Over 500 Christian residents mowed down with matchetes by fulani herdsmen in Jos

Over 500 residents of Dogo Hawa village in Jos, were massacred in the early hours of Sunday morning by Fulani herdsmen .

This attack came despite the curfew by the state sequel to the mass attack that occurred few weeks ago in various crannies of Jos.

Pointblanknews.com learnt that the herdsmen who sneaked into the village during the wee hours of Sunday, shot sporadically into the air before launching the attack.

According to our source, after the sporadic shooting, the scared and curious residents ran out of their homes only to be mowed with machete wielding Fulani killers. They then went from house to house torching the homes as they rampaged.

Pointblanknews.com learnt that most of those killed were women and children.

The curious question making the rounds is, how did these killers beat the security cordon occasioned by the curfew.

Acting president, Goodluck Jonathan, has already put chiefs on red alert.

Corrupt Murderer Marwa roams a free man in South Africa

Raj Bhojwani is trapped in Jersey and fighting to save his name and freedom whilst the primary accused in the same deal sits in Johannesburg free from any problem or persecution. In fact he was nominated by the President of Nigeria in 2008 as Nigeria's ambassador to the Republic of South Africa ! He is Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.) It is ironic that in an interview to the Sunday Trust newspaper - H.E. Amb. Marwa said.... "that there is a perception that Nigerians are generally unlawful, dishonest people, scammers and all the negative attributes. .and that he wanted to demonstrate that Nigerians are essentially solid people, good, trusting, law abiding, hard working and decent people" Yet his own track record in public office during the regime of Gen. Abacha has now come to light during the ongoing trial of Mr. Bhojwani in Jersey, Channel Islands, where in the court it was alleged by the prosecution that: Mr. Bhojwani entered into 2 contracts for the supply of TATA vehicles with the Nigerian Govt. for a total sum of approx. US$178m from which almost US$100m was paid in 'bribes' to Gen. Abacha and Gen. Marwa, who had both been in on the plan from the start. Sahara Reporters, a well known anti-corruption website established through available documents that apart from the proceeds from the above TATA contracts, Gen. Marwa also helped the Abacha's to transfer the sum of US$17m from the account of the Nigerian Permanent Mission to the U.N. to the Trans-national bank, Nairobi, Kenya in 1996. Gen. Marwa confessed to his misdeeds of helping Abacha and himself to stealing after he was arrested, detained and interrogated by the EFCC in a letter he wrote to President Obasanjo dated 18th May, 2006 - captioned ''LETTER OF PROFOUND APOLOGY AND REMORSE'' In the letter Gen. Marwa apologized to President Obasanjo pledging his allegiance to the former president and insisting that he was commanded by the former Head of State as a military officer to carry out the acts of stealing, under duress, pleading that he could not have disobeyed the late dictator because he never thought the transfers to be illegitimate as they were ordered by the Head of State ! Reports said that he must have known too well that the money went to Abacha's cronies and their private accounts for their personal benefits. It became more obvious and incriminating when it was discovered that Gen. Marwa himself benefited substantially from the movement of all these funds.

Police minister condemns Nigeria police 'killings'

Nigeria's police minister has launched a scathing attack on the force, accusing officers of killings, robbery and other abuses.

Ibrahim Lame said the lack of security was "condemnable and unacceptable".

Human rights groups have frequently accused Nigeria's police of abuses and corruption but it is rare for the government to make similar charges.

The national police chief blamed the security problems on poverty, corruption and religious tension.

Mr Lame told a meeting of police commanders: "The current rate of crime across the nation, rising cases of extra-judicial killings, human rights violations, robberies, high-profile assassination and deliberate failure to comply with government directives are testimony to the sheer incapacity or wilful defiance of police high command" to government directives.

Inspector General of Police Ogbonna Onovo said the police were "operating under unbearable conditions", reports the Vanguard newspaper, adding that criminals were often better armed than the police.

Last year, a BBC investigation found that staff in the mortuary in the south-eastern city of Enugu were unable to cope with the large number of bodies the police were delivering - many of whom had been accused of being armed robbers.

Jonathan Removes NSA Sarki Mukhtar

The acting president Goodluck Jonathan has removed the national security adviser Sarki Mukhtar with immediate effect. He has been replaced with Aliyu Gasau. Sarki's removal was announced at the National Security Council meeting called by Jonathan to review the Jos crisis.

Press Statement: Gusau Replaces Mukhtar as National Security Adviser The Acting President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, has appointed Lt. Gen. Aliyu Gusau (Rtd), as National Security Adviser.

He replaces Maj. Gen. Sarki Mukhtar (Rtd)
Dr. Jonathan thanked the outgoing NSA for his services to the nation and the present administration, and wished him well in his future endeavours.

Ima Niboro SSA Media and Publicity to the Acting President

8th March, 2010

How the Governors Forum used and dumped Goodluck Jonathan

Extensive investigations by Saharareporters have uncovered details of the secretive maneuvers and high stakes politics of greed and dishonesty that resulted in members of Nigeria’s powerful “Governors Forum” frustrating Goodluck Jonathan’s acquisition of real political power. In what one of our sources described as “the invasion of Aguda House,” the governors met with “acting President” Jonathan and delivered to him a set of strange orders that effectively changed his status from hopeful substantive “President” of Nigeria to a lame-duck who may remain Vice President to ailing Nigerian ruler, Umaru Yar’adua. During a fiery meeting with Jonathan two nights ago, the governors queried his decision to appoint a Presidential Advisory Committee (PAC) without consulting them. They accused him of selecting men and women who are ‘paperweight’ in their various states. Above all, they said Jonathan overreached himself by appointing such a powerful committee with a Northern Christian and Southern Christian as Chairman and Deputy Chair respectfully. They also asked Jonathan to shelve the plan to invoke section 144 of the constitution at yesterday’s Federal Executive Council meeting, insisting that Yar’adua should continue as President while Jonathan should remain “Acting President.” Two sources told Saharareporters that Jonathan looked dazed and helpless. “He was especially stunned when the governor of his home state, Timipre Sylva, became very vocal and confrontational at the meeting,” said one of the sources. The governors also bitterly complained about recent press interviews by Minister of Information, Dora Akunyili, accusing her of causing “disaffection and overheating the polity” by her utterances. They asked Jonathan to censure her immediately. When the meeting was over, the governors took over the airwaves to announce a rash of decisions and orders given to Jonathan. As soon as they left, the PDP leadership also came up with its assault on Jonathan. The party leaders told Jonathan to forget the idea of running for presidency after his tenure as Acting President. “After what happened two nights ago, the governors have effectively stripped Jonathan of most of his power to take presidential decisions,” said a source close to one of the governors. He added: “They have also restored the Presidency to an unseen and unwell Yar’adua.” “It’s a victory for Turai Yar’adua who will wield those powers on behalf of her sick husband,” a diplomatic source told Saharareporters. “It’s a sad reversal for Nigerians and one hopes that it’s only a temporary setback.” The governors’ move to checkmate Jonathan has been described as an “expedient volte-face driven by greed and avarice.” A few weeks ago, the same state governors – some of Nigeria’s most rabid looters – boosted Jonathan’s path to presidential power when they met and decided that Yar’adua’s prolonged absence from Nigeria was overheating the system. The leader of the group, Bukola Saraki, was particularly miffed that he was rebuffed when he visited Saudi Arabia a few days after Yar’adua was evacuated from Nigeria on medical emergency. On his return to Nigeria, Governor Saraki used his father to push a series of campaign against Yar’adua through his “Northern Union” pressure group.

Gov. Ikedi Ohakim, a coup plotting governor and the limits of S.308 immunity clause

The long forgotten immunity clause in the constitution has made is way back to our political discourse. It did thanks to governor Ikedi Ohakim’s decision to once again thumb his nose at the law by taking it upon himself to unilaterally accuse, prosecute, convict and punish citizen Ikenna Iwuoha with Koboko whipping and by so doing he has once again raised the issue of the desirability or otherwise of the immunity clause found in s.308 of the 1999 Constitution. During the Olusegun Obasanjo administration of 1999-2007, it became the ready-made excuse for government’s failure or refusal to enforce the law against thieving state governors, vice president and the president. The blame-it-on-the-immunity-clause excuse eventually lost is potency as I always knew it would. I knew it would lose its potency because I could see beyond the political shenanigans underlying it. There was no way it could maintain its potency in light of the fact that the president, vice-president and many state governors left office in May 2007 and almost everyone of them is out there enjoying fresh air without ever spending a night in jail, except for the occasional Farida Waziri’s “shakedown arrests” when she needs a share of the looted money for herself. My personal position on the immunity clause is patently clear from my several articles dealing with the subject matter. I view the provision as an anti-people anti-accountability, anti-law enforcement and anti-democratic provision that should have been excised from the constitution with the urgency of yesterday. It is an affront to a society that is engaged in a losing battle against the suffocating, overwhelming and corrosive forces of corruption. Given the last time I heard anyone mention s.308, I could have been fooled into believing that s.308 was no longer in our constitution. But the once check-bouncing governor Ohakim was not going to let any one fool me. He stood up for me by making sure he reminded every Nigerian of his immunity from the law. He ensured that with his “Koboko-whip-the-critic” truancy. I understand Ikedi Ohakim has been dragged to court, although I am not sure if this is in his personal capacity or as an agent of his state government. As usual, I expect the appropriate courts to engage in a regurgitation of the limited jurisprudence in this area of the nation’s constitution law, which is that a sitting governor has absolute immunity from prosecution, notwithstanding the seriousness of the allegations against him, and the source and time of the cause of action. The time and source of the cause of action are important considerations in the context of s.308 for reasons that I will touch on later in this article. I will play the devil’s advocate for one moment by postulating that it is not incomprehensible for the court to be sympathetic towards Ikenna Iwuoha and find Ohakim’s Imo state government liable for his excesses and award damages against the state government. This will be a creative way to circumvent s.308 but it will be a creativity driven primarily by the tort law primary consideration of making the damaged whole again and one that postpones pronouncement on the governor’s criminal conduct. Given the all or nothing approach that the courts have taken towards s.308, this creative approach of compensating the victim of Ohakim’s exuberance is recommended and will be worth applauding as a step forward if it materializes. But it will remain an approach that is unlikely to assuage Mr. Iwuoha’s feelings because it will postpone pronouncement on the governor’s criminal conduct. It is an approach that will grant the governor reprieve, though a temporary from being held liable for violating Iwouha’s fundamental human rights. Finally, it is an approach that will postpone the governor’s imprisonment.

Ibori committed ‘massive theft’,

British prosecutors today began to lay out the money laundering case against associates of former Governor James Ibori by telling a London court that Ibori committed ‘massive theft’ during his eight-year tenure as governor of Delta state. In the resumed money-laundering trial of Ibori’s associates, prosecutors told the Southwark Crown court, presided over by Mr Christopher Harding, that Ibori used third party agents and nominees to siphon state funds and acquire properties and assets within and outside Nigeria. The case is being presented before a jury of 12 randomly selected members of the British public. The jurors were called in about 3:25p.m. (London time), following which the prosecution team called in Mr. Chima Umezurike as their first witness in the case. The witness, a lawyer who is a member of both the Nigerian and English bars, testified on the Nigerian constitutional requirements and code of conduct for public office holders in Nigeria, including governors. Mr. Umezurike was asked to explain the grounds on which a governor may be disqualified from public office. He spoke on section 182 of the criminal code, stating that a public official may be disqualified on the ground of theft or the handling of stolen goods, including the use of third party agents and nominees for the same purposes. Asked to clarify what items are included in the declaration of assets, according to the 5th schedule of the 1999 Nigerian constitution and the code of conduct for public officers, the witness stated the following: one, that public office holders shall not maintain a bank account outside Nigeria and, two, that public office holders shall provide written declaration of assets and properties to the Code of Conduct Bureau. He explained that any property or asset declared, but found not to be linked or attributed to known income, is deemed to be evidence of a breach of the code of conduct. Mr. Umezurike testified that the Revenue Allocation and Fiscal Commission, established by the 1999 constitution, sets the salaries for public office holders. The salaries of public office holders, which is available to the public via the official website of the commission, stipulates a basic annual salary of N849,000 for the governor, including allowances for accommodation, transport and furniture, which are, respectively, 100%, 350% and 300% of the basic salary. On the question of the punishment prescribed for breach of the stated laws, the witness responded that these are listed in section 18 of the 5th schedule of the constitution, as well as any additional penalties prescribed by the constitution. These punishments include vacation of the office (in this case governor), seizure or forfeiture to the state of any asset or property acquired corruptly, and imprisonment.