The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC on Thursday November 15, 2012 told a Federal Capital Territory High Court presided over by Justice Abubakar Umarto reject the prayers of Dora Gilmaska, to have her passport released to her.
Gilmaska, a polish national, was arraigned on Monday, October 08, 2012 on a one count charge bordering on the issuance of dud cheque to the tune of Nine Million Naira and later granted bailin the sum of N5million.
At the resumed hearing on November 13, 2012, counsel to the accused, Chris prayed the court to release her international passport on the grounds that the Passport has expired and needed to be renewed to enable her seek medical attention overseas.
However, prosecution counsel,Mr. Samuel Ugwuegbulam opposed the application. He argued that the defence has not placed sufficient material before court to justify the request for the release of the passport.
Ugwuegbulamfurther averredthatthe deponent to the supporting affidavit to the application is not a medical doctor and therefore incompetent to make the averment.
“My Lord, this is an abuse of section 115, sub-section 3 of the evidence Act, 2011, considering the fact that no referral letter certified by a medical expert from a Government owned and recognized hospital indicating that the accused person has been referred to any hospital outside the shores of Nigeria is attached to the application”,he declared.
The case was adjourned to 20thNovember, 2012 for ruling on the application and 6th December, 2012 for commencement of trial.
In furtherance of his declared commitment to doing all within his powers to ensure greater accountability, probity and transparency in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan today established three committees to prepare draft White Papers on the reports of the Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force, the National Refineries Special Task Force and the Governance and Controls Special Task Force.
The Committees are to study the reports, review the issues raised, and prepare draft White Papers for the consideration of the Federal Executive Council within two weeks.
The White Paper Committee on the Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force Report will be chaired by the Minister of Labour, Chief Emeka Wogu, with the Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro, Minister of State, FCT, Oloye Jumoke Akinjide, and the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs II: Dr. Nurudeen Mohammed as members.
The White Paper Committee on the report of the Governance and Controls Special Task Force will be chaired by the Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Ms. Ama Pepple. Other members of the committee are Minister of State, Defence, Erelu Olusola Obada, Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar, and Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mallam Bukar Tijani.
The White Paper Committee on the report of the National Refineries Special Task Force has Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arc. Mohammed Sada as Chairman, and Hon. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, Minister of State for Health, Dr. Muhammad Pate and Minister of State for Education, Mr. Ezenwo Nyeson Wike as members.
The Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation will provide secretariat for the Committees.
The former nominee says in a phone call to donors that the president gave ‘a lot of stuff’ to African Americans, Latinos and young people during his first term in order to secure their votes.
Mitt Romney said Wednesday that his loss to President Obama was due in large part to his rival’s strategy of giving “gifts” during his first term to three groups that were pivotal in the results of last week’s election: African Americans, Latinos and young voters.
“The Obama campaign was following the old playbook of giving a lot of stuff to groups that they hoped they could get to vote for them and be motivated to go out to the polls, specifically the African American community, the Hispanic community and young people,” Romney told hundreds of donors during a telephone town hall Wednesday. “In each case they were very generous in what they gave to those groups.”
Romney’s frank analysis echoed his secretly taped comments at a May fundraiser, where he told a small group of donors that 47% of the electorate was unlikely to vote for him because they paid no income taxes and were dependent on government. It followed his running mate Paul D. Ryan‘s assertion that Obama’s win stemmed from turnout among “urban” voters.
Both were at odds with the election results — Obama won several key states without large cities or minority populations. And he did so in part by asserting that it was Romney who was planning to disburse gifts — by virtue of a budget plan that included tax breaks heavily skewed toward the wealthy.
The Los Angeles Times listened in to the Wednesday call, but Romney did not appear to be aware of the presence of reporters.
Young voters, Romney said, were motivated by the administration’s plan for partial forgiveness of college loan interest, the extension of health coverage for students up to age 26 on their parents’ insurance plans and free contraception coverage under Obama’s healthcare plan, which he credited with ushering greater numbers of college-age women into Obama’s coalition.
The extended insurance coverage, in particular, was “a big gift to young people,” he said, noting that they turned out as a “larger share in this election even than in 2008.”
Romney said the Obama healthcare plan’s promise of coverage “in perpetuity” was behind the intensity of support for the president among African American voters making $25,000 to $35,000, as well as Hispanic voters:
“With regards to African American voters, ‘Obamacare‘ was a huge plus — and was highly motivational to African American voters. You can imagine for somebody making $25—, or $30—, or $35,000 a year, being told you’re now going to get free healthcare — particularly if you don’t have it, getting free healthcare worth, what, $10,000 a family, in perpetuity, I mean this is huge. Likewise with Hispanic voters, free healthcare was a big plus.”
Pivoting to immigration, Romney said the Obama campaign’s efforts to paint him as “anti-immigrant” had been effective and that the administration’s promise to offer what he called “amnesty” to the children of undocumented immigrants had helped turn out Latino voters in record numbers.
“With regards to Hispanic voters, the amnesty for the children of illegals — the so-called Dream Act kids — was a huge plus for that voting group,” he said. “On the negative side, of course, they always characterized us as being anti-immigrant, being tough on illegal immigration, and so forth, so that was very effective with that group.”
“The president’s campaign,” he said, “focused on giving targeted groups a big gift — so he made a big effort on small things. Those small things, by the way, add up to trillions of dollars.”
Romney’s analysis that voters had essentially been persuaded by financial benefit to vote for Obama pushed aside criticisms of his own campaign. Analysts who have studied the vote, for example, have given credit to Obama’s massive get-out-the-vote effort, which dwarfed its Republican counterpart.
Polls and interviews also suggested that, in part, those voters were driven to Obama by the Republican’s conservative positions on issues like immigration, abortion and the role of government. Among African American voters, pride in the nation’s first black president was also a key element.
The Romney call came on the same day that Obama told questioners at a news conference in Washington that he hoped to talk to his Republican opponent before the end of the year about ways they could work together.
“There are certain aspects of Gov. Romney’s record and his ideas that I think could be very helpful,” Obama said, citing as possibilities eliminating government waste and increasing efficiency, a “skill set” he said Romney had as a result of his tenure leading the Salt Lake City Olympic Games.
The Wednesday donor call was organized by Romney’s finance team and included a final rundown of fundraising efforts as well as an analysis by Romney pollster Neil Newhouse, who has been criticized by some Republicans for misleading the candidate about his chances.
“I am very sorry that we didn’t win,” Romney told the donors. “I know that you expected to win. We expected to win…. It was very close, but close doesn’t count in this business.”
Romney reflected on the trajectory that led to last week’s loss, acknowledging that he had “gotten beat up pretty bad” by Obama and his allies after the primaries, but noting his rebound after the first fall debate.
The Republican nominee avoided any recriminations about his team or a second-guessing of their efforts, calling the organization “a very solid team that got along.”
Romney added that there was “no drama in the campaign — not that everybody was perfect; everybody has flat sides, but we learned how to accommodate each other’s strengths and weaknesses, to build on the strengths.”
“The organization did not get in the way,” he said.
In words of thanks for his donors, Romney said he never expected the campaign to raise more than $500 million. The Romney team ultimately raised more than $900 million, according to finance chairman Spencer Zwick, who reviewed some of the final tallies during the call.
Romney said he and his team were discussing how to keep the campaign’s donor group connected — perhaps with annual meetings or a monthly newsletter — “so we can stay informed and have influence on the direction of the party, and perhaps the selection of a future nominee.”
“Which, by the way,” he added with a chuckle, “will not be me.”
The former Massachusetts governor said he was trying to turn his thoughts to what he would do going forward.
“But frankly,” he said, “we’re still so troubled by the past, it’s hard to put together our plans for the future.”
Gunmen, yesterday, killed the Director of Design and Construction in the Borno State Ministry of Water Resources, Mallam Ali Mohammed Sheriff in Maiduguri, the state capital.
Sheriff’s death is coming barely 24 hours after a Deputy Director in the Ministry of Land and Survey, Mallam Yerima and another lecturer with the Department of Geography, University of Maiduguri, Mr. Babagana Kolo were trailed to their houses and shot dead in Maiduguri metropolis.
Military Joint Task Force, JTF, otherwise known as Operation Restore Order had, last week through its spokesman, Lt.-Col. Sagir, said government officials were now target of attacks by suspected terrorists.
It was gathered that Ali was trailed by his assailants to his house, yesterday morning, and shot in front of his house in Mafoni ward as he was preparing to go his office (Water House) in Maiduguri.
A friend and colleague to late Sheriff, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described Ali’s death as “unfortunate.”
He said: “I am very disturbed with the security challenges facing our dear state. As I am talking to you, we are coming from Gwange Cemetery where we went to bury the remains of our lovely and humble colleague, which we miss dearly.
“I pray that God Almighty will grant the soul of the deceased eternal rest.”
In a related development, gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram members, shot and killed the uncle (names withheld) to the secretary of the clerk of Borno State House of Assembly, Bakura Maina, in Abaganaram ward at about 6.25pm earlier on Tuesday.
“All progress is initiated by challenging current conceptions, and executed by supplanting existing institutions.” – George Bernard Shaw
“Truth lives, in fact, for the most part on a credit system. Our thoughts and beliefs pass, so long as nothing challenges them, just as bank-notes pass so long as nobody refuses them.” – William James
The media has been awash with news of pastor(or is it Bishop) Oritsejafor’s ‘gift’ of private jet from his ‘beloved’ church members. There have been criticisms from those who felt things weren’t right. Other people have come out to say there is nothing wrong about it. I have however taken my time to ponder on this issue, and my ponderings have finally given words to my thoughts. You see, it was Steve Barry who said, “The problem with writing about religion is that you run the risk of offending sincerely religious people, and then they come after you with machetes.” I’m used to criticisms and i love being controversial – in fact, i thrive on criticism, and that is why i’m prepared to pour out my mind on this issue of criminals that have hijacked our places of worship. For those who care to read with an open mind, good for you. And for those who have closed their minds, good luck to you.
Pastor(or Bishop…whatever) Oritsejafor isn’t the first pastor to own a private jet. No, someone beat him to that. The man called Bishop Oyedepo,(remember him?…yeah…the one who used slap to cast out demons…yes, eehen) beat him to that. The mixed reactions however, is a clear indication of the fact that Nigerians are still undecided about what is right and what is not. I have always made my stand clear on religious leaders that get rich on account of the tithe paid by church members, and then have the audacity to declare it as personal asset. These people, i’ve found, always twist the Bible to suit their decisions and actions. I don’t know whether it’s not in the Bible that tithe belongs to God, why then are these people declaring as personal assets money that belongs to God? Did God appoint them as His minister for finance?
Yes, Judge not, that ye be not judged. That is a saying that has been seriously misunderstood. Touch not my annointed…that is a quotation that has been misinterpreted to continually submerge people in slavery. The same preachers who echo the ‘judge not’ gospel are the same people who hammer it every sunday that “be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers” and that if i do, i am going straight to hell(as if they are the mobilization officers for heaven), the same pastors hold presidential prayers at ASO rock, and collect millions of taxpayers money as ‘transport fare’ back home. Tell me, if those robbers at ASO rock are not unbelievers, then who is? The same pastors that condemn me for ‘loving the things of the world’ and not ‘setting my affections on things above’ are the same ones who galivant about in exotic cars and jets. You see, we have all broken the ‘judge not’ rule, so i might as well cast my own judgement too.
When they said Pastor Oritsejafor’s church members gave him a jet as a gift. I believe them. Seriously, i do. But i refuse to believe that he had no foreknowledge of that gift. Will 40 million just disappear from church account and no one will ask where it ‘flew’ to? Or is it that private jet has become bicycle that you can just buy at any corner? Mba, mba, i refuse to believe he had no hand in it. And when they tell us that church members bought it for him, i doubt if a man who is yet to eat breakfast at 4pm all because he has no money will agree to that kind of wastefulness. Why the need for private jet gan sef? Is it that he has become so holy that he must not travel with mere mortals again? Nigerians, shine your eyes o.
I have always said it, and i will continue to say it till i breathe my last, that these pastors need to be challenged. It is a pity that all you need to be a pastor that draws crowd today is to have a past so dirty that it will take the blood of Jesus to wash it 3 or 4 times before it can be clean. They use tithes of church members to build universities and then raise the tuition so high that the children of those who paid the tithes have to forfeit university and opt for just anything. They use tithes to buy jets and fly around the world while those who paid the tithes continue to die off and lose children to hunger-related diseases. The earlier the better. Nigerians must throw off the garments of gullibility that they have on them. Enough of having a pastor interpret Bible to you, you have brains too, interpret the Bible yourself. Enough of sending a pastor to God to help him pray for you, if God is your father, approach him as a son would approach his father. Enough is enough! We must reclaim our pulpits from the criminals who have hijacked it.
Robert Nesta Marley has said it all, “Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery…”
A London High Court of Justice, Queen’s Bench Division, has placed a worldwide order (mareva injunction) against the assets of Mr. Ifeanyi Ubah and his company, Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited.
This is just as the feud between Ubah and the Chairman of Coscharis, Mr. Cosmos Maduka, has taken a new twist as the Capital Oil boss Wednesday sent a petition to the Inspector-General of Police (IG), Mohammed Abubakar, alleging threats to his life. He demanded the arrest of Maduka over the alleged threat.
The order by the UK court, which was granted sequel to an application by Access Bank Plc, is aimed at preserving the assets of the respondents pending the determination of the suit brought before it by the bank.
The bank had alleged that Ubah and his company had fraudulently diverted the petroleum products it financed under the joint venture agreement between Capital Oil and Coscharis Motors Limited.
Also restrained alongside Ubah and Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited, are Rofos Navigation Limited, Xifias Navigation Limited, Heli Navigation Limited and Tutbury Maritime Limited.
THISDAY checks revealed that the order of the UK court, obtained last Friday, was given three days after Ubah and his company obtained a similar injunction in Nigeria restraining the bank and Coscharis Motors Limited from interfering with his assets. The court, presided over by Mr. Justice Cooke, ordered that until the return date or further order of the court, Ubah and company, Capital Oil, must not remove from England, Wales or any other part of the United Kingdom, any of their assets which are in England and Wales valued at over $133 million or in any way dispose of, deal with or diminish the value of any of their assets up to the same value.
The injunction covers the following assets: The property and assets of the respondent’s business known as Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited at 1, Capital Oil Close, Westminster; Ibru Jetty Complex, Ibafon Apapa, Lagos State; or the sale of the money, if any of them have been sold.
The court also ordered that until a further order of the court, the respondent and each of the parties are prohibited from taking any steps whatsoever, whether directly or indirectly, to dissipate, dispose or in any way impinge on Access Bank’s right in and to any product covered by six Bills of Lading dated October 8, 2011, October 14, 2011, October 18, 2011, November 10, 2011, November 13, 2011, and December 21, 2011 including (but not limited) to products that have been and will be received into the shore tanks at Apapa, Lagos, and in particular, approximately 40,000 metric tonnes received in June/or August 2012.
The court further directed that Ubah and Capital Oil should within seven days of service of the order swear and serve on Access Bank’s solicitors an affidavit of all their assets worldwide exceeding £50,000 in value whether in their own names or not and whether solely or jointly owned, giving the value, location and details of such assets.
It noted that failure by the respondents to comply with the orders of the court would be tantamount to contempt of court.
The court also spelt out other consequences, which the respondents would face should they fail to comply with the orders to include being fined or have their assets seized. The court further added that Ubah and officers of the company could be sent to prison and their assets seized should they fail to obey the orders.
The order of the court warned thus: “If you Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited disobey this order, you may be held to be in contempt of court and may be fined or have your assets seized and your officers may be sent to prison, be fined or have their assets seized.
“If you Ifeanyi Patrick Ubah, disobey this order, you may be held to be in contempt of court and may be imprisoned, fined or have your assets seized. “Any other person who knows of this order and does anything which helps or permits either of the respondents to breach the terms of the order may also be held to be in contempt of court and may be imprisoned, fined or have their assets seized.”
The court adjourned further hearing in the suit until November 16, 2012. But Ubah, in a letter written to the IG through his counsel, Robinson Apkua, alleged that Maduka has been threatening his life.
The letter reads: “We are solicitors to Mr. Ifeanyi Ubah of Capital Oil and Gas Industries Ltd. and on whose behalf and mandate we write this petition. “We write to formally inform you about the libellous publications against our client and also threats to his life by Chief Cosmas Maduka of Coscharis Group.
“Our client informed us that sometime in 2011 he entered into a business transaction with Maduka. The business was flourishing until Maduka became dissatisfied with the outcome of the business, consequent upon which he has filed a petition to your office.
“While your men are investigating the matter, which is purely a civil contractual relationship with its attendant rights and liabilities, Maduka went on air – Channels Television and AIT –to slander our client. “He called our client all sorts of names ranging from a thief to an international fraudster. As though that was not enough and still not allowing your men to do their job, Maduka took four pages in some national newspapers libelled our client and repeated his slander.
“Our client’s life is now being threatened as he receives anonymous calls urging him to pay those he owes, while also receiving text messages from unknown persons demanding that he must share the ‘loot’ apparently in reference to Maduka’s allegation that he (Ubah) duped him of billions of naira.
“May we point out that our client has neither been convicted of any crime by any court law nor has he been adjudged liable for any breach of contractual business relationship with anyone, including Maduka.”
Ubah’s counsel asked the IG to cause the arrest of Maduka, investigate the libellous publications and cause him to write a letter of apology within seven days or face legal action.
Apkua also asked the IG to warn Maduka to desist from further libellous publications against his client pending the conclusion of the police investigation and pending court case or he risks contempt of court.
Report reaching 247ureports.com through sources in Kaduna indicate that unidentified gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen attacked and massacred up to seven members of the a family, the Yakubu Kayit family – inside in a village called Azansak [Madauci], Z/Kataf LGA of Kaduna State. The family members of Yakubu Kayit are Christians.
This incident occurred at about 11:00pm on Wednesday November 14, 2012.
The Burnt house at Madauchi-AzasakZangon Katak Local government – showing one of the people burnt to death.
According to the information received, the gunmen, after having killed the seven members of the family, proceeded to set on fire the family house burning the corpses of the murdered victims in the process.
The latest violent comes on the heels of a peace-treaty proposed by the Islamic terrorist group, the Boko Haram. It also comes amidst heavy security presence at the area in question – military check points are said to be plenty in the area the crime occurred.
According to eyewitness account, the Fulani herdsman had arrived aboard a transport trailer on the afternoon of Wednesday November 14, 2012. They remained on-board the trailer until night-time when they struck the family.
To this, many within the area have reacted to denounce the violence as barbaric. A resident of the area, Jonathan Asake who is the Narional Youth Leader of the middle belt Forum described the incident as barbaric. Another resident, Musa Luka said that unless the people of southern Kaduna are given a state – and classified as part of North central region all the incessant killings will not stop.
The Fulani herdsmen are reportedly attacking the Christians areas of Kaduna with the aim of chasing away the Christian in order to acquire their land and landed properties. This is according to an Anglican Reverend resident in the area – who also stated that the youths have already begun preparing themselves for a revenge attack on the Muslim community.
The police confirmed the incident but noted that a daughter in the family may have survived the attack. The daughter is aged 6 years.
Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili (R) greets Sergei Ryabkov, Russia’s representative in talks with Iran
Russia’s representative in international talks with Iran over its disputed nuclear programme, Sergei Ryabkov, met Tehran’s top negotiator on a surprise visit on Wednesday, news agencies reported.
Ryabkov, who is also deputy foreign minister, met Saeed Jalili, who said Tehran “hopes for a swift return of the P5+1 countries to the negotiating table,” the official news agency IRNA reported.
The recognition of Iran’s right to enrich uranium “cannot be a precondition for talks but will be one of the topics of discussion,” Ryabkov said, according to ISNA, another Iranian agency.
Ryabkov’s visit came three days after he was quoted as telling Britain’s Financial Times newspaper that Moscow would support direct talks between Iran and the United States on Tehran’s disputed nuclear programme.
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi responded Monday by saying any “decision on comprehensive, bilateral political talks between the two countries… is up to the supreme leader,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
US President Barack Obama, whose re-election Iran welcomed with caution, said on Wednesday there was still a “window of time” to end the standoff and promised further diplomatic efforts.
“With respect to Iran, I very much want to see a diplomatic resolution to the problem,” Obama told a White House press conference.
“I will try to make a push in the coming months to see if we can open up a dialogue between Iran and not just us, but the international community, to see if we can get this thing resolved.”
Salehi, meanwhile, expressed hope that negotiations on its nuclear programme with the so-called P5+1 — the UN Security Council’s five permanent members plus Germany — would resume soon.
The P5+1 has for years sought through negotiations with Iran to defuse an international crisis over Tehran’s atomic ambitions, which the West believes has military aims despite repeated denials by the Islamic republic.
The last high-level talks, which all but failed, were held in Moscow in June.
According to Salehi, Jalili and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who represents the world powers in the talks, are to hold a telephone conversation “to decide on a venue and date”.
The UN atomic watchdog has said it will hold a new round of talks in Tehran on December 13.
The Security Council has imposed four sets of sanctions on the Islamic regime, which coupled with unilateral Western restrictions on its oil sector and banks, have begun to cause major problems for its economy.
Information available to 247ureports.com through sources knowledgeable of the activities at the State government house in Yenagoa, Bayelsa indicates Chevron Oil Company may have resorted to bribery as a more financially viable solution to the broad settlement of the affected communities. This is as Chevron representative selectively invited leaders of eight [8] communities to their Port Harcourt office located along Trans-Amadi Industrial Layout – for closed door discussions.
The closed door discussion, according to a source in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, was held Tuesday November 13, 2012 – largely to avert the threat of possible violence – as issued by the affected communities through a communique – where it stated November 15, 2012 was the deadline for Chevron to reach a settlement with the affected communities – or face the consequences. In the words of the communique, “Forum has agreed that if Chevron Nigeria Limited/Chevron Incorporated USA did not pay the demanded compensation on or before the 15th November, 2012 Forum shall allow the communities and Fisher folk to use every means to seek Reparations/Compensation“. [ Click here to read communique].
The Port Harcourt meeting ended unceremoniously – as the representatives of Chevron offered money to the community representatives. They offered N100million to each of the eight communities. Some of the communities refused accepting the money while some other pleaded to accept the money. The communities who refused said that the N100million was not the settlement amount demanded – and that there were other communities involved – not just eight communities. The communities had jointly demanded $3billion for compensation.
The community leaders who pleaded to be given the N100million argued that the amount was sufficient for their concerns. Chevron, as gathered, honored the plead for the N100million. Two community leaders were handed N100million each – and an additional N50mllion for accepting the N100million.
247ureports.com is not certain the identities of the 8 communities who attended the meeting but our source states that it was the 8 most impacted communities – that were invited. It was also uncertain which communities accepted or rejected the N100million bribe.
Legal experts in Bayelsa who are close to the settlement talks – state that the latest Chevron action may have worsened what already appears an impending round of crisis in the Niger Delta. “Chevron knows that once they collect the N100million, they will not pay any settlement again“, said the attorney practising in Bayelsa. He added that it appears dishonest on the part of Chevron.
The Government of Bayelsa State – through the ministry of environment – appears to be unclear with its actions or stand on the settlement talks. Last month, October 4, 2012, the Dickson administration withdrew a court case filed against Chevron by the previous administration over Chevron’s unwillingness to settle or compensate the affected communities. Following its abrupt withdrawal, 247ureports.com learnt that Chevron and the State government reached ‘an understanding’ – that would allow for Chevron to get a soft landing. The details of the ‘understanding’ are not readily available but he State government who had assured the communities that it would work to get due compensation – has yet to convene a meeting between the two parties – even against repeated requests made by the communities to the Ministry.
It is recalled that on 16th January 2012, a Chevron accident inside the waters offshore – a distance away from the shoreline communities of Bayelsa Sate – led to a 46-day gas fire that burned and resulted in the formation of crude condensate – of which expert believe may pose harmful to the nearby residents and the immediate eco-system. Chevron in its public statement agreed that there was negligent gas explosion at the facility of Chevron Nigeria Limited K.S. ENDEAVOR which spewed gas and fire till 2nd March, 2012 when an attempt to stop the fire was made.
Chevron is the 3rd largest oil producer in Nigeria and has assets on land, swamp and near-offshore concessions covering approximately 2.2 million acres (8,900 sq km) in the Niger Delta region. But in terms of its care for the environmental, Chevron has yet to do anything within the Niger Delta region. Its only effort in Nigeria is the Lekki Conservation Centre – which it supports financially – a 190-acre (0.8-sq-km) sanctuary for the flora and fauna of the Lekki Peninsula – only refuge of its kind in the Lagos area.
But its operations in California, USA show a disparity to its care for the environment. In Kern County, home to Chevron’s largest California oil field, it partnered with the Cawelo Water District to provide much-needed water for agricultural use. Water is a significant byproduct of the steamflooding technology which they use to extract more oil from the ground. For every one barrel of oil produced in Kern County, the process generates 10 barrels of water, which they capture, treat and distribute to local farmers.
Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri has urged all Muslims to support Somalia’s Islamist Shebab insurgents, the SIE monitoring website reported Tuesday.
The Shebab, a group which has been battling the Western-backed government in Somalia and proclaims allegiance to Al-Qaeda, has in recent months suffered several major setbacks.
An offensive led by African Union troops has stripped the Shebab of most of their former bastions, including the southern port of Kismayo, a key asset Kenyan forces wrested back just over a month ago.
“This is a flagrant Crusader invasion of the Muslim countries and it makes jihad obligatory on every Muslim who is capable in Somalia and its surroundings and in the rest of the world until the invaders are expelled,” the SITE Intelligence Group quoted Zawahiri as saying.
“Don’t worry about the numbers of the Crusaders and their equipment, for these are spoils of war that are brought to you by the help of Allah,” Zawahiri said.
“Therefore, make them taste the fire of jihad and its heat. Pursue them with guerilla warfare, ambushes and martyrdom-seekers.”
The website said the Shebab had also posted several messages on the Internet vowing to intensify attacks in Mogadishu.
Since the Shebab abandoned fixed positions in Mogadishu last year, under pressure from African Union troops, the war-ravaged seaside capital has been slowly coming back to life.
The Shebab once controlled up to 80 percent of southern and central Somalia and the recent African offensive dashed their hopes of taking power.
But analysts have warned the Al-Qaeda-allied group could do just as much damage by reverting to guerrilla tactics and carrying out targeted attacks.
On Saturday, two suicide bombers attacked a Mogadishu restaurant popular with former exiles, wounding several people.
