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The Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) is mourning the loss of its key operative, Abdullahi
Muazu, who was killed yesterday in his home in Kaduna. Mr Muazu was,
until his death, the head of the Forensic Unit of the anti-graft agency.

The EFCC says that there is not enough
evidence to suspect any particular person, as Mr Muazu had been
involved in several EFCC cases. An operative of the agency, who asked
not to be named, told NEXT in Abuja that Mr Muazu was very involved in
the ongoing trials of the bank chiefs who were sacked by the Central
Bank of Nigeria (CBN) last year.

“Muazu was involved in virtually all
our cases because he was the head of the Forensic Unit, so it is
difficult to say that we suspect any particular person,” the EFCC
official said. “I know that he was very much involved in all the trials
of the Bank Chiefs, you know with checking finger prints and all that.”
The spokesman of the commission, Femi Babafemi, in a press statement
made available to NEXT, condemned the killing; adding that the
anti-graft agency is strengthening its resolve to go ahead with its
duties.

“Information reaching the Commission
today confirms that our head of forensic unit was killed in a cruel
manner in the early hours of today by unknown assailants. Those behind
this attack may have succeeded in killing a strategic hand and a key
witness in some of our on-going cases, but their act has failed to
dampen our spirit or deter us from continuing our investigation and
prosecution of all forms of economic crimes and corruption in the
country,” Mr Babafemi said.

Ominous killings

Mr Babafemi also said that the commission has launched an immediate investigation into the matter.

Mr Muazu’s death is coming just one day
after the gruesome murder of an agent of the State Security Service
(SSS), Garba Bello, who was killed alongside his children and wife in
Kano.

Bamidele Aturu, a Lagos Attorney,
described the murder of the SSS agent as “ominous”, while alluding that
the death is related to the coming 2011 elections. Mr Aturu also
expressed a lack of faith in the ability of law enforcement agencies in
the country to apprehend the killers.

“One must confess that it is futile to call on the security agencies
to fish out sponsors of gruesome and cold blooded murders such as the
one that happened in Kano on Monday,” he said. “They seem eternally
incapable of that. We can only hope that this latest killing might just
be an exception in the sea of murder riddles in a country that spends
billions of dollars on security at all levels of governance or
mis-governance.”

Former military ruler, Ibrahim Babangida, is in advanced talks
with Peter Odili, former governor of Rivers State, as he closes in on a running
mate for the 2011 presidential elections.

A source within Mr. Babangida’s camp said that the choice of Mr.
Odili was strongly influenced by Raymond Dokpesi, chairman of DAAR
Communications, and director general of Mr. Babangida’s presidential campaign.
The two men have a history of mutually beneficial dealings. Mr. Dokpesi was the
director general of Mr. Odili’s campaign when he ran for president in 2007. At
the time, Mr. Odili was alleged to have invested N400 million of funds taken
from the Rivers State treasury, into Mr. Dokpesi’s company.

The EFCC, under Farida Waziri, quizzed Mr. Dokpesi over the
money, but no charges were ever filed. According to the source, “Odilli will be
groomed as the person that will succeed General Babangida, come 2015.”

A controversial choice

Mr. Babangida, who is at the centre of several allegations, will
be picking an equally controversial character if he settles on Mr. Odili as a
running mate. Mr. Odili was elected governor of Rivers State in 1999 and was
re-elected in 2003. His tenure was marred by human rights violations,
insecurity, and widespread accusations of fraud.

During his governorship, Rivers State was, in theory, one of the
wealthiest states in the country owing to its enormous oil revenue, but Mr.
Odili instituted relatively few improvements. Instead, the former governor is
on record for acquiring a South Africa-based hospital, and two Brazilian jets.

In November 2006, Peter Odili announced that he would run for
president in the 2007 election under the ruling PDP. However, a day before the
PDP’s presidential primaries, Mr. Odili stepped down from the contest, paving
the way for fellow governor, Umaru Yar’Adua, to emerge as the party’s flag
bearer.

Reports say Mr. Odili was forced out of that contest when the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) led by Nuhu Ribadu, released a report
implicating him in fraud, mismanagement of state funds, money laundering, and
abuse of office.

In February that year, Mr. Odili filed a suit challenging the
powers of the EFCC to probe his administration. The court granted him an
indefinite injunction stopping any investigations into his finances, describing
it as a breach of his civil rights.

The declaration

It was expected that Mr. Odili would be unveiled at a rally for
the official declaration of Mr. Babangida’s intention on Wednesday in Abuja.

However, a text sent out by the National Publicity Secretary of
the PDP. Rufa’i Ahmed Alkali. inviting all party executives to an emergency
meeting on that same day , is raising eyebrows.

The coincidence in the timing is leading to speculation that this may be an
attempt to steal the thunder from Mr. Babangida’s declaration. As of the time
of going to press , we were unable to contact Mr. Babangida to find out if he
intends to change his plans. . Text messages to Mr. Alkali seeking clarity on
the matter, remained unanswered

A planned emergency meeting of the National Executive Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is threatening an event where Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida is to formally declare his intention to run in next year’s presidential election.

Both events are scheduled to hold on the same day, Wednesday, September 15, 2010, in Abuja. While the declaration, which was announced long before now, comes up at about 11.00 am at Eagles Square, the PDP emergency NEC meeting comes up at about 12.00 pm at Wadata Plaza, the party’s National Headquarters.

As at the time of going to the press, it was not known whether the events came up at about the same time as a mere co-incidence or an attempt to scuttle one with the other.

However, a text message sent out late Monday and received by NEXT correspondent from the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Rufai Alkali, called on every official to be punctual at the meeting.

It stated: “An emergency meeting of the National Executive Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, 15th September 2010. Venue: National Secretariat, Wadata Plaza, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja. Time: 12.00 noon. All NEC members are invited to attend on time.”

If both events hold as planned, it is unlikely the top echelon of the party will be available to witness Mr. Babangida’s declaration.

On Monday afternoon, when NEXT visited Eagles Square where Mr. Babangida’s declaration is expected to take place, preparation was in top gear with different technical men working to put the big stage in place.

On Monday, Ogbonna
Onovo, former Inspector-General of police, formally handed over his
office to incoming inspector, Hafiz Ringim, at the Nigeria Police Force
headquarters in Abuja.

Speaking to
officers in an emotion-laden voice, the former police boss noted his
successes, especially in the security for the elections that took place
in Edo, Ekiti and Anambra States, and the FIFA under-17 football
championship.

The ousted
Inspector-General, who was dressed in mufti, admitted that the attacks
by the fanatical group, Boko Haram, defined his brief tenure.

“It was indeed and
truly a turbulent one year and one month which started with Boko Haram
and ended with Boko Haram,” he said. “If you recall, barely some few
hours after I was appointed, the Boko Haram struck in Maiduguri. With
other challenges, we gave it our best shot.” In his own remarks, Mr
Ringim warned officers that the battle for our nation’s security had
just begun.

“Our mandate is being threatened by violent crimes like kidnapping
and armed robbery,” he said. “In the days ahead, the political contest
will commence in earnest. All these tough challenges will test our
resilience and resourcefulness as law enforcement officers.” Mr Ringim
promised to continue the reforms of the force and vowed “a strong,
motivated and mobile police organisation that meets the safety and
security needs of Nigerians.”

It was a black
Sallah celebration for some in Kogi State on Sunday, following a motor
accident along the Lokoja-Ajaokuta Road, in which 18 people were killed.

Eyewitnesses said
that the accident occurred when a commercial motorcycle rider lost
control of his vehicle and swerved into the path of an 18-seater
commercial bus.

“In the process,
the bus also lost control and immediately somersaulted, killing 17
passengers inside the bus and the okada operator, on the spot,” said
one witness, who declined to be identified. “What I can say is that the
bus was on a very high speed, which aggravated the situation and caused
the high death toll.” When our correspondent visited the scene,
motorists were taking the bodies of the deceased to the mortuary of an
unknown hospital.

Yomi Asaniyan,
Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in the
state, said he was yet to be informed of the accident. He promised a
press conference once he received more information.

Cross River State shares international boundaries with the
Republic of Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. The proximity of these countries to
Nigeria makes it possible for foreign nationals to want to enter Nigeria
legally or illegally for legitimate or illegitimate business.

Over the years, most have taken advantage of our porous borders
to enter our country illegally and thus become illegal aliens. There are
maritime and land boundaries between Nigeria and the aforementioned countries.
Many illegal routes also abound.

But this scenario is changing. The Nigerian Immigration Service
(NIS) Cross River State Command has tightened all borders into Nigeria from
that axis. Thus, in the last eight months, the command denied entry to 150
foreigners. Not all of them were nationals of Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea,
though.

Mr Ada Ogbejunwa, comptroller of the NIS, Cross River State
command, who revealed this in an interview, said foreigners refused entry into
Nigeria were those without valid data, of dubious character and on wanted lists
of their governments or Interpol.

According to him, it is now difficult for foreigners without
valid visas to enter Nigeria. Whereas, in the past, they exploited porous
borders to get into the country to foment trouble and engage in smuggling, oil
bunkering and general economic sabotage activities.

“The porous nature of our borders is, however, relative. Within
our limited resources, we have been able to check illegal immigration. No Cameroonian
or nationals of other African countries without the required papers enter the
country again,” he stated.

Voting kinsmen

Ogbejunwa explained that the decision to tighten control on the
borders under the state’s command may not be unconnected with the 2011 general
elections, as the federal government has instructed that under no condition
should foreigners be imported to participate in the exercise.

This is because same ethnic groups in Nigeria are spread across
international boundaries but separated only by colonial administrative
boundaries. The tendency to invite kinsmen of voting age on the other side of
the colonial divide cannot be ruled out.

Consequently, all foreigners with tribal links in Nigeria who had
used such connections in the past to vote will not do so this time around.

The comptroller said the donation of an additional patrol boat by
the new Comptroller General of the NIS has helped in monitoring the country’s
territorial waters to checkmate the movement of illegal aliens, stressing that
though the two boats were inadequate, they are better than having none. He
appealed to the Cross River State government to assist the command with
vehicles and boats to facilitate their jobs, given that the federal government
has so many responsibilities to shoulder. The few vehicles available to the
command cannot help in monitoring all the borders points to the state, he said.

Ogbejunwa revealed that they have been combing companies for
expatriates who violate Nigeria’s labour laws and advised Nigerian workers to
report to his command any expatriate who engages them in slave labour,
shortchanges them or pays them peanuts.

Most importantly, he wants workers to expose any expatriate who
misbehaves but who they are more qualified than, as the era of bringing in
ill-qualified foreigners to lord it over Nigerians is gone.

“Any worker or group of workers maltreated should report to us so that we
can investigate to ascertain the truth or otherwise,” he added.

The National Association of Nigerian Students in Ogun State,
yesterday read the riot act to the controversial Speaker of the State House of
Assembly, Soyemi Coker, urging him to step aside “within the next 24 hours” or
face a massive protest in the state.

The students, under the aegis of the Joint Campus Committee, in
a statement issued in Abeokuta, urged Mr Coker to stop parading himself as the
authentic Speaker of the Assembly.

They said the action of the G-9 lawmakers (nine lawmakers that
impeached the former Speaker) was “a coup by them to mortgage the future of the
youth, thereby, putting the state in permanent bondage of debt, which will take
generations yet unborn to clear.” The nine lawmakers last week impeached the
former Speaker and passed the motion endorsing the state government’s bid for a
N100 billion bond at the capital market”.

The statement jointly signed by Adeyemi Azeez, the president of
the student’s association, and other officers, queried the G-9 lawmakers on how
they could unseat the Speaker, Tunji Egbetokun, and 14 other members, “when it
is a clear fact that minority cannot impeach, sack or suspend majority.” The
students termed the impeachment an “illegal act”, noting that it was “even
carried out in the early hours, to propagate their evil agenda.”

“On the basis of the above, we hereby state without fear or
favour that until certain clarifications are made, the status quo in the Ogun
State House of Assembly remains the same before the coup. If the House wishes
to remove Mr Tunji Egbetokun as Speaker, they should follow due process and not
through a politically sponsored coup.”

The students declared that if Mr Coker fails to stop parading
himself as the leader of the State House of Assembly within the next 24 hours,
the students will embark on a mass protest within the state. According to the
students “the umbrella body of students in Ogun State has declared Tuesday,
September 14, 2010 as a lecture-free day for all staff and students” in
preparation for the planned protest.

“We will troop out en-masse for a peaceful protest in all our
various constituencies, to fight against oppression, suppression and
intimidation. Any attempt by any quarter to stampede our peaceful protest or
intimidate well meaning and intellectual students of the Gateway State will be
faced by its corresponding tackle,” the statement warned.

Students in the state appear to be getting quite active within
the state’s politics, as they recently attacked and dissembled a campaign group
supporting former military president, Ibrahim Babanginda, within the state
capital, Abeokuta.

Shameful state

The student body, expressing worries on the deterioration of the
state’s politics in recent times, said, “We are very confused and disappointed
that this is happening in Ogun State, the most favoured state to have produced
the likes of late Obafemi Awolowo, late MKO Abiola, Olusegun Obasanjo, Wole
Soyinka, Oladipo Diya, Keshinton Adebutu and Mike Adenuga, among other eminent
personalities.” They lamented that in the last few years, the state had been
the most politically controversial in the country, with happenings ranging from
impeachment of Speaker(s), to the publication of naked pictures of the state’s
legislature in the dailies, assassination plots, ritual/oath taking, food
poisoning, dual party leadership, fight over who becomes the next governor and
fighting over bridge commissioning.

“There is even relative peace in other states like Ondo and Edo,
where their Houses comprise of several parties: LP, PDP and AC, unlike Ogun
State where it is a one-party system,” they said.

The students condemned this style of politics, likening it to a
“cat and dog fight”.

Calm has since returned to the state civil service as officials of the
governors office that was sealed off last week, returned back to work on
Monday. However, offices at the state assembly were still locked up and the
officers were not allowed in.

There is hope that Olubunmi Agbana, the father of, an Gbenga
Agbana, assistant editor at Punch newspapers, who was kidnapped on his farm at
Irele-Ekiti in Ikole Local Government Area of Ekiti State on Saturday by some
gun-wielding youth, may regain his freedom soon.

The 74-year-old captive was overpowered and bundled into the
booth of his car before being driven away after arriving at his farm..

A security source told NEXT via telephone that operatives of the
State Security Service and the police were close to making arrests in
connection with the kidnap. “The SSS has a clue to what is going on concerning
the incident and they may swoop on some person any moment from now,” the source
said. The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Ekiti State, Jimoh
Mohammed, also via telephone, stated that the police were working hard to free
the man from his captors.

The PPRO, who declined information on their strategies, said
they were closing in on the abductors of the elderly man.

Mr Agbana, who has relocated to Ado-Ekiti to follow up his
father’s release, told journalists on Monday that his father’s car, a Nissan
Primera, had been found where it was abandoned by the kidnappers.

Abandoned car

He said that the cap the abductors used to blindfold his father
when he was being taken away was also found in the car, and some other
instruments used for the operation.

“We have found his car where it was abandoned. The car was
abandoned at Ayedun. It has been taken to the police station with all the
instruments used for the operation. A cap used to blindfold him was found in
the car and other things,” he said.

The incident has generated several reactions, as prominent
persons in the state have condemned the act, saying it was strange to the
culture of the people of Ekiti.

The Commissioner for Information in the state, Taiwo Olatubosun,
while condemning the act, urged residents to be vigilant and supply security
agencies with useful information to foil criminal activities.

Kidnappers early in the year, abducted the Attah of Ayede-Ekiti, Adeleye
Orisagbemi and the then provost of the College of Education, Ikere-Ekiti,
Gabriel Olowoyo and four others. Five of those kidnapped by the gunmen died in
an auto crash in Kogi State while they were being driven to their captors’
hideout.

IT and electronics firms, Zinox and Thermocool, have been
approved to supply the Direct Data Capture machines needed by the Independent
National Electoral Commission for the voters’ registration.

Attention about the status of the multibillion naira contract,
for which eight companies had earlier been screened, rose after the release of
the elections timetable last week, with the registration exercise scheduled for
the first two weeks of November, 2010.

But officials of the commission have cautiously avoided
commenting on the contract which is expected to be delivered in six weeks.
Yesterday, none could formally confirm insider information that the two
companies scaled pre-security screening and won the bids.

Preparations going well

However, the purportedly successful companies, NEXT was
informed, are deeply against the scheduled time.

At a meeting later yesterday with the Save Nigeria Group, led by
Tunde Bakare, the INEC chairman, Attahiru Jega, said the commission has “gone
very far” with the preparations and is “proud of the achievements” made so far.

“What we will do, God willing,” he said, “will be better than
what has been done in the past and we are proud of our achievements so far.”
The N74 billion contract for the acquisition of the machines had been split
into three key components: the supply of the hardware consisting of a laptop, a
web cam and a finger printing device; supply of the software needed to drive
the entire process and lastly, the expertise to integrate the various
components into one functional unit.

The companies earlier shortlisted include: Dimension Data, Image
Technology, Resourcery ltd, Basmak, Pacific Millennium and Joint Komputer
Company, Zinox and Google. The firms were subjected to security checks.

Zinox Technologies, owned by a Nigerian, has the capacity to
deliver the 120,000 direct data capture machines needed for the exercise within
eight weeks, its chairman, Leo-Stan Ekeh, has pledged.

Avoiding past mistakes

Mr Jega yesterday promised that the commission will avoid the
mistakes of past administrations in every of its engagements.

Part of that will be a centralized recruitment of election
monitors and officers, which the Save Nigeria Group alleged the commission’s
officials have commenced in connivance with state governors.

“The Public Affairs sections in some INEC state offices are
allegedly compiling lists of election monitors from governors’ offices,” said
Mr Bakare, observing that Mr Jega was like the former Super Eagles coach, Lars
Largerback, who was hired only three months to the last World Cup, and led the
team’s worst outing, to the Mundial.

“Lagerback was hired three months to a tournament we had four
years to prepare (for), the same way you were hired few months to elections
that we had many years to prepare,” Mr Bakare said. “He failed but got his full
pay and left from Johannesburg. You will have nowhere to go back to, so you
cannot afford to crash,” the group told Mr Jega.

The chairman promised that allegations that monitors were being
recruited would be investigated, “if that exists”.

“We are going to investigate it very thoroughly. We have a mechanism to
catch them now and we will make them face the law,” he said.

The Ogun State governor, Gbenga Daniel, yesterday declared that
he was not desperate for the acquisition of the controversial N100 billion bond
which he claimed was the only option left to any government to bail the state
out of bankruptcy.

Speaking at the formal presentation of the Master Plan and flag
off of the Abeokuta Central Business District (ACBD), Mr Daniel said that the
decision of his administration to access the bond market was based on sound
financial and fiscal projections, and as such, it would not show any
desperation to access it.

“The government would adopt a ‘wait and see’ attitude,
especially because of the needless controversy the bond matter had generated,
due mainly to the way the former leadership of the House treated what was
essentially a fiscal measure,” he stated.

The governor was embroiled in a controversy with the former
leadership of the State House of Assembly, which insisted that the executive
should convince the public on the need for the bond, before it could be
approved by the legislature. But the bond story took a twist, last Monday, days
to a public hearing on the matter, when the former Speaker of the House, Tunji
Egbtokun, was impeached and a new Speaker, Soyemi Coker, emerged through the
actions of a group of nine lawmakers. In a quick session, the Coker-led
Assembly hurriedly approved the controversial bond, which had earlier been
subject to public debate on Wednesday.

High interest rate

Daniel said the inability to access the Bond Market at the appropriate
time was costing the government about N400 million monthly, being the cost of
the high interest rate it was paying on the facility used to finance existing
infrastructure such as the multi-billion naira New Secretariat building and
other major developmental projects in the State. He said, based on sound
financial projections, he was sure that if his administration did not take the
bond, the succeeding one would do so because that was the only way to maintain
the pace of development and finance projects and growing expenditure in the
state.

According to the governor, the people of the state should brace up for the
consequences if the bond was not eventually accessed in the life of his
administration, as there was no desperation to access the bond market at all
costs. He said it was wrong for people to insinuate that the bond was being
intentionally sought at the twilight of his administration, noting that the
process actually begun in 2007 while all relevant documentation and
notification had been concluded by 2008.