Army releases 249 innocent Boko Haram detainees

The Nigeria army says it has released 249 detainees who are not members of Boko Haram.  In a statement on Monday,  Sani Usman, army spokesman, said that those released were 169 men, 46 women and 34 children.

“Today, a total of 249 cleared suspected Boko Haram terrorists and accomplices were released by the Joint Interrogation as approved by the Chief of Army Staff in Maiduguri. Those cleared and released include 169 males, 46 women and 34 children,” read the statement.

“Further breakdown shows that 203 of them were from 18 local government areas of Borno State, while 44 were from other states as follows: Adamawa two, Jigawa two, Lagos one, Oyo one and Yobe 38. However, two of them were from the republic of Cameroon.”

He said that the released persons were handed over to the Borno state government through its commissioner for local government by Victor Ezugwu, the acting general officer commanding, 7th division.

Usman added that the commissioner advised the released detainees to remain law-abiding and go about their lawful business.

“He also commended the effort of the military in the fight against terrorism and insurgency and respect for human rights as manifested in the painstaking efforts that led to their clearance and subsequent release. Each of them was given a token of N3,000 each,” he said‎.

BREAKING: Le Guen named Super Eagles coach

Paul Le Guen

The Nigeria Football federation (NFF) has selected Paul Le Guen, a Frenchman and former Indomitable Lions of Cameroon coach, as the new coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria.

Militants launch fresh attack in Delta, blow up Shell pipeline

Suspected Niger Delta militants have blown up a crude oil trunkline of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) in Batan community, Warri south west council area of Delta state. Dickson Ogugu, a community leader, confirmed the attack, saying it happened around 1am on Monday. Lamenting the effect of such attacks in the region, Ogugu appealed to militants to sheathe their swords and embrace the dialogue offer of the federal government.

Niger Delta Avengers

He recalled that earlier in the month, militants destroyed an oil facility in Batan.

No group has claimed responsibility for the latest incident, as the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), the group at the heart of recent attacks on oil assets, has not made any comment regarding the attack. The site of the attack has been cordoned off by security personnel, who had a tough time locating it.

President Muhammadu Buhari has consistently appealed to the militants to give his administration a chance.

In a programme on Channels Television on Sunday, Femi Adesina, presidential spokesman, said the activities of militants would affect the full implementation of the 2016 budget.

Though the militants have accused the government of not showing encouraging signs of dilogue, Adesina reiterated the commitment of the current administration to reaching a peace deal with the groups. “The intention is to implement that budget as much as possible but then the circumstances are making it difficult because projections are not being met because of what is happening in the Niger Delta and other parts of the economy,” he had said.

“Every option is on the table. There was never a time anything was ruled out. All the options were on the table. You will recall that when some south-south leaders visited the president led by King Alfred Diete-Spiff, he also disclosed that he had encouraged the security agencies to dialogue with the militant and the leadership of that region. So, there was never a time that anything was ruled out dialogue.”

Melaye wants to kill me, Remi Tinubu petitions IGP

Remi Tinubu, the senator representing Lagos central in the national assembly, has written a letter to Ibrahim Idris, acting inspector-general of police, requesting police protection from Dino Melaye, her colleague from Kogi west senatorial district, whom she says constitutes a “threat to my life”.

Melaye and Tinubu clashed at the senate last week, and each has gone on to question the conduct of the other. On Monday, Tinubu asked the IGP for protection.

“I am Senator Oluremi Tinubu representing the Lagos Central Senatorial District of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” she wrote in her letter to the IGP. “During the proceedings of the senate on Tuesday, July 14 2016, I had cause to contribute to a matter of national importance. Apparently dissatisfied with my contributions, Senator Dino Melaye threw caution to the winds, resorted to vulgar abuse of my person and wanted to assault me.

“It was the timely intervention of a number of colleagues which prevented Senator Melaye from unleashing physical attack on me. However, as the leadership of the senate did not call him to order in the circumstance, he proceeded to threaten my life without any provocation whatsoever.

“In view of Senator Melaye’s antecedent, particularly in the House of Representatives, where a brawl led by him had led to the untimely death of a member, I have decided not to ignore his threat to my life. Therefore, I’m compelled to urge you to use your good offices to provide me with adequate security.

“Please accept the assurances of my highest regards and esteem.”

I didn’t steal 24 police vehicles — Ex-Police IG, Solomon Arase

Mr. Arase, is in London for his son’s graduation, said in a statement on Monday that every information needed by his successor on vehicles bought by the police were in his handover notes. He said all vehicles bought by the police under him were distributed to the state commands and other appropriate units of the force.

Mr Solomon Arase

He also denied getting any letter from Idris since he has been in the UK.

“I suspect there must be a disconnect somewhere because every information needed by my successor are provided in my handover notes,” Mr. Arase said.

“I’m also not aware that any letter was written to me because if there was any dropped in my house, someone would have alerted me.

“It’s unfortunate that this matter is being made a media issue because my successor has my telephone number and could have called me for any clarification or even sent me a text message rather than addressing the media on an issue well documented in my handover notes.”

Mr. Arase’s successor, Ibrahim Idris, had said on Sunday that his former boss went away with 24 police vehicles after he retired from service.

The acting Inspector General also said he had written to his predecessor and other recently retired senior police officers to return the vehicles in their possession.

Mr. Idris said, “When I took over, there was no vehicle, even the vehicle I would use. I discovered the last IG went away with 24 vehicles; the DIGs, some of them eight, some of them seven. The IG’s vehicles included two BMW 7 series, one armoured; and he left me with an old car.

“The last time I followed the President with it, he was asking me, ‘what are you doing with this old car’ because if you see the headlight, the thing has changed colour, which means they parked it and rains and everything had fallen on it, but the new ones that were bought, he (Arase) went with all of them; they are part of the 24.

“I wrote back to him and said, we have a policy that says when a policeman retires, if you are an IG, AIG, a CP, you are entitled to some vehicles; please, the extra, return it. Four vehicles are enough for an average human being, but what will you even do with four vehicles; but he took 24 vehicles, including two BMW cars.

“I wrote to him (Arase), I wrote to the DIGs.”

Buhari should stop acting like grandfather of corruption – Fayose

Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has urged President Mohammadu Buhari to stop acting like the grandfather of corruption in Nigeria by shielding his men from probe, just as he asked Nigerians to demand the release of the authentic report of the Committee on Audit of Defence Equipment Procurement in the Nigerian Armed Forces.

He described claim by the federal government that the probe panel only looked into procurement and contracts awarded by the military between 2011-2015 because documents regarding procurement from 2007 to 2010 were not available as a clear indication of his support for corruption.

In a statement issued on Sunday by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose said “it is now obvious to the entire world that anyone that is in President Buhari’s good books can never be adjudged as corrupt even if such a person is caught looting the entire money in Nigeria’s treasury.”

The governor said it smacked of sheer hypocrisy and nepotism for anyone to accept that fraud could have been perpetrated on procurement and award of contracts in an establishment without the involvement of the director of procurement.

"There are many petitions relating to the defence from 2007 that are been discarded, the question is why? There are several petitions against APC leaders that are not being looked into, the question is why? "Fghting corruption and targeting only opponents of the president is in itself corruption," he said.

He said; “Buhari’s’ Minister of Interior, Major General Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd) was Chief of Army Staff between 2008 and 2010 and the current Chief Of Army Staff, Major General Tukur Buratai served as Director of Procurements, Defence Headquarters, from 2012 till May 2015.

“It is a fact that the committee in its terms of reference said it queried all procurement from 2007 to 2015. Even the Press Release issued was titled; ‘Third Interim Report of the Presidential Committee on Audit of Defence Equipment Procurement from 2007 to 2015.’

“First paragraph of the committee report also indicated that it used 2007-2015 as reference, stating that the committee ‘analysed procurement contracts awarded by or for the Nigerian Army between 2007 and 2015.’

“Questions Nigerians must now begin to ask President Buhari and his government are; where is the report of Presidential Committee on Audit of Defence Equipment Procurement relating to 2007 to 2010? Who doctored the committee report and why?

“Lai Mohammed said the Committee would commence the audit of procurement from 2007 to 2010 ‘as soon as the necessary documents are available’, it is necessary that Nigerians are told who the custodians of the documents are. Why were documents on procurement from 2011 and 2015 available and those of 2007 to 2010 not available?

"Early this year, we were told that an ally of President Buhari and chieftain of the APC, Brig. General Jafaru Isa (rtd) refunded N100 million of the N170 million he allegedly received from ex-NSA, Sambo Dasuki.

"Jafaru Isa who was a member of the 19-man Buhari Transition Committee was released after he was allegedly assisted by the Presidency to refund N100 million to the anti-graft commission and since then, nothing has been heard about the case. He was not charged to court like others.

"It took the Ministry of Defence and the Code of Conduct Bureau only one week to clear Buratai but others from the opposition party would be languishing in prison while EFCC go about fishing for evidence against them.

“Like I and other well-meaning Nigerians have maintained, fighting corruption is a good idea but the moment documents of probe panels and being doctored to shield those seen as the President’s men, the entire purpose of the corruption fight has been defeated.

“The international community must therefore prevail on President Buhari to stop acting like the grandfather of corruption in Nigeria by making the anti-corruption war all-inclusive instead of this clear persecution of his perceived political enemies, and the first step to demonstrate that will be the immediate release of report of the Presidential Committee on Audit of Defence Equipment Procurement covering 2007 to 2015.

Graphic photos: Two suspected kidnappers burnt beyond recognition in Benue

 Two suspected kidnappers were burnt beyond recognition at Bristow roundabout in Gboko area of Benue state today July 17th. The men were reportedly on the verge of kidnapping a woman when they were apprehended and the jungle justice was meted on them by a mob. A third member of the kidnapping syndicate was about to be burnt when police swooped in and saved him from the mob. He is now in police custody.