Tension in Borno over Al-Jazeera Boko Haram video

Borno is tension-soaked after Al-Jazeera released a video showing persons in police uniforms ordering the killings of unarmed civilians in the Boko Haram sectarian crisis.

Over 1,000 people were believed to have died and properties destroyed.

The footage obtained by Al-Jazeera shows that many of the deaths occurred once the fighting was over in Borno, Yobe, Kano and Bauchi states in July and August 2009.

Al-Jazeera, a renowned international cable network based in Qatar, released the video about the August 2009 mayhem early last week. The video clippings also revealed how persons suspected to be policemen were discussing how not to shoot one of the victims in the head so they could take away his hat.

Claims by Al-Jazeera that elements of the police and army staged a follow-up operation in which house-to-house searches were conducted and individuals were apparently selected at random and taken to a police station have caused stir in Borno, forcing security agencies to beef up security across the state and warning people against violence.

Borno government and the state police command declined comment, but many have accused the Al-Jazeera of deliberately spreading mischief and wanting to incite violence in the country.

While the video clips of the shooting of arrested persons by the police rented the Al-Jazeera airwaves during the week, many in Borno state continued to react in mixed feelings as memories of the ill-fated Boko Haram massacre in opposition to westernisation flooded back to torment victims and their relatives.

Though the situation in Maiduguri, the state capital, has remained calm as the police have since been on security surveillance, many residents fear the video could stir the hornet's nest.

The fear is worsened by the January ethno-religious crisis in Jos, the Plateau State capital, where hundreds were killed.

Most people contacted from within the government circle declined comments on the Al-Jazeera video clips, but hinted at the possibility of Borno Government investigating the cable network "to ascertain why they chose to broadcast the video clips of crisis eight months after the people of the state have gotten over their traumas. This is a mischief that is unbecoming of a reputable media outfit like Al-Jazeera."

The state deputy governor was quoted in the Al-Jazeera broadcast as defending the alleged actions of the police and the military during the religious strife.

According to him, the military and the police who are being paid with tax payers' money can only protect the citizens and not shooting them.

That emerged as family of the late Baba Fugu Muhammed, the father-in -law of the fallen Boko Haram leader, Muhammed Yusuf, sued President Umaru Yar'Adua, Borno State Governor, Ali Modu Sheriff, former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Justice Minister, Michael Aondoakaa, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ogbonna Onovo, for allegedly ordering the summary killing of their aged father during the massacre eight months ago. Baba Fugu was said to have been killed by the police on suspicion that he was a chief financier of his son-in-law's atrocity.

"They killed our innocent father on unfounded suspicion that he sponsored the sect," eldest son of the slain father-in-law, Alhaji Babakura Fugu, told Sunday Independent.

"That is why we are approaching the court as defender of the weak. They not only killed my father, they also destroyed our expansive family house, rendering our mothers homeless. This is cruel, and we won't let it go unchallenged," Babakura added.

Babakura said his father had earlier on told authorities of Yusuf's unbecoming behaviour and later voluntarily reported to the police station after he was accused of bankrolling the sect. "But rather than act on the information my father gave them, they ended up killing him," he stated.

In the suit filed before a Borno State High Court 3, he and his siblings accused Yar'Adua, the Attorney-General, Police Chief and State Governor of complicity in the extra-judicial killing of their father and destruction of their properties.

Presiding judge in the case, Justice Mohammed Mustapha, has granted them exparte motion to serve all the accused the notice of summon.

Anayo Adide, counsel to the litigant, said the President is sued for issuing the order that led to the alleged extra-judicial killing of people in the state, while the state government is joined in the suit for ordering the destruction of the Fugu family compound.

"The IGP is considered a major culprit for allowing police to shoot their father alongside many others in what was extra-judicial murder that is punishable under our law. The Federal and State Attorneys General were joined in the suit for allowing the breach of constitutional rights of the people during the Boko Haram scuffle," he added.

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Femi Kuti brings the Shrine to Victoria Island

It could not have been better - two hours plus of professional non-stop command performance atop a pool stage in the cosy atmosphere of Tribecca; an A-list club located in Victoria Island Lagos.

Two-time Grammy nominee Femi Kuti and his band; the Positive Force, thrilled a select assembly of guests last Friday into Saturday morning, strutting the stuff that earned him Grammy nominations and has kept him as the only eligible Afrobeat king after his father's demise.

The get together was coming thirteen days after the 'King' lost out in the Best Contemporary World Music category to Bela Flec at the 2010 edition of the Grammys which held at Staples Centre, Los Angeles. Femi together with his band reeled out hit after hit causing a reminiscence of yester-years teaching the new generation artistes present, the art of stage performance and musicianship.

Guests in attendance at the N10,000 per seat show included Nollywood's Dakore Egbuson and hubby; Lanre Akande, D'banj, Ikechukwu Asa, Sunday Are and Banky W, who left quite early. Perhaps the happiest attendee at the show was elder sister Yeni Kuti, who raced up and down many times across the pool side in theatrical gestures causing laughter.

As radical yet comical as ever, Femi mounted the stage at exactly 12a.m after his band had warmed up the audience. Using anecdotes on some occasions, he introduced each song stating the year they were first performed or released and the political situations surrounding them.

He didn't fail to take a swipe at ex-president Obasanjo saying 'Obasanjo said he didn't know Yar Adua was sick (scoffs and laughs)' while punctuating each remark with his traditional shrine slang 'A ra ra ra ra' to which the crowd and his band responded 'O ro ro ro ro'.

Songs like 'Wonder wonder', 'Day by day', 'Sorry sorry' and the NBC banned 'Bang Bang' were toasts of the morning. Femi implored guests to patronise the Afrika shrine - where he's on stage every weekends- for a token of N500 per guest.

It was a morning and money well spent as each guest walked away with a copy of the Grammy rated CD titled 'Lets Make History'.

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U.S. gives conditions to delist Nigeria from blacklist

The United States Government has given Nigeria three conditions to have its name wiped off its list of countries to watch on global terrorism.

The conditions are: the country must enact a legislation criminalising terror acts, shore-up its airport security and make a public denunciation of all forms of terror and their sponsors.

Foreign Affairs Minister, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, said this at a meeting with members of the House of Representatives Committees on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Affairs.

The Committee on Foreign Affairs is led by Rep. Umar Bature, while the Diaspora Affairs Committee is headed by Rep. Abike Dabiri-Erewa.

The minister, who had in the meeting commended the committees for their efforts in good diplomatic relations between the country and its foreign partners, urged the committees to collaborate more with the ministry in its fight to improve the country's image in the last few months.

The minister, according to Bature had told them in a closed-door meeting that the United States had told the ministry that only a public renunciation of terrorism activities in forms of religious skirmishes, socio-cultural conflicts, extra-judicial killings and militancy in some parts of the country, the passage of a bill against terror and a security improvement at international airports would save the country's name from the ignoble list.

The United States Government, it was learnt, also wants its Special Marines to aboard flights from Nigeria to the United States.

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Good luck, Jonathan

WEARING the wide-brimmed hat favoured by tribal chiefs in his corner of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan this week assumed office as the country’s acting president. In a televised address to his 150m people, the erstwhile vice-president said that the “circumstances” that had led to his promotion were “uncommon, sober and reflective”.

Until now, Africa’s most populous country had been leaderless for almost 80 days, since President Umaru Yar’Adua abruptly left for medical treatment in Saudi Arabia. He failed formally to transfer power to Mr Jonathan before his departure, leaving Nigeria in a state of limbo. The president’s inner circle and cabinet repeatedly put off filling the vacuum, knowing that a change at the top could threaten their privileged positions. Investors and oil people grew querulous.

However, amid growing calls for action, Nigeria’s parliament has at last passed a resolution that transfers full power to Mr Jonathan until the president returns to work. The resolution used Mr Yar’Adua’s faltering BBC telephone interview last month as the official “sick note” to parliament that the constitution requires for a handover.

Mr Jonathan could now be in the top job until elections scheduled for next year. Although he has been the de facto leader since Mr Yar’Adua’s departure, he has been largely passive. Some attribute this silence to spinelessness, others to tactical guile. “If he had overdone it earlier, people would have said he was power-grabbing,” says a businessman in Lagos, the commercial capital. “He has been clever.”

In his address on February 9th, Mr Jonathan unveiled his aims. In the Niger Delta region, his homeland, where militants have long campaigned for a greater share of their land’s oil revenues, he vowed to build on Mr Yar’Adua’s amnesty of last summer. Thousands of youths gave up their weapons in return for promises of stipends and training, but the leaderless government has been slow to make good on those pledges and the peace is fraying.

It is hard to predict how much the acting president will assert himself in the coming months. In many ways an unknown entity, Mr Jonathan has a history of assuming big roles by being in the right place at the right time. When the Bayelsa state governor was arrested on money-laundering charges in 2005, Mr Jonathan, then deputy governor, found himself at the helm. On February 10th, chairing his first cabinet meeting, he had the confidence to reshuffle some of the ministers known to be allies of Mr Yar’Adua. But there was no hint that he was about to sweep away the ancien régime.

Moreover, his accession is still dogged by controversy and uncertainty. The parliamentary resolution does not strictly adhere to Nigeria’s constitution, which states that a handover can only take place if the president writes a letter stating he is unable to serve or the cabinet sends a medical team to examine him. Neither has happened, and Mr Yar’Adua has said nothing. “The resolution is an illusion,” says Rotimi Akeredolu, president of the Nigerian Bar Association. “The legal issues will cloud how active Jonathan can be.”

Meanwhile, the race is on to be next year’s presidential candidate for the ruling People’s Democratic Party, which rotates its leadership between the largely Muslim north and Christian south every two terms. Mr Yar’Adua, a northerner, had served only part of one term, and northern hopefuls are already laying claim to the second. Until then, unless he is bold, the southern Mr Jonathan may be allowed to do little more than keep the seat warm.

The Economist

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Aondoakaa demoted

Acting President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, sat for the first time on the seat of President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua in the council chamber yesterday.

He carried out a minor cabinet reshuffle which saw the controversial Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Chief Mike Aondoakaa (SAN), redeployed to the Special Duties ministry.

No reason was given for Aondoakaa's demotion from the high-profile Attorney-General position to the Special Duties Ministry.

In a brief announcement that was said to have taken everyone present at the weekly meeting of the Executive Council of the Federation (EXCOF) by surprise, Jonathan was said to have dropped the bombshell just before the closing prayers were said.

"Aondoakaa looked like a battered man," a minister told THISDAY.

To replace him is Prince Adetokunbo Kayode (SAN), who was the Minister of Labour and Productivity until yesterday. He was the first Minister of Culture and Tourism in the Yar'Adua administration. Senator Ibrahim Musa Kazaure was moved from Special Duties to become Minister of Labour and Productivity.

Yesterday's EXCOF meeting was said to have started on a charged note as some ministers who had hoped Jonathan would not be made Acting President were said to be on the edge.

Jonathan became Acting President on Tuesday following resolutions by the two chambers of the National Assembly asking him to fill the vacuum left by Yar'Adua who has been out of the country since November 23 last year for medical treatment in Saudi Arabia.

At last week's EXCOF, the Minister of Information and Communications, Prof. Dora Akunyili, had circulated a memo asking that Jonathan be made Acting President but it was shot down by ministers believed to be loyalists of the President.

This week's meeting was also said to have been kick-started by Akunyili who said she was recognising Jonathan as Acting President and defended her decision to send in a memo, having come under criticism from some ministers for her action.

"She said the council was wrong not to have discussed her memo because in the past, some memos had been discussed the same day they were submitted," another minister told THISDAY. "The interesting thing is that many ministers were too afraid to talk even when they seemed to agree with Akunyili's position. It was only the Minister of State for the Niger Delta, Chief Godsday Orubebe, who said he supported Akunyili's position."

After the lengthy deliberations and a resolution recognising Jonathan as Acting President, Akunyili annou-nced the changes.

To demonstrate the transfer of full presidential powers, Jonathan sat on the presidential seat as he chaired the council meeting, which lasted for over six hours. The meeting saw an unprecedented attendance in recent times as all the ministers were present.

Jonathan still retained his Aide-de-Camp (ADC), Chief Superi-ntendent of Police (CSP) Moses Jitoboh.

According to Presidential protocols, the President and Commander-in-Chief usually has an army officer, usually the rank of Colonel as his ADC.

Akunyili disclosed: "Federal Executive Council accepts the resolution of the National Assembly that the Vice-President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, becomes an Acting President, Comm-ander-in-Chief.

"Council commends the National Assembly for their action and pledges to support the Acting President in his onerous responsibility of steering the ship of the nation."

Asked why the Acting President had to embark on a cabinet reshuffle in his first day at work, Akunyili replied: "It is the decision of the Acting President to remove people not the decision of the Federal Executive Council. He has the presidential powers to move any of us."

Asked how he felt about his removal as Attorney-General, Aondoaka said: "First, I had a discussion with the Vice-President this morning and he informed me about the changes. I have taken a position and in this life when you take a position and there is a change in the position you allow another person who will have a free atmosphere to defend the new position.

"I think what we did was a collective decision. First he told me, it's a cordial arrangement. Well I am in the government, in the cabinet and I pledge my loyalty to the Vice-President. I'm the Minister of Special Duties. No single action I've taken that I have regretted. Every single action I took was in the interest of this country. No country will say there is a [power] vacuum. No attorney-general worth his salt will go to the pages of papers and say there is a vacuum.

"We have to preserve the executive powers until a leader is selected. A leader has been given by the National Assembly. We have recognised him. Do you reject the job you have been given?"

Asked what would be his approach to his new portfolio, the minister replied: "When I go there the permanent secretary will brief me on what the special duties are and I will do the job."

About 40 policemen had taken over the Ministry of Justice at the Central Area of Abuja, fuelling the speculation that Aondoakaa was about to be sacked while more than 20 armed policemen were at his Apo quarters residence.

As early as 8 a.m. before workers arrived for work, policemen were already at the ministry and denied entrance into the premises even to staff without identification.

The former AGF, however, did not appear in the office as at 12.37pm as he was said to have gone for EXCOF meeting where the decision to redeploy him was taken. At about 2.19 p.m, when the policemen had left the ministry, one of Aondoakaa's personal assistants came into the office but refused to talk to journalists who had laid siege for the minister.

The heavy police presence both in the office and house further fuelled the rumour that police were actually looking for documents needed to prosecute the former AGF. But that rumour diffused into thin air when the news of his redeployment filtered out.

Aondoakaa had personally appeared in all the cases filed by interested persons in the course of Yar'Adua's absence from the country. He always had ready-made answers for journalists on any issues relating to the president's absence.

This Day

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