Kunle Awosiyan |

The Senate has passed into law sexual offences bill into law, making it life imprisonment for anybody found guilty of rape, child sex tourism or deliberate passage of HIV/AIDS to innocent citizens...http://hallmarknews.com/senate-okays-life-imprisonment-for-sex-offender/

An explosion at a petrol station in Ghana’s capital Accra killed about 90 people, many of whom had sought shelter there from torrential rain, on Wednesday night, the fire brigade said.

The blast was caused by a fire that erupted at a nearby truck terminal then spread to the petrol station and other buildings, fire brigade spokesman Prince Billy Anaglate said...http://hallmarknews.com/blast-at-ghana-petrol-station-kills-about-90-people/

Prominent leaders of the All Progressives Congress have banded together to thwart the efforts of Senator Bukola Saraki from emerging the Senate President. His rebellious disposition even against his late father has been cited in the case against him. OLUSESAN LAOYE reports

Intense pressure is now being mounted as the plot to stop Senator Bukola Saraki from...http://hallmarknews.com/senate-president-plot-to-stop-saraki-thickens/

The Senate has passed into law sexual offences bill into law, making it life imprisonment for anybody found guilty of rape, child sex tourism or deliberate passage of HIV/AIDS to innocent citizens.

This was contained in the Sexual Offences Bill...http://hallmarknews.com/senate-okays-life-imprisonment-for-sex-offender/

Senator-elect of Ogun East, Prince Buruji Kashamu has denied being served notice of extradition to United States by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.

He said this while reacting to the claim that he had been served extradition letter by NDLEA as he described the claim as false...http://hallmarknews.com/ndlea-did-not-serve-me-notice-of-extradition-kashamu/

Senate approves 15 special Advisers for Buhari… http://hallmarknews.com/breaking-senate-okays-15-special-advisers-for-buhari/

Ekiti State was thrown into confusion early hours of today, as thugs took over the major roads and sent panic to the residents.

Such roads like Olasore, Efon alaye and Ikere section of the Akure-Ado Road were blocked by the touts, Hallmark learnt...http://hallmarknews.com/ekiti-crisis-worsens-as-thugs-block-roads-leading-to-the-state-capital/

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has served notice of application for extradition of Senator – elect, Kashamu Buruji, to United States.

The spokesman of NDLEA, Mr Mitchel Ofoyeju, said yesterday that the notice of the suit was officially served on Kashamu yesterday...http://hallmarknews.com/ndlea-applies-for-burujis-extradition-to-us-2/

Mr. Sepp Blatter has resigned as the President of the Federation of International Football Association.

He took this decision just four days after the FIFA Congress that returned him for thefifth term as the body’s president at a news conference in Zurich on Tuesday...http://hallmarknews.com/blatter-resigns-as-fifa-president-2/

There are strong indications that the legal suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate in Lagos, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, against the All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate and governor of Lagos state, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode at the election Tribunal might not succeed. Reason: the Lagos state chapter of PDP has sunk deeper into crisis with factions emerging following the leadership tussle that erupted in the party after the elections....http://hallmarknews.com/agbajes-suit-against-ambode-may-fail-as-pdp-crisis-deepens/

The newly sworn-in Governor of Abia State, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, has said that his government was ready to step on toes to change the status of the state for good.

Ikpeazu said this during a thanksgiving service held in his honour at the Seventh Day Adventist Church, Eastern Union Conference Headquarters in Aba.

He, however, enjoined persons whose “legs are on the way to remove them before his arrival, in other not to have their toes stepped on”...http://hallmarknews.com/my-govt-will-step-on-toes-governor-ikpeazu/

Former Niger-Delta militant leader, Alhaji Asari Dokubo, has said that the 2015 general elections were the most rigged in Nigeria.

He spoke yesterday in Owerri, where he graced the Biafra Day celebration.

He said figures clearly showed different levels of manipulation.

“The elections were not free and fair.http://hallmarknews.com/why-jonathan-lost-presidential-election-asari-dokubo/

The Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) has arrested five top executives of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), implicated in a mega scam involving the theft and recirculation of defaced and mutilated currencies....http://hallmarknews.com/efcc-arrests-cbn-officials-over-n8bn-theft/

Kunle Awoshiyan | The Osun State Government on Tuesday sacked the principal officers of the state multi-campus university.
The officers include the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Bashir Okesina, the Registrar, Dr. Julius Faniran and the Bursar, Alhaji Fatai Lasisi.

This was contained in the letter of...http://hallmarknews.com/osun-govt-sacks-uniosun-vc-registrar-bursar/

President Goodluck Jonathan has called on the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari to extend his probe exercise to other previous governments rather than limiting it to the outgoing government.

He said this at the valedictory session of the Federal Executive Council at...http://hallmarknews.com/probe-previous-governments-too-jonathan-tells-buhari/

Kunle Awosiyan | Preparation for Mohammad Buhari’s inauguration has begun in earnest as the president-elect arrived Aso Rock this morning for the tour of the presidential Villa.

He is expected to...http://hallmarknews.com/jonathan-conducts-buhari-round-presidential-villa/

Photos: General Muhammodu Buhari arrives Aso Rock for tour...http://hallmarknews.com/photos-general-muhammodu-buharis-arrives-asso-rock-for-tour/

United State is meddling in FIFA’s affairs in an attempt to take away the 2018 World Cup away from his country says Russian President Vladimir Putins.

Putin said in televised comments Thursday that it is “odd”..... http://hallmarknews.com/putin-accuses-us-of-interfering-into-fifa-affairs/

Go and sit down and dont be fooled by these good for nothing but corruption depthed eaten fellows who are good at camorflaging and at end give you a knock on the head as jara, Buhari's intergrity has been stained long ago as long as he chose to associate with Tinubu(who wakes and sleeps in corruption) and co, just by the saying: show me your friend then i tell you who you are. THEY ARE ALL THIEVES WHO IS READY TO DO EVERYTHING TO WIN YOUR HEARTH TO ACCOMPLISH THEIR SELFISH GOALS

favcom:
I saw these posters close to the Onikan Stadium and couldn't help but snap them.
Can PDP respond to these in a civil way?

Fellow Nigerians, several reasons keep bothering me about Buhari’s relentless passion for presidency, among which are:

1. He is a Hypocrite: Buhari is a self-acclaimed anti-corruption Czar, yet he served under late Sani Abacha without complaining of corruption. In the same period Buhari served as PTF Chairman under Abacha, Nigeria was named the 2nd most corrupt country in the world in 1996 by Transparency International; the most corrupt country in 1997 and 3rdmost country in 1998. Buhari didn’t resign or protest. He dismissed the TI Report with a wave of the hand,yet he keeps painting an holier than thou picture in the face of Nigerians.


2. He Is A Religious Fanatic: Buhari believes that his religion is superior to other religions and that Koran supersedes our constitution. In 2001, he gave his total support for Sharia with this statement:
“I will continue to show openly and inside me the total commitment to the Sharia movement that is sweeping all over Nigeria. God willing, we will not stop the agitation for the total implementation of the Sharia in the country.”- M. Buhari (August 27, 2001)

He Doesn’t Talk or Act Like An Elder-statesman: He makes provocative statements that are capable of putting the country in crisis. This attitude caused the death of over 800 innocent lives including about 10 Corp members after he lost the 2011 elections. A man who considers himself as an elder-statesman and wants to rule Nigeria again should not be talking this way:
“God willing, by 2015, something will happen. They either conduct a free and fair election or they go a very disgraceful way. If what happened in 2011 should again happen in 2015, by the grace of God, the dog and baboon would all be soaked in blood.” – M. Buhari

“2015 will be bloody…” – M. Buhari

He Is Not A Man of Principle And Integrity: Since 2003, Buhari has been jumping from one party to another in his desperate and endless quest to rule Nigeria. He started with ANPP in 2003 to CPC in 2011 and, now in APC. He might abandon APC for another party if they deny him ticket.


He Has Soft-spot For Boko Haram: Buhari made the following statements which support Boko Haram:
“…when the Niger Delta militants started their activities in the South-South, they were invited by the late President Umaru Yar’adua. An aircraft was sent to them and their leaders met with the late President in Aso Rock and discussed issues. They were given money and a training scheme was introduced for their members. But when the Boko Haram emerged in the north, members of the sect were killed”. – M. Buhari (Liberty Radio, Kaduna May 14 2012)



He Hates Education: Just like Boko Haram, Buhari is a supporter of the almajir system. No wonder President Goodluck Jonathan is the person that established the first and only federal university in Katsina State – Buhari’s State and 100s almaijiri’s model schools across the northern region. People like Buhari are against the almajiri schools.


He Is Weak: It is a fact that Tunde Idiagbo was the brain and pillar behind the govt of Buhari. No wonder Buhari was thrown out in what was regarded as a Palace Coup when Idiagbo went to Mecca. If Buhari that ruled with absolute power and iron-fist couldn’t protect his government from being overthrown by junior officers, how could he safeguard and protect Nigeria in this turbulent time?


He Is A Tribalist: Since his days as a Head of State, he only appointed his people in important positions. As the chairman of PTF, he employed an overwhelming number of Fulani/Hausa/Moslem at the detriment of other groups and concentrated PTF projects in the North. He used the company of his in-law – (Salihijo Ahmad), Afri-Projects Consortium in executed all the projects. He shamelessly executed about 74% of the projects in the north and 26% in the entire south according to PTF Situation Report (Vol 2, 98).


He Clamped Down On The Press: With the infamous Decree 4, in 1983, he closed down Newspapers, arrested and jailed many journalists such as Ndukar Irabor and Tunde Thompson of the Guardian Newspaper on stories that were factual. He told the Nigerian journalists then that it did not matter whether the story reported was true or not, if his regime did not like it, the writer would go to jail, thus depriving us the freedom to speech.
10. He is old and of archaic ideas: with the present age of 72 years and haven ruled Nigeria for 30 years ago, Buhari lacks the competence to sail this country to the desired land. His ideas and ways are archaic to the recent management of the country government.

Activists, lawyers and others have likened former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s letter bombing President Goodluck Jonathan as that of a pot calling kettle black, saying the former leader is guilty of the same offence.


Obasanjo had in an 18-page letter accused Jonathan of plunging the nation into darkness.

He accused President Jonathan, among others, of promoting corruption, ethnicity; having a killer squad; tackling Boko Haram with kid gloves and aspiring for a second term in office when he said he will only run for a single term.

Reacting to Obasanjo’s letter, National Publicity Secretary, Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin, said Obasanjo was as guilty as Jonathan as he did worst things than President Jonathan when he was in power.

“Nigerians should be weary of Obasanjo whenever he said something; it is either he is trying to settle scores, even though Jonathan is facing challenges,” he said.

Odumakin urged Nigerians not to allow Obasanjo to deceive them with his frank talks as whatever he did “is self-serving but that does not mean Jonathan should not address corruption.”

Convener, Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, CACOL, Comrade Debo Adeniran said Obasanjo’s letter is like that of a pot calling kettle black.

“It is unfortunate that it is now that Obasanjo sees the fight against corruption as waning. In his days, he frustrated the fight against corruption.

“The ICPC under Obasanjo was underfunded. The EFCC under him was used to suppress the voice of political enemies. Obasanjo came to power with less than N20,000 and left power as a multi-billionaire,” he said.

According to him, “Obasanjo has no moral right to criticise Jonathan even though things are bad with this government. He should keep quiet and allow people with integrity to talk.”

A member of the House of Representatives, Lanre Odubote said Obasanjo is not different from Jonathan as the former president promoted the culture of lawlessness and impunity.

“They are birds of the same feather. He is only talking now because he has misunderstanding with the president but this is good for our democracy,” he stated.

Activist, Bamidele Aturu described Obasanjo’s letter to Jonathan as damning, saying what the former president had revealed was what Nigerians already knew.

“The letter shows there is a big crisis now and it is time for Nigerians to act to change this government. This is not a matter of pot calling kettle black, they are all black. What they are saying is that they cannot deliver.

“Obasanjo made valid points in his letter to Jonathan. These people are incapable of governing this nation. Our president is now dishonourable, corruption is high and it is time to purge the system,” he said.
•Jonathan and Obasanjo: When the going was good
•Jonathan and Obasanjo: When the going was good

Prof. Lakin Akintola, Director, Muslim Rights Concern said Obasanjo’s letter to Jonathan was a little belated.

“Jonathan is highly disturbing and has contradictory character. He made promises and will not fulfil and it is better they call him to order.

“He renerged on agreement to run for only one term. Jonathan is misleading the PDP. For five governors to defect from a party, that has never happened. 2015 may not be what it should be,” he stated.

A civil society activist, Biodun Sowunmi, said the letter showed that it had reached the point where people within the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, have become frustrated about the style of the President they installed in the country.

“With the unprecendented level of corruption, even Obasanjo, a sinner, knows that a greater sinner is in power. Obasanjo is worried that Jonathan is bleeding the country to death.

“The government has suddenly become inept and rudderless and this should make people like Obasanjo worried even though he shares from the blame of forcing Jonathan on us,” he said.

The content of the letter, according to him, is a summary of the frustrations among Nigerians conveyed by just one person.

A member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Ipoola Omisore, said Obasanjo only expressed his frustrations in the letter to Jonathan.

“Obasanjo has no moral right to condemn Jonathan. Jonathan was a docile Deputy Governor in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, when Obasanjo used him to displace the then Governor Dipreye Alamieyeseigha and also used him to defeat Atiku by pairing him with the late Umaru Yar’Adua against the PDP’s choice of Donald Duke and Peter Odili.

“You remember this same Obasanjo backed Shagari against Obafemi Awolowo. He has been giving us presidents we do not want and the result is what Nigeria has become today,” he said.

Omisore further stressed that every sin he accused Jonathan of committing, he also committed during his era as President.

“During Obasanjo’s time, he never forgave anybody, he played god, he wanted third term, he seized federal allocation to Lagos, he used the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, against his perceived enemies and many more,” Omisore said, adding that he did what he did because he witnessed the recent encomiums poured on late Nelson Mandela of South Africa.

“If Nigeria should collapse today, Obasanjo should be blamed. I just pray he quit politics quickly and repent so that he does not pay for his sins,” Omisore said.

Another lawmaker, Olumuyiwa Jimoh, said the PDP can no longer hide the fact that there are serious crises within the party threatening to devour it.

NBA Chairman, Ikeja Branch, Barr. Onyekachi Ubani, in his own comment stated: “ Obasanjo cannot be exonerated from the problem at hand because he was the person that forced President Goodluck Jonathan on Nigerians. But he must be commended for coming out with this at this time. The allegations and level of corruption contained in that letter are what people like us already knew. Every Nigerian knows that this government is monumentally corrupt, but for someone like Obasanjo who is a member of the same political party with the president to come into the open with this allegation clearly justifies what everybody has always known. I must say that the allegations he made are very grievous and must not be swept aside. The information in the letter must be used to nip the destruction of this country in the bud.”

Former Governor of old Kaduna State Alhaji Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa yesterday urged President Goodluck Jonathan to investigate the eight year tenure of former President Olusegun Obasango as demanded by the latter.
Obasanjo had at the weekend during dared Jonathan to probe him instead of harassing the people that served as ministers under him.
Reacting to Obasanjo’s statement, Musa appealed to President Jonathan probe Obasanjo’s eight years tenure which he described as the most corrupt regime in the country.
“There is a popular demand by Nigerians that the government should investigate Obasanjo’s regime because of the numerous financial atrocities committed by him. No government can be more corrupt than the government of Obasanjo. His eight years reign exposed us to the present challenges bedevilling us,” he said.
Musa, who also doubles as chairman of the Conference of Nigeria political Parties (CNPP), recalled that the CNPP two years ago filled a suit at the Federal High Court, Abuja praying it to compel the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe Obasanjo.
“The case was filed about two years ago and we are still in court. Many other organizations have called for the investigation and prosecution of Obasanjo because his tenure was the most corrupt one. So I think the president has to do the right thing. If EFCC cannot investigate and prosecute Obasanjo, let Jonathan do it. He will be doing a national service,” he said.
The former governor however added that the purported face-off between President Jonathan and Obasanjo was because of the way the latter has been criticizing his administration.
http://www.informationng.com/2013/05/obasanjo-administration-the-most-corrupt-in-nigerian-history-balarabe-musa.html

Selective Use of Anti-Corruption Institutions

Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was set up by the Obasanjo government in 2003 to investigate and prosecute financial crimes, including fraud and corruption. The EFCC earned plaudits from many Nigerians and from the international community in its first few years for aggressively pursuing corruption allegations against a range of prominent government officials including several sitting governors. One of the EFCC’s greatest and most unprecedented successes came in securing the conviction of former Inspector General of Police Tafa Balogun on charges of corruption in 2005.
In the months leading up to the 2007 elections, however, the Obasanjo government manipulated the EFCC into selectively pursuing opposition politicians and opponents of President Obasanjo within the PDPhis was done so openly that it destroyed much of the institution’s credibility and effectiveness as both a deterrent and a mechanism of accountability.
Most controversially, the EFCC sought to bar a long list of candidates from standing in the April elections by cooperating in government efforts to issue so-called “indictments” on charges of corruption that made no pretense of adhering to basic standards of due process. Almost all of those on the EFCC’s now-infamous “list” were members of the opposition or well-known opponents of Obasanjo within the PDP.
Entrenching Impunity: Federal Government Complicity, Human Rights Abuse and Corruption

“Many people have been killed in this system and no one has been held to account for it.”
—Hon. Ben Chuks, Anambra State
During its eight years in power the Obasanjo administration made little significant effort to ensure that government officials and members of the security forces implicated in violations of civil and political rights, including election-related violence, were held to account. While only a small minority of the human rights abuses documented in this report were directly carried out by federal government officials, the federal government’s failure to combat widespread impunity for abuses orchestrated by government and PDP officials at the state and local level has fostered the unabated continuation of those abuses.
Impunity and Governance in Nigeria

Throughout Nigeria there exists a deeply entrenched culture of impunity that developed at all levels of Nigeria’s government under military rule and remains as a source of the country’s worst human rights abuses since the return to civilian rule in 1999. On several occasions since then, the Nigerian military has carried out misdirected reprisals against civilian populations, destroying entire communities and murdering hundreds of Nigerian civilians
No one has been held to account for ordering or participating in those atrocities. The Nigerian police routinely torture criminal suspects and others who fall into their custody. President Obasanjo’s rhetorical acknowledgement of the problem of police torture in 2005 was not followed up by any meaningful action to bring those responsible to account or prevent future abuses.
More than 11,000 Nigerians were killed in hundreds of separate outbreaks of intercommunal and political violence during the Obasanjo administration. Many of those deaths came about in large scale and apparently highly organized massacres along ethnic and religious lines. No one has been held to account for their role in organizing or inciting those massacres. During the same period several high profile Nigerians were assassinated in attacks widely believed to be politically motivated, including Attorney General Bola Ige in December 2001.No one has been held to account for any but one of those killings—and the government’s claim to have “solved” Ige’s murder days before Obasanjo left office provoked widespread skepticism.
Nigeria’s police force has the reputation of being a notoriously corrupt and ineffective institution whose failures lay at the heart of government failure to take effective action against impunity. In one recent public opinion survey carried out across Nigeria, respondents overwhelmingly voted the police to be the country’s most corrupt public institution. At the same time, the police’s capacity to carry out criminal investigations is extremely lacking. As the director of one civil society organization that works to monitor police conduct in Nigeria put it: “The police do not have the capacity to move forward with a case unless they were there when it happened. If you say you saw someone hanging around an armed robbery, they will get that person and torture him. If not, they suspect no one.”
These failures are tremendous, but in fact the Nigerian government has done far worse than simply fail to address the problem of impunity effectively. Through many of its actions the federal government has encouraged the commission of human rights abuses at the state and local levels and has thereby undercut its own limited efforts at promoting reform and accountability. In many cases federal institutions have worked actively to prevent individuals accused of human rights abuses from being held to account.
Rewarding Abuse and Corruption

Many individuals facing credible allegations of human rights abuse and corruption have been rewarded with positions of influence and power by the government and the PDP. Anambra State political godfather Chris Uba—whose alleged crimes are detailed in the Anambra case study of this report—remains a member of the PDP board of trustees. Chris Uba’s brother Andy received the presidency’s political support for his bid for the governorship of Anambra State despite his implication in corrupt activities and his campaign team’s open recruitment of cult gangs to intimidate his electoral opponents. Oyo State political godfather Lamidi Adedibu has retained his position of political power within the PDP and Oyo politics as a whole despite his open involvement in fomenting political violence in the state. The situations in Oyo and Anambra States and the roles of the Uba brothers and Adedibu are discussed below in this report.
Corruption at the top

Top-level government officials have not only failed to rein in the corruption at lower levels; they have repeatedly been implicated in scandals themselves and escaped any form of sanction. Sunday Ehindero, Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police until June 2007, had publicly stated his commitment to combat corruption within the police force and address serious police abuses. When he stepped down as inspector general some of Ehindero’s aides were reportedly caught trying to smuggle N21 million in stolen money ($161,000) out of police headquarters and many reports indicated that the money was being taken on Ehindero’s behalf. No charges have been brought against him as of the time of writing and no public response to the allegations has been forthcoming from any federal government institution.
President Obasanjo himself was implicated in a number of scandals during his last years in power, including an alleged attempt by his aides to bribe members of the National Assembly to support Obasanjo’s bid for a third term. Days before leaving office, Obsanjo controversially sold off two of Nigeria’s three troubled oil refineries to a consortium of investors including Transcorp, a corporation that has purchased a number of high profile government and other assets since its formation in 2004. Transcorp has itself been a target of controversy since it became known that Obasanjo had acquired 200 million shares of its stock by unknown means. The Obasanjo administration’s last-minute sale of the refineries to Transcorp excited such controversy that it played a minor part in triggering a nationwide strike in June 2007.
Impunity and the 2007 Elections

Nigeria’s fraudulent 2007 elections provided a vivid illustration of the unshakable confidence many Nigerian public officials and politicians have in their own impunity. Just as remarkable as the massive scale of the fraud that characterized the polls was the openness with which violence, vote theft and other abuses were carried out. Human Rights Watch and election observer groups reported ballot box stuffing, intimidation and other abuses carried out in the most public manner possible.
In some cases political leaders openly bragged about their plans to rig elections and unleash violence on their opponents. In the town of Funtua in Katsina State, for example, residents complained that their local government chairman gave a public address several days before the elections during which he bragged that the elections would be rigged in favor of the PDP. One woman present at the event told Human Rights Watch that:
The chairman was stating publicly that people should just burn ANPP posters and that even if they cut ANPP supporters nothing will happen…He said Funtua is PDP and any other party is inconsequential and the PDP will win no matter what happens. He said whether through hook or by crook he had taken a promise to do whatever it takes to deliver Funtua. He said, “INEC is ours, the police is ours.” The hoodlums follow him wherever he goes.
The PDP won the statewide elections in Funtua by a landslide and after the first round of voting the town erupted into violence between PDP and ANPP supporters. Several buildings including the local government secretariat were burned to the ground.
No one has been investigated, let alone held to account for the systematic rigging of Nigeria’s 2007 elections. Addressing this failure depends upon President Yar’Adua and those around him. The dilemma, however, is that they all owe their offices to those same fraudulent elections.
The Nigerian Police and Impunity for Political Violence

The Nigerian police often lacks the capacity to work effectively and is riddled with corruption that dilutes its effectiveness further still. But just as important as the police’s shortcomings as an institution are political pressures that often prevent the police from investigating abuses connected to politicians or other prominent allies of the ruling party. As one prominent politician from southwestern Nigeria said to Human Rights Watch, “Political crimes are not ordinary crimes. In such cases the [state’s] Commissioner [of Police] becomes a messenger from above—he requires a nod from higher authorities to function effectively…so what needs to change is the mindset in Abuja.”139 One Lagos-based activist noted that “there is a lot of second-guessing also. Even if the president does not issue a directive [not to investigate someone], people try and guess what he would and would not like.”
The effects of the police force’s equivocal commitment to accountability were clearly evident during the months surrounding the 2007 elections. Rather than attempt to investigate and bring to account sponsors of election-related violence, the leadership of the police force largely fell into a pattern of refusing to respond to incidents of political violence orchestrated by leading politicians or influential members of the PDP.
Human Rights Watch interviewed then-Inspector General of Police Sunday Ehindero, an appointee of President Obasanjo, during the run-up to the election. Asked about the police response to scores of widely publicized instances of election-related violence, Ehindero said that he knew of “only one” incident of election-related violence that had taken place during the entire pre-election period—an incident that happened to occur in his physical presence.That level of public unconcerncoming from Nigeria’s top police official was remarkable, especially considering that lower-level police officers had promised robust investigations of many other clashes and attempted murders at the time.
Similarly, after the elections had come and gone the Commissioner of Police in Oyo State at the time, Jonathan Johnson, insisted to Human Rights Watch that “there was no violence in Oyo State” during the entire electoral period aside from “a few areas of ballot-box snatching” on the days of actual voting. In fact, Oyo was one of the bloodiest theaters of political violence in the whole of Nigeria before, during, and after the elections and the architects of much of that violence were widely known.
In several cases, police officials interviewed by Human Rights Watch lamented these problems but said that they were helpless to overcome the political resistance to investigations of prominent politicians responsible for violence and other abuses (see box 3 below). The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in one town in Rivers State told Human Rights Watch that he witnessed a mob led by a local politician attack his police station on election day, destroying or stealing all of the election materials that had been stored there and driving off the officers inside. Human Rights Watch interviewed him hours after the incident at his home, where he had shed his uniform and was drinking beer in the early afternoon to calm his nerves. Asked if he would make any arrests since he knew some of the individuals involved, he replied, “No, it’s impossible. The thing has come and gone. The only thing to do is to pray.”


Box 3: A Commissioner of Police Discusses Impunity

The following is an excerpt from an interview with the Commissioner of Police in a state in southern Nigeria, conducted in advance of the April 2007 elections. The name and other identifying details of the commissioner have been withheld to protect him against possible reprisal:
Definitely cult members will be used by politicians [during the elections], without question. They know how to get at them… There are even policemen and soldiers who can be used by people in power to do what thugs would normally do…
One should expect by now that issues like cultism should have been taken seriously, very seriously, by the government…but the reverse appears to be the case…From what I can gather they have accepted cultism as a normal thing that should be expected in the universities. This is in spite of the fact that some of these cultists are murderers and armed robbers and they can be recruited easily by politicians to commit violent acts—they are like a cheap market, they are there in large numbers at all times to be recruited. So there is nothing actually to deter students from continuing to enlist in these various cult groups.
We learned that some politicians—I don’t want to mention names— have empowered one of the cult groups—[name withheld]—and they were used in one of the recently concluded party primaries as touts to ensure that certain candidates were elected.
Law enforcement must be empowered to do the proper thing. If government is serious it is not that difficult. But where a policeman has not fed since the previous day, what can he do? In the past year the police in [this state] have lost 42 men, 28 of them killed violently. And it’s nothing. It doesn’t mean anything. It’s not news that policemen are dying on a continuous basis.
If I had a way of paying my children’s school fees I think I might just put in my resignation letter and retire.146
Selective Use of Anti-Corruption Institutions

Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was set up by the Obasanjo government in 2003 to investigate and prosecute financial crimes, including fraud and corruption. The EFCC earned plaudits from many Nigerians and from the international community in its first few years for aggressively pursuing corruption allegations against a range of prominent government officials including several sitting governors. One of the EFCC’s greatest and most unprecedented successes came in securing the conviction of former Inspector General of Police Tafa Balogun on charges of corruption in 2005.
In the months leading up to the 2007 elections, however, the Obasanjo government manipulated the EFCC into selectively pursuing opposition politicians and opponents of President Obasanjo within the PDP.This was done so openly that it destroyed much of the institution’s credibility and effectiveness as both a deterrent and a mechanism of accountability.
Most controversially, the EFCC sought to bar a long list of candidates from standing in the April elections by cooperating in government efforts to issue so-called “indictments” on charges of corruption that made no pretense of adhering to basic standards of due process. Almost all of those on the EFCC’s now-infamous “list” were members of the opposition or well-known opponents of Obasanjo within the PDP.
At the same time, prominent and notoriously corrupt members of the PDP have been left untouched by any sort of EFCC investigation. Many of the individuals who have escaped the attention of the EFCC are faced with credible evidence of precisely the kind of corruption that fuels many of the abuses described in this report. To cite just a few of many examples:
Christopher Alao-Akala, then the PDP nominee for governor in Oyo State, was reportedly put on the EFCC list of candidates deemed “unfit” to run in the 2007 elections but then taken off in response to political pressure. The same allegations were made regarding current Nigerian Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, then serving as governor of Bayelsa State.

An investigation into allegations of corruption by PDP chieftain Olabode George during his time as head of the Ports Authority was allowed to die without any convincing explanation on the part of the EFCC.

The EFCC refused to investigate widespread allegations of corruption against Andy Uba, a powerful aide to President Obasanjo and ultimately the PDP candidate for Governor of Anambra State, even after he was caught by US customs officials attempting to smuggle $170,000 in cash into the United States on board Nigeria’s presidential jet.

The EFCC made no real attempt to investigate credible allegations that officials in the presidency attempted to bribe members of the National Assembly into voting in favor of Obasanjo’s abortive attempt at changing the constitution to allow himself a third term in office.

Where the EFCC did exercise its power under Obasanjo, it was often for the purpose of coercing individuals into acquiescing to the will of the presidency. In Anambra State, for example, PDP officials combined bribery with the threat of EFCC investigation to coerce legislators into impeaching opposition Governor Peter Obi. One of the legislators involved, who ultimately yielded to the demands being made of him, said “The way we see it, the EFCC, it has nothing to do with whether you have committed any offense or not. They will come and arrest a person for any reason and keep him behind bars until he succumbs to what they want him to do.”155 Similar situations reportedly surrounded the impeachment of Bayelsa State governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha and attempts at impeaching several other PDP Governors seen as hostile to the Presidency......http://nigerians4change.com/2014/11/27/the-obasanjo-era-selective-use-of-anti-corruption-institutions/

Kwankwaso-declaresMany opposition party members, including numerous other Nigerians, seem to have the erroneous notion that the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential ticket is just for the picking by General Muhammadu Buhari. Many politicians, partisans and pundits have said this much; repeatedly, they have reinforced the impression in the media that GMB, to use his acronym, is a towering leader in the opposition party, who was one of the founding fathers of the APC in February last year when ACN, CPC, ANPP and a faction of APGA morphed into the new party. Another factor, they often cite to buttress this claim about his invincibility at the forthcoming APC primary election is the fact that he was able to garner more than 12 million votes in the 2011 presidential election, during his third attempt, in addition to a cult-like following in the northern part of the country. But how correct are these permutations and calculations in the face of the present Nigerian political situation? Could these veteran politicians and pundits be wrong in view of the fluid nature of politics and politicking, especially in this clime?

Before advancing reasons for such probable wrong-headedness, it is important to pose this caveat: that this article is neither intended to lampoon GMB’s foibles nor is it about judging his tenure as a former military head of state; an argument many have used against him to claim that as a former dictator he does not fit into the present democratic framework. However, this is a commentary about the seeming naivety of his present campaign which is largely hinged on the projection of his Spartan and puritanical persona; and about him being the only aspirant with the wand that can solve Nigeria’s problems through mere proclamations. This approach is not only politically self-serving but ignores the dynamics of the Nigerian political vortex along with its dexterously enlightened practitioners. These constituents cannot be taken for granted. They are clever, tricky and discerning and need to be properly understood for any aspiring politician to succeed.

All this put in context, my wager is that GMB loyalists should brace up for an outcome that may not be pleasant, a likelihood that their principal, GMB, may be on the verge of defeat at the primary; albeit not because he is not loved by party members or that the APC leadership is wont to betray or dump him. No! The essential reason for this imminent failure can be factored into GMB, the candidate, himself. How? This article will answer this question by examining three critical factors that may eventually determine who gets the APC presidential nomination and why GMB may not be the nominee, however, unpleasant it may sound to his admirers. Politics is pragmatic, not dogmatic.

For instance, it is politically suicidal, as widely reported in the media, that it only dawned on GMB as recent as November 19, 2014, less than 20 days to the convention during which delegates will pick APC presidential candidate, for him to be convinced of the need to set up a committee to raise fund for his campaign. This is an awkward joke in this highly monetized political clime and particularly in a contest where there are other competent aspirants fiercely gunning for the nomination. Though unfortunate, the truth is that aspirants fund members and parties in Nigeria, not the other way round. Money, plenty of it, is an integral part of our politics. Thus, this belated effort of GMB to raise campaign fund, coupled with the tales of his proverbial lean wallet would only reinforce the perception that the retired general is a ‘perpetual broker’. Translation: If he cannot fund his primary campaign, who the hell will unlock his or her vault for his general election campaign? This is the number one count against him. So, his numerous supporters should know that their hero scores zero in the first critical political game called war chest, notwithstanding that he was once an army general.

The second important point to note, and which is also crucial is the lack of the intense interactive and personal cultivation of relationship between GMB and the delegates to the convention. The GMB group celebrates the fact that their principal has a cult-like crowd of supporters, which many people claim is consigned to the northern part of the country, but the truth remains that this crowd is not the delegates. The delegates are just a few thousand elected and appointed members from all the 36 states and the FCT that need to be courted, convinced and persuaded to buy into the candidature of any of the aspirants.

Unfortunately, the GMB campaign machine has not covered much ground in this critical turf. The campaign has failed to move its principal around to meet, mix and mingle with these key members of the convention electorate scattered all over the country. This issue goes beyond making press releases; or setting up delegates to meet with GMB’s proxies, it requires GMB himself, the aspirant to personally engage the delegates in face-to-face meetings, articulating his positions on issues of national and local importance, knowing the likes and dislikes of delegates, understanding the programme priority of their constituencies and at times knowing them by their first names. That is to say there is a need to cultivate rapport, intimacy and goodwill with them.

Is GMB doing this? Has he ever done this? Reports say he is not that chummy and that he is not personally reaching out to this critical convention category. May be he is not used to this political habit of camaraderie. For example, during his three previous outings as presidential candidate in 2003, 2007 and 2011 he had the tickets given to him without going through any primary. So, again, his score sheet in the second critical political campaign test called, connecting with delegates is in the red.

What pundits and analysts should note is that this relationship building is of significance in the APC today than ever as the party has no block of governors influential enough to compel delegates from their respective states to vote en masse one way or the other at the convention. The convention is billed to provide a level plain field for all aspirants, a soft phrase for a free-for-all contest; a veritable ground for political horse-trade.

The third problem facing his campaign team is the lack of a well-articulated policy document on how to identify and proffer solutions to Nigeria’s myriad problems. Often, what are churned out by members of his campaign team are copious excerpts from the manifesto of the APC which in itself is not a bad idea. But a serious contender needs to go further by drawing up a distinct policy framework of his own vision, though embedded in the ideological spectrum of his party, as an indication of his preparedness to solve priority problems facing the nation that is presently enmeshed in disorder and chaos. Perhaps, to fill this gap, the GMB team has turned his acclaimed zeal to end corruption into a boring campaign refrain, always recalling his ‘no-nonsense’ war-against indiscipline (WAI) to cow the population when he was a military head of state between 1983 and 1985.

But the GMB team should be reminded that this is a different political climate demanding dexterity and not decrees. A democratic, 21st Nigeria definitely should have no place for such ancient governance template. It would have been more relevant if Nigerians are told about his plans to waddle through the complex and complicated political waters of Nigeria. No one from his team, not even GMB himself, has clearly and succinctly given good answer to this recurring issue. By now and from experience, GMB ought to know that putting forward a well-defined, thoughtful and comprehensive policy programme on such issues as infrastructure, power; unemployment, corruption, insecurity and numerous others, is a demand of serious leadership. Such a document has to be GMB’s contract with Nigeria. So, the GMB campaign has not done well in the third crucial political campaign game called social contract with the Nigerian people, or with the APC convention delegates. This is like a case of a student enrolled for a test but fails to turn in his paper at the end of the examination. What does the teacher grade? Nothing!

If all these factors are carefully weighed by the delegates, which many of them are wont to do, the result of the APC presidential primary may at the end be a landslide for the former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar. The fact is that the former number two man may not enjoy the rabble-rousing prowess of GMB but on the three critical counts above, Atiku towers head and shoulders above GMB, both of who are the main contenders for the APC presidential ticket.

For instance, among all the APC presidential aspirants, Atiku is the only one that has the financial muscle to competently match incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan, the obvious PDP candidate during the general election. Atiku has over the years through uncommon entrepreneurial investing accumulated abundant wealth to be able to deploy adequate war chest for the election. Secondly, Atiku is a seasoned pro in presidential primaries. He has been in the game since the early 1990s. He was an active participant in the days of SDP and NRC. He is on a familiar home ground and for a person of his knack for building relationships and budding friendships the intrigues of primary politics is not new.

Hear Atiku on this critical issue in a recent interview he granted The Cable online newspaper: “As of today, among the five of us who are going to participate in the primaries I am the only one who is running around the country. Nobody else is doing that. Nowadays delegates have become more enlightened than before. Most of them are very educated and most of them want to engage their candidates in discussions on what is it they have for them, for the electorate and for party. If they have not seen you, not to talk of interacting with you, how would they vote for you?”
On the third factor of having a social contract with the electorate, Atiku is also miles ahead of others. He has shown that he is someone who is prepared to lead, someone who has done his homework. As at today, he is the only APC aspirant who has prepared a comprehensive policy document on how to bring about the needed change in the polity. This policy document has been subjected to public scrutiny, debated and dissected by experts at a summit held at the Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta between October 27 and 28, 2014.

The gathering attracted more than 50 experts; its opening ceremony was open to the media, and the summit itself was presided over by the Director General of the 2015 Atiku Presidential Campaign Organisation, Professor Babalola Borishade, himself an acclaimed political master strategist. The policy document meticulously identified eight priority areas namely, employment generation and wealth creation, infrastructure and power development, human and capital development, security and social cohesion and citizens and governance. Others are agriculture and food security, re-integration and regeneration of disadvantaged areas (this is especially for Delta and North-east regions) and anti-corruption and accountability. No wonder Atiku has been described by his peers, politicians from different political tendencies and pundits as the most prepared aspirant among the lot, including the incumbent, who came to power following the unfortunate death of his boss, President Umaru Musa Yar’Ádua.

To be fair to others, Sam Nda-Isaiah also an APC presidential aspirant has articulated a prosaic memo on his vision for Nigeria, but it is more of fluff than stuff; a document far less profound and comprehensive than what Atiku has done. As for the time a comprehensive GMB policy paper will be available for public discourse, my hunch is, it is still like waiting for Godot, to use the title of Samuel Beckett’s absurdist play.

Nigerians should learn to hold their so-called leaders responsible for restiveness and violence in the country. History has shown that many of the deadly atrocities committed in the society were instigated by loose utterances of public officials that were saddled with authoritative power to protect the people. But since they have little or nothing to lose, they risk the lives of the common man to hedge their selfish interests.

Sadly, this hasn’t changed and continues unchecked. One of such unscrupulous public officials that is notorious for making spiteful statements is Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi. Besides constantly hurling insults at the President and the first lady of Nigeria, Amaechi has been making vitriolic and caustic statements that are capable of inciting violence....http://nigerians4change.com/2014/11/20/rotimi-amaechi-the-new-apostle-of-violence/

LEON USIGBE reviews the recent Presidential Public Affairs Forum organised to enable key ministers to showcase to the public some of the major achievements by the President Goodluck Jonathan administration over the last three and a half years.

WITH the 2015 general election edging ever closer, the pace of political activities has naturally intensified, with major stakeholders seeking ways to curry the favour of the electorate. While the opposition is trying to unseat President Goodluck Jonathan at the poll in 2015, the government is fighting back in the best way it thinks it can remain in the good books of the citizens, showcasing the results of its efforts in the last three and half years.http://nigerians4change.com/2014/11/18/jonathans-ministers-and-their-performance/

Whether APC likes i or not? they will continue to be on-looker

THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) has been thrown into disarray, following this week’s declaration for next year’s presidential election by President Goodluck Jonathan, which the party said, was enjoying the support of the majority of Nigerians.

The ruling party said in a statement issued by its national publicity secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, in Abuja, on Thursday, that “Tuesday’s landmark declaration by President Jonathan, the overwhelming support shown by Nigerians and catalogue of unprecedented verifiable achievements marshaled out have thrown the APC into confusion.”http://nigerians4change.com/2014/11/14/apc-in-disarray-over-jonathans-declaration-pdp/

We are equipping the armed forces and deploying special forces to engage the terrorist and end this senseless war. We must protect our country. We must save our people. I will do everything humanly possible to end this criminal violence in our Nation.

To ensure the long term stability and development of the affected areas, government has launched three programmes: The Presidential Initiative for the North East, the Victim Support Fund and the Safe School Initiative. The Presidential Initiative for the Northeast is focused on improving infrastructure and economic growth in the region. The Safe School Initiative is centred on creating a safe environment to encourage our children in the communities to acquire education. The Victim Support Fund, a partnership with the Private Sector, has raised about 60 billion Naira, which will help to empower and rehabilitate victims of terror. I promise the victims of these dastardly acts that we will continue to stand with you.....http://nigerians4change.com/2014/11/13/war-against-boko-haram-president-goodluck-jonathan/

It's simple if you ask me. If you want to know a great leader, check how well criticism thrived under him/her. Let’s xray 2 Nigerian leaders randomly; Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari.
Jonathan’s number one critic, Nasir el Rufai. Buhari’s number one critic, Fela Anikulapo Kuti.
Response to criticism.
Buhari, silenced, jailed and tortured Kuti for months.
Jonathan forgave El Rufai when he was barred from holding public offices by the Senate during Yar’adua. He brought him back from exile and allowed him to walk free. He was only invited for questioning by the SSS when he made violent inciting statements. He went free after some hours and remains free to this moment. When El Rufai’s son died, Jonathan sent his condolence.
Choose wisely people. Fela Kuti remains our hero and whoever tried to silence him is our enemy. If you hold Mr. Kuti as a hero, Buhari has got to be your enemy. We know and uphold baba Kuti for his courageous criticism of dictators. We cannot hold him in high esteem and still hold those dictators in similar light.

Ride on my Mr President,it is people like you we need in this country not dictators with no forgiven spirit

Continue your good works Mr President

Why I Deserve Another Term, By Goodluck Jonathan

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Address by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR On the Occasion of His Declaration of Intent to Run for the 2015 Presidential Elections under the Platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Eagle Square, Abuja

Tuesday 11th November, 2014

Dear Compatriots:

Four years ago, precisely September 18, 2010; I stood in this Eagle Square, to offer myself for election as the President of our beloved country on the platform of our great party; the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Seven months after that declaration, you elected me to lead this country with overwhelming support from all parts of our Nation. I remain grateful for the trust you reposed in me to lead our Nation through uncommon challenges in our march of progress as a united and democratic country.
Over the years, the Almighty God has made it possible for me to develop a bond with you and I am grateful for your support and understanding in the difficult periods we have journeyed through.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, our stewardship has not been without challenges. We have had to deal with the wave of insurgency that has swept through some parts of our dear country. Only yesterday, Government Science Secondary School in Yobe State was bombed by insurgents, killing our promising young children who were seeking education to build the country and support their parents. Many Nigerians have lost their lives and property to these mindless killings. Let me crave the indulgence of all present here to stand up to observe a minutes silence in honour of these young lads who lost their lives. Clearly, this has cast a dark cloud on our Nation but we will surely win the war against terror. A number of young men and women have been kidnapped by these criminal elements including our daughters from Chibok. We will free our daughters and defeat terrorism.
We are equipping the armed forces and deploying special forces to engage the terrorist and end this senseless war. We must protect our country. We must save our people. I will do everything humanly possible to end this criminal violence in our Nation.
To ensure the long term stability and development of the affected areas, government has launched three programmes: The Presidential Initiative for the North East, the Victim Support Fund and the Safe School Initiative. The Presidential Initiative for the Northeast is focused on improving infrastructure and economic growth in the region. The Safe School Initiative is centred on creating a safe environment to encourage our children in the communities to acquire education. The Victim Support Fund, a partnership with the Private Sector, has raised about 60 billion Naira, which will help to empower and rehabilitate victims of terror. I promise the victims of these dastardly acts that we will continue to stand with you.
I am grateful to all Nigerians for standing with me.
Let me also thank the leaders and elders of our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party, for the opportunity you have given to me to serve our country, Nigeria.
I am overwhelmed by the trust, confidence and support of the various organs of our party, the Board of Trustees, the National Caucus, the National Executive Committee, the National Working Committee, the PDP Governors Forum, members of the PDP Caucuses of the National Assembly, and others..........http://nigerians4change.com/2014/11/11/full-text-of-president-jonathans-declaration-speech/