By Burningpot Sources

‘I don’t usually cry but today I wept with my household of 5000 worshippers seeing some of our brethren bombed out of existence’

 

The Parish Priest of the St. Theresa’s Catholic Church in Madella, a near-by town to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), under Suleja Local Government Area in Niger State, Rev. Father Isaac Achi, has expressed shock at the Christmas Day bomb blast that claimed dozens of church devotees.

 

The visibly shaken priest, who gave an account of the incident in an interview with journalists, described the blast as an “unfortunate carnage”.

 

According to Achi, the bomb went off immediately after the 6am Mass and worshipers trooped out in their numbers to go home.

 

He said: “Immediately after the Mass was over and we had our final blessings, people were just filing out of the church before a heavy explosion occurred. We ran out and saw many people lying dead… some were burnt in their vehicles beyond recognition, while many other victims were critically wounded. Some victims who were rushed to the hospitals died along the way as they could not withstand the effect of the blast.

 

 

 

 

 

“It was an unfortunate incident.  As the priest in charge of the church, I had instructed my assistants to encourage parishioners at the Mass at 6am to come forward to perform the symbolic well-wishing for ‘newly-born baby Jesus’ before final dismissal. As they came to greet the Child Jesus and collect a souvenir, they were delayed by the exercise and were saved from the bomb.  So those who were affected were mainly those who did not wait to collect the souvenir. The others who were in church waiting to collect the baby powder were still on the queue when the blast occurred.

 

 

 

 

 

“Apart from my church members who were leaving the church premises when the bomb blew off, there were also other passers-by and motorcyclists who were waiting to pick worshipers home who were caught up in the explosion. So many lives were lost in the bomb blast.  The incident was so pathetic in many ways. For instance, there was a case of two families that lost almost all of their members.  One of them lost all but one member of the family, a young girl in her teen years, Nancy Chidimma Francis.  For the other family, the father and his four children perished, leaving the wife who did not come to church with them to tell the gory story.”

 

 

 

 

 

The priest called for prayers from all and sundry to bring an end to the orgy of senseless killings that is fast engulfing the nation.

 

He also expressed gratitude to the officials of the Suleja council and the Niger State government for their response to assist in evacuating the victims of the Christmas Day dastardly act.

 

 

 

 

 

The chairman of the council, Mr. Yunusa Adamu, who addressed the media after consoling the priest, said the council and indeed the state government had accepted to take responsibility for the hospital bills of all the victims of the bomb blast.

 

 

 

 

 

He also assured them that government would provide assistance to those who might have lost their property during the blast.

 

Another witness of the blast and social worker at the church, Mr.  Benjamin Ekwegbalu, also narrated his encounter on that day.

 

 

 

 

 

He said the bombs went off as soon as the church service came to an end and worshipers were coming out through the exit gate.

 

According to him, security men at the entrance of the church were controlling traffic to make way for people when suddenly the bomb exploded and raised a lot of dust and a thick cloud of smoke which enveloped the entire area causing serious panic.

 

 

 

 

 

“I heard a big bang and I saw thick black cloud cover up the whole place and there was fire burning all over the place and everybody was running helter-skelter,” he said.

 

 

 

 

 

He further said there were countless bodies of victims scattered all over the church premises.

 

Ekwegbalu said the blast was so devastating that some victims’ body parts were flung on top of the church roof from where rescue workers had to climb to retrieve them.

 

 

 

 

 

THISDAY captured a great outpour of emotions from worshipers and residents who expressed shock at the level of casualties recorded in the bomb blast.

 

 

 

 

 

As one of the worshipers, Mr. Chike Ezeani, told THISDAY, the number of the dead at the blast could be beyond 30.

 

 

 

 

 

He said as one of the volunteers who helped in the rescue efforts, he was able to count about 30 dead bodies of those who died instantly minutes after the blast, while a good number of others were said to have died on their way to receive medical care.

 

Another survivor said he was saved by the new-born baby powder which he waited to collect along with his family.

 

“I was about to leave the church when my wife called me back to join them to see the ‘Child-Jesus’.  As I made my way to the altar, I heard a deafening noise which shook the foundation of the church building.  There was a great panic and I saw one of the dead victims beckoning for help moments before he slumped and died,” he said.

 

 

C. Thisday

By  Chuks Okocha

One of the longest-running sagas in party primaries came to a close Sunday as the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) announced the disqualification of Governor Timipre Sylva; former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commis-sion (NDDC), Mr. Timi Alaibe; ex-chairman of Silverbird Group, Mr. Ben Murray Bruce; and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Water Resources, Dr. Godknows Igali, from participating in the governorship primary election in Bayelsa State on Saturday.

 

The party will hold its delegate election in the 105 wards of the state's eight local government areas to elect the 315 delegates that will join the statutory delegates to pick the party's flag bearer.

 

A PDP official told THISDAY yesterday that the party was forced to announce the disqualifications as a result of Sylva’s rally in Yenagoa last Saturday where he insisted that he had not been disqualified.

THISDAY gathered that the party was riled by Sylva's pronouncements at the rally and moved quickly to put an end to the controversy.

 

The PDP, in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Prof. Ahmed Alkali, said Sylva, Alaibe, Bruce and Igali would not be part of the governorship primary election.

 

The statement read in part: “The National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has concluded the review of the reports of the Screening Committee and Screening Appeal panel for the gubernatorial primaries in Bayelsa State scheduled to hold on the 18th of November 2011.

 

“After a thorough review of the two reports, and after a painstaking examination of all the issues raised about each and every aspirant, the NWC has cleared seven out of the 11 aspirants that purchased forms to contest for the primaries. Those who were cleared and shall contest the gubernatorial primaries are the following: Orufa Justine Boloubo, Dickson Seriake Henry, Enai Christopher Fullpower, Kalango Michael Youppele, Francis Amaebi, Ekiyegha Francis Korobido and Austin Febo.

 

“However, in this last and final batch, four of the aspirants did not scale through the party screening process and have therefore not been cleared to contest the primaries. Those not cleared are Alaibe Ndutimi, Ben Murray Bruce, Timipre Marun Sylva and Igali Godknows Boladet.”

 

The statement also informed party stakeholders in Bayelsa State to note that “this is the final decision on the status of all aspirants for the forthcoming primaries”, adding that all efforts should now be geared towards mobilising party members for the primary and election.

 

It said those cleared would be duly issued with final clearance certificates to enable them stand for the primary election.

 

“For the avoidance of doubt, and in line with the provisions of our guidelines for primary elections, no aspirant can or should use a provisional certificate as a basis for unilaterally declaring himself or herself as a candidate of Peoples' Democratic Party for the gubernatorial elections in Bayelsa State. Even where he or she does so, it is of no value, effect or utility for the primary elections and is therefore redundant,” the statement said, in an apparent reference to an earlier clearance given Sylva by the first panel.

 

The NWC reiterated its commitment towards enforcing discipline within the ranks of the party at all levels, saying: “We shall therefore not hesitate to invoke disciplinary measures on any member who disregards lawful party directives or who engages in acts capable of undermining the party's cohesion or initiates and takes any step that could lead to the breaching of public peace.”

 

THISDAY had reported yesterday that Sylva's hope of being cleared had all but faded following the refusal of President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene on his behalf despite concerted efforts by PDP governors to save their colleague.

 

A party source said the security implications of allowing him to run are “adverse”.

 

Although the widely publicised “original sin” of Sylva was the allegation that he threatened to kill Jonathan, his wife and children if he was not given the PDP ticket, he was also reportedly taped threatening to disrupt oil production in the Niger Delta by importing Boko Haram militants from the North-east.

 

In his reaction, Sylva accused the party of trampling on his fundamental human rights as a Nigerian, denying reports that he threatened to kill the president if he was not given PDP's ticket.

 

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary Doifie Ola, the governor said there were attempts to arrest him on trumped-up treasonable felony charges.

 

"The story is that there is a tape in which he threatened to kill President Goodluck Jonathan. This is completely false. At no time did Sylva threaten to kill President Jonathan. He has no reason whatsoever to wish the president or any other person dead," Ola said.

 

Sylva, according to the statement, “considers it disturbing that his full membership of the PDP is being abridged. In particular, his fundamental right to vote and be voted for has been trampled upon by his own party, a party he has contributed so much in building. Consequently, Governor Sylva and his supporters are reviewing the NWC decision.

 

“Governor Sylva notes that the NWC decision does not annul his membership of the PDP. As Governor of Bayelsa State under the platform of the PDP, Sylva remains the leader of the party in the state. As a loyal party person, he will participate in all party activities.”

 

Also reacting to his disqualification, Bruce said: “I believed in my heart as a democrat when I entered the race for the governorship of Bayelsa that the race would be fair, democratic and competitive but it has now become clear that it is not a competition but a coronation.

 

“I want my followers and the people of Bayelsa to know that to quit is revolting to every instinct in my body. I am not a quitter, but I was not allowed to run. I was eliminated before the race begun (began).”

C.Thisday

By Burningpot Sources
Dr. Navanethem Pillay, High Commissioner
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Palais Wilson
52 rue des Pâquis
CH-1201 Geneva, Switzerland

Dear Dr. Pillay:

We are hereby filing a formal complaint of human rights violation and abuses in Benue State, Nigeria.

We are requesting that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to investigate and hold culpable people or groups of people in the Benue State government especially the leadership responsible for these gross violations of human rights which include the murder of unarmed civilians.

In the last six months, several unarmed civilians have been murdered in Benue State, Nigeria, seemingly with the approval of the incumbent state governor.

The state government’s failure to act after such heinous acts occur is a grave abuse of the rule of law and human dignity which are the core of fundamental human rights.  The state government’s claim to democratic governance in this case, is inconsistent with her failure to condemn political murders under any circumstance.

Unarmed civilian killing thrives where its occurrence receives little or no response from the government, as well as failure to address the root causes and bring perpetrators to justice.  It is imperative that a proactive mechanism be devised to arrest this ugly trend.

Regrettably, culpability on the part of the Benue State government can be inferred from Governor Gabriel Torwua Suswam’s attitude to numerous unsolved cases of unarmed civilian killings, violence, intimidation and general lawlessness in the state.

As a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Nigeria has a responsibility to take appropriate actions as recommended by the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations on December 1, 2003:

“… to ensure that adequate measures are taken in investigating crimes allegedly committed by state security forces and agents, and ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice…”

Failure to take adequate action in line with the recommendation of the Human Rights Committee of United Nations, and against the unlawful killings themselves, would clearly be depriving Nigerians of their right to life, and continually make the citizens to live in perpetual fear and terror of the law enforcement officers who are paid to be their protectors.

In the cases below, we wish to bring to your attention in this complaint that the Benue State government has failed to investigate these politically motivated murders of unarmed civilians.

Additionally, the victims share a common bond.  They are supporters of the opposition political party, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Benue State.  We regret the graphic nature of images we have included below, but they have been provided as evidence to support our complaint.

Mr. Charles Ayede was murdered on May 13th, 2011, http://saharareporters.com/news-page/murder-benue-governor-suswan-and-police-must-explain-death-charles-ayede-says-acn-governor

Mr. Celestine Ahemba Agber alongside with his cousin, Mr. Shangev Orayor were brutally murdered on October 17, 2011 http://saharareporters.com/petition/benue-killing-fields-petition-against-gruesome-murder-acn-supporters-ugba-town-logo-lga-ben

These three politically motivated murders in Benue State fall under the violations of the OHCHR’s Rule of Law mandate -
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/rule_of_law/index.htm

In view of the above, we are requesting the OHCHR to investigate and charge Dr. Gabriel Suswam, Governor of Benue State (Peoples Democratic Party – PDP chieftain in Benue State), and Gen. David Mark, Senate President (Benue citizen - PDP chieftain) and any of their accomplices who was directly involved with these crimes.

It is on the basis of the foregoing submission that we request the OHCHR to immediately investigate and charge Dr. Suswam, Gen. Mark and any of their supporters who committed the murders with Crimes Against Humanity and all of them be tried at the International Criminal Court at the Hague.

In addition to politically motivated murders, the ruling party has tended to harass the opposition at every opportunity they get.  Here is a clear example of complicity and harassment by the ruling party in Benue State.

When Professor Steve Torkuma Ugbah complained about the murder of Mr. Ayede, while voluntarily responding to an invitation by the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Rabiu Ladodo, Prof. Ugbah was arrested on May 23, 2011, at the Nigerian Police headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria.  Prof. Ugbah’s arrest was ordered by his political opponent Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State.  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/29/us/29bcnigeria.html?_r=3

Later this year, the Magistrate Court at Makurdi in Benue State dismissed the trumped-up charges against Prof Ugbah for lack of evidence – http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/news/20684-court-frees-benue-acn-guber-candidate-over-criminal-charges.html  Prof. Ugbah’s false arrests, harassment, and unlawful imprisonment has caused him psychological and mental anguish and constitute violations of his freedom of speech and fundamental human rights.  From this alone, OHCHR can see that the Nigeria Police Force who are sworn to be in the frontline of law enforcement, are colluding with politicians as documented in many recent incidences in Nigeria - http://www.pointblanknews.com/Special_Reports/os5328.html

Furthermore these murders of unarmed civilians in Benue State, violates the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights:

“…Part I, Chapter I - Article 4: Human beings are inviolable. Every human being shall be entitled to respect for his life and the integrity of his person. No one may be arbitrarily deprived of this right.” http://www.hrcr.org/docs/Banjul/afrhr3.html

Nigeria is a member and signatory to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, we are formally requesting the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) to investigate these human rights violations in Benue State and bring the culprits to justice.

Right to life is a ‘Fundamental Right’ of Nigerians guaranteed under Chapter IV, Section 33 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria:

“…§33. (1) Every person has a right to life, and no one shall be deprived intentionally of his life…”, http://www.nigeria-law.org/ConstitutionOfTheFederalRepublicOfNigeria.htm#Chapter_4

We are also hereby filing a formal complaint and requesting the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria (NHRC) to immediately initiate investigations into the murders of Mr. Charles Ayede, Mr. Celestine Ahemba Agber and Mr. Shangev Orayor in Benue State, Nigeria. 

It is under the mandate of the NHRC to investigate complaints of this nature and ensure prosecution of offenders through the Attorney General and the Inspector General of Police:

“… Everyone has an inviolable right to life.  Where any person’s life is unlawfully taken, it is extra judicial killing.  The culprit must be prosecuted while the surviving victims are entitled to apology and compensation…”
http://nigeriarights.gov.ng/index.php/resources/what-are-human-rights

For no stone must be left unturned, we request the OHCHR, the AHRC and the NHRC to ensure that the perpetrators of these wanton murders are properly prosecuted.

Sincerely,


Friends of Steve T. Ugbah

Friends of Steve T. Ugbah
23 Twelveoak Hill Drive
San Rafael, CA 94903 USA

By Burningpot Sources

Though the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) agree on the need to generate revenues for the nation, they have apparently differed on the planned deregulation of the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry.

 

While the FIRS fears that the removal of subsidy on petroleum products may aggravate the nation’s economic woes, the NNPC is hopeful that the policy will   increase investments and job opportunities across all sectors of the economy.

 

This is coming on the heels of a disclosure by the Comptroller-General of Customs, Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko Inde, that the country lost N50.304 billion between January and September this year due to concessions and exemptions.

 

Also at the weekend, the Office of the Auditor–General for the Federation said that it did not at any time allege that the NNPC did not submit audited accounts to its office. It said that the report submitted to the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives on October 14, 2011 concerning the status of the audited accounts, showed that the NNPC submitted its audited accounts up to 2010.

 

The Executive Chairman of FIRS, Mrs. Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru, who spoke at an interactive session with the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation at the weekend said the security situation in the country which had remained volatile may likely affect foreign direct investment, industrial capacity expansion and general economic and social wellbeing.

 

Presenting the FIRS revenue generation projection for 2012, to the John Enoh-led House Committee, the executive chairman stated: “The planned removal of oil subsidy by the Federal Government is likely to affect domestic cost of production of goods and services with negative impact on employment and incomes.

 

“On the other hand, the government’s declared intention to invest the money to be realized from removal of oil subsidy in infrastructure, health and education is expected to drive business in those areas with positive effects on tax revenue.”

 

She said that the Petroleum Industry Bill when passed would stabilise the Nigerian oil sector and provide tremendous benefits to Nigerians in the oil business, adding that “there will be improvement of incomes with salutary effects on the tax administration and the economy as well.”

 

The executive chairman also hailed the lifting of ban on some import items and the recently introduced port reforms saying that this would encourage trade.

 

On the recent increase in the minimum wage for workers, Omoigui-Okauru said that the development  “will increase the purchasing power of the workers, thereby enhancing revenue earnings through VAT and personal income tax.”

 

According to her, “the nationalisation and recapitalisation of three banks and conclusion of mergers by others should provide stability in the banking sector and thus glow in the economy,” adding that the recent increase in the monetary policy rate from 9.25 per cent to 12 per cent and increase in the cash reserve requirement from four per cent to eight per cent dampened consumption.

 

The FIRS chairman also noted that the recent depreciation in the value of the naira was likely to have a limiting effect on imports and thus a reduction in import VAT,  stressing that “a reduction in volume might be off-set by increase in prices of goods occasioned by depreciation.”

 

The Comptroller-General of Customs who also presented the 2012-2915 revenue projection of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) explained that N21 billion was lost to exemptions and waivers, N1.538 billion due to ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETIS) while N26 billion was lost to Negotiable Duty Credit Certificate (NDCC).

 

Earlier, Chairman of the Committee, Enoh, warned that the committee would not treat lightly agencies that do not remit their internally generated revenue (IGR) into the federation account as required by law, even as he warned chief executives of defaulting agencies.

 

Enoh stressed that the committee was concerned about the poor implementation of budgets by agencies, warning that selective implementation of appropriation acts would not be accepted.

 

The Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the NNPC, Dr. Levi Ajuonuma, said at the weekend that the planned removal of fuel subsidy on premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol would enable government to plough back the huge yearly subsidy spent on provision of some basic infrastructure as well as facilitate the entry of private investments in refineries, petrochemicals and allied products.

 

“As a people we must learn to open our eyes to current realities and embrace the opportunities that a deregulated downstream sector of the oil industry has on offer for us all. Removal of subsidy means that government would have more funds to channel into the provision of some identified vital infrastructure and social welfare packages for some vulnerable groups like pregnant women, children as well as unemployed youths. All these are captured in the post-deregulation Social Safety Net scheme,’’ Ajuonuma stated.

 

He said special community public work programme with competitive reward package was being designed to help keep youths especially in non-urban areas engaged and help them resist the lure of the rural-urban migration.

 

He also said that a deregulated downstream sector would naturally encourage more private participation and investments, which would translate to job creation and employment opportunities for more Nigerian youths.

 

“It is common knowledge that about 10 years ago, government gave licences to some private investors to build refineries and one decade after none of them has come on stream. The reason for this is very simple: No investor would enter a market where government prescribes how much the products should be sold; in fact, such a venture is not even bankable.  But under a deregulated and liberalised regime, as we have seen in the telecoms, aviation and even media businesses, private initiatives and ventures help to stimulate the much needed competition and growth,” Ajuonuma argued.

 

He said the trend all over the world is that government no longer subsidises consumption but rather subsidises the production sector in order to boost production in the economy.

 

He said that deregulation of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry would encourage private investors to build more refineries in the country to complement the four existing government-owned refineries alongside the three planned Greenfield refineries to be built by the NNPC in conjunction with some Chinese investors, which are envisaged to come on stream in few years.

 

“It is our hope that in a few years from now, Nigeria would transform from a mere exporter of crude oil to a major exporter of petroleum products like petrol, kerosene, diesel and even white products like lubricants. We must use the entire oil and gas industry value chain to employ and empower our teeming youths,” he said.

 

The NNPC spokesman noted that what was different this time around was that under “President Goodluck Jonathan we have a government that is determined to ensure that fuel subsidy savings are managed and monitored by a group of eminent Nigerians who would track, measure and monitor the projects and guarantee that contracts for the construction of roads, hospitals and other infrastructure are awarded to companies with track records of performance and service delivery.”

 

He called on the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and all other bodies opposed to the removal of subsidy to give government the benefit of implementing the deregulation programme and monitor how the proceeds would be used for the benefit of the Nigerian people.

 

A statement by Hyacinth Obilor on behalf of Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation noted: “The claim by the EFCC that they are not required by law to submit their Audited Accounts to this Office is inconsistent with the provision of Section 85 subsection 3 (b) of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution as amended which stipulates that:

 

“The Auditor-General shall comment on the annual accounts and auditors’ reports thereon of all government statutory corporations, commissions, authorities, agencies, including all persons and bodies established by an Act of the National Assembly.

 

“Section 37 of the EFCC Act, 2004 as amended which the Commission is relying on in its publication deals with issues of report of its activities to the National Assembly. This does not preclude the Commission from submitting its audited accounts to the Auditor-General for his comments as provided in the 1999 Nigerian Constitution as amended. This statutory requirement is intended to enhance the internal control on the external auditors who audit these accounts, as well as to ensure public accountability and probity in the management of public funds…

 

“Similarly, and in order to enhance transparency, probity and accountability in all government financial transactions, the Office of the Auditor-General is appealing to all stakeholders to submit their audited accounts on time and to approach the office for verifications of facts and figures or clarification on any issues when in doubt.”

C. Guardian