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Journalists in Ondo State are mourning the death
of one of their colleagues, Funsho Muraina, who died at the Akure
Specialist Hospital on Monday.

Mr. Muraina, a former correspondent of the Punch,
later became the Ondo State chief correspondent of Thisday, before he
was transferred to Abuja as a senior editor. He was buried on Tuesday,
in his hometown, Iseyin, Oyo State.

The Ondo State governor, Olusegun Mimiko, and the
Ondo State Council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) expressed
shock over the death of Mr. Muraina. They also condoled with Fatimah,
Muraina’s wife, also a journalist, the children, and the entire Muraina
family of Iseyin.

“Funso was a quintessential journalist, brilliant,
fearless, dedicated, and hard working. He was a true lover of the pen
profession; so much so that even when he qualified as a lawyer, he
still stuck to his first love, journalism,” Mr. Mimiko said.

The chairman of the Ondo State Council of the
Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Dele Atunbi, said Mr. Muraina’s
death has once again dealt a major blow to journalism in Nigeria.
Chairman of the Correspondent Chapel, Tunde Raheem, and secretary,
Tunji Adediran, noted that the chapel received Mr. Muraina’s death with
sadness.

“Late Funso Muraina, a former chairman of the
chapel, was known to be a hardworking and fearless journalist,
committed to the ethics of the profession. He will be remembered for
his doggedness and perseverance, which saw him through the study of Law
while still engaged in active journalism,” the chapel said.

US President,
Barack Obama, voiced hope in a fence-mending meeting on Tuesday with
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that direct Israeli-Palestinian talks
would begin before a limited settlement moratorium ends in September.

“We expect
proximity talks to lead to direct talks,” Obama said as he and
Netanyahu appeared before reporters in the Oval Office. The joint
appearance was intended to display warmer relations after ties reached
a low point in March in a feud over Israeli settlement expansion.

Netanyahu echoed
Obama, who said he hoped direct negotiations would get under way “well
before” a 10-month Israeli freeze on new housing starts in West Bank
settlements expires in September.

Netanyahu has
called on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to meet him and move from
the current U.S.-mediated “proximity talks” to face-to-face
negotiations on Palestinian statehood.

It was “high time,”
Netanyahu said, to begin direct talks. Obama said he hoped
confidence-building measures by both sides would help ease the way to
such negotiations.

Palestinian leaders
say the slow-moving indirect talks have not made enough progress to
justify a return to direct negotiations suspended since late 2008.

A big question hanging over the fragile peace process is whether Netanyahu will extend the settlement expansion moratorium.

He agreed to the
limited freeze only under pressure from Obama. Its extension could
widen cracks in Netanyahu’s governing coalition, dominated by
pro-settler parties including his own.

It was a warmer
White House welcome for Netanyahu than during his previous visit in
March. As journalists filed into the Oval Office, the two leaders sat
side-by-side, leaning toward each other, chatting and smiling.

In what was widely
viewed as a snub, there was no photo-op for Netanyahu at the March
meeting amid U.S. anger over an announcement, during a visit to Israel
by Vice President Joe Biden, of plans to build 1,600 more homes for
Jews in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem.

The rare chill in relations has thawed recently with Obama shifting
to a gentler tone and Netanyahu offering conciliatory gestures,
including easing Israel’s Gaza blockade after a deadly raid on an aid
flotilla on May 31.

The men of the Ondo State Police
Command yesterday paraded a 29-year-old man, Akinmoladun Emmanuel, who
has allegedly duped several people seeking for job with the Nigerian
Police Force.

Mr. Emmanuel was arrested based on the tip off given by some members of the public who were his victims.

The man, a native of Ode-Irele, in
Irele local government area of Ondo State, was arrested at Isaac
Adebanjo Hotel, along Oke Ijebu area of Akure metropolis.

He had lodged in the hotel for about
two weeks, claiming to have been officially sent from the Inspector
General of Police’s office in Abuja to assist applicants for
recruitment.

Parading the suspect in Akure
yesterday, the spokesperson of the command, Adeniran Aremu, said the
suspect was arrested on Monday around 11am.

He added that the suspect, after he was
interrogated, said he had collected various sums of money ranging from
N20, 000 to N50, 000 from the victims, who were desperate to secure
police job.

Some of the documents found in the
possession of the suspects, according to Mr. Aremu, were: leg chains,
police buttons and Lanyard, documents from Police Service Commission,
Police Applicant forms, and other documents.

The state commissioner of police,
Ballah Magaji Nassarawa, urged applicants seeking job with the Nigerian
Police to be wary of fraudsters.

“I want to tell the applicants that ongoing recruitment into the
Nigeria Police as recruit constables is free of charge. They should be
wary of fraudulent ones that may want to dupe them in the guise of
getting police job for them,” he said.

Six days after the June 30 deadline for compliance with
international standards in the war against terrorism and money laundering, the
anti-terror bill made it through public hearing, half way to becoming law.

The bill seeks to provide for international standard measures to
combat terrorism in Nigeria. Adoption of the bill marks Nigeria’s full
compliance with the international requirements for combating terrorism,
recommended by Financial Action Task Force (FATF), established by the G7 Summit
held in Paris in 1989.

The anti-money laundering bill, a complement bill based on
similar recommendations by FATF, is already being considered for final passage
by the Senate.

According to a letter President Goodluck Jonathan wrote the
National Assembly in April to expedite action on the bill, Nigeria may be
blacklisted again by the FATF, if the bills are not passed into law by the end
of June.

The public hearing, a major milestone in law making, gives the
public an opportunity to criticise or contribute to the law. However, the
anti-terror bill hearing was attended only by a few civilians and
representatives of the police anti-terror unit, who asked to be heard in private.

David Mark, the Senate president, said the bill was not targeted
at any group, given the religious intonation given to most acts of terrorism.

“Our cultures and religions forbid the taking of lives of our
fellow human beings,” the Senate president said. “For the avoidance of doubt,
this bill is for the general interest of all Nigerians, and not targeted at any
group. Terrorism is gruesome and evil, and must not be condoned. I condemn
terrorism in its entire ramification.” Also, Nuhu Aliyu, the Senate committee
chairman on security, argued that terrorism is not a faith-based act.

“Terrorists are people without faith,” he said. “No religion
tells people to kill each other,” he said.

The Bill

The bill has five essential parts covering acts of terrorism and
related offences, terrorism funding and terrorist properties, mutual assistance
and extradition, investigation and prosecution.

The acts of terrorism covered by the bill include attacks upon a
person’s life, which may cause bodily harm or death, kidnappings, destruction
of government or public facility, or private property in manner likely to
endanger human life or result in a major economic loss.

The bill also covers seizure of aircrafts, ships, or other means
of public transport. The manufacture, possession, acquisition, transport,
supply or use of weapons, and explosives – nuclear, biological, and chemical
weapons inclusive -are also covered by the bill.

The propagation and dissemination of information in any form calculated to
cause panic, evoke violence, or intimidate a government, person, or group of
persons, also falls within the radar of terrorism the bill seeks to deal with
or prevent.

The House of Representatives yesterday passed a resolution
granting staff of the National Assembly a Consolidated Salary structure
(CONLSS).

With the resolution, all workers of the federal legislature will
be entitled to 100 per cent increase in their salaries. The Senate had passed a
similar motion last month.

The chairman of the Committee on Rules and Business, Ita Enang,
while introducing the motion in the House, said it approved the structure in
May and transmitted to the Senate for concurrence, adding that the upper
chamber passed it with some differences.

As a result, Mr Enang
stated, the two chambers met on June 22 and adopted a harmonised version of the
structure, which he said will encourage commitment and dedication to work.

The increment was based on the agreement between the National
Assembly Service Commission (NASC) and the Parliamentary Staff Association of
Nigeria (PASAN). Interestingly, the increase is coming at a time when the
representatives and senators are demanding an increment in their allowances to
N27.2 million and N80 million respectively.

However, the new National Assembly (NASS) staff structure will
be deployed in batches, with 50 per cent being paid immediately while the
remaining 50 per cent will be spread over the next eight years.

The immediate implementation of the first 50 per cent will gulp
about N11 billion annually, about N4.65 above the N6.3 billion which is the
current salary of the NASS staff.

Two more bills

At present, the NASC has a total of 317 workers while the
legislative aides are 2,942.

Also, on Tuesday, the House passed two bills into law. They are
‘A Bill for an Act to Regulate the Conduct of Federal, State and Area Council
Elections and to Repeal the Electoral Act 2006, and for Other Related Matters,
2010,’ and ‘A Bill for an Act to Confer Exclusive Original Jurisdiction in the
Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, on Chieftaincy Matters on the Customary Court
of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and to Provide for Matters
Related Thereto, 2010.’

Another one ‘A Bill for an Act to Amend the Institute for Democratic and
Legislative Studies Act, 2007 and for Other Matters Connected Therewith, 2010,’
scaled second reading.

The federal government will continue to support the Nigerian
Army as it deepens the professionalism of its officers and works to strengthen
democracy and freedom in the country, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan said
yesterday at this year’s Nigerian Army Day Celebration (NADCEL), which held at
the Eagle Square, Abuja.

Mr. Jonathan, who warned that ethnic and religious bigotry in
the nation’s army could compromise its integrity and virtues, and endanger the
nation’s democracy, if not checked, cautioned officers and soldiers of the Nigerian
Army to shun all forms of ethnic and religious sentiments in the discharge of
their duties.

“In defending the peace today, we are faced with new challenges
as exemplified in skirmishes within the nation,” he said. “We must remember
that some of the greatest dangers to our democracy and freedom are shrouded in
the perils of ethnicity and religious intolerance. These evils threaten our
very existence as one sovereign and indivisible nation.”

The president, who urged the leadership of the Nigerian Army to
“discourage such sentiments and encourage our men to see each other as brothers
in the pursuit of a common destiny,” commended the Nigerian Army for its
loyalty and subordination to civil authority, while pledging that his
administration will do more to improve the welfare of its officers and men.

Mr. Jonathan enjoined the nation’s Armed Forces to continue to
maintain the high level of professionalism, which has earned Nigeria a good
name and enhanced her status in the international community.

He said that with the high expectation from African nations in
peacekeeping, Nigeria remains committed to international security and will
continue to work in close collaboration with these nations to promote peace,
stability, and development on the African continent and the globe.

The president, who urged the Armed Forces to forestall any
breach of the nation’s territorial integrity at all times, said it must be
vigilant and alert to support the police in maintaining peace when called upon.

Awards presentations

He added that government will build on the peace efforts of
late president, Umaru Yar’Adua, in the Niger Delta region by providing
infrastructural development, but called on the Armed Forces to “guard against
economic saboteurs and their international collaborators who constantly plot to
deny the nation of her resources and heritage.”

President Jonathan presented 14 Distinguished Post Service
Medals to deserving awardees, comprising seven retired and seven serving soldiers.
Some of the awardees are the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar; the Primate of
the Anglican Communion in Nigeria, Nicholas Okoh; and anti-corruption activist,
Ishola Williams (rtd).

He also later commissioned the Nigerian Army Headquarters
Command Officers’ Mess in Asokoro District.

The Chief of Army Staff, Abdurahman Dambazau, thanked Mr.
Jonathan for his “deep commitment” to the efficiency and professionalism of the
Nigerian Army and the Armed Forces in general and pledged the army’s unalloyed
loyalty to the president and the Nigerian people.

The occasion witnessed colourful parades and regimental
displays by battalions of the Nigerian Army, as well as the presentation of the
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Commendation Award to six officers and nine soldiers.

“We are recognising the post-service achievements of some
retired officers and discharged soldiers. These are also part of the efforts
toward motivating our personnel who have disengaged from military service,” Mr.
Dambazau said. “The NADCEL is a period earmarked in retrospect to assess our
achievements vis-à-vis our constitutional duties. This year’s celebration is
indeed grand, and rightly more so, as we enjoy the spirit of our growing
uninterrupted democracy.”

He added that the army had contributed immensely to the
provision of “security ambience” for national values to thrive.

“The past 11 years of our nascent democratic experience had
very profound challenges on our status as the oldest and most versatile
component of the national instrument for ensuring the inviolability of
Nigeria’s territory and the maintenance of internal peace and security. The
challenges within the context of international dynamics are helping to reshape
our focus and form, as amplified in our transformation programme,” Mr. Dambazau
said.

He said the focus of the army’s leadership was currently on
effective utilisation of available resources, adherence to military values,
effective command and control, observance of the rule of law, and excellent
civil-military relations.

The
Rivers State government has banned dredging within Port Harcourt
metropolis, comprising Port Harcourt City Council, Obi/Akpo and part of
Eleme Local Government Areas.

The state’s
Commissioner for Environment, Kinglsey Chinda, announced the ban in
Port Harcourt on Monday during a meeting with some dredging companies.

He explained that
the decision was to safeguard the environment, pointing out that the
preservation of the environment was a responsibility for both the
government and the public.

According to Mr
Chinda, the government acknowledged the role of dredgers in the
economic growth of the state, especially in the area of employment
generation and business investment, but noted that in taking the
decision, the government overlooked the monetary gains that would have
accrued to it from the business.

He stressed the
need for the companies to conduct environmental impact assessments
before dredging in any community, and enjoined them to always tell
their host communities the truth. He noted that the inability of some
firms to be honest had resulted in ineffective monitoring of their
activities, and impacted negatively on the environment.

Rufus Godwin, the
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, said the interest
of the ministry in the activities of dredgers was anchored on the
safety of Rivers environment and its people. Michael Odebode,
Commanding Officer, Hydrographic School, Borikiri, Port Harcourt,
decried the attitude of some dredgers and called for a sincere approach
by companies in their dealings with the people.

Also speaking, the Director, Flood and Erosion Control with the
State’s Ministry of Environment, Sopakirite Ikiriko, observed that most
dredging companies mobilised to sites without approval from the
ministry, noting that “such act is punishable”.

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
Chairman, Okwesilieze Nwodo, says the party will soon begin online
registration of new members. Mr. Nwodo announced the measure on Sunday
in Enugu at a thanksgiving service to mark his appointment. “We want to
bring about online registration to PDP where your biometric data will
be captured after you must have paid your fees,” he said. “The online
registration will be on for 24 hours, seven days a week. The bank
accounts and banks to be used for the registration will be made public.
There should not be barriers to membership of the party. Days are gone
when, if your ward chairman does not like your face, you will not be
registered.” The chairman promised that his administration would end
the issue of godfatherism in the party, saying: “we will make this a
fundamental internal change in the PDP.”

The National Drug Law Enforcement
Agency (NDLEA), on Monday, announced the arrest of three ex-convicts
and 18 others for peddling illicit drugs. According to the
anti-narcotics agency, the suspects, Chugbogu Joseph, 51; Uzoaru
Oliver, 35; and Oparaji Anthony, 40; all arrested in the month of June,
were earlier arrested by the NDLEA and convicted by the law.

“While two of the ex-convicts, Chugbogu
Joseph, and Uzoaru Oliver, were previously nabbed at the Lagos airport,
Oparaji Anthony was earlier arrested at the Mallam Aminu Kano
International Airport in Kano,” said Mitchell Ofoyeju, spokesperson for
the agency. Mr. Ofoyeju disclosed that Chigbogu Joseph was first
arrested on September 24, 2005 with 1.12kg cocaine, and after
completing his jail term he went back into drug trafficking by
ingesting 1.91kg of cocaine. According to the agency’s spokesperson,
Uzoaru Oliver was arrested in April 2008 and got a year sentence for
attempting to smuggle narcotics out of the country. “Few months after
completing his jail term, he ingested 915g of cocaine,” he said.
“Similarly, Oparaji Anthony also made the agency’s long list of drug
accused persons convicted in Kano. He too like few others is back into
the criminal act.”

Drug implications assessment

Calling for a critical assessment of
the implications of drug trafficking and the monetary value of drugs in
awarding punishment to drug culprits, Ahmadu Giade, chief executive of
the agency disclosed that a one-year sentence for an accused caught
with drugs worth over N10 million is grossly incommensurate. “The grave
implications of drug trafficking on the individual, family and society
must be appreciated by all,” he said. “Every act of drug trafficking
affects the image of our country. The economy also suffers from money
laundering activities just as the health condition of drug addicts
further deteriorate. We must strive to get the punishment right for
drug crimes. This will naturally complement supply control efforts of
the agency. On the contrary, if the attraction is higher than the
punishment more people will be attracted to narcotic smuggling. It is
laughable that some drug suspects may even start planning the next trip
from the day of their arrest.”

Hamza Umar, the airport commander for the agency, disclosed that the
airport command apprehended 21 suspected drug traffickers including
three ex-convicts and narcotics weighing 26.7kg were equally seized
last month, adding that the drugs consist of 26.02kg of cocaine and
700g of heroin. “Those arrested include 18 males and three females and
the estimated street value of the seized drugs has been placed at 260
million naira,” he said.

Abimbola Banjoko, the judge of the Abuja High Court,
will on October 26, decide if the alleged suppression of relevant
documents by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is
enough reason for her to discontinue a case filed against an accused,
Chima Ejekwolu, by the commission.

The commission, in April last year, filed a one-count
charge against Mr. Ejekwolu, a lawyer, accusing him of trying to
defraud his client by claiming a 10 percent charge for the EFCC.

The accused, however, filed a motion in November
asking the court to quash the charge against him. One of the reasons
Mr. Ejekwolu gave is that “there was a deliberate suppression of
relevant facts by the prosecution (EFCC), which misled the court into
granting the leave to prefer the charge.”

Ten percent cut

NEXT had in previous reports showed how the EFCC –
according to documents before the court – deliberately kept implicating
documents from the court, which showed that the commission’s chairman,
Farida Waziri, was involved in the 10 percent payment being allegedly
charged by the EFCC and its agents.

Though the commission denies this, Mr. Ejekwolu in an
affidavit before the court, stated that Mrs. Farida was not only
involved, but that he was threatened at the commission’s office to deny
her involvement.

Mild confusion, however, occurred in court as Mrs.
Banjoko had to decide on which counter affidavit to adopt as arguments
for the EFCC.

The commission, which had earlier filed a counter
affidavit on April 12 this year, filed another one on May 14. Saad
Abubakar, the EFCC lawyer, in his explanation to the court, denied
knowledge of the second counter-affidavit saying, “I am not aware of
it”, after which he withdrew it from the court.

In an interview with NEXT, Mr. Abubakar explained
that he withdrew the second counter affidavit because “you cannot file
two applications in the same proceeding,” saying someone from the
commission’s legal department had filed the second application not
knowing that he had already filed one.

This is, however, not the first time a department of
the EFCC is showing lack of coordination. The commission recently
admitted that a bag containing sensitive documents, recovered from the
home of a suspect, got missing when some of its officials boarded a
commercial flight from Lagos to Abuja.

Mr. Abubakar also explained that the EFCC might be
introducing more charges against Mr. Ejekwolu, as they are still going
on with their investigations.

He stated that Fred Holm, whom the EFCC claims Mr. Ejekwolu tried to defraud, would also appear as a witness.