NAIJAFEED

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Nigeria has the third fastest growing economy in the world

Despite security challenge posed by the Boko Haram sect and other issues, Nigeria's economy recorded an unprecedented growth as it is said to be the third fastest growing economy in the world.

Briefing State House correspondents after yesterday's Federal Executive Council Meeting, Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku, who was joined by the Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Yerima Ngama, said the growth in the economy was a clear indication that "there is a lot of confidence in the Nigerian economy."

Ngama, who presented a report on the country's presentation during the recently concluded Islamic Development Bank Congress in Khartoum, Sudan noted that the growth noticed in the non-oil sector was particularly impressive, adding that government would continue to work on improving the economy.

He stated: "Today in council, I presented a report on the presentation made at the 37th Annual General Meeting of the Islamic Development Bank, IDB. The bank has 56 member countries and at annual general meeting, each country is expected to present a report on the economic development in the country. The aim is to educate ourselves about what is happening in our countries.

In the case of Nigeria, our report was actually the best. For the year, for the quarter which ended on 31st December, 2011, only about 46 countries have actually submitted their data and Nigeria was third in terms of GDP growth. We recorded a GDP growth of 7.68 per cent in real terms and this is largely due to growth in the non-oil sector.

"The previous year, 2010, the GDP growth was 8.4 per cent but last year, it dropped to 7.68 per cent because we had a negative growth in the oil sector. So, it means that the non-oil sector is actually resilient and strong enough to carry the economy forward with or without the oil sector.

"This actually placed us as the third fastest growing economy in the world, the first being Mongolia with 14. 9 per cent real growth rate, then China with 8.4 per cent real GDP growth rate followed by Nigeria with 7.68 per cent.

"But the more important story out of it is that as a nation, we have our Vision 202020, we have the objective of having one of the world strongest economies by year 2020.

All the other countries, apart from China, that are ahead of Nigeria are growing at a slower rate than Nigeria. When those ahead of you are growing slower, it means that in the next eight years, we will achieve our objective of being one of the strongest economies in the world. As at last December, our total GDP was more that N10 trillion and that is a growth that is unprecedented despite our challenges."

Explaining how this growth has impacted on the lives of the ordinary Nigerian people, the minister said the "standard of living has improved in Nigeria as a result of this growth. As at December, 2011, our income per capita grew from $1200 to $1400 and this actually moved us from low income countries to middle lower income countries per World Bank classification."

Decisions taken

Other decisions taken by the council at its meeting, according to the Minister of Information, were the directive by President Goodluck Jonathan to all Ministries, Agencies and Departments to list items that they would be procuring this year and sort out those that should be sourced locally. Council also requested the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to begin the process of producing new voters' cards.

Maku said the "the President directed that all procurements must first focus on made in Nigeria goods, that all items that are produced locally must first be considered in the public procurement exercise at least at the federal level. This is to encourage local producers and to also encourage the creation of jobs within the economy for the unemployed and school leavers.

"The President noted in council today (yesterday) that in spite of this directive, MDAs were yet to fully implement it. So he asked all MDAs as we prepare for the 2012 budget year, to list in our procurement plans those things that should be procured locally. This is to ensure that we encourage local producers and also encourage domestic economic growth.

"He also directed the Minister of Trade and Investment to prepare a plan for those items, good and services, which we have the local capacity to produce but which we are lagging behind. This will enable the government, through the economic management team, to sort out those items that we must deliberately set out to encourage local producers to produce within the country."

Vanguard

Non-Oil Sectors to Boost Economic Growth in Nigeria

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala affirms Nigeria will overcome its economic challenges

Video - Former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo speaks to CNN about investing in Nigeria

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala appointed by UN to address child malnutrion

Ahead of knowing whether she will head the World Bank, the coordinating Minister for the Economy and Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, was yesterday appointed by the UN Secretary-General, along with 26 other global leaders, to head a worldwide effort to address child malnutrition.

According to an announcement from the United Nation's Department of Public Information yesterday, the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon appointed 27 individuals who included some heads of state and other reputable individuals to focus on improving nutrition as key to progress in health and development.

The group is to represent the many countries, organizations and sectors working to improve nutrition, and serve as strategic guides for the global movement, Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN), which is committed to advancing the strength and security of nations by improving maternal and child nutrition. SUN is a global push for action and investment to improve maternal and child nutrition.

"Never before have so many leaders, from so many countries and fields, agreed to work together to improve nutrition," said Secretary-General Ki-moon, as he explained that "the SUN movement gives all of us, including the UN, an opportunity to support countries in their efforts to end hunger and malnutrition."

Okonjo-Iweala will be joining the lead group which includes heads of state from countries that have prioritized efforts to scale up nutrition, as well as representatives of the donor, civil society, business and UN system organizations that are aligning resources to help SUN countries drive progress.

The group's role is to ensure that the countries at the heart of the movement are supported as they work to create tangible and sustainable improvements in nutrition. In addition to providing strategic oversight, the group will help to mobilize support and strengthen both coordination and accountability within the movement.

Twenty-seven countries have so far signed up to the SUN movement and, according to the UN, more countries are set to join in the coming months.

SUN helps governments, civil society, businesses, development agencies, international organizations and foundations to synergize their support to communities as they reduce malnutrition - and demonstrate their results.

"This is a historic moment for nutrition," said David Nabarro, Coordinator of the SUN Movement."Today a group of world leaders pledges to work together to improve the nutrition of the world's poorest and most vulnerable children. Their two-year commitment to SUN illustrates the urgency and priority that these leaders place on alleviating malnutrition, as well as a recognition of the incredible impact that improved nutrition could have on the future of both individuals and nations."

Others appointed alongside Okonjo-Iweala to head the SUN project include Armando Emílio Guebuza, President of Mozambique, Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, President of Tanzania, Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh; Nahas Angula, Prime Minister of Namibia; Babu Ram Bhattarai, Prime Minister of Nepal; Nina Sardjunani, Deputy Minister of Development Planning of Indonesia; Nadine Heredia, First Lady of Per and Ibrahim Mayaki, CEO of NEPAD Civil Society Organizations.

Daily Trust

Video - Newly appointed Finance Minister Okonjo-Iweala focuses on creating jobs

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Violence spreads in Nigeria after deadly Easter Sunday car bomb explosion

Suspected members of Nigerian Islamist sect Boko Haram have killed four people and a large undetonated bomb was found in Kano on Monday, authorities said, a day after at least 36 people were killed in a car bomb near a church in northern Kaduna.

Police said they found a car filled with explosives near a military checkpoint in Kano, Nigeria's second largest city and the scene of Boko Haram's most deadly strike - a coordinated attack in January that killed 178 people.

On Easter Sunday a man attempted to force a car packed with explosives into a church compound during a service but after being stopped by security he turned back and the bomb exploded by a large group of motorbike taxi riders, the police and witnesses said.

Hospital staff and a Red Cross official confirmed the death toll and said 13 people were critically wounded.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but the apparent targeting of a Christian place of worship will stir memories of a string of deadly assaults by Boko Haram on Christmas Day last year, including one at a church that killed at least 37 people and wounded more than 50.

The military in Maiduguri, capital of remote Borno state and the home base of Boko Haram, said the sect attacked several targets, including a bank and a police station on Monday.

"The former chairman of Dikwa, a police sergeant and a civilian were killed by BH... three BH were killed by (military) and many others escaped with bullet wounds," said Sagir Musa, military spokesman in Maiduguri.

Musa said the military found shotguns, AK47s, a bullet proof jacket and a van being used by Boko Haram members.

In neighboring Yobe state, suspected members of Boko Haram on Sunday stormed the home of local policeman Hassan Isa and shot dead his 6-year old daughter, injuring two of Isa's other children, a police spokesman there said.

Boko Haram, which wants sharia, Islamic law, more widely applied across Africa's most populous nation, has killed hundreds this year in gun and bomb attacks, the majority of which take place in its home base of Borno and neighboring states.

Reuters

Video - Who are Nigeria's Boko Haram?

Nigeria has one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world

The global average corporate tax shows that Nigeria still has one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world, the Executive Secretary of Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) Engineer Mustafa Bello has said.

The Executive Secretary made the remarks in Abuja while presenting a paper on "Sector-specific incentives policy for Nigeria: Manufacturing investments incentives," at the launching of investments profiles on automotive components by the National Automotive Council (NAC).

He said that the global average corporate tax rate is about 25.51 per cent while Nigeria's average rate is about 30 per cent.

He explained that global average indirect tax rate has moved very little in the past six years, remaining within 15.2 per cent to 15.85 per cent range, adding that the Asia Pacific operates the lowest Value Added Tax system of between 3 to 5 per cent.

The former Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Inland Revenue Service Ifueko Omoigui Okauru has said that despite the reforms in the country's tax system, it's not yet "uhuru" as there is still much to be done.

"It takes time to achieve success. It is like building a foundation, we are still very far," she said.

The NIPC Executive Secretary said that the investment policy environment in Nigeria is characterized by multiplicity of taxes by different ties of government, unpredictability, high operational and entry cost, bureaucratic bottleneck among others.

He said that in ease of doing business, Nigeria was ranked 16 out of 183 countries in Africa in 2010, 15 in 2011 and also 15 in 2012. In the world, Nigeria was ranked 134 in 2010,133 in 2011 and 133 in 2012.

In global competitiveness index, Nigeria was ranked 127 out of 142 countries in 2011/2012, 127 out of 139 in 2010/2011, 99 out of 133 in 2009/2010 and 94 out of 134 in 2008/2009.

Engineer Bello said the objectives of the sector-specific incentives policy is to among other things institute a stable and conducive investment climate, simplify procedures and bring down transaction cost while instituting predictable policy environment by eliminating distortions.

Daily Trust

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Video - Newly appointed Finance Minister Okonjo-Iweala focuses on creating jobs

Time Magazine Lists Lamido Sanusi on World's 100 Most Influential People

Monday, April 9, 2012

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to face World Bank panel today

Nigeria’s Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who is in the race for the World Bank Presidency, will face the panel of interviewers at the bank’s headquarters in Washington DC Monday.

She is in the race with Colombian national and professor at Columbia University, Jose Antonio Ocampo, who will take his turn tomorrow and Dr. Jim Yong Kim - a Korean-American Physician, nominated by the United States - whose interview session has been scheduled for Wednesday.

A presidency source who disclosed this to THISDAY said given the torrent of support that had poured in for Okonjo-Iweala, she had been encouraged to move on and had vowed to fight to the end.

The source said: “This is a historic battle because this is the first time in over six decades, American domination is being challenged and the developing world is being considered and supported by the leading light of the western world.”

Okonjo-Iweala has been widely acclaimed to be the most qualified candidate for the multilateral development institution’s top position and has been endorsed by various globally respected newspapers.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs Sunday charged Nigerian envoys in various countries across the world to build diplomatic support for Okonjo-Iweala.

Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Hon. Nnenna Elendu-Ukeje, said that as representatives of the government and people of Nigeria abroad, the envoys have a duty to intensify the lobby for Okonjo-Iweala to get the highly rated job at the World Bank.

Elendu-Ukeje told journalists that part of the reason Nigeria established diplomatic missions in several countries was to use them to constructively engage them in furtherance of Nigeria's economic and political interests.

According to her, diplomatic postings were meant to select the best hands that could use the diplomatic platform to advance the aspirations of Nigeria on a number of issues including Foreign Direct Investments (FDI).

"One of our aspirations within Nigeria today is to see one of ours heading the World Bank and I believe that since it is something that goes with horse trading, with a lot of countries, we will need to get across to other countries and rally support for her.

“I know that Africa has already endorsed her but of course we only have 19 votes as a continent. I know that we have missions in many countries and I believe Nigerian missions abroad would do their best in this regard,” she said.

The three-way fight between Okonjo-Iweala, Ocampo and Kim, is attracting increasingly passionate comment from candidates' supporters.

It has also shone a light on the way the World Bank chooses its head.

The US, which is the bank's largest shareholder, has always picked the bank's president.

The country, Europe and Japan have 54 per cent of the votes.

Under an informal arrangement, in return, Europe appoints a European as head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a sister Bretton Woods institution. It is currently run by Frenchwoman, Christine Lagarde.

Emerging economies have become increasingly unhappy with this system and are pushing for change.

The leaders of Russia, Brazil, China, India and South Africa recently called for a review of that weighted voting system.

The nations, sometimes referred to as the BRICS countries, are working to choose a joint candidate, according to the Brazilian Finance Minister, Guido Mantega.

This Day

New York Times supports Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for World Bank president

Ultimatum given to British Airways for unfair business practice

There is disparity in the fares paid by travellers who board British Airways (BA) from Nigeria and travellers from other countries, especially in the West Coast.

Nigerians, for instance, pay higher fares for flights to London airports than their counterparts who fly from Accra in Ghana, irrespective of the fact that the distance from Accra to London is longer than from either Abuja or Lagos to London.

This disparity is more pronounced in the business and first-class tickets, however. Only recently, the federal government gave the airline a 30-day ultimatum to adjust its fares on the Nigerian routes or face sanctions. The House of Representatives has also endorsed the position of government.

It is confounding that the BA authorities have refused to renegotiate the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) they signed with Nigeria since 1988. This BASA, which was initiated and signed during the dark days of military rule in Nigeria, is heavily skewed in favour of Britain.

After almost a quarter of a century of the existence of this agreement, it would be in the interest of the parties involved to review it.

It is a standard convention that bilateral agreements should be reviewed after at least 10 years. The minister of aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, voiced her frustration recently when she remarked, "Each time we try to review it, they (British aviation authorities) refuse to sign because they think we are the only ones who need them."

If the British aviation authorities mean well for Nigeria, they should accept without any hesitation the review of the BASA. Apart from paying relatively higher fares, Nigerian air travellers suffer undignified treatment on some foreign airlines. This includes restricting them to a select menu list. It is unacceptable that some foreign aviation authorities should disrespect and treat Nigerians as second-class citizens, a sad reminder of the colonial days.

While this impasse is being addressed, it is time Nigerian air travellers, especially public officeholders, discarded their appetite for first-class and business-class seats.

BA and other foreign airlines must have noticed the profligacy of Nigerian public officials and have been taking advantage of this. The Nigerian government will do well to stop paying the travelling expenses of officials who cannot travel on economy class. It does not show that we as a people are conscious of the challenges before us.

Leadership

Nigeria fines Virgin Atlantic and British Airways

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Car bomb explosion in Kaduna, Nigeria on Easter Sunday

A car-bomb attack has struck a commercial area in the town of Kaduna in northern Nigeria, causing an unconfirmed number of dead and reports of widespread damage.

The Easter Sunday explosion occurred on a main road in Kaduna where motorcycle taxi drivers and passers-by caught much of the explosion. Medical sources indicated several people had died, but the number of was not disclosed.

Al Jazeera's Yvonne Ndege, reporting from the scene of the blast, said authorities and medical officials were still evaluating the damage.

"Clearly, people have been killed in this attack, but the number is still uncertain," Ndege said.

No one claimed reponsibility for the blast, but authorities suspect radical group Boko Haram, which has carried out similar attacks in the past.

At least one car said to be driven by a suicide bomber was involved in the attack, which according to initial reports had taken place near a church.

"I'm standing just at the scene where this car exploded and contrary to initial reports, it now looks like this car bomb did not actually detonate outside a church which had been earlier reported," Ndege said.

"What it looks like is that these individuals, clearly suicide bombers, were on their way to potentially a location where they intended to explode their devices.

"Something clearly went wrong because if you look at the area where this car bomb went off it's in the middle of the main road which would have had heavy traffic on Easter Sunday and many ordinary people standing on the side of the road selling their wares.

Suicide attack

A rescue official told the AFP news agency that two vehicles packed with explosives had detonated, but this report remains unconfirmed.

A police officer at the scene earlier said a man believed to be a suicide bomber driving a car was stopped at a checkpoint near a church and turned back, but drove to a nearby area close to a hotel and detonated the bomb.

Other cars in the area were damaged, but it was unclear if they were also carrying explosives, he said.

Police confirmed the explosion was a bomb, but did not officially comment further.

"We have a bomb explosion. We are trying to sort things out," Aminu Lawal, a police spokesperson, told AFP.

Residents reported seeing dead and injured people being taken away, with medical sources indicating several deaths.

One resident said the explosion was strong enough to shake his house and cause his ceiling to cave in.

"People have in one sense been bracing themselves for something, because the army, the joint task force who have been dealing with Boko Haram primarily have warned of the threat of attacks," our correspondent said.

Although there had not been any official government reaction to Sunday's blast, "just yesterday [Nigerian] President Goodluck Jonathan in a statement to the Nigerian people asked them to be vigilant and asked them to be defiant in the face of potential terrorist attacks," Ndege said.

Boko Haram set off a series of bombs across Nigeria on Christmas Day last year, including one at a church outside the
capital Abuja that killed at least 37 people and wounded more than 50.

Aljazeera

Death toll in Boko Haram Kano attack rises to 215

Bomb explosion at UN office in Abuja leaves several dead

Friday, April 6, 2012

U.S. and U.K. warn their citizens not to travel to northern Nigeria

The United States and the United Kingdom yesterday warned their citizens not to travel to certain parts of the north saying there is a high risk of terrorist attack during the Easter holiday.

The UK foreign office and the US embassy in Abuja issued the updated travel warnings yesterday, noting that a radical Islamist sect is behind the planned attacks.

"There is a high threat of terrorist attack during religious festivals," the UK warning read.

The US warning noted the near-daily attacks now hitting Nigeria and that there have been "continued threats, including several that mention US interests".

The warning also noted that personnel from the US embassy no longer travel to northern Nigeria, a rule put in place after a Boko Haram attack on the city of Kano in January killed at least 185 people.

"The US embassy continues to monitor closely the ongoing threats posed by Nigerian extremist and criminal groups, and their stated intentions to carry out attacks against the Nigerian government and western interests and targets in Nigeria," the message read.

Vanguard

Related stories: U.S. issues travel warning to Nigeria

President Goodluck Jonathan declares Boko Haram menace will end in June

Thursday, April 5, 2012

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Nigerian victim of the California Nursing school shooting massacre

A Nigerian woman, Doris Chibuko, has been confirmed as one of the seven persons shot dead at the Koreans Nursing School in Oakland, California on Monday.

The 43-year-old mother of three was among the seven people fatally shot by a lone gunman at Oakland’s Oikos University in East Oakland.

Doris hails from Enugu State and studied and practiced law before migrating to the U.S. She got married in 2002 to Efanye Chibuko and they moved to the U.S the same year.

The fatal shooting, according to media reports, happened two months away from her planned graduation from the small private college. She and her colleagues were murdered by a fellow student, One Goh, who later surrendered to the police in a supermarket.

A Nigerian lawyer has been identified as one of those killed at Oikos University, Oakland, California, when a lone gunman opened fire on students and teachers Monday inside the small Christian University located in East Oakland.

The killer was described as a disturbed former nursing student at the university, who later turned himself in to authorities at a Safeway superstore located at the South Shore Centre in Alameda.

Several Nigerians resident in the Bay Area trooped to the Chibuko family home located in San Leandro Hills to commiserate with the family on Tuesday evening after news filtered out that she had been killed in the deadly mass shooting regarded as Oakland’s worst in over 20 years.

The Alameda County Coroner’s Office announced Tuesday morning that other dead victims hailed from Korea, Nepal, the United States and the Philippines.

The identities of six of the victims were also released. The identity of the seventh is being withheld until the victim’s next of kin is located and informed of the death, according to the Coroner’s office.
The dead include:

Judith O. Seymore, 53, San Jose
Lydia H. Sim, 21, Hayward
Sonam Chodon, 33, El Cerrito
Kim G. Eunhea, 23, Union City
Doris Chibuko, 40, San Leandro
Tshering Butia, 38, San Francisco

Mourners crowded the family’s home in the San Leandro hills Tuesday night. “Right now I’m just trying to greive,” Efanye Chibuko told the San Francisco Chronicle.

A vigil for the victims was held Tuesday at Allen Temple Baptist Church, 8709 International Blvd. in Oakland.

Meanwhile, the alleged killer is still being held by the police.

PUNCH

Nigeria takes top prize at African weight lifting competition

Nigeria has emerged the overall winner in the 2012 African Weight lifting Championship.

Nigerian athletes won a total of nineteen (19) gold, eighteen (18) silver and three (3) bronze medals.

Two female lifters, Mariam Usman and Chineye Fidelis set new African and Commonwealth records in the plus 75kg and 53kg weight categories respectively.

By this feat, the two have also clinched the title of the best female lifters of the tournament, while another Nigerian male, Felix Ekpo won the prize for the best male athlete in the tournament.

Meanwhile, Team Nigeria has also come out tops as the best team of the Continent in weight lifting clinching the two slots to field any two athletes in the 2012 Olympics Games.

This is the maximum number of slots given at Continental qualifications.

Leadership

457 Nigerians in Brazilian prisons

Four hundred and fifty-seven Nigerians convicted or awaiting trial for drug trafficking offences are being held in several Brazilian jails, the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said yesterday.

The Nigerians include a 72-year-old woman, Fausat Abosede; Lara Salami (62), Theresa Ezezue (60), Vivian Ajibua (57), Ngozi Dike (51), Amina Yusuf (51), Moronranti Afolayan (48), Benedicta Nneka (42), Stella Odilli (37), Ajibola Olajumoke (36), Folake Lawson (35), Vivian Etuwe (31) and Amaka Isilabo (28).

Abosede, while recounting her ordeal to members of the committee who were on a fact-finding mission to the country, said that she was brought to Brazil for treatment, but when the treatment was not forthcoming, she decided to return to Nigeria.

On her way back, she was given a bag to deliver to a certain Pastor Patricia when she got to Nigeria but was arrested at the airport when drugs were discovered in her bags.

Dabiri-Erewa told newsmen at a briefing that the committee was mulling arrangements that will enable the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to situate its operatives at Brazilian international airports to identify and check activities of Nigerian drug traffickers. She charged relevant government agencies to intensify enlightenment on the dangers and other effects of drug trafficking.

She added that the officials of the country had informed the committee that a draft agreement had been sent to the Nigerian foreign affairs officials on exchange of prisoners but, since then, no response had been received on the subject. She however vowed that the committee would revisit the said proposal with a view to making an agreement between the two countries.

Meanwhile, a Nigerian, Mrs Doris Chibuko, has been identified as one of those killed at Oikos University, Oakland, California, when a lone gunman opened fire on students and teachers Monday inside the small Christian university located in East Oakland.

Doris Chibuko, 40, was studying for a nursing degree at the university and was just two months away to her graduation when she was killed by One (pronounced oh-knee) Goh, a disturbed former nursing student at the university, who later turned himself in to the authorities at a Safeway superstore located at the South Shore Centre in Alameda.

Doris, an Enugu State indigene, had worked as a lawyer in Nigeria and had moved to the US in 2002 with her husband, Efanye, after their marriage the same year.

The deceased and Efanye had three kids of ages 3, 5, and 8, according to friends of the family.

Several Nigerians resident in the Bay Area trooped to the Chibuko family home located in San Leandro Hills to commiserate with the family after news filtered out that she had been killed in the deadly mass shooting regarded as Oakland's worst in over 20 years.

The Alameda County Coroner's Office had earlier announced that other dead victims hailed from Korea, Nepal, the United States and the Philippines.

The identities of six of the victims were released. The identity of the seventh is being withheld until the victim's next-of-kin is located and informed of the death, according to the Coroner's office.

The names of the victims are Judith Seymore, 53, from San Jose; Lydia H. Sim, 21 from Hayward; Sonam Chodon, 33, from El Cerrito; Kim G. Eunhea, 23, from Union City; Doris Chibuko, 40, a Nigeria residing in San Leandro and Tshering Butia, 38, from San Francisco.

Meanwhile, our correspondent gathered that the suspect, Goh, is still being held by the police.

All efforts to have the official comments of the Nigerian Ambassador to the United States, Prof. Adebowale Adefuye proved abortive as all calls made to his phone were not answered.

US, Nigeria partner against drug cartel

In a related development, the United States government is collaborating with Nigeria in dislodging drug cartels operating in the African continent. The areas of cooperation being considered include training, legal framework, exchange of intelligence and logistics.

This was disclosed when a delegation of staff of the United States House Subcommittee on Africa, Health and Human Rights with the management visited the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Lagos.

The United States Congressional staff members Gregory Simpkins and Ms. Algne Sajery led by the United States consul-general, Mr. Joseph Stafford, were received by the director-general of the NDLEA, Mr. Femi Ajayi.

Ajayi described the visit as mutually beneficial. "The agency is pleased to work with the United States. We have enjoyed your support over the years and we need more assistance against drug cartels to counter new techniques of drug smuggling. The team has taken note of our challenges as well as capacity gap. This visit will further empower us to strengthen our strategies and advance the United States drug control policies," Ajayi stated.

Gregory said the United States government wants to see how best it can further partner with Nigeria in the anti-narcotics campaign. Gregory said "Drug trafficking is a global problem affecting countries of the world. We are here to observe your operations and see where and how we can assist.

Africa is of concern to the United States because the activities of drug cartels in the region also affect us. The NDLEA is getting more efficient and result-oriented but we want to sustain and seek further capacity-building for operatives. Nigeria is one of our critical partners because of the volume of cargoes at the sea ports."

Stafford said, "The United States government is happy with the efforts of the NDLEA and will continue to assist and work with Nigeria."

The visiting team is scheduled to visit other African countries before returning to the United States.

Leadership

38 Nigerians in Israeli prisons

500 Nigerians in swiss prisons

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Video - Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala speaks to CNN's Richard Quest about her bid for World Bank top job

CNN's Richard Quest talks to Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala about her bid to lead the World Bank.

Video - Newly appointed Finance Minister Okonjo-Iweala focuses on creating jobs

Video - Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala shares a story about military intimidation

Judge dismisses charges against former bank CEO Erastus Akingbola

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, yesterday, discharged former Managing Director of Intercontinental Bank Plc, Mr Erastus Akingbola, who is standing trial on a 26-count amended charge of financial impropriety and alleged stealing of N364 billion preferred against him by the Federal Government.

Trial judge, Justice Charles Archibong, also dismissed the charges against him.
The court further barred the prosecution from appearing before the court or another judge of the Federal High on the matter, over what it called “serious and professional incompetence” of the prosecution team made up of five Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SANs.

The court also ordered the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Mohamemd Adoke, SAN, to disband the team of the five SANs prosecuting the case for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
Justice Archibong said he would forward the court’s ruling to the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee, LPPC, to sanction the senior lawyers.

When the matter came up, yesterday, prosecuting counsel, which had in a sister case against Akingbola before the Ikeja High Court, Lagos, opposed an application for stay of proceeding, told the court that it had an application for stay of proceeding.

But when the judge said the application should be argued, the prosecution said it wanted to finish its compilation of record of proceeding which it would transmit to the appellate court and then file a further affidavit before moving the application for stay of proceeding.

The judge, who was not comfortable with the prosecution’s attitude, more so, as it (prosecution) had petitioned the National Judicial Council, NJC, against the judge, though the judge was cleared, directed “the Attorney General of the Federation to disband/sack/debrief the present prosecution team, comprising of five SANs and their respective firms from handling the matter for serious abuse of court process and incompetence in their prosecution of the charges against Akingbola.”

Professional incompetence

The judge said the prosecution team was “a drain to the public purse, a fact the AGF should be mindful of now if he was not before. This prosecution team has chosen to pursue a campaign to scandalise the court, which amounts to serious and professional incompetence in the prosecution of the accused.

“This prosecution team or any part of it shall not be given further audience in this court in relation to the charges against the accused either before this presiding judge or any other judge of the Federal High Court, for the reason I have given in the foregoing.

“Furthermore, I take judicial notice that the accused (Akingbola) herein is presently facing charges before a Lagos High Court emanating from his tenure as the managing director and chief executive officer of the Intercontinental Bank Plc, the AGF may wish to regain control of this process and his untrammeled right to prosecute the accused in another charge he chooses before any appropriate court, as he can of course do so at any time of his choosing.

“Meanwhile, the prosecuting team presently employed, indulging in professional incompetence to the extreme, had been unmindful of the accused right to have the case against him clearly stated. They have been dismissive of his right to a ‘speedy’ trial, which in reality should be the credible procedure.

“I, therefore, dismiss the charges amended or otherwise for this incompetent and abusive prosecuting team. I discharge the accused accordingly and leave the AGF to consider his options. This enrolled order shall be served to the AGF and the prosecution team.

To forward record of proceeding to LLPC

“I shall be referring the conduct of the learned senior advocates that led the prosecuting team to the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee for further consideration and determination of the issues raised.

“The record of this proceeding shall be forwarded to the AGF and the LLPC and this proceeding is at its end.”

Before dismissing the charge, the court had agreed to the EFCC amending its charge against Akingbola, even though his (Akingbola) counsel had earlier argued that the prosecution was employing a piece meal approach in its prosecution of the charge to delay the matter.

The judge had noted that prosecution was not willing to commence trial, hence the several applications at the detriment of the accused right for speedy trial.

Vanguard

Former Delta state governor James Ibori pleads guilty to money laundering

New York Times supports Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for World Bank president

The influential New York Times, perhaps, has picked Nigeria's Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala over US President Barack Obama's nominee for the World Bank presidency, Jim Yong Kim.

Comentators on the paper said: "Whereas Okonjo-Iweala has already attracted strong endorsements from publications at the cutting edge of global financial journalism like The Economist, and The Financial Times, this new endorsement enhances the profile of Okonjo Iweala."

Conventional qualities

The New York Times is unequivocal in its support saying as an "economist, diplomat and former World Bank managing director, she offers many conventional qualities of bank presidents" adding, "she breaks the mould as a woman from an African country where she fought to reduce the country's debt, gain greater access to international credit markets and battle corruption."

Advancing merit over politics, and given the current global economic and social challenges, Okonjo-Iweala, is the best fit for the presidency of the World Bank, the paper said, even as the influential newspaper praised Obama's choice as an "inspired choice."

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

More importantly also, argues the paper, the tradition that allows all presidents of the World Bank to be American, just as the headship of the International Monetary Fund traditionally goes to Europeans is antiquated and needs be replaced by a merit-centred consideration.

The New York Times noted, however, that what the bank needed was "a president with experience beyond Washington's narrow political and economic circles." It posited that although "Dr. Kim has worked on development in the poorest countries, one major success: leading a World Health Organization initiative that provided access to H.I.V. treatment to millions of people, the new president must also tackle broader issues of economics and growth, and manage the prickly political leaders who are the bank's overseers. That is why the bank board must take a serious look at Dr. Kim's strongest challenger, Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria's finance minister."

The paper argued that nevertheless, a merit-based consideration should not exclude qualified Americans, the paper said, but even as much, "neither should it guarantee them a job" in a world where emerging economies contribute a significant share to global growth, and are "rightly demanding a greater say in decision-making."

Global health expert

Yong Kim is a South Korean-born medical doctor and president of Ivy League Dartmouth College of whom the paper admits," has a stellar reputation as a global health expert."

Of the third candidate, José Antonio Ocampo, a Professor at Columbia University in New York, and who is the former Colombian finance minister and high-ranking United Nations official, the paper said "he, too, is a credible contender with long experience in development and international policy." However, with regards to Dr. Kim, the paper said: "The bank will almost certainly do well under his leadership. But it would do even better if the process for choosing the next president were truly competitive and fully transparent."

Vanguard

Nigeria's finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in the running for chief of World Bank

Video - Newly appointed Finance Minister Okonjo-Iweala focuses on creating jobs

President Goodluck Jonathan fires PHCN boss

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday ordered the removal of the managing director of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Mr. Akinwumi Bada the market operator, Uzoma Achinanya; and the executive director, human resources of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), Mr Olushoga Muyiwa, for their failure to prevent what the minister of power, Prof. Barth Nnaji, described as "controllable impediment" to supply power to Nigerians.

Announcing the sacking yesterday in Abuja, Nnaji, in an extraordinary meeting held with all chief executives of the transmission, distribution companies and other agencies under the Ministry of Power, said the trio were to proceed on retirement. Mr. Shola Akinniranye was appointed to head the TCN, and Mr. Evarestus Mogbo named the new market operator.

He said the issue of sabotage has to be addressed by the CEOs, noting that there was need for predictability in power supply. "Professional management is required from all CEOs to ensure that things work well. We need to roll our sleeves and get to work to ensure that power supply improves," the minister stated.

Nnaji, who frowned at the decline in power supply over the last three weeks, said the changes became necessary as part of renewed efforts towards achieving adequate and effective power supply in the country.

He, however, noted that while some of the issues are within management's capacity to control, some were caused by nature, which is beyond human control.

Informing that water flow has been a challenge to the operational capacity of Kainji, Jeba and Shiroro power plants, he said "gas supply and transmission management needs to improve. We are not going to allow any controllable impediment to stop the supply of power to Nigerians".

He also stated that there would be an inter-ministerial meeting with the ministry of Petroleum Resources with a view to resolving gas supply-based issues, even as he charged the new appointees to brace up in meeting the energy requirements and avoiding the disruptions in power generation.

A source who confided in LEADERSHIP said the government had to take the hard decision in order to make things right. "Just these past days that the minister was out of the country, the system went down. In fact, the minister was even summoned by the president over the power situation upon his return," the source said.

Leadership

Canada to invest in Nigeria's power sector

Aliko Dangote's cement company to be listed in London Stock Exchange

Aliko Dangote has commenced plans to list his N1.76 trillion ($11 billion) cement business, Dangote Cement Plc, on the London Stock Exchange next year.

Africa's richest man foresees a boom afterwards. He said: "We want to list in London next year. By then the upside to our business will be much bigger than today."

The Nigerian industrialist, who has capitalised on the continent's booming demand for building materials, told The Financial Times he intends to free-float a 20 per cent stake in Dangote Cement to finance its rapid expansion. It will be the first listing of one of Dangote's companies outside Nigeria.

Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan have been appointed as co-leads for the London share issue. Dangote said the company was on track to meet the stringent corporate governance requirements for a premium listing, and that he would give up his current role as chairman.

He said: "My plan is to have different faces (on the board). The face of the chairman will not be Aliko Dangote, it will be somebody else, a professional who is well-respected within investment circles."

Already the largest cement producer in sub-Saharan Africa, Dangote Cement is more than doubling capacity this year to 21m metric tonnes, and wants to reach 43m tonnes in 2015. Besides Nigeria, where it has three plants and 70 per cent market share, the company has contracts to construct factories in eight African countries, from Senegal to South Africa to Ethiopia.

Dangote Cement's net profit in 2011 is expected to be $790m on revenues of $1.5bn, according to guidance filed at the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Dangote, whose net worth is $12bn according to Forbes, said he wanted to quadruple profits within four years and turn the business into the world's most profitable cement company.

At the same time, the conglomerate, Dangote Group, is changing focus. It plans to sell 80 per cent stakes in its food business, which include salt, sugar, flour, rice and pasta.

Besides cement, the group will concentrate on three other main sectors, Dangote said. The mining arm will focus on coal, iron and bitumen. The petrochemical business will produce methanol, polyethylene, and fertiliser.

Vanguard

Aliko Dangote makes Forbes rich men's list

Monday, April 2, 2012

Video - Occupy Nigeria in retrospect

A look back at the national protests across Nigeria tagged 'Occupy Nigeria'. The people of Nigeria were sparked into action when the government decided remove fuel subsidies, which subsequently more than doubled the price of fuel overnight.

Video - Fuel subsidy protests turn violent in Nigeria

President Goodluck Jonathan attacked on facebook over fuel subsidy

President Goodluck Jonathan proclamation to end Boko Haram by June might worsen threat

The Vice Chairman of Nigerian Bar Association(NBA), in Maiduguri, Husseini Hala, has said that President Goodluck Jonathan's pronouncement that his government will end the menace of Boko Haram by the middle of this year can worsen the security crisis in the country.

He said that Boko Haram militants appear to have intensified their attacks in the region following Jonathan's statement just as residents in the area bear the brunt of the violence.

"We are seriously concerned because they have done nothing and the menace is increasing. The militants have been killing people day in, day out; there are a lot of attacks in Maiduguri, they come out to attack the military officers face-to-face," the legal practitioner lamented

Critics have accused the government over what they claim to be the administration's failure to control growing insecurity in northern Nigeria. They said that the government's violent crackdown on suspected Boko Haram members in recent months has escalated violence.

But the administration said that the country's security agencies were working hard to contain the security problems by the middle of this year.

"The stance of the elders of Maiduguri and the population is that they should look for a way of dialoguing with the members of the Boko Haram, so that we will have an end to this crisis," said Hala.

He also said that the government should embark on a confidence building measure so that residents could help with efforts to combat Boko Haram's security threat.

"The people they appointed said that the government is insincere in its move to see that the crisis is settled. They said, if the government is sincere, they are ready to settle. "This is the view of the people of Borno State. Government should negotiate with them so as to bring the crisis to an end."

Leadership

Video - President Goodluck Jonathan wants dialogue with Boko Haram

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Permanent secretary arrested for N14 Billion pension fraud

A Permanent Secretary in the ministry of Niger Delta, Abubakar Kigo and 5 others were arraigned this morning over their involvement in a fraud in which an estimated N14bn was stolen from Nigeria's police pensions administration.

The accused persons were brought to court by the EFCC in whose custody they had been and arraigned before Justice Mohammed Hamza Bello. All accused persons pleaded not guilty to the 16-count charge leveled against them.

Until his promotion to the position of permanent secretary, Abubakar Kigo was the director of the Police Pension Office and it was during his stint there that he allegedly connived with the others to tamper with the pension funds.

The scam had involved the use of over 3,000 bank cheques to make illegal withdrawals by staff of the police pension office.

Daily Trust

Video - Government failing to provide pension for the elderly

28 retired police officers die waiting for over due pension

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

2012 London Olympics team Nigeria captain promises lots of medals

The captain of Team Nigeria track and field team currently training in Atlanta, United States, Saul Weigopwa, has assured Nigerians that the team will not only win medals in all the relay events at the London 2012 games, he assured that many of the athletes, including himself, would make the finals of their events.

Weigopwa, an Olympics bronze medallist, in a statement from Atlanta revealed that the coaching tutorials they are receiving from the new national athletics coach, Innocent Egbunike would bring out the best in most of the athletes.

“The training is tough, but we all love it, if we had been training like this in the last few years, I personally would achieve more on the track, and I could have won an individual level medal at the global level long before now”.

Weigopwa revealed that Egbunike’s training is like a marriage of sports science and inspirational speeches,
“Everything is scientific, you are to follow a laid down plan which could not be altered. Daily, there are inspirational speeches from motivational speakers, pastors and Egbunike himself. Then we are all on the same level, the coach and the athletes, we all do the same thing on and off the track”.

The captain of Team Nigeria posits that the only way they could repay Nigeria for the huge financial investment in the team is to win medals in London,

“With the way we are training now, I can assure you that all the relays team would win medals in London. We just need to perfect the technical aspect as a team, but we would all be running well with the training we are doing now, once the technical aspect is perfect, we could win four relay medals. But personally, I know that with this training, I will not only run a new personal best this year, I will make the finals of the Olympics in the men’s 400m, and once am in the finals, anything is possible, I could win a medal. This is our toughest training ever; all the athletes are focused and ready for London”.

Weigopwa on behalf of his colleagues thanked the Honourable Minister of Sports and Chairman National Sports Commission (NSC) Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi and the NSC for making it possible for them to camp and train in Atlanta, “the only way we can repay the Minister and top officials at the NSC and Nigerians generally is to win medals in London and we promise not to disappoint” concludes Weigopwa.

Nigerian Tribune

President Goodluck Jonathan declares Boko Haram menace will end in June

President Goodluck Jonathan assured yesterday that his government will end the menace of Islamic sect, Boko Haram in some areas of the north by the middle of the year. He said the nation's security forces will take total control of the situation.

Jonathan who spoke in an interview with the South Korea's Yonhap News Agency while attending a two-day summit on peaceful use of nuclear energy, with about 51 other world leaders in Seoul, also gave an insight into the problems faced by the Federal Government in 2010 when his predecessor, late President Umoru Musa Yar'Adua was ill in far away Saudi Arabia without formally handing over the reigns of government to him as the then Vice President.

Speaking on the current security challenges facing the country following the Boko Haram Islamic sect's bombing canpaign in some parts of Nigeria, President Jonathan said, the problem was limited to certain areas in the country, assuring the international community that the problem would be seriously curtailed as the nation's security forces would take total control of the situation by the middle of this year.

"In terms of security challenges, we have some parts of the country where we have terrorist attacks, but it does not affect the whole country. We are in reasonable control. We have the belief that in the middle of this year; in terms of security of individuals, we will have full control. The danger is limited to some parts of the country. It does not extend to other parts of country," he further said.

President Jonathan also said during the interview that there were fears of military coup when late President Yar'Adua fell ill and did not formally hand over power to him, (Jonathan) as the then vice president. He said there were fears of a poosible coup as the country wobbled during the uncertainty surrounding the health condition of his predecessor.

He however said that military coup could not have occured because the country was politically stable.

"I was the President during the transition (period). Before I took over, I was vice president. The President (Yar'Adua) was very ill and people thought there would be military intervention. Today, we conducted election. Politically, we are stable," he said.

Assuring potential investors of a conducive environment to do business in Nigeria, President Jonathan appealed to South Korean companies to invest in Nigeria because of her huge economic potentials.

According to Jonathan, "other areas and the public sector have been opened up. Agriculture, in terms of production of raw materials; and other sectors have been opened up. Not just in private airlines but airports, terminal buildings and other sectors.

"Oil sector had been opened up from the beginning. We have very few chemical companies. It is an area these (Korean) companies can invest. Before 2002, telecommunication was a monopoly. Telecommunication has been opened up to other countries. More Korean companies can invest in all aspects of telecommunication.

"There is one key area that I want to emphasize. Nigeria is a very green area for investors. Before this time, during the military rule, you do not know who would be the next president. When a new government came, there were new policies and those policies were not attractive to investors.

"Basically from 1999 to date, we have established democratic government. For investors, Nigeria has strong laws and media. No president can just change laws that can affect investors especially. We encourage investors". He pointed out that he specifically preferred the Korean investors to focus attention on the power sector.

"I want investment in power sector. For now, we are quite low. We want South Korean investors."

Vanguard

Related stories: Video - Who are Nigeria's Boko Haram?

Video - Boko Haram leader declares war on Christians

Video - President Goodluck Jonathan wants dialogue with Boko Haram

Nigerian security forces arrest 5 with 'Al Qaeda-links' over German kidnap

Nigerian authorities have detained five men, including a Mauritanian, believed linked to Al-Qaeda's north African branch over the January kidnapping of a German, two security sources said Tuesday.

Four of the suspects were arrested in a raid on a supermarket in the northern city of Kano owned by the Mauritanian on Thursday, while the fifth was held in a separate raid, the sources said.

"Guns and a laptop were recovered in the store and the documents found in the computer, including an AQIM operation manual, showed that the suspects are linked to AQIM and were involved in the kidnap of the German engineer in January," one of the sources said in describing the supermarket raid.

AQIM is the abbreviation for Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the extremist group's north African arm.

It has not been known to operate directly in Nigeria, though some have suggested links between AQIM and Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram.

German engineer Edgar Raupach was kidnapped on the outskirts of Kano in January. AQIM said last week it was holding the German and that it wanted to swap him for a jailed Muslim woman, a private news agency in Mauritania said.

A video obtained by the ANI agency and seen by AFP showed Raupach, his hands tied behind his back, surrounded by masked gunmen.

Germany has confirmed one of its nationals was kidnapped in northern Nigeria, and the German construction company Bilfinger Berger has said he is one of their employees.

"The arrests are an important lead that could help in resolving the kidnapping of the German," one of the security sources said.

The initial raid on the store was carried out on suspicion that the suspects were tied to Boko Haram, but investigations after the arrests led authorities to suspect they were linked to AQIM and the kidnap, the sources said.

The second source, speaking of the Mauritanian, said "he turned the upper floor of his store into a hideout where he housed his three Nigerian accomplices."

Nigerian authorities have come under intense pressure over the kidnapping as well as violence blamed on Boko Haram. They also faced criticism after a failed bid to rescue an Italian and a British hostage earlier this month.

The British and Italian hostages were killed by their captors before they could be rescued in a joint operation with British security forces, authorities said.

Nigerian authorities blamed the kidnap of the British and the Italian on a faction of Boko Haram, which had not been previously known to carry out abductions. A purported Boko Haram spokesman denied any involvement.

A security source however had offered an explanation that implicated the group by association, alleging that the mastermind was a man named Abu Muhammad who was affiliated with AQIM and Boko Haram.

The source said the kidnappings were aimed at collecting ransoms which could be used to finance Boko Haram activities, and that in return Abu Muhammad would be given security cover by the group to carry out further abductions.

Abu Muhammad died in custody after being wounded in a raid which led to his arrest, Nigerian authorities have said.

There has been speculation that criminal groups may be seeking to profit from the security situation in northern Nigeria, where authorities have been unable to stop scores of bombings and shootings blamed on Boko Haram.

Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation with 160 million people, is roughly divided between a mainly Muslim north and predominately Christian south.

AFP

Related stories: German engineer kidnapped in Nigeria

British and Italian hostages killed in Nigeria during failed rescue attempt

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

28 retired police officers die waiting for over due pension

Chief Effiong Orok, the Chairman of Association of Retired Police Officers of Nigeria (ARPON), Cross River Chapter, says 28 pensioners have so far died in the state awaiting the payment of their pension.

The chairman disclosed this on Friday in Calabar to newsmen, saying that many of their members had died without enjoying their retirement benefits.

"We are now appealing to the Federal Government to assist us as many of our members are dead in the process."

"At the centre of the whole episode are the pensioners, whose welfare the whole exercise is all about and who are left in the blizzard of suffering."

Orok appealed to the Federal Government to pay the retired police officers in the country, adding that 28 of their members' names were not on the pay roll.

"Many pensioners whose names were on the pay roll before the biometrics' verification of July 2011, do not see their names in the pay roll again. "

The chairman said that those whose names appeared were paid once in every three months, pointing out that "since the year started, we have been paid once."

Orok appealed to the Joint Senate Committee on Establishments, States and Local Governments, to be more proactive in pension fund matters so that retirees would not be suffering.

"It is our candid opinion that those fraudulent officials who steal pension funds do so because they are not supervised by those the laws give such responsibility. "

He said there was need for government to expedite action on the exercise and cause the money to be released as members were really suffering and dying in silence in their hamlets and villages.

Orok, however, said that the Federal Government should, at the conclusion of the current investigation, review the archaic pension laws as such laws were responsible for the fraud in the system.

"The expected pension law which the National Assembly will make should make pension one of the enforceable rights of the senior citizens with attendant heavy punishment for those who will violate such laws."

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Federal Government had, few weeks ago, released N24 billion to settle the arrears of pension of retired police officers.

Daily Trust

Health insurance in Nigeria

U.S. embassy in the capital of Nigeria attacked

The United States of America Embassy in Nigeria’s capital Abuja, came under attack yesterday by unknown gunmen.

Details of the attack were sketchy, but it was learnt that the gunmen were over-powered by superior fire of a combined team of security men on guard at the embassy located along the Diplomatic Drive, Central Business District.

According to reports, several shots were heard within the vicinity of the embassy in the afternoon, when the Ambassador was having a meeting with staff of the embassy. The internal security had to set off the alarm and got everyone to take cover.

It was gathered that as the shooting was going on everyone within the embassy ran for dear life before the situation was brought under control. Two suspected assailants were apprehended and taken into custody at the end of the incident.

The embassy has been under heavy security watch since the attack on the United Nations Building in Abuja, last year. It has been heavily barricaded, while fierce-looking security men keep watch around its vicinity.

A terse statement by the US authorities confirming the incident said, “we believe there were shots fired in the vicinity of the U.S. Embassy. The Nigerian authorities have two individuals in custody. We refer you to the Nigerian police for further information.”

Strangely however, the police authorities in Abuja denied knowledge of the shooting and the arrest of the two individuals at the scene of the incident.

When contacted, the FCT Police Public Relations officer, Superintendent of Police Jimoh Moshood, told Vanguard that some senior police officers had been dispatched to the embassy to ascertain what really happened. An Anti-Terrorist Squad and Bomb disposal units were also said to have been deployed to carry out investigations about the alleged shooting incident but they said nothing of such happened.

Vanguard

Bomb explosion at UN office in Abuja leaves several dead

Video - Who are Nigeria's Boko Haram?

Halliburton bribe suspects walk free after sloppy prosecution by EFCC

The trial of the Halliburton bribery suspects reached an anti-climax yesterday when a high court struck out the case against them because of sloppy prosecution by the EFCC.

Ibrahim Aliyu, Mohammed Gidado Bakari and four companies were standing trial over serving as conduits and receiving bribes in hard currency to facilitate natural gas contracts between 1994 and 2005.

Aliyu, a former Federal permanent secretary, was at the time chairman of contract award committee of the Bonny Liquefied Natural Gas, which awarded the contracts. The four companies are Urban Shelter Ltd, Intercellular Nigeria Ltd, Sherwood Petroleum Ltd and Tri-Star Investment Ltd.

The Halliburton bribery scandal gained international attention over the past years, and it led to convictions of companies and individuals in the U.S.

But the Abuja High Court yesterday said it was striking out the case against Aliyu and the others because of lack of diligent prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The accused had not appeared in court since the EFCC filed the case more than a year ago.

A leave for their arraignment was granted by the court on February 17, 2011. However, following their non-appearance to take their plea on January 23, the court warned it would strike out the case if the EFCC failed again to bring them to court.

When the case was called yesterday, Kauna Peziki of the EFCC applied for a bench warrant against the accused and requested for more time to prosecute the case.

In his ruling, Justice Abubakar Sadiq Umar said the prosecution has failed to diligently prosecute the case.

"The court has the duty to discharge its duties diligently; court business is a very serious business. Court should not be turned into a warehouse of keeping moribund cases," the judge said.

"It has been over a year now and still the EFCC is coming up with excuses; the EFCC should know that if it is not ready to prosecute and bring cases to conclusion, it should not apply for leave of court to arraign anybody," he added.

The Halliburton bribery case involved the funnelling of $180 million in bribes to Nigerian government officials to facilitate natural gas contracts valued at $6 billion.

In 2009, former Halliburton subsidiary, Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), pleaded guilty and admitted that it paid $180 million in bribes to Nigerian officials to win the $6 billion contracts. Partner companies from Italy, France and Japan were also involved.

The bribes - some delivered in a briefcase stuffed with $100 bills - were paid to officials in Nigeria's executive branch as well as the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corp, the U.S. Justice Department said.

At various points, huge sums of money were wired through banks in Amsterdam and New York to accounts in Monaco and Switzerland.

In 2010, London lawyer Jeffrey Tesler, who served as conduit for sharing the bribes, and 72-year-old retired sales executive Wojciech Chodan were extradited from Britain to the US to face charges over the Halliburton case.

But in the same year, the Federal Government withdrew charges earlier filed at a high court in Abuja against Tesler as well as Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, George Mark, Hans George Christ, Heinrich J. Stockhausen and Bilfinger Berger GMBH.

Chodan pleaded guilty in December 2010, while Tesler also pleaded guilty in March last year. They were sentenced last month, along with ex-KBR chief Albert Stanley, who was also convicted in the bribery scam. Tesler, 63, received the harshest punishment of 21 months imprisonment.

In a reaction to the Abuja court ruling that stuck out the case against Aliyu and the others yesterday, the EFCC said it would consult with its legal team on the way forward.

"EFCC will study the ruling and seek legal advice from our counsel on the way forward," spokesman for the commission, Wilson Uwujaren, told Daily Trust.

Daily Trust

EFCC drops charges against Dick Cheney

KBR former CEO sentenced to 30 years in prison for bribing Nigerian officials

Monday, March 26, 2012

German engineer kidnapped in Nigeria

The kidnap of a German engineer, Edgar Fritz Raupach, in Kano has developed into a knotty issue for Nigeria’s security agencies, following claims that it was carried out by Al Qaeda.

THISDAY learnt that hitherto, the security agencies worked on the theory that Boko Haram was the only terrorist group in Northern Nigeria, but indications are now very strong that this may not be true.

It was even believed that Boko Haram was working in conjunction with Al Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), a faction of Al Qaeda.

Raupach, who works with Dantata and Sawoe, was abducted from one of the company's road building projects on a bridge on the outskirts of the city since January 26.

A purported spokesman of Al Qaeda later said the group was responsible for the kidnap and the group is now demanding that German authorities should release a Muslim woman, Oum Seif Allah Al Ansari, who they said was being subjected to inhumane treatment in a German prison.

Boko Haram is not known to carry out kidnappings and promptly denied claims that it was responsible for the kidnap and eventual deaths of a Briton and an Italian in Sokoto State early this month.

The kidnap of Raupach has led to a manhunt mounted by a combined team of security operatives in the country.

The police said they had no immediate "clear suspicions" as to who were behind the kidnap.

However, AQIM, based in North Africa, last Wednesday, declared that it was responsible for the abduction.

The statement by the group was published by a Mauritanian news portal, Nouakchott Infor-mation Agency website, a medium which has always been used by the group to send messages. The statement published on Wednes-day by the AQIM is demanding the release of Al Ansari

THISDAY gathered at the weekend that Nigerian security chiefs are concerned about the latest development especially the link with Al Qaeda.

They have launched investigation into the Al Qaeda claim and the “swap” demand by the group. They are also looking at the possibility of the faction having a different command structure.

Meanwhile, there was a reported excitement in the camp of Boko Haram leader, Sheikh Abubakar Shekau, over the reported death of a factional militant leader, Abu Mohammed.

Intelligence sources confirmed to THISDAY last night that the Shekau group indirectly helped with the information that led to the location of the hostages held by the Mohammed group in Sokoto, although the rescue operation failed as the two foreigners were killed by their captors.

The Shekau faction of the Boko Haram might have inadvertently given the intelligence that led to the arrests of Mohammed and his “fellow traitors” in Adamawa, Katsina, Kaduna, Sokoto and Kebbi States during a Shura Council (the highest decision-making body) meeting in Layin Hanwa, Zaria, and the subsequent failed rescue mission in Mabera Estate in Sokoto.

Mohammed broke away and ran a faction of the Boko Haram until he was arrested March 7, 2012 after a gun battle with security agents.

He died March 9 from gunshot wounds. Other suspects may be taken to court next week.
Security sources said Mohammed’s men appeared well-trained and organised, with weapons and armoury that security agents were still trying to unravel their origin.

This sophistication of the faction, apparently aided externally, readily showed in their ability to keep the two hostages away from the extensive security hunt for 10 months.

This dents the claim by the security agencies that they had acquired equipment that could track terrorists anywhere in Nigeria.

This Day

Murderers of British and Italian hostages explain their reason for killing them

Five hostages taken from oil rig