A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Thursday remanded some loyalists of the River State governor for their alleged involvement in the explosion that rocked and razed the Rivers State Assembly complex.

An explosion had rocked the complex of the state Assembly amid alleged moves by some lawmakers to impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara on October 30, 2023.

Some loyalists of the governor were said to have been behind the incident.

No fewer than five of them were arraigned on Thursday before Justice Bolaji Olajuwon of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

They are Chime Eguma Ezebalike, Prince Lukman Oladele, Kenneth Goodluck Kpasa, Osiga Donald and Ochueja Thankgod.

In the 7 charges, the defendants were accused of committing alleged terrorism offences by invading, vandalising and burning down Rivers State House of Assembly during the wake of the political crisis that rocked Port Harcourt in October last year.

They were also accused of killing a Superintendent of Police, Bako Agbashim, and five police informants in the Ahoada community of the state.

The police informants alleged to have been killed are Charles Osu, Ogbonna Eja, Idaowuka Felix, Paul Victor Chibuogu, and Saturday Edi.

They are to remain in prison custody till February 2 when their respective bail applications will be determined by the Judge.

They were also accused of using various cult groups, namely- Supreme Viking Confraternity, Degbam, Iceland, and Greenland to unleash mayhem on the people of the state and their commercial activities.

They all pleaded not guilty to the allegations.

Although the immediate past factional Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon Edison Ehie, was not listed in the 7 counts terrorism charges, he was however represented in court by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria SAN, Oluwole Aladedoyin, on the ground that his name featured prominently in the alleged offences.

He challenged the allegations that he was at large alongside other suspects.

Justice Olajuwon did not however allow further arguments on the ground that he was not yet a defendant in the charges.

Shortly after the arraignment, the leader of the prosecuting team, Audu Garba, applied for a date for a full-blown trial of the defendants.

However, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria SAN, Lukman Fagbemi, who stood for Chime Eguma Ezebalike and Prince Lukman Oladele who are 1st and 2nd defendants, sought to move applications for their bail on the ground that they have been in police custody since last year.

The government lawyer, Audu Garba, vehemently opposed the reason that he had just been served with the bail applications and needed time to study them and file a counter affidavit.

Justice Olajuwon agreed with the prosecution lawyer that the bail applications were not ripe for hearing and fixed February 2 for the hearing of all bail applications.

Pending hearing and determination of the bail applications, the judge ordered that the five defendants be taken to Kuje Prison on remand and be returned to court on the adjourned date.

“The defendants are hereby remanded pending the hearing and determination of the bail applications,” he said.

[Punch]

Former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has backed the relocation of some departments of the CBN from Abuja to Lagos.

Sanusi said it was the right thing to do, saying those kicking against the relocation are playing dirty politics.

The former CBN governor stated this in a statement on Wednesday.

Recall that the CBN’s plan to relocate some departments and units to Lagos has been met with criticisms lately.

Some northern politicians kicked against the move, warning it would have political consequences.

But Sanusi, who was the 14th Emir of Kano said the relocation is an “eminently sensible move”.

According to him, moving certain functions to the Lagos office ( which is bigger than the Abuja head office) is an eminently sensible move.

He said he had it in mind to do the same thing while in office but didn’t have sufficient time to see it through.

Sanusi stated, “In my mind what I would have done was to move FSS and most of Operations to Lagos such that the two Deputy Governors would be largely operating out of Lagos or, even if they were more in Abuja , the bulk of their operational staff would be in Lagos.

“Economic policy, Corporate services and all the departments reporting to the Governor directly such as Strategy, Audit, Risk management, Governors’ office etc would remain in Abuja.

“It makes eminent strategic sense. And I would have done this if I had stayed.”

He dismissed the opposition against the policy as “absolutely unnecessary” because “The CBN has staff manning its branches and cash offices across the Federation.”

Sanusi added, “Moving staff to the Lagos office to streamline operations and make them more effective and reduce cost is a normal prerogative of management.

“The problem we have now is that many employees are children of politically exposed persons and their Abuja life and businesses are more important than the CBN work.

“The CBN is just an address for them and if they have to choose between their spoilt Abuja life and the job, they would gladly leave the CBN.

“All the more reason for the Governor to put his foot down and get rid of those elements they are dangerous for the bank’s future.

“The question of locating functions is a STRATEGIC and not tactical one. A proper analysis should be done to identify which roles are best suited to Lagos and which to Abuja. Once the logic is clear the people then follow. Non communication of strategic intent opens the door to mischievous misrepresentation and arbitrariness.

“I don’t like the idea of arguing that the office structure can not handle the staff numbers. I am sure Julius Berger would refute that if they wanted to engage.”

On how the relocation of staff should be done, he said, “Individual situations should be considered. As much as possible we should be empathetic. For example young mothers with kids in school who do not need to move can be prioritised to stay in Abuja or those with medical conditions etc.”

He advised the CBN not to bend to political pressure, saying it must push through decisions hoe matter tough.

He said, “My advice to the Governor is to go ahead with his policy. Once the CBN starts bending to political pressure on one thing it will continue doing so.

“Northern politicians will shout that this is moving from Abuja to Lagos. Abuja is a federal capital not a northern issue. So long as this is a principled decision the noise should be ignored.

“When i was about to license Jaiz bank there was a lot of religious noise from CAN etc. Even enlightened people like Okey Emelamah were going to sue me to court on religious grounds. I ignored it and licenced the bank. Nothing happened.

“A christian Governor after me licenced at least two more non- interest banks. No one is even noticing again.

“Ethnic and religious bigots will always shout. The CBN should rise above it and just do what needs to be done. It is a very unpopular and difficult job and the Governor needs to be tough.”

[Vanguard]

Our attention has been drawn to a publication currently circulating in several print and electronic media with the above caption. We wish to make it categorically clear that the content of the said publication does not represent the true state of affairs.

To put the record straight, the action currently pending at the Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja is between Hon. Victor Okon Jumbo & 5 Ors. vs. The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria & 5 Ors., with Suit No.: FHC/ABJ/CS/1718/2023 (the “Suit”) and not at the Rivers State High Court, sitting at Port-Harcourt as falsely peddled.

The aforesaid suit first came up on Monday, the 22nd of January 2024 before Court 7 presided by Hon. Justice J. O. Abdulmalik (the “Court”). On the said date, the Plaintiffs’ Counsel moved two (2) respective Exparte applications: for substituted service on the Defendants and for interim injunctions against the Defendants. After hearing the Plaintiffs’ applications and considering same, her Lordship made an Order for the substituted service of the originating court documents on the Defendants. Also, the Court ordered all the parties in the suit to maintain status quo ante bellum, pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice in the suit. The matter was then adjourned to the 28th of February, 2024.

Contrary to the false news as publicized in the said Punch Newspaper, there was absolutely no time that the Court ever struck out the aforesaid Suit which is pending before the Court and same will come up for hearing on the 28th February, 2024.

Relatedly, the Court did not at any point of her rulings on the said Plaintiffs’ applications decline jurisdiction to hear the Plaintiffs’ applications or the substantive suit and never cited any judgment or ruling of Hon. Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja as mendaciously stated in the publication. Furthermore, there is no Plaintiffs’ Lawyer with the name Emmanuel Rukari and none of the Plaintiffs’ Counsel ever spoke to the Press or expressed any disappointment whatsoever with the Court’s decision/rulings.

The legal implication of the Court’s Order as regards the Plaintiffs’ second application is that all the parties in the suit should maintain the status/position in the matter as it was before the subsisting conflict arose between the parties in the suit. Finally, it is submitted that upon the service of the Originating processes, the Defendants have been put on notice of the claims of the Plaintiffs and given the nature of these claims, the Defendants, particularly, the Rivers State House and Assembly and the Executive Governor, have a legal duty and obligation to refrain from taking any steps that might overreach the court in its attempts to do justice in the Suit as held by the Apex Court in Doma v. Ogiri (1998) 3 NWLR Pt. 541 Pg. 246 @ 265 para. D-E where Oguntade JSC observed that:

“Where a suit is brought to enjoin certain activities and the Defendant/Respondent has notice, the hands of the Defendant/Respondent are effectually tied pending a hearing and determination even though no restraining order or preliminary injunction be issue”.

The general public is hereby advised to utterly disregard the mendacious news making the rounds on the captioned matter as the information as stated in this Press Release is the true and reliable state of affairs as regard the suit between Hon. Victor Okon Jumbo & 5 Ors. vs. The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria & 5 Ors., with Suit No.: FHC/ABJ/CS/1718/2023. Thank you.

​Signed:

Dr. Olukayode Ajulo, San, Oon, Fciarb.Uk,

Principal Partner, Kayode Ajulo & Co. Castle of Law

Kidnappers are no longer on the prowl. They are now on a rampage. They have run riot, running rings around hapless Nigerians. The impunity with which they go about it means they know that the coast is clear for them to go about their criminal activity without fearing that there will be consequences. Once there is no chance of punishment, there is no deterrent. As it is said, where there is no law, there is no sin. It is more or less the same thing - or even worse - where there is law but the law is trampled by everyone without consequence.

In Nigeria, those who trample the law the most are those who made the law and those charged with enforcing the law. Once other criminally-minded people know this, all they need to do is compromise these sets of Nigerians by coming under their wings. So, thugs, area boys and other sundry criminals come under the wings of politicians and are assured of protection. Those who engage in financial crimes have informants and insiders in the financial institutions that give them privileged information. The whole of Nigeria has become a crime scene. Nigeria as a going concern is a criminal enterprise. You no longer know who to turn to for succor.

I listened to an interviewee who listed all those who benefit from the rising wave of crime in the country. Government officials benefit because it gives them justification to allocate huge resources that should have gone into other productive sectors into the so-called war against insecurity. No war is fought, though, and money so allocated is diverted into private pockets. We saw an example of that in the arms bazaar that took place under former President Goodluck Jonathan. Money voted for arms to fight Boko Haram was shared to politicians to fund election campaigns and such other unrelated matters.

Governors benefit from insurgency because it gives them an alibi to further raise their humongous security votes which secure nothing. Many of them draw this money on a monthly basis and go to the real estate market buying properties on a binge. Nothing is secured and no one is secure in their state. Security votes are unaccounted for; they are not audited; why this is so, I do not know. It could be because of the cloak of secrecy that is woven around security matters. But I think it is time we rend the veil and make everything open. Afterall, we cannot be left unsecured and still lose our money under the guise of security votes.

Legislators, those that some people have chosen to call legis-looters, also benefit from this racket. They seldom pass anyone's budget unless their palms have been greased. In every budget, they have items they hide here and there that they come for after the budget is passed and money is released. Oversight function is another avenue through which lawmakers hold government officials to ransom. Like I said, it is a racket. One thief steals; another surfaces to demand his own share of the loot. They work hand-in-gloves. They operate in cahoots.

Those charged with the risky task of carrying guns and confronting the criminals also have criminals in their ranks. We can safely expect that criminals will find their way into the fighting forces. For one, that is the safest place to be as a criminal. Who will ever suspect or stop a man in uniforms for stop-and-search? They also can work as informants. They can loan out their uniforms to criminals for a fee. Their guns and ammunition also. They can turn their guns on the State that employed them and pledge their loyalty to their partners in crime.

Now, who pays more: the government or the masters of the crime world? I am sure you know salaries are peanuts here. Take-home pay takes no one home in Nigeria. You have to find ways to augment the peanuts you receive as salaries. Most times they do not even come as when due. Most times you are owed a backlog of salaries and other benefits. And you have mouths to feed. You have responsibilities you cannot shirk.

In the middle of this, you see the opulence of the rich flaunted in your face on a daily basis. You see them take good care of themselves while they neglect you. Besides, you know they, too, are criminals of the worst order. They steal billions with a stroke of pen. If all the ransom money collected by kidnappers since 1999 is put together, it will still be mere trifle compared to the billions that one Accountant-General of the Federation stole. And the man was seen the other time playing monkey games with the court. Is it that the authorities did not know the antics of this man? Of course, they do but they are members of the same clan!

I do not support kidnapping and kidnappers. I am against the booming business of kidnapping for the purpose of collecting ransoms. In fact. I am against all forms of kidnapping and all manner of criminality. But, where do we start? We must start by checking the criminality of the ruling class. It is their own criminality that gave rise to the other criminality that now threatens to sink all of us. It is their own criminality that is not allowing them to see clearly and act appropriately to deal with the criminality of the rank and file.

Virtually everyone is sucked into the ongoing criminality that has made Nigeria an unsafe place day and night. The cities are not safe, even up to Abuja, the seat of power. Homes are not safe. No longer is the home a man’s fortress as the scripture says. The roads and highways are not safe. Schools are not safe. Even military facilities are not safe. Criminality has become big business and more and more people are trooping into it. After politics and corruption, criminality is next in the order of the “businesses” that yield the highest return on investment.

Let me share a post I read a while ago and then close: “Why do kidnappers succeed in collecting ransom from their victims? Based on my job, I learnt something special this week from security agents in Mali that we went on a rescue mission together. I don't know if the Nigerian security agencies are in collaboration with kidnappers to take ransom and share together; if not, no kidnapper can succeed in taking any ransom where security formation is effective. The story is that, I received a message from Nigeria concerning a 16-year-old girl that was trafficked to Mali for sex trade. This victim called her parents about the situation and they passed the message to me from a government agency for an urgent rescue. When I called the number that the victim used to call her parents and I asked the traffickers to send the victim to me so that she can go back to Nigeria, they refused. Later, they removed the line from their phone; now the number is out of use. I informed a security agent about the situation...

“Now, the number I used to contact the traffickers is no longer in use. I don't know the name of the village the victim is. I sent the number that they had removed to the security agent. After two hours, they notified me the name of the village and the current new number the traffickers were using. We went on a mission without calling the new number. We arrived at the village at midnight because it was about a 15-hour journey. The second day, Information reached us about the exact location the phone number was last used before they switched off the phone. After an hour, information came again that the person was having an appointment with somebody at 11:00am. We hung around the place. When the person came around, there was a vibration from one of the security gadgets for us to know the person coming with the number. We monitored her entry to the house. We were able to rescue the victim. No call. Nothing.

“So, ransom collection in Nigeria could be between the kidnappers and security agencies. If not, no Nigerian should pay ransom to any kidnapper if really our policemen have the necessary security gadgets. This is just a trafficking issue; not that some criminals will hide somewhere and be calling people twice to pay a ransom. You cannot call three times before being caught in Mali”.

This happened in small Mali but we are the giant of Africa. Mali is poor but we are rich. The difference between us and Mali is the kind of leaders we have had.

I also read a report in a national newspaper of repute accusing commercial banks of encouraging the kidnapping epidemic in the country as, wait for it, “some ransoms are paid into bank accounts!” Are you kidding me? Nigeria, we hail thee!

Former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President, Mr. Olumide Akpata, has been relieved of his membership in the National Judicial Council (NJC), authoritative sources have confirmed.

The decision was communicated via a letter to the incumbent NBA President, Mr. Yakubu Maikyau SAN, signed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria and NJC Chairman, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola. He cited Mr. Akpata’s recent involvement in partisan politics as reason for the termination.

Sources close to Mr. Akpata indicate he was taken aback by the decision and believes it is beyond the powers of the Chief Justice of Nigeria to unilaterally remove a member of the NJC on grounds of political involvement.

His camp argues that this prerogative lies with the individual member. They cited the example of former NJC member and Bauchi State Governor, Mohammed Abubakar, who voluntarily resigned his role in 2015 to pursue his political ambitions.

While said to be deeply troubled by the turn of events, Mr. Akpata is reluctant to escalate the matter out of immense respect for the Chief Justice. However, should an amicable resolution not be reached internally, legal redress may be sought in the courts.

The move comes on the heels of Mr. Akpata’s open aspiration to contest the upcoming Edo State gubernatorial elections. During his tenure as NBA President he had past run-ins with the Body of Benchers over governance issues. He is also seen as belonging to the reformist faction of the NJC.

[src: TheNigeriaLawyer / CITY LAWYER]

The Nigerian Army has said it will conduct the screening and verification of children of deceased personnel for the award of scholarship.

A statement yesterday in Abuja by the Department of Army Administration said the screening would be held at the Army Headquarters Command Officers’ Mess 1 at Asokoro in Abuja.

The scholarship is one of the welfare schemes of the Nigerian Army aimed at guaranteeing primary, secondary and tertiary education of the children of personnel who died in active service.

The Nigerian Army urged new applicants and beneficiaries upgrading their educational level, as well as those absent from the 2022/2023 exercise to participate.

It said successful candidates would get the appropriate sponsorship funds for their respective educational level.

“The documents required for the exercises are: handwritten application for sponsorship containing the names of the children; a letter of admission of the beneficiary, and the last school report card/results of the beneficiary.

“Others are: a letter of confirmation from the school, the university or polytechnic where the child/beneficiary is a pupil or a student; a birth certificate of the beneficiary and the death certificate of the deceased personnel.

“Also required are: Part 2 Orders publication of death; Condolence Letter; Notification of Casualty Signal; Nigerian Army Application for sponsorship form duly completed by the last unit and formation headquarters of the deceased personnel.

“Four recent passport photographs of the beneficiaries; Passport photograph of the deceased personnel and bank account number and sort code and telephone number of the beneficiary’s surviving parent or administrator.”

The Nigerian Army added that those responsible for the screening could be reached through 08169355766, for any enquiry.

The Federal Government has clarified that the new conditions introduced as prerequisites for obtaining or renewing international passports were instituted to curb the acquisition of Nigerian passports by non-citizens.

The Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who stated this in Abuja while responding to questions from the media, emphasised that the passport is a security document exclusive to Nigerian citizens.

The new conditions, including the provision of a citizenship certificate, a date of birth certificate, and the National Identification Number (NIN), have become critical in verifying an applicant’s true citizenship.

He explained the rationale behind the Federal Government’s introduction of new prerequisites for obtaining or renewing international passports, noting that the new conditions would prevent non-Nigerians from acquiring the passport, disclosing that foreigners have exploited the inefficiencies of the previous system.

The Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Minister, Babatunde Alao, said in a statement on Wednesday that Tunji-Ojo acknowledged challenges being faced by new passport applicants, assuring the public of an enhanced process in the coming weeks.

Speaking further on the motive behind the introduction of the new processes, Tunji-Ojo said the reform was aimed at simplifying the passport acquisition process for Nigerians by facilitating speedy online application, production, and passport collection.

“We have to introduce this new system in order to stop those non-Nigerians carrying Nigerian passports. Contrary to reports, the new process is working very effectively, and the hiccups recorded are only 4 per cent, which is a significant improvement for a system that is newly introduced, and I assure you that in the next one or two weeks we will have a near-perfect system.

“We have to improve our process of obtaining passports because a passport is a security document. This new system has improved accessibility, transparency, and efficiency,” the minister stated.

Looking ahead, the Minister outlined plans for contactless biometrics in passport renewal, affirming the government’s commitment to building a better future for Nigerians at home and in the diaspora.

Speaking on the observable change in cost for the 5-year passport, the Minister, however, noted that the new cost was agreed upon, taking a cue from the cost of the 10-year passport.

“We are building a future for Nigerians where things should be done in a better way. We changed the price of the five-year passport because the 10-year passport is N70,000; so, the one for five years should be half of that amount, which is N35,000. We are committed to making things better in our country,” the minister said.

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja police command has confirmed the arrest of another suspected kidnapper amid the growing insecurity in the nation’s capital city.

Speaking during a press conference yesterday, the FCT commissioner of police, Haruna Garba, disclosed how, on Sunday, the Iddo division received a distress call regarding armed men in a black Toyota Corolla vehicle who had shot the tires of a moving Prado jeep.

According to him, the jeep driver, Suleiman Sabo, was compelled to stop the vehicle while on his way home in the Sabon Lugbe area.

Sabo was then forcibly taken by the kidnappers, leaving his wife and car behind.

Garba said the police swung into action and successfully tracked down and apprehended the suspect.

“The effort paid off on January 21 when the DPO received information that something abnormal is happening in a particular house at Sauka village. The DPO moved in and cordoned the house; behold, the kidnapped victim was found with the suspect, armed with Mark IV rifle and 10 rounds of live ammunition,” Garba noted.

He added: “He was promptly arrested, and the arm recovered from him. The victim was rescued but with gunshot injuries.”

According to him, the victim has been admitted to a hospital and is currently undergoing treatment.

The police commissioner further mentioned that ever since the establishment of the police Special Intervention Squad (SIS), there have been no incidents of kidnapping reported in the Bwari region of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Garba stated that the police have successfully blocked all known routes used by bandits, particularly in the Bwari area council. Additionally, numerous individuals suspected of being involved in kidnapping and armed robbery have been apprehended, and their victims have been rescued.

Furthermore, Garba highlighted that the police have recovered various firearms and live ammunition, as well as vehicles that were previously stolen from victims.

The report was treated like a footnote in the main press, but social media and online news platforms gave it a wider play. It’s the story of the launch of a nomadic vigilante service by Miyetti Allah, a group of herders turned political pressure group, comprising mostly Fulani.

The national president, Bello Bodejo, said in Lafia, Nasarawa State, where the launch took place, that the vigilante service, which had already recruited 1,144 Fulani youths, would assist security agencies in the state to combat criminal activities.

Four years ago, the Nnamdi Kanu-led separatist group, IPOB, made similar doubtful claims when the group set up the Eastern Security Network (ESN), for the South-east states. But federal security agencies crushed it. Yet, in a move that seemed to suggest that one vigilante group is greater than the other, the Nasarawa State Police Commissioner was a special guest at the Miyetti Allah vigilante service launch last week.

There was a report on Wednesday that Bodejo had been arrested by the DSS, but the DSS has since denied. While no one is sure of the whereabouts of Bodejo, he appears to have launched a vigilante service that, regardless of the pretence of confusion surrounding it, bears the mark of official approval.

It would be a mistake, however, to think that this once mostly feared and despised association of herdsmen and the police are in bed after only one evening of flirting. Of course, Miyetti Allah may have been motivated more by group self-interest, relevance and survival. But the dalliance with the police, the indifference of the main press, and the muted public response, are not an accident.

Epidemic of desperation

They are a reflection of the despair and desperation over the growing insecurity in the country, especially its latest franchise in form of widespread kidnappings, even in places once thought to be safe havens.

As a result of multiple internal security challenges from banditry and insurgencies in the North-east, North-west and North-central, the unrest and violence by separatist groups in the South-east, not to mention pipeline vandalism in the South-south, the police have almost been reduced to Boys Scouts, while the military is doing more for less.

A recent report by The Economist, citing ACLED, a global monitor of conflict, said more than 3,600 people were kidnapped in 2023, with the sharpest rise in May – the most ever – while almost about 9,000 Nigerians were killed in conflict last year.

In a horror story that spooked memories of the Chibok girls, the family of Mansoor Al-Kadriyar was attacked in their home in Bwari, Abuja on January 2, and six of the girls were abducted. The eldest was killed and the other five released after 19 days in captivity and N55million reportedly paid in ransom.

It’s in light of this widespread misery and what appears to be a general state of helplessness that Miyetti Allah, a symbol of Fulani hegemony, launched its nomadic vigilante service in a region fraught with a variety of deadly clashes, the latest of which has been the murderous rampage of ethnic violence in Plateau State that has, so far, claimed nearly 200 lives in less than two months.  

Ostrich game

Thanks to elite hypocrisy, after years of playing the ostrich, we are back where we started: a realisation that the current policing model is not working. With broken noses, bleeding hearts, and a variety of poor imitations, we’re dragging ourselves back to the very thing that we have always tried to run away from: state police. State police is not a silver bullet, of course. But in the last 25 years, we have seen improvisations that have barely dented the monster.

The Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), for example, founded by Fredrick Faseun and Gani Adams was a citizen vigilante-led attempt to curb insecurity in the South-west. It’s still active in many parts of the region. But former President Olusegun Obasanjo with those close to him who feared it was a South-west agenda towards state police, kept OPC in check, often deploying an iron fist.

In a watered-down attempt to devolve more policing powers from the centre, we’ve seen attempts by the Federal Government at so-called community policing end up with greater Federal control, with the notorious pay-as-you-go police protection being enjoyed by the rich, especially politicians, who can afford them. It was only when the farmer-herder clashes threatened to ruin some states in the South-west that governors in the region, led by late Rotimi Akeredolu, rallied to form Amotekun.

The South-east followed this lead with Ebubeagu, and a number of states in the North-west, especially, also set up their own vigilante services. In August 2022, then Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, launched the Community Volunteer Guard.

In spite of states drifting towards it, in spite of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) including state police in its manifesto, and in spite of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu being one of the most notable champions of it, the idea is still something of anathema.

Constitutional Conference report

Ten years ago, state police was one of the most hotly debated issues at the Goodluck Jonathan-brokered National Conference, a conference whose report, unlike those of a number in the past, has proved quite durable.

A summary of the 2014 conference report presented at the Second Chris Ogunbanjo Lecture Series in 2017 by a member of the conference and Chairman Emeritus of PUNCH, Chief Ajibola Ogunshola, said, “Any state that requires it, can establish a State Police for that state, which should operate in accordance with the provisions of the law setting it up, to be passed by the State House of Assembly.

“Its powers or functions will be determined by such legislation and should not be in conflict with the duties and powers of the Federal Police.”

The conference also made suggestions about changes in nomenclature and structure of the police and also in the relevant sections of the constitution. Of course, nothing significant has been done since, which is not a surprise. Former President Muhammadu Buhari whose lot it was to get it off the ground, told me during an interview nearly two years after he took office that he had not read the report and was not interested.

If Buhari preferred treading the beaten path, Tinubu cannot pretend that we can continue the same way, or that he is unfamiliar with the merits of state police.

There’s a familiar trope against it, and I have heard it over and over again: that state police in the hands of the states would be used by governors against their opponents. That’s a genuine concern, especially in a country where governors behave as if the states were their fiefdoms. But isn’t it warped to argue that it’s OK for the Federal Government to use the Federal police against its own opponents in the centre and in the states while we’re all held hostage by the fear that the states would abuse it?

Bull by the horns

In the case of Miyetti Allah’s nomadic service, which potentially is worse for regulation than Amotekun which is at least under the control of the states, whose weapon would the vigilante be? The Federal Government’s, the states’ or the battering ram of an unrepentant ethnic militia called Miyetti Allah?

Ethnic militias are festering because the elite, especially members of the National Assembly, that are supposed to take the bull by the horns have refused to do what they should do to emplace structure and regulation by amending the constitution to allow the states play a more active role in policing.

Tinubu cannot afford to allow the drift to continue. He cannot manage the country’s security the same way that Buhari did for eight years and expect a different result.

 Azu Ishiekwene is the Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP. 

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has generated a substantial sum of N265 million from the sale of Nomination and Expression of Interest forms to 11 aspirants vying for the Edo State governorship ticket.

The party set the price for the Nomination Form at N30 million, while the Expression of Interest Form was pegged at N5 million, with exemptions made for female aspirants and those with disabilities, who were granted the Expression of Interest Form free of charge.

The deadline for the sale of these forms is today (Thursday), as per the schedule released by the party.

The PDP commenced the sale of forms on January 17, 2024, and January 27 was marked as the cut-off date for form submission by aspirants.

Among the 11 aspirants who have so far purchased the forms from the PDP national headquarters at Wadata Plaza, Abuja, are two women who were only required to pay for the N30 million Nomination form.

Notable figures in the race include Edo State Deputy Governor, Philip Shuaibu; former Chairman of Sterling Bank, Asue Ighodalo; and Blessing Igbinedion, daughter of the Esama of Benin Kingdom, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion. Other aspirants are Anselm Usiose Ojezua, Felix Akhabue, Martin Uhomoibhi, Umoru Hadizat, and Omoregie Ihama.

According to Punch, PDP has opted for the indirect primary method to select its candidate for the Edo State governorship election scheduled for September 21, 2024.

This method involves delegates who will cast their votes to decide the party’s flagbearer.

A high-ranking member of the PDP National Working Committee, who spoke to the platform anonymously, said “The PDP will not zone its ticket in Edo State. The NWC has also approved delegates and three ad hoc, indirect primary.

“It means members will elect delegates at ward and local government levels. These delegates will then move to Benin, the state capital, on February 22 to elect our party’s candidate.”

The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, assured aspirants of a level playing field, stating, “What the aspirants and Edo State stakeholders should expect from our party is a free, fair, credible, and acceptable primary that the PDP is known for.”

Ologunagba in an interview with The PUNCH stated, “Edo State is a PDP state, and we will maintain it. So, we will not disappoint our members; the party leadership will follow due process and we are very sure that people will support our party in Edo State. We are ready.”

On the question of reducing the number of aspirants, he said, “What we do is always to have a conversation. The issue of pruning the number of aspirants will not come up because these are processes that will come up among members, and I am sure that is going on. So, we are prepared for the primaries, and the more, the merrier. It will be a fair process, and there will be no rancour.”