contact the parents of the late corps members, however, appealed to corps members serving in the state not to embark on unnecessary journeys but to report to his office before travelling.

Confirming the incident, the Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Sunday Maku, said the remains of the dead corps members had been deposited at the morgue of Okene General Hospital while the injured were receiving treatment in a private clinic.
He said the accident would have been avoided if the two vehicles had not engaged in excessive speeding.

Four policemen attached to one of the Mobile Units of the Lagos State police command have been arrested for armed robbery.
However, the Force has declared a manhunt for one other, who is currently on the run. Recovered  from the alleged gang leader, Eboma Onyeka’s account was money running into several millions of naira.

Daily Sun reliably gathered that Onyeka, was also arrested last January for allegedly robbing a commercial bank.
It was gathered that luck ran out on the suspects on Monday, when they were returning from a robbery operation also in a commercial bank at Owutu, Ikorodu area of the state and some policemen on stop-and-search accosted them. 
The suspects were said to have identified themselves as policemen serving in one of the Mobile Squadroms but the stop-and-search policemen became suspicious when they saw some masks on the seat of the Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) they were operating  in.

The stop-and-search policemen, who were not convinced with the explanation  of the suspects promptly arrested them and took then to the State Anti-robbery Squad (SARS), Ikeja.
It was further gathered that when a search was conducted on their vehicle, arms, ammunition, masks, money and other personal effects were recovered.
One of the police investigators during interrogation  discovered that the alleged gang leader, Onyeka, from Delta State had in January, this year been arrested  for robbing a commercial bank.
The suspects’ houses were searched and detectives who conducted the search were shocked  to see a statement of account belonging to the alleged gang leader, Onyeka.
A police source alleged that Onyeka’s bank account with a new generation bank runs into several millions of naira.

The police source claimed the money was more than N18 million and revealed that Onyeka used another name Eboma Prince to open the account.
He said when the police stormed the bank, they discovered that the photograph in the account was  that of Sergeant Eboma Onyeka.

The source said Onyeka was serving in a private company, in Apapa. He revealed that the suspect who is now on the run  was one of those posted on guard from the Commissioner of  Police’s office.
In his words: “The suspects were in two vehicles. The four were arrested in one while the one on the run was all alone in another vehicle. But when he resumed work at the gate on Tuesday, he got the hint that his colleagues had been arrested and took  to his heels.”

The source said  that when detectives stormed his house, they were  told that he had not returned home.
When contacted for comment, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Samuel Jinadu said: “I am not aware of what you are saying. So, I cannot say what I don’t know, but you can wait for me to make some enquiries,” he said.

No fewer than six people sustained injuries in four separate accidents that occurred on the Ikorodu Road in Lagos on Monday.


Our correspondent, who visited one of the accident scenes at Maryland Bus Stop, learnt that a commercial bus while speeding, wanted to switch lanes, causing a vehicle behind to ram into it.


An eyewitness, who identified himself simply as Azu, said, “One commercial bus was over speeding and suddenly tried to change lanes but unknown to him, there was an oncoming minibus right behind it.


“Of course the minibus rammed into it but the bus was not severely damaged so the driver did not stop. Unfortunately, the minibus was damaged almost beyond repair and the two occupants sustained injuries.”


An official of the Lagos State Traffic Management Agency told our correspondent that the accidents were as a result of over speeding, adding that motorists did not regard traffic rules.


He said “The problem with motorists in Lagos is that whenever the road is free, they think it’s an automatic licence to overspeed.


“Today(Monday), four accidents occurred and we rescued six victims. There was one at Onipanu involving a gray Hyundai with registration number ND173 AAA; one occured at Fadeyi involving a black Toyota Prado with registration number FG650B20,


“Also, another accident happened near New Garage Bus Stop involving a red Mazda pickup with registration number HN 300AAA and now this one (he points to the minibus) with registration number Lagos NQ143AAA “


Our correspondent observed that motorists resorted to using the lanes designated for BRT buses as the accidents led to heavy vehicular traffic.


One of the officials of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, who was also at the scene administering first aid treatment to the victims, said they would be taken to Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja for treatment.


“These two victims like the other four we have rescued will be taken to LASUTH for treatment. Fortunately, no one died today,” the official, who did not disclose her name, said.

The Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria on Sunday threatened that Muslims would rather go to war than give up on the current move by the Central Bank of Nigeria to promote Islamic banks in the country.


The SCSN also warned Christian clerics to stop disturbing Muslims, whom it said had received enough abuses since the controversial banking system came to the front burner of national discourse.


Vowing that Muslims would defend the implementation of the Islamic banking system (also known as non-interest banking), “with the last drop of their blood,” the council also urged the Federal Government to call Christian leaders to order.


The SCSN President, Dr. Ibrahim Datti Ahmad, read a statement issued at the end of a meeting of the council to journalists at the Arewa House, Kaduna.


The council said, “Jaiz bank has come to be and there is nothing they (Christian leaders) can do about it and if we have to go to war on this, we’ll go to war.


“Let those wearing cassocks stop disturbing our peace. Gentlemen (journalists), being peaceful doesn’t mean we are cowards. We warn them to stop disturbing our peace if they want us to live together in Nigeria. Everybody can go his way; we don’t have to live together. We can’t live under people dictating to us how we should live our lives even within the laws of the country.


“Whatever they call themselves, whether archbishops, priests or whatever they are, let them stop disturbing our lives. We have had enough; let the government warn them because these abuses are enough. We have been patient but there is a limit to what we can take. On this Jaiz bank, there is no going back. Everything has been done according to the law.


“We’ll meet fire with fire if they make the Jaiz bank impossible. Let them leave us alone. If they want us to live in Nigeria peacefully as we want to do, then let them respect our rights as we concede to them their own rights.”


It added that if Christians wanted a bank to serve their interest, they were free to ask the CBN for one instead of opposing the proposed Islamic banking which “is operational in the United Kingdom and other Christian-dominated countries.”


The council added that the Jaiz bank had assured that it would commence operations in Nigeria in September with three branches in Abuja, Kaduna and Kano.


The SCSN said,“We are very happy that with a lot of efforts Jaiz bank has now become a reality. The company owning Jaiz has assured us that the bank is coming in September and they have assured us that they will be starting with three branches in three towns, namely Abuja, Kaduna and Kano.


“And they will continue to open the branches rapidly thereafter. We are also aware of the amount of noise and nonsense we hear from the Christian leaders, some of whom are so ignorant.


“They think they can blackmail the government, the CBN or the Muslim ummah to abandon the project. We want to assure them that nothing can stop the Jaiz bank from coming into being because it’s being brought in according to the laws of Nigeria. There is nothing illegal about it.


“If they have a Christian bank that they want to establish, they have the freedom to bring it to the CBN and if they can prove their case, a Christian bank will be opened.


“We, the Muslims of this country, are fed up and tired of the vituperations of the CAN (Christian Association of Nigeria). They feel they can dictate to the Muslims, even on how we should live our lives.


“And we are warning the government not to listen to them because there is a limit to the amount of nonsense we can take. We are the majority in this country, whether the Christians like it or not.


The Sharia Council also alleged that the post-presidential election riots in Kaduna and other parts of the North were premeditated in Southern Kaduna long before the conduct of the polls.


Efforts made by our correspondent to get the reaction of the President of CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, were abortive, as he was said to be out of the country.


The SCSN also faulted the manner in which the crisis was handled by the Federal and state governments, alleging that a curfew had been imposed on the northern part of the state while the southern part remained free.


It said, “This reality is supported by the fact that Southern Kaduna Muslims were massacred even before the election results were announced. Whatever happened was a reaction thereto. The refugees were left to cater for themselves. In fact, most of them were compelled to leave the camp.


“The government must restore people’s freedom, compensate them fully and return them to their homes.”


The council also spoke on the security challenge in the country, especially in Borno State, saying that “the activities of the Joint Task Force in Maiduguri were most unfortunate.”


It accused the JTF of “using an unbalanced force in its attempt to restore peace and order to Borno State.”

It is no longer news that there are babies in Nigerian prisons. What you might have known is that the number is far more than you could imagine.

In Kirikiri prisons in Lagos, a visit by a body (CRAPI), sometime late last year proved a shocker. The group found to their consternation that the prisons not only hold baby prisoners or inmates, but a very large number.

The body that later commenced processes in two Lagos courts to free these baby inmates saw 10 babies. That was not all. They also saw 10 pregnant inmates in the same prison. With at least 10 babies they carry, it means Kirikiri Prisons alone had 20 kids in jail through association as at last year.


But a puzzle that will remain unsolved is not only how these babies got in there, but rather that most of these babies were conceived after the suspect mothers got into detention or started serving terms. Saturday Sun dug into that mystery and discovered that there could be some inexplicable mystery of conception in a prison or detention cell other than what human beings know. Maybe, in prison cells conception is contagious, airborne or waterborne.

Police detention
The search started from the police - the first point of call where some of these women are detained for weeks before they are charged to court. The suspicion in this matter is the fact that most of these mothers-while-in-prison got there without any pregnancy. Viewed in another way, there is doubt if the law in Nigeria permits that a pregnant woman sentenced to prison starts serving the term when the baby had not been delivered.

Pregnant before imprisonment
Saturday Sun also took its searchlight to the police. Some police officers questioned admitted that it is quite possible that some enforcement officers play a role in putting female detainees in family way. There is a caveat here – consent. They claim such suspects must have consented to the act of intercourse and a resultant conception.

“I do not find it an offence if you see a woman and get attracted to her. If you tell me that a policeman is dating a suspect that is a different ball game all together. Anyone that tries that would definitely be dismissed. Besides the IPO would always be there whenever they want to bring them out.”
A police officer that pleaded anonymity, said: “ I am a Christian so I cannot lie. It happens and it is common. These girls willingly give themselves to the police so as to get a shortcut out of their problem. A lot of female criminals and suspects have been let loose because they decided to use what they have to regain freedom. Those who landed in prison must have committed an offence that is obvious and cannot be covered. The IPO will sleep with her with a promise and still fail. It is no longer news.”
In this regard, a lady who dated a policeman while in detention and later ended up in jail could be discovered to be pregnant after the sentence depending on the interval between her sex encounter and time of conviction.

A typical example was an encounter with a lady identified as Chidinma, a prostitute in Yaba who was a victim of this situation sometime. She claimed that her brothel was raided at night and all the sex workers were detained. “ We gave them what they wanted and were released that night. Nobody knew that we were arrested. I can’t afford to be sent to jail, so what’s the big deal if I offer sex to get my freedom.”

Getting it done
Saturday Sun also visited a prison in Lagos disguised as a relative of an inmate who sought to know from a male warder (name withheld) the possibility of smuggling a lady into the cell of a male prisoner who is her brother. The warder laughed hysterically and advised the inquirer to send money to her prisoner relative and leave the rest of the deal to him (the warder) Still pushing further, the inquirer (Saturday Sun) pleaded that she would love to make the arrangement because the family wanted someone to take in for the brother in prison. She was advised to call back, which was done few hours later. The warder went for the business and asked for a N20,000 to facilitate it from her end. But he did not fail to advise that it would be cheaper to arrange a lady inmate to fill the job. With an insider, lady inmate, the arrangement would be entirely that of the warders in-house. “ It would be better, cheaper and easier to get a woman from the female prison. Most of the fine female inmates are reserved for the big boys in prison. Those girls are clean and untouched. They are firm and aggressive in bed,” he laughed.

“Could it be that you also patronize them since you know all these details,” the reporter chipped in. Still laughing, the warder said: “ I am a married man and a Christian. I love my wife but if I were still single, I would not think twice to choose a wife from the prisons. They are better than girls of nowadays who sleep with any man that is ready to drop some money. We have cases of prison warders getting married to an inmate. They are human beings and have changed in the course of their stay in the prisons.”
When told that there could be possibility that these inmates could get pregnant, the warder said: “It is very rare because these are grown ups that have seen life before they were convicted. I believe they should be wise enough to make use of condom, besides it is very rare.
But if that becomes the case, its either the woman keeps the child or flushed it out. Forget about that one, nobody is praying for anything bad to happen. Whenever you are ready, let me know. I gave you a fair deal, no forget me.”

Like a confirmation of the stunning revelation by the warder, an ex- convict who spoke to Saturday Sun on condition that her name won’t be mentioned admitted that such things happen, and only men who can afford the fee go for it.”

“It is a pleasure reserved for the big boys in the prison because it is always arranged by the warder who also gets his cut from the deal. But it is always done with the consent of the woman who is also interested in satisfying herself. I do not blame them because it is not easy for a woman to hold her body not to talk of a man. Is it not better to take the pains and pay such a woman than to masturbate? That is no news. In the five years I spent in prison, if I had the opportunity I would have had my way in such deal but thank God for Christ who gave me the strength to pull through.”

Set them free –Child’s right NGO
Mrs. Ozioma Onyenweaku is advocating that according to our laws, babies should not be kept in prison. CRAPI, an NGO formed to advocate, monitor and defend the rights and welfare of the child stumbled on a stunning revelation that these babies born in the prison are also raised there.
Recently, she got a court order that led to the release of one of the nursing mothers in Kirikiri Prison. Although mother and child are free today, Mrs. Onyenweaku said the order made to preserve the rights of the baby was not acknowledged.

She is currently in court seeking the release of babies and their mothers in Kirikiri prisons.
In a suit before the Federal High Court in the Lagos, CRAPI is requesting enforcement of the Fundamental Rights of pregnant women and babies in prison.
In its application, CRAPI is requesting that a declaration be made that the detention of pregnant women and nursing mothers with their babies is illegal, unconstitutional, an abuse and flagrant violation of the fundamental rights of the woman as enshrined in the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (ratification and enforcement) Act Cap 10 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria and other international declarations and conventions signed and ratified by Nigeria.

She also seeks a declaration that the birth and nursing of babies in the prison meant for criminals is not in the best interest of the future generation and the nation.
The body would persuade the court to make an order restraining the government from further detaining a nursing or/and pregnant  women in the prison.

Also in another suit at the High Court of Lagos State, CRAPI is requesting for an order enforcing the fundamental rights of all babies in Kirikiri Prison, Lagos. In one of the reliefs its prayer is a declaration that the detention of babies in Kirikiri Prisons is a violation of their rights to liberty and dignity as enshrined in the constitution and preserved in the Child’s Right Law of Lagos State.
Throwing more light on what her grudges are, Onyenweaku said: “I was on the monitoring team when my organization visited the female prisons and discovered that there where pregnant women and babies in the common cell. These women I discovered were allowed to carry their full pregnancy term in prison, give birth in the prison and nurse their babies in the prison.

Disgusted, I wrote a letter to draw the attention of the Attorney General of Lagos State to this ugly situation, but there was no positive response. Even the State Chief Judge who visited the female prison in 2009 can attest to the fact that there are babies in the prison.
“It is all about the right and welfare of the children. We are protecting both the rights of the born and the unborn. We had to go to court, for the babies because they are subjects of the case.”
On the possibility that some of the ladies got pregnant in the prison, the advocate said:

“I had the pleasure to interview pregnant women and nursing mothers, but from what they told me, they were pregnant even before they were convicted. No one said that they got pregnant there. I still recall when I was trying to screen some underaged children in court. They told me that they were in police custody for up to two months while the investigation was in progress. They alleged they slept with policemen to get freedom but the policeman failed them. They were promised freedom if they agreed to sleep with them. This definitely explains why most of these girls discover that they are pregnant as they arrive at prison from police detention.”

On possibility of pregnant women hiding under the law to commit crime, Onyenweaku argued that no pregnant woman would deliberately commit crime knowing that her baby would be at risk.
“If that is the case then the law still stands because we are looking at the rights of the baby not the mother. In a case of a non-institutional punishment, non-custodian should first be considered. In a situation where the woman has been found guilty, the non-custodian (the unborn baby) should first be considered. If the person must be put in prison it must be in a family like environment not just any prison so that the child will have normal development. The Child Rights Act says that there should be a family-like place for women who are in prison. There should be a family-like place for women who are in the prison. After considering other option and you are left with sending that person to prison, the woman should stay with her child and pass on all the natural features to the child through Bosom  milk so that the child will grow up normal. The child should not be separated from its parents. Nigeria signed all these laws into power but implementation becomes a problem.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Junaid …. in response said such cruelty can never happen in the Nigeria Police and if anyone has been a victim. “Such person should come to the police and tell her story. We promise that confidentiality would be top most priority.”
Speaking on phone also, the Prison Public Relations Officer, Chuks Njoku told Saturday Sun that the issue of babies born in prison is in the constitution.

It is in the Nigerian constitution that a pregnant woman who is convicted should be accepted in the prison. That is why we have qualified doctors and nurses to attend to them. The babies would be taken away from them as soon as they are 18 months provided their mothers have not served out their terms.”
On allegation that some lady inmates have sex in prison and later discover they are pregnant, the PRO said such does not exist as some of the girls who had spent weeks in police custody get to the prison and discover that they are pregnant. “Remember that most of these women stay in police custody for weeks before they are brought to us. It is at the prison that we discover that they are pregnant and we cannot reject them because the laws permit that.”
Njoku’s response to a question on reservation, place or room for conjugal visit is that there is no legal provision for it.

This is the third year of my marriage and I am still a virgin. I have not been able to have penetrative sex due to the pain it causes when attempting it. It is always impossible due to my muscles being so tense. Though my husband has been very understanding, I am so desperate to have penetrative sex and a baby. I really wish there were drugs or supplements available, which will loosen my muscles and save my marriage.


Mrs. Paean

When 29-year-old Jacob Kunini was arrested by Adamawa State police officers about two months ago, his neighbours must have heaved a sigh of relief. This is because Jacob was said to have allegedly mutilated the sex organ of his five- year-old neighbour, Pwashikai Nideno.


The Adamawa Public Relations State Officer, Naniels Altine, told CRIME DIGEST that Kunini had only been recently released after serving a three-year jail term for a related offence.


“Kunini was arrested alongwith his mother who was shielding him when we launched a manhunt for Nideno’s attacker. We also arrested Mijinyawa Bala, a herbalist who Kunini claimed to have instructed him to get the intestine of a virgin along with her private organ for ritual purposes intended to make him wealthy,” Altine said.


Kunini was said to have been arrested the same day a complaint was filed concerning Nideno. Police officers immediately went to the Yola Specialist Hospital to check on Nideno, while plain clothes police officers were sent to Doug Village, where Nideno lives with her family and was assaulted.


A source in the village tipped off the police about Kunini’s involvement, saying that he had just served time for a similar offence. Kunini was immediately apprehended, although Nideno’s organ was not found with him. Kunini claimed to have given it to a herbalist friend who was also immediately arrested.


Kunini was arraigned at a Yola Magisterate’s Court on May 30, 2011 on a five-count charge of criminal conspiracy, house trespass, kidnapping, rape and an attempt to commit culpable homicide. Kunini is presently being remanded in prison.


While Kunini is behind bars, his victim, Nideno, is yet to resume a normal life. The seventh of 10 children, Nideno is currently at the Yola Specialist Hospital, where she awaits the funds to undergo vaginoplasty.


Altine said, “Nideno and her siblings were alone at home on the night Kunini stole into their home and abducted her. Her father was at the Numan General Hospital at the time with an undisclosed ailment and her mother was with him. Kunini was said to have raped Nideno before mutilating her private part. It was Pwashikai’s siblings who awoke the next morning and raised the alarm when they discovered she was missing and a search party was immediately organised after an uncle had been contacted.”


Nideno has been a guest of the specialist hospital for over two months and is under the care of the Brown Hearts Foundation. Chaste Inegbedion, the director of the foundation, said Nideno was brought to the organisation’s attention during the International Children’s Week at the Adawama State House.


He said, “We are currently trying to raise funds so that Nideno’s organ can be reconstructed and she can live a normal life. She is a fighter: How she survived the attack and maintained consciousness till she was taken to the hospital has amazed even the doctors.” Nideno was discovered about 500 metres away from their hut, crouched on a hands and knees as she crawled towards her footpath. She was discovered by a neighbour who had gone into the bush to get firewood. Her intestines were said to be spilling out of her. Nideno’s father, who was said to have given up the ghost a while later, remained ignorant of his daughter’s condition till his death.


Dr. Chuks Azubuike, who, with a team of doctors, performed initial surgeries on Nideno, told CRIME DIGEST that Nideno had had two surgical operations and needed a third to join her honeypot and rectum together. “Two emergency surgical operations had to be performed on her immediately. Although her private organ was not entirely removed, the thin layer between her honeypot and rectum was destroyed in the process and needs to be restored,” Azubuike said. He added, “The last surgery which is needed to reconstruct Nideno’s private organ cannot be done in Nigeria; that is vaginoplasty. We have been in talks with a UK-based hospital, one in Egypt and another in Sudan. None of the three hospitals was able to give an estimate of what the surgery would cost, but the UK-based hospital said Nideno would require a five-day hospital assessment to determine the treatment and procedure she would need. The hospital put the cost at £20,000 and we have about N1.8m that has been contributed by well-meaning Nigerians.”


Although Maijama Adamu, the spokesperson for the Adamawa State Governor, Murtala Nyako, had earlier announced that the state government would pick the bill for Nideno’s surgery, Inegbedion lamented the seemingly slow pace at which the promise was being fulfilled.


“When Nideno’s condition was brought to my notice, I was at the state house for the ICDA programme. That was when (Maijama) Adamu pledged the state government’s assistance. Till this very day, they are yet to make good on their word,” Inegbedion said.

Unlike old wine, which gets better as it ages, a marriage of 25 years has crashed as the couple throw brickbat at each other, writes SESAN OLUFOWOBI


After being married for 25 years, Mrs. Priscilla Ogbogoh, 55, says she no longer trusts her husband, a retired director of the Federal Fire Service, Fidelis, 71. She explains that since two years ago when he brought another woman home, she had known no peace, even after she had abandoned her matrimonial home.


Now, she doesn’t sleep in her new home. She said she had become the proverbial eneke, the bird, which has learnt to fly without perching because the hunters have learnt to shoot without missing.


Indeed, Priscilla has a cause to fear: she says she has escaped no fewer than three attempts on her life, pointing accusing fingers at people close to her husband who, she insists, are fighting his war.


She says, “I don’t know my husband again. This is a man I spent 25 years with and had three children for. I think he has been bewitched.”


She told SATURDAY PUNCH that her life had not always been that of fear and flight; and that, out of the 25 years she had spent with her husband, 23 years had been wonderful.


“We got married in 1986. The court wedding was conducted by a woman popularly called Lady in Red. The church wedding was held in Our Lady Queen of Nigeria at Area 3, Abuja,” she recalls.


According to her, her husband was wonderful and they did things in common. As Fidelis rose in the FFS and Priscilla became a building contractor, the family started amassing fortune. It wasn’t long before they acquired houses in Lagos, Abuja and London.


“What struck me most about my husband was his patience and support in the first nine years of our marriage. In those years, I was unable to have children for him, yet he was a strong pillar of support.


“I even suggested to him that he married another woman who would give him children, but he refused and was strong for me until I had our first child in 1995. We later had two other girls,” she says.


However, things took a different turn in 2009 after a mild disagreement between the couple, Priscilla claims. According to the heart-broken woman, Fidelis said he wanted to sell their house in London, but she disagreed. She told our correspondent that her decision was informed by the fact that if the house was sold, there would be no place for the family to stay when they visited London.


She notes, “Apart from that, I also noticed some subtle changes in my husband. I knew that he dated other women and I had no quarrel with that; but since this particular woman, Oluchi Omenagor, entered his life, he has changed drastically.


“After the disagreement over the house in London, he came home on a particular day and dropped a note that I must agree with the sale of the house or leave our matrimonial home in Gadwa Estate in Abuja. Our security guard warned me about the security issue; so, I ran from the house and went to my own house in Jabi area of Abuja.”


Priscilla explained that her husband became desperate because since the house was jointly owned, he could not sell it without her consent.


“I lodged a formal complaint with the police and the officers at the Abuja Police Command called us and advised us to settle the issue amicably. After that, I travelled to London and came back in January 2010,” she says.


In February 2010, two incidents happened in the household, which further aggravated the discord between Fidelis and his wife.


“My son died on February 1 and my husband insisted that he should be buried that day, without autopsy or any explanation. Even when the cemetery attendant said it was late and that we should come back the following day, my husband insisted that our son must be buried that day.


“Again, on February 10, hired assassins came to my house, but they did not succeed in killing me. However, they killed my driver. I went to the police and insisted that it was my husband and the new woman that sent the killers. Our families waded in and we decided to see if we could make things work out again,” Priscilla says.


Things did not work out as Priscilla had hoped. Since the other woman was already living with Fidelis, she said she asked him if she and the remaining children could live in another house belonging to him in the same Gadwa Estate. Fidelis, she claimed, did not reply her but wrote to tell her that if she needed anything, she should contact his lawyer.


She says, “It went on like that until April this year when I filed for divorce. I also got to know that he had made a new will and given everything to the new woman and the child she had for him. But they know that it cannot work because most of our properties are jointly owned.


“I left for London afterwards and only came back recently. On June 24, a strange fellow followed me to the church and later came to my house. I have reasons to believe that someone is after me again and I am suspecting those close to my husband.


“They should leave me alone and let me take care of my children. Right now, I cannot stay in any place for a long time. Since I came back, I have been moving about so as to escape being killed.”


Curiously however, Fidelis dismissed his wife’s claim as that of a disillusioned person. The retired firefighter said that the truth was that his wife needed medical attention. “And if you tell her that, you will become her enemy. She has been like that and she has refused my suggestion that we seek medical aid,” he says.


Fidelis, in a telephone interview with our correspondent, said that nobody was after Priscilla, adding that the incident in which her driver died was a robbery case. He explains, “Any other stories she told you after that, she made them up. When she accused me of wanting to kill her and instead killed her driver, the police investigated the allegation and cleared me.


“One day, I was called from the hospital in the morning that my son was dead. He was not living with me; he was living with her. It was after he died that I was called and I went down there and made arrangements for the burial. It was a tragedy and I see no reason for delay in his burial. Her accusations lack merit and are those of a deranged mind.


“I am tired of all her hassles. She thought that I will succumb to her wishes the way I had been doing in the past; but this time, she will fail. Every marriage has its own problems, but her problems are more defined and pronounced. She just wants to acquire and acquire, she is not thinking of her family, her children.


“The properties belong to me and the only one she is claiming also belongs to me. She forged the documents and I have reported her to appropriate authorities.”


Omenagor said that Priscilla’s allegations are those coming from a mad woman. She said, “If she has proof, let her go to the police.”

Comfort Oseghale has been monitoring the trend of crime in the second quarter of 2011. She reports that while gun possession is high, pedestrians also need to exercise caution on Lagos roads





With the increase in armed robbery activities going on around the Lagos metropolis lately, it’s not hard to guess what the favourite sport of criminals would be: the arms trade. A compilation of the situation reports by the Lagos State Police Command over a three-month period shows that most of the arrests made during the period were for the possession of arms and ammunition and/or their use for criminal activities.


Fatal accidents take second place, followed by car thefts.


In April 2011, a total of three locally-made pistols, one double barrel shotgun, one single barrel shotgun and 13 live cartridges, were recovered from armed robbery suspects in six different locations in Lagos State.


May 2011 recorded the highest recovery of arms and ammunition – three locally-made pistols, one double barrel shotgun, one Brownie pistol, one submachine gun and 51 live cartridges, were recovered from armed robbery suspects at five different locations in the state.


In June 2011, a total of about three locally-made pistols, one shotgun, two live cartridges and 30 rounds of 9mm calibre ammunition were recovered from armed robbery suspects.


Several areas of the Lagos metropolis also seemed to be good hiding places for criminals involved in the arms trade. In the months under review, Ikeja recorded the most arrests. Whereas three arrests were made in Ikeja, Ikorodu recorded two, Badagry two, while Epe, Mushin, Alakuko, Onipanu, Festac, Ikotun and Abule Egba all recorded one each. Despite the various ‘Stop and Search’ patrols all over the state, it seems the arms trade is thriving in the there.


Coming on the heels of the arms trade, are fatal accidents involving vehicles and motorcycle operators known as okada riders and pedestrians. The trend shows that a majority of all the fatal accidents recorded involved pedestrians being hit by vehicles and okada riders.


In April 2011, a total of seven fatal accidents were recorded in the Lagos metropolis. In all the cases but one, pedestrians were the victims. Two cases involved accidents between okada riders and pedestrians, two more accidents involved pedestrians being hit by privately-owned vehicles, two accidents between pedestrians and commercial buses and one between a truck and an okada rider.


May 2011 recorded the worst accidents in the period under review: 12 fatal accidents were recorded. As it was in the previous month, pedestrians were the worst hit by the tragic occurences. Five of the accidents recorded involved pedestrians being hit by commercial bus drivers, okada riders or privately-owned vehicles.


In June 2011, four fatal accidents were recorded. As it was in the previous month, pedestrians were the victims in all the cases but one. The last accident involved a commercial vehicle and an okada rider.


The chairman of Transworld Security Systems, Dr. Ona Ekhomu, blamed the arms trade on the porosity of Nigerian borders.


He said, “The arms we see on the television being impounded by the Customs and other security agencies are just a tip of the iceberg. A lot more arms are in circulation, which are not being noticed by the authorities.


“Our land borders are very porous and there is a lot of internal conflict within the West African sub-region. The illegal arms in circulation are also a result of the irresponsibility of our politicians. They are intentionally introduced to destabilise the country, either by foreign organisations or misguided Nigerian politicians who are disappointed at not getting their way in the elections. In the end, most of these arms either from areas of conflict in the West African sub-region or a fallout from violent elections, find their way into the hands of organised crime gangs.”


Unlike the arms trade, no one in particular section of the metropolis is immune from fatal accidents as the incidents recorded were virtually spread evenly all across the metropolis.


Car theft, which seems to be a thriving business in Lagos, witnessed 15 reported cases in April: Of the 15, eight of the stolen vehicles were Toyota brands. In May, 11 vehicles were reported stolen; eight of them were Toyota cars. While in June, 13 vehicles were reported stolen, 10 of which were Toyota brands. Another vehicle seemingly favoured by car snatchers is the Honda brand as it recorded the second highest number of cases of theft.


However, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Samuel Jinadu, did not respond to crime digest enquiries on the statistics.


On the rate of accidents in the state, the Lagos Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Jonas Agwu, told CRIME DIGEST that there were several ways to explain the high incidence of pedestrians involved in road accidents. “How much awareness do Lagos pedestrians have concerning road safety? They disregard pedestrian bridges that have been built for their safety and prefer to cross busy express roads with all the attendant risks. Some do this out of ignorance to prove that they are tough and street smart and as such, don’t need a pedestrian bridge to help them across. How many pedestrians watch out for the traffic lights before they cross?


“Then, the drivers themselves too take some of the blame. Most Lagos drivers are conversant with traffic laws but don’t obey them. A car driver who is approaching a junction knows he ought to slow down, but instead, goes with speed. There is also the structural issue. We all know the governor is doing his best in terms of roads by having road markings, zebra crossings and such on our roads. But all this cannot be done in a day. So, if you take a closer look, you might find that areas where these accidents occur are lacking in such facilities,” Agwu said.

Heavily armed assailants attacked the residence of Guinean President Alpha Conde early on Tuesday, killing one person while Conde escaped injury, a presidency source and eyewitnesses said.


It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack on Conde, who came to power last December in an election aimed at drawing a line under decades of instability and coups in the West African nation.


“The president was there, but he is safe and sound,” said the presidency source.


Eyewitnesses said the attack took place at Conde’s personal residence at around 1.30 a.m. local time and lasted over an hour and it was repelled by Conde’s personal guard, Reuters reports.


“The kitchen is covered in blood and part of the building is riddled with bullet holes. The main gate had been blown out with a rocket-launcher,” said one eyewitness who declined to be identified.


Neither the presidential source nor a second source close to the presidency said they had any information at this stage on who the attackers were and there was no information on the identity of the person killed in the attack.


Conde came to power in the world’s largest exporter of the aluminium ore bauxite last December after the first free election in the West African country since independence from France half a century before.


The country had been ruled by a military junta since the death of longtime leader Lansana Conte in 2008.


Guinea has a long history of authoritarian rule and its security forces have a reputation for brutality against dissidents as well as indiscipline.


However, observers say there has been a marked improvement in army discipline since Conde came to power and he has put in place a new army leadership and appointed himself defence minister to try to drive security reform.


Former junta leader Moussa Camara, whose security forces killed over 150 opposition demonstrators in a September 2009 attack is in exile in Burkina Faso after being wounded in an assassination attempt.


A close former aide to Camara, Col. Moussa Keita, was arrested on July 1, after he accused Sekouba Konate, the army official who engineered the transition back to civilian power, of having defrauded 22 million dollars from the state.


The 2009 election was marked by ethnic tensions between rival groups linked to Conde and his main challenger Cellou Diallo, whose Peul ethnic group accounts for around 40 per cent of the population.


While Diallo conceded defeat, political tensions have simmered, with Diallo’s UFDG opposing Conde’s plans to carry out an electoral census and revamp the voter roll before a parliamentary election Conde wants to hold by year-end.


The UFDG wants the census to be carried out by an independent electoral body rather than the government.

His name is Kingsley Shuaibu, a five-year-old boy and son of a runaway dad. His mother is a 26-year-old hairdresser born in Otukpo, Benue State. The lady’s name is Naomi.

Naomi says her son’s dream is to become a medical doctor when he grows up but that dream is about to be shattered unless Nigerians come to the boy’s aid urgently.

Kinsley has a cancer, a condition that has caused the single mother tremendous financial, emotional and psychological stress. Already, he has lost an eye to the disease.

Daily Sun gathered that the boy could not go to school because of his frequent illness and his mum’s financial difficulties.
“I am begging everybody to come and help my mummy to save my life and take me to school to join my mates. My mummy does not have money and my father has run away,” the boy told Daily Sun.   
Kingsley, until three years ago, was just like any other boy who lived and played with his mates. He started developing a swollen face about the time he should be starting school.

The mother told Daily Sun at Tirkania, a suburb of Kaduna where she is squatting, that the cancer symptom surfaced and affected one of Kingsley’s eyes within a period of three months.
She said they were referred to the National Eye Centre in Kaduna for an eye operation, adding that the operation to remove one of the affected eyes cost her N56, 000.
She said further that the entire cost of the operation was funded by a Good Samaritan who came to their aid.

“The father, a businessman from the South-east, abandoned me since the day I put to bed on the August 16, 2005 in Otukpo even when we had been together for two years before he impregnated me.
“Life has been very traumatic because we do not even have money to sustain our basic family needs, not to talk of raising funds to feed or pay for subsequent operations.
“Doctors said it will cost close to N1 million, which will include travelling expenses, feeding, admission fee and N58, 000 for each of the 13 courses required at Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH), Shika, Zaria.

“I lost my father and mother in 2000 and 2008 respectively. But for that, they would have assisted me in some ways. We are five in the family and I am the breadwinner. I have since left my petty business to take care of my son and we have been surviving by the grace of my neighbours here in Kaduna, who are very much in need like me.

“ The doctors in ABUTH, who are handling the case, have assured that after 20  courses of intravenous cyclophosphamide, etoposide and carboplatin, then he will be followed up for five years at the Haemato-oncology clinic.

“He is long overdue for the next course and may go into crisis any moment from now if he is left unattended to. He will require two pints of blood any time he is to undergo the operation at the hospital.
“Doctors and security men at ABUTH had to volunteer and donated blood for the last operation because we did not have any money after paying for the operation, funded by the Good Samaritan.

“ I am, therefore, using your widely read and circulated newspaper to appeal to well-meaning individuals and corporate organizations to please come to our aid and assist us financially to save the life of my son.
“Anyone who wants to assist me can reach me through 08133403470.  My account number at Guaranty Trust Bank is 0022020625 and the account name is Naomi Shuaibu,” she begged.
Another Good Samaritan, who offered Naomi and her son shelter but would not want his name in print, also joined in appealing to Nigerians to come to the boy’s aid.

The man, a foreign-based footballer, who said he too was in the country to take care of some challenges and would soon return to his club as soon as he could raise enough funds, said he had to set aside his priority to help Naomi and her son and would not abandon them until they are able to get enough assistance for the treatment.

A Lagos prostitute has landed herself in deep trouble. She is currently in police custody after allegedly stabbing a man to death after arguments over – wait for it – oral sex.

The young lady isn’t denying that she committed the crime; she’s saying, however, that she killed the man in self defence.

The 21-year-old lady, Kofoworola, said when she boarded a Honda car at Borno Crescent, Apapa, Lagos, at about 3.30 am that fateful night, she was very grateful to the driver. The driver, she said, reportedly assured her he would not collect any money since he wasn’t driving a commercial vehicle.

Kofoworola, (other names are being withheld by us) said she never knew that danger was lurking around the corner until the driver, identified as Patrick, refused to stop at her destination - Monalido Night Club, Apapa. Kofoworola said when she protested, the driver brought out a knife and threatened to kill her if she failed to do his bidding. Ironically, it was Kofoworola that ended up killing the man with that same knife. How did it happen?
“He threatened to kill me with the knife if I refused to perform oral sex on him,” she said. “He said I should use my mouth to stimulate his manhood. I told him I could not do it. I had never done such a thing before. I begged him and even told him that such act irritates me and would make me vomit. All my pleading fell on deaf ears. I later told him to allow me ease myself. I told him I was not going to run because my bag was on the back seat. He stopped the vehicle, but as I wanted to come down, he sped off again.

He held my neck with one hand as he drove and was pressing my throat with it while he controlled the steering with the other hand. He then pulled over at a dark spot along Hyndra Road, Apapa. He pulled down his trousers and commanded me to do what he wanted me to do. I still refused. He stabbed me in my foot to show how serious he was. I screamed and begged him to leave me alone.

He pressed my face to his lap and ordered me to do what he wanted me to do. I did not obey him. As he was pressing my neck, the knife fell off from his hands. I quickly grabbed it. When he saw that I had collected the knife, he attempted to collect it from me by force. He bit me in the hand. So I first stabbed him on the thigh and later stabbed him in the chest several times.

“I didn’t mean to kill him. I was only trying to defend myself since he had vowed to kill me. I made a mistake. Maybe instead of killing him I should have allowed him to kill me. That would have been better. I would not have been in this problem now.”

She also explained how she became a prostitute. Her words: “I am a Lagosian. I come from Lagos Island. I live at Casco Street, Old Ojo Road, Mazamaza with my mother. I am also a mother, as I have a three-year-old daughter. My father never cared about me and that was why I am into prostitution. My father is not interested whether we survive or not. My mother is just a petty trader. There is little she can do financially. I needed to do something so that I could be able to take care of my child and myself. Now that I am in trouble, who will take care of my baby? I have to do something to take care of my baby. I love my baby. I love her so much.

“What am I going to do now? Who will help me out of this problem? They said they will charge the case to court. I have not entered any court since I was born. Now I am going there because of murder. God, I should have allowed him to kill me. If I had died, at least I will rest from all these worldly problems. I don’t have a helper. See what poverty has dragged me into. If not for poverty, I should be sleeping in my house instead of going to the club. But I do it on part time basis. I am not a full time prostitute.”
The lady said the man who impregnated her abandoned her and the baby, saying she even dragged him to the police station over the matter.

“I tried to make Collins understand that he is the owner of the baby but he denied it. The police tried to settle the matter. But you know you can take a horse to the stream, you cannot force it to drink water. My family were also disappointed in him. Up till now he never cares about his baby. He is not interested in her. For three years now, I have been the one rearing the baby alone. All these problems made me look for money by all means. I had to drop my pride and take my destiny in my hands.”

According to her, she is regretting ever venturing into prostitution. She urges women to avoid it as much as possible. “Prostitution is not a job,” she said. “It is immoral. It can put you in trouble at any time. Please learn from my own experience. I became pregnant during my final year in secondary school. After I delivered, I later went back to write my WAEC examinations. Unfortunately, I failed English language.”
An investigation by this reporter in many night clubs in Apapa revealed that the dead man might have violated several prostitutes in the area before he was finally killed.

At Wazobia Night Club, a lady called Ngozi spoke of her experience in the hands of the dead man. Her words: “One day at about 2 am., I was leaving the residence of one of my ‘customers’. He is a white man. He lives at Calcutta Crescent, Apapa. I was waiting for either a commercial motorcycle or a taxi that would convey me to a hotel on Azare Street, Apapa, where another customer was waiting for me. I saw this car and it stopped in front of me. Only the driver was inside. He beckoned on me to come inside and I did.

He asked where I was going and I told him. He said he was going towards that direction and that he would drop me at no cost. But instead to move towards the direction I was going, the man brought out a knife and threatened to stab me to death if I failed to cooperate. He pulled over at a dark spot along Hyndra Road, Apapa. He pulled his trouser down and ordered me to perform oral sex on him. I was afraid. Tears rolled down my eyes as I begged him that I could not do it. I begged him to have normal sex with me instead.

But he refused and threatened to kill me. He claimed to be an ex-soldier. Since I didn’t want to die, I had to do what he wanted. Later he held my bag and said he would do me a favour. He told me to go down, open his boot and bring his bag. Immediately I got down, the man sped off. My two handsets were inside the bag.”
The police said the lady would soon be charged to court.