Nigeria Content Online

The Police in Imo
State have arrested five suspected kidnappers who allegedly abducted a
six-year-old boy and demanded a N5 million ransom from his family.

The Deputy
Commissioner of Police (DCP), Gwary Usman, who paraded the suspects in
Owerri, alleged that the suspects abducted Chinaza Onyeike in front of
his home at Obilubi in Mbaitoli Local Government Area on July 24 at
gunpoint.

He said that “the
hoodlums forced the victim into their 406 Peugeot car and drove off to
an unknown destination.” Mr. Usman also said that from their hideout,
the suspects demanded a N5 million ransom from the parents of the boy
and that the police later arrested a member of the gang, who assisted
the Police with information that led to the rescue of the boy.

According to him, the suspect led operatives to Umuno Okwu Ikeduru, where the victim was being locked up in a house.

He said the “victim
was safely rescued, the vehicle used for the kidnap was equally
recovered’’ and the suspect made more confessions that led to the
arrest of other gang members.

The suspects included two brothers aged 25 and 27, as well as another 25-year-old and a 24-year-old man.

The police further
alleged that the gang, on May 11, kidnapped one Peace Iheanacho, who
was released after the payment of N100, 000.

The DCP also said that the police arrested another 24-year-old man over his involvement in many kidnap cases around the state.

He used the occasion to restate the commitment of the Police Command to check crime, especially kidnapping, in the state.

He expressed happiness that the new strategy adopted to improve the security situation was yielding positive results.

“The fight against
kidnapping in the state is now being fought with vigour, we need the
members of the community to join us,” he said.

NAN

A Nigerian man and
a French woman were jailed today in the United Kingdom after they
pleaded guilty to a sham marriage. According to a United Kingdom Border
Agency investigation, a Nigerian man, Moshood Samusi, was alleged to
have overstayed his visa, and he and his French bride, Landry Tra, were
sentenced to serve two and a half years each.

Mr. Samusi is the
sixth Nigerian to be convicted of sham marriages in an ongoing special
operation to stop arranged marriages by foreigners in their plans to
become UK citizens. Mr. Samusi and his wife pleaded guilty to
immigration offences at Northampton Crown Court and will also be
deported when they are through serving their sentences.

In a statement
signed by Toby Allanson, UK Border Agency, Regional Press Officer –
East: “Their convictions were said to have brought the total cases of
such fake marriages, combined sentences for all 12 people apprehended
during Operation Sandford, which kicked off in March, to more than 26
years.” Mr. Samusi, who is 39, and 21-year-old Ms. Tra were allegedly
arrested by officers from the UK Border Agency’s immigration crime team
on March 14 while their marriage ceremony was underway in St Michael’s
Church, Perry Street, Northampton.

The statement also
says that “Ms. Tra admitted that she agreed to marry Samusi for a
payment of £3,500. Samusi of Fairmead House, Hackney, hoped that his
marriage to a French national would assist his application to remain in
the UK.” Damian Green, Minister for Immigration, however said that he
welcomed their conviction and expected it to send a clear signal to
anyone considering a fake marriage,

“Today’s
convictions send a clear message to anyone considering breaking our
immigration laws that Britain is no longer a soft touch. We now have
specialist teams of immigration and police officers working day in day
out to tackle and prosecute people who commit this form of organised
criminality.

“I have tasked the
UK Border Agency with carrying out an intense period of enforcement
activity over the summer to tackle the most problematic routes – bogus
colleges and organised traffickers as well as illegal working and sham
marriages.

“We are determined
to create a hostile environment which makes it harder than ever for
illegal immigrants to come to the UK and put untold pressures on our
public services.” Also, the UK Border Agency assistant director, Sam
Bullimore, said that “Tackling sham marriage is a top priority for us
and our immigration crime teams are working hard to create a hostile
environment for those who break the immigration laws.

“We are working
closely with registrars and the Church to identify suspect marriages.
Where there is evidence to suggest that a wedding may be bogus we will
investigate and, where necessary, intervene to stop it happening.

“People should be
under no illusion that marriage is enough to get permission to stay in
the UK. Their relationship has to be genuine. If it’s not, they will
face prosecution or deportation.” The Operation Sandford put in place
by the agency has however uncovered a series of sham marriages taking
place at Holy Sepulchre and St Michaels churches, mainly between West
Africans and EU nationals from countries including France, Portugal and
Holland.

According to the agency, “Any non-EEA foreign criminal sentenced to
more than 12 months in prison for any offence automatically faces
deportation action. Anyone who suspects someone of committing
immigration related crime should contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111
where anonymity can be assured.”

Russia’s leaders
declared a state of emergency on Monday in seven provinces and ordered
authorities to guard weapons storage facilities from wildfires that
have killed at least 40 people.

Thousands more have
lost their homes to blazes stoked by Russia’s worst heatwave since the
tsarist era. The heat has parched crops in one of the world’s largest
grain exporting nations, helping drive global grain prices to 22-month
highs.

“Many families have
nothing left — the flames destroyed everything,” President Dmitry
Medvedev said in a sober announcement on state television. “It is a
huge tragedy.” With little relief expected this week, he urged Russians
to take care in tinder-dry forests and fields, warning that “every
match tossed away could lead to irreparable disaster.” Medvedev’s
emergency decree covered European Russian regions from Voronezh in the
south to several Volga River areas and the densely populated province
ringing Moscow.

A blanket of acrid
smog covered the sweltering capital itself, worsening the woes of
Muscovites gasping in Russia’s hottest weather since record-keeping
began around 1880. Some wore facemasks to filter the air they breathed.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin ordered authorities to protect weapons sites, power plants and other vital facilities.

“The last thing we
need is for arms stores to fall into this zone (affected by fires),”
Putin said at a meeting with emergency officials and governors of
affected regions.

Authorities said
they had increased the number of firefighters near an iconic nuclear
research centre by tenfold, but a spokesman for Russia’s state nuclear
corporation Rosatom, Sergei Novikov, said the centre was not currently
in danger.

The facility at
Sarov in the Nizhny Novgorod province around 350 kilometres (220 miles)
east of Moscow was a top-secret location in Soviet times codenamed
Arzamas-16, where the first Soviet atom and hydrogen bombs were
designed.

“At the present
time, all the fires around (the centre) have been put out so there is
no threat to the nuclear centre,” Novikov said.

“There may be a threat of further fires from the south but special groups are prepared for that contingency.”

Reconstruction

Putin warned that
small blazes in areas where fires have been extinguished could be
whipped up by winds and spread again. “Everything must be put out,”
Putin said.

Putin is still
widely seen as Russia’s top leader after steering Medvedev into the
presidency in 2008 and is eager to retain his popularity ahead of
elections in the next two years. He chided regional officials and
demanded detailed accounts of plans to fight the fires and compensate
the victims.

“You know what
citizens are saying: ‘Yes, we call (the authorities), but they hang up
on us — nobody wants to talk,” Putin said at the meeting, shown in
part on state television.

He ordered
governors to report to him with timelines for the construction of
housing, demanding information about “every region, every town, every
home.” Medvedev said all those who have lost their homes must have
roofs over their heads before winter.

Putin said
compensation and reconstruction was expected to cost 5 billion roubles
(103.8 million pounds). It will all come from the state budget because
very few Russian households have insurance.

He also called for
plans to prevent such losses from wildfires in the future. More people
die per capita in household fires in Russia than in most Western
nations because of poor infrastructure, flouting of safety rules and
negligence.

Nearly 700
wildfires were burning on Monday over 1,210 square kilometres (750
square miles) of land, a spokeswoman for the Emergency Situations
Ministry told Reuters.

The death toll rose from 28 people on Sunday to 40 on Monday, the Health Ministry said in a statement.

Reuters

The Action Congress
has called for the immediate suspension of the chairman of the
recently-dissolved Senate Committee on Communication, Sylvester
Anyanwu. In a statement issued by its national publicity secretary, Lai
Mohammed, the party said the dissolution of the committee, while
commendable, does not constitute adequate sanction for Mr. Anyanwu’s
act.

The senate, had
last week Thursday, disbanded the Anyanwu-led committee on
communication over alleged fraud in the committee’s screening of the
recently appointed chairman and members of the board of National
Communications Commission.

The disbandment of
the committee followed allegations that the chairman of the committee,
Sylvester Anyanwu (PDP, Imo State) conducted the screening for the
appointed chairman and members of the board of National Communications
Commission (NCC) alone,

at night, and later claimed that six members of the committee were involved.

According to the
opposition party, “First, the chairman allegedly conducted the
screening alone, and at night, only to claim that six members of the
committee did so. Then he signed the screening report on behalf of two
of the committee members whom he claimed attended the screening,
without their consent,” said the party.

Describing the act
as “outrightly fraudulent and criminal,” it however called that the act
“must not be allowed to go unpunished if the integrity of the Senate is
to be maintained.” The party is also calling for an investigation into
the fraud allegations against the senator.

“His apology and appeal for leniency are an afterthought and should
not stop the Senate leadership from sanctioning him to serve as a
deterrent to others like him,” the AC said. “The dissolution of the
committee is not enough.”

Rose Uzoma was appointed over the weekend as the new
Comptroller-General (CG) of the Nigeria Immigration Service. Mrs Uzoma
becomes the second female boss of the immigration service. In an
inauguration ceremony in Abuja, Minister of Interior, Emmanuel
Iheanacho, charged the new immigrations boss to provide good leadership
and sustain the gains of the modern immigration service.

As the former
Deputy Comptroller-General in charge of operations, Mrs Uzoma was in
charge of many of the service’s reforms such as the e-passport, an
improved border control, and more effective management of foreign
residents, which was recently emphasized with the biometric
registration of Africans in Nigeria.

Mr Iheanacho advised the new CG to equip herself with knowledge-based
leadership qualities to guarantee, not only a seamless management
transition, but an immigration service that will “stand tall and aspire
to excellence in service delivery.” He expressed confidence in her
capacity for success, noting that Mrs Uzoma was part of the team that
contributed to the achievements of the former CG. Mr Iheanacho said he
looked forward to the building of a modern service where Information
Communication Technology (ICT) was driving its operations.

Mrs Uzoma acknowledged the enormity of the challenges before her, and
promised that the service would vigorously tackle the issues of
terrorism and illegal immigrants.

The administrator of the National
Judicial Institute (NJI), Umaru Eri, said the current leadership of the
institute was committed to improved performance, following the sacking
of its former secretary for gross misconduct.

Mr. Eri said this yesterday at the opening of a national workshop for court registrars and bailiffs, organised by the NJI.

In February, the institute sacked 35
members of its staff who were involved in certificate forgery,
stealing, and inflation of contracts. Mr. Eri said 90 percent of those
terminated were also involved in acts of insubordination.

“These renegades had for many years
constituted themselves as untouchables. They masqueraded as petition
writers, certificate forgers, and perpetrators of corruption, and under
previous administrators, stifled the growth of the institute.”

He urged the court officers to be of
good conduct, eschew corruption, and uphold the three essential
features of integrity, which he listed as: integrity, impartiality, and
independence.

Islamist
charities, some with suspected ties to militants, stepped in on Monday
to provide aid for Pakistanis hit by the worst flooding in memory,
piling pressure on a government criticized for its response to the
disaster that has so far killed more than 1,000 people.

The floods that
ravaged the northwest and displaced more than a million people are
testing an administration heavily dependent on foreign aid and which
has a poor record in crisis management — whether fighting Taliban
insurgents or easing chronic power cuts.

Islamist charities
believed to have ties with militants may gain support if their relief
efforts pay off, as they did after a 2005 earthquake in Kashmir killed
75,000 people.

“We have lost
everything. We only managed to save our lives. Nobody has come to us,”
said Mihrajuddin Khan, a school teacher in Swat Valley. “We are being
treated like orphans, animals.”

Rescuers are
struggling to distribute relief to tens of thousands of people trapped
in submerged areas where destroyed roads and bridges make access
difficult.

Many in the path
of the floods scrambled to save their livestock. One man swam across
heavy currents with his chicken tied around his neck. In one town,
there were more than 100 bloated buffalo carcasses, raising the spectre
of disease.

Islamabad may look
to Western countries, who want it to do more to tackle Pakistan-based
militants who attack NATO forces in Afghanistan, for financial support
to ease the crisis.

The U.S. embassy
announced $10 million in immediate humanitarian aid, with more to be
earmarked as necessary. The European Union will donate 30 million euros.

Salman Shahid,
spokesman for the Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation (Foundation for the
Welfare of Humanity), said the Islamist group had set up 13 relief and
six medical camps, and a dozen ambulances were providing emergency
treatment. Several other Islamist groups are also helping out with the
relief effort.

Falah-i-Insaniat
is believed to have ties to Jamaat-ud-Dawa charity, which the U.N.
Security Council banned last December for its alleged links with
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the group blamed for the 2008 attack on the
Indian city of Mumbai.

“We’re very much
there. We’re the only group that is providing cooked food to trapped
people and those laying on the roadside,” Shahid told Reuters from the
group’s headquarters in Lahore.

“Our volunteers
are evacuating people.” Some analysts expressed doubts that Islamist
groups and their militant wings could capitalize on the disaster
because army offensives have weakened them.

Others said the Islamists’ camps had set a dangerous precedent.

“It is very likely
that they will exploit the governance vacuum, in the wake of this
tragedy, to fuel their own recruitment,” said columnist Huma Yusuf.

A similar dynamic
happened after the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, she said, when extremist
groups gained immense popularity from their relief efforts. Pakistan is
fighting insurgents from al Qaeda and homegrown Taliban in the
northwest.

Military in charge

Authorities are
expecting the death toll to rise, as more of the heavy monsoon rains
lashing the area for the past week are forecast. Pakistan’s National
Disaster Management Authority said more than 29,500 houses were damaged
and a key trade highway to China was blocked by flooding.

“Our main
challenge of getting a clearer picture is access,” said Nicki Bennett,
senior humanitarian officer at United Nations Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Officials said it
was too early to estimate the damage the floods had caused to the
economy, but the rains had so far spared the main agricultural
heartland in the Punjab.

“The entire
infrastructure we built in the last 50 years has been destroyed,” said
Adnan Khan, spokesman for the provincial Disaster Management Authority
in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

The disaster management authority said tents and hygiene kits had been delivered. Helicopters and boats have been dispatched.

But analysts say the government really lacks the resources to take on a disaster of this scale, leaving the military in charge.

More than 30,000
Pakistani troops have rescued some 19,000 people from marooned areas so
far. Some army bases used to strike at militants in Nowshera, some 100
km (60 miles) northwest of the capital Islamabad, have been flooded.

The government’s
failure to help victims reinforced the long-held view that Pakistan’s
civilian authorities are ineffective, leaving the military to act at
troubled times.

The government of
President Asif Ali Zardari has limited control over the military. It
has also been relatively ineffective in tackling corruption and
reforming the economy.

“What we have seen
is their almost total paralysis and they have not been able to mobilize
the resources,” said Riffat Hussein, a defense expert at Quaid-e-Azam
University.

Highlighting
growing frustrations, farmer Ghulam Hussain said: “You can imagine how
much they’re concerned about us when the president leaves for London
(for a state visit), even though people are dying and hundreds of
thousands are homeless.”

The former
vice-chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Bashir Gwandu,
yesterday denied that he played any part in last week’s events which
led to the disbanding of the Senate Committee on Communications. Online
reports had alleged that Mr. Gwandu paid members of the committee,
including its chair, Sylvester Anyanwu, up to N230 million in bribes.
It alleged that he paid the monies in an effort to delay the
confirmation of the new NCC boss, Eugene Juwah. The committee was
dissolved last week Thursday following allegations of failing to adhere
to due process.

No award of contracts

In an interview
with NEXT, Mr. Gwandu however stated that he had never given money to
Mr. Anyanwu or any other member of the committee.

“I know Sylvester
very well, of course, and I have cooperated with the committee whenever
required,” he said. “But I have never given money to him or anybody to
influence anything. Where would I even get that kind of money from? The
biggest contract I have given is for my complimentary cards.”

The communications
commission has been at the centre of a huge power struggle since Ernest
Ndukwe retired some months ago. Following Mr. Ndukwe’s departure in
April, Stephen Bello was brought in as the acting executive vice
chairman but his tenure lasted only two months. It was alleged that Mr.
Gwandu blackmailed Mr. Bello over age clarifications effectively
forcing the government to appoint him as the acting NCC boss.

“I had no problems
with Mr. Ndukwe or Mr. Bello,” he said. “There are new public service
rules at the commission and these are quite clear especially in respect
to non-political appointees. Under these rules, Bello turned 60 last
year and therefore had to retire. I did not force anybody out.” In
spite of the delays to last week’s screenings, Mr. Juwah, a systems
engineer, was named as the new substantive head of the communications commission and is expected to resume work immediately.

Mr. Gwandu added that he is looking forward to working the new executive vice-chairman and welcoming him to the commission.

“We will need to work closely together to move the commission
forward. My main priority is helping us to achieve our targets and
there remains a lot of work to be done.”

The Lagos State Police Command on Monday allayed fears of residents over widespread rumour upheavals in the metropolis.

This followed
messages which are being received by resident via SMS that armed
robbers are operating in different locations aroud the state. The
latest text message said that armed robbers were at Obanikoro bus stop.
The text advised people not to ply the area. As a result of the
message, there was panic as those who received the message passed the
word around to their loved ones warning them to stay away from Ikorodu
road.

All is calm

When NEXT visited
Obanikoro and its environs, people were going about their normal
activities without fear. Some residents expressed surprise at the
message when asked by about the reported clashes or armed robbery that
was reported to have taken place there.

“I am very
surprised at what you are saying, this is news to me and nothing has
happened here since morning. I have been working here since and I have
not seen any armed robber or trouble in this area,” said Mariam John a
LAWMA cleaner in Obanikoro.

Dismissing the
report, the Lagos State Police Command, through its spokesman Frank Mba
said the rumour was being spread by mischievous people.

He said in a
statement, “The attention of the Lagos State Police Command has been
drawn to an emerging but highly disturbing trend, whereby some unknown
persons using modern communication devices such as GSM voice calls,
text messages (SMS), e-mails, instant messaging on Blackberrys, etc,
originate and circulate messages presumably alerting members of the
public of ongoing crimes (usually the violent ones) within specific
locations in Lagos.” He said the news was clearly false and unfounded.
Speaking with our reporter he said, the suspicion of the command was
that the rumour was being spread to overstretch the command. According
to him, some people at the weekend alleged that a robbery was being
carried out by heavily armed robbers on Lagos-Epe expressway.

“The text message
read ‘Lagos-Epe expressway completely blocked by a gang of heavily
armed robbers. If you are heading towards Epe or you know anyone that
is, please stop for now. The dangers of allowing this dangerous trend
to continue unchecked are unquantifiable. The fear of crime — whether
real or imaginary — can be as damaging as the actual crime itself” Mr.
Mba advised Lagosians to call the attention of the police to any crime
in the state instead of spreading false information that will cause
fear and panic.

“The Command
therefore wishes to appeal to members of the public to discontinue
forthwith with this unpatriotic attitude. Citizens are advised to take
advantage of the toll-free emergency lines in Lagos State (767 and 112)
to pass useful information to the police and other law enforcement
agencies rather than resort to the spread of false messages capable of
heating up the polity, distracting law enforcement agencies, spreading
fears and restiveness in the state and negatively impacting on our
general well-being,’’ He further stressed that the command was up to
the task of maintaining law and order in the state.

We enjoin members of the public to go about their lawful businesses
without fear as the State Police Command is determined and ever-ready
at all times and by the grace of God, to continue to improve on our
modest achievements in crime-fighting and peace-keeping within the
state,” Mr. Mba said.

Suspected abductors
of the elder sister of the traditional ruler of Efire town, in
Ogun-Waterside, Adetokunbo Adeniyi yesterday called the king to
announce a reduction in their ransom from N600m to N55m.

The victim, 70-year
old Sikiratu Lamina, who was also allowed to speak to her family on
telephone, said she could not identify where she is being kept.

The woman was
abducted last Wednesday at gun point from her home in Efire, in the
presence of her two children, by four men riding motorbikes. The
kidnappers, numbering about four, arrived at the house pretending to be
officials of the State Security Services {SSS}.

She was later
ferried away in speed boat, while they left her wrapper at the shore
for her family to locate the route of where she was taken to, believed
to be somewhere within the creek between Ondo and Ogun States.

NEXT further learnt
that the kidnappers got in touch with the traditional ruler of the
town, who is the junior brother of the victim, asking him to raise the
ransom demanded before she could be let off the hook.

The monarch said
the kidnappers had earlier requested for N600m, which they later
reduced to N150m. By the time they called him yesterday, they had again
reduced it to N55 Millon.

Seven suspects arrested

The man, however,
expressed shock over the incident and the amount demanded for, saying:
“where do they expect us to get the money and I wonder what they want
from a 70 year old innocent woman?” The royal father, who said he could
not believe his eyes, said this would be the first time, such incident
of kidnapping will be happening in the state and appealed to security
operatives to rise up to the challenge.

When contacted, the
Ogun State Police Command Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi
confirmed the stories, adding the command had arrested seven suspects,
with further assurance that the authority is on top of the situation.

“We have so far arrested seven suspects, and our men are
investigating further. I want to assure you that we are on top of the
situation,” said the police spokesperson.