12/12/17

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Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.

The Court of Appeal has ordered the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) to conduct a retrial of the Senate President Bukola Saraki on three out of 18-count amended charge on false declaration of assets brought against him by the Federal Government.

The appellate court in the appeal filed by the Federal Government against the decision of the code of conduct tribunal that the Senate President has no case to answer knocked out 15 of the 18 count charges as incompetent.

Justice Tinuade Akomolafe-Wilson in her judgment on Tuesday held that there was no evidence to substantiate the 15 counts as valid charges.

The Judge, however, held that on counts 4, 5 and 6 bothering on the purchase of house 17 A and B at Mc Donald Street, Ikoyi, Lagos by the Senate President the prosecution was able to establish a prima facie case against the Senate president.

Specifically, the appellate court held that the prosecution established that there were false claims in the set declaration forms as to how the two houses in Ikoyi were acquired.

The court held that the Senate President needs to provide an explanation to the discrepancies established by the prosecution that the properties he claimed were bought from sales of rice and sugar in his asset declaration form were bought from loans acquired from a commercial bank.

“The court concluded that credible evidence was led by the prosecution on counts 4, 5, 6 to warrant the defendant to be called upon to defend himself on how he acquired the properties disclosed in the three counts.

“And it is hereby ordered that counts 4, 5 and 6 be remitted to the code of conduct tribunal. The Appeal is dismissed in part in respects of counts 1,2,3,7,8,10,11,12,13,14,16,18,” Justice Akomolafe-Wilson said.

However, she said that the prosecution established a case against the Senate President in counts 4, 5, 6.

The case is returned to the Code of Conduct Tribunal in respect of the three counts.


A three-man panel of Justices of the appellate court, led by Justice Tinuade Akomolafe-Wilson in Abuja had earlier in November adjourned its judgment to December 12, on an appeal filed by the Federal Government challenging the dismissal of the 18-count criminal charges it preferred against the Senate President, Saraki, before the CCT.
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Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.
Femi Falana

Human Right Activist and Lagos based lawyer, Femi Falana has said that the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) is a legacy of the military government and a partially illegal squad which needs to be completely overhauled.

Speaking on Channels Television Breakfast Programme, Sunrise Daily, on Tuesday, Falana said armed troops among SARS operators need to be removed and the policemen among them need reorientation as they operate like they are in a military government.

“You must remove the soldiers in SARS and retrain the police among them. You re-orientate them because they still behave as if they are under military dictatorship because SARS is a legacy of military dictatorship. As it is constituted, it is partly illegal under a civilian and democratic dispensation. Under the constitution, the duty of maintaining internal security, law and order in Nigeria is vested exclusively in the police.

“SARS is constituted by armed troops, soldiers and police personnel all over the country. Every state government maintains the SARS in the country and these state governments have not bothered to find out what is this body doing in terms of law enforcement, combating armed robbery and performance in terms of respecting the rights of the Nigerian people,” he said.

Speaking on if the squad should be scrapped or reformed like some concerned citizens have called for the end of SARS while some have protested that it should not be scrapped, the human rights activist said Nigeria cannot afford to scrap SARS but it needs to be totally overhauled.

“The Nigerian new colonial state cannot afford to scrap SARS, it is not possible. We have an increasing wave of armed robbery, kidnapping terrorism and other serious violent crimes which the regular police personnel have not been trained to curb or combat, therefore we are going to have SARS but it has to be totally overhauled,” he said.

Falana commended the efforts of Nigerians protesting against SARS saying any demonstration by Nigerian against perceived injustice should be encouraged but the protesters must also be made to appreciate that the law has taken care of all their concerns and fears.

“What we are therefore required to do is to ensure that the laws are enforced which has made it illegal to detain a Nigerian without taking him to the court in a place like Lagos or in the rural areas beyond 48hours,” he said.

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The UN mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Monday paid tribute to the Tanzanian peacekeepers killed on Dec. 7 in the worst attack on UN ‘blue helmets’ in recent history.
The Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the DRC, David Gressly, attended the ceremony held in the north-east city of Beni.
Gressly encouraged the mission’s military, police and civilian staff to continue their efforts to implement the operation’s mandate, including the protection of civilians.
“We are determined to continue our work. What is important now is to stay engaged to protect civilians, especially towards Kamango,” the Deputy Special Representative stressed.
The bodies of the 14 blue helmets were repatriated to Tanzania later on Monday.
The bodies were ceremoniously received in Dar es Salaam by Tanzanian defence and military officials.
In the wake of the incident, Secretary-General António Guterres and the UN Security Council condemned the deadly attack, with the UN chief expressing his “outrage and utter heartbreak.”
“These deliberate attacks against United Nations peacekeepers are unacceptable and constitute a war crime,” Guterres said.
The UN chief urged the DRC authorities to investigate the incident and quickly bring the perpetrators to justice.
“There must be no impunity for such aggression, here or anywhere else,” he added.
Late Thursday night, a UN Stabilisation Mission Company (MONUSCO) Operating Base at Semuliki in Beni territory, in DRC’s restive North Kivu province, was attacked by suspected Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) elements.
The attack resulted in protracted fighting between the suspected armed group elements and MONUSCO and Armed Forces of the DRC, known by the French acronym, FARDC.
The UN Operations and Crisis Centre, quoted MONUSCO as saying on Sunday that 14 Tanzanian peacekeepers were killed while 44 others were wounded and one peacekeeper remains missing.
Similarly, of three soldiers who were initially reported missing, two have since returned and one peacekeeper remains missing.
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Previously undetected group of Russian-language hackers silently stole nearly 10 million dollars from at least 18 mostly United States and Russian banks in recent years by targeting interbank transfer systems, a Moscow-based security firm said.
Group-IB warned that the attacks, which began 18 months ago and allowed money to be stolen from banks’ Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), appeared to be ongoing and that banks in Latin America could be targeted next.
The first attack occurred in the spring of 2016 against banks in First Data’s (FDC.N) “STAR” network, the largest U.S. bank messaging system connecting ATMs at more than 5,000 organisations, Group-IB researchers said in a 36-page report.
First Data said in a statement that a number of small financial institutions operating on STAR network had had their credentials breached for administering debit cards earlier in 2016, leading it to implement new mandatory security controls.
The firm said the STAR network was never itself breached.
It said it was investigating some incidents where hackers studied how to make money transfers through the SWIFT banking system, while stopping short of saying whether any such attacks had been carried out successfully.
SWIFT said in October that hackers were still targeting its interbank messaging system, but security controls instituted after last year’s 81 million dollars heist at Bangladesh’s Central Bank had thwarted many of those attempts.
Group-IB has dubbed the hacker group “MoneyTaker” after the name of the software it used to hijack payment orders to then cash out funds through a network of low-level “money mules.”
The Moscow-based security firm said the hacker group hired “money mules” to pick up money from automated teller machines.
The security researchers said they had identified 18 banks which were hit, including 15 across 10 states in the United States, two in Russia and one in Britain.
“Besides banks, financial software firms and one law firm were targeted.
“The average amount of money stolen in each of the 14 U.S. ATM heists was 500,000 dollars per incident. Losses in Russia averaged 1.2 million dollars per incident.
“However, one bank there managed to catch the attack and return some of the stolen funds,” Group-IB said.
It said hackers also stole documentation for Ocean Systems’ Fed Link transfer system used by 200 banks in Latin America and the United States.
It said in addition, they successfully attacked the Russian interbank messaging system known as AW CRB.
Once hackers penetrated targeted banks and financial organisations, they stole internal bank documentation in order to mount future ATM attacks, Group-IB said.
In Russia, the hackers continued to spy on bank networks after break-ins, while at least one U.S. bank had documents robbed twice, it said.
Group-IB said it had notified Interpol and Europol in order to assist in law enforcement investigations.
The unidentified hackers used a mix of constantly changing tools and tactics to bypass anti-virus and other traditional security software while being careful to eliminate traces of their operations, helping them to go largely unnoticed.
To disguise their moves, hackers used security certificates from brands such as Bank of America, the Fed, Microsoft and Yahoo, it said.
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Successive governments in Nigeria have come out with different agenda aimed at reforming the police. But the problem we have is that there is no continuity. I don’t see any reason why we should still be talking about police reform in Nigeria by now. Why do we keep going back and forth?

In 1983, I was a member of the police reorganisation committee under the late AIG Abayode Cole (retd.). At the end of it, the report of the committee was swept under the carpet. What we need now is state police. That is the only way crime can reduce because whoever is policing a community will know the residents. A policeman that is posted to a particular place and has stayed there over a period of time will know the people and the terrain well. If a policeman is posted from here to a strange place, say Maiduguri to work, such a person will face many challenges. One of such is language barrier; then there is religious barrier.

I am of the opinion that we go into state police; that is the only realisable reform now. This is because policemen consider some states lucrative, so they lobby to be posted to such states. But if the law establishing state police is enacted, nobody can lobby to be transferred to another state. You know once a state employs you, you work and remain there.

Let me also give a piece of advice: the authorities should improve on the welfare package of policemen. The police should be well funded. Currently, the men are not well taken care of. The police authorities leave the welfare of officers and men in the hands of state governors, whereas it is the responsibility of the Federal Government.

  • Mr. Tony Oghoghorie (Executive Director, Trapex Security Consultants Limited)
A police reform programme will have to go deeper into treating the manifestations of what is wrong.  We have to look at the structural and strategic factors that have bedevilled the Nigeria police. One of the first steps will be to review the Police Act that defines how the police operate. A serious look at this document should redefine their powers and limits/units of operation. This step will address issues about the foundation; it then becomes the pivot upon which a proper reform programme for the police will be executed. We can then look at the structural requirement such as personnel recruitment. Proper steps should be taken to scrutinise the quality of recruits, both officers and men.

Again, those recruited should be thoroughly trained to face future challenges. We have a lot of challenges within the system that we still have not come close to dealing with. The world’s global social structures are changing and the Nigeria police must move along that direction. How prepared is the Nigeria police in dealing with cyber crime?

From there, we can look at the issue of funding. This is also critical so that they do not have to start looking for unethical means of funding their operations. So, training and funding of operations are key.

One other area is that of oversight function. How are they monitored? We need to look at that. If proper attention is paid to what I have listed, we will be able to reconnect the gap that exists between the police force and the community, and we will begin to see a reformatted police force.

  • Mr. Salaudeen Hashim (Secretary, National Peace and Security Forum)
I  think reforms in the Nigeria police must begin with its bureaucracy and decision-making process.  The architecture of the Nigerian police as currently configured is faulty. That is why the issue of response time to distress calls bordering on criminality in various communities is becoming very slow. If you recall, the police is the parent body of every security organ in this country. Unfortunately, the issue of capacity has been going down and that is because of years of neglect by policy makers. They have given priority to the Army, Air Force and Navy, because there have been some structural challenges that have adversely affected the Nigeria police. They include recruitment and manpower; the issue of corruption, which affects even the posting of personnel, recruitment and wages. Thirdly, issues that border on the incapability of the people that manage the police in its entirety.

If you want to reform the police, you must first look at the issue of bureaucracy.  You have the Force Criminal Investigation Division and the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad.  Why don’t we begin to look at a process that will address the structural and infrastructural dimension of the police force? Until we change the entire police architecture, we may not get the desired results.

There is also the issue of the appointment of the Inspector-General of Police, and the leadership of the Police Service Commission. There should be a good succession plan that will provide for a clear-cut process of selection. This will go a long way in removing the partisanship which usually trails such appointments. This will also help to boost morale and help us achieve efficient and effective police system in this country.

There is also the issue of infrastructure, equipment and training. If you look at our various police training institutions across this country, they are simply an eyesore. Some years ago when a committee set up by the then President Goodluck Jonathan visited the Police College in Ikeja, what they found is now public knowledge. When you have a police college that cannot provide an atmosphere for learning, it is a recipe of corruption.

Go to the various police headquarters in states, and you will discover that they are at the mercy of the philanthropists. How do you intend to have an efficient system of policing when policemen sometimes rely on criminals to help them with logistics to perform their jobs within the community?

  • Gabriel Osemwekhai (A Benin-based legal practitioner)
In a situation of this nature, there should be a body to monitor the activities of police operatives. Policemen should be well-guided and retrained. I think there should be a police reform committee. Such a committee should be made up of private security experts, legal luminaries and some senior police officers.

That some police personnel are not acting in accordance with the rules does not mean that a special police unit should be expunged. What brought the Special Anti-Robbery Squad into being is still there; the rate of robbery in the country is still alarming.

  • Andrew Mbula (A retired police officer)
If the government wants to reform the police, it must address the shortage of manpower because the Force is currently facing manpower constraints. The population of Nigeria has increased to about 180 million, but the number of policemen is not up to 400,000.

The government must also look into the issue of adequate funding. For example, policemen don’t receive leave allowance and even their salaries are not paid on time. Accommodation is another critical issue that should be looked into. If you go to Yola and Adamawa states, you will see policemen recently transferred to the states sleeping in mechanic workshops, motor parks, mosques and churches, because they have nowhere else to stay. If the police transfer you to a new command, they don’t provide accommodation for you and your family; this is not good enough.

Training and re-training is also critical to make the police more efficient. When I was in service, we went for different courses and acquired sound knowledge and skills in policing duties. I expected the police leadership to engage retired senior police officers as instructors in police colleges and academics, but this is not the case. I once approached the police leadership about it, but they said there was no money to engage seasoned instructors in police training institutions. I don’t know why they are reluctant to invest in training and knowledge acquisition for police personnel.

Discipline among policemen is also important because currently, the level of discipline in the Force is low. This is because some policemen got into the Force by buying their way in. Fighting corruption among senior officers and rank and file will succeed if they are paid on time and the necessary disciplinary measures are taken against errant policemen.

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Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.


Former President Goodluck Jonathan, on Monday, in Abuja, began a subtle move to douse tension generated among members of the Peoples Democratic Party over the outcome of last Saturday’s national convention in Abuja.

The former President assembled a team of his loyalists, who it was gathered, would visit aggrieved aspirants with a view to appealling to them to forget about their grievances and work with the Uche Secondus-led members of the National Working Committee.

Though the party has a standing committee on reconciliation, headed by the Governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson, it was gathered that the former President decided to assemble his team as the Leader of the party.

Among those in Jonathan’s team are his former Minister of Special Duties, Tanimu Turaki (SAN); a former Minister of State for Finance, Amb. Bashir Yuguda; a former Minister of Finance, Nanadi Usman; and his (Jonathan’s) bosom friend, King Turner.

Jonathan, on Monday, led his team to the house of a former Minister of National Planning, Prof. Suleiman Abubakar, in Abuja.

Those in his entourage were Turaki and Turner.

The visit, which was described as unscheduled, was said to have taken Suleiman by surprise as he was said not to have been informed that the former President was visiting.

Suleiman had threatened to challenge the outcome of the convention in court, saying his name was technically omitted among those contesting the position of the National Publicity Secretary.

He had told The PUNCH on Sunday that he would go to court to challenge the outcome of the election into the position he wanted to occupy.

A source at the meeting said the former President asked him to sheathe his sword and let bygones be bygones.

The source added, “Jonathan appealed for restraint. He thanked the candidate for his doggedness and passion for the party and pleaded with him to accept the outcome of the election as the wish of God.

“Jonathan was full of praises for Sulaiman, who he admitted apparently remains the most qualified person for the job.

“Those in his entourage were Turaki, Yuguda, Usman and Turner.”

Confirming the visit, Suleiman said he thanked the former President and promised not to go to court.

He said, “Yes, it was true they visited me. I thanked him for the visit and his compassionate posture, that indeed he is a consummate leader worthy of emulation and that he has indeed inspired me more and I promised I would take to his advice.”

Meanwhile, Secondus has appealed to all those that contested and lost at the convention not to feel bad, saying there was no victor and no vanquished.

He spoke at the national headquarters of the party in Abuja on Monday when he and members of the NWC assumed office.

The new party chairman promised to bring everyone on board in the running of the party.

He stated, “By the special grace of God, elections have come and gone and I declare to you that there is no victor, no vanquished.

“Our first assignment will be to bring all and sundry together, that is reconciliation. We reassure leaders of our party, especially those who contested this election; we have already started work and by the grace of God, it will be productive.

“We promise to rebuild the party to regain the lost grounds. That will start today.

“As I walked in through the gate, it was symbolic. I asked that the gate be thrown open.

“I hereby declare the gate to this party open to all our people irrespective of their religious beliefs, their class. They are free to come into the party especially those who left for one reason or the other.”

He added that he would decentralise power from the centre so that he and members of the NWC would be less busy to enable them (NWC members) to focus on the mission to reclaim power in 2019.

He told the gathering, which included all members of the former National Caretaker Committee, led by Senator Ahmed Makarfi, that the old order was gone.

Secondus commended Makarfi for holding what he described as the best national convention in the history of political parties in the country.

In his remarks, Makarfi said it was wrong to assume that a section of the country had lost out in the party.

He said there was no way the party would alienate any section, appealing to the new leaders of the party to embark on a process that he said would heal the wounds.

Wike, Secondus visit Bode George
Meanwhile, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and Uche Secondus, on Sunday night, met with a former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP, Chief Bode George, The PUNCH has learnt.

It was learnt that the governor and the PDP chairman visited George at his Maitama home, Abuja, to seek his cooperation following the rancour that followed the PDP convention that held last Saturday, where Secondus emerged as the new party chairman.

It was learnt that George told Wike to apologise to the Yoruba for his comments last Friday, arguing that refusing to do so would make it very difficult for them to campaign in Yorubaland in 2019.

George, who was one of the chairmanship aspirants, had stepped down less than 24 hours to the convention, describing the event as a charade.

He had also lambasted the Rivers State governor for saying the people of the South-West did not deserve to produce the chairman of the party.

An impeccable source told The PUNCH that Secondus told George that he would work with everyone and nobody would feel marginalised in the party.

The source added, “Governor Wike and Prince Secondus visited Chief George late on Sunday as part of efforts to reconcile aggrieved parties in the PDP. Prince Secondus asked George not to feel aggrieved as everything was mere politics and they should not lose sight of the most important thing, which is to unseat the All Progressives Congress.

“Chief George received them warmly and advised them. He criticised Wike for making such disparaging comments about the Yoruba. Wike said he was sorry if anyone felt slighted but he meant no harm.

“Chief George told him to find a way of assuaging the Yoruba who feel very bad with the way they have been treated. He told Wike that the APC is already exploiting the Yoruba issue and that if it is not addressed properly, it could affect the PDP’s electoral chances in the South-West in 2019.

“It was the same way the deportation of Igbo by Governor Babatunde Fashola was exploited and caused the APC to lose every Igbo-dominated area in Lagos in 2015. He explained that it was the inability of the PDP to give the South-West a major position that caused them to reject the PDP at the polls in 2015. Wike and Secondus thanked Chief George and said they would find a way of appeasing the South-West.”

It was learnt that a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and former Governor Olusegun Mimiko also visited George over the issue and asked him to let bygones be bygones.

Wike had, during a programme on Channels Television, titled ‘Sunrise Daily’, on Friday, said the South-West PDP lacked leaders that could head the party.

The governor had said, “The problem that the PDP has today arose from the South-West. Look at the crisis! Mention one chairman that you will vote today in the South-West that will stabilise the party. Take for example, Tunde Adeniran. If you vote him in, then that will be the beginning of the crisis of the PDP in Ekiti State.

“This is because he cannot cooperate with the governor. Our experience has always been that if you vote in a chairman from a state that has a (PDP) governor and they don’t work together, then that party will be in trouble in that state.

Wike said even when Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was President, the South-West still did not vote for the PDP.

He, therefore, stated that it would be unwise to concede the chairmanship position to the South-West in order to woo the zone.

Secondus confirmed the meeting with George in an interview with one of our correspondents on Monday, stating that the former deputy national chairman of the party remained his boss.

“Yes, we met. Chief Bode George remains my boss and I will always cherish him. I have tremendous respect for him and I will need him in the task ahead,” he added.

Efforts to reach the Rivers State governor to confirm if he visited George on Sunday proved futile.

But the Rivers State Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr. Samuel Nwanosike, said though he was not aware if Wike visited George, it was not impossible for the governor to reach out to the party chieftain.

He described the governor as a peace-loving man who wanted the party to be more united in no distant time.

Secondus will lead PDP to victory in 2019 –Ogor
In a related development, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Leo Ogor, on Monday, said the choice of Secondus as the new National Chairman of the PDP would propel the party to victory in the 2019 general election.

Ogor noted that Secondus deserved to presently lead the party to overcome its 2015 failure, urging him to unite warring factions in the party for future elections.

The lawmaker in a statement by his Press Secretary, Akpodhoma Michael, congratulated the PDP chairman and other new national executive members on their victory during the Saturday convention.

The member, representing Isoko Federal Constituency, appealed to former chieftains of the party, who left due to the crisis in the party, to return home as the party under Secondus would provide a level playing field for all members ahead of 2019.

Ogor added, “I am confident that the trust placed in you by the delegates of our great party will inspire you to continue important efforts in promoting the unity of our party, leading it on the path of prosperity, further well-being and success for our people during the 2019 general election.

“I am particularly glad that you have chosen to rebuild, reposition and regain power for our great party. I firmly believe that our party will continue to increase in number as we expect more of our previous members to come back to our dynamic party.”

He lauded the efforts of Makarfi, who headed the National Caretaker Committee of the party, for leading the party out of its turbulent times.

The Reps minority leader also commended the Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa-led National Convention Planning Committee for organising a transparent, successful and hitch-free convention.

Also, the Chairman of Niger State Chapter of the PDP, Tanko Beji,  on Monday, said last Saturday’s election of Secondus, as the new national chairman of the party, marked the beginning of a new dawn for the party.

The party also believed the election of Secondus was “the end of imposition and impunity in the party.”

These were contained in a message the party sent to the new PDP chairman and other members of the new NWC.

In the message by Beji, a copy of which was made available to journalists in Minna, the party said it was confident that the national chairman would bring about progress and unity in the party.

He stated, “There is no doubt that your overwhelming victory with 2,000 votes, out of a total of 2,396 delegates at the convention, was a testimony to your acceptability by all delegates at the convention and the PDP members at home and in the Diaspora.

“Your victory is also an endorsement of your leadership capability and belief that you possess all that it takes to move our party to greater heights.

“Your victory as the new national chairman of our party is a reward for your steadfastness, loyalty and dedication to the party before, during and after the crisis that engulfed our party especially when some enemies of the party and democracy tried to derail us.”

He advised the new national chairman to be wary of sycophants who could derail his plans for the party.

“Now that the national convention is over, the new leadership should use the new spirit in the party to start the preparations for the next general election,” Beji added.

He warned the party to “avoid the pitfalls of the previous executives which caused us the 2015 elections.”

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