$2.1BN: COLONEL EXPOSES ILLICIT LOOTING DEALS

ABUJA — Indications emerged last night that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has received some  lead on how some of the indicted top serving and retired military officers looted the nation through fraudulent arms contract and direct diversion of funds meant for arms procurement.

Findings revealed that the arrest and detention of a serving Colonel in the Nigerian Army in relation to the diversion of $2.1 billion meant for arms purchase in the Office of the National Security Adviser, exposed the illicit deals undertaken by the indicted officers.

Findings also showed that the Colonel, who hails from Delta State and served as a Personal Assistant to the embattled ex-NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki, has been telling the anti-graft operatives all that he knows about the arms deals and those who masterminded the looting of the nation’s resources in the name of arms purchase.

It was on the strength of the revelations by the detained military officer and others, that the EFCC, last week, wrote to the Defence Headquarters to release the affected officers and their retired counterparts, for immediate questioning.

INDICTED OFFICERS ALREADY ON OUR RADAR —EFCC

A top EFCC official, who spoke in anonymity,  last night, confirmed that some of the indicted men were already under their radar.

The officer, who declined to give details of what they were doing about the indicted officers, said that EFCC would take immediate steps to carry out the Presidential directive arising from the indictment of the military officers by a panel, which looked into the arms deals.

The official said: “We intend to carry out the Presidential directive in accordance with our extant rules. Don’t forget that before the directive came, we had already moved to fish out some in the military top brass whose names came up in the course of investigation into the $2.1 arms deals.

“We also have a serving military officer, who has been telling us some of the things that took place in the name of arms purchase in the ONSA. All these will certainly advance our work.”

It will be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari, last week, ordered the EFCC to prosecute many top military officers and companies indicted by a Presidential panel that probed the procurement of arms for the country between 2007 and 2015.

THOSE TO BE  INVESTIGATED
Among those mentioned in the panel report as having cases to answer were the former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh (retd); former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Mohammed Dikko Umar (retd), and former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Nunayon Amosu (retd).

The others are Major-General E.R. Chioba (retd), Air Vice Marshal I.A. Balogun (retd), Air Vice Marshal A.G. Tsakr (retd), Air Vice Marshal A.G. Idowu (retd), Air Vice Marshal A.M. Mamu, Air Vice Marshal, O.T. Oguntoyinbo, Air Vice Marshal T. Omenyi, Air Vice Marshal J.B. Adigun, Air Vice Marshal R.A. Ojuawo, and Air Vice Marshal J.A. Kayode-Beckley.

Others are: Air Commodore Sa Yushau (retd), Air Commodore A.O. Ogunjobi, Air Commodore G.M.D. Gwani, Air Commodore S.O. Makinde, Air Commodore A.Y. Lassa, Colonel N. Ashinze, and Lt. Colonel Mohammed Sambo Dasuki (retd).

Also to be investigated are: Himma Aboubakar, Aeronautical Engineering and Technical Services Limited, Messrs Syrius Technologies and Sky Experts Nig Ltd, among others.

According to the statement, the procurement processes were arbitrarily carried out and characterized by irregularities and fraud, while in many cases, the items procured failed to meet their required purposes, especially the counter insurgency operations in the north east.

NIGERIAN AIR FORCE OPENS APPLICATION FOR RECRUITMENT

The Nigerian Air Force has announcement the commencement of recruitment of Airmen and Airwomen.
The Service in a statement signed by Air Vice Marshal C. N. Chukwu on behalf of the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, gave the details of the procedures for applying.
The statement by Chukwu reads in full:
APPLICATION FOR NIGERIAN AIRFORCE AIRMEN/AIRWOMEN RECRUITMENT EXERCISE (BMTC 2016).

GUIDELINES:
1.All applicants must be Nigerians not less than 1.68m tall for male and not less than 1.65m for female.
2. Interested applicants are to apply free of charge online at www.careers.nigerianairforce.gov.ng.
3. Applicants are to print out the underlisted documents after completion of application online:
a. Local Government Attestation Form.
b. Parents/Guardian Consent Form.
c. Acknowledgement Form.

QUALIFICATIONS
4. Non Tradesmen/Women.
a. Applicants must be between the ages of 17 and 22 years by 31 December 2016.
b. Applicants must possess a minimum of 3 credits including Maths and English in SSCE/NECO/GCE.

5. Tradesmen/Women: a. Applicants applying as tradesmen and women must be between 17 and 24 years by 31 December 2016.

b. Applicants must possess a minimum of 3 pasess including English in SSCE/NECO/GCE and must possess at least a lower credit in ND/NCE or any relevant trade certificate from reputable and approved government institutions/organisations.
NOTE
6. Online registration starts on 8 February 2016 and closes on 25 March 2016.

7. Zonal recruitment exercise will start from 11 – 29 April 2016.

8. NAF Online registration and all other recruitment processes are free of charge and no payment should be made.

9. The Local Government Attestation/Indigeneship certificate must be accompanied by the passport photograph and photocopy of the signees drivers licence or international passport. The signee is also to authenticate the passport photograph of the applicant behind.

10. For further information see the instruction page on the website as from 8 February 2016 or e-mail: airforce.support@swglobal.com

LASSA FEVER PATIENT ESCAPES FROM HOSPITAL

EBONYI: A male patient who tested positive to LASSA FEVER was reported to have escaped from a hospital in Ebonyi state to an unknown destination.

The minister of health, Prof Isaac Adewole who expressed dismay concerning the situation stated that the patient could not have absconded on his own without the help of some of the healthcare givers in the hospital and has so far directed‎ that the patient must be looked for and treated immediately.

“He should be traced and taken back to the facility. He should be reassured that he will live if the treatment is done promptly as he could not have absconded on his own without the support of the health officers.

He lamented that so much is been expected from the Ebonyi state government as it has not done enough. He said there was no need for patients to be transferred to‎ Irrua in Edo state when the state has a functional healthcare centre

In curbing the wide spread of the dreaded Lassa fever‎, the federal government has cleared the air concerning the handling of dead bodies by relatives of the deceased by stating that they would be allowed to do so as religious and cultural beliefs must be respected. 

The Chief Executive Officer of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Abdusalam Nasidi, made the views and observations on Tuesday at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the emergency National Council on Health on Lassa fever outbreak. He said relatives of the deceased must oblige to disinfect dead bodies which should be carried before and after in double body bags as well as ensuring that graves are dug very deep. “Families will not be denied the bodies of their deceased relatines because there must be respect for religious and cultural beliefs. 

The real problem is that the culture of some people to wash dead bodies before burial. However, we warn against contact with the bodies as a bid towards curtailing the virus. “Relatives will have to ensure that the bodies of the deceased are disinfected with chlorine and it is recommend that the bodies should be packaged in double body bags. We also advise that graves must be dug very deep.”

NNPC: CRUDE FLOWS TO TWO NIGERIAN REFINERIES SHUT AFTER ATTACKS

Report reaching our news desk indicates that the NNPC may have ordered a shut down of crude oil flows to two of its four refineries after  the weekend's attacks on pipelines, a company spokesman said on Monday, frustrating government hopes to start weaning the country from expensive imports.

The refineries in the northern city of Kaduna and Warri, in the southern Niger Delta, were affected, said Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation spokesman Ohi Alegbe.

"We have shut down flows for now, the military are on top of the matter," he said, without offering details of the attacks.

Nigeria is plagued by violence, corruption and poor infrastructure. Despite being Africa's largest crude exporter, it imports almost all its gasoline but officials had hoped national refineries would produce up to 30 percent of its gasoline needs in the first quarter of 2016.

The 125,000 barrel per day (bpd) Warri refinery and the 110,000 bpd Kaduna refinery had resumed output in December after several months of maintenance. The Kaduna refinery receives its feedstock oil via the Warri refinery.

Nigeria also has a third refining complex with two plants in the southern oil hub of Port Harcourt, although only the newer of the two plants is currently functioning.

No group claimed responsibility for the weekend attacks, which follow last week's arrest warrant for former militant leader turned businessman Government Ekpemupolo, known as Tompolo, as part of a crackdown on corruption. Several former top government officials have been charged with fraud.

A statement issued by the military's operation Pulo Shield in the oil-rich Niger Delta region vowed to hold "community leaders responsible for any act of sabotage".

"This warning is coming as a result of recent, multiple attacks on oil facilities and platforms by suspected militants in the Niger Delta region," the statement issued on Sunday said, without offering further details.

The attacks follow years of relative calm in the country's oil-producing region after an 2009 amnesty halted frequent attacks on oil installations and kidnappings of expatriate workers.

OPEC member Nigeria is facing an economic crisis and dwindling foreign reserves as a result of the sharp drop in global oil prices.

President Muhammadu Buhari, elected last year, wants to revamp the country's long-neglected refining system and produce enough fuel, particularly gasoline, to reduce expensive imports.

PDP IN FRESH CRISIS AS NATIONAL OFFICERS ASK MESSRS MOHAMMED , METUH, SECONDUS TO STEP DOWN.

There appears to be a fresh round of crisis in Nigeria’s major opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party, with some elected national officers calling on the acting chairman of the board of trustees, Bello Mohammed and the national publicity secretary, Olisa Metuh, to step down from their offices.

The call, which was made in a statement signed by four of the national officers, which they also said represented the views of all deputy national officers and some members of the National Executive Committee of the party, was sequel to the ongoing trial of Messrs. Mohammed and Metuh over corruption allegations.

Messrs Metuh and Mohammed are being tried for receiving monies from the embattled former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, out of the $2.1 billion meant for arms procurement but which was diverted to political spending.

The statement, made available to the press on Monday, was signed by Dennis Alonge-Niyi, the deputy national youth leader; Bashir Maidugu, the deputy national legal adviser; Okey Nnaedozie, the deputy national organizing secretary and Abdullahi Jalo, the deputy national publicity secretary.

The national officers called on all relevant members and organs of the party to rescue it “from fortune hunters who have hijacked its very soul.”
They said, “We hereby strongly dissociate the Peoples Democratic Party from the ongoing trials of Dr. Bello Halliru Mohammed ( Acting Chairman of Board of Trustees) and Chief Olisa Metuh ( National Publicity Secretary) on various charges anti graft agencies.

“They are said to have received funds using accounts of their private companies without the knowledge and instructions of any organ of the party. All those mentioned in the ongoing corruption trial are, therefore, on their own and the party was not involved financially or in anyway with the office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, or any organ of the federal government in the last regime.
“They must bear full responsibility for their actions and must henceforth refrain from dragging the name of the party into the mud.”

STEP DOWN PLEASE 

The national officers also said that sequel to the wide public interest the trial of Messrs. Mohammed and Metuh has generated, they would call on the national caucus of the PDP, the BoT and the PDP Governors’ Forum “to prevail on the two accused persons to honorably step down until they clear their names thereby saving the party from further damage.”

They said their call was not a pronouncement of guilt on the two officers of the PDP, but a “passionate appeal to halt the erroneous concept that the party tolerates corruption.”

They also called on the NEC of the party to convene a meeting immediately to formalize the appointment of a new spokesperson in line with the party’s constitution.

The officers also called on the NEC not to continue with the reign of impunity, which they said characterized the PDP in the past and led it to its current position, to respect the Abuja High Court ruling of December 15 last year.
The Court had in a ruling delivered in a suit filed by a former political adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Ahmed Gulak, directed the PDP acting national chairman, Uche Secondus, to step down and allow either Mr. Gulak or any qualified person from the north east to take over.
Mr. Secondus became acting chairman after Ahmadu Muazu resigned his position following the defeat of the party in the last general election.

“This is a declaratory ruling where no order of stay of execution from any other court has been granted. The NEC must do the needful by selecting a suitable national chairman from the north east to complete their tenure in accordance with our tradition and the party’s constitution.
“In pursuance of this therefore, Prince Uche Secondus should revert back to his constitutional position of Deputy National Chairman of the party as a matter of urgency,” they said.
The national officers also argued that in the light of the court ruling and other matters related to it, the timetable recently released by the National Working Committee, without recourse to the NEC, for the forthcoming national convention of the party should be considered null and void.

They said aside from the offices of the National Chairman, National Secretary, National Financial Secretary and the National Auditor, the national convention that produced the other national officers was held on August 30, 2013.
They said based on the four-year tenure envisaged by the constitution of the party, all the remaining officers’ tenure of office would terminate on August 30, 2017.

They also called on the NEC to order a proper audit of the finances of the PDP by certified external auditors. They said the audit period should be from March 2012 to date.
“All committees set up by the irregularly constituted national working committee should be dissolved and new committees constituted by NEC in good faith and the general interest of the party.
“Finally, we urge the National Caucus and the Board of Trustees as a matter of urgency to convene a meeting of NEC to address all these burning issues. Any further delay will exacerbate the situation,” they said.