Nigeria’s former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo is believed to be strategizing to free the 275 female students of the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok in Borno state by Boko Haram on April 14 even as he is worried that President Goodluck Jonathan’s decision to bring in Western military help, including the United States has compromised Nigeria’s prestige in Africa as a major continental power.

Obasanjo is said to have met with the relatives of some senior Boko Haram fighters as well as intermediaries and the former president. The meeting was held in his farm in Ota, Ogun state.
sources at the meeting who would not want their names in prints hinted that the meeting was focused on how to free the girls through negotiation.

According to the sources, Obasanjo is in support of a prisoner-for-hostage swap that would see some of the girls released in exchange for a group of Boko Haram fighters held in Nigerian custody.
As a private citizen whose ties to the presidency have been damaged, Obasanjo does not have the authority to negotiate any deal on the government’s behalf.
The government, which has officially ruled out a prisoner swap, sent intermediaries to meet Boko Haram in the northeast to negotiate for the girls’ release.
The source identified one of the envoys as Ahmad Salkida, a journalist with ties to Boko Haram who had been close to Yusuf before his death.
“There was contact but it was bungled by the government,” according to the source, saying Jonathan backed away from the deal after returning from a security conference in Paris earlier this month.

The former leader, who left office in 2007, has previously sought to negotiate with the insurgents, including in September 2011 after Boko Haram bombed the United Nations headquarters in Abuja.
Then, he flew to the Islamists’ base in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital and met with the relatives of former Boko Haram leader, Mohammed Yusuf, who was killed in police custody in 2009.
The 2011 talks did not help stem the violence and some at the time doubted if Obasanjo was dealing with people who were legitimately capable of negotiating a ceasefire.
The sources said that Obasanjo felt concern about Nigeria’s acceptance of foreign military personnel to help rescue the girls.
“He said he is worried that Nigeria’s prestige in Africa as a major continental power has been diminished” by President Goodluck Jonathan’s decision to bring in Western military help, including from the United States.

Envoys met Boko Haram

Mustapha Zanna, the lawyer who helped organize Obasanjo’s 2011 talks with Boko Haram, said he was at the former president’s home on Saturday.
But he declined to discuss whether the Chibok abductions were on the agenda.
“I was there,” he said, adding that Obasanjo was interested in helping orphans and vulnerable children in Nigeria’s embattled northeast and that possible charitable work was on the agenda.
Zanna had represented Yusuf’s family in a wrongful death lawsuit filed against the government following his death in police custody.
It was not clear if Obasanjo’s weekend meeting had been sanctioned by the government.

The conference saw Nigeria and its neighbors vow greater co-operation to tackle Boko Haram because of the potential threat to regional stability. [myad]

A High Court sitting in Port Harcourt on Monday struck out the application filed by the Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, seeking an order of perpetual injunction to prevent members of the State House of Assembly from impeaching him saying it was neither here nor there.

The trial judge, Justice Gabriel Omereji maintained that the matter is not justiceable because the governor Amaechi failed to disclose the facts after declaring that the state chairman and secretary of the PDP were planning with lawmakers of the State House of Assembly to impeach him.

The judge had earlier in October 2013, dismissed the originating summons brought by counsel for the governor, Mr. Beluolisa Nwofor (SAN), on the grounds that it (originating summons) was hostile even as he ordered that the matter be brought under a statement of claim.

However, counsel for the five anti-Amaechi lawmakers, Mr. Dike Udenna, said, in a counter-affidavit of the statement of claim, that the court could not reverse itself on a matter it on which it had ruled in the past.

Udenna also argued that the order of the court had yet to be vacated by an Appellate Court.

He stated that the claimants had not been able to prove that the State PDP Chairman, Mr. Felix Obuah and Secretary, Mr. Ibibia Opuene, respectively, were working with lawmakers of the State House of Assembly to impeach the governor.

According to him, the application by the claimants is speculative, hypothetical and an academic exercise, which should be struck out.

Ruling on the matter, Justice Omereji granted Udenna’s submissions, describing the suit as speculative, hypothetical and unfit for judicial consideration, just as he declined awarding any cost on the ruling.

Joined in the suit as first set of defendants are the Rivers State House of Assembly and Speaker, Mr. Otelemaba Dan-Amachree. [myad]

An Igbo group in Nigeria, Ndigbo Unity Forum (NUF) has asked President Goodluck Jonathan to hold himself responsible if his government collapnses and for the escalation of the insurgency in parts of the country.

The President of Ndigbo the group, Augustine Chukwudum, who reacted to President Jonathan’s assertion on Sunday that some people are trying to bring down his government by using Boko Haram Islamic sect said that the President has been too lenient and slow in acting to stem danger.

Chukwudum admitted though that Jonathan was not the originator of the Boko Haram crisis, but that he has continue to fail to act as the Commander-in-Chief.

“He has not brought the military to do their duty as they ought. Let him do the right thing and the Boko Haram issue will die naturally. We have said it long ago that a former governor of Borno State should be arrested and prosecuted for his role in propping up Boko Haram, but government has failed to do this.”

The NUF president said that the military too should be indicted for their failure to bring the religious sect under control. [myad]

Ms. Jumoke Akindele has emerged as the first female of the Ondo State House of Assembly. Akindele is representing Okitipupa Constituency II.

She was elected by a majority vote at the state House of Assembly session in Akure this morning. She polled Thirteen (13) votes

Akindele, who is a lawyer by profession, was until her election , the Chairman, House Committee on Education in the house. [myad]

The Nigeria ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has raised alarm over what it called attempts by the main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) to truncate the democracy by constantly abusing President Goodluck Jonathan.
PDP alleged that the leadership of the opposition has carefully laid-out plot to cause confusion and ultimately truncate the nation’s democracy.
In a statement in Abuja today by the National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, PDP said: “in continuously hauling insults against a democratically elected President upon whose shoulders lies the sacred mandate freely given by the Nigerian people, the APC is directly insulting Nigerians and showing their disdain for the institution of democracy.
“They have continued to show themselves as extremely unpatriotic elements blinded by narrow pursuit of power for very ignoble reasons for which they have contracted foreigners to undermine the government of their own nation, using negative paid write-ups and advertorials to dish out lies and vituperations against the Federal Government.”
Metuh said that the constant criticism of actions taken by President Jonathan on the insecurity situation in the country by the opposition political party, is aimed at denigrating the Presidency.
He said that PDP had carefully taken stock of the alleged insults, vituperations, lies and unending schemes by the APC against the office and person of President Jonathan.
“The National Chairman and the National Working Committee of the PDP find it very disturbing that the APC leadership, made up of elderly persons who ordinarily should have a sense of self respect and decorum, could condescend so low and resort to the use of uncouth language against the office and person of the President out of sheer frustration, bitterness and envy.”
Metuh said that having realised that it would never be elected into the Presidency, APC members are now using every means to denigrate and desecrate the presidency, bring it to public ridicule, poison the minds of the people and incite them against the government and set the ground for confusion and mayhem ahead of the 2015 elections.
He added that in constantly criticizing every strategy adopted by the President in the war against terrorism, the APC has not only confirmed its preference for insurgency, but also exposed its underlying design to distract the government and frustrate the overall anti-terrorism efforts.
He called on Nigerians to note that APC has nothing to offer other than to attack well-meaning individuals and institutions of governments and sow the seeds of discord among peace loving people ot the country.
“Theirs is clearly a question of the evil drummer who drums under the cover of the bush only to jump unto the footpath and mount enquiry regarding where the drumbeats came from.
“Let it be known to the APC that power belongs only to God and that those who denigrate and disrespect authority at any level will never be entrusted with it. In constantly insulting the President, the APC has shown that they will remain in opposition as no Nigerian will entrust ill-mannered and disrespectful persons with the leadership of our great country.
“The APC must realize that they have started irritating Nigerians. As a ruling party, we charge them to show maturity and shed their penchant for lies, deceit and unnecessary attacks on well meaning individual, government officials and institutions.”
Metuh said that the ruling party on its part would remain committed to the national interest and the welfare of Nigerians and that it would continue to stand solidly behind the President.

[myad]

Nigeria Supreme Court has shown an open anger towards a renowned Nigeria lawyer, Dr. Dickson Osuala who has been asked to cough out the sum of N8 million for what the court termed an abuse of the process of the apex court. Dr. Dickson is counsel to Chief Great Ogboru who contested the 2011 Delta state governorship election under the canopy of the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP).

The N8 million, which the court said must come from the personal pocket of the lawyer, is to be shared amongst the Delta state governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Attorney General of the Federation. Each of them will get N2 million.

The Supreme Court, in an unanimous ruling today, by seven Justices, said the‎ case instituted by Osuala on behalf of Ogboru amounted to an affront on the nation’s judiciary as well as an abuse of the court process.

The court said that the N8 million is awarded as cost against the person of Dr. Dickson Osuala and is to be paid from his pocket to the respondents.

Ogboru, through his counsel, had unsuccessfully tried to get the Supreme Court to reopen his case challenging the election of Dr. Uduaghan as governor in the 2011 gubernatorial election in the state.

It is the third time the DPP standard bearer will be making such a move. But the Supreme Court panel, presided over by Justice Walter Onoghene, blamed Dr. Osuala for not advising his client rightly and embarking on a clear case of gross abuse of the court‎ process.

The N8 million slammed on Dr. Osuala is for the said abuse and a deterrent to others who may attempt a similar move in future.

The justices further noted that Ogboru, through his counsel, wanted to resurrect a dead and buried horse and warned that this would be the last time such a case should brought before the court.

In a reaction at the end of the hearing, Dr. Uduaghan, through the Secretary to the Delta State Government, Comrade Ovuozourie Macaulay, said the case and all such divisive battles were of God‎ to deal with accordingly.

Uduaghan said that today’s ruling is a vindication that no man can fight God, hoping that Ogboru and his ilk would have learnt a lesson and allow the state to move forward.

“Our case has always been in the hands of God. And like we said, God’s Case has no appeal. That is what the Supreme Court has affirmed today and we hope Ogboru and his people would have learnt a lesson and realised that it is time to allow the state to move forward.”