NAIJAFEED

Friday, December 17, 2010

EFCC drops charges against Dick Cheney

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said yesterday it had dropped all charges against former U.S Vice-President Richard Dick Cheney and other U.S. officials involved in the Halliburton bribery scandal. It, however, said that the charges against Nigerian officials remained and would go on in court.

The EFCC chairman, Mrs Farida Waziri, disclosed this while fielding questions from journalists, during the U.S. Ambassador's working visit to the headquarters of the anti-graft agency in Abuja. She said the case had been peacefully settled out of court and she would make the details available soon.

However, LEADERSHIP reliably gathered that the settlement came on the heels of a pre-bargain meeting held earlier this week between some U.S. officials and their Nigerian counterparts, including the EFCC. The U.S. had agreed to pay the sum of $250 million to the Federal Government to secure their nationals from going through the rigours of trial and further scandal in Nigeria.

Halliburton Incorporated has been in the news for offences bordering on economic and financial crimes and offering gratification to some Nigerian public officials for the purpose of assisting the corporation to secure the award of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) contract in Bonny Island, Rivers State, between 1994 and 1995,when Dick Cheney was serving as the President, Halliburton Inc.

Meanwhile, the U.S. envoy, Terrence McCulley, had warned the leadership of the EFCC not to interfere in the conduct of the 2011 general election, but to play a neutral role in the forthcoming exercise by desisting from anything that would warrant being used by some desperate individuals or groups against their opponents.

Leadership

Video report on the EFCC crackdown on corruption in Nigeria

Nigerian Banks

Monday, December 13, 2010

Wikileaks - Pfizer funded dirt-digging

CNN's Christian Purefoy explains the controversy over leaked cables involving drug trials by Pfizer in Nigeria.

WikiLeaks - Yar'Adua family took millions in bribes

Video - Gold rush triggers world's deadliest lead poisoning

Wikileaks - U.S. had intelligence on Boko Haram attack

One of the United States diplomatic cables released by internet whistle-blower, WikiLeaks, has revealed that US had intelligence on last year's attack by the Boko Haram sect in some parts of North-east Nigeria before the attack was launched.

The cable dated June 29, 2009, which originated from the Secretary of State, with reference no 09STATE67105 and classified secret/noforn, was tagged, "Nigeria-Extremists believed to be planning a massive terrorist attack".

The cable, which described leader of the sect, Muhammed Yusuf, as "Nigerian Taliban", said the group was operating with unspecified extremist groups to launch a massive surprise attack on some piece of critical infrastructure, government officials, security agents, and members of the public who are opposed to its doctrines.

The cable also expressed US concerns about recent activities surrounding extremists associated with the "Nigerian Taliban."

Yusuf was reportedly killed in police custody on July 30, 2009, hours after he was captured by security agencies. his group, which has a doctrine that forbids western education, launched massive attacks on Borno and Bauchi states last year.

In the US diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks, it was also revealed that well-trained veteran Chadian extremist, Abu-Mahjin, who has limited ties to al-Qa'ida associates, also visited Nigeria to facilitate the operation and was seeking more funds for that purpose.

What was however not stated in the cable was whether the intelligence was shared with the Nigerian security agencies or was just meant to warn the US mission and American citizens in Nigeria of an impending attack that may affect American interest.

Text of the cable reads "26. (S//NF) Nigeria - Extremists believed to be planning a massive terrorist attack: (S//REL TO USA, FVEY) Tearline states, Unspecified extremist groups, suspected to be operating in concert with Nigerian Shi'ites, Salafiya, or Muhammad Yusuf's Nigerian Taliban are reportedly planning to launch a massive surprise attack on some piece of critical infrastructure or against high-profile targets within Nigeria. Probable targets of this attack include top Nigerian Government officials or security agents. Members of the general public, who might be opposed to the attackers' doctrines, were also believed to be possible targets. This planned attack is reportedly aimed at sparking sectarian clashes across Nigeria.

"27. (S//NF) DS/TIA/ITA cannot immediately corroborate the current threat with additional intelligence. While no connection can be made between this threat and previous reports, DS/TIA/ITA is concerned about recent activity surrounding extremists associated with the Nigerian Taliban.

"28. (S//NF) A well-trained veteran Chadian extremist, Abu-Mahjin (Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment (TIDE) number 24350378), who has limited ties to al-Qa'ida associates, recently travelled to Nigeria. He may be planning to conduct or facilitate a terrorist operation."

According to the text from May 1, "An Islamic extremist named Abu-Muhjin has recently been in northeast Nigeria. It is likely that he will be joined by other Islamic extremists in the coming weeks."

More recent tearline stated, "Nigerian-based probable Chadian extremist Abu-Mahjin is keen to obtain more funds in connection with some sort of nefarious activity (possibly terrorism related) he is engaged in. However, it is not clear when he will receive this additional finance." Little more is known about Abu-Mahjin's apparent efforts to organize a near-term operation.

"29. (S//NF) Though neither the Nigerian Taliban nor its more militant subset -- Tanzim al-Qa'ida group -- has ever attacked Western interests, they have discussed targeting foreign embassies in the past. In 2007, they reportedly plotted to attack the U.S., British, and Israeli embassies in Abuja, according to a single source that remains unsubstantiated. (Appendix sources 17-19)".

This Day

Video report on the Widows of Boko Haram militants

Video report on latest counter attack by Nigerian security forces on radical Islamist group Boko Haram

Friday, December 10, 2010

Video - Peace making in Jos

Making peace has never been an easy job for the governments. A more difficult issue has always been to bring justice in order to make people trust the government.

In this episode, the peace making efforts and the amount these efforts have succeeded is reviewed with Press TV's Danjuma Abdollahi reporting form Jos.

Video report of Islamist attacks spreading across Nigeria

Video - hundreds dead in religious violence across Nigeria

WikiLeaks - Yar'Adua family took millions in bribes

Former First Lady Hajia Turai Yar'adua, the then Chief Economic Adviser to the President Tanimu Yakubu and the then Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation [NNPC] Lawal Yar'adua took millions of dollars in bribes on every oil tanker that was lifting oil from Nigeria, according to allegations contained in American State Department cables leaked by the online whistle blower Wikileaks.

Similarly, then Attorney General and Minister of Justice Michael Kaase Aondoaaka was said to have told a visitor that he would only sign a document if he was given $2 million immediately, with another $18m to be paid to him the next day.

The cables stemmed from discussions held in Abuja on January 27, last year, between the then American Ambassador to Nigeria Robin Sanders and Shell Petroleum Corporation's Regional Executive Vice President for Africa, Ms Ann Pickard. Shell's Government Relations Representative Peter Francis attended the meeting.

Ms Pickard told Ms Sanders that corruption in the Nigerian oil sector was worsening by the day, and that "very interesting people" who were not in the oil industry were lifting oil cargoes.

According to another cable sent to Washington by Ambassador Sanders, then Acting President Goodluck Jonathan told her last February that he would not stand in the 2011 presidential elections, saying he only wanted to put in place the structure for national elections. He however added that "if they want me to run, that will be something to consider at that time."

Jonathan also told the American envoy that PDP chose him as President Umaru Yar'adua's running mate because he was from the Niger Delta area. He said, "I was not chosen to be vice president because I had good political experience. I did not. There were a lot more qualified people around to be vice president, but that does not mean I am not my own man."

Jonathan also described a mid-February meeting of the Federal cabinet as "disastrous," saying there was "yelling and screaming" at the meeting and that the cabinet was totally dysfunctional. His plans to dissolve it on February 24 were however aborted by Yar'adua's sneak return to the country that morning, he told Sanders.

In the same despatch to Washington, Sanders reported that Jonathan told her he blamed the political crisis following Yar'adua's hospitalisation to four people: Turai Yar'adua, Chief Security Officer Yusuf Mohamed Tilde, ADC Col Mustapha Onoedieva and Chief Economic Adviser Tanimu Yakubu. He also said then Agriculture Minister Abba Sayyadi Ruma and then FCT Minister Mohamed Adamu Aliero were providing a second tier to the bubble.

Jonathan also revealed in the cables that former military ruler general Abdulsalami Abubakar, who he described as one of his closest advisers, was attempting to involve other former rulers to convince the Yar'adua family to get the ailing president to resign. He said that would be easier than getting the cabinet to pass a resolution declaring Yar'adua to be medically incapacitated.

According to the leaked cables, the American ambassador put pressure on Jonathan to sack INEC chairman Professor Maurice Iwu. She said US technical assistance for Nigeria's elections cannot continue unless Iwu was removed. She also urged Jonathan to distance himself from former president Olusegun Obasanjo, of who he was said to be a surrogate, and to end perceptions of himself as a local regional leader. Jonathan promised her that he would do so.

Yet another leaked American cable reported that an unnamed Kano-based real estate developer and "long-time Mission contact" told the Americans that Yar'adua's associate Alhaji Dahiru Mangal smuggled illicit items into Nigeria.

The contacts however said that Mangal ceased his illegal activities when Yar'adua appointed him a special adviser.

The American cable also described a man who approached another person in a car with a State House plate number and asked for a N250 million bribe on behalf of Hajia Turai Yar'adua. The envoy however said there was no evidence to prove that Turai sent the man.

Daily Trust

Video report on the EFCC crackdown on corruption in Nigeria

Nigeria to charge Dick Cheney in $180 million bribery case, issue Interpol arrest warrant