NBA Opposes Death Penalty For Corruption-related Offences

Nigerian Bar Association has opposed the introduction of the death penalty for corruption-related offences.

Instead, it proposed longer prison terms without any option of fine for those convicted of graft.

The NBA President, Mr. Okey Wali (SAN), stated this on Sunday in Abuja on the occasion of the International Anti-Corruption Day.

He said, “No penalty can be considered too severe for those convicted of corruption and corrupt practices.

“As human rights advocates, we are opposed to death penalty for those convicted of corruption.

14 PDP Governors Ask Bamanga Tukur To Go

It has emerged that the embattled national chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, may be on his way out as governors elected on the party’s platform last night asked the north-east caucus of the party to shop for an immediate replacement.

This was part of the resolutions reached at the meeting of the governors at the Akwa Ibom Governor’s Lodge in Asokoro and the position was to be presented to President Goodluck Jonathan as the governors headed straight for the presidential villa for another round of meeting on how to resolve the lingering crisis in the party. The meeting between the PDP governors and the president would set in motion machinery to elect a new national chairman from the North-east geo- political zone.

Bariga APC Financial Secretary Found Dead in His Office

The All Progressives Congress, APC, in Bariga, Lagos State was thrown into mourning on Monday when one of its own, Pastor Abiodun Adeboyejo, popularly known as JP, was found dead in his Akinramola Street office, Bariga, Lagos State, western Nigeria.

Until his demise, he was the party’s Financial Secretary in that area. Some residents who spoke to PM News at the scene of his mysterious death said he was hail and hearty on Saturday evening when he exchanged pleasantries with friends in the vicinity.

How Adeyemi Ikuforiji Spent ₦25m on Wife’s Orderly, Others

An Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s prosecution witness, Adeniyi Adebayo, on Monday narrated before a Federal High Court, Lagos, how the Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, collected millions of naira in cash from the House under various headings.

Adebayo did the narration while continuing his testimony at the ongoing trial of Ikuforiji and his personal assistant, Oyebode Atoyebi, for alleged money laundering.

Both Ikuforiji and Atoyebi are being prosecuted by the EFCC for 54 counts of recieving over ₦600m from the Lagos State House of Assembly without passing through a financial institution between April 2010 and July 2011.

Adebayo, an EFCC investigator, commenced his testimony on November 21, before Justice Ibrahim Buba.

Gov. Oshiomhole Shares Coffee with “Go & Die” Widow, Gives Her ₦2 million [PHOTO]

Call it medicine after death or damage control measures – one thing that is certain is Mrs Joy Ifile’s life would never remain the same again.

Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole this morning invited the widow he told to ‘go and die’, Mrs Joy Ifile to the State house where he gave her an automatic job and also donated the sum of ₦2m to her. The Governor invited her to his office, so that he could personally apologise to her.  In his words, Oshiomhole said;

“Let me apologise to you for the way I spoke to you. I am very sorry about the statement. I have also realised that even in anger, one could still achieve the same result that he set out to without provocative outburst. I apologise from the bottom of my heart, but sometimes you get angry when people compromise your efforts.”

Malawian President Donates Money She Received From Nigeria To Victims of 2011 Shootings

Malawian President, Joyce Hilda Banda has proved once again that leadership is not just about self-aggrandisement but being responsible to the followers and the same time making needful sacrifices.

The 63-year-old leader recently donated the sum of $75,000 to victims of July 20, 2011 shootings in which 20 people died and several others injured in her country.

"My heart goes out to all of you who were affected by the shootings on 20 July 2011. I know you face a lot of challenges following the loss of your loved ones some of whom were breadwinners for their families," she said.

FIRS Chairman must be a Northerner – Northern Governors Forum

Despite pleas from President Goodluck Jonathan, the Northern Governors Forum are bent on rejecting Mfon Akpan as Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the governors are insisting the position must be filled with a northerner.

After a meeting of the Northern Governors forum on Saturday, the senators vowed to resist the appointment of President Jonathan's nominee as it allegedly violated the Federal Character principle.

A senator who spoke anonymously said, “We are united this time round on the FIRS slot going to the North, after the South-south has occupied it for almost 10 years.

“Also, on merit, we want to know why the acting FIRS Chairman, Kabir Mashi, who had shot up the revenue of the agency from above ₦3.4 trillion to about ₦6 trillion, is not qualified.

Asari Dokubo Arrested in Benin Republic

A former Niger Delta militant, Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, was arrested in Cotonou, Benin Republic, Tuesday Afternoon by Beniniose police also known as gendarmes.

According to a statement released by Mr. Dokubo-Asari’s counsel, Festus Keyamo, the former militant who also owns a university in the West African neighbouring country, was picked up sometimes between 1 and 2 p.m. around the Lubeleyi roundabout and taken to an unknown destination.

“We want to emphasise that Alhaji Dokubo-Asari carries on legitimate business and has been living partly in Benin Republic for many years now. In fact, he owns houses, schools and an academy in that country,” a statement by Mr. Keyamo read.

Mr. Keyamo also stated that Mr. Dokubo-Asari’s detention is politically motivated and a bid by unidentified individual working with the Beninoise authorities to “keep him away as 2015 approaches.”

Gunmen attacked Stella Oduah – FCT Police Command

The FCT Police Command on Monday in Abuja confirmed that gunmen fired shots at the car of the Minister of Aviation, Ms Stella Oduah in Abuja.

A Police Public Relations Officer, Altine Daniel, told the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, that the incident occurred at about 10 p.m. on Friday, adding that the Minister was not in the car when the incident happened.

Ms. Daniel, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, however, said that the incident was reported to the police Monday evening at about 5:30 p.m.

Confirming the incident, the minister’s spokesperson, Joe Obi claimed that the shooting took place at Ministers’ Hill in Maitama area of the Federal capital territory, Abuja.

It was not clear if the vehicle was the Minister’s private car, or an official one, but Ms. Daniel also said Ms. Oduah was not in the vehicle when the incident took place.

Nigerian Traders and Shop Owners To Be Chased Out Of Zimbabwe Come Jan 1 2014

This is obviously not the best of times for Nigerian retailers and shop owners plying their trade in African countries.

Last year, Nigerian retailers and petty traders were asked to close shop in Ghana because petty trading by Ghanaian law is reserved for Ghanaians.

Well, this time around the government of Zimbabwe is set to arrest Nigerian and Chinese retailers unless they close shop by the end of the year.

According to a report by newzimbabwe.com, the Permanent secretary for Zimbabwe’s empowerment ministry, George Magosvongwe, told a Parliamentary committee that the government would enforce regulations which reserve certain sectors of the economy to Zimbabweans on January 1, 2014.

Oke Ndigbo vows to release list of 242 public officers who own armoured cars

A group, Oke Ndigbo, has threatened to release a list of about 242 public officers in Nigeria, who use about 312 armoured cars, to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC.

Its threat came against the backdrop of the case involving Aviation Minister, Princess Oduah, who was fingered in the purchase of two armoured cars by Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA.

The group lamented the virulence of the attacks on the minister by people from the South-West zone, since the armoured car debacle became public knowledge.

In a statement by its National Co-ordinator, Mr Jude Nworah, the group said that the South-West has 38 percent  or 118 of such cars, adding that the first government official in the first four years of this Republic to import armoured Mercedes Benz Jeep into the country was a former governor from the zone.

My book will reveal who killed Dele Giwa – Bashorun

Former Chief Press Secretary to former military dictator, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd.), Major Debo Bashorun (rtd.), is back on the scene with a new book that promises to reveal some hidden chapters in the nation’s history.

To most Nigerians who were witnesses to the events that followed the murder of the founder of Nweswatch Magazine, Dele Giwa, via a parcel bomb, Major Debo Bashorun’s name must ring a bell.

Now retired from the Army, the erstwhile Chief Press Secretary to former military dictator, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd.), has written a new book that seeks to unravel the identities of Giwa’s killers and the circumstances that led to the controversial assassination.

I’ll never return to Gov. Chime again – Wife

Mrs. Clara Chime on Monday left the Government House in Enugu claiming she had been under pressure to remain as wife of the Enugu State Governor, Sullivan Chime.

She said she would have walked away from the marriage during the period Chime was sick and was away for five months, but remained on “very compassionate grounds.”

Mrs. Chime said her thinking was that the sickness would change the governor’s ways towards her but that he got worse months after his return from cancer treatment abroad.

According to her, on many occasions she attempted to leave but her family members, for pecuniary reasons, insisted she stayed put.

She said even when it was apparent that Chime no longer wanted the marriage, her family would not let her go.

Why I re-called disengaged non-indigene civil servants” – Governor Orji

Orji made the explanation at the grand finale of the Enugu Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, press week held at the Top Rank Hotel, Enugu at the weekend.

He emphasised the unity of the Igbos of the South-East whose indigenes were mostly affected by the disengagement.

According to him, “It is only in Abia State among others in the South-East today that non-indigenes contest elections and win. Non-indigenes are being appointed into political positions in Abia. And so non indigenes should also take their rightful place in the civil service”.

Gov Chime Tells Why He Placed His Wife Under House Arrest

Enugu State Governor, Mr. Sullivan Chime, has defended the confinement of his wife, Clara, in the Government House, Enugu, saying he did it to protect her.

Chime, reacting to a petition by his wife to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in which she sought its intervention to free her from “unlawful custody”, told reporters in Enugu Tuesday night that the confinement was based on the advice of her personal doctor, Dr. Aham Agomuo, due to her peculiar health challenges in the last four years.

Chime spoke during an interaction with journalists in the Government House in the presence of his wife; Agomuo, a neuro-psychiatric expert; the governor's brother in-law, Tony Igwe, and the governor’s siblings, Mrs. May Oji and Dr. Jide Chime. Also present were the governor’s security detail.

Indians will be 'thrown out on the streets' if Nigerians are targeted – Nigerian Diplomat

A Nigerian consular official warned on Monday that thousands of Indians in his country will be "thrown out on the streets" if police doesn't stop evicting Nigerians from their rented homes in Goa.

Speaking to IANS after meeting members of the Nigerian community in Goa, bureaucrats and police officials over the last two days, consular attache Jacob Nwadadia said the Goa government had until 9 pm on Monday to stop the illegal eviction process.

"There are only 50,000 Nigerians living in India but there are over one million Indians living in Nigeria. Thousands of Indians living there will be thrown out on the streets if forcible eviction of Nigerians in Goa does not stop," Jacob said.

The official said Nigeria was five hours behind Indian Standard Time and that there would be time for the Nigerian government to order action against Indians living there.

The Goa government has ordered a crackdown on all foreigners living in this tourism hub after a bitter clash between a mob of over 200 Nigerians on one side and police and locals on the other.

Man arrested for planting explosive under Delta speaker’s seat

The police in Delta State have arrested a man in connection with the explosion that rocked the seat of speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Victor Ochei, at a political meeting in the state at the weekend.

Two cannons exploded at the venue of the meeting at Obomkpa, Aniocha North Council Area of the state, while the speaker was acknowledging cheers from well wishers at the venue.

The seat of the speaker was specially clothed along with other special guests.

Nigerian Tribune gathered that Ochei’s seat was thrown meters up while a lady close by had her legs shattered.

The lady, identified as a personal assistant to a bishop of a new generation church in Asaba, was rushed to Delta State University Teaching Hospital, Oghara, for treatment.

Police Disrupt Rebel Governors’ Meeting in Abuja (PHOTOS)

Policemen drafted from the Asokoro Area Command in Abuja disrupted a meeting by five of the seven aggrieved governors of the Peoples Democratic Party in Abuja on Sunday night.

The policemen were led by the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the command, Mr. Nnanna Ama.

According to reports, CSP Nnanna Ama, in orange polo shirt barges into the G7 governors meeting with some officers and asked the governors and others at the meeting to disperse or be arrested.

The rebel governors were at the Kano State Governor’s Lodge to meet on their grievances against the PDP and how to marshall their points ahead of their planned meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan.

Oby Ezekwesili blasts politicians - Says ‘Nigerian masses are like abused wives’

Former Minister of Education and former World Bank Vice-President Africa Division, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, has said the relationship between Nigerian citizens and their political elite is like that between an ‘abused wife’ and her husband. But in what looks like a veiled call to action, the former minister seems to attribute Nigerians’ governance-induced suffering to their docility.

“The relationship between citizens of Nigeria and their political elites is like the one between an abused wife and her husband. A people that too quickly forget and move on to the next salacious exploits of their political elite are their own nemesis!” She said.

In separate tweets on her Twitter handle, Mrs. Ezekwesili expressed her disdain for how the present crop of leaders run the Nigerian economy, saying: “Not even grocery shops run their affairs like this… such vagrant public finance management is contemptuous of citizens.

Senate threatens to stop SURE-P allocation

The Senate, on Wednesday, threatened to henceforth stop appropriating fund to the Subsidy Reinvestment Empowerment Programme (SURE-P).

Senate Ad hoc Committee on SURE-P issued the threat, saying some ministers have persistently refused to honour invitations to them to render accounts of their stewardship in their various ministries.

Addressing newsmen, chairman of the committee, Senate Leader Abdul Ningi, particularly took exception to the failure of the Minister of Works, Mr Mike Onolememen, to appear before the committee on Wednesday.

He said what the minister and his team did amount to crass lawlessness, adding that President Goodluck Jonathan had appointed wrong people into public offices.