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Ibadan, the Oyo
State capital, experienced peace on Thursday, as the state police
command commenced a 24-hour surveillance on all the major motor parks
to forestall a repeat or escalation of Wednesday’s wee-hour
bloodletting between the two factions of the state’s National Union of
Road Transport Workers (NURTW).

Since early
Wednesday, the police have beefed up security across the town to
restore peace shattered by the fight which reportedly claimed three
lives and damaged scores of vehicles.

Convoys of police
patrol vehicles moved round the major motor parks within the city,
while Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) and other patrol vehicles,
manned by stern-looking policemen, were stationed at various areas of
the town on Thursday.

Olabisi Okuwobi,
the state’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), said the effort was
on the orders of Baba Adisa Bolanta, Commissioner of Police, to ensure
that the peace of the town is not disrupted and hoodlums are not
allowed to inflict injuries on innocent citizens living in the state.

Ms Okuwobi said the
police were on top of the situation, but added that they were yet to
apprehend more suspects in connection with the incident, aside the two
arrested on Thursday.

In spite of this, unconfirmed reports of skirmishes were reported at a few of the motor parks in Ibadan on Thursday.

Hardship on commuters

Members of the
drivers’ union withdrew their vehicles from the roads yesterday,
thereby, imposing hardship on commuters. The union members said they
did that to protest the killing of their members in Wednesday’s fight.

Lateef Salako (aka
Elewe-Omo), led other members of his group to the offices of the state
governor, Adebayo Alao-Akala; the state commissioner of police as well
as the complex of the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS) to
display the corpses of three of his members who were allegedly killed
during the fight.

Since the fight
involved heavy exchange of fire power, doubt has been raised on the
police’s claim that the fight only claimed the three lives being
carried around by Elewe-Omo.

NEXT’s
investigation at the state police headquarters yesterday revealed that
until early Thursday, Mr. Bolanta was not privy to the fact that the
attack was provoked by the Elewe-Omo’s faction, who had used the cover
of night to dislodge the faction of the recently reinstated Lateef
Akinsola (aka Tokyo), from their Olomi state secretariat.

When the three
corpses were brought to the governor’s office late Wednesday, Taofeek
Arapaja, deputy governor of the state, who spoke on behalf of the state
governor, promised the government’s readiness to probe the killing and
bring the culprits to book.

The threat and
promise notwithstanding, many Ibadan residents believe that the
sustained mayhem inflicted on the state by the hoodlums is made
possible by the state’s politicians, who often use the hoodlums for
their selfish ends. The renewed violence is already building tension in
the state, particularly as preparations towards the 2011 elections
gather momentum.

Despite the state
government’s proscription of the union and its order that the local
government chairmen should take over the management of parks across the
state, the same old situation of thugs collecting money from drivers
still dominates parks in the state. Tokyo claims these men belong to
the faction controlled by his opponent, Elewe-Omo.

The governor of Kogi State, Ibrahim Idris, on
Thursday filed a lawsuit against the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC), seeking to stop the electoral body from holding
governorship election in the state next year.

Mr Idris is asking a Federal High Court in Abuja to
prevent the commission from holding elections for his seat until April
5, 2012. He joined his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, as
defendant in the case.

Tenure elongation

Last month, INEC announced that the tenures of
governors who were re-elected after their 2007 elections were cut short
by tribunals will end on May 29, 2011. Mr. Idris is one of five
governors who fall into the category. Others are the governors of
Ekiti, Adamawa, Bayelsa, and Cross River.

In the originating summons filed by Mr. Idris’
counsel, Lateef Fagbemi, the lawyer said “since he (Idris) was elected
to the office of Governor of Kogi State in a fresh election conducted
by INEC and took Oath of Allegiance and Oath of Office on 5th April,
2008, there would be no room for election until 2012”.

INEC is the first defendant in the suit while PDP is second defendant.

Mr. Idris’ action was commenced upon the expiration
of an ultimatum issued to INEC in a letter written by his counsel
asking it to discontinue any step towards conducting an election for
the governorship seat in Kogi State which it has scheduled for January
2011.

Specifically, he cited the provision of Section 180
(2) of the 1999 Constitution, providing for a – four year tenure of
office for a governor from the day he took the Oath of office and Oath
of Allegiance as the sacrosanct provision of the law which cannot be
abridged or ignored.

He is also praying the court for “an order of
injunction restraining the PDP, whether by itself, its agents, servants
or privies, or whosoever and howsoever defined or called from releasing
guidelines / timetable and from conducting primaries or putting
machinery into motion or from taking any decision on candidates(s) to
contest Governorship Election in Kogi State on the platform of PDP
against January, 2011.”

Matter of interpretation

Mr. Fagbemi wants the court to resolve the questions
in the governor’s favour, consequently declare that his tenure would
run until April 5, 2012 and that INEC was incompetent to abridge his
four year tenure by conducting any election into the office while his
tenure subsists.

He wants the court to declare that INEC cannot
conduct any election into the Kogi State Governorship election earlier
than sixty days before Idris’ terminal date of April 5, 2012.

No date has been fixed for hearing of the matter, as it has not been assign to any Judge.

The National Executive Committee of the PDP met on
Wednesday and ratified the guidelines for the party primaries for all
elective offices. The NEC also ratified the fees to be paid for
expression of interest/ nomination fees by aspirants.

Special congresses election at state assembly
constituencies hold nationwide on October 2, 2010, while the run-off if
any is slated to hold on October 4, 2010.

Electoral appeals arising from the exercise hold on October 5, 2010.

A gubernatorial primary is to hold from October 6-8, 2010. On
October 6, 2010 there will be special congresses (Primary Elections)
and LGAs in senatorial district 1. On October 7, 2010, it will be the
turn of LGAs in North or West 2, while on October 8, 2010, LGAs it will
hold in senatorial district 3. Electoral appeals is fixed for October
10, 2010.

The Police Command in Kano
State on Wednesday arrested 34 persons in different parts of the
state for offences ranging from armed robbery, drug peddling to
kidnapping.

Parading the suspects at the command’s headquarters, Muhammad Gana, Police
Commissioner in the state, said the Police had declared the state a war zone for
criminals.

He said the command had also put in place a house-to-house
monitoring strategy to flush out criminals
from their hiding places.

Mr Gana cited the case of a
suspect involved in kidnapping a businessman who was also duped of
more than 29,000 dollars.

The commissioner, however, said the police will
require the support of residents in information gathering until crime was
reduced to its barest minimum.

The federal government has approved the review of the Owena Dam Water Treatment Plant Project in Akure,

Ondo State, which
commenced in May 2007. An additional sum of N4.3 billion has been voted
for the project, increasing the total contract sum to N11.6billion.

The Minister of
information and communication, Dora Akunyili said this while briefing
journalists after the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting which
was initially chaired by Goodluck Jonathan, who later left to condole
with victims of the flood in Sokoto State, leaving Vice President
Namadi Sambo to chair the meeting.

Flanked by the
minister of state, Labaran Maku and the Minister of State for
Education, Mrs. Akunyili said a provision for Owena Dam Water Treatment
Plant Project has been made in 2010 Capital Budget.

“The contractor
commenced work in May 2007. However, due to foundation treatment,
changes in the final design and price escalation of construction
materials, the contractor requested for augmentation to the tune of
N4,703,236,922.69 to ensure completion of the project; but the BPP
reviewed the augmentation downward to N4,339,944,789.53” she said.

The council also
granted approval for the augmentation of contract for completion of the
Sabke Dam head work and access road project in Daura Local government
of Katsina State. The project was handed over to the ministry of water
resources by the defunct Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) in 1999.

Council approved a
total of N415 million as additional cost, increasing the total sum to
N1.2billion, with a completion period of ten months.

Mrs. Akunyili said there is an amended appropriation in the sum of N6billion in 2010 for the project.

Africa water council

The meeting also
approved the ratification of hosting Agreement and Domestication of the
African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) and authorized the ministry
of justice to prepare the instrument of ratification.

The African
ministers responsible for water had converged in Abuja in 2002 and
adopted the Abuja Ministerial Declaration on “water- a key to
sustainable Development in Africa” and had decided to establish the
African Council on Water. The secretariat is to be established in Abuja.

FEC also approved
the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Law of
Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses; and the Agreement
and Statute on Functioning of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF).

Other approvals are those for Nigeria to sign the Convention on
Substantive Rules Regarding Intermediated Securities (also known as the
Geneva Securities Convention) as well as the Convention on the Law
Applicable to Certain Rights of Securities Held With an Intermediary
(the Hague Securities Convention).

About 83 vehicles
were destroyed on Wednesday as members of the two factions of the Oyo
State chapter of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW)
engaged one another in hot battle in the wee hours of the day.

The vehicles, which included exotic cars and commercial vehicles, were either burnt or vandalised by the rampaging hoodlums.

An eyewitness told
NEXT that the fracas started around 1am when sporadic shooting started
within the neighbourhood of the Academy-Olomi state secretariat of the
union. Buildings within the area also fell victims of the shooting, as
some of them were riddled with bullets, while the damaged vehicles were
either shot at or matcheted.

Like a fresh war
scene, the adjoining streets in the area were littered with hundreds of
disused cartridges and carcasses of the damaged vehicles.

The duel, which
reportedly lasted for about three hours, saw the assailants enter the
union’s secretariat where furniture and other valuable equipment were
destroyed. The assailants shot their ways into the building after
destroying a black Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) belonging to Lateef
Akinsola (aka Tokyo), recently reinstated chairman of the union, who
was suspected to be the target of the attack.

Mr. Akinsola was said to have narrowly escaped being killed as he left the building before the attackers gained entrance.

Scores injured
during the fight have been hospitalised at an undisclosed hospital in
Ibadan, where they are believed to be safe from arrest or possible
further attack.

Lekan Aleshinloye,
a factional secretary of the union, told journalists in Ibadan that
members loyal to Tokyo had the premonition of the attack, adding that
the information informed the decision of some of them to keep vigil at
the office.

He said the men
stationed at the office premises confronted the assailants as soon as
sporadic shootings started. He added that the men retreated when they
saw that the assailants were led by policemen identified as men from
the state’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

He claimed that
besides the 15 vehicles that conveyed them to the scene, the assailants
convoy was backed with a police Armoured Personnel Carrier.

Blameless police

The state police
command, however, denied any culpability in the matter. Baba Adisa
Bolanta, state commissioner of police, said his men were only drafted
to the scene to restore peace when information on breakdown of law and
order in the area were reported to the police. He said the police had
arrested two suspects in connection with the incident.

Abiodun Ige, the
area commander in charge of Iyaganku, led a combined team of armed
policemen and men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps to
the troubled area at about 11am to assess the extent of damages.

Mr. Ige came in company of all the divisional police officers in charge of the police divisions in the area command.

Both Tokyo and
Lateef Salako (aka Elewe-Omo), the two proverbial elephants in the
fight, could not be reached on phone yesterday as their mobile phones
were said to have been switched off.

A statement by the
state police command, signed by its spokesperson, Okuwobi Olabisi, said
it has recovered three dead bodies. It said the bodies were brought to
the police headquarters by Eleweomo at about 12 noon yesterday.

“The command wants to use this medium to assure good members of the
public of their safety in view of the crisis rocking the state NURTW.
Troublemakers, no matter how highly placed in the society and their
foot soldiers, are by this medium warned to desist forthwith as the
command has deployed both human and material logistics needed to tackle
their activities headlong,” she said.

Goodluck Jonathan yesterday decorated
the newly appointed service chiefs. The service chiefs were promoted
one step higher in their ranks.

President Jonathan implored them to
ensure that the menace of kidnapping is wiped out of the country,
through cooperation with the Nigerian Police Force.

The decoration ceremony took place
shortly before the commencement of the weekly Federal Executive Council
(FEC) meeting at the Council Chambers of the presidential villa. Family
and friends of the newly decorated military chiefs were on ground to
witness the occasion, which took off shortly after 10am.

The newly appointed Director General of
the State Security Service (SSS), Ita Ekpenyong, and the DG of the
Nigerian Intelligence Agency, E. O. Oladeji, were also recognised.

The promotion of the Acting Inspector
General of police, Hafiz Ringim, to the post of substantive IG is
pending the confirmation of the National Council of States, which is
made up of governors.

Speaking during the ceremony, Mr
Jonathan urged the chiefs to devise measures to reposition the defence
intelligence system both at home and abroad. “We are all gathered to
witness the decoration of the nation’s chief of defence staff, and
chiefs for the army, navy and air force, who in the exercise of my
powers as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, I appointed last
week,” the president said. “The chief of defence staff, Oluseyi
Petirin, former Air Marshal, is now Air Chief Marshal; the Chief of
Defence Staff, Azubuike Ihejirika, was Major-General, is now
Lieutenant-General; the Chief of Naval Staff, Ola Ibrahim, was a Rear
Admiral, is now Vice-Admiral and the Chief of Air Staff, Mohammed Dikko
Umar, was Air Vice Marshal, is now Air Marshal.”

Political challenges

Mr Jonathan stated that in spite of
several political challenges we have faced as a nation, the armed
forces have, in the last one decade, remained resolute in defence of
democracy in our country.

“The armed forces’ complete submission
to civil authority in compliance with the provisions of the
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has helped to sustain
our collective efforts to develop a true democratic culture in the
country,” he said.

“For this act of unflinching loyalty, I
commend our officers and men. I thank the immediate past chief of
defence staff, Air Marshal Paul Dike; the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen.
Ibrahim Danbazau; the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice-Admiral Ishaya
Ibrahim; and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Petirin who is now the
CDS, for the sterling leadership they provided to the armed forces in
the last two years of their service.

“I urge you to see your appointment as
another opportunity for higher service to your fatherland. You must,
therefore, remain committed, dedicated and loyal to the constitution of
the Federal Republic.”

He said the men were coming to service
at a very critical moment in our history, with our country facing
internal security challenges, such as kidnapping, militia terrorizing
parts of the country and others. “You must work effectively with the
police to ensure that we put this ugly part of Nigeria’s history behind
us as soon as possible.

“Government will do everything to
support you to make sure that these rampant cases of kidnapping and
militia harassing, maiming, destroying and killing people in parts of
this country, is a thing of the past,” he said.

He urged Nigerians to cooperate with and support the new officers to
succeed, adding that their “success will bring security to this country
that all Nigerians are looking up to”.

The Federal government yesterday denied that only
fifty per cent of electricity workers have being paid the monetisation
benefits which was agreed upon for the suspension of a nationwide
strike by the workers weeks ago.

The Minister of State for Power, Nuhu Wyas told NEXT
Wednesday that while the payment has not been completed as claimed by a
senior official of the union over the weekend, more than 80% were paid
as at Tuesday.

“Out of over 44,000 eligible workers, over 36,000
have been verified and paid,” he said in a text message yesterday.
“Outstanding is over 8,000 only,” he added.

The National Union of the Electricity Workers called
off its strike on August 26, 2010 after agreeing with the federal
government that the disputed benefit totalling about N67 billion would
be cleared within two weeks.

As the date elapsed last Sunday, the Secretary of the
electricity workers union’ Joe Ajaeroh said only 50% of the targeted
beneficiaries could be met hinting at the possibility of renewed
industrial action in the sector.

The union acknowledged there was a disparity between
the amount claimed to have been paid by the government, and those
actually paid. It however hoped to harmonise the differences between
Monday and Tuesday, allowing for the two public holidays declared last
week.

But the Minister said the delay in completing the
payment exercise was due to a complex verification of lawful
beneficiaries resulting from poor records. “These outstanding are due
to poor records, lack of proper identification of next of kin for
deceased workers, unavailability of those who have left the service” he
said. The issues are currently being addressed by external auditors, Mr
Wya stated.

The union could not confirm its position to NEXT as at yesterday but
seems to be in agreement with the claim made by the federal government.
The organising secretary of union’s Abuja Zonal office, Temple Iworima
said the payment is going on, and so far, 33,000 workers were paid
while the few leftovers are to be resolved.

Bello Garba Bello,
the first son of the late senior official of the state security service
killed on Monday in Kano, has allegedly confessed that he was the one
who actually stabbed his father, Garba Bello, his mother, Habiba and
his three siblings to death in a murder case that has shocked residents
of the city.

Twenty-two-year-old
Mr Bello (Baba) made this confession yesterday at the headquarters of
the Kano State Police Command, Bompai Kano.

The state Police
Commissioner, Mohammed J. Gana, showed journalists a handwritten
confessional statement allegedly written by the suspect, in which he
confessed to killing his family and said that after he killed them, he
tried to commit suicide but couldn’t after realising the enormity of
what he did.

Mr Bello, who is a
200 level Physics student of the Kano State University of Technology,
Wudil (KSUT), had also all egedly confessed, in a hand written
statement submitted to the state command of the State Security Service
(SSS), that he single-handedly carried out the killings. He also
claimed that his anger was that his father was going to die because of
his terminal illness and that he could not bear the responsibilities of
catering for his mother and siblings that would follow subsequently.

He said in the
statement that he stabbed his parents and three of his siblings to
death at about 2am on Monday this week. “My father cannot provide for
my basic needs, so I killed them all with knives,” the statement to the
police reads. “It was painful to me and the entire family. It was an
unbearable, irreparable loss. My father has been bedridden and I know
he is not going to survive. I did the job alone.

“The intention was
to wipe out the entire family and after that, I called my neighbours,
Isiaku and Buhari immediately after the incident.”

Speculations not at rest

Security officials
say his confession puts to rest speculations about the motive behind
the killing of 54-year-old Bello and four members of his family.

The incident also
saw 40-year-old Habiba strangulated and three of their children,
16-year-old Hafsat; 14-year-old Khalifa and five-year-old Murjatu
murdered in cold blood.

One Umar Danjani,
who claimed to be a relation of the deceased SSS official, has,
however, disagreed with the police and the said confessional statement
of Mr Bello.

Mr Danjani said
that Farouk, the other surviving son of the late Bello, told the family
that he saw another man who was wearing a white singlet, called Aminu,
kill his family members. He also said some neighbours heard the sound
of a whistle and sound of many persons.

“This means that the younger Bello did not carry out the killings alone,” he said.

A yet to be disclosed group has launched an SMS platform for Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign.

This platform may get wider coverage than the road campaign, as every network subscriber is said to be targeted by the texts.

In an SMS branded
“J.Goodluck”, which was sent to NEXT and a few others who confirmed
they too had received the text, Mr Jonathan solicits support from
Nigerians to join him in transforming our nation.

In the text, which
was obviously sent in bulk, Mr Jonathan said: “we are on the road to
rebuild our Nation. Stand with me, Stand for transformation”.

The SMS platform
may be the starting point of the president’s campaign which, NEXT
learnt, has its slogan as “Time for Transformation,” though it has not
yet been unveiled.

All-inclusive participation

Former Vice
President, Atiku Abubakar, has also launched a new campaign website as
a way of ensuring an all-inclusive participation in his campaign to
become Nigeria’s next president.

The website aims at
giving all Nigerians, including those living abroad, the opportunity to
make input in his campaign. “I want to run an inclusive campaign. I
want to hear from all Nigerians and respond to their questions and
concerns,” Mr Abubakar said yesterday, in a statement released by his
campaign office in Abuja.

The website, which was launched Monday, September 13, 2010, has already attracted over 2000 hits in less than 24 hours, he said.

He also launched his presence on the social media (Twitter and
Facebook) as a way of attracting younger Nigerians to support his
candidacy.

The Edo State command of the Nigeria Police on
Tuesday attributed the recent spate of kidnappings and other violent
crimes in the state to the delay in reporting criminal cases to enable
the police authorities embark on prompt action.

Residents of the ancient city were just recovering
from the shock of the brutal assassination of 86-year-old female
politician, Grace Osakwe, when the news of the abduction of Olabisi
Ihenyen, the Chief Medical Director of the Federal Psychiatric
Hospital, Uselu, Benin, and her husband, Lionel, broke.

To compound the apparent embarrassment of the
security agencies and their failure to check the spate of kidnappings,
Lucy Omagbon, a former commissioner of Lands, Survey and Housing in the
state, was also reported kidnapped last Sunday.

Delay by relatives

Reacting to the security situation in the state, the
command’s acting public relations officer, Ejiroro Ahwara, decried the
delay in reporting such cases to the command by relatives of victims.

He stated that rather than prompt reporting of
abduction cases to the police, relatives of the victims usually engage
in negotiation with the kidnappers.

“The police are compelled to work under critical
situations when the families of the victims are already negotiating
with the kidnappers,” he said.

Mr Awhara appealed to members of the public to always
be on the alert and also to report criminal activities and any
suspicious movements to the police on time. He also revealed that the
abductors of Mrs Omagbon had contacted her relatives.

Mrs Ihenyen and her husband regained their freedom
from their captors on Monday night, although this could not be
confirmed as at press time. It was also not clear how much their family
paid out in ransom. We, however, gathered that the family had offered
the sum of N5 million to the kidnappers, which was allegedly refused.

Medical workers in the state, especially in Benin, had embarked on
strikes to protest the kidnap of medical personnel and to pressurise
the government to crack down on kidnap gangs in the state.