The Nigerian Army soldiers have recaptured Marte town in Borno state from Boko Haram fighters. The victory came after a 48-hour ultimatum given to the soldiers by the Chief of Army Staff, General Attahiru Ibrahim.
Mr. Ibrahim, a major-general, had on Sunday, February 20, give the frontline soldiers an ultimatum to recapture Marte town and other adjoining villages under the control of the terrorists. The villages under the terrorists control were; Kirenowa, Kirta, Wulgo and Ngala Local Government Area of the state.
According to the Army spokesman, Mohammed Yerima, soldiers reclaimed the territories of Marte after a fierce gun battle in the noon of today, February 23 from the insurgents who took over the town last week.
He said that soldiers of “Operation Lafiya Dole” killed several Boko Haram terrorists during the gunfight that ensued, after they detonating several Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) planted by the terrorists along the routes leading to the town.
“Nigerian Troops have successfully charged through Marte, killing scores of ISWAP/ Boko Haram Terrorists who laid siege in that area for some days.”
The statement said that the military took over the general area of the town after troops successfully detonated a series of IEDs planted along the route.
“New Marte effectively in our hands since 3pm. Our will and determination are unshaken. We are ever determined not to let our service chiefs and the nation down.”
Senator Smart Adeyemi, representing Kogi West in the Senate has defended the security measures put in place by Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State as against the lackluster performances of some governors in the country, one of who is the Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, describing him as a drunkard.
Smart Adeyemi, who was contributing to a motion on the urgent need for the restoration and revalidation of the Safe School initiative in Nigeria, said that Abia state people are unfortunate to be governed by a “champagne-drinking governor.”
The Senator, who supported the main motion, was responding to a social media post linked to the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, who is from Abia State, allegedly insulting State Yahaya Bello
Senator Smart Adeyemi commended some governors in their fight against insecurity, and advised them to do all that they can, because Nigeria is such a large nation that the Federal Government alone cannot police all the schools. ”Some governors are doing their best in tackling insecurity, we are lucky to have a governor who has taken the issue of security as a serious priority. We are bordered by nine states, but we had an experience of the unfortunate incidents that are happening in neighboring states. “Some governors are committed to the protection of their people, in my state the governor awarded contracts for the renovations of schools and provides security services to them. In some states of Nigeria today, where we have highly intelligent people, highly educated people, very enterprising people, like Abia, they are governed by drunkards. ”The governor of Abia is a champagne drinking man. Abia people are impoverished more than ever before. Abia people are unfortunate.” The Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan cautioned the lawmaker against the use of abusive language. And reacting to Senator Smart Adeyemi, Senate minority leader, Abaribe denied making the statement, Adeyemi made reference to. Senator Abaribe expressed shock over Adeyemi’s “drunkard” comment and urged him to apologize to Governor Okezie Ikpeazu. “Mr. President, I will like to make a clarification. Unfortunately, what has happened here today is one of the problems that you see on social media. I never made any comments on the governor of Kogi State. Never. “What has happened is what we see going on today. People write something and tag your name to it. And if you don’t ask question, you will not know whether you actually said it or not. And I see so many things tag to me but I don’t talk. The last time I saw Nuhu Ribadu, I also spoke to him. Something was tag to his name that was very deleterious. I’m very surprised that my good friend and colleague decided to open up on the governor of Abia for something I never said.”
The governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu has described Senator Smart Adeyemi, representing Kogi West in the Senate, as a man suffering from either a protracted case of mental illness or is battling with occasional fits of schizophrenia.
During a debate today, February 23, on a motion on how to protect schools across the country, Senator Smart Adeyemi had said that Abia State is governed by drunkard, saying that the Governor is a “champagne drinking Governor.”
Reacting in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Onyebuchi Ememanka, the governor said that it is difficult to believe that a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will reduce both himself and the institution of the Senate to such gutter level.
The statement read in part: “Our view is that the Senator is either suffering from a protracted case of mental illness or is battling with occasional fits of schizophrenia which manifests in making careless, dishonorable, unrelated and incoherent statements.
“This conclusion becomes irresistible judging from the total disconnect between the matter being discussed by the Senate and the comments made by the Senator as they affect the Governor.
“If Senator Adeyemi was of sound mind, he should have known that when it comes to education, Abia is miles ahead of his home State of Kogi. Indeed, not just in education but in every single area of development.
“If Senator Adeyemi had his faculties intact, he should have known that under the watch of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, Abia State has maintained first position in WAEC Examinations in the entire country for five years now. Kogi has not come close to the first 20. Never!
“Ever since Dr. Ikpeazu became Governor in Abia State, there hasn’t been one single case of attack on any school anywhere in Abia State.
“Senator Smart Adeyemi is clearly non compos mentis. If not, he would have known that while his State is still awarding contracts for the renovation of schools, Abia had long completed more than 500 classroom projects scattered across schools in Abia State, and still counting.
“It is obvious that Senator Adeyemi is battling with acute dementia and has lost every of his instincts as a journalist. If not, he would have known that just last week, the National Bureau of Statistics adjudged Abia State as No. 3 on the list of States that attracted foreign direct investments, with only Lagos and Abuja ahead of Abia State in the entire country. It takes much more than drinking champagne to guide a state from zero foreign investnents to No. 3 in the country. Kogi State featured prominently on the list of states that attracted zero investments. It is only a state that is peaceful and secure that has the capacity to attract such cross border investments.
“Some weeks ago, the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) branded Kogi State unsafe for their consistent lip service to the COVID-19 pandemic. Senator Adeyemi was never heard to have either responded to that statement by the NCDC or raise it on the floor of the Senate. Yet, he has the effontery, or rather, the buffonrey, to abuse a Governor whose state has maintained one of the lowest COVID-19 fatality rates in the country through proactive measures to protect our people. Between a Governor who has consistently denied the existence of Covid and the one who has put in place measures to protect his people, one wonders who is the drunkard.
“Let us even interrogate the statements of Senator Adeyemi further. According to him, his comments against Governor Okezie Ikpeazu were in response to some comments allegedly made by the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe against the Governor of Kogi State in a social media post.
“This response, without more, confirms that Senator Adeyemi is mentally unstable. If Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe made negative comments against the Governor of Kogi State, the proper approach was to respond to the Senator directly. Governor Okezie Ikpeazu cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, be vicariously liable for the comments allegedly made by Senator Abaribe. Interestingly, Senator Abaribe clearly denied ever making such comments against the Kogi State Governor.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu does not take alcoholic drinks and he is shocked at the schizophrenic outburts of Senator Adeyemi whom he has never met nor had any dealings whatsoever with officially nor privately.
“Governor Ikpeazu makes it abundantly clear to the Senator that save for the parliamentary privilege which he unfortunately enjoys, Senator Adeyemi would have been put to the strictest proof of his wild and senseless comments before a Court of Law.”
Governor Ikpeazu advised the Senator to quickly seek psychiatric help before his case becomes unmanageable.
Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele has said that the Bank’s decision to prohibit deposit money banks, non-banking institutions and Other Financial Institutions from facilitating trading and dealings in cryptocurrency is in the best interest of Nigerian depositors and the country’s financial system.
Emefiele, who spoke today, February 23 at a joint Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions; ICT and Cybercrime; and Capital Market, on its directive to institutions under its regulation, described the operations of cryptocurrencies as dangerous and opaque.
The CBN Governor said that the use of cryptocurrency contravened an existing law, adding that the fact that cryptocurrencies were issued by unregulated and unlicensed entities made it contrary to the mandate of the Bank, as enshrined in the CBN Act (2007) declaring the Bank as the issuer of legal tender in Nigeria.
Emefiele, who also differentiated between digital currencies, which Central Banks can issue and cryptocurrencies issued by unknown and unregulated entities, stressed that the anonymity, obscurity and concealment of cryptocurrencies made it suitable for those who indulge in illegal activities such as money laundering, terrorism financing, purchase of small arms and light weapons and tax evasion.
Citing instances of investigated criminal activities that had been linked to cryptocurrencies, he stated that the legitimacy of money and the safety of Nigeria’s financial system was central to the mandate of the CBN, even as he declared that “Cryptocurrency is not legitimate money” because it is not created or backed by any Central Bank.
“Cryptocurrency has no place in our monetary system at this time and cryptocurrency transactions should not be carried out through the Nigerian banking system,” he added.
Emefiele also emphasized that the Bank’s actions were not in any way, shape or form inimical to the development of FinTech or a technology-driven payment system. On the contrary, he noted that the Nigerian payment system had evolved significantly over the past decade, surpassing those of many of its counterparts in emerging, frontier and advanced economies boosted by reforms driven by the CBN.
While urging that the issue of cryptocurrency be treated with caution, the CBN Governor assured that the Bank would continue its surveillance and deeper understanding of the digital space, stressing that the ultimate goal of the CBN was to do all within its regulatory powers to educate Nigerians on emerging financial risks and protect our financial system from the activities of currency speculators, money launderers, and international fraudsters.
Also speaking, the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr. Lamido Yuguda clarified that there was no policy contradiction between the CBN directive and the pronouncements made by the SEC on the subject of cryptocurrencies in Nigeria. He explained that the SEC made its pronouncement at the time to provide regulatory certainty within the digital asset space due to the growing volume of reported flaws.
Prior to the CBN directive, he said the SEC had, in 2017, cautioned the public on the risks involved in investing in digital and cryptocurrency, adding that the CBN, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) and the SEC between 2018 and 2020 had also issued warnings on the lack of protection in investments in cryptocurrency.
Yuguda further disclosed that following the CBN directive, the SEC had put on hold the admittance of all persons affected by CBN circular into its proposed regulatory incubatory framework in order to ensure that only operators that are in full compliance with extant laws and regulations are admitted into the framework for regulating digital assets.
Similarly, the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye highlighted the risks inherent in investing in virtual assets and cryptocurrencies in Nigeria.
He explained that cryptocurrencies posed serious legal and law enforcement risks for Nigeria due to its opaque nature and illicit financial flows, adding that the current move by the Federal Government to link National Identification Numbers with SIM cards attested to the fact that terrorists, kidnappers, bandits and perpetrators in illegal acts hadrelied on the shield provided byanonymity to commit heinous crimes.
Earlier in his welcome remarks, the Chairman of the Joint Senate Committee, and Chairman, Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions, Senator Uba Sani, said the committee was on a fact-finding mission and had no preemptive recommendation or stand and would make its position known only after it had reviewed the submissions made by stakeholders.
Former Nigeria’s minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode has defended Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed against Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, who earlier referred Bala as part of the Fulani terrorists that are terrorising the country.
In a series of tweets yesterday, February 21, Fani-Kayode said: “we must choose our battles wisely and know who our real enemies are. I have disagreed with my friend and brother, Gov. Bala Mohammed, on several occasions over the years and I do not share his views on a number of issues but to describe him as a terrorist is uncharitable and absurd.
“This is a man who stands up for Southerners, Middle Belters and Christians as much as he stands up for Northern Muslims. It is fair to say that had it not been for his efforts President Goodluck Jonathan may not have become President after President Yar’Adua died.
“His role in the Senate at that time in ensuring that the then Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan was declared Acting President was exemplary and inspiring. Bala may sometimes say things that many in the South disagree with but his spirit is clean and his mind is pure.
“He is not a racist, a religious bigot or a hegemonist and supremacist. He is not the one that leads a state in which Christians are being slaughtered or that ethnic minorities are being marginalised, humiliated and destroyed.
“If you are looking for a terrorist governor I can name one or two but Bala is not amongst them. He is a leading member of the PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) Ministers Forum, a group which I belong to, and I assure anyone that cares to listen that he is far more comfortable with indulging in an intellectual joust in which we can agree to disagree than in carrying guns, throwing bombs and killing people. It would serve our interest better if we learnt to separate the wheat from the chaff and stop demonising people simply because they do not share our views.
“To call Bala a terrorist is unacceptable and erroneous. I doubt that has ever killed a chicken let alone a human being.”
The Benue Governor had decribed his Bauchi state counterpart, from the same Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as one of the Fulani terrorists because of the way he has defended Fulani herdsmen and accused him, Ortom of criminalizing the entire Fulani race in the country.
A group known as Buhari Media Organization (BMO) has called on the former Nigeria’s Vice President, Atiku Abubakar to stop preaching what he did not practice on privatization of public assets when he served as Vice President for eight years..
The group insisted that Atiku is not the right person to advice President Muhammadu Buhari administration or anyone on privatization and commercialization because of his alleged poor record of performance as the Chairman of the National Council on Privatization (NCP) in the eight years of the administration he served as Vice President.
In a statement today, February 23, by its Chairman, Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary, Cassidy Madueke, BMO said that it is not totally surprising that the former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would resort to grandstanding when he heard of the government’s privatization plans.
“We were so sure that Atiku Abubakar would try to position himself as an expert in privatization when media outlets reported the government’s intention to sell off some moribund non-oil assets, and indeed we were proved right when he issued that statement, after several weeks of silence.
“The first thing that caught our attention was Atiku’s call on the Buhari administration to ensure transparency in the privatization process. This is an individual that sold off what many people have described as the country’s prized assets to cronies, but which he claims ‘boosted economic growth to 6% GDP growth and also created jobs and amass the nation’s wealth that enabled us exit the debt trap’
“We wonder which privatization process the PDP chieftain was talking about when virtually all Nigerian old enough to witness the process knew that it only brought penury, job loss and misery to millions of people, but provided cheap assets to friends and cronies of senior government officials who bought up national assets and stripped them bare.
“We don’t even have to remind Nigerians of what became of those former government-owned enterprises-from the Aluminum Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSON) to Nigeria Airways and Daily Times-which were sold off for a pittance.
“So we dare the former vice president and his media handlers to show any shining examples of his expertise as a privatization guru before he can be taken seriously by Nigerians”, the group added.
The group dismissed the former Vice President’s attempt to equate the planned privatization of the refineries to his own plan for the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) as self-serving.
“Every Nigerian heard Atiku Abubakar on national TV saying emphatically that, if elected President, he would sell off NNPC, a position he also reiterated in an interview where he vowed to sell off 90% of the corporation and retain 10% as government share and later at a town hall meeting in Kaduna state, he likened it to what the Obasanjo administration did with NITEL.
“For the avoidance of doubt, NNPC has several subsidiaries out of which two are partly owned and fourteen associated companies including four refineries, so we wonder how government’s intention to privatize refineries can be the same as Atiku’s intention to do sell off NNPC to his friends.
“We consider it the height of deceit for the former Vice President to now try to make it sound like he was only speaking of the refineries back then, when he indeed said he planned to do what his government did to NITEL.
“We want to remind Nigerians that the telecommunications outfit and its mobile arm once was sold to investors who failed to pay and yet the man who presided over the process back then is preaching transparency.”
The group called on Nigerians to be wary of politicians like the former Vice President who delight in grandstanding, and trust the President to always do what is right for the citizenry.
President Muhammadu Buhari has called for an overhaul of the national strategy on cyber security aimed at economic growth opportunities, enhancement of knowledge and mitigation of crime.
“I urge the National Security Adviser to continue to coordinate the efforts of all stakeholders to ensure that our Internet and cyberspace are used for the enhancement of national security and economic progression”
The President, who spoke today, February 23, at the launch of the National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy (NCPS) 2021, said: “I am confident that, together, we can pave the way for the creation of new opportunities to usher Nigeria into a bright future driven by a prosperous cyberspace and digital economy.’’
The President noted that the Federal Government had taken some major policy decisions to increase penetration of the internet in the daily lives of citizens, particularly for the utilitarian purpose, with launch of National Broadband Plan 2020 – 2025 in March 2020; National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy 2020 – 2030; National Identity Program, Treasury Single Account and Bank Verification Number schemes.
“All these initiatives serve as enablers for tackling many of the economic and security challenges facing our country while also providing us with the platform to improve accountability and transparency in our unwavering resolve to tackle corruption.
“However, like many other countries across the globe, the growth and development of the internet is accompanied by significant problems. We are witnessing a rise in threats posed by cybercriminals, online financial fraudsters and cyber terrorists who use the internet to cause apprehension.”
President Buhari said that the internet and social media have witnessed a surge for propagation of hate speech, fake news, seditious and treasonable messages, as well as the risks of breaches to personal information and government sensitive data.
“It is almost impossible to overstate the challenges. Some global events such as the rapid emergence of new technologies, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the advent of 5G technology, have further widened the scope and diversification of these cyber threats.
“In October 2020, we all witnessed an escalation in the use of the social media for dissemination of subversive messages and incitement of violence which played a part in heightening tensions, causing unrest and spurring widespread acts of looting and destruction across the country.”
He said that the Federal Government had been proactive, over the past couple of years, in taking steps to ensure progressive use of internet and cyberspace.
“In 2014, the maiden National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy was developed to provide the necessary roadmap for the realisation of our national cybersecurity programme. This national effort paved way for Nigeria to reach numerous cybersecurity milestones over the past six years.
“Therefore, in order to build on this achievement and reposition ourselves for enhanced engagement in cyberspace, it became expedient to review the National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy 2014 and develop a comprehensive National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy 2021 for the common good of our country.”
According to the President, the National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy 2021 will provide us with the necessary platform to effectively confront the dynamic nature of threats in our cyberspace.
“The document will also provide the framework that would enable us to harness the efforts of our private sector, academia and industry towards progressive economic and national development.
“To this end, the document will provide the platform for technical education, digital skills acquisition and indigenous technology production, thereby creating job opportunities for our youth and supporting our resolve to alleviate poverty and boost our economy.”
In his remarks at the event, the National Security Adviser, retired Major General Babagana Monguno, said that there had been a surge in the use of the internet, especially during the COVID-19 lockdown around the world, with increasing waves of crimes, irregular migration and threats to border security.
The NSA noted that many platforms including banking, communication and military had come under more threat, with personal information easily distorted and explored, necessitating a review of the 2014 National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy (NCPS).
He said the reviewed document will work towards mitigating the “suffocating presence and unpredictable threats’’ of cybercrimes.
President of the Nigerian Senate, Ahmed Lawan has given assurance that the presidency and National Assembly are working hard to ensure adequate security for all within the next two months.
Senator Ahmed who spoke to newsmen after visiting President Muhammadu Buhari today, February 22, said: “I believe that between now and probably, the next two months, there will be a lot of activities to ensure that we secure the country; to cover and secure environments for people to lead a very normal life.
“Mr. President, to discuss the issue of security of our nation. And in fact, there is nothing more important today or more topical, than the security of Nigeria.
“We had a very extensive discussion on the security of all parts of Nigeria, and how we should go about improving the situation.
“Nobody would like to see the kind of thing that we experience in various parts of the country in the form of insecurity. “We have to secure the environment for them to earn the means of livelihood. We would like to see our farmers go back to farms before the rains start to come. And this means we have to secure the rural parts of Nigeria as well as the urban centres because we need businesses to flourish.”
The Senate stressed that the government is headed in the right direction.
“You recall that the National Economic Council approved of taking some funds from the excess crude accounts with a view to giving more sources to our armed forces.
“This is a commendable effort and we are ready to help with appropriation to ensure that we buy those we acquire those security.
“We believe that this is also going to help empower and build the capacity of other security agencies like the police because the police need to be there.
“They’re supposed to maintain the internal security. The police should be there to to stay put and make sure there is law and order.”
Did the activities of militants in the Niger Delta qualify as crime? Hell Yes! Militancy and kidnapping were a profitable pursuit in that oil-rich region in the early 2000s. Kidnapping as an organised venture entered our national lexicon at the time. Immigrants from Europe and America working with oil companies were kidnapped and huge ransoms extracted from them. Soldiers and police officers were killed, and public infrastructure destroyed. This is a fact of history.
Really, there was a method to the madness of the Niger Delta militants. They were fighting for a just cause — a region so endowed; yet so impoverished. But the genuineness of their cause does not obviate the criminality of their exertions. Militancy is a crime against the state. Lives were lost; some families traumatised and scarred for life.
As the tension in the Niger Delta thawed owing to the political engineering of the Umar Musa Yar’Adua administration, copycat crimes inspired by militants sputtered in the south-east. The kidnapping establishment now had new shareholders. The south-east was in the thrall of kidnappers who killed their victims even after ransom was paid. Igbo-on-Igbo crime. Kidnapping became so pervasive in the south-east that some governors of the region resorted to demolishing property acquired by the hostage takers to deter other human hunters. Quasi-security groups were set up to deal with the challenge – which even persists to this day.
The criminal commerce was later trafficked to Lagos where a certain Evans Onuamadike and his gang reigned in the kidnapping industry like a potentate. Some of his victims were allegedly killed, and from his own confession, he extracted millions of naira from his victims and bought a mansion for himself at Magodo in Lagos.
Nigeria is in the clutches of a more vicious stakeholder in the kidnapping enterprise. ‘’Bandits’’ as they have been tagged, do not only kidnap citizens, but also kill and maim some of them. They are more brutal in their execution – and without any regard for life. They have killed many Nigerians and sacked towns and villages. It is indubitable that ‘’bandits’’ are Nigeria’s most deadly adversary — after insurgents.
There is no method to the madness of bandits. There is no cause to justify the orgy of murders, rape and destruction.
However, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi in his proselytizing for bandits has raised some prickly posers. He said bandits are waging an ethnic war against the state and that only by granting them amnesty can the titanic iceberg thaw. He said bandits believe their existence in Nigeria is threatened; so they fight. He said these people have endured the pillaging of their cattle and homes – with no protection from security agencies. I will not join the multitude to censure the Sheikh; I would rather plead we ponder on some of his revelations.
The Sheikh said: “People don’t know the Fulani at all. They are not after money. Even when they are burning houses in Oyo, don’t you see where they live? They stay in huts. They are not into buying flashy cars. They just like their cattle. The money they are collecting from kidnappings, they are buying weapons with them. The more you fight them, the more they fight back. They don’t surrender. They are saying if the air force continues to pester them, they will have to get anti-aircraft. Not all of them are criminals; the hard-line (position) taken against them turned them into the militants that they are.’’
Gumi made a salient point here if we care enough to shackle our emotions and interrogate the fact. Really, where does the money from kidnapping go to? These bandits do not buy cars or houses, instead they are acquiring ‘’armadas’’ – for what purpose? This validates the opinion that these bandits are waging an ethnic war. There is a backstory to every crisis. What we are witnessing could be beyond kidnapping and banditry. Kidnapping and banditry could just be the cash trove to finance this war.
It then makes sense that seeking an accord to end this crisis should not be banished out of the potpourri of remedies.
As a matter of fact, the nomadic Fulani has existed in the shadows – far removed from the presence of government. No protection or aid by the civil administration; so he becomes his own security. The present parlous state of affairs is as a result of successive years of failed leadership. The leadership has failed the Fulani; the leadership has failed the Igbo; the leadership has failed the Hausa; the leadership has failed the Yoruba; the leadership has failed all Nigerians.
We are all victims of the situation. The failure of leadership is the reason Nigerians take up arms against one another. The nomadic Fulani is a victim of failed leadership just like every one of us. We have to fix leadership.
Should it be unto bandits as it was unto Niger Delta militants? The ethnic cleavages have been revealed again in this crisis. The debate is now on ‘’my criminal is nicer than yours’’. While some Nigerians will not countenance any justification for banditry; yet they make strong arguments for Niger Delta militants who also kidnapped people, killed soldiers and extracted ransoms. ‘’My criminal is nicer than yours’’. We forget that at the end of the day, crime is crime whether by done by Ejiro, Kachalla or Chukwudi.
We cannot also rule out the possibility of some vultures seeking to use ‘’amnesty for bandits’’ as means to perpetuate their looting of the public till. So, if there must be amnesty for bandits, it should be at no financial cost to the government. However, the government should revisit the national livestock plan and work in consonance with state governors to see to its implementation. Already, the Nigeria Governors Forum has endorsed the plan. The government should not be seduced into doing a reprise of the ‘’amnesty package’’ of Niger Delta militants for bandits. Bandits should surrender their weapons unconditionally. In seeking peace, we must not create for ourselves future problems by rewarding crime.
The Presidency has scheduled a consultative meeting with state governors and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) as well as the labour unions to find a solution to issue of right pricing for Premium Motor Spirit(PMS) and electricity tariff in the country.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, who spoke to newsmen at the end of a meeting between the Federal Government and Organized Labour today, February 22, in Abuja, said that the scheduled meeting is continuation of the series of meetings held in 2020 in a bid to persuade labour unions from embarking on industrial action over the increase in the price of petrol and electricity.
Senator Ngige said that the meeting with organized labour was peaceful and productive.
“As for the issue of the price of PMS, it is a work in progress. The governors are to discuss this on Thursday at the National Economic Council and hopefully there will be a way out of the situation”
He said that both sides have resolved to allow more time in order to look into ways of tinkering with the template for fixing domestic fuel price.
The minister said that on the issue of electricity tariff that the report was well recieved by both sides and the committee was asked to continue further work on grey areas. He said that the meeting with organised labour was adjourned till April, after the Easter celebration.
The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Ayuba Wabba, said that the union had been able to point out areas of the report on PMS pricing that labour was not in agreement with. Wabba also said that labour maintained that it is not comfortable with the import pricing method that was adopted by the country.
“This means that we import 100 per cent of all the PMS used in the country, whereas we have refineries. The reports were presented and we pointed out areas that we are not comfortable with and also made some suggestions which will form the basis of decisions on the matter.”
The Federal Government had in November 2020, raised the depot price of petrol from N147.67 to N155.17 per litre, enforcing marketers to sell between 165 and 173 Naira per litre.
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The Nigerian Army soldiers have recaptured Marte town in Borno state from Boko Haram fighters. The victory came after a 48-hour ultimatum given to the soldiers by the Chief of Army Staff, General Attahiru Ibrahim.
Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele has said that the Bank’s decision to prohibit deposit money banks, non-banking institutions and Other Financial Institutions from facilitating trading and dealings in cryptocurrency is in the best interest of Nigerian depositors and the country’s financial system.
Former Nigeria’s minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode has defended Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed against Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, who earlier referred Bala as part of the Fulani terrorists that are terrorising the country.
President Muhammadu Buhari has called for an overhaul of the national strategy on cyber security aimed at economic growth opportunities, enhancement of knowledge and mitigation of crime.
Politics Of Amnesty: Like Niger Delta Militants, Like Bandits, By Fredrick Nwabufo
Did the activities of militants in the Niger Delta qualify as crime? Hell Yes! Militancy and kidnapping were a profitable pursuit in that oil-rich region in the early 2000s. Kidnapping as an organised venture entered our national lexicon at the time. Immigrants from Europe and America working with oil companies were kidnapped and huge ransoms extracted from them. Soldiers and police officers were killed, and public infrastructure destroyed. This is a fact of history.
Really, there was a method to the madness of the Niger Delta militants. They were fighting for a just cause — a region so endowed; yet so impoverished. But the genuineness of their cause does not obviate the criminality of their exertions. Militancy is a crime against the state. Lives were lost; some families traumatised and scarred for life.
As the tension in the Niger Delta thawed owing to the political engineering of the Umar Musa Yar’Adua administration, copycat crimes inspired by militants sputtered in the south-east. The kidnapping establishment now had new shareholders. The south-east was in the thrall of kidnappers who killed their victims even after ransom was paid. Igbo-on-Igbo crime. Kidnapping became so pervasive in the south-east that some governors of the region resorted to demolishing property acquired by the hostage takers to deter other human hunters. Quasi-security groups were set up to deal with the challenge – which even persists to this day.
The criminal commerce was later trafficked to Lagos where a certain Evans Onuamadike and his gang reigned in the kidnapping industry like a potentate. Some of his victims were allegedly killed, and from his own confession, he extracted millions of naira from his victims and bought a mansion for himself at Magodo in Lagos.
Nigeria is in the clutches of a more vicious stakeholder in the kidnapping enterprise. ‘’Bandits’’ as they have been tagged, do not only kidnap citizens, but also kill and maim some of them. They are more brutal in their execution – and without any regard for life. They have killed many Nigerians and sacked towns and villages. It is indubitable that ‘’bandits’’ are Nigeria’s most deadly adversary — after insurgents.
There is no method to the madness of bandits. There is no cause to justify the orgy of murders, rape and destruction.
However, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi in his proselytizing for bandits has raised some prickly posers. He said bandits are waging an ethnic war against the state and that only by granting them amnesty can the titanic iceberg thaw. He said bandits believe their existence in Nigeria is threatened; so they fight. He said these people have endured the pillaging of their cattle and homes – with no protection from security agencies. I will not join the multitude to censure the Sheikh; I would rather plead we ponder on some of his revelations.
The Sheikh said: “People don’t know the Fulani at all. They are not after money. Even when they are burning houses in Oyo, don’t you see where they live? They stay in huts. They are not into buying flashy cars. They just like their cattle. The money they are collecting from kidnappings, they are buying weapons with them. The more you fight them, the more they fight back. They don’t surrender. They are saying if the air force continues to pester them, they will have to get anti-aircraft. Not all of them are criminals; the hard-line (position) taken against them turned them into the militants that they are.’’
Gumi made a salient point here if we care enough to shackle our emotions and interrogate the fact. Really, where does the money from kidnapping go to? These bandits do not buy cars or houses, instead they are acquiring ‘’armadas’’ – for what purpose? This validates the opinion that these bandits are waging an ethnic war. There is a backstory to every crisis. What we are witnessing could be beyond kidnapping and banditry. Kidnapping and banditry could just be the cash trove to finance this war.
It then makes sense that seeking an accord to end this crisis should not be banished out of the potpourri of remedies.
As a matter of fact, the nomadic Fulani has existed in the shadows – far removed from the presence of government. No protection or aid by the civil administration; so he becomes his own security. The present parlous state of affairs is as a result of successive years of failed leadership. The leadership has failed the Fulani; the leadership has failed the Igbo; the leadership has failed the Hausa; the leadership has failed the Yoruba; the leadership has failed all Nigerians.
We are all victims of the situation. The failure of leadership is the reason Nigerians take up arms against one another. The nomadic Fulani is a victim of failed leadership just like every one of us. We have to fix leadership.
Should it be unto bandits as it was unto Niger Delta militants? The ethnic cleavages have been revealed again in this crisis. The debate is now on ‘’my criminal is nicer than yours’’. While some Nigerians will not countenance any justification for banditry; yet they make strong arguments for Niger Delta militants who also kidnapped people, killed soldiers and extracted ransoms. ‘’My criminal is nicer than yours’’. We forget that at the end of the day, crime is crime whether by done by Ejiro, Kachalla or Chukwudi.
We cannot also rule out the possibility of some vultures seeking to use ‘’amnesty for bandits’’ as means to perpetuate their looting of the public till. So, if there must be amnesty for bandits, it should be at no financial cost to the government. However, the government should revisit the national livestock plan and work in consonance with state governors to see to its implementation. Already, the Nigeria Governors Forum has endorsed the plan. The government should not be seduced into doing a reprise of the ‘’amnesty package’’ of Niger Delta militants for bandits. Bandits should surrender their weapons unconditionally. In seeking peace, we must not create for ourselves future problems by rewarding crime.
I wish Nigeria peace.
Fredrick Nwabufo is a writer and journalist.
Twitter @FredrickNwabufo.