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At last Akpabio exposes senators, reps who got NDDC contracts
By Samuel Itsede
Godswill Akpabio, minister of Niger Delta has finally exposed members of the National Assembly who allegedly got over-bloated and unexecuted contracts from the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
Recall the Akpabio was last week grilled by House committee on Niger Delta where he alleged that 60 per cent of NDDC jobs were given to National Assembly members. The Speaker of the House Femi Gbajabiamila had thereafter given him 48 hours to reveal the identity of Assembly members he claimed had benefited from NDDC jobs.
Akpabio finally spoke Sunday night through the National Youth Council of Nigeria in Abuja. He expressed disappointment that the Speaker of House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, refused to disclose the list of federal lawmakers who benefitted from the contracts awarded by the (NDDC).
According to the document, Akpabio listed Nwaoboshi’s name against 53 projects which included, Emergency Repairs of Asue Street, Owa Phase 2, Emergency Repairs of ldumuogbe Road via Ojemaye, Emergency Repairs of Otolokpo College Road, Otololkpo, and Emergency Repairs of Police lshu Ani Ukwu Road, Issele Uku
“They also included Emergency Repairs of old Sapele Agbor Road, Obiaruku, Emergency Repairs of Ehwerhe Obada Road Agbarho Road, Emergency Repairs of Hon. Ifeanyi Eboigbe Street Boji Boji Owa/Goodwill Street, Owa Alero, and Emergency Repairs of Ahiama Okwu to Obuocha Okwu among others.
“Also the Minister listed Mutu’s name against 74 projects which included various emergency road projects in Delta, Akwa Ibom, Bayela, and Rivers states.
“Other lawmakers that Akpabio listed projects against are, Senator Mathew Urhoghide (6), James Manager (6), Sam Anyanwu (19), and others simply identified as Ondo and Edo reps,” the letter read.
Addressing newsmen in Abuja, the President of the Council , Solomon Adodo, said: “Mr Speaker did not do us justice when he did not disclose to the National Assembly that the list of the beneficiaries he demanded had been disclosed and attached to the letter sent to him.
“Gbajabiamila’s decision to cover up his colleagues is unfair to the fight against corruption, quest for transparency, and to the commonwealth of our nation.
“We therefore urge Mr Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, to resign for covering up for a set of people who had erred and breached the rules of contract.
“All the National Assembly members who benefitted from the contracts without executing them should be prosecuted to serve as deterrent to those who may want to follow a similar path.
“It is a clear case of organised crime to have individuals who benefitted from illegality now rising to probe the fact that their illegality is being exposed.
“We call on all the anti graft agencies and security agencies to, in line with the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari, immediately proceed and go ahead with their investigation of the matter.”
The youths said they were firmly in support of the forensic audit instituted by the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs because it had exposed those who had benefitted in the corruption that had festered in the NDDC.
In the document displayed by the Youths Council, Akpabio was quoted as having said that his letter became necessary because
“the investigating Committee on NDDC refused and/or neglected to give me the opportunity to explain that reference to most NDDC contracts yearly being awarded since 2001 from the records allegedly to members of the National Assembly in both Chambers were done without the knowledge of the alleged beneficiaries.
“However, the two Chairmen of the Committees in both Chambers had adequate knowledge,” Akpabio reportedly stated.
Akpabio’s letter as released by the Youth Council further read: “To show you some typical examples, herewith attached are documents showing nature of contracts amount of such contracts (in some cases), date of awards and beneficiaries some were awarded to the two chairmen of both committees in the House of Representatives and the Senate, respectively, serving at the period of the awards (Annexures ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’).”
The council, which declared it got the document from the National Assembly, however said Akpabio failed to make the document public because he obtained it from the forensic auditors in confidence.
The contracts were mainly for road construction, reconstruction rehabilitation within the nine Niger Delta States.
Akpabio letter which was also copied to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, read in part: “May I extend to Mr Speaker the compliments of my office and those of the staff of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.
“I refer to the resolution of the House passed on the 21st July 2020 and forwarded to me on the same day Ref. NASS/HR/LEG/3/36/VOL.ll/O8 directing me to respond to the contents therein within 48
“The investigating Committee on NDDC refused and/or neglected to give me the opportunity to explain that reference to most NDDC contracts yearly being awarded since 2001 from the records allegedly to members of the National Assembty in both Chambers were done without the knowledge of the alleged beneficiaries. However, the two Chairmen of the Committees in both Chambers had adequate knowledge;
“I never referred to members of the 9th National Assembly as beneficiaries of NDDC contracts as NDDC is yet to fully implement any NDDC budget since the commencement of the 9th National Assembly. In fact. the 2019 budget passed in February and harmonised between the 4th and 5th of March 2020 was received by the Commission in the middle of April, 2020, when same was designated to expire on the 31st of May, 2020.
“However, it is pertinent to point out that the Clerk of the National Assembly forwarded a letter Ref. NASS/CNA/115/VOL.38/1175, dated 20th March, 2020, without attaching the budget details indicating that the 2020 budget of the NDDC passed into Law was being fonlvarded (copy of the letter is attached as Annexure ‘A’). This anomaly was brought to the attention of the Senate Ad Hoc Committee investigating a purported financial recklessness by the management of the commission in July 2020, though the first outcry was on allegation of missing N40bn which was totally untrue;
“It has always been known that the two chairmen of the committees on NDDC in both chambers yearly exhibit unusual influence to the exclusion of committee members and even the management of the NDDC in appropriating funds to details embellished in the budget after passage of line items at the plenaries. In the 2019 budget, the Executive Director Projects forwarded to me the attached list of 19 Nos. old contracts amounting to almost N9bn after tax, that the House of Representatives Committee Chairman on NDDC, Honourable Tunji-Ojo, insisted the IMC of NDDC must pay before 2019 budget details could be released to the commission (see Annexure ‘A1’).
“To show you some typical examples, herewith attached are documents showing nature of contracts amount of such contracts (in some cases), date of awards and beneficiaries some were awarded to the two chairmen of both committees in the House of Representatives and the Senate, respectively, serving at the period of the awards (Annexures ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’). However, due to the 48 hours notice, the forensic auditors could not sift through the thousands of files in their possession to provide more.
“The above explanation would have been made if the investigating committee did not shut me out from responding to the abuses on me by the lady representative called Boma.
“May I assure Mr Speaker that as a former Minority Leader of the 8th Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I shall forever promote the ideals of the. National Assembly as an institution. Hence. I would not make the attached documents public, since I obtained the documents from the lead forensic auditors in confidence (find attached Annexures ‘E’ and ‘F’ being my request to the lead forensic auditors and their response).
“Permit me to explain that any reference to 50 per cent or 60 per cent during the investigative hearing was in answer to a question by an honourable member of the committee as to whether or not, a medical doctor could act as Executive Director Projects within the confines of the NDDC Act 2000. I answered in the affirmative, pointing out that the greatest project in the world today is COVlD-19 pandemic, which is medical in nature. Furthermore, I am made to understand that 50 to 60 per cent of NDDC yearly budgets are medical in nature. Therefore, it is fitting for a medical doctor to act as Executive Director Projects in these trying times.
“Please accept, sir, the assurances of my esteemed regards and do pass my explanation to my colleagues in the 9th Assembly who probably misunderstood my assertion.”
July 26, 2020
Dignity Finance posts N84.5m PAT in 2019
By Lawrence Ekwonu
Financial services provider, Dignity Finance and Investment Ltd, DFIL, has declared a profit after tax, PAT, of N84.45 million for the year ended December 31, 2019.
This was even as the company has approved the payment of N50 million dividend to its shareholders.
The announcement, which was made by the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Engr Ahmed Ibrahim, at its 10th annual general meeting, AGM, represent a 150 per cent growth from the previous year’s figure of N33.84 million.
Ibrahim also announced that the company’s gross earnings in the year under review hit N539 million.
The above figure is N98 million more than its gross earnings of N341 million in 2018.

The meeting, which was attended by the directors, shareholders, customers and staff of the company, was held physically and virtually – in line with COVID-19 response protocols.
In his opening remarks, Ibrahim thanked the shareholders, staff, customers and directors for their trust, hardwork, commitments and resilience in the last 10 years, and for sustaining and growing the institution to its enviable position.
He particularly thanked the Managing Director, Mallam Yahaya Yusuf, for the growth trajectory which has placed the company as one of the biggest and strongest finance companies in Nigeria.
Ibrahim also announced the Board’s approval of the appointment of Dr Chijioke Ekechukwu as the incoming MD/CEO, subject to CBN’s approval.
Before his appointment, Ekechukwu was a director of the company.
In his speech, Yusuf thanked the board, shareholders, staff and customers of DFIL for the confidence reposed in him by trusting his leadership with their investment.
He also thanked them for their support, without which the company wouldn’t have achieved the milestone it attained.
The following financial highlights, as presented by Yusuf, are:
Gross earnings: N539 million (2019), N341 million (2018) and N262 million (2017)
Profit before tax: N123 million (2019), N48 million (2018) and N24 million (2017)
Profit after tax: N84 million (2019), N33 million (2018) and N16 million (2017)
Customers’ borrowing: N894 million (2019), N814 million (2018) and N814 million (2017)
Net loans and advances: N896 million (2019), N563 million (2018) and N284 million (2017)
Shareholders’ funds: N292 million (2019), N157 million (2018) and N132 million (2017)
Total assets: N1,500 million (2019), N1,209 million (2018) and N955 million (2017)

Meanwhile, the AGM approved the payment of dividend to its shareholders to the tune of N50 million.
The above sum translates to 40k per share, which excited the shareholders.
In response, some shareholders thanked the Board, staff and management for the huge dividend proposed for payment and for their hard work.
DFIL is a non-banking financial institution licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, since 2009 with approved share capital of N500 million.
The company with very astute, qualified and experienced top ex-bankers on the board as directors, two of who were past MDs/CEOs of top flight Nigerian banks engages in various financial services of funds management, wealth management, LPO financing, leasing, invoice discounting, financial advisory services, debt factoring etc.
End
July 26, 2020
Kebbi Governor Commends NCFRMI Federal Commissioner
By Samuel Itsede
Kebbi state governor and chairman, Progressive Governors Forum, Senator Atiku Bagudu has commended the Honourable Federal Commissioner of National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), Senator Basheer Garba Mohammed for his good work, service and relentless efforts in giving comfort to the Persons of Concerns (POCs) in the country.
Senator Bagudu made the remark when he visited the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja, over the weekend.
According to the governor, President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has always been concerned about the plight of displaced persons in the country and it is as a result of that growing concern that the president appointed a competent and experienced person like Senator Mohammed to head the commission.
“It is an established fact that we have lots of displaced persons in the country as a result of violence, diseases and natural disaster like floods, which has disrupted our economy and our farming seasons for years”, he said.
“In Kebbi for instance, we host a lot of stateless and displaced persons, who have settled in the state, especially our fishing communities and but the good news is, Kebbi state is also partnering with the Refugee Commission to provide homes and lasting solutions to the plight of POCs in the state”, Bagudu added.
“In essence, I am here today to appreciate and commend the Commission for their good work and strenghten our agreement in providing a better living condition for displaced persons in Kebbi state”, he concluded.
On his part, the Honourable Federal Commissioner, Senator Mohammed thanked the governor for the visit to the commission and stressed that the governor’s visit is a testimony of his concern towards alleviating the sufferings of POCs in Kebbi state.
Senator Mohammed added that the commission’s focus is shifting away from providing food, clothes and handouts to displaced persons to providing durable and sustainable solution to their problems.
“We intend to build resettlement cities and rehabilitaion and reintegration project in the states with a view to returning the POCs to their lives of dignity and make them self-reliant through empowerment programmes in collaboration with Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other partners”, the federal commissioner concluded.
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July 26, 2020
How police captured kidnappers and killers of 65 years old Chinese national
The Force Intelligence Response Team, IRT of the Nigerian Police Force, has arrested seven employees of an energy company, Xinxin energy in Odogbolu, Ogun state, for kidnapping and killing a 65-year-old Chinese national, Defa Song, the father of Hongli Song who is the owner of the company where they worked.
The seven suspects identified as Adetayo Adeniran, Hammed Jabiri, Jayeola Olalekan, Animashaun Mustapa, Akeem Lawal, Moruf Razaq and Yinka Jayeola, had in February this year, conspired to abduct Defa Song. They abducted him while he was stepping out of his daughter’s factory and took him to an unknown destination where he later died.
They contacted his daughter demanding a N50 million ransom for his release.
The daughter of the victim immediately petitioned the Inspector-General of Police, Adamu Mohammed, who ordered operatives of the IRT, led by Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, to launch a manhunt for the suspects and rescue the Chinese national.
Special IRT teams were deployed and a few days into their investigations a vulcanizer working for the company, Adelekan was arrested.
During interrogation, 34-year-old Adelekan told the police that he and seven other persons working for the company including a security guard, orchestrated the plan to kidnap Mr. Song.
He said the 65-year-old man died in their custody a few days after he was kidnapped because he fell sick and was not given proper medications. According to Adelekan, they gave his body to some fishermen to help them to dispose off and went ahead to demand a ransom of N50million from their boss.
“I am from Odogbolu area of Ogun State, I am married with two children, I am a primary school dropout. I am a vulcanizer but in 2019, I was employed by Xinxin Energy Company in Odogbolu as a mechanic and a vulcanizer. They were paying me N60,000 monthly and I worked for them for three months before Mr Song came from China and sacked me because I bought a vehicle with the salary I was earning.
Then one of the security men working for the company, known as Israel called me and suggested that we should kidnap the man so that his daughter who owned the company would pay us a huge ransom. I called my younger brother Hamed Jabiri, who also worked in the company and informed him about the plan.
He bought the idea and invited one Moses, who he said was a cultist, who had guns. This was in October 2019, we held a meeting and planned how we were going to kidnap the man. On 16th February, 2020, I was given a Corolla car to repair, and I felt it was a good opportunity.
After repairing the car, I called my friends; Ade Tayo, Adeniran Dele, and Amend and when we got information from the security man that Mr Song had stepped out of his house, we went after him and kidnapped him. We took the man first to a bush close to my shop and later to the home of one Morufu while Adetayo started talking to the man’s daughter on phone. He demanded the sum of N50million as ransom, but while we were still negotiating I got a call from the people looking after the man that he was dead.
We then put the man’s corpse in a sack, before putting it in a drum and I drove the vehicle to a riverbank where some firemen were called to take the drum away with the boat. Moses was the only person who followed them to where the drum was disposed of.” he said
Another suspect, Ahmen Dabiri, 29, who is a native of Lagos State said during the operation, Mr. Song opened the mask he had on his face and recognized him.
“ I’m married with three children, I am an auto electrician and I work at Xinxin Energy Company. In October 2019, Olalekan called me and said we should kidnap Mr Song and that his daughter, who owned our company would pay any amount we demanded as ransom. When Olalekan had a vehicle he was repairing, he called and informed me while I called my friend known as Moses who was a member of Aye confraternity.
On the day the security man who was our informant monitoring the man called that the man was coming out, we went there swiftly and when we caught the man, I rubbed Aboniki balm on his eyes before taking him away. It was Moses who organized where we kept the man. While we were waiting for the man’s daughter to pay the ransom we demanded, he opened the mask I was putting on and he recognized me as one of the persons working for his daughter.
I told the security man who brought the job about it and he suggested that I should kill the man after I have collected the ransom, but unfortunately, the man died before the ransom could be paid and we disposed off the body. But the police came later and arrested us.”
Another suspect, Adetayo Adediron 36, a native of Oyo State, said he got involved in the crime because he was in search of money to set up a business.
“It was my friend that got me into this trouble. I approached him, begging him to help me get a job at the Chinese company where he was working, then he suggested that I should join the gang to kidnap the Chinese man.
I was the person that drove the Toyota Corolla on the day of the operation and I was hoping I would use the money to set up a business. I was the one who called the owner of the company to demand ransom but I was disappointed that the people looking after the man killed him before the ransom could not be paid” he said
The police is still searching for Mr Song’s body that was dumped in the lagoon.
July 26, 2020
Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri Railway: Any Cause to Cheer?
By Tony Iyare
Ordinarily, we should be celebrating, popping wine and dancing ourselves lame that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has finally completed the 276 kilometer standard guage Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri Railway which construction started in 1987.
But apart from haven fallen short of delivering this project on time, we have again largely kept to our sordid image of some costing abracadabra that merely flies in the face of what happens elsewhere.
Finished After 33 years
Is it not really tragic and intriguing that what was initially slated to be completed in 5 years has taken us 33 years to accomplish, recommending the project highly for the inglorious section of the Guinness Book of Records?
Almost akin to the pitiable story of the 27 kilometer Lagos mono rail project, yet to be finished after 11 years, we seem unperturbed about our snail stride in a world where many countries including the United Arab Emirate (UAE), have joined the exploration to Mars.
Missing a Milestone
If we had kept to schedule, the Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri line would have been the first standard guage railway in Africa but we opted to play the Russian roulette and missed that. Even countries like Ethiopia and Kenya, which started their standard guage railway many years after, had long completed their projects.
The protracted Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri railway line has a total length of 276 km and links Warri in Delta State to Ajaokuta, in Kogi State. The rail line now has a total of 12 stations in its new design. The line was originally conceived to transport Iron Ore from Itakpe to Ajaokuta and Aladja Steel Rolling Mills. It was also designed to transport processed steel to the port in Warri, Delta State.
Abandoned After Massive Work
It was unfortunate that successive governments could not pull through the initial vigour with which the project took off in 1987. After construction works were performed for 254 km, the project was abandoned. It was only in 2009 that it was again brought on stream with the Federal Government agreeing to pay $92.45 million (NGN 33 billion) for the design and completion of the outstanding 22 km.
The contract was then awarded to Technique Engineering, Architecture, Marketing (Team Nigeria) and Julius Berger, which were responsible for the construction of Ajaokuta-Warri section and construction of six stations and for the rehabilitation of the completed section.
A Funding Revival
In 2017, the Buhari administration announced that it was funding revival of the Itakpe-Warri rail line at a cost of $200 million (N72 billion). The plan was to get it ready for commercial operations by 2019. The project was then re-awarded to three construction firms – Julius Berger, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and ZTE.
Minister of Transport, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, who spoke during a tour of the project facility in Agbor and Warri, Delta State on Saturday, commended the contractors, CCECC, TEAM Nigeria and Julius Berger for living up to expectations in terms of quality delivery on the project.
“We are planning for the President to perform a virtual commissioning of this project. The contractors have since concluded their jobs and left the site, the only contractor left is the CCECC, and they will soon leave as well and hand over to NRC. We’ll know if NRC has done a good job when they manage it properly because the issue is maintenance. I am satisfied with the job done by CCECC, TEAM and Julius Berger. The contractors must be commended for a good job delivery,” he said.
The New Design
It’s quite upbeat that the Buhari government has not only redesigned it from its initial vision of a goods train to a central railway line that will also ferry passengers. It could therefore be understandable why many big cities in the axis were not initially linked.
The new design provided for 12 new stations between Itakpe and Warri in a new arrangement. Two stations are located between Itakpe and Ajaokuta with the remaining 10 stretching between Ajaokuta and Warri. They include Itakpe, Eganiy, Adobe, Itogbo, Agenebode, Uromi, Egehen, Igbanke, Agbor, Abraka, Okpara and Ujewu stations.
Abuja-Itakpe-Lokoja Line
A whooping $3.9 bn (N1.4 Trillion) contract was also signed in October 2019 to extend it to Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. The contract for the new 252.6 kilometer Abuja-Itakpe-Lokoja rail line was awarded to China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) under a public-private partnership. Expected to pass through Baro, which now has an inland port, the rail line will also link Lokoja, the Kogi State capital. As part of the agreement, the Chinese firm will also construct a link to the Warri seaport.
Amaechi stated that Nigeria will contribute 15% of the project cost, CRCC will invest 10% while CRCC will borrow the remaining 75% from Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). The company will also be responsible for managing the rail network until the loan is repaid, after which the project will be handed over to the federal government.
“We will give them sovereign guarantee and they will give us performance bond that protects our sovereign guarantee. When they finish construction, they will manage for 30 years,” he explained.
A Viable Line
But until the Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri railway is linked to Abuja, it may not be really viable as a passenger line. The rail line also needs to be connected to Benin City, Asaba/Onitsha and perhaps Akure and Ado Ekiti to further boost its commercial value.
The eventual connection of Benin City, Asaba/Onitsha to the proposed Lagos-Calabar Coastal Railway and Akure and Ado Ekiti to the Western line would be the nadir for the industrial transformation of many of the adjourning cities.
Addis Ababa-Djibouti Line
While we played chess with the Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri railway, Ethiopia and Djibouti launched the first fully electrified cross-border standard guage railway line in Africa which links Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, to the Red Sea port of Djibouti – a stretch of more than 750km (466 miles).
Travelling at 120km/h, the new service cuts the journey time down from three days by road to about 12 hours. The $3.4bn (£2.7bn) project was built with the help of funding from a Chinese bank.
In 2011, one year after finalizing the plans on the national railway network, financing was secured for ERC-Route 1 (the Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway) and construction was awarded to Chinese construction firms. In October 2016 and January 2017, the railway was completed and inaugurated.
The 759 km railway cost around US $3.5b (US $4m per km of railway) with the Exim Bank of China facilitating a package, that resulted in loans of about US $2.5b in total for the Ethiopian section of the railway plus another US $500m for the Djiboutian section.
A later survey revealed that the actual costs were around US $5.2m per km of railway, around 30% more than planned, resulting in total costs of around US $4.5b. As the loans came from China, most contractors were from China. The construction was an EPC/Turnkey project (FIDIC). Djibouti is particularly important to landlocked Ethiopia which currently imports and exports nearly 90% of its goods through its port.
Nairobi-Mombasa Line
In 2011, Kenya signed a memorandum of understanding with the China Road and Bridge Corporation to build a 609 kilometer standard-gauge railway between the Indian Ocean port city of Mombasa and Nairobi, the country’s capital. The US$3.6 billion railway was the largest infrastructure project ever undertaken in Kenya since independence.
Financing was finalised in May 2014, with the Exim Bank of China extending a loan for 90 percent of the project cost and the remaining 10 percent coming from the Kenyan government. 25,000 Kenyans were hired to work on the project. Track laying was completed by December 2016 while Passenger service was officially inaugurated on 31 May 2017, eighteen months ahead of schedule. Even the extension from Nairobi to Naivasha was completed in October 2019.
Comparing Rail Contracts
Although it may be too simplistic, to compare two rail contracts only on the basis of distance. The terrain and other factors can also significantly affect the cost. Even the 392 km Awash–Weldiya Railway which connects the whole north of Ethiopia, with almost a third of the Ethiopian population, with the main line and additionally through the Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway with Ethiopia’s lifeline, the port of Djibouti is way below the Nigerian costing.
The construction contract assumes costs per km of railway to be US $3.8m, which is surprisingly low for a challenging terrain with 56 bridges and 12 tunnels (tunnels: 10 km length) with theoretical calculations amounting to $7m per km in 2015.
Nigerian Democratic Report (NDR)
July 25, 2020
Air Force hands over killers of Arotile to police
By Lawrence Ekwonu
The Nigerian Air Force today officially handed over to the Nigeria Police the 3 suspects involved in the death of Nigeria first female combat helicopter pilot, Flying Officer Tolulope Arotile. The suspects are Mr Nehemiah Adejoh, Mr Igbekele Folorunsho and Mr Festus Gbayegun.
Giving brief highlights during the handover at the NAF Base Kaduna, the Commander 453 Base Services Group (453 BSG), Group Captain Hadi Ahmed, recalled how, on 14 July 2020, at about 4.30pm, a KIA Serento SUV, with Registration Number AZ 478 MKA (Kaduna), driven by Mr Adejoh, with the 2 others as passengers, knocked down Flying Officer Tolulope Arotile when she was walking along Air Marshal Ibrahim Alfa Road in NAF Base Kaduna, leading to her eventual death.
Group Captain Ahmed highlighted that the 3 persons involved in the accident, who were former schoolmates of the late Flying Officer at the Air Force Secondary School Kaduna, were on their way to visit the wife of a serving senior officer residing in the Base before the accident occurred. He stated that the NAF would continue to cooperate with the Nigeria Police and provide all necessary support to enable it carry forward the case to its logical conclusion.
It would be recalled that the NAF, during a Press Conference on 19 July 2020 to give details of the outcome of its preliminary investigations, had informed Nigerians that the 3 persons involved in the accident would be handed over to the Nigeria Police for further investigation and possible prosecution in line with extant laws.
July 24, 2020
Refugee Commission Distributes Items in the South South
By Lawrence Ekwonu
The National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), under the leadership of Honourable Federal Commissioner, Senator Basheer Garba Mohammed has distributed items in Cross Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa states.
NCFRMI Honourable Federal Commissioner, Senator Mohammed disclosed this in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Sadiq Abdullateef, on Wednesday in Abuja.
According to the statement, the items disbursed include food items, clothes, educational pack, water sanitation items, shelter materials, agricultural inputs and palliatives.
The beneficiaries include over 3,000 IDPs from Etung and Ogoja camps in Cross Rivers state; over 2,000 IDPs also benefitted from Oron camp in Akwa Ibom state and over 1,000 displaced persons from Yenagoa camps in Bayelsa state.
NCFRMI Honourable Federal Commissioner, who was represented by an IDPs dept official of the commission, Ms Obianuju Igboko in Cross Rivers, said the commission is totally concern about the plight of displaced persons especially during the rain season and it would continue to provide the neccessary amenities for a better living condition.
Other representatives are; an admin officer of the commission, Chinwe Vivian Nwachukwu for the Akwa Ibom disbursment and one of the commission’s medical personnel, Dr Ohwoekevwo George for the Bayelsa distribution.
July 22, 2020
NAF strikes neutralizes armed bandits at Kagara Forest in Zamfara
The Air Component of Operation HADARIN DAJI has dealt another blow on armed bandits in Zamfara State with the disruption of a camp in the Kagara Forest as well as the neutralization of some of their fighters.
The mission was conducted on 20 July 2020 pursuant to Human Intelligence reports indicating heavy presence of the armed bandits, along with a large number of rustled livestock, in a portion of the forest. This was later confirmed by series of aerial surveillance missions.
Accordingly, the Air Component dispatched Nigerian Air Force fighter jets to engage the location, with their munitions hitting the targets leading to the killing of some of the armed bandits. Some of them who were seen attempting to escape camouflaged in between the livestock were taken out in follow-on attacks.
July 22, 2020
Tension as some lawyers from a foreign country are Suing The US For Failure To Contain The Coronavirus.
By Dr Austin Maho
The United States is coming under increasing scrutiny as a result of the way the country has managed and mismanaged the outbreak of the coronavirus that has led to an unprecedented spike in the number of infections in the US which is now causing panic across the globe.
Recently a group of Congolese lawyers filed a criminal complaint against the US
The National Bar Association Law office, filed a petition to the Congolese Attorney General’s Office blaming President Trump and the US Government for the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19) in the DRC
The lawyers in their plaint specifically blamed the US of not informing the rest of the world in order to avoid the virus and has thus exposed the Congolese population to COVID-19, Which they said has led to, “the decimation of the Congolese population of which 13,400 people are affected and 190 have already died in flagrant violation of article 7 of the statutes of Rome and of the International Criminal Court”.
The petitioners are blaming the United states on the grounds that the coronavirus was first reported in the US in September of 2019 but the US government did nothing to contain the spread of the virus to the rest of the world.
“Since September 2019, the report on the surveillance of the Covid-19 influenza in the United States by its Director responsible for the Center for the prevention and control of epidemiological diseases Mr. Robert Ladfield, published in the official websites that several Americans were already infected by the virus as at September 2019”.
The lawyers also noted that statistics from the United States medical services showed that as of March 07, 2020 that more than 36 million Americans were already infected, 22,000 of whom have died from Covid-19 and the list is growing daily.
As of March 11, 2020, the US government also publicly acknowledged on Cable News Network, CNN that the corona virus started to spread in its territory six months earlier ( in September).
Furthermore, the New York State Governor Chris Cuomo had declared that he, his wife and two children were already infected with Covid-19 in October 2019.
Similarly the US aircraft carrier Théodore Rossevelt which left the port of Santiago in Chile in January for the Philippine Sea had on board naval officers suffering from Covid-19. An indication that the virus started spreading in the US long before it was announced by Chinese offcials.
The import of the petition is that the US was aware of the existence of Covid-19 on its homeland as at September 2019 but chose to hide it from the rest of the world until China isolated the virus in December 2019 and made its findings available to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The Congolese lawyers are thus seeking compensation from the US government in line with international law and extant Congolese laws for damage to its economy and the devastation wrecked by Covid -19 on its healthcare system.
Irrespective of how the case may turn out, as a result of the legal lacuna that the petitioners may face in prosecuting a sovereign state, one take away from this case is that the petitioners have been able to establish that the spike in cases of the virus in the US is not unconnected with the fact that the virus has been in America since September of 2019, but the American government chose to hide the information from the rest of the world.
Ironically, while the coronavirus was spreading in the United States the Trump administration launched a campaign of calumny against China blaming it for the origin and spread of the virus, apparently, it was a grand design by Trump to divert global attention from the real source of the virus.
The initial accusation that the Chinese government delayed in letting the world know about the COVID-19 outbreak become a political weapon by the US government and its UK and Canadian allies, but it was all a calculated attempt to divert attention from its failings by focusing on China.
The fact however remains that Chinese scientists have won international praise for following the right protocol. It is on record that as early as January, a team of Chinese scientists led by Yong-Zhen Zhang, of the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Centre & School of Public Health, published the initial coronavirus genome on two open-access sites, drawing praise for the swiftest sequencing effort ever. Later that month, Chinese doctors and scientists reported the first description of the new disease in the Lancet Medical Journal.
The editor of the acclaimed Lancet Medical Journal, Richard Horton later had this to say: “Under immense pressure, as the epidemic exploded around them, they took time to write up their findings in a foreign language and seek publication in a medical journal thousands of miles away. Their rapid and rigorous work was an urgent warning to the world. We owe those scientists enormous thanks”.
While the scientific community was praising the efforts of China US president Donald Trump repeatedly went after Beijing, calling COVID-19 the “Chinese virus.” While ignoring the spiraling out- break in his own country.
Two days after the US officially announced its first case of coronavirus, Donald Trump said the situation was “totally under control” and assured the public it was “going to be just fine”.
However four months later, in May the virus had spread across all 50 states in the US, leaving a death toll of 100,000 from more than 1.6 million confirmed cases.
The death toll in the US became the highest in the world in early April and has risen dramatically since then. President Donald Trump initially said “50 to 60,000” people could die from the coronavirus but in May he said he was hopeful the toll would be lower than 100,000. That benchmark has now been exceeded and the numbers are still climbing.
As at July, tally by the Johns Hopkins University recorded almost 4 million infected with 144,000 deaths!
As coronavirus cases and death surge in the U.S., health experts in countries with falling case numbers are watching with a growing sense of alarm and disbelief, with many wondering why virus-stricken U.S. states continue to reopen and why the advice of scientists is often ignored.
Confronted with the enormity of the coronavirus challenge, it would seem as if the United States has given up, while the rhetoric coming from US president Trumps suggests that he is more interested in winning the November elections rather than dealing with the health pandemic ravaging Americans.
In contrast, China’s actions over the past week stand in stark contrast to those of the United States. For example in the wake of a new cluster of infections in Beijing, authorities sealed off neighborhoods, launched a mass testing campaign and immediately imposed travel restrictions.
On the other hand, President Trump maintains that the United States will not shut down a second time.
Commentators and experts in Europe, where cases have continued to decline, voiced concerns over the state of the U.S. response. They see the US inability to contain the virus as a threat to the global community.
It is this global threat that the US response to the coronavirus poses that perhaps justifies the suit filed by the Congolese lawyers against the Trump administration.
Evidently, the US under the leadership of Trump has questions to answer, how come he was blaming China, calling the coronavirus the “Chinese virus” when he knew that the virus was present in the US as at September 2019?
Secondly, in view of overwhelming evidence that the virus got to the US before China shouldn’t Trump apologize to China for misleading the World and blaming China?
Furthermore, can the US now tell the world why it hurriedly shut down an Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, in Fort Detrick in August of 2019 under a “cease and desist order” ?
Finally, shouldn’t the US be held accountable to the global community as the Congolese lawyers have done in their suit for failing to track and contain the virus before its global spread?
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July 22, 2020
How Senator James Manager got 300 NDDC jobs
As more revelation are unearthed regading the contract scam rocking the NDDC, investigation by Daybreak newspaper has revealed that a major beneficiary of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), contracts is Senator representing Delta South Senatorial district, James Manager.
Senator James Manager is alleged to have been awarded 300 NDDC Contracts of which none he fully executed while about 120 have been fully paid for.
The Senator has been in the red chambers since 2003 and currently serving his 5th term.
The Acting Executive Director of Projects, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh gave indication to this today during a press conference that a certain Senator secured 300 contracts for himself alone, 120 of the contracts have been fully paid for while none has been executed.
Ojougboh said the contracts were under investigation, adding that NDDC owes contractors about N3 trillion.
The acting director said the ongoing forensic audit would help uncover how the debts were incurred.
July 21, 2020