SSS anticipates more violence in Jos

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The recent multiple explosions that occured in Northern part of Jos, the capital of Plateau State on Sunday night continues to reverberate across the Nigerian governing quarters and the international community. This is as 247ureports.com have learnt through a source within the top ranks in the State Security Services [SSS] that the office of the presidency has been receiving “a good amount” of pressure from leaders calling from the international community who are concerned over the continued bomb explosions growing into larger scale explosions around the country.

 As gathered, intelligence information collected by foreign anti-terrorism experts, according to a SSS source, points to possible/likely up-ramp of violent activities in the Bauchi-Jos belt. Particular attention was given to the area where the University of Jos is housed/situated – belonging to the federal government which had been settled illegaly by Hausa settlers in the early 1980s through the early 1980s – naming the area, Anguan Rogo, Anguan Rimi. The Hausa settlers who came from Kano, Kaduna and Bauchi were said to have laid claims to the land. Some of the said Hausa landowners tell 247ureports.com that the land area was given to them by Berom Chieftains.

Adding gravitas to the fermenting stench is the renewed talks of dislocating the Hausa settlers from the university area by the Jonathan administration. This move has caused heightened concerns within the already agitated militant Islamic sect in the area. According to the SSS source, the militant Islamic sect has in turn marked the said area as priority target. As gathered, trained Hausa moslem youths in the act of terrorism are reported by residents in Jos as being bused in from areas believed to be East Africa [Somalia/Sudan] into the Jos/Bauchi belt to “protect” their lands against a possible enchroahment by the Jonathan led administration. 

Our source understand that the Hausa settlers have had a history of expanding and protecting their acquired land area through un-forced violence. According to the source, “they have since increased their border lines after every crisis they buy off the surrounding (abandoned) lands and houses. They are heavily funded from the international Muslim body. They did this in 2001, 2008 and 2010. But in 2008 the govt stop the issuance to Certificate of Occupancy of the sell of any property in the city“.  The government had halted the issuance of new certificates of occupancy as part of the implementation of the recommendations of the Panel of inquiry. This is as State Government suspected that the Hausa settlers were heavily funded from outside Jos – with the instruction to buy off burnt houses and abandoned houses – knowing that Christians were not willing to reside on the boundary lines. One of the prime Anglican churches and a few ECWA churches situated in the heart of the Hausa settler strong hold [Anguan Rogo] were among the many properties abandoned and taken over by the settlers.
It is against this backdrop that intelligence officers suspect a ramp up in the violence in the immediate university area which as understood has always posed problematic for the Hausa youths in terms of inducing terror. In January 2011, a near clash between the angry student of the University of Jos and the Islamic youths was averted by a 4am intervention by the Vice Chancellor of the University. It was gathered that the various cultist groups had unified under one umbrella to “deal” with the Islamic terrorist once and for all – but was averted through a tip by an Ulama to the Vice Chancellor.
  
A day before the twin bomb blast in the city, the “Gbongwom Jos” Gyang Buba made a public accusation of the Hausa settlers as being the responsible parties of the crisis in the state -while adding that they were not indigenes of Plateau State. Other indigenous monarches have followed suit in making similar public declarations concerning the status of the Hausa settlers. These public proclaimations, according to the security agent, appears to have tensed up the already tensed atmosphere in Jos.
President Jonathan’s response of deploying the CDS to Plateau State is said to have been done as a proactive step to halt planned excalation of violence by the Islamic terrorist sect – owing to intelligence reports received from foreign based intelligence gathering services. But the security agent also noted that President Jonathan may not fully understand/appreciate the underlinings of the crisis in Jos – and may repeat the mistakes of General Obasanjo. The agents adds that he is aware that President Jonathan does seem hesitant accepting the intelligence report indicating that the violence in Jos is funded and fueled from the same group [both international and local] funding the Boko Haram.     

I’ve no regrets over single tenure – Jonathan

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*Says Nigerians ‘ll decide

*Explains it’s 7 years single term

*Dismisses Wikileaks as beer parlour discusion

BY EMMANUEL, Political Editor, DAPO AKINREFON, CHARLES KUMOLU & GBENGA OKE

ABUJA – President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday said he had no regret for his proposal for a single tenure for the President and Governors which he said was for seven years apiece even as he chided critics for commenting on the issue which he said had not even  been tabled before the National Assembly.

Speaking during the first media chat of his new administration, President Jonathan assured Nigerians that the government was on top of the insecurity situation in the country affirming that the top echelon of the security apparatus had been mobilized to curtail the security breaches in parts of the country.

In the wide ranging recorded interview with select journalists in the State House, President Jonathan equally gave his administration’s determination to address lingering issues in the power sector and agriculture.

While drawing back from giving any figure on the projected power generation, he however, promised that power generation would from henceforth steadily increase. Promising a radical departure from the agriculture policies and programmes of his predecessors, President Jonathan pledged not to give waivers on duties for rice imports as he affirmed that Nigeria would through the agriculture programmes being articulated by the administration become self-sulficient in rice.

President Jonathan also used the opportunity to defend Nigeria’s stance on  the Libyan crisis saying that Nigeria acted on the basis of the African Union agreement in Malabo, Sao Tome that ousted Libyan strongman, Mummar Ghadafi should step aside.

President Jonathan also used the opportunity to dismiss the leakages of United States diplomatic cables related to him, his wife and one of his top aides, Barrister Oronto Douglas dismissing them as beer parlour talks.

The interview anchored by Stella Din and Tukur Abdulrhaman, Kunle Bakare and Wole Laoye as other members of the panel.

Single tenure proposal

Giving reasons for his proposal of a single tenure which he said the originating committee conceived to be seven years for the President and Governors, he said it was aimed to beat back the tide of unrest and cost associated with frequent elections in Nigeria and the continent.
According to him the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC spent as much as N130 billion in conducting the last election besides the much more expended by other agencies and political stakeholders.

He said: “But the issue is that in Africa elections create social unrest and we need to manage this. Look at election that was conducted in this country that both local and foreign observers agreed that the elections were credible and still there was crisis in some of the states.”
Affirming that he had no regrets over the proposal that has been repeatedly attacked by critics as diversionary and misplaced, he said:

“I have no regrets. Transformation is costly, transformation is painful. The issue of single tenure is to stabilize the polity. A country cannot be stabilised economically without first and foremost stabilizing the polity. We must stabilize the political environment before you can talk about the economy. We and Brazil and Malaysia, we were almost at par at independence.

It is very easy to say all your problem is caused by corruption, corruption is there, and we must all fight corruption. From 1960 to date, Nigeria has not been under steady political environment. Some people are not too sure of what will happen the next day of because the long history of military rule has affected the polity. We had succeeded in installing Obasanjo as the president once; Yar’Adua had been president and now I before another election. We can say that this democracy has come to stay.”

Continuing, he said: “In a situation where you elect a governor and that governor has not sat down, another election is around the corner. Look at Delta State, the Delta state governor was in court until two months, when the decision was taken by the court, he conducted another election. Will you tell me that such government will be focused?

It won’t. Every four years you conduct elections, you create so much tension in the political environment. As we are talking, some people are busy holding meetings for the 2015 elections. It creates series of confusion in the political environment. I am not saying that single tenure, alone, will bring one hundred per cent stability.

There is no political system that is one hundred per cent stable, you must have some tension. That was why I came up with that. We are talking about single tenure; it is not the first time that this issue has been raised. A committee as at that time recommended five years single tenure. The late Yar’Adua appointed Justice Uwais for the political reforms.

Asked on his response to the state of insecurity in the country, President Jonathan said that the administration has mobilized the full apparatus of government to deal with the situation. According to him the government’s resolve is buttressed by regular meetings among security officials at the highest level.”

He said:“The level of sophistication in the ongoing criminality in the country, requires that we need to do more. We need intelligence gathering from everyone in order to tackle the problem. Yes, we have security challenges, I am sure that we will come out of it. For instance, trans-border criminality is threatening all of us. Recently, we spent a whole day during the Council of States meeting, discussing security. The security chiefs of all the western African countries now meet regularly to address the challenge posed by trans-border criminality.”

On the crisis in Plateau State, the President said the crisis was essentially a sectarian crisis that is continuously being fanned by religious sentiments. He pulled back from supporting suggestions for the proclamation of emergency rule in the state.

“The crisis in Jos is over eleven years. The Plateau issue is not caused by religion, but religion is the fire that increases the problem. We are working on how to end it. During the time of President Olusegun Obasanjo, a state of emergency was declared, but it did not solve the problem. For there to be peace in Jos, the people must agree that they want peace.”
He said he is scheduled to meet with Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State tomorrow, Wednesday over the security situation in the state.

According to him the country was now investing in equipment to address cross border criminals who he said were inflaming the insecurity situation in the country.

“We are acquiring more helicopters to provide adequate security at our borders and security chiefs now meet monthly to discuss ways of beefing up the security system in our borders,” the President said.

President Jonathan equally used the opportunity to comment on the lingering crisis in the judiciary opining that the judiciary should be allowed to sort out its internal problems by itself.

He said:“I am worried because an average Nigerian believe the judiciary is the last hope to get justice in this country. I believe the Judiciary will reform itself because they know what happened is no good for them, so they will reform themselves and I believe they are ready for the reform. I also believe after the reforms, they will come out stronger.”

Contrary decision

On why the Federal Government turned its back on the Ghadafi regime against the trend of most other African nations, President Jonathan said:

“We did not take any contrary decision apart from that of the African Union, AU. About 45 countries at the last meeting in Malabo gave their support to the Transitional government in Libya. When we met in Malabo, we knew it was obvious that Muammar Gaddafi can’t continue as president. The initial idea was for Gaddafi to step aside but things turned out the other way round. As for Nigeria’s support for the transitional government, Nigeria cannot continue to give support to Gaddafi’s continue stay in government,” the President said.

Why noting improved power generation in the country and a promise to increase power supply to the citizenry, the President, however, refused to be drawn into a specific figure on the level of generation output.

“Presently, we are not talking about megawatts again but we are working day and night to fix the power generation problem. I believe in the next 3months, power will improve but government will have to do away with power generation and distribution to enable the private sector handle the sector properly but I can assure you that power generation will not decrease but will continue to increase.”

President Jonathan also promised that the country would before the end of next December start the export of cement while he promised that his government would through the ongoing reform in the agricultural sector stop the importation of rice. He promised that he would under no consideration grant duty waivers for the import of rice into the country.

He lamented that less than 11 per cent of the fertilizer imported into the country got to the farmers

Source: Vanguard

Jonathan orders Chief of Defense Staff to end Jos Crisis

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In keeping with his avowed resolve to ensure the full security of lives and property across the country, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan Monday in Abuja directed the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshall  Oluseyi Petinrin to take full charge of the security situation in Plateau State immediately and take all necessary actions to stop the recent spate of killings in the state.
Following a meeting of the National Security Council, President Jonathan also directed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Pius Anyim Pius to bring up all pending reports by recent committees set up by the Federal Government on the Plateau for immediate review and implementation.
President Jonathan who is scheduled to meet with the Plateau State Governor, Chief Jonah Jang tomorrow, further directed the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)  to take prompt action to address the plight of internally displaced persons in Plateau State.
He renewed his call on parties involved in the crises in Plateau State to embrace tolerance, dialogue and compromise to ensure the success of ongoing efforts to achieve a lasting resolution of their differences.

Kogi Guber: Gov Idris’ inlaw attempt to forcibly register self in PDP‏

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The battle for the sole governorship ticket of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi has taken a very dangerous dimension as one retired Captain Idris Wada and four others allegedly invaded Odu1 ward at Dekina demanding for the party register.

We reliably gathered that the retired Captain who is an inlaw to Governor Idris of Kogi state and being touted as his (the governor’s anointed candidate, is yet to be a registered member of the party allegedly stormed the ward at about 10 pm on Sunday night with armed men in mufty asking for the Ward Chairman of the party Mr. Ijeje Utonu and the Secretary Mr. Hassan Akeji.

The ward Chairman disclosed further that the retired Captain and his armed men ordered them to produce the party Ward register and register him as member of the party.

According to Mr Ijeje, pandemonium broke when the retired Captain was denied access to the register book as he allegedly ordered his men to shoot into the air in order to intimidate them.

Some of the villagers who were confused about the situation ran to the bush for safety as the case was formerly reported to the Police station at Anyigba.

Meanwhile the PDP Odu one ward Chairman, while speaking with newsmen on Monday called on the Federal Government and the leadership of the party to immediately investigate the ugly situation.

According to him their lives and that of their immediate families is serious danger as the team has given them between now and Wednesday to include their names in the party register or face the consequence.
“It is worrisome that people who want to lead us will display absolute lack of faith in the rule of law,the constitution of our party and due process.
This resort to threat and violence all in a bid to be registered in our great party PDP just few days to the rescheduled primary election is to say the least antithetical to all known tenets of democracy. We call on the Federal Government and indeed the Inspector General of Police to constitute a high powered investigation into this clandestine move to violently undermine our democracy” Ijeje concluded.

In another development, the Kogi PDP Youth Vanguard led by one Adejoh Samuel at a media parley in Lokoja has urged Governor Ibrahim Idris to purge himself of an unholy calculation to impose his inlaw and business partner on the people of the State but the Governor on Saturday told journalists that he had no anointed candidate.

My Struggle is not to lead Ndigbo – MASSOB Leader, Ralph Uwazurike

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Eze Nri blessing MASSOB Leader

The leader of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra MASSOB Chief Ralph Uwazulike has dismissed any impression that he was struggling to lead Ndigbo through the Biafra movement saying that his aim was to get Ndigbo rid off myriad of problems they were endlessly facing in the entity called Nigeria.

 
Chief Uwazulike who spoke at the palace of Eze Nri, His Majesty Eze Obidiegwu Onyeso (MER,JP) on a courtesy visit noted with dismay that Ndigbo in Nigeria are suffering in Nigeria and Nigerian leaders were not serious on addressing their plight adding that it was the failure of Nigeria leaders to address the problems of Ndigbo that inspired him into the struggle to achieve Biafra.
 
The MASSOB leader who was accompanied to the palace by the leaders of the groups who are planning for the burial of Biafra war heroes  led by the President and founder of Odogwu Anyamee, Chief  Rommy Ezeonwuka and the leader of Ekumeku from Anioma area in Delta State Chief Emma Okocha explained that after much more examining the position of Ndigbo in Nigeria he realized that the best option left is to achieve a Sovereign State of Biafra, lamenting that the Governors of the South-east States were the major obstacle towards realizing the Biafra Nation.
 
Eze Nri blessing Ezeonwuka

…SOUTH EAST GOVERNORS ARE OUR PROBLEM

“Governors are the cause of MASSOB travails in the hands of Nigerian forces” he began rhetorically noting that the Governors were behind his series of arrest and detention by Nigeria forces. He said that MASSOB took the decision to disrupt the 2006 census as a way of telling the governors that they were not in full control of the igbo masses.
 
Although the Biafra protagonist didn’t explain parts of the problems that Igbo man was facing in Nigeria, he said MASSOB has been able to tackle effectively the problem of those disabled men who were wounded during the Biafra war by resettling them at Okwe currently the headquarters of MASSOB.
 
He revealed that MASSOB has no means of raising money except monthly dues from its members dismissing the insinuations from some quarters that the groups were being financed by some foreign countries.
 
 

…READY FOR THE BURIAL OF BIAFRAN FALLEN HEROES

Speaking further, the Biafran fighter who lived and studied Law in India, said concerning the proposed burial of  Biafran fallen Heroes that MASSOB was not just ready to prominently participate in the historic exercise, but has already acquired a massive expanse of land at Okwe for the necessary monument of the fallen heroes.
 
 
BLESSED BY EZE NRI AS IJELE NDIGBO
In the meantime the Eze Nri who is widely regarded by the Igbo race as the chief custodian of Igbo culture and tradition has pronounced his blessing on the MASSOB leader on knelling him down for prayers and issued him with a chieftaincy title as “Ijele Ndigbo”.
 
The Nri King however announced that Uwazuruike will be officially coronated with the Ijele title during the next Iguaro festival slated for February 2012, adding that he was fully in support of the Burial arrangement for the civil war heroes.
 
The king who revealed that Igbo culture and tradition were gaining global exposure and attraction at the moment said he was hitherto not happy with Uwazuruike following the anti census activities of MASSOB in 2006 but had forgiven all that because of the pleading on his behalf by some personalities.
 
Hear the king,” what happened really is that before the census in 2006, we heard that MASSOB was in opposition to it and planning to disrupt the exercise then the traditional rulers invited them for talks at the palace of Igwe Orizu at Nnewi to plead with them, but they didn’t care to listen and went ahead to disrupt the counting of Ndigbo during the census, to the detriment and disadvantage of Igbo population, that was why I took offence against Uwazuruike”
 
He however promised to continue doing his best in promoting the Igboman culture and tradition both at home and Diaspora calling on the Igbo race to support the planned burial of the fallen heroes as according to him it was against the law of Igbo land not to bury the dead.

 

 

…ODOGWU ANYAMEE, EKUMEKU HAPPY

It was however a happy moment for organizers of the proposed burial of the fallen heroes as they expressed excitement as the Eze Nri and Uwazuruike agreed to peacefully work together for the burial in particular and for the goodness of Igbo race in general.
 
In his remark President and founder of Odogwu Anyamee Chief Rommy Anyaamee. Chief Ezeonwuka said he initiated the burial idea after discovering that it was non burial of the fallen heroes as the cause of the various problems ravaging Ndigbo as Armed Robbery, kidnapping, Unemployment, bad Governance, political marginalization etc assuring that Igbo man would rid off his problems after the burial rite performance.
 
Chief  Ezeonwuka who also received the blessing of Eze-Nri commended the Eze for his concern, efforts and contributions in defending and promoting the culture and tradition of Ndigbo urging him not to relent but use his highly respectable sacred position to aid the much needed fallen heroes’ burial. Ezeonwuka however hoped that the prayers offered on Uwazuruike would guide him against further arrest and detention by Nigerian security forces. His words, “Today is a special day for uwazuruike. For the first time, he came to the palace of Eze-nri and performed the traditional rite of itu nzu and got prayers, so with all these no more arrest, no more detention”.
 
Also speaking, the leader of Ekumeku Chief Emma Okocha, said that peace is very necessary among Ndigbo at this point time and commended the Eze Nri for accepting to make peace with MASSOB leader.
 
The Ekumeku who announced that the 2011 memorial Ceremony for Asaba Genocide v ictims would hold next month of October, unequivocally noted that he and his kindreds at Anioma will ever support and champion the cause of Ndigbo as they all know that Igbo is their father land.
 
“We are members of the Igbo family, not Ijaw, Isoko or Itshekiri, so why won’t we take part in what is happening in igboland”, he said adding that Ekumeku was fully in support of the burial of the fallen heroes.
 
Chief Okocha who ran for Delta State Governorship in 2007 under the platform of ACN said he was excited on the efforts of Chief Ezeonwuka, Eze Nri and others who are much more concerned about peace, unity and progress of Ndigbo adding that Anioma people are appreciative of their efforts.
 
In the meantime the proposal burial of Biafran Fallen Heroes has been fixed for Jan. 12-14, 2012.

States, LGA Boundaries to be properly demarcated – Jonathan

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President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has recognised the successes achieved in demarcating Nigeria’s international boundaries and urged states and local governments in the country to ensure that all boundaries are properly and clearly demarcated.
 
President Jonathan was speaking to the National Boundaries Commission during a courtesy call at State House, Monday.
 
He said, “our success in demarcating international boundaries have not been replicated in internal boundaries, so I urge states and local governments to ensure that their boundaries are properly demarcated”, adding that, “clearly demarcated boundaries have resource implications”.
 
President Jonathan admitted that the funding of the National Boundary Commission was not robust enough, but assured the Commission that Government was “working very hard to streamline the funding”.
 
The President also assured the Commission of continued encouragement, “in order to minimise conflicts”.
 
In his speech, Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo, who is chairman of the National Boundaries Commission, thanked President Jonathan for the assurances of support through funding, and assured him that the Commission would work hard to ensure clearly defined boundaries all over the country.
 
 
Musa Aduwak
For: Special Adviser to the President (Media and Publicity)
 
September 12, 2011

“Peter Obi remains my friend” – Chumah Nzeribe

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Chumah Nzeribe

“That I recommended Prof Titus Eze to Governor Peter Obi for the position of ANSIEC Chairman does not meam anything. I have no interest in local elections in Anambra State. I have not fallen-out with the Governor of Anambra State. Peter Obi remains my friend” – stated the former house of representative member who recently contested for the senate seat of the Anambra south senatorial district in the April 2011 general elections – Chumah Nzeribe – in response to the allegation that the Chairman of the Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission [ANSIEC] who was recently sacked by the Peter Obi led administration – was clandestinely working with Chumah Nzeribe rather than the State government.

The allegation earlier published by 247ureports.com stated that Chumah Nzeribe had fallen out with the governor of Anambra immediately following the 2011 general elections in May. And that following the split, Peter Obi and his team began to feel unease with the continued stay of the ANSIEC Chairman in such a sensitive position.  

But a credible source in Agulu, the hometown of the governor, who was a former close confident of the governor tell our correspondent that Chumah Nzeribe is “being kind with the truth” to avoid excalating/widening the divide between him and Governor Peter Obi’s team – since he still has a pending case at the tribunal in Awka over his senatorial bid which he contested under the All Progressive Grand Aliance [APGA] banner.

The source added that in addition to not wanting the continued stay of Prof Titus Eze at the top seat in ANSIEC, Governor Peter Obi has no interest in conducting the council elections until he leaves office. He notes that the estimated amount of N2billion received monthly on behalf of the local government areas [LGA] from the federal government of Nigeria will be impossible to let go by the Governor. In the source’s postulation, the governor of Anambra orchestrated the sack of Prof Titus Eze in order to delay the planned council election scheduled for November 2011.

Presently, the N2billion collected monthly is managed by a team put together by the Commissioner of Local Government Affairs and Chieftaincy Matters who primarily serves as Man-Friday to Governor Peter Obi – Chief Dubem Obaze.

[Wikileaks] Okonjo-Iweala, Atiku, Umaru Shinkafi, Kaloma Ali, shared Abacha loot

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The finer details to the recent recovery of N6.18billion loot from the family of the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha by the federal government of Nigeria last week [September 3, 2011] off an Island near Normandy in France – may have not been heard. 

Damien Dodo [SAN] and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission [EFCC] Secretary Emmanuel Akonmaye were reported to be among the delegation that negotiated for the release of the money to Nigeria. The loot was said to have been hidden away through the assistance of a Lebanese indigene who was living in Nigeria.

Applauding the new recovery was Mrs Okonjo-Iweala who wrote a letter of commendation to AGF Adoke encouraging him to help relocate more of Abacha loot in other parts of the world.

It is recalled the role played by Okomjo-Iweala in earlier recoveries of Abacha’s loot. Mrs Okonjo-Iweala during the Obasanjo/Atiku had facilitated for the repatriation of over $600m stashed away by the family in Switzerland. But a recent Wikileaks cable release indicates that the amount recovered was much more that the announced $600m. The amount was put in excess of $1.2billion.

According to the confidential wire sent by Ambassador Howard F. Jeter [the then United States of America Ambassador to Nigeria] to the Central Intelligence Agency of the USA concerning the recovery process, he expressed concern over what appears an ongoing negotiation between the late Sani Abacha’s son [Mohammed Abacha] and the representatives of the Nigerian government.

Representating the Nigerian government in the deal agreement was the then Attorney General Godwin Kanu Agabi and representing the Abachas were Sokoto politician and former Presidential aspirant Umaru Shinkafi, Abacha-era Minister Muhammad Kaloma Ali and Nigeria’s one-time UN Permanent Representative, Yusuff Maitama Sule.

The Ambassador quoted the younger brother of Abacha, Kabiru as having told him that the negotiators wanted a commission out of the $1.2billion and Mohammed Abacha was unwilling “to part with any money” Mohammed Abacha who was locked up in prison at the time was offered $300m out of the $1.2billion. He turned it down.

With Yusuff Maitama Sule bumped out of the deal citing his “greed” and that his “standard of living exceeded his means“, the deal was renegotiated allowing Mohammed Abacha to keep $500m out of the “recovered” $1.2billion. The middlemen were quoted as having been settled for their efforts. And the then Vice President Abubakar Atiku was quoted as being the responsible party to sign the agreement between the Abacha family and Nigeria. The agreement included insulating “the Abachas from any future liability for past actions and to permit them to participate fully in the political process“.  

READ BELOW

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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 001028

SUBJECT: ABACHA LOOT: GON AND FAMILY SAID CLOSE TO AGREEMENT

CLASSIFIED BY AMBASSADOR HOWARD F. JETER.  REASON: 1.5(D)

1.  (U) According to some newspaper reports, the

family of the late General Sani Abacha has agreed to

return to the GON approximately USD 1.2 billion.  The

media accounts are not clear on whether this sum

consists entirely of “new” money or might include

certain amounts frozen earlier but subject to

ownership litigation.

2.  (C) According to a well-informed contact from Kano

who cited Abacha’s younger brother Kadiri as his

source, the talks began soon after the Obasanjo

Government assumed power, with once-and-present

Attorney-General Godwin Kanu Agabi in the lead for the

GON.  Representing the Abachas were Sokoto politician

and former Presidential aspirant Umaru Shinkafi,

Abacha-era Minister Muhammad Kaloma Ali and Nigeria’s

one-time UN PermRep, Yusuff Maitama Sule.  Source said

the talks had stalled over the middlemen’s demands for

commissions and Mohammed Abacha’s unwillingness to

part with any money.  The source opined that some

means clearly  had been found to compensate the

middlemen; he understood the Abachas would be allowed

to keep about USD 300 million.

3.  (C) COMMENT:  When the late Chief Bola Ige

succeeded Agabi at the Ministry of Justice in mid-

2000, he chose not to pursue the talks.  Denied bail

after his indictment for murder in Lagos State,

Mohammed Abacha has languished in jail (sometimes in

Kirikiri Prison in Lagos and sometimes at Kuje Prison

outside Abuja).  Attempts by his family to turn the

bail denial into a political issue were only partly

successful despite their reportedly having spent

considerable amounts of money to obtain favorable

media treatment from some outlets and to underwrite a

large poster campaign in several cities.  According to

a source who visits Mohammed occasionally, the Abacha

scion at first was supremely confident he would

ultimately be freed and thus was uninterested in

cutting a deal.  However, there are credible reports

that his health began to deteriorate late last year

and suggestions that his mother, having lost her first

son, Ibrahim, to a plane crash, did not want to risk

Mohammed also.  Agabi’s return to MOJ offered both the

GON and the Abachas an occasion to reopen

negotiations.  END COMMENT.

4.  (C) A second Kano-based source confirmed that the

talks were near conclusion and cited Shinkafi, Kaloma

Ali and one of Abacha’s erstwhile political advisers,

Sule Yahaya Hamma, as intermediaries.  Asked about

Maitama Sule, source commented that Maitama’s standard

of living exceeded his means, so he was always nosing

around for money and might have insinuated himself

into the process to that end.  This source said he

understood the Abachas stood to retain about USD 500

million, and the middlemen would be “settled” for

their efforts.  The USD 1.2 billion, source continued,

consisted mostly of funds physically taken from the

Central Bank of Nigeria which Abacha had wanted

dispersed abroad as a hedge against sanctions.  He had

entrusted the money to his son’s custody, but, after

Sani Abacha died, Mohammed Abacha reportedly claimed

the GON had no proof the money had not been his

father’s lawful property and refused to part with any

of it.

5.  (C) The final step, the second source continued,

was for the GON to sign the agreement.  The decision

had been made that Vice President Atiku Abubakar would

take on that responsibility, source noted, adding that

he was expected to do so upon his return from the U.S.

o/a April 8.  The source noted that part of the deal

was to insulate the Abachas from any future liability

for past actions and to permit them to “participate

fully in the political process.”

6.  (C) COMMENT:  While recovering USD 1.2 billion

would help the GON sustain its foreign exchange

reserves and balance its cashflow during the upcoming

electoral cycle, letting the Abachas “get away” with

several hundred million dollars will be controversial

when details of the agreement leak to the public.  The

GON figure who signs off on this deal may be called

before the court of public opinion, notably in

southern Nigeria.  Even their home city of Kano,

support for the Abachas is not overwhelming.

JETER

BreakingNews: Multiple Explosions in North Jos

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Information coming out of Jos indicates a multiple explosion has occurred in North Jos in an area populatly refered to as West of Mines. The explosion occurred at about 9pm [Nigerian time] and no casualties has been recorded.

The explosion, according to experts in the area, resembles the same type of explosion that occurred in December 2010. The bomb device is said to have been made of similar materials. The materials were made from locally sourced materials.

As 247ureports.com learnt, the explosive device was placed by the road side of the Christian dominanted area. The area [WEST OF MINES] is said to be a popular “joint” were people go to have drinks and buy foods. As learnt, the bomb explosion was said to have “mis-timed” the target because the explosion occurred before the people began to arrive to the joints. It was also gathered that the explosive device was placed a little distance away from the crowded area – and that the “tension” in North Jos had caused the would-be “hangers out” to have remained in doors. For this reason, the number of casualties were said to be minimal.

This attempt will be the second attempt at bombing the area. The first attempt came a little over two months ago – but the devicedid not explode. It was discovered by law enforcement agents who deactivated it.

Stay tuned.

Adamawa Guber 2012: Nyako locks out Jibril Aminu

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Information available to 247ureports.com indicates that the preparations for the gubernatorial elections of 2012 in Adamawa State have begun. This is as the numerous political parties in State have begun angling for the necessary re-allignments against the up coming  gubernatorial primaries within their respective parties. This is particular with the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] which is presently the ruling party in the state.

Against the buildup to the 2012 gubernatorial primaries, the State Governor, Malam Muritala Nyako is reported to have begun the clearing of possible political opponents or groups that may pose a challenge. In this effort, the Governor moved to quash a recent political gathering arranged by a factional group within the PDP in Adamawa State in a manner that has raised eyebrows in Yola, the capital of Adamawa State.

Yesterday, September 10, 2011 saw the Nigerian Police Force [NPF], acting pressumebly under the directives of the State Governor, walking into a meeting convened by the former Senator, Jubril Aminu at a hotel in Yola, to politely ask [chase] them to halt the meeting and leave the premises.  And the meeting ended abruptly. It was moved to another location at the home of a private citizen/resident of Yola.

As gathered from eyewitness sources, Senator Aminu had convened the meeting as a pre-campaign meeting to rally support for a possible gubernatorial opponent of the Governor, Malam Umaru Ardo. Malam Ardo had been an avid supporter of the former vice president of Nigeria, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku who was once a political “enemy” of the State Governor.  

Senator Jubril Aminu, on his part, had been on the opposite sides of the PDP as per Governor Nyako – and was recently execerbated by the move to remove him from his Senate seat by Governor Nyako’s former Chief of Staff, Malam Bello Tukur – through the overwhelming support from the Governor. Keen observers of Adamawa politics believe that Governor Nyako is concerned that Senator Aminu maybe on a mission to revenge the lose of his senatorial seat.   

Sources in Yola tell 247ureports.com that Governor Nyako’s concerns against the possble match up with Umaru Ardo in the PDP primaries stems out of the “respect” the governor has for the political skills of Ardo as an opponent. And for this reason, the Governor has reached into the politics of the national theater to affect changes that may aide his victory at the primaries. The governor reached out to the President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan to impress on him to mount Malam Kugama [the former PDP State Chairman of Adamawa and confident of the Governor] to the position of National PDP Chairman. It is not certain if President Jonathan heeded to the request.

Meanwhile, Governor Nyako is said to be faced with a major dilemma inthe hands of Adamawa Elders. The Elders forum in Adamawa State are said to be unhappy with the Governor. In their assessment of the governor, he has been a marginalizing governor. The likes of Bamanga Tukur, Air Commodore Dan Suleman, Ambassador Wilberforce Junta Aminu, Senator Jonathan Swingina -among other elders are said to be cozing up to the opposition against the candidature of Nyako.

Outside the PDP, there appear possible trouble for the Nyako candidacy from the Congress forProgressive Change [CPC]. The former military governor of Lagos State, Buba Marwa is reported to be gearing up for the gubernatorial race under the banner of the CPC. As gathered, the CPC as a political party has grown strong in the State to position it as a party that may pose a threat to the candidacy of Nyako.

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