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A South-East group, Igbo Board of Deputies, has filed a suit at an Abuja High Court, against the Nigerian government and China Exim Bank for depriving the five Igbo states of capital projects to be funded from a $22.7 billion loan.

The application is asking the China Exim Bank to suspend loan disbursements to the Nigerian government until an amendment is done to include the region in the projects.

This was contained in a statement made available to SaharaReporters by the plaintiffs on Wednesday.

A letter had earlier been written to the Chinese bank in Johannesburg on March 11, 2020, for its involvement in collaborating with the Nigerian government to exclude the South-East from capital projects funded by the loan.

One of the petitioners, Austin Okeke, disclosed that the group has also petitioned the Economic Community of West African States Court.

"Be pleased to note that our court action against the Government of Nigeria, China Exim Bank et al. will be coming up on December 9, 2020, at the Abuja High Court. This is in respect of the $22.7 billion loan, the proceeds of which were deliberately deprived of the five Igbo states of Nigeria," the statement reads in part.

"On March 11, we delivered a letter of demand to China Exim Bank in Johannesburg, calling upon it to give an undertaking in the following manner.

"Suspend the loan disbursement, alternatively, cancel the approval of the loan to the Nigerian government until it has revised or amended the manner it intends to allocate the proceeds of the loan to include projects in the South East of Nigeria, which projects shall directly benefit the Igbos; and;

"As a condition, tie the loan repayment to the regions of Nigeria that inherit the projects, as Nigeria flounders and threatens to break up," Okeke said.

He, however, urged the Chinese government to ensure transparency in its funding of capital projects in Nigeria.

"In going forward, the Chinese government must ensure that all projects are valued and open bid for, following international best practices to ensure standard quality and fair cost. The present Nigerian government is prone to project cost inflation, and future generations are not obligated to pay for fraudulently inflated prices. Failing which we shall join China Exim Bank as a Defendant party to the lawsuit against the Government of Nigeria.

"We say so because we do not guarantee the repayment of these loans by the other federating units of Nigeria in so far as the deliberate discrimination against the Igbos in Nigeria persists.

"The Igbos are not beneficiaries of the proceeds of the loan, and shall not participate in servicing and repayment of the same as a matter of principle, fact and law.

"The Igbos shall not be held liable for these loans, not now and in the future. We will not mortgage the rights and interests of our future generations for something they neither partook in nor benefited."

Politics News AddThis :  Original Author :  SaharaReporters, New York Disable advertisements : 
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A South-East group, Igbo Board of Deputies, has filed a suit at an Abuja High Court, against the Nigerian government and China Exim Bank for depriving the five Igbo states of capital projects to be funded from a $22.7 billion loan.

The application is asking the China Exim Bank to suspend loan disbursements to the Nigerian government until an amendment is done to include the region in the projects.

This was contained in a statement made available to SaharaReporters by the plaintiffs on Wednesday.

A letter had earlier been written to the Chinese bank in Johannesburg on March 11, 2020, for its involvement in collaborating with the Nigerian government to exclude the South-East from capital projects funded by the loan.

One of the petitioners, Austin Okeke, disclosed that the group has also petitioned the Economic Community of West African States Court.

"Be pleased to note that our court action against the Government of Nigeria, China Exim Bank et al. will be coming up on December 9, 2020, at the Abuja High Court. This is in respect of the $22.7 billion loan, the proceeds of which were deliberately deprived of the five Igbo states of Nigeria," the statement reads in part.

"On March 11, we delivered a letter of demand to China Exim Bank in Johannesburg, calling upon it to give an undertaking in the following manner.

"Suspend the loan disbursement, alternatively, cancel the approval of the loan to the Nigerian government until it has revised or amended the manner it intends to allocate the proceeds of the loan to include projects in the South East of Nigeria, which projects shall directly benefit the Igbos; and;

"As a condition, tie the loan repayment to the regions of Nigeria that inherit the projects, as Nigeria flounders and threatens to break up," Okeke said.

He, however, urged the Chinese government to ensure transparency in its funding of capital projects in Nigeria.

"In going forward, the Chinese government must ensure that all projects are valued and open bid for, following international best practices to ensure standard quality and fair cost. The present Nigerian government is prone to project cost inflation, and future generations are not obligated to pay for fraudulently inflated prices. Failing which we shall join China Exim Bank as a Defendant party to the lawsuit against the Government of Nigeria.

"We say so because we do not guarantee the repayment of these loans by the other federating units of Nigeria in so far as the deliberate discrimination against the Igbos in Nigeria persists.

"The Igbos are not beneficiaries of the proceeds of the loan, and shall not participate in servicing and repayment of the same as a matter of principle, fact and law.

"The Igbos shall not be held liable for these loans, not now and in the future. We will not mortgage the rights and interests of our future generations for something they neither partook in nor benefited."

Politics News AddThis :  Original Author :  SaharaReporters, New York Disable advertisements : 
https://ift.tt/3640nlo

A South-East group, Igbo Board of Deputies, has filed a suit at an Abuja High Court, against the Nigerian government and China Exim Bank for depriving the five Igbo states of capital projects to be funded from a $22.7 billion loan.

The application is asking the China Exim Bank to suspend loan disbursements to the Nigerian government until an amendment is done to include the region in the projects.

This was contained in a statement made available to SaharaReporters by the plaintiffs on Wednesday.

A letter had earlier been written to the Chinese bank in Johannesburg on March 11, 2020, for its involvement in collaborating with the Nigerian government to exclude the South-East from capital projects funded by the loan.

One of the petitioners, Austin Okeke, disclosed that the group has also petitioned the Economic Community of West African States Court.

"Be pleased to note that our court action against the Government of Nigeria, China Exim Bank et al. will be coming up on December 9, 2020, at the Abuja High Court. This is in respect of the $22.7 billion loan, the proceeds of which were deliberately deprived of the five Igbo states of Nigeria," the statement reads in part.

"On March 11, we delivered a letter of demand to China Exim Bank in Johannesburg, calling upon it to give an undertaking in the following manner.

"Suspend the loan disbursement, alternatively, cancel the approval of the loan to the Nigerian government until it has revised or amended the manner it intends to allocate the proceeds of the loan to include projects in the South East of Nigeria, which projects shall directly benefit the Igbos; and;

"As a condition, tie the loan repayment to the regions of Nigeria that inherit the projects, as Nigeria flounders and threatens to break up," Okeke said.

He, however, urged the Chinese government to ensure transparency in its funding of capital projects in Nigeria.

"In going forward, the Chinese government must ensure that all projects are valued and open bid for, following international best practices to ensure standard quality and fair cost. The present Nigerian government is prone to project cost inflation, and future generations are not obligated to pay for fraudulently inflated prices. Failing which we shall join China Exim Bank as a Defendant party to the lawsuit against the Government of Nigeria.

"We say so because we do not guarantee the repayment of these loans by the other federating units of Nigeria in so far as the deliberate discrimination against the Igbos in Nigeria persists.

"The Igbos are not beneficiaries of the proceeds of the loan, and shall not participate in servicing and repayment of the same as a matter of principle, fact and law.

"The Igbos shall not be held liable for these loans, not now and in the future. We will not mortgage the rights and interests of our future generations for something they neither partook in nor benefited."

Politics News AddThis :  Original Author :  SaharaReporters, New York Disable advertisements : 
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Cybercrime detectives of the Hyderabad Commission have arrested a Nigerian, identified as Morgan, who defrauded a pastor of over Rs 24 lakh (N12million) by posing as a Canadian philanthropist, wishing to donate money and masks for pandemic-affected poor of the city.

According to the Times of India, the Nigerian was residing in Bangalore.

Google/cybercrime

The police explained that Morgan befriended Pastor Moses of Banjara Hills through a social networking platform by posing as a Canadian philanthropist.

The police said, "Morgan told Pastor Moses that he was upset about the poor, who were worst affected by the pandemic. 

Morgan told Moses that he donates money for charity and expressed his willingness to send some cash to Moses along with other items like sanitisers, masks and laptops to distribute among the poor," cybercrime Assistant of Commissioner of Police KVM Prasad, said.

"After Moses agreed to distribute the items, he received a phone call from a woman, who posed as a customs official at the Delhi airport and alerted him about an international parcel that they seized. 

"The fraudster, posing as a customs official, asked the pastor to pay the processing fee and customs duty to clear it for dispatch. After Moses deposited a few lakhs of rupees in the bank accounts mentioned, she kept asking him to deposit more in the name of income tax and money laundering fine. In one month, Moses had sent Rs 24.39 lakh before realising that he was duped and lodged a complaint on August 19."  

Meanwhile, Bangalore police arrested the accused in a similar fraud, and Hyderabad police brought Morgan to the city on a prisoner-transit warrant.

 

CyberCrime News AddThis :  Original Author :  SaharaReporters, New York Disable advertisements : 
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Cybercrime detectives of the Hyderabad Commission have arrested a Nigerian, identified as Morgan, who defrauded a pastor of over Rs 24 lakh (N12million) by posing as a Canadian philanthropist, wishing to donate money and masks for pandemic-affected poor of the city.

According to the Times of India, the Nigerian was residing in Bangalore.

Google/cybercrime

The police explained that Morgan befriended Pastor Moses of Banjara Hills through a social networking platform by posing as a Canadian philanthropist.

The police said, "Morgan told Pastor Moses that he was upset about the poor, who were worst affected by the pandemic. 

Morgan told Moses that he donates money for charity and expressed his willingness to send some cash to Moses along with other items like sanitisers, masks and laptops to distribute among the poor," cybercrime Assistant of Commissioner of Police KVM Prasad, said.

"After Moses agreed to distribute the items, he received a phone call from a woman, who posed as a customs official at the Delhi airport and alerted him about an international parcel that they seized. 

"The fraudster, posing as a customs official, asked the pastor to pay the processing fee and customs duty to clear it for dispatch. After Moses deposited a few lakhs of rupees in the bank accounts mentioned, she kept asking him to deposit more in the name of income tax and money laundering fine. In one month, Moses had sent Rs 24.39 lakh before realising that he was duped and lodged a complaint on August 19."  

Meanwhile, Bangalore police arrested the accused in a similar fraud, and Hyderabad police brought Morgan to the city on a prisoner-transit warrant.

 

CyberCrime News AddThis :  Original Author :  SaharaReporters, New York Disable advertisements : 
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The Ogun State Police Command on Thursday arrested a 20-year-old herbalist, Misipode Dosu, for allegedly killing a hotelier, Jimoh Bello.

In a statement on Thursday, the command's spokesperson, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the herbalist was arrested after several months of thorough investigations into the case. 

The deceased, who was said to be the owner of J.B hotel in the Owode-Yewa area of the state, was found dead in the boot of his car on May 29 by men of the Idiroko divisional headquarters. 

According to the police, Dosu, during interrogation revealed that the deceased had come to him for money ritual and paid N250,000 out of the N300,000 price he gave him to carry out the exercise. 

The herbalist, however, said after some time, the deceased started disturbing him that he had not seen any result of the money ritual he paid for.

He added that since he was not able to deliver, he had to kill the hotelier by giving him some concoction to cover his tracks.

Dosu was said to have after that put the deceased into the boot of his car and drove the vehicle to a place where the corpse was recovered.

The statement added that the state Commissioner of Police, Edward Ajogun, had already directed that the suspect be arraigned before a court of competent jurisdiction as soon as the investigation is concluded.

"The police team embarked on an intelligence-based investigation which led them to the arrest of the herbalist, Misipode Dosu, who happened to be the last person seen with the deceased," the statement read.

"On interrogation, the suspect confessed that the deceased contracted him for a money-making ritual of which he billed him the sum of N300,000 out of which the deceased had paid him N250,000. But after some time, the dead started pressuring him that he had not seen any positive outcome of the ritual. 

"Out of fear that the deceased might report him to the police for obtaining money from him under false pretence, he invited him to come for the final stage of the ritual at Idiroko."

The police said that was where the murder took place.

CRIME Police News AddThis :  Original Author :  SaharaReporters, New York Disable advertisements : 
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President Muhammadu Buhari was advised on Thursday by the minority caucus in the House of Representatives to disregard the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, and appear before the House as soon as possible.

The caucus, in a statement signed by the minority leader, Ndudi Elumelu, criticised the statement by the AGF that the National Assembly lacks constitutional powers to summon the president to address it on the deteriorating insecurity and killings.

He said the claim by the Attorney General was unlawful and reckless. 

"We as lawmakers, therefore, urge President Buhari not to allow officials like Abubakar Malami to ridicule his office and further alienate him from Nigerians. 

"Mr President, having agreed to appear before the House and given that the constitution backs the invitation, should take steps to honour the invitation and not allow himself to be distracted by persons who have demonstrated that they do not wish the nation well," he stated. 

The opposition leader noted that the same section 218 cited by the Attorney General as well as sections 88 and 89 grant the National Assembly the powers to request Mr President's attention on his handling of security and operations of the armed forces. 

"Section 89 (1) of the 1999 Constitution as amended empowers the Senate or the House of Representatives or a committee appointed in accordance with Section 62 of the Constitution, to procure evidence, written or oral, and to 'summon any person in Nigeria to give evidence at any place," he stated. 

Elumelu said that President Buhari, in response to the constitutional invitation, had already agreed to appear before the House to address Nigerians. 

"Mr. President's apparent backward steps on the invitation just because handlers like Abubakar Malami, are afraid of the people, puts him in very bad light before Nigerians and the world," the caucus states. 

The caucus described as "reckless" the claims by the Attorney General that by inviting Mr President to address Nigerians, the House of Representatives overstepped its bounds. 

Muhammadu Buhari

"Indeed, as lawmakers, we are surprised that an individual who calls himself a Senior Advocate of Nigerian and who sits in office as Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation can reason in such a manner." 

According to the lawmakers, "the fundamental reason for the existence of any government is the security of life and property and such is directly vested on the President as the commander-in-chief. 

"Today Nigerians are killed, kidnapped, and maimed every day in all parts of our country. Nigerians live in constant fear, and they are asking questions; they seek reassurances, which only Mr President can offer. 

"As elected representatives of the Nigerian people, members of the House of Representatives are mandated by law to ask questions on the state of the nation, especially on issues of security, and that informed the invitation to President Buhari. 

"It is therefore sad and a great disservice to the nation and the President that the only opportunity Mr President had to remedy his name by addressing Nigerians through their elected representatives is being thwarted by individuals pursuing their selfish interest not the interest of Mr President or that of the Nigerians people," the lawmakers stated. 

The caucus further expressed concerns over the interest and roles being played by the likes of Abubakar Malami, to frustrate efforts to tackle insecurity in the country.

 

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The use of raw power to settle personal scores against ones perceived enemies, is a dastardly but palpable contemporary political reality.

Our own nation’s political landscape has not been devoid of this aberrant behavior. Even though, our democratic dispensation is still in its infancy, yet it could be seen as being fully replete with these clearly very unpleasant but ubiquitous phenomenon. 

Just when broad sections of our country are savoring the constitutional order and the rule of law which were being ushered by the dawn of democracy in our great nation, a very hard to bear devastating blow was dealt to these delightful longings through the open display of raw power by the well connected powerful government officials, some of whom, are known to be occupying top echelon in the nation’s federal Cabinet. 

At this stage, allow me to take your restive minds back to the well orchestrated, dare-devil and commando-styled but widely reported arrest of the embattled and now suspended chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, which was clumsily carried out recently in the broad Abuja busy streets, by the security teams of the much dreaded DSS and the mobile police force. 

Ibrahim Magu

On that fateful day, Nigerians who had witnessed this power brinkmanship were so petrified by the sheer force exhibited in the course of its poor execution, just as they were being thoroughly scandalized all through the short duration the sordid encounter lasted. 

The traumatic reverberations left behind by this stormy blitz ke ridge, had deeply scorched our city walls which had been well equipped and fortified with the latest soundproofs and are currently assuming their eery symmetry, ominous spread and a clearly terrifying national dimension with all the negative consequences that these imply. 

News about the raging internal skirmishes 
between the Justice Minister, who doubles as the Attorney General of the Federation on the one hand, and the nation’s anti-corruption bodies, such as, the EFCC, ICPC and PACP on the other, suddenly started filtering out to the unsuspecting public. 

No doubt, the bean was spilled by the duo of professors emeritus Sagay and Femi Odekunle, the nation’s renown academics and respected anti-corruption crusaders. 

These two very illustrious scholars had courageously informed the perplexed members of the Nigerian public, that, the rather rancorous relationship existing between the Justice minister and the executives of his ministry’s parastatals was not unconnected with the apparent uncooperative attitudes and brazen acts of nonchalance being displayed by the supervising Attorney General, who stayed aloof and also adamantly refused to show some tacit supports or strong interests in the nation’s galvanized efforts to speedily combat the cankerworms of corruption from our now pestilence infested national landscape. 

Unknown to many Nigerians that deeply got ensconced into this unfolding episode, the Attorney General had within a twinkle of an eye, taken his time to deftly knit a web of calumniating subterfuges which were purposely and clearly designed to permanently sentence and dislodge especially the main protagonist of this suspense filled drama, the accused chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, to a perilous perdition. 
 
From day one, the chairman of the presidential investigation panel, retired Justice Ayo Salami, threw caution to the wind by flatfootedly denying Mr. Ibrahim Magu fair hearing and obdurately blocking him from access to his lawyers. It took the resultant public outcry provoked by this outrage, to extract a mild concession from this highly experienced retired Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Appeal, who then looked every inch very hell bent on carrying out a well rehearsed premeditated witch-hunt. 

This strong suspicion was given credence by the Panel Chairman’s display of open bias and one sidedness in handling the whole of this sensitive assignment. 

It is rather curious, if not altogether strange, that a principal actor in this investigation saga, such as the minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation was completely shielded and frantically encouraged from skipping any appearance to answer pertinent questions raised by Magu’s lawyers at the Panel. 

It is also amusing and a matter of national interest that side by side with the ongoing Panel’s investigation, it was observed, that some actions quite prejudicial to these rather crucial investigations, were swiftly being undertaken by the office of the AGF, as if to ridicule the integrity of its authors, and cast aspersions on the credibility of their subsequent recommendations to the President Buhari’s government. 

Otherwise, how could one understand the speed with which the AGF used his strong links and personal connections with the Aso Rock Villa, to obtain quick presidential support and even approval, for setting up another agency under his supervision that denuded the EFCC of most of its statutory functions? 

It is the culmination of these series of offensive actions clearly calculated to undermine any sense of fairness, justice and the rule of law in our country, that detracted from the merit of the rehashed recommendations which have now been perfunctorily submitted to President Muhammadu Buhari by Mr. Ayo Salami, the retired Chief Justice of the Federal Appeal Court and the Chairman of the Presidential Investigation Panel. 

It is however comforting, that, Nigerians who have been following this case with undiminished interest and raft attention, are equally reposing total confidence in the unstinting commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari to always uphold the cause of justice and are also reinforced in this, by his determination to sustain the raging anti-corruption crusade. 

Thus, they unfailingly will continue to remain optimistic, that he would deploy his legendary wisdom to see beyond the travesty and the smoke screen placed before him, fervently pray and also keep faith with his ability to consciously and patriotically avoid any association of his good name and well built reputation with a blatant miscarriage of justice. 

Nigerians shall similarly continue to firmly believe that he will proceed to do the right thing, by courageously exonerating all those who are unfairly witch-hunted and condemned especially by the clever use of baseless allegations, trump up charges and the display of unrestrained desire to settle perceived personal scores and old grudges bordering on vendetta of deep seated animosity. 

Comrade Isah Tijjani, mni 
A Kano based veteran Labour Leader. 
December 10th, 2020

Opinion AddThis :  Original Author :  Isah Tijjani Disable advertisements : 
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