How a lunatic caused panic at Kano mosque

There was pandemonium in Kano on Friday at the at the Ahalul Sunna mosque, opposite Rijiyar Zaki mosque, near Bayero University when a lunatic edged his way towards the Imam as he delivered his sermon at the Jumaat service. 

As the lunatic forced his way through, panicked worshippers began to scamper to safety, causing a stampede in the process.

An eyewitness who sustained injuries in the stampede said ;
“I sustained injuries on my legs and shoulders because I jumped over the wall of the mosque for my life.

“The suspect, who looked like a mad man attempted to be close to the Imam but was stopped by the mosque security.”

However, the timely intervention of security operatives attached to the mosque prevented the situation from degenerating.

The suspected lunatic was taken away by the police for investigation.

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EFCC Invites Dasuki For Questioning

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Thursday invited former National Security Adviser, Col Sambo Dasuki for questioning.

The former NSA is expected to answer questions on arms contracts during his period of stewardship.

The invitation suggests that the EFCC may have taken over the arms procurement probe and the likely prosecution of Dasuki and others indicted by the panel which investigated the contracts.

Among those indicted by the panel are former defence chiefs and service chiefs. Thirty arms dealers were also summoned by the panel.

The EFCC in a letter signed by its Director of Operations, Mr. Olaolu Adegbite, invited Dasuki for questioning over alleged diversion of funds, a source said.

“A letter was delivered on Thursday to Dasuki by the EFCC requesting him to report for an interaction on Friday.

“This is an indication that the Presidency has forwarded the Interim Report of the Special Investigative Committee on Arms Procurement to the anti-graft commission.

“I think the development also indicated that Dasuki and those implicated in the arms deals might be prosecuted by the EFCC.

“Now all the parties have the opportunity to present facts, figures and relevant documents before the court for the public to know the true position of things,”
said the source.

Dasuki's residences has been under seige by the DSS since November 3 when he obtained permission from the court to travel overseas for medical reasons.

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Peugeot Visits Buhari, Assures Of Full Return

Peugeot Automobiles has announced its intention to return to Nigeria next year for full commercial operations.

Peugeot’s Executive Vice President for Africa and the Middle-East, Mr. Jean-Christophe Quemard said this in Abuja on Thursday during a courtesy visit to President Muhammadu Buhari at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa.

Buhari assured the company of the commitment of his administration to the privatization and commercialization policy.

He however said that special consideration would be given to companies with the requisite technical and managerial competence in the privatization of government-owned companies.

”Higher premium will be placed on the technical competence and financial clout of bidders in future privatisation exercises to avoid the running aground of privatised companies by ill-equipped and incapable investors," he said.

He added that “privatization can only succeed and yield desired benefits if buyers of government-owned companies possess essential skills and resources.”

Assuring the President that Peugeot was ready to reinvest in vehicle assembly in Nigeria, Mr Quemard said that the company had outlined a three-phased plan to resume vehicle assembly first with 4,000 cars, rising up to 10,000 cars by 2021.

He however called for the appropriate policies from the government.

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FG To Audit Pending Corruption Cases - AGF

President Muhammadu Buhari has authorized a thorough audit of all pending high profile corruption cases.

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice , Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN, disclosed this in Abuja on Thursday while briefing newsmen.

He said that the audit will try to expose the reasons for the failure of past administrations to effectively prosecute corruption cases  involving "some politically exposed persons."

He added that cases found to have been compromised in the past would be revisited.

“Similarly, those who compromised investigations of such cases will be duly prosecuted. Under this administration, there will be no respite for the corrupt,” he said.

Most of the pending cases against some former governors in court over their alleged complicity in money laundering and wanton looting of public treasury have not made any meaningful headway several years after they were initiated.

To correct this anomaly, the AGF vowed to re-invigorate all the anti-corruption agencies in the country.

“The battle against corruption is one which the administration of President Buhari has identified as crucial to the ultimate capacity of the Nigerian state to rise to its full potentials.

“The linkage between corruption and under-development has long been established and explains why Mr. President, in his inaugural address on May 29, 2015, identified corruption as the worst form of human rights violation as it denies the people the resources they need to develop and thrive.

“The Federal Ministry of Justice will, therefore, be positioned under my watch to play this role in a credible and committed manner.

“The task of re-invigorating the ministry and the other anti-corruption agencies such as the EFCC, the ICPC and the Nigeria Police Force, is one to which I hereby pledge my personal commitment and energy, in order to position them to fight it within the bounds of law, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will and in line with international best practices.

“Fighting corruption, of course, is not only a question of having laws and institutions in place, but also involves the need to deepen institutional credibility and individual integrity.

“The staff of the ministry and the other agencies, who will be involved in this fight, must therefore, realise that new and improved standards will be required of them and this government will not accept excuses for failure in the investigation and prosecution of cases.

“On its part, government will continue to improve the levels of provisions of the resources and welfare requirements of the officers who will be involved in this campaign. We all must continue to be motivated by the fact that corruption is a monster which can consume us all if we do not collectively tackle it through individual efforts and collective approaches," he said.

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Former Permanent Secretary Quizzed Over N500m Sure-P Fund

The immediate past Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation, Mrs Nkechi Ejele was on Thursday quizzed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC over her role in the alleged misappropriation of N500 million Sure-P funds released to the ministry in 2013 and 2014.

Ejele is said to be among five former Permanent Secretaries under investigation for corruption. Some directors in her ministry are also expected to be questioned by the anti graft agency next week. 

“We invited her in connection with N500 million vote for the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation. We received a lot of observations that the funds were mismanaged,” said an EFCC source.

Head of Media and Publicity of EFCC Mr. Wilson Uwujaren confirmed the interrogation of Mrs Ejele.

“The ex-permanent secretary was quizzed on Thursday by the commission,” he said.

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Boko Haram Now World's Deadliest Terror Group.

Boko Haram has upstaged the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, ISIS as the deadliest terrorist group in the world.

According to the Global Terrorism Index 2015 from the
Sydney based Institute for Economics and Peace, ISIS is now the world's second deadliest terrorist group, behind Boko Haram.

The report  showed that Boko Haram killed 6,644 persons in 2014, while ISIS killed 6,073 people within the same period.

“Also notable over the past year is the major intensification of  the terrorist threat in Nigeria. The country witnessed the largest increase in terrorist deaths ever recorded by any  country, increasing by over 300 per cent to 7,512 fatalities.

“Boko Haram, which operates mainly in Nigeria, has become the most deadly terrorist group in the world. Boko Haram pledged its allegiance to ISIL (also known as the Islamic State) as the Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP) in March 2015,” the report said.

Although it is most active in Nigeria, Boko Haram also operates in Niger, Cameroun and Chad.

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See Dasuki's statement on his indictment by Buhari's panel.

Former NSA, Col Sambo Dasuki has described the report of the Presidential Arms Procurement Committee as a desperate attempt by the presidency to hang him.

The committee had indicted Dasuki for awarding fictitious contracts for the supply of military equipment.

See the statement Dasuki issued on Wednesday on the committee's report.

“To set the records straight, Nigerians should appreciate that the AVM Jon Ode-led panel did not invite the ex-NSA under any guise before arriving at its ambiguous findings. At least, fairness demands that the panel ought to hear from Dasuki instead of its recourse to hasty conclusions. If the panel had been more patient and painstaking, it would have been availed of all relevant documents on some of the jaundiced findings.

“As if acting a script, the Presidency alleged that the panel accused Dasuki of awarding fictitious contracts between March 2012 and March 2015. Contrary to this claim, Dasuki was not the NSA in March 2012 and could not have awarded any contract in whatever name. The ex-NSA was appointed by ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on June 22, 2012.

“All contracts and accruing payments were made with the approval of the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces. Once the ex-President approved, the former NSA paid. So, there was due process for every purchase in line with regulations guiding arms procurement for the Armed Forces.

“The conclusions of the panel were presumptive, baseless and lacked diligence.

“While awaiting judicial process on these allegations,it is proper to make some references to show that the Presidency is just desperate to hang some former public and military officers, who served this nation at the risk to their lives.

“It is laughable for the panel to assume that four Alpha jets and 12 helicopters were undelivered.”

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