Former Commissioner of Police, Mbu: I Stopped Political Assassination in Rivers

Mr. Joseph Mbu

– We will thwart Wike’s governorship ambition, says Amaechi

Ernest Chinwo 

Former Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Joseph Mbu, has said one of his achievements in the state was to stop political assassinations.

He also said those who were rejoicing with his redeployment to the Federal capital Territory, Abuja, would soon seek his return to the state because his successor, Tunde Ogunsakin, is also a professional policeman who would not succumb to manipulations by anybody.

Mbu spoke yesterday when he led the new Rivers state commissioner of Police, Ogunsakin, on a courtesy visit to the supervising Minister of Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, in Port Harcourt.

He also debunked allegations by the Rivers State Government and the All Progressives Congress (APC) that he was a stooge of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), insisting that he carried out his duties professionally and refused to be manipulated by anybody.

Mbu said he was leaving the state with his head high because “in the past one year, Rivers state under my command did not record any political killing”, adding that he carried out his job in the state with diligence and in consonance with the professional ethics.

“I did not come here with a script as alleged by few propagandists. I have discharged my duties with diligence and for the past one year, there has not been any political assassination in Rivers state. Our sworn allegiance to the Nigeria Police Force must be upheld at all times,” he said.

Mbu advised the new commissioner of police to be wary of tinted SUV cars with Rivers State Government registration numbers as they were likely to be “agents of assassination”.

“I put them (agents of assassination) in check for one year and I advised the new CP to be careful with them”, Mbu said. He described the array of politicians who gathered in Wike’s Port Harcourt residence to receive them as the real people that own Rivers State.

“Those who are making noise all over the place are about three per cent. The 97 per cent are the people here. The ‘Who is Who’ in Rivers State are the people here,” he said.

On his part, Ogunsakin said he would build on the successes recorded by Mbu. “Mbu has done very well in keeping the crime rate low in the state. All I have to do is to sustain it and further reduce crime in the state,” Ogunsakin said.

He disclosed that he was consulting with critical stakeholders to explain his mission in the state and promised to be fair to all and maintain law and order in the state.

“We want people to move around without fear or harassment; we want to ensure peace so that elections and electioneering will be peaceful and smooth,” Ogunsakin said.

He reiterated that the ban placed on political rallies remained in force and that political activities should be guided by the Electoral Act, adding that any political gathering in the state must get police clearance five days before the event.

In his response, the Minister of education, Wike, promised the cooperation and support of the PDP and that of its members across the state.

Wike explained that PDP would look at the laws to decide whether the ban by the police was in line with the law, saying that as a law-abiding political party, the PDP would not do anything that would impact negatively on the state. He said even though Mbu was leaving the state, he was able to restore the integrity of the police in the state.

Wike said, “We will give you all the support you will require to make your job successful. There was a time when police was used to intimidate and arrest people in this state until we had to go to court to seek redress before we could hold political meetings.

“Those of us in the GDI and PDP can testify that Mbu had refused to give us permit to hold our rallies but because we do not have money as they do to go to the press, members of the public did not know about this.

“I have never met Mbu in my life. The propaganda by the other people (APC) that he was acting the script written to him by me was most unfortunate. You cannot influence Mbu in any way. That is why Rivers people protested the plan to redeploy him from the state.

“Let me appeal to you, the new CP to please ensure that lives and property in the state are well protected. Those of us who live in Abuja will not want to be afraid of coming home because of one crisis or the other. That is why we promised to give the Police our maximum support,” Wike added.

In the courtesy call were the national Vice Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus; state Chairman of the PDP, Felix Obuah; Dr. Abiye Sekibo; minister designate, Dr. Tammy Danagogo, Chief Sergeant Awuse; Chief Maxwell Tasie; among many others. 

Meanwhile,  Rivers State Governor,  Chibuike Amaechi, has said he would thwart the ambition of the Supervising Minister of Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, to take over from him as governor in 2015.
Amaechi spoke yesterday at the Thanksgiving Service of Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Senator Magnus Abe, at St. Barth’s Anglican Church, Bera, in Gokhana Local Government Area.

The governor also said Wike was not fit to be Minister of Education, as he lacked the intellectual capacity to handle that sector.

He disclosed that he nominated Wike for a ministerial appointment even though there were many better qualified people from Rivers State, because he wanted an Ikwerre man, his kinsman, to at least be made a minister.

Valentine’s Day Tragedy : 27 killed; man, pregnant wife roasted; politician shot dead

It was tragedy on a day the world celebrated St Valentine’s Day, dedicated to lovers.

The deaths, on Friday, include the 27 killed in an auto crash in Oji River, Enugu; a man and wife roasted in Benue State and a politician allegedly shot dead by a drunken policeman in Oro, Kwara State.

The Oji River incident occurred when a truck carrying stones skidded off the road and crashed into a market, killing at least 27 persons.

Some primary school students, said to be returning from school at the time of the incident, were, reportedly, among the victims.

Scores of traders, including motorcycle riders, sustained various degrees of injuries as a result of the accident, which occurred at the popular Oji River Wonderful Market on a day Nigerians were marking Valentine’s Day.

The truck, descending a hill from the Enugu end of the road, according to eye witnesses, skidded off the road after a brake failure and rammed into vehicles and motorcycles.

At least, ten motorcycles and four vehicles were damaged beyond repairs while several shops were also hit.
When Sunday Vanguard visited the scene of the accident, yesterday, an operation was in progress to remove corpses under the rubbles of shops pulled down by the truck.

Most of the victims were operators of boutiques, medicine stores and provision shops by the roadside.

The police, officials of the Federal Road Safety Commission and Civil Defense Corps, who were part of the operation, described the crash as fatal.

Eyewitnesses said those who sustained injuries were taken to the Oji River General Hospital while those with critical cases were rushed to National Orthopaedic Hospital, Enugu.

Chairman of the Market Association, Mr Augustine Mba, described the development as “tragic”, stressing that it was ” a dark day in the history of the market”.

“This is sad. I was here in my shop when I heard the bang and rushed to discover that it was an accident which claimed many lives. There are Okada people, there are traders, there are passers -by among other victims. Goods destroyed are worth several millions of naira. I don’t know the number of persons that died but it is not below eight. This is not the first time this kind of incident is taking place here. Two years ago, we witnessed a similar incident where various traders were killed”, he said.

According to him, the incident occurred around 3.00pm when the market was at full operation.
Chairman of the local government, Onyebuchi Jideofor, who mobilised to ensure that victims were rescued, was spotted helping to clear the debris.

He lamented the loss which he blamed on the inability of some road users to adhere to laid down rules.

The Enugu State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, confirmed that a total of 27 corpses were recovered from the scene.

He said that the rescue operation, which began after the incident, on Friday, lasted till yesterday afternoon, adding that investigations had commenced to determine the cause of the accident.
Fatal shooting

In Oro, in Irepodun local government area of Kwara State, tragedy struck when a police officer shot dead one Hon. Femi Awoyale, a former chairmanship  aspirant of Ekiti local government under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP).

The development sparked protests by youths in the town as the police officer, who was about to be lynched by a mob, was taken away by his colleagues from the scene of the incident.

Sunday Vanguard gathered that the incident happened around 11:15pm on  Friday when fun seekers, including Awoyale, converged in the popular” Topmost Hotel” in Oro for the celebration.

Meantime,management of the hotel had invited the police to provide security for the Valentine’s Day fun seekers.

An eye witness said the un-named officer, drunk, suddenly woke up from his sleep when he heard noise of trouble makers and fired twice into the air.

The tension doused, the drunken policeman rose up again and released another gun shot which, this time, pierced the wall of the hotel and hit Awoyale in the chest where he was said to be having fun.

The victim slumped and all efforts made to revive him proved abortive; he died.

The lifeless body of the deceased was deposited at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital(UITH) mortuary.

The angry mob at the scene were about to lynch the said officer when his colleagues smuggled him out.

This development put an abrupt end to the Valentine Day’s celebration.

The killer police officer has been arrested for interrogation  by the state  police command.

Kwara State Police Command Public Relations Officer(PPRO), ASP Ajayi Okasanmi, confirmed the incident.

Trapped in fire
In the Makurdi, Benue State capital, incident, a pregnant woman and her husband, identified as Mr. Avaan, were roasted in a mysterious fire disaster.

Sunday Vanguard gathered that the inferno, which engulfed the residence of the deceased persons, located at Akpehe area of the town, may have been started by a surge in public power supply.

“We were woken up at about midnight, on Friday, by wailings from the block of flats and, when we all ran to the place, we discovered that one of the two flats was on fire”, an eye witness said.

“The fire was so intense that it was difficult for anyone to get close to the house. The pregnant and her husband were shouting for help because it appeared as if they could not lay their hands on the keys to the door.

“Though they both struggled to the door of the house where they eventually died, efforts by co-tenants and neighbours to rescue the duo was an exercise in futility because we were helpless.

“We must also appreciate the quick intervention of the state fire service which wasted no time before storming the scene; if not for their swift response, the entire neighbourhood could have been on fire.”
A source said the deceased couple were recently married and were expecting their first child before the tragedy struck.

Meanwhile, sympathizers were seen trooping to the scene of the inferno wailing after catching a glimpse of the charred remains of the couple.

- Source:   http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/02/valentines-day-tragedy-27-killed-man-pregnant-wife-roasted-politician-shot-dead/#sthash.IYByUFmM.dpuf

9 soldiers feared killed in Boko Haram ambush

SOME Nigerian soldiers, yesterday, fired indiscriminately into the air to protest the killing of no fewer than nine of their colleagues in a deadly ambush by gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram at the border areas of Izhe in Madagali Local Government of Adamawa State.

Both local officials and military sources confirmed to newsmen that the insurgents attacked the soldiers at Madagali, a border town between Borno and Adamawa States.

Chairman of the local government, Mr. Maina Ularamu, who confirmed the attack, said he could not, however, ascertain the number of casualties. Ularamu said the soldiers were on a mission to repel an attack when they were ambushed.

Ularamu said, “The soldiers were going to repel a planned attack at Izhe, a border town, when they were ambushed by heavily armed insurgents. As I am talking to you, most villagers at the border areas have fled to Madagali, the administrative headquarters for fear of possible attacks by the insurgents. We are, however, calling on the government to station more troops with armoured tanks. These Boko Haram insurgents are well armed with sophisticated weapons.”

Vanguard learnt that the soldiers were left to face the heavily armed insurgents, who attacked them from different directions even with no aerial support to them.

It was also gathered that the soldiers protesting the killing of their colleagues complained of alleged tactical errors in the handling of the ill-fated journey.

Efforts to get the Brigade Commander of the 23 Armoured Brigade, Yola, Brigadier General Rogers Nicholas proved abortive as he was said to have gone out for an assignment.

However, a top military source confirmed the attack, saying that the soldiers carried out a raid on a Boko Haram hideout in the porous border towns which resulted in a prolonged gun duel with the insurgents. He added that some of the insurgents also died in the battle.

Hospital sources also confirmed that the bodies of the dead nine soldiers were deposited at the morgue of the Federal Medical Centre, in Yola.

A hospital source said, “The bodies of nine dead soldiers were deposited here in Federal Medical Centre,Yola. We counted only nine bodies.”

Meanwhile, the College of Education, Hong in Adamawa State has been closed down. The closure followed series of threat letters ostensibly from the insurgents threatening to attack the school.

Jonathan finally sacks aviation Minister, Stella Oduah

The gale of sack at the Presidential Villa continued, yesterday, as President Goodluck Jonathan  fired the controversial Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah and dropped three others.

Those dropped by the President included the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godsday Orubebe; Minister of Police Affairs, Caleb Olubolade and the Minister of State for Finance, Dr Yerima Ngama.

Minister of Information and Supervising Minister for Defence, Labaran Maku, who confirmed the sack said the president relieved the ministers of their appointments to allow them pursue other interests.

Mr Maku also debunked reports in the social media that the former Chief of Staff to the President, Mike Oghiadomhe was removed because of his alleged involvement in corrupt acts in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.

The Minister of Information said: “Today (yesterday) the President announced further changes in the Federal Executive Council. He said a number of ministers have been asked to step out of the federal executive council to further their own interests, some in politics, others in their own private enterprises.

“Clearly, what the President did today (yesterday) was to allow ministers who have indicated interest in pursuing further goals in the polity, in the economy and in the life of the country to be allowed to go.

From left Stella Oduah;  Right from top: Orubebe, Ngama Olubolade,

“Those asked by the President to go include the following: The Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Yerima Ngama, Minister of Police Affairs, Navy Capt. Caleb Olubolade (rtd); Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe and Minister of Aviation, Mrs. Stella Oduah.

“In announcing his  acceptance of their decision to participate in the polity, the President thanked them very sincerely for the great job they have done in helping the government realise the goals that have been achieved under the transformation agenda. The President believes that they have done so well for this administration and was generally happy with what they have done, particularly in their various sectors to help the administration realise the goals we have seen today under the transformation programme of the government.”

Refutes media reports on Oghiadomhe

“The President also further explained that contrary to some insinuations in some quarters, that our colleague, the former Chief of Staff, Chief Mike Oghiadomhe, was asked to go because of alleged involvement in NNPC alleged fraud, the President explained that contrary to these insinuations which came from the social media and were also replicated in some regular media, Chief Oghiadomhe left to pursue further interests in politics.

“The office of the Chief of Staff does not supervise the NNPC, it has no direct correlation with the NNPC and he said if Chief Oghiadomhe left because of the NNPC alleged fraud, then it will suggest that there would have been people that were involved with him and those people too would have gone.

“So contrary to these speculations, the President asked him to go when he offered to resign to pursue interest in politics. Politics is very vast so the President made it very clear that the resignation of the former Chief of Staff has nothing to do with alleged misdemeanour in NNPC but rather purely the decision of the former Chief of Staff to withdraw his services was to participate in politics”.

Supervising ministers to replace Oduah, others
Mr Maku further announced that “the President asked the following ministers to take charge of the ministries:
For the Ministry of Aviation, the Minister of State for Trade, Industry and Investment, Samuel Ortom, will supervise it until the substantive appointment of an Aviation  Minister.

“The Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, already has a Minister of State, Darius Ishaku; in the Ministry of Finance of course the CME (Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala) is already in charge. For the Ministry of  Police Affairs, the President asked the Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Olajumoke Akinjide  to take charge of the Ministry”.

Asked if other ministers who also have interests in higher political offices  would be asked to go in batches, Labaran  Maku said: “That is left for the President to decide. I am not the President but I believe sincerely that it depends on what they have communicated to Mr. President. He does not just take those decisions in isolation”.

He added that  “the President said he has asked them to go because of their interests. They have indicated interest in pursuing higher and deeper interests in the polity and so he has decided to allow them go and pursue those interests. You have to get that correctly so that you won’t go and say something like it was said in the case of the former Chief of Staff”.

Asked if the President asked Oduah to go based on the report of the presidential committee on the N255 million car scam, Maku said: “I have just reported exactly what the President said. Also don’t forget allegations don’t necessarily mean guilt and I think the press should always be patient. But the truth of the matter is that they left because they indicated interest in playing deeper roles in the politics of the country and the President has decided to let them go”.

Jubilation engulfs aviation industry

Meanwhile, the aviation industry went into jubilation, yesterday, as  many stakeholders expressed delight over the removal of Princes Stella Oduah.

Some stakeholders, however, faulted the timing of her removal, arguing that she should have been allowed to complete the airport remodelling project.

While expressing delight over the removal of the Aviation Minister, Deputy General Secretary, Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), Comrade Olayinka Abioye affirmed that President Goodluck Jonathan had just given Nigerians a valentine gift, stressing that it was a welcome development.

Comrade Abioye further noted that Princess Oduah’s tenure was full of irregularities, noting that she disrespected the unions all through her tenure.

According to him, all the remodelling of airports and upgrade of facilities did not follow due process, asking what was the cost of the airports remodelled and the source of the funds.

He also noted that most of the agencies were tasked to partake in the remodelling project. He said that the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) was asked to purchase electronic counters which were not part of the responsibility of the agency.

Comrade Abioye said: ”We will remember Princess Stella Oduah for so many things. All the remodelling project and upgrade of infrastructure, did they follow due process?  The answer is no; were the stakeholders carried along in the process? The answer is no. Were proper materials used in the buildings and the structures, the answer is no. Does FAAN which is supposed to be the supervisor in the know of several of these things? The answer is no.

“President Goodluck Jonathan has just given Nigerians a valentine gift by the removal of Princes Stella Oduah and, however painful it may be, we will cherish this gift. The House of Representatives in their report indicted the minister for violating extant rules and urged the government to review her appointment. That word review means a very big thing, if somebody is appointed in a place and there is an error and you said please can we review the appointment of this person, it means that, please get this fellow away from this place or position.”

Also speaking, the President of Aviation Round Table, (ART), Capt. Dele Ore said that the sack of  Oduah was good news, adding that he congratulates President Jonathan for the bold step he has taken.
Capt. Ore further noted that with this development, it was time to re-position the aviation sector in the right track as this would help in protecting the Category One Status of the country.

He said: ”That is good news, I congratulate President Goodluck Jonathan for the bold step he has taken though it is belated. It is a welcome development. Now that the minister has been asked to go this is the time to bring aviation back to the right track. We hope it is not too late to protect our Category One Status which is being threatened.

“We expect that her successor will be coming will correct several errors that have been committed in the process of this transformation agenda.”

EFCC to swoop on Oduah, others

Meanwhile, the stage was, yesterday, set for the nation’s anti-graft agencies to move against the former Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah.

Although the Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, told journalists that the President relieved the affected ministers of their portfolios to enable them pursue deeper political ambitions, it was clear that the former Aviation minister was booted out as a result of her involvement in the bulletproof cars scandal, which rattled the Presidency.

A top source in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, said yesterday that investigation into the matter had been going on and would now be taken to a logical conclusion with Oduah’s ouster.

The source, which declined to be named, pointed out that the coast had been cleared for the commission to resume its investigation on the multi-million scandal that shook the nation’s image at home and abroad.

The source said: “It is true that the investigation of Oduah has been ongoing and we can now take the matter to a logical conclusion to save the image of the commission and the country.”

Asked how soon the former minister would be summoned, the source said that ‘nothing would be done in secret’ when the investigation resumes.

But the removal of the minister by President Jonathan has been described as medicine after death by Mr. Abubakar Malami, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN.

Malami noted that the President should have sacked Oduah when the heat was on rather than allow her continued stay to deal a serious credibility blow on his government and Nigeria.

Malami said: “The sacking of Oduah is belated and of no relevance to this country. In fact, it is too late to say the least. She has already done a substantial damage to the credibility of this administration and her sack at the moment does not make any sense at all”.

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SOURCE: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/02/jonathan-sacks-stella-oduah/#sthash.uJ4LU9Pb.dpuf

APC Accuses PDP of Luring Lawmakers with Money

The All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of  using public funds to lure back some members of the National Assembly who had defected from the ruling party to the APC,  describing it as political horse trading carried too far.

In a statement in Lagos by its interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the PDP, in an unprecedented show of desperation, had rolled out a mouth-watering enticement package to induce its lawmakers that had defected to APC to come back.

According to the party, a returning senator will get  $2 million; $1 million for each returning member of the House of Representatives and $10 million to each 'leader' who abandons the APC for PDP.

The party said the offer to federal legislators from Rivers State was even higher at $5 million per lawmaker.

But it explained that the five House members who yesterday defected to the PDP  were neither forced to do so nor given any incentive beyond the rare opportunity offered them to be a part of the looming change.

The APC however said there was no cause for alarm, as no amount of inducement would stop the change that is in the horizon, because Nigerians are ready and eager to vote out the PDP next year.

It expressed the hope that the double defectors would declare the blood money they had collected from the PDP to those who voted them into office, and also pretend to be democratic by sharing the money with them.

''Nigerians can now see why their country has gone broke; why the allocation to states from the Federation Account has continued to dwindle, and why infrastructure  has either remained decrepit or non-existent. It is not difficult to imagine the number of boreholes that $10 million can sink, or how far such a huge amount will go in building cottage hospitals and health clinics.

''Things are bound to get worse in the days ahead because the desperate PDP will, more and more, use public funds to try to change the course of history. We therefore urge Nigerians to remain resolute in the face of what will be a wave of inducements never before seen in these climes, because there is no going back on the plan to vote out the PDP next year and save Nigeria from a rapacious and inept leadership,'' APC said.

SOURCE: Thisdaylive.com

Man beats girl-friend to death

The police in Anambra on Tuesday confirmed the arrest of a 27-year-old man suspected to have beaten his girl-friend to death in Onitsha.

The commands Public Relations Officer, Mr Emeka Chukwuemeka, said that the suspect was arrested while attempting to run away after the incident.

“A full scale investigation has commenced on the matter to unravel what really happened,’’ Chukwuemeka said.

A resident of No. 46 Old Market Road, where the incident happened, on condition of anonymity said that the suspect was in the habit of beating his girl friend even though the girl refused to let go of the relationship.

“It happened last night when we started hearing the usual beating and cry from their corner.

“At a time, it appeared that he noticed that his lover was no longer responding, so, with the help of his mother and some neigbours, they rushed her to a hospital where she was confirmed dead,’’ the witness said.

The incident reportedly happened around 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

Following the development, some residents of the compound left their homes for fear of arrest. (NAN)

Source: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/02/man-beats-girl-friend-death/#sthash.Z9eoboRu.dpuf

Same sex prohibition law: We’ll not give up – US

The United States government said, yesterday, it would not give up on its opposition to the same sex prohibition law recently signed by President Goodluck Jonathan.

According to the US government, there is still a ray of hope to ensure there is no violation of human rights in the implementation of the law.

US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Linda Thomas Greenfield, made this known on a live-web chat programme with journalists in African countries.

“US is opposed to the legislation targeted against the gay people and we will continue to press forward to see that it is changed so that those group of people will have freedom to exercise their rights.

”We are of the view that criminalisation against anybody on the basis of their sexual orientation and affiliation is wrong and we will continue to press Nigeria government and the legislators to change the anti-gay law,” Greenfield said.

Speaking on US-Nigeria’s effort towards combating Boko Haram extremism, the assistant secretary said the group had been more daring in carrying out attacks against innocent people in the country, adding that the US was working closely with the Federal Government to bring an end to extremism in the country.

She said:  “There has to be a multi-faceted approach to dealing with extremism and we will continue to work with Nigeria to combat it.

“Terrorism we know affects the whole of Nigerian people and with our collaboration with Nigerian government we hope to bring an end to it in the country as we will not relent in our effort at fighting it to a finish.”

On the US relationship with African nations generally, she said her government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the African Union in different areas and hopes to build African capacity to solve crisis within the continent.

Source: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/02/sex-prohibition-law-well-give-us/#sthash.GJIo1IqG.dpuf