Wow all  Naija people there are Yorubas oo..

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 Joy Ekulu
 
What could make a mother attempt to knife her own child after the father of the child refused to transfer the upkeep of the child to her? KOLA OYELERE writes.
 
IT started well for both Thomas and his then girlfriend, Joy Ekulu, in Katsina Ala, Benue State, where they both hailed from. After a short relationship, they got engaged and started living as husband and wife. Their union was later blessed with a child, a boy named Innocent.
 
However, after about three years of marriage, things fell apart, and the marriage broke down, leading to separation between the two, with Thomas heading to Kano for pastures green while Joy stayed in Katsina Ala.
 
The union hit the rock when after three years of the union, Thomas still refused to take necessary steps to formalise their union, one of which is the payment of Joy’s pride price. Joy added that her plea fell on deaf ears of Thomas, so she decided to separate from him since he would not marry her, while the child was in Thomas’s custody.
 
While Thomas secured the upkeep of innocent, Joy maintained contact with Thomas by sending money to her husband as part of her contributions to the upkeep of Innocent.
 
According to Joy, the money she was sending to Thomas for the upkeep of their son was not being judiciously used, hence the reason she felt that she should be allowed to keep the custody of Innocent. She also noted that rather than use the money for Innocent’s welfare, Thomas diverted the money to another venture, a situation she said infuriated her.
 
She then decided to visit Kano and bring Innocent to Katsina–Ala, where she resides.
 
On reaching Kano, where her ex-husband resides, she told him her mission and demanded for the child to be given to her. But her ex-husband declined. Perhaps, he must have said that the child was principally his and not hers. After so much appeal, Thomas still bluntly refused to release Innocent to Joy, 28.
 
And without wasting too much time, Joy did the unthinkable. He took a knife, grabbed Innocent and attempted to cut the boy’s intestine. But the boy was rescued and policemen were alerted. So, Joy became a visitor of the Kano State Police Command, where she was first detained and now facing interrogation for the reason she tried to take the life of her own child.
 
Speaking with journalists at a press conference on the incident, Kano State Police Commissioner, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, said a 28-year-old woman, Miss Joy Ekulu, who stabbed her biological son in the stomach in an attempt to divide the boy into two parts, was arrested.
 
According to him, Miss Ekulu admitted that she actually committed the said offence because she wanted to divide the boy to two equal parts for her and the father of the child.
 
Speaking on the the beginning of their problem, Joy said, ‘I got engaged to Thomas 11 years ago and we lived together as husband and wife for about three years before God eventually blessed our union. When the marriage was three years old, I told my husband to let us meet my parents and pay the bride price which would certify us as couple but he refused.”
 
She, however, said that she was full of regret after realising what she had done. “I didn’t know that it would not be easy. The intestine of Innocent was about coming out before people within the vicinity came out to rescue him. I regret causing unnecessary harm to my child because I didn’t know it would result into this situation. What followed was that I found myself in the police custody and right now, I don’t know what will be the end of the matter.”
 
The question many people are now asking is, was Joy Ekulu sane when he did the unthinkable act of attempting to take the life of her own son? As it is now, there is the likelihood that a mental test would be conducted on Joy to ascertain her mental state. It is then that people will be able to say whether her act was intentional or not.
 
via Tribune

http://tribune.com.ng/sun/more-features/8082-why-i-nearly-sliced-my-child-into-two-28-year-old-mother

Written by Oluwatoyin Malik and Oluwakemi Adetunji Sunday, 05 August 2012
 
THE long arm of the law caught up with marijuana dealers on Thursday, August 2, when four of them were nabbed by policemen from Ojoo Division at Alphonsus area, Ibadan, where they were waiting to load 17 bags of weeds suspected to be Indian hemp for onward transportation to Jebba in Niger State.
 
Briefing journalists on Friday, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr Clement Adoda, said that acting on a tip-off that a large consignment of the weeds were about to be transported from Ojoo motor park to the North, the policemen, led by the Divisional Crime Officer, went to the park and intercepted 17 bags of weeds suspected to be Indian hemp, concealed and parked as bales of used clothes.
 
Saying that the police were on the trail of other fleeing suspects, Adoda stated that the suspects would be handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency after preliminary investigation by the police.
 
Speaking with Crime Features, one of the suspects, Zainab Umoru claimed that five of the bags, which she called ‘bushload’, belonged to her partner, Idowu Dominic. Madam Umoru who said that she was not married to Dominic but that they were in a relationship that had brought forth a 12-year-old child, revealed that a relation of hers who was working for Dominic was arrested by NDLEA operatives at Akinyele area with two bags of Indian hemp and that Dominic intended to sell the five bags so that they could find a way out of the prison for the boy currently awaiting trial and remanded in Agodi prisons for the past eight months.
 
According to Madam Umoru, “I am a food vendor while Dominic is a mechanic. It was not long that he started this business. He started in 2010 and even stopped selling the product since the boy’s arrest. We were living in Igangan then and it was the rural people who used to come and buy in small quantities. He was not selling in bags. We don’t even know where those who sell for us come from. They used to bring it from farms. The worth of one bag is between N15,000 and N100,000, depending on how good it is. We were looking for N500,000 which we were told to bring to get the boy released.
 
However, Dominic denied being involved in the business, saying that he was called when his wife was arrested and upon his arrival, he was also arrested. “I am her partner but I don’t know anything about the business. I am a mechanic. I was called from Imeko in Ogun State on Friday by NURTW officials to come and find a way of settling the problem my partner was in. That was what brought me to Ibadan. I know about the arrest of her relation but I only got to know about what he was involved in when he was arrested.”
 
Another suspect, Adebowale Morounfoye, also told CrimeFeatures that he did not know the content of the bags, as he was just told to help look for a truck that would convey them to Jebba by those who brought them. According to Morounfoye, “I am a driver at Ojoo park and I also help people to get trucks to load their goods to the north whenever I am not driving. I get commission on this and that was what I wanted to do on Friday morning. I never knew the bags contained indian hemp. It was when the police came in the evening that they told us they wanted to check what was in the bag and they discovered it was hemp.”
 
How I fell into the hands of kidnappers -Victim

    The victim, Christian Odah


The fourth suspect, Madam Joke Oyebola who was weeping profusely said she did not know anything about the suspected illicit drugs but only wnet to the police station to help Morounfoye out when she learnt he had been arrested. “The man had been of help to me in the past, we are not man and wife, I just felt I should reciprocate his past kind gestures to me by standing by him in time of trouble. That was why I first claimed to be his wife so that I would be allowed to talk to him and get him to give me the contact of those who could help me out. I did not know that I would be joined with the suspects,” she stated.
 
CHRISTIAN Odah, a 26-year-old man from Okpowu Local Government area of Benue State would be counted lucky as he was able to get his freedom from some kidnappers who abducted him on July 18 while he was on his way to the bank at Ajah area, Lagos State. Before he knew what was happening, he found himself in a bush on the outskirt of Ibadan. Not only was he stripped naked, he also had his shaven with razor and was beaten with cable, with the threat that he would be killed.
 
However, unlike past cases of kidnap, Christian’s abductors were out to humiliate him and probably kill him, save for the quick intervention of operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Ibadan, whose knowledge of the kidnappers’ activities set them on edge, prompting his quick release before the police could get them.
 
Narrating how he fell victim of the suspected kidnappers, Christian, who said he was living at Lekki Ajah and working with a paints industry, stated: “On Wednesday, July 18, my boss asked me to go and pay cash into an acccount at Kingston Bank and cheque into Zenith Bank, both within Ikota Shopping Complex. The cash was N229,380 while another N12,000 was given to me to be paid for advertisement in Catholic Church at Ajah.
 
“It was around 9 a.m. and a staff dropped me at the front of the shopping complex. I wanted to cross the road but noticed a white Nissan Jeep coming. It had no registration number. I stopped for it to pass but as it passed, it stopped and reversed, following me inside the complex.
 
“I thought the driver wanted to park so I moved away from his path. Instead of going ahead, the driver moved close to me while someone within the car opened the door and dragged me inside. I was blindfolded while they drove out of the premises with speed. On the way, one of them whom others referred to as Jack asked me of my name and I told him. Another one called Scorpion queried him on why Jack asked the question and that one kept quiet.
 
“Scorpion later told me that they would kill me and I started begging them. They removed the blindfold and I saw a signpost which indicated we were along Lagos-Ibadan expressway. They had collected my phone but I didn’t let them know that I had another one. I took the second one and sent a message to my brother whom I was staying with that I had been kidnapped. Jack saw me but did not say anything.
 
“When they wanted to enter the bush, they blindfolded me again. Inside the bush, they removed my shirt and trousers. Scorpion asked me whether I knew how to fight and I answered in the negative. He then asked why I fought their boss, I replied that I only had misunderstanding with a man in the church on Sunday, July 15, and I explained what happened to them. They started beating me with cable again. They also used the butt of their gun to hit me on the forehead.
 
“One of the other two, whose names I did not know, started using his phone to record me. Three of them later left, leaving me with Jack. Jack asked me of my denomination and I told him I am a Catholic. He asked me to recite the rosary, I did. I told him I am an altar boy and he said I should name any altar equipment and I did. He then said that he would not allow others to kill me. He warned me not to eat any food they bring. When he saw them coming, he kept quiet.
 
“On the return of others, they shaved my head with razor and gave me food which I rejected. They asked Jack whether he told me anything but he said no. Scorpion started beating me again while the one who drove recorded everything with his phone. He also took my picture with my phone and asked me to upload it on my facebook. In that picture, I was weeping with mucus dripping from my nostrils. Four of them then left after chaining my legs and said they would be back. Jack later came back, he asked me for my second phone which I used in the vehicle and I gave him.
 
“He asked me to call my brother. He also sent text messages to my brother, promising to help me. He left me afterwards, promising to be back with my phone, after which he would lead me out of the bush. He came again, removed the chain on my leg, helped me to dress up, blindfolded me, held my left hand and led me out to a red car.
 
“We came out of the bush on to the expressway. It was already late in the night. Jack removed the blindfold beside a parked tanker and asked me to run without looking back. He threw the nylon containing the cash I was to deposit and the cheque at me but the money was not there, only the cheque. The SARS team then came and took me to the hospital.”
 
Unknown to Christian, however, his brother had put the police on alert at Ibadan and operatives from SARS were drafted to toll gate area when the service provider of the network being used by Christian was contacted and the police were able to gather that the calls from Christian’s phone were being made from somewhere behind British American Tobacco Company.
 
Police sources informed Crime Features that in order to avoid putting the life of the kidnap victim at risk by storming the bush, SARS operatives laid siege close to the toll gate to allow the suspects to release their victim, since they were already negotiating his release with his brother. By the time he was eventually released, three members of the gang had left through another route while the one that released him also came out from another route along the expressway before speeding off in a hurry.
 
The opratives, led by the officer-in-charge, were said to have rushed the victim to a private hospital at Imalefalafia area, where they paid for his treatment before his family members could come for him.
 

via Tribune

http://tribune.com.ng/sun/crime-features/8085-police-arrrest-drug-dealers-with-17-bags-of-indian-hemp

Written by Taiwo Adisa, Abuja Sunday, 05 August 2012
 
Details emerged at the weekend that the feud between the House of Representatives and the executive over the alleged nonimplementation of the 2012 budget was caused by the leakage of comments made at a secret meeting held by some ministers where the plot to impeach speaker of the House, Aminu Tambuwa, was raised.
 
Sources in Abuja told Sunday Tribune that the speaker got wind of a meeting of some six ministers immediately after the breakout of the $620,000 bribery saga involving Honourable Farouk Lawan and businessman, Femi Otedola.
 
According to sources, the ministers, who met at a secret location in Abuja, were said to have reviewed the speaker’s perceived antagonism to the president, especially his outburst during a Democracy Day lecture, and concluded that Tambuwal should be made to go, if he is implicated in the $620,000 bribery saga.
 
Hints of the meeting were said to have leaked to the speaker, making the House to employ some defensive mechanism.
 
It was gathered that the resolve of the speaker was to first stay afloat and that the House decided to sensitise the opposition base which ensured the victory by the current leadership in June 2011.
 
Though the House leadership could not confirm President Goodluck Jonathan gave his nod to the ministers’ meeting and alleged plot, it was gathered that the House decided to go on the offensive, in order not to be caught unawares.
 
One of the quick ways out of the perceived attack was the emergency session held by the House on the Farouk Lawan/Otedola bribe saga, where the speaker was able to secure a vote of confidence, while the second strategy is to attack the executive on the perceived non-implementation of the 2012 budget, sources confirmed at the weekend.
 
It was also confirmed that the House has designed measures to keep the impeachment threat in the news, notwithstanding the fact that its members are on recess at this time.
 
The House has also declared that the ongoing reconstruction efforts at nine of the nation’s airports failed to conform with due process.
 
The funds for the airport repairs are sourced from the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) funds totaling $76 million. The House report is believed to be the source of the controversy on the usage of the BASA funds which is yet to abate.
 
Sources, however, said some concerned senators had intervened on both sides. While they had called the ministers involved to order and asked them to stop contemplating plotting impeachment of the speaker, they were also said to have made representation to their colleagues in the House to allow due process in the quest to ensure budget implementation.
 
Spokesman of the House, Honourable Zakari Mohammed, who claimed to have heard the story before Sunday Tribune called him for clarification, however, said in a telephone interview that he was not aware of any plot against the speaker.
 
He said members have implicit confidence in Tambuwal and that the members believed that they were ready to defend his position.
 
“We have implicit confidence in Tambuwal and nobody from outside can give us our leader. We will just insist that the right thing is done.
 
“The speaker is at home with everybody; all these things they are saying are not true,” he said.
 
via Tribune


http://tribune.com.ng/sun/front-page-articles/8103-impeachment-threat-against-jonathan-how-6-ministers-angered-tambuwal-reps

By Ruth Chukwuemeka
 
Residents of Idikan Street in Akesan area of Lagos, are currently gripped with fear following the death of a 22-year-old lady who reportedly bled to death after allegedly taking some drugs to abort her five months old pregnancy.
 
Already the lady’s boyfriend, Monday Edeye has been arrested, in connection with the death of his girlfriend, Tolani Adeuja. Monday who is at the Homicide section of the dreaded State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Yaba, allegedly gave Tola, as she was popularly called , some tablets to terminate the pregnancy.
 
The love birds, as gathered, had been going out until Tolani discovered that she was pregnant., She was said to have hidden the pregnancy from her family, apparently thinking the relationship would result into marriage. But when it became evident that there was no plan for marriage soon, the love birds reportedly opted for an abortion. Although Tola was said to have expressed fears but was assured that nothing would happen to her.
 
When Crime Guard visited the area on Thursday, the residents kept mute,saying they did not want to get into trouble. When our reporter visited the street where the suspect resides, his family members were seen but they refused to grant audience to Crime Guard.
 
There were however, two versions of how Tolani met her unprepared death. A version said her 35 year-old boyfriend bought some drugs from a medicine store and instructed her to take it. But immediately after that, she reportedly started having stomach pains, which resulted in profuse bleeding.
 
Another version said she was taken to a quack doctor who reportedly carried a D and C on her . But on reaching her boyfriend’s house, she reportedly started bleeding, in the process of which she fainted.She was thereafter rushed to the hospital where unfortunately was certified dead.
 
A resident who simply gave his name as James when approached said, “ nobody will speak with you because we do not know the one we will say that will put us into trouble. The only thing I can say is that yes, the incident happened and we are all making effort to release Monday.
 
We have even contributed money to that effect . He was not the person that gave Tola the drugs. Whoever told you that lied. She was taken to the hospital . It is only God who knows what happened. Policemen from Igando later came and arrested Monday. Since then , he has not come home” James said.
 
via Vanguard


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/08/police-arrest-man-35-over-girlfriends-death/

The deceased, Moruf Ayoola
 

A 50-year-old man man, Moruf Ayoola has been found hanging in a toilet in his mother’s house at Idi Ose area of Ibadan, Oyo State.
 
Crime Features gathered that the man, a vulcaniser, woke up on Sunday July 22 in his residence at Moniya area and left for Idi Ose where his 90-year-old mother lived to greet her as was his custom.
 
When he got to the mother’s house, the old woman was reported to have noticed a rope in his hand and when she made enquiry on what he wanted to use the rope for, Mr Ayoola was said to have replied that he wanted to repair a faulty electric wire at the back of the house.
 
It was further gathered that Ayoola’s mother became apprehensive when she did not see him return in time, which made her decide to check on him herself. Followed by a young boy living with the woman, she searched and did not find her son until his dangling body was discovered in the toilet by the young boy.
 
The old woman was reported to have raised an alarm while neighbours rushed in, only to behold the dangling, lifeless body of Ayoola. His apprentice was said to have been called and he, in turn, called Ayoola’s son, Kazeem.
 
Police sources told Crime Features that the deceased did not leave any suicide note behind, neither could anyone pinpoint the reason behind the suicide act. However, some people have linked the death of a 38-year-old woman, Folake Adenuga, to Ayoola’s suicide.
 
Crime Features learnt that the woman allegedly committed abortion in an undisclosed hospital in Ibadan, and when she developed complications, she was rushed to a private hospital at Oke-Alepata in Ogbomoso on Tuesday July 17. Two men, one of whose name was given as Baba Suwe, were said to have taken her to the hospital.
 
Unfortunately, the woman died on Sunday July 22, the very day Ayoola committed suicide in Ibadan around 11a.m. What made people to link the two stories was the fact that Ayoola was popularly known as Baba Suwe and also, the deceased woman’s children were said to be aware of the relationship between their mother and the so-called Baba Suwe.
 
The Police Public Relations Officer in Oyo State, DSP Olabisi Ilobanafor confirmed the two stories but said that the Command was unaware whether the two cases had any link. She added that the corpse of the man was released to his family who said they needed to perform certain rituals and also bury him immediately.
 

via Tribune
http://tribune.com.ng/sun/crime-features/8084-mysterious-fire-outbreak-kills-lady-in-lovers-room

The head of 39-year-old Akinbuyi Ajayi, who was allegedly murdered by his brothers, Omotola and Toye, inside their duplex in FESTAC Town, Lagos, has been recovered.  Police detectives from FESTAC Police Station led by Divisional Police Officer, Mr. Mohammed Mu’azu, a Chief Superintendent, found it inside a polythene bag.
 
The hitherto missing head was found just as Sunday Sun was let into the world of the Ajayis said to be natives of Yewa Awori North Local Government Area in Ogun State.  Sources revealed that the mother of the Ajayi brothers, two of who have since been arrested for allegedly killing one of their siblings, Akinbuyi, and selling his body parts, died in mysterious circumstances. 
 
A neighbour, who did not want his name in print, stated that their mother “vanished many years ago and has not been seen till date.”  The visibly shocked neighbour told Sunday Sun that the latest incident has opened the eyes of residents to what could have happened to the woman he described as “very nice.” Also, one of the arrested brothers, Omotola, told the police that their father, who died years ago in an auto accident, retired as a Controller of Immigration.
 
Another resident, who identified himself as Disu, said the second suspect, Toye was studying for his Masters degree in Engineering at the University of Lagos at the time their alleged crime was uncovered.   It was also gathered that the last born of the Ajayis,  Seun, returned from  the United Kingdom recently and had been at loggerheads with his elder brothers  -  Omotola and Toye - before the incident and has since abandoned home. 
 
According to sources, the two suspects had vainly tried to discourage Seun from living with them before their alleged sins found them out. Expectedly, other residents of the one-storey twin duplex where the crime took place have since fled their homes. It was gathered that a woman who resides at a section of the ground floor took to her heels when she saw policemen searching the flats at the back of the building. 
 
The two suspects, Omotola and his younger brother, Toye, were arrested on Thursday evening following the discovery of the decomposing body of their younger sibling, Akinbuyi, inside a room in their home at B Close, House 6 of 3rd Avenue in FESTAC town.   When the body was found, the head, hands, Bosom s, private part and parts of the legs were missing and this led to suspicion that the suspects might have sold them. 
 
A police officer (name withheld) told Sunday Sun that a good Nigerian, who suspected the offensive odour from the building, had alerted the police.  Consequently, the DPO, Mr Mu’azu, mobilized his men to the place and due to  failure of the duo to satisfy their police interrogators, a search was conducted and the decomposing body found in one of the rooms upstairs.  Also recovered from the room were charms and amulets

 

From ISMAIL OMIPIDAN, Kaduna
Thursday, March 22, 2012





 



Photo: Sun News Publishing
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From an uncommon quarter came a warning yesterday to the northern political elites already jostling for political power in 2015. Deposed Emir of Gwandu, Alhaji Al-Mustapha Jokolo, said they should tarry a while and give the South-South another four-year term beginning from 2015.
 Jokolo, who was deposed about seven years ago in a controversial circumstance and still fighting his deposition in court, told Daily Sun in an exclusive interview in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State capital, on Tuesday, that the North should forget the Presidency for another eight years.

 He insisted that the North should only return to power at the federal level, after the Igbos too must have produced the President for one term of four years, beginning from 2019.
 All these, according to him, are his own panacea for restoration of peace to the country, and to further strengthen the country’s claim of oneness without discriminating against any section or ethnic group.

 This is even as he accused the likes of former military president Ibrahim Babangida (IBB), ex-vice president Atiku Abubakar, former Head of State Muhammed Buhari, former National Security Adviser (NSA) Aliyu Gusau, including all the northern governors, of being responsible for the spate of insecurity in the region, saying, if they had played their parts well as leaders in their respective times, the situation would certainly have been different.

 He said: “The situation whereby all these leaders, who created these problems will now sit down and claim they want to find solution to the problems they created will no longer be acceptable to us. They should just bury their heads in shame, and allow the younger generations in the north, to take the driver’s seat.”
He also spoke on the recent defection of former governor of Kebbi State, Senator Mohammed Adamu Aliero, from the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), back to the PDP, saying that “it is our turn to laugh at him, and to laugh at Buhari, who handed over the party’s platform to him in the state, after what he did to him in the ANPP. We warned Buhari but he wouldn’t listen,” Jokolo added.
Below are the excerpts of the interview:
What is your take on the recent defection of Aliero from the CPC, back to the PDP?
 Why don’t you just leave me out of these political talks. You know I am not a politician. Please, let me be.
 But you are a major stakeholder in Kebbi State; as such, you should be concerned about what happens there.

 Okay, will you have the courage to publish whatever I would say?
 Why not, go ahead, so long as they are not libellous.
 (General laughter) You see, Aliero is a serial political betrayer. There is nobody that has associated with him that he has not betrayed. You know he was in ANPP, on which platform he won election to be governor of Kebbi State in 1999. But this man was one of Obasanjo’s agents in the ANPP. He was one of those who betrayed Buhari in 2003.

 Now, as we were approaching the 2007 elections, he had concluded plans to move to the PDP, so as to cover his tracks. But he was still attending ANPP meetings, just to jeopardise the party’s chances of making any impact in Kebbi, since he was moving out of the party.

 He brought Saidu Dakingari with the hope that he could remote-control him. When that was not working, he connived with the former First Lady, (name witheld by us) to undo Dakingari. But Dakingari trusted in God, and in the end, God delivered him from their hands.

 Through divine intervention, he got back the party’s machinery in the state, and he was nominated as the candidate for the 2011 governorship election. So, this was what angered Aliero and he had to leave the party for the CPC.
 Now, after losing the election, he is coming back to the PDP. To do what? I don’t know, because Dakingari had won all his elections before now without Aliero. It is absurd to say that out of all the 36 states in the country, only the governorship election in Kebbi State was not free and fair.

 Having said that, however, it is good that he is returning to the PDP, after all the insults he had poured on the governor and the government. We will now wait to hear what he would be saying next. But his returning to the PDP will give us opportunity to laugh at him, and to also laugh at Buhari, because we warned him about Aliero, but he would not listen. Now he has abandoned him again. It is our turn to laugh at him, and laugh at Buhari, who handed over the party’s platform to him in the state after what he did to him in the ANPP. We warned Buhari but he wouldn’t listen.
 We also hear that his return may have everything to do with positioning for 2015. What do you think?
 Well, I don’t deal with speculation. Once the time comes and you are sure of your facts, ask me for my comment then, I will tell you. However, frankly speaking, I am aware some of our northern governors, including former Vice President

Atiku Abubakar are already jostling for the Presidency, come 2015. And I ask myself, what have they done for the North, to justify their aspiration?
Look at Atiku, for the eight years he was vice president, what did he do for the North and Islam, apart from the expensive university he built in Yola, which is not within the reach of the poor in the state? With what he is earning from all his investments, tell me what he has done for Islam and the North. Yet, these people will want to lord it over us in the name of North and Islam. I think they should just forget about 2015.

 Look at TY Danjuma, the man is assisting Christianity with his wealth. He has singlehandedly built infrastructures for universities in the Middle Belt area. But what do we have from our own leaders? Nothing! They created Boko Haram and other security challenges we have in the north. Yet, the same people will now sit down and say they want to find solution to the problem. They should please give me a break. They should quietly retire to their homes and wait for their turn to die, and allow the younger generations to take over leadership in the region.

Since all these people; IBB, Gusau, Buhari, Atiku, Ciroma, and others in their category, have all failed us, they have nothing more to offer. The likes of IBB, Atiku, Buhari, Gusau, Ciroma, including all the governors, are responsible for the spate of insecurity in the North. If they had done the right thing, as leaders during their time, the situation we find ourselves today would certainly have been different. The situation whereby all these leaders, who created these problems, will now sit down and claim they want to find solution to the problems they created will no longer be acceptable to us.
They should just bury their heads in shame and allow the younger generations in the north to take the driver’s seat. Look, the truth is that if Mohammed Yusuf, (late Boko Haram leader) was not killed, all these people, including the former governors of some of the North-Eastern states, would have been exposed, and Nigerians would have had the opportunity of knowing the role they played in the whole thing.

 If I heard you correctly, you are saying the north should forget about 2015 Presidency. Is that correct?
 Look, not only 2015 but after 2015. They should not think of producing the president until after the South-East has produced the president in 2019. The South-South produces the oil for God’s sake. So, I am strongly advocating that for peace to reign in Nigeria, South-South must be given another term of four years in 2015. It must not necessarily be Jonathan, it can be anybody, but the Presidency must remain in the South-South by 2015.
 The one year Jonathan spent before the 2011 election is part of Yar’Adua’s tenure, so this is just the first term of the South-South. The region should be given another term of four years after Jonathan’s first term. After that, the South-East should also be given another four years after South-South’s second term. It is after that that the north can now have it. And even in the north, it should go to the North-East, because we in the North-West have produced Nigeria’s president on too many occasions. I am talking of both military and civilian.

After North-East, it should go to the South-West, for another four years, from where it should come back to the North-Central, for another four years, from where it should go back to the South-East for another four years, before returning to the North-West. This is my own recipe for a lasting peace and unity in the country. Since we are talking about constitution review now, they should find a way of inserting it in the constitution, so that the Presidency would go round and every section or region will have a sense of belonging.

 Are you sure northerners will not call for your head with this position of yours?
 I don’t give a damn! Those who want to call for my head can as well go to hell. Don’t you think we should be honest enough by telling ourselves the truth? Tell me which Sardauna’s legacy is still standing today? Sardauna united the north but they have succeeded in dividing the north. I am prepared for whatever that will follow my position on this Presidency matter.

 

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday told an Abuja High Court that a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nasir El-Rufai and two of his officials unilaterally revoked some juicy plots of land and allocated same to themselves, their relatives and their companies.

Sunday Idowu, a former operative of the EFCC made the disclosure while being led in evidence by the commission’s lawyer, Adebayo Adelodun, in continuation of trial of the former minister who is facing an eight-count of abuse of office.



The two other accused persons are the Director General, Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS), Atine Jubrin and former General Manager, AGIS Ismail Iro.

Mr Idowu, an Inspector of Police gave detailed steps taken by his investigative team in unravelling facts behind the accusations against the accused persons.

“We interacted with interested parties notably Abuja Geographical Information Services (AGIS), Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) among others who gave us insight into what actually happened,” the police officer said.

He said that his team identified an official memo written by a senior official of FCDA advising against the irregular conversion of the plots.

“At AGIS, investigation revealed that plots 1201 and 3352 which were originally allocated to PHCN and NIPOST were revoked and then re-allocated to 9 private individuals including two wives of the former minister, daughter of former President Obasanjo, Iyabo Obasanjo–Bello, a serving senator, Philip Aduda and the 2nd and 3rd accused persons,” Mr Idowu said.

The witness further told the court that his team discovered from the Corporate Affairs Commission that Misters El-Rufai, and Iro are directors in the three companies which benefited from the re-allocation, namely: System Property Development Company, SPDC, Express Procurement Ltd and Pure Environment Services.

“In the course of investigation, it was discovered that one of the irregularly converted plots, allocated to one of the wives of the 1st accused person ,with new plot number 337 was also used by him as one of the properties declared as his own in his Asset Declaration Form with the Code of Conduct Bureau,” the police investigator said.

A former Executive Secretary with the FCDA, Sani Alhassan, told the court that after a meeting with the management of PHCN it was discovered that the earlier revocation was no more necessary. He said a memo was written to the former minister advising him to revert to status quo.

The case was adjourned to 25 April for further hearing.
Mr El-Rufai and his co-accused persons were first arraigned on an amended eight-count on Thursday 7 April 2011. Their arraignment followed a petition to EFCC, detailing allegations of abuse of office against the former minister on how he misappropriated government land which he allocated to his friends and family members, in flagrant breach of the Abuja Master plan.