The Nigerian Bar Association has said that no provision of the law requires anyone to come for a suspect before he or she is released on bail.
The NBA said this in reaction to the reason given by the Department of State Services for not releasing pro-democracy campaigner and Publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, from its custody.
A Kano-based travel agency operator, Mallam Masu’d Muazu, has dragged the Chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, Abdullahi Muhammad, to court over an alleged unlawful tenure elongation.
Muhammad and board members of the commission were granted six-month tenure of office elongation in May this year by President Muhammadu Buhari at the expiration of their second and final tenures of office.
Muazu is praying the court to declare as unlawful and unconstitutional the extension of tenure.
Muhammad was sued along with President Buhari, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Attorney-General of the Federation and the commission for the roles they played in the alleged unlawful presidential act.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/935/2019 filed on behalf of the plaintiff by Ibrahim Alhassan, the court was asked to hold that the presidential action violated section 171 of the 1999 section and section 5 of the National Hajj Commission FCT 2006.
The plaintiff also sought court declaration that the continued stay in office of Muhammad after the expiration of his second tenure was illegal, unlawful and un-constitutional.
He also asked the court to determine whether by the combine provisions of section 171 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and section 5(1) of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, 2006, the President has power to elongate the tenure of Muhammad beyond 2nd terms in the office.
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The Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, Tony Ojukwu, has called on the Department of State Services to respect court orders and release detained activists, Omoyele Sowore and Olawale Bakare.
He stated this while reacting to the alleged refusal of officials of the agency to release the activists after meeting their bail conditions.
In a statement, Ojukwu said, "A situation where the order of courts are continuously disobeyed by security agents makes such security agents judges onto themselves and such situation does not augur well for our democracy based on the separation of powers and rule of law.
"Many cases have been reported to the commission about investigating police officers and state security officers deliberately refusing or delaying to verify bail conditions following court orders just to punish suspects unduly for reasons that are not constitutional."
He, therefore, called for a renewed commitment on the part of law enforcement agents to submit to constituted authorities and oversight and release all detainees, who had met their bail conditions as ordered by the courts of the land.
He added, “There is the need for the three arms of government to work harmoniously with utmost respect for each other as envisaged under the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
"A situation like this can also lead to self-help thereby creating more problems for law enforcement agents and threaten the precarious situation of state responsibility to respect, protect and fulfill human rights in the country."
He explained that the constitution guaranteed the innocence of every citizen until proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction.
Ojukwu said the action of DSS trying to be a judge unto themselves portend a great danger, which may lead to anarchy and loss of confidence of the people in the government.
"It makes the law uncertain at any point in time and leads to loss of confidence of the people in government and state institutions of which the judiciary is one of cannot approbate and reprobate," he said.
He noted that the commission would continue to train and sensitise law enforcement agents on the need to respect the law and the constitution, which they have sworn to protect so as to engender a culture of respect for human rights in the country.
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A group of scholars and professionals from Nigeria and around the world, have urged the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government to obey court orders and immediately release Omoyele Sowore and Olawale Bakare from detention.
The professionals held that the refusal of the government and the Department of State Services to release Sowore after meeting his bail condition was an indication that the government was determined to continue to hold on to both men for as long as possible.
They also posited that the continued detention of Sowore and Mandate was an egregious injustice and a travesty of the rule of law.
They said, “The charges that the Nigerian Government has brought against Sowore and Bakare are totally bogus and laughable.
“Evidently, both have been targeted by the Buhari administration for their activism in the cause of political freedom and economic prosperity for all Nigerians.
“In the specific case of Sowore, it would seem reasonable to surmise that his continued detention is not unrelated to the vigorous and unsparing criticism of the current administration and the state of affairs in Nigeria by his online newspaper, Sahara Reporters.”
They held that President Buhari was a beneficiary of the gallant efforts of the likes of Sowore to return Nigeria to democratic rule and expand the space for democratic life.
They urged Nigerians from all walks of life and those committed to human liberty all over the world to speak up against this blatant perversion of justice.
They added, “We call on the National Assembly, civil society organisations, and international human rights and political advocacy organisations to put pressure on government to release Omoyele Sowore and Olawale Bakare immediately.
“The continued detention of these two Nigerians – and indeed others who have been granted bail by the courts – make a mockery of our hard-won democratic freedoms.”
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The Nigerian Navy and Ocean Marine Solutions have strengthened existing ties in the continued fight against piracy and other forms of crimes on Nigerian waters.
OMS, which had through its Secure Anchorage Area provided a security platform for ships berthing at the Lagos ports to utilise, had come under scrutiny in recent times especially with the new management of the Nigerian Ports Authority not fully in support of its operations.
According to sources in the maritime sector, who spoke with our correspondent, the NPA believes the SAA jerks up the cost of doing business in Nigeria for ships and wants it pulled down at the Lagos seaport.
It was revealed that the SAA was created by a committee set up by the Navy, NPA, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Department of Petroleum Resources and other agencies of government – all leading stakeholders in the maritime environment – in response to the high wave of attacks on vessels by pirates.
The activities of these hoodlums had forced the International Maritime Bureau to term Nigerian waters as “high risk area”.
At the height of pirate attacks on Nigerian waters, vessels were coming into the country with hired mercenaries that charge as much as $2,500 per day to provide security for ships and crew members.
The situation saw to the illegal importation of arms into Nigeria as evident in the impounding of a Russian ship with arms in 2012.
As a result of this problem, shipments destined for Nigeria had to be directed to places like Benin Republic, Togo and Ghana.
A source in the sector, who spoke with SaharaReporters, said, “As a result of the impact OMS made in the Niger Delta, the Nigerian Navy in 2012 invited them to find a solution to what was happening to the Lagos roadstead.
“Part of the solutions proposed was the demarcation of the Lagos water, which is the free anchorage area where people can anchor on their own based on the general security provided by government.
“There is the STS where people can do ship to ship transfer operation; there is no anchorage area because of marine cables and at the end of all these demarcations, the committee also came up with the SAA to provide adequate security for vessels for a fee.
“NIMASA sent notices to mariners to indicate the availability of that service, in addition to all the other services.
“The patrol boats that were used in the SAA are 100 per cent owned by OMS but given to the navy to man.
“In addition to providing the platforms, OMS also provided logistics support for the platforms.”
The SAA is situated 10 nautical miles away from the Fairway Buoy, an area outside the NPA's jurisdiction.
This leaves NIMASA as the only regulator for the SAA.
The source added, “This arrangement has been very beneficial to both Nigeria and the international shipping companies because they had confidence in the service.
“But the new regime in NPA appears to have misunderstood the concept, believing that OMS was collecting money due government and anchorage fees into their private pockets.
“OMS is merely providing security for ships for a small fee and the owners of these vessels are happy to use the service.”
Giving more insight into the partnership with the Nigerian Navy and how much impact the SAA has had on the country’s maritime industry, General Manager, Business Development and Government Relations, Commodore Chuma Adogu (retd), said that the system has helped reduce overhead cost for ship owners and improved national security by eliminating the chances of arms being smuggled into the country by foreign mercenaries.
He said, “We provided the platform and logistics to the Navy to offer security to ships waiting to berth at our anchorage.
“The boats are bought by us and are registered with NIMASA.
“The allegation that SAA constitutes a threat to national security is not correct or that it adds to cost for ships coming into Nigeria is false.
“The concept of SAA has been hugely successful by helping to bring down piracy and sea robbery attacks on Lagos waters.
“Therefore, the removal of this system without any visible effective alternative will leave a huge vacuum in the security architecture and herald the return of unbridled banditry on Lagos waters.”
In recent years, attacks on Nigerian waters by hoodlums have become a big problem for players in the country’s maritime sector.
In October for example, Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas, revealed that Nigeria and 15 other countries in the Gulf of Guinea currently lose $2bn to pirate attacks annually.
This was two months after the country was rated number one in pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea in a report by the IMB.
According to Ibas, the Navy was adopting new strategies including partnerships like the one with OMS to tackle the situation.
He said, “The maritime domain has been under threat by piracy, sea robbery, illicit trafficking, illegal unreported and unregulated fishing and marine pollution.
“Now emerging security threats within the Nigerian maritime domain stem largely from non-military causes such as socio-economic agitations and a large army of unemployed and under-employed youths in the coastal communities, whose activities manifest through attacks on shipping.
“More disturbing is the fact that many of the illicit acts at sea are directed at the economic lifeline of the nation, with negative impact on development and well-being of our citizens.”
Bimbo Olajengbesi, a maritime lawyer and analyst, told SaharaReporters that it is only through initiatives like SAA that Nigeria can truly begin to secure her waters properly.
He said, “All over the world, private companies providing cutting-edge security are the ones driving the maritime industry.
“Without adequate security, economies will lose a lot of money to the activities of pirates.
“Nigeria has suffered a lot in this regard and that is why initiatives like SAA that has restored great sanity in the system must be commended and encouraged to thrive.
“I am looking forward to more collaboration between the Navy and organisations like this to help secure the country’s maritime sector the more.”
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A group of activists have said that they would do everything within their powers to secure the release of pro-democracy campaigner and Publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, and Olawale Bakare known widely as Mandate, on Tuesday.
The Nigerian Government had on Friday declared Monday as public holiday, leaving Tuesday as the first working day of the week in the process.
In a statement signed by Deji Adeyanju, Lanre Legacy and Sanyaolu Juwon, the activists said that the Department of State Services was violating the rights of Sowore and Bakare by continuing to detain them despite two court orders calling for their release.
“Despite the embarrassing and unprofessional statement credited to the DSS, Nigerians comprising activists, lawyers, families, friends and citizens came out on Saturday morning to receive the duo.
“As expected but quite unfortunately, the DSS yet again failed to release them under the excuse that we came on a weekend.
“Consequently, we wish to inform the general public that we will once again be present at the DSS headquarters on Tuesday November 12, 2019 to receive both Sowore and Bakare.
“The government should be held responsible should anything happen to the duo.
“It should be noted that Sowore since two days ago has been on hunger strike; he has refused to take anything, not even water; protesting the violation of his rights by the President Muhammadu Buhari government.
“The world is watching. We shall overcome.”
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An Executive Director at Zenith Bank, Henry Oroh, has said that Nigeria’s dependence on oil revenue for her foreign reserve will not aide sustainable growth in the country.
Oroh, while speaking with CNBC Africaduring the International Trade Seminar, emphasised the need for Nigeria to diversify to wane off the economy from its over-dependence on crude oil.
He said, “We all know that our country, we have been over dependant on oil.
“Oil accounts for over 94 per cent of our foreign exchange revenue and that is not good for sustainable growth and diversification of the economy.
“The country abandoned its other sources of revenues like the palm produce and cashews, to focus on oil.
“Once we diversity to the non-oil sector, we are going to be developing opportunities for employment. We are going to be developing SMEs and the various value chains that come with it. Even crime will be reduced because youth unemployment will reduce.”
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Nigerian professionals have called for the release of pro-democracy campaigner and Publisher of SaharaReporters, Omoyele Sowore, from the custody of the Department of State Services.
Sowore was arrested on August 3 by the secret police and has been in their custody despite two court orders for his release.
The Federal High Court in Abuja issued a release order for Sowore on November 6 but the DSS has refused to free him.
In a statement on Sunday, prominent professionals in Nigeria stated that the continued detention of Sowore and Olawale Bakare, is an "egregious injustice and a travesty of the rule of law".
The statement signed by Kunle Ajibade, Chido Onumah, Funmi Iyanda among other prominent professionals in the media, law and academia asked the secret police to release the duo in compliance with court orders.
The statement added, “A call for the immediate release of Omoyele Sowore and Olawale Bakare.
“We the undersigned, call for the immediate release of Sowore and Bakare from detention.
“We fear that the Nigerian Government is determined to continue to hold on to both men for as long as possible.
“The continued detention of both human rights advocates is an egregious injustice and a travesty of the rule of law.”
A professor of Radiology at the University of Nigeria Nsukka, Ifeoma Okoye, has said four out of every five patients diagnosed with cancer die from the disease.
Okoye, who is also UNN’s Director of Center for Clinical Trials, made the disclosure while speaking with New Telegraph.
Okoye said Nigeria had the highest mortality rate in Africa, saying cancer is one of the contributing factors.
She said, “Cancer is a very deadly disease though preventable if proper information about the causes of the disease, management relevance of early detection is communicated to the people.
“According to the World Health Organisation findings, Nigeria has the highest mortality rate in Africa.
“Four out of five cases of cancer in Nigeria result in death. In fact, some authorities say that mortality in Nigeria is the highest in the world.”
According to her, early detection can help in the treatment of cancer and reduce the number of deaths caused by the disease.
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Pro-democracy campaigner and Publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, has continued his hunger strike in the Department of State Services facility he is being held in Abuja to demand his immediate release.
Sowore was arrested on August 3, 2019, for planning a series of protest against bad governance in Nigeria.
He has since been granted bail twice but has not secured the compliance of the DSS.
On Friday, DSS spokesperson, Peter Afunaya, said the organisation had received the order for his release but did not find anyone to pick him up, a claim his lawyers have described as ridiculous.
On Saturday morning, activists and family members of Sowore protested at the DSS headquarters after they were denied access to retrieve him from detention.
One of his lawyers, Marshall Abubakar, on Saturday said that Sowore had vowed to continue until his rights are respected and he is released.
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The Inspector-General of the Nigeria Police Force, Adamu Mohammed, has ordered the redeployment of recently promoted senior police officers in the country.
Six officers were promoted from the rank of Commissioners of Police to the rank of Assistant Inspectors General in a promotion activity that saw the force and the Police Service Commission engaged in a tussle with each other.
Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Frank Mba, who disclosed this in Abuja on Saturday, said the IGP expects the redeployed officers to put in an excellent display and always uphold the integrity and credibility of the force.
He said, “The newly deployed senior officers to zones and formations are Dan Bature, AIG DFA FHQ, Hyelasinda Musa, AIG PMF, Yunana Babas, AIG Zone 8 Lokoja and Dan Mohammed, AIG SPU.
“Mua’zu Halilu, AIG CTU, Rabiu Yusuf, AIG ICT, Ahmed Iliyasu, AIG Zone 2, Lagos, AIG Mohammed Kura, AIG Maritime, Zaki Ahmed, AIG Zone 6, Calabar and Zama Senchi, AIG Community Policing.
“Others are Bello Sadiq – AIG Zone 1, Kano, Austin Iwero, AIG DOPS FHQ and Lawal Ado, AIG Works.”
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Twitter co-founder, Jack Dorsey, in NigeriaTechpoint.africa
A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Emmanuel Agbo, has called on the Chief Executive Officer of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, to use the occasion of his visit to Nigeria to reassure Nigerians that opposition Twitter handles are safe in the wake of increasing attacks by the President Muhammadu Buhari regime on dissenting voices on the social media space.
Agbo, who is the Deputy National Secretary of the PDP, in a statement on Saturday noted that it was no longer news that the Nigerian Government was working hard to spy on journalists, activists, media houses and opposition members all in a bid to target them for persecution.
He said, “We have seen the case of activist Aisha Yesufu who has had her Twitter account locked several times and recently, pro-government Twitter handles were calling for the execution of human rights champion, Prof Chidi Odinkalu, journalist Ahmad Salkida among others.
“There have also been reports that the Nigerian military procured a forensic technology designed to extract information from phones and computers.
“The report stated that two companies – Israel-based Cellebrite and US-based Access Data – that produce and market such technologies used by security forces to monitor and interrogate journalists, were already operating in Nigeria.
“What this means is that the current government is willing to go any length to target opposition voices even if it means compromising social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook.
“It is instructive that Twitter continues to serve as a platform to project the voices of many Nigerians who seek accountability from their government.
“We hope that it will continue to remain this way without the fear of waking up one day to hear that opposition Twitter accounts were spied on or shut at the request of the Nigerian Government or their agents.”
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