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No fewer than 100 Bakassi agitators on Monday blocked the Cross River Governor’s Office in Calabar, the state capital, to protest against the non-payment of their allowances by the state government since 2018.
The agitators were mostly from the former Bakassi Strike Force based in the Bakassi Local Government Area.

Vanguard
The agitators, who stormed the governor’s office about 8am, wore black trousers on black T-shirts and barricaded the gate preventing workers from entering the premises.
The main gate of Cross River Governor’s office was attempted to be pulled down, but some of them intervened and prevailed on their colleagues not to be violent.
One of their leaders, popularly known as Timaya, told journalists that they were protesting the non-payment of their allowance since December 2018 and are not going anywhere until the governor settles them.
“Since 2018 the governor has reneged on agreement after we laid down our arms in December 2018. After we surrendered, we went for training and the governor promised that we were going to be given starter packs and be integrated into the system.
“Instead of fulfilling his promise, the governor went and put up a sign-post in Bakassi to say, he has paid us.  He has since refused to attend to us and we are very angry,” Timaya said.
However, the Permanent Secretary Special Services (security) Governor’s Office, Dr Alfred Mboto, pleaded for more time to enable government to sort out their grievances.
"The state governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, is working on their case and would call for a meeting with their leaders,” he said.
Meanwhile, the counsel to the ex-agitators, Ozinko Ozinko, affirmed that the government had failed to keep to their own part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed that made them lay down arms.

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No fewer than 100 Bakassi agitators on Monday blocked the Cross River Governor’s Office in Calabar, the state capital, to protest against the non-payment of their allowances by the state government since 2018.
The agitators were mostly from the former Bakassi Strike Force based in the Bakassi Local Government Area.

Vanguard
The agitators, who stormed the governor’s office about 8am, wore black trousers on black T-shirts and barricaded the gate preventing workers from entering the premises.
The main gate of Cross River Governor’s office was attempted to be pulled down, but some of them intervened and prevailed on their colleagues not to be violent.
One of their leaders, popularly known as Timaya, told journalists that they were protesting the non-payment of their allowance since December 2018 and are not going anywhere until the governor settles them.
“Since 2018 the governor has reneged on agreement after we laid down our arms in December 2018. After we surrendered, we went for training and the governor promised that we were going to be given starter packs and be integrated into the system.
“Instead of fulfilling his promise, the governor went and put up a sign-post in Bakassi to say, he has paid us.  He has since refused to attend to us and we are very angry,” Timaya said.
However, the Permanent Secretary Special Services (security) Governor’s Office, Dr Alfred Mboto, pleaded for more time to enable government to sort out their grievances.
"The state governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, is working on their case and would call for a meeting with their leaders,” he said.
Meanwhile, the counsel to the ex-agitators, Ozinko Ozinko, affirmed that the government had failed to keep to their own part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed that made them lay down arms.

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The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, has claimed that no police officer was reported for committing any crime against civilians during #EndSARS memorial protest in the state.
Odumosu said he witnessed the protest, adding that no one came to make a formal complaint, and the police was not obliged to trail the officers based on newspaper reports.

The CP, who made this known while addressing journalists on Sunday, ruled out sanctions against the police officers who assaulted Uber driver, Adedotun Clement, during the one-year anniversary of the protest.
“To the best of my knowledge, no single officer has been reported to have committed an infraction. The officers of the Neighborhood Watch were identified.
“I told a journalist on that day that we have our procedures; we need an official complaint to be made to be able to try any policeman that has been complained against.
“If you know the policeman that assaulted you and you also have witnesses, lodge a formal complaint against the policeman.
“There must be a complainant; we have internal trials as we don’t trail people on the pages of newspapers; somebody needs to stand and give evidence.”
The commissioner asserted that he called the Lagos State traffic agency to release the Uber driver’s vehicle, noting that Clement had not been to their office to lodge any complaint about the matter.
“The Uber driver has not lodged any complaint; I got his number, called him personally and he told me about his vehicle and I called the General Manager, LASTMA, forwarded his number to him that they should release his vehicle.
“He has not lodged any complaint against anybody and our disciplinary procedure must be documented,” he added.
Clement, while on duty at the Lekki toll gate during the one-year anniversary of the #EndSARS protest, was assaulted by policemen and other security operatives
The officials of the neighbourhood watch involved in the molestation were suspended by the agency, after the video of the incident was shared on social media,
Meanwhile, Clement is demanding N500million compensation from the Lagos government in a suit his lawyer has filed.

 

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The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, has claimed that no police officer was reported for committing any crime against civilians during #EndSARS memorial protest in the state.
Odumosu said he witnessed the protest, adding that no one came to make a formal complaint, and the police was not obliged to trail the officers based on newspaper reports.

The CP, who made this known while addressing journalists on Sunday, ruled out sanctions against the police officers who assaulted Uber driver, Adedotun Clement, during the one-year anniversary of the protest.
“To the best of my knowledge, no single officer has been reported to have committed an infraction. The officers of the Neighborhood Watch were identified.
“I told a journalist on that day that we have our procedures; we need an official complaint to be made to be able to try any policeman that has been complained against.
“If you know the policeman that assaulted you and you also have witnesses, lodge a formal complaint against the policeman.
“There must be a complainant; we have internal trials as we don’t trail people on the pages of newspapers; somebody needs to stand and give evidence.”
The commissioner asserted that he called the Lagos State traffic agency to release the Uber driver’s vehicle, noting that Clement had not been to their office to lodge any complaint about the matter.
“The Uber driver has not lodged any complaint; I got his number, called him personally and he told me about his vehicle and I called the General Manager, LASTMA, forwarded his number to him that they should release his vehicle.
“He has not lodged any complaint against anybody and our disciplinary procedure must be documented,” he added.
Clement, while on duty at the Lekki toll gate during the one-year anniversary of the #EndSARS protest, was assaulted by policemen and other security operatives
The officials of the neighbourhood watch involved in the molestation were suspended by the agency, after the video of the incident was shared on social media,
Meanwhile, Clement is demanding N500million compensation from the Lagos government in a suit his lawyer has filed.

 

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President Muhammadu Buhari has declared that the military onslaught against bandits and other criminals will not stop until peace returns to all the troubled regions in the country.
Buhari stated this on Monday at the 2022 Armed Forces Remembrance Day emblem appeal launch, an annual event to appreciate the sacrifices, and accomplishments of veterans of the first and second world wars, peace support operations, and internal security operations in Nigeria.

“We are not going to be satisfied until peace is finally restored to every inch of our land,” Buhari said.
The President described the emblem as a sign of the sacrifices and bloodshed by officers and men of the Armed Forces for the peace and security of Nigeria.
“It is also a sign of our resolve to remain united as a nation and confront any challenges we may face. It is a sign of our resolve to say no to divisions and embrace one another as a united indivisible country,” he said.
While paying tribute to veterans who devoted most of their active lives to securing the nation and the world, particularly those who paid the supreme sacrifice, President Buhari said: “Our country’s efforts at nationhood since independence have been challenged by civil strife, a civil war, and much uprising and violent agitations.”
A statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity), Femi Adesina quoted him as saying: “However, in spite of all these, the country has remained united and the resolve of the citizens for unity remains unshaken.
“The exploits of our Armed Forces to maintain peace as well as their disposition to the unity of Nigeria have contributed in no small measure to our stability.
“We must therefore celebrate them as the pride of our country. Our faith in our Armed Forces remains unshaken and as a government, we will do all within our powers to ensure that our Armed Forces are motivated to perform optimally.
“They have time and again demonstrated unparalleled patriotism, courage, loyalty, and commitment as they grapple with the daunting challenges of defending Nigeria’s territorial integrity.”
The President called on all Nigerians to make generous donations to the Nigerian Legion, support the widows and orphans of the fallen heroes, procure the emblems and wear them with pride.
“The same call goes to all visitors and friends of Nigeria as well as corporate bodies operating in Nigeria,” he said.
Speaking on the Nigerian Legion, the President noted that the need to maintain the comradeship that existed during the service among officers and men of the Armed Forces led to its establishment through an Act of the National Assembly.

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President Muhammadu Buhari has declared that the military onslaught against bandits and other criminals will not stop until peace returns to all the troubled regions in the country.
Buhari stated this on Monday at the 2022 Armed Forces Remembrance Day emblem appeal launch, an annual event to appreciate the sacrifices, and accomplishments of veterans of the first and second world wars, peace support operations, and internal security operations in Nigeria.

“We are not going to be satisfied until peace is finally restored to every inch of our land,” Buhari said.
The President described the emblem as a sign of the sacrifices and bloodshed by officers and men of the Armed Forces for the peace and security of Nigeria.
“It is also a sign of our resolve to remain united as a nation and confront any challenges we may face. It is a sign of our resolve to say no to divisions and embrace one another as a united indivisible country,” he said.
While paying tribute to veterans who devoted most of their active lives to securing the nation and the world, particularly those who paid the supreme sacrifice, President Buhari said: “Our country’s efforts at nationhood since independence have been challenged by civil strife, a civil war, and much uprising and violent agitations.”
A statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity), Femi Adesina quoted him as saying: “However, in spite of all these, the country has remained united and the resolve of the citizens for unity remains unshaken.
“The exploits of our Armed Forces to maintain peace as well as their disposition to the unity of Nigeria have contributed in no small measure to our stability.
“We must therefore celebrate them as the pride of our country. Our faith in our Armed Forces remains unshaken and as a government, we will do all within our powers to ensure that our Armed Forces are motivated to perform optimally.
“They have time and again demonstrated unparalleled patriotism, courage, loyalty, and commitment as they grapple with the daunting challenges of defending Nigeria’s territorial integrity.”
The President called on all Nigerians to make generous donations to the Nigerian Legion, support the widows and orphans of the fallen heroes, procure the emblems and wear them with pride.
“The same call goes to all visitors and friends of Nigeria as well as corporate bodies operating in Nigeria,” he said.
Speaking on the Nigerian Legion, the President noted that the need to maintain the comradeship that existed during the service among officers and men of the Armed Forces led to its establishment through an Act of the National Assembly.

Military Politics News AddThis :  Original Author :  saharareporters, new york Disable advertisements : 
https://ift.tt/3GeXBL8

President Muhammadu Buhari has declared that the military onslaught against bandits and other criminals will not stop until peace returns to all the troubled regions in the country.
Buhari stated this on Monday at the 2022 Armed Forces Remembrance Day emblem appeal launch, an annual event to appreciate the sacrifices, and accomplishments of veterans of the first and second world wars, peace support operations, and internal security operations in Nigeria.

“We are not going to be satisfied until peace is finally restored to every inch of our land,” Buhari said.
The President described the emblem as a sign of the sacrifices and bloodshed by officers and men of the Armed Forces for the peace and security of Nigeria.
“It is also a sign of our resolve to remain united as a nation and confront any challenges we may face. It is a sign of our resolve to say no to divisions and embrace one another as a united indivisible country,” he said.
While paying tribute to veterans who devoted most of their active lives to securing the nation and the world, particularly those who paid the supreme sacrifice, President Buhari said: “Our country’s efforts at nationhood since independence have been challenged by civil strife, a civil war, and much uprising and violent agitations.”
A statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity), Femi Adesina quoted him as saying: “However, in spite of all these, the country has remained united and the resolve of the citizens for unity remains unshaken.
“The exploits of our Armed Forces to maintain peace as well as their disposition to the unity of Nigeria have contributed in no small measure to our stability.
“We must therefore celebrate them as the pride of our country. Our faith in our Armed Forces remains unshaken and as a government, we will do all within our powers to ensure that our Armed Forces are motivated to perform optimally.
“They have time and again demonstrated unparalleled patriotism, courage, loyalty, and commitment as they grapple with the daunting challenges of defending Nigeria’s territorial integrity.”
The President called on all Nigerians to make generous donations to the Nigerian Legion, support the widows and orphans of the fallen heroes, procure the emblems and wear them with pride.
“The same call goes to all visitors and friends of Nigeria as well as corporate bodies operating in Nigeria,” he said.
Speaking on the Nigerian Legion, the President noted that the need to maintain the comradeship that existed during the service among officers and men of the Armed Forces led to its establishment through an Act of the National Assembly.

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A nurse at the General Ahmadi Rimi Orthopaedic Hospital in Katsina State, Umar Lawal, has recounted his experience with police officers who allegedly assaulted him while at his duty post.
The nurse, who spoke with Premium Times, explained that he was at the nurse's station when the officers arrived with an emergency case.

File photo used to illustrate story.
According to him, the officers brought about five accident victims and while he was attending to them, he requested that they proceeded to buy drugs and obtain cards for the victims.
He noted that rather than this, the officers asked him (the nurse) to leave his duty post to purchase the items and when he refused, one of the officers hit him on his cheek which he also retaliated.
This snowballed into a fight as the officers descended on him and beat him thoroughly.
He said, “I had finished medication for my internal patients and was waiting at the Nurse’s Station when an ambulance from the National Open University brought in accident victims with five policemen.
“I checked one of the patients and discovered that he had external injuries but had more internal injuries especially on his thigh and another fracture on his neck. I was prescribing the drugs for them to go and buy so that we could resuscitate him.
“Then suddenly, they brought another victim who was already dead when they came to the hospital. We were asking about him and they said he was already dead. I asked them to go and buy a card and drugs for the other victims, when one of them said I should remove money from his pocket which I did; he asked him to go and buy the drugs.
“One of the policemen started shouting at me to obey his boss’ command but I told them my work was to save the victims, which I was already doing. Then the boss who asked me to buy the drugs slapped me and I slapped him back because I felt I was doing my job. They all descended on me and started beating me, saying I must follow them to the police station.
“When it became obvious that they would overpower me, I pushed one of them who was trying to grab me by the waist and ran into the emergency ward.”
Meanwhile, his colleagues under the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives in Katsina State have held a protest against “incessant police assault’ on some of their members.
The health workers carried out the protest on Sunday to express their displeasure over the alleged assault on their member by police personnel.
Addressing journalists on behalf of the nurses, Kamaludeen Kabir said a nurse was manhandled by officers who “came to the hospital and acted as if they were above the law.”
“We are health workers and not criminals. This is unacceptable and we will fight it. We will no longer tolerate such abuses from any security official because we are also doing our job.
“One of our members (Umar Lawal) was assaulted on Wednesday around 5pm by a team of policemen while attending to an emergency case. We have followed the situation,” he added.
He said the hospital management and other stakeholders had been duly informed of the development.
Kabir said the association had noted frequent assaults on its members and other health workers in the state.
The state police command had yet to react to the allegations.

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A nurse at the General Ahmadi Rimi Orthopaedic Hospital in Katsina State, Umar Lawal, has recounted his experience with police officers who allegedly assaulted him while at his duty post.
The nurse, who spoke with Premium Times, explained that he was at the nurse's station when the officers arrived with an emergency case.

File photo used to illustrate story.
According to him, the officers brought about five accident victims and while he was attending to them, he requested that they proceeded to buy drugs and obtain cards for the victims.
He noted that rather than this, the officers asked him (the nurse) to leave his duty post to purchase the items and when he refused, one of the officers hit him on his cheek which he also retaliated.
This snowballed into a fight as the officers descended on him and beat him thoroughly.
He said, “I had finished medication for my internal patients and was waiting at the Nurse’s Station when an ambulance from the National Open University brought in accident victims with five policemen.
“I checked one of the patients and discovered that he had external injuries but had more internal injuries especially on his thigh and another fracture on his neck. I was prescribing the drugs for them to go and buy so that we could resuscitate him.
“Then suddenly, they brought another victim who was already dead when they came to the hospital. We were asking about him and they said he was already dead. I asked them to go and buy a card and drugs for the other victims, when one of them said I should remove money from his pocket which I did; he asked him to go and buy the drugs.
“One of the policemen started shouting at me to obey his boss’ command but I told them my work was to save the victims, which I was already doing. Then the boss who asked me to buy the drugs slapped me and I slapped him back because I felt I was doing my job. They all descended on me and started beating me, saying I must follow them to the police station.
“When it became obvious that they would overpower me, I pushed one of them who was trying to grab me by the waist and ran into the emergency ward.”
Meanwhile, his colleagues under the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives in Katsina State have held a protest against “incessant police assault’ on some of their members.
The health workers carried out the protest on Sunday to express their displeasure over the alleged assault on their member by police personnel.
Addressing journalists on behalf of the nurses, Kamaludeen Kabir said a nurse was manhandled by officers who “came to the hospital and acted as if they were above the law.”
“We are health workers and not criminals. This is unacceptable and we will fight it. We will no longer tolerate such abuses from any security official because we are also doing our job.
“One of our members (Umar Lawal) was assaulted on Wednesday around 5pm by a team of policemen while attending to an emergency case. We have followed the situation,” he added.
He said the hospital management and other stakeholders had been duly informed of the development.
Kabir said the association had noted frequent assaults on its members and other health workers in the state.
The state police command had yet to react to the allegations.

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Not much has ever been revealed regarding how a retired Nigerian Major General, Obi Umahi who is the brother of current Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi, superintended over the last-minute torture and execution of foremost enviromental activists– Ken Saro-Wiwa and 8 others.

Apart from Umahi and the man at the centre of it all, the late brutal dictator Gen Sani Abacha, there are others. 

At least two of those who played ignoble roles in the killing of the activists are currently in the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, who last week hinted about granting state pardons to the late activists. 

Others who connived with the Abacha regime to murder the activists include Ibrahim Agboola Gambari, Chief of Staff to President Buhari; Hameed Ibrahim Ali, Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service; President of Nigerian Bar Association, Joseph Daudu and Justice Ibrahim Auta, retired Chief Judge of Nigeria.
A retired Nigerian Major General, Obi Umahi, who is the brother of Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi oversaw the torture and execution of the Ogoni activists, including Saro-Wiwa.

Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists were tried by a secret military tribunal and executed by hanging on November 10, 1995, a tragic end to their non-violent campaign against the Royal Dutch Shell Company and the Nigerian government over the economic injustices and the pollution of Ogoni land that arose from oil exploitation.

Saro-Wiwa was accused, alongside the eight other Ogoni leaders, of being responsible for the murder of five Ogoni chiefs at a pro-government meeting.

Known as Ogoni 9, the executed activists were outspoken author and playwright Ken Saro-Wiwa, Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, Barinem Kiobel, and John Kpuine. 

SaharaReporters learnt that Umahi was the Head of the Internal Security Force in Ogoni land under the junta of the late General Sani Abacha – a time when he was a Major.

An eyewitness, Ibrahim Abdullahi, who was a prisoner when the activists were killed in 1995 said the soldiers who carried out the execution were led by the retired Major General.

Abdullahi said the Umahi-led soldiers took their corpses to a bush and poured acid on them before dumping them in a shallow grave.

“I was in the cell one day in 1995 when they brought the late Gen. Shehu Musa Yar’Adua (retd.), Senator Shehu Sani and Sanusi Mato. Sani and Mato were transferred to Aba and Owerri prisons respectively on the following day but they left Yar’Adua in Port Harcourt,” Abdullahi had said in an interview with journalists at the African Centre for Peace and Development, Abuja in 2019 after the governor of Cross River State, Ben Ayade granted him a state pardon.

“One day in 1995, soldiers brought Saro-Wiwa and three others from the military barracks and chased away everybody who was not a prisoner. Saro-Wiwa, who was chained on the legs and hands, was marched to the condemned cell which was directly opposite the gallows where he and others would be hanged. They met the five others who were already in the cell.

“One Major Obi, who led the operation, made sure that no warder witnessed the execution. They serviced the gallows which could execute two people at a time. The Attorney-General of Rivers State then came with a file that contained the charges preferred against the Ogoni leaders.

“The AG went straight to their cell and read the charges to them and went back. One of them, a lecturer at the University of Port Harcourt, was crying, lamenting that his wife had just given birth to a new baby and that he was observing a dry fast on that day.

“Saro-Wiwa maintained that he did not ask anybody to kill anyone but that the Federal Military Government just wanted to kill him. He then said there would never be peace in Ogoni land forever because of the innocent souls that Abacha wanted to sacrifice. After this, the soldiers marched him to the gallows.

“They brought out his corpse and put him in a slab and they invited a medical doctor who certified him dead. They called four of us to take his corpse. That was how they executed them one after the other. One of them was even calling the name of Jesus until he was pushed to the gallows.

“After the execution, Major Obi collected the films of the hanging from the photographer and the tape from the video man and asked us to put all the corpses inside a tipper which was used to covey them and four of us to the bush where they were buried.

“The soldiers then poured raw acid on Saro-Wiwa and others when we got to the place called Bolokiri and their bodies melted instantly inside a single pit where they put all of them.”

Corroborating Abdullahi’s submission, one of Saro-Wiwa’s brothers said, “Governor David Umahi’s brother, Rtd Major General Obi Umahi was personally responsible for the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa when he was a Major in the Army.

“He carried out the execution which did not follow the usual process. He was also very physically abusive of Ken before the execution.”

Speaking with SaharaReporters, the retired Major General however denied being involved in the execution.

He said, “No court can tell a soldier to do that, and if you check all the executions done by the military, they were decisions or judgments given by a tribunal. So how could a court give a soldier an order to do that, is it in the constitution? 

“It was not possible for a soldier to execute Saro-Wiwa when a court sat and gave a judgement, how can a soldier do that? Is it possible? It’s not possible.

“It’s is the prison authorities that do that; the prison has armed men.”

On how he heard about it, Umahi said, “I heard about the court order, and I heard the execution was done by the prison authorities.”

Regarding the roles played by others in the executions, Sah

Others who connived with the repressive Abacha regime to murder the activists include Ibrahim Agboola Gambari, Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari; Hameed Ibrahim Ali, Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service; President of Nigerian Bar Association, Joseph Daudu and Justice Ibrahim Auta, retired Chief Judge of Nigeria.

In 1995, Gambari openly backed the killing of Ogoni activist during the ruthless Abacha military regime.

Gambari had informed the United Nations that the killing of Saro-Wiwa was legal as it was done in line with the law and constitution of Nigeria.

The UN General Assembly had condemned the arbitrary execution of Saro-Wiwa after a flawed judicial process, emphasising that everyone charged with a penal offence had the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to the law in a public trial with all guarantees necessary for defence.

But Gambari accused the UN General Assembly of dancing to the tune of some individuals trying to challenge the sovereignty of Nigeria. 

He labelled Saro-Wiwa a “common criminal”, who had engaged in the murder of some Ogoni elders.

Auta was the Judge handpicked by the Abacha regime to head the kangaroo tribunal that sentenced Saro-Wiwa and others to death by hanging.

The Abacha regime had set up the Auta Tribunal after it falsely accused the activist and 8 others of orchestrating the death of some Ogoni leaders.

After prolonged abuse, torture and intimidation of Saro-Wiwa's counsel by the regime, the retired Judge pronounced him and other activists guilty of a crime they never committed and sentenced them to death by hanging.

The Abacha regime swiftly ratified Auta’s verdict and thereafter murdered all the activists before the period allowed for an appeal had elapsed.

Daudu was the legal aid of Abacha, who ordered the execution of the activists while Ali was a member of the Abacha tribunal that sentenced the “Ogoni 9.”

Ali was the only military officer in the kangaroo tribunal that sentenced the activists to death after being handpicked by Abacha to be a member.

Ali was quoted by some reports as saying he had no regrets when asked if he regretted the role he played in the process that led to the execution of Saro-Wiwa and the other activists. 

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Not much has ever been revealed regarding how a retired Nigerian Major General, Obi Umahi who is the brother of current Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi, superintended over the last-minute torture and execution of foremost enviromental activists– Ken Saro-Wiwa and 8 others.

Apart from Umahi and the man at the centre of it all, the late brutal dictator Gen Sani Abacha, there are others. 

At least two of those who played ignoble roles in the killing of the activists are currently in the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, who last week hinted about granting state pardons to the late activists. 

Others who connived with the Abacha regime to murder the activists include Ibrahim Agboola Gambari, Chief of Staff to President Buhari; Hameed Ibrahim Ali, Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service; President of Nigerian Bar Association, Joseph Daudu and Justice Ibrahim Auta, retired Chief Judge of Nigeria.
A retired Nigerian Major General, Obi Umahi, who is the brother of Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi oversaw the torture and execution of the Ogoni activists, including Saro-Wiwa.

Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists were tried by a secret military tribunal and executed by hanging on November 10, 1995, a tragic end to their non-violent campaign against the Royal Dutch Shell Company and the Nigerian government over the economic injustices and the pollution of Ogoni land that arose from oil exploitation.

Saro-Wiwa was accused, alongside the eight other Ogoni leaders, of being responsible for the murder of five Ogoni chiefs at a pro-government meeting.

Known as Ogoni 9, the executed activists were outspoken author and playwright Ken Saro-Wiwa, Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, Barinem Kiobel, and John Kpuine. 

SaharaReporters learnt that Umahi was the Head of the Internal Security Force in Ogoni land under the junta of the late General Sani Abacha – a time when he was a Major.

An eyewitness, Ibrahim Abdullahi, who was a prisoner when the activists were killed in 1995 said the soldiers who carried out the execution were led by the retired Major General.

Abdullahi said the Umahi-led soldiers took their corpses to a bush and poured acid on them before dumping them in a shallow grave.

“I was in the cell one day in 1995 when they brought the late Gen. Shehu Musa Yar’Adua (retd.), Senator Shehu Sani and Sanusi Mato. Sani and Mato were transferred to Aba and Owerri prisons respectively on the following day but they left Yar’Adua in Port Harcourt,” Abdullahi had said in an interview with journalists at the African Centre for Peace and Development, Abuja in 2019 after the governor of Cross River State, Ben Ayade granted him a state pardon.

“One day in 1995, soldiers brought Saro-Wiwa and three others from the military barracks and chased away everybody who was not a prisoner. Saro-Wiwa, who was chained on the legs and hands, was marched to the condemned cell which was directly opposite the gallows where he and others would be hanged. They met the five others who were already in the cell.

“One Major Obi, who led the operation, made sure that no warder witnessed the execution. They serviced the gallows which could execute two people at a time. The Attorney-General of Rivers State then came with a file that contained the charges preferred against the Ogoni leaders.

“The AG went straight to their cell and read the charges to them and went back. One of them, a lecturer at the University of Port Harcourt, was crying, lamenting that his wife had just given birth to a new baby and that he was observing a dry fast on that day.

“Saro-Wiwa maintained that he did not ask anybody to kill anyone but that the Federal Military Government just wanted to kill him. He then said there would never be peace in Ogoni land forever because of the innocent souls that Abacha wanted to sacrifice. After this, the soldiers marched him to the gallows.

“They brought out his corpse and put him in a slab and they invited a medical doctor who certified him dead. They called four of us to take his corpse. That was how they executed them one after the other. One of them was even calling the name of Jesus until he was pushed to the gallows.

“After the execution, Major Obi collected the films of the hanging from the photographer and the tape from the video man and asked us to put all the corpses inside a tipper which was used to covey them and four of us to the bush where they were buried.

“The soldiers then poured raw acid on Saro-Wiwa and others when we got to the place called Bolokiri and their bodies melted instantly inside a single pit where they put all of them.”

Corroborating Abdullahi’s submission, one of Saro-Wiwa’s brothers said, “Governor David Umahi’s brother, Rtd Major General Obi Umahi was personally responsible for the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa when he was a Major in the Army.

“He carried out the execution which did not follow the usual process. He was also very physically abusive of Ken before the execution.”

Speaking with SaharaReporters, the retired Major General however denied being involved in the execution.

He said, “No court can tell a soldier to do that, and if you check all the executions done by the military, they were decisions or judgments given by a tribunal. So how could a court give a soldier an order to do that, is it in the constitution? 

“It was not possible for a soldier to execute Saro-Wiwa when a court sat and gave a judgement, how can a soldier do that? Is it possible? It’s not possible.

“It’s is the prison authorities that do that; the prison has armed men.”

On how he heard about it, Umahi said, “I heard about the court order, and I heard the execution was done by the prison authorities.”

Regarding the roles played by others in the executions, Sah

Others who connived with the repressive Abacha regime to murder the activists include Ibrahim Agboola Gambari, Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari; Hameed Ibrahim Ali, Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service; President of Nigerian Bar Association, Joseph Daudu and Justice Ibrahim Auta, retired Chief Judge of Nigeria.

In 1995, Gambari openly backed the killing of Ogoni activist during the ruthless Abacha military regime.

Gambari had informed the United Nations that the killing of Saro-Wiwa was legal as it was done in line with the law and constitution of Nigeria.

The UN General Assembly had condemned the arbitrary execution of Saro-Wiwa after a flawed judicial process, emphasising that everyone charged with a penal offence had the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to the law in a public trial with all guarantees necessary for defence.

But Gambari accused the UN General Assembly of dancing to the tune of some individuals trying to challenge the sovereignty of Nigeria. 

He labelled Saro-Wiwa a “common criminal”, who had engaged in the murder of some Ogoni elders.

Auta was the Judge handpicked by the Abacha regime to head the kangaroo tribunal that sentenced Saro-Wiwa and others to death by hanging.

The Abacha regime had set up the Auta Tribunal after it falsely accused the activist and 8 others of orchestrating the death of some Ogoni leaders.

After prolonged abuse, torture and intimidation of Saro-Wiwa's counsel by the regime, the retired Judge pronounced him and other activists guilty of a crime they never committed and sentenced them to death by hanging.

The Abacha regime swiftly ratified Auta’s verdict and thereafter murdered all the activists before the period allowed for an appeal had elapsed.

Daudu was the legal aid of Abacha, who ordered the execution of the activists while Ali was a member of the Abacha tribunal that sentenced the “Ogoni 9.”

Ali was the only military officer in the kangaroo tribunal that sentenced the activists to death after being handpicked by Abacha to be a member.

Ali was quoted by some reports as saying he had no regrets when asked if he regretted the role he played in the process that led to the execution of Saro-Wiwa and the other activists. 

Politics News AddThis :  Original Author :  saharareporters, new york Disable advertisements : 
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Not much has ever been revealed regarding how a retired Nigerian Major General, Obi Umahi who is the brother of current Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi, superintended over the last-minute torture and execution of foremost enviromental activists– Ken Saro-Wiwa and 8 others.

Apart from Umahi and the man at the centre of it all, the late brutal dictator Gen Sani Abacha, there are others. 

At least two of those who played ignoble roles in the killing of the activists are currently in the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, who last week hinted about granting state pardons to the late activists. 

Others who connived with the Abacha regime to murder the activists include Ibrahim Agboola Gambari, Chief of Staff to President Buhari; Hameed Ibrahim Ali, Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service; President of Nigerian Bar Association, Joseph Daudu and Justice Ibrahim Auta, retired Chief Judge of Nigeria.
A retired Nigerian Major General, Obi Umahi, who is the brother of Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi oversaw the torture and execution of the Ogoni activists, including Saro-Wiwa.

Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists were tried by a secret military tribunal and executed by hanging on November 10, 1995, a tragic end to their non-violent campaign against the Royal Dutch Shell Company and the Nigerian government over the economic injustices and the pollution of Ogoni land that arose from oil exploitation.

Saro-Wiwa was accused, alongside the eight other Ogoni leaders, of being responsible for the murder of five Ogoni chiefs at a pro-government meeting.

Known as Ogoni 9, the executed activists were outspoken author and playwright Ken Saro-Wiwa, Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, Barinem Kiobel, and John Kpuine. 

SaharaReporters learnt that Umahi was the Head of the Internal Security Force in Ogoni land under the junta of the late General Sani Abacha – a time when he was a Major.

An eyewitness, Ibrahim Abdullahi, who was a prisoner when the activists were killed in 1995 said the soldiers who carried out the execution were led by the retired Major General.

Abdullahi said the Umahi-led soldiers took their corpses to a bush and poured acid on them before dumping them in a shallow grave.

“I was in the cell one day in 1995 when they brought the late Gen. Shehu Musa Yar’Adua (retd.), Senator Shehu Sani and Sanusi Mato. Sani and Mato were transferred to Aba and Owerri prisons respectively on the following day but they left Yar’Adua in Port Harcourt,” Abdullahi had said in an interview with journalists at the African Centre for Peace and Development, Abuja in 2019 after the governor of Cross River State, Ben Ayade granted him a state pardon.

“One day in 1995, soldiers brought Saro-Wiwa and three others from the military barracks and chased away everybody who was not a prisoner. Saro-Wiwa, who was chained on the legs and hands, was marched to the condemned cell which was directly opposite the gallows where he and others would be hanged. They met the five others who were already in the cell.

“One Major Obi, who led the operation, made sure that no warder witnessed the execution. They serviced the gallows which could execute two people at a time. The Attorney-General of Rivers State then came with a file that contained the charges preferred against the Ogoni leaders.

“The AG went straight to their cell and read the charges to them and went back. One of them, a lecturer at the University of Port Harcourt, was crying, lamenting that his wife had just given birth to a new baby and that he was observing a dry fast on that day.

“Saro-Wiwa maintained that he did not ask anybody to kill anyone but that the Federal Military Government just wanted to kill him. He then said there would never be peace in Ogoni land forever because of the innocent souls that Abacha wanted to sacrifice. After this, the soldiers marched him to the gallows.

“They brought out his corpse and put him in a slab and they invited a medical doctor who certified him dead. They called four of us to take his corpse. That was how they executed them one after the other. One of them was even calling the name of Jesus until he was pushed to the gallows.

“After the execution, Major Obi collected the films of the hanging from the photographer and the tape from the video man and asked us to put all the corpses inside a tipper which was used to covey them and four of us to the bush where they were buried.

“The soldiers then poured raw acid on Saro-Wiwa and others when we got to the place called Bolokiri and their bodies melted instantly inside a single pit where they put all of them.”

Corroborating Abdullahi’s submission, one of Saro-Wiwa’s brothers said, “Governor David Umahi’s brother, Rtd Major General Obi Umahi was personally responsible for the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa when he was a Major in the Army.

“He carried out the execution which did not follow the usual process. He was also very physically abusive of Ken before the execution.”

Speaking with SaharaReporters, the retired Major General however denied being involved in the execution.

He said, “No court can tell a soldier to do that, and if you check all the executions done by the military, they were decisions or judgments given by a tribunal. So how could a court give a soldier an order to do that, is it in the constitution? 

“It was not possible for a soldier to execute Saro-Wiwa when a court sat and gave a judgement, how can a soldier do that? Is it possible? It’s not possible.

“It’s is the prison authorities that do that; the prison has armed men.”

On how he heard about it, Umahi said, “I heard about the court order, and I heard the execution was done by the prison authorities.”

Regarding the roles played by others in the executions, Sah

Others who connived with the repressive Abacha regime to murder the activists include Ibrahim Agboola Gambari, Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari; Hameed Ibrahim Ali, Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service; President of Nigerian Bar Association, Joseph Daudu and Justice Ibrahim Auta, retired Chief Judge of Nigeria.

In 1995, Gambari openly backed the killing of Ogoni activist during the ruthless Abacha military regime.

Gambari had informed the United Nations that the killing of Saro-Wiwa was legal as it was done in line with the law and constitution of Nigeria.

The UN General Assembly had condemned the arbitrary execution of Saro-Wiwa after a flawed judicial process, emphasising that everyone charged with a penal offence had the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to the law in a public trial with all guarantees necessary for defence.

But Gambari accused the UN General Assembly of dancing to the tune of some individuals trying to challenge the sovereignty of Nigeria. 

He labelled Saro-Wiwa a “common criminal”, who had engaged in the murder of some Ogoni elders.

Auta was the Judge handpicked by the Abacha regime to head the kangaroo tribunal that sentenced Saro-Wiwa and others to death by hanging.

The Abacha regime had set up the Auta Tribunal after it falsely accused the activist and 8 others of orchestrating the death of some Ogoni leaders.

After prolonged abuse, torture and intimidation of Saro-Wiwa's counsel by the regime, the retired Judge pronounced him and other activists guilty of a crime they never committed and sentenced them to death by hanging.

The Abacha regime swiftly ratified Auta’s verdict and thereafter murdered all the activists before the period allowed for an appeal had elapsed.

Daudu was the legal aid of Abacha, who ordered the execution of the activists while Ali was a member of the Abacha tribunal that sentenced the “Ogoni 9.”

Ali was the only military officer in the kangaroo tribunal that sentenced the activists to death after being handpicked by Abacha to be a member.

Ali was quoted by some reports as saying he had no regrets when asked if he regretted the role he played in the process that led to the execution of Saro-Wiwa and the other activists. 

Politics News AddThis :  Original Author :  saharareporters, new york Disable advertisements : 
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