Lagos lawyer threatens Buhari with suit over change of title

A Lagos-based lawyer and rights activist, Mr. Ebun Adegboruwa, has faulted the decision of the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) to drop his military title of Major General after May 29 swearing in date, arguing that it is illegal and immoral. He, therefore, threatened to drag Buhari to court.

In a statement in Lagos, Adegboruwa contended that it will be unlawful for him to take such decision now, having enjoyed all benefits attached to that title as a former military officer and head of state.

According to him, “by virtue of Paragraph 1(1) of the 1st Schedule of the Armed Forces Pensions Act, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) is entitled to, and has indeed been receiving and benefiting from pension, as an officer who held a regular commission, before his retirement.

“Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) is the official and legal status, title, designation and appellation of our President-elect. He has no choice in the matter, but to continue to carry this cross for life.

“The military world over is a dignified institution, built on discipline, selflessness, courage, dignity, loyalty and patriotism.

“It is an institution that everyone should be proud of, except those of them who were trained and equipped by this noble institution, but chose to capture civilian power, through coup d’etat.

“Buhari attends the Council of State meetings as former Head of State, which office he held in his capacity as a Major-General, which officially qualifies him to earn some benefits, have security aides, salaries, emoluments, diplomatic passports as well as free medical treatment, home and abroad.

“From all the foregoing, I therefore humbly appeal to the President-elect to continue to bear his official name and status, by which he once climbed to power. I do sincerely sympathise with him on the very sad and distasteful memories that this title attracts to him. But it is his cross to carry.

“Nigerians voted for him in spite of his past and that should be enough encouragement for him to strive to erase any negative impression that it may have occasioned.”

Buhari is in order—Falana

Another Lagos lawyer and activist, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), disagreed with Mr. Adegboruwa, saying “Buhari’s decision is normal. General Obasanjo did the same thing. He was referred to as Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

“There is nothing wrong in that. In the real sense of it, he remains a General. However, when you become an elected President, you cannot continue to be addressed as a General in a democracy. We cannot have a General in a democracy.

“Even his (Buhari) ADC, under the constitution, shall be a police officer not below the rank of an Assistant Superintendent of Police. Section 419 of the Police Act states this.
“The parade of the military as ADC by Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan is not part of our constitution.”

His wishes must be respected —Ubani, ex-NBA boss

Also arguing in support of Mr. Falana, former Chairman of Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, Ikeja branch, Mr. Monday Ubani said: “What Buhari did is right.

“If you are filling a form and you are requested to put your name as you want to be addressed, you may decide not to answer Barrister Ubani, but just Ubani or M. O. Ubani.

“What the President-elect wants is uniformity in addressing him as President Muhammadu Buhari, not Alhaji, or General. So, as somebody who wants to operate under a democratic dispensation, he decided to put aside all the military toga.

Our son hacked to death for confronting herbalist —Bereaved family

Mama Imaobong Titus refused to be consoled. She asked hysterically: Why did my son have to die?

The  cause of her anguish  is the  hacking to death of her first son and the breadwinner of the family,   Itoro, allegedly by a herbalist, Ette Okon Friday, following a misunderstanding.

Rita Emmanuel,   a cousin of the   deceased, a commercial motor cyclist, told the story of the murder. According to her, Itoro  lived with his parents in their   grass house   in  Ikot Abasi Effiom, in Akpabuyo Local Government Area   of Cross River State until he  rented a room in a house nearly in order to have more space since his wife was about to give birth. “About a month ago, he decided to rent  a room in the next street so that his wife who was about to deliver a baby could have more space and we all agreed that it was okay. He  got a room in  Ette Friday’s house and moved there”.

Rita explained that  everything was going on well until Ndarake, Itoro’s wife, gave birth and the baby died within  days. After  the death of the baby, the wife, according to the cousin, took  ill, suffering  epileptic seizures. Naturally, the  husband became agitated. Consequently, Friday, described as  a herbalist, was said to have claimed he could heal the woman and demanded for 5,000 naira which Itoro raised and gave to him.

Rita narrated that after Friday collected the money, he   assured that the wife would soon recover and commenced treatment. Later   that night, however, when the young man came back from work, he met his wife in a bad state and demanded to know from Friday, why the situation of his wife was growing worse instead of improving. This allegedly angered the herbalist who was said to have gone  into his shrine   and brought out a machete with which he cut  Itoro’s  throat.

Her words: “Last year, Itoro lost his first wife after she gave birth to their second daughter; so he   was worried that his second wife taking care of the two children was going to die too. He asked the herbalist why the state of his wife was getting worse when it ought to be improving since the man had been given the money he demanded and he assured that he would treat the woman . The man did not say anything; he simply went inside his shrine and brought out a machete   and cut Itoro’s   throat”.

A resident, who gave his name as Monday, said when people heard    Itoro’s cries that night, they rushed to the herbalist’s house and  met Itoro   in   a pool of blood. According to him, when  the herbalist saw them, he  threatened them with machete. This, he said, angered the residents who overpowered him, cut his throat, dumped the body   inside the shrine and set the place ablaze.
“The remains of the herbalist were eaten by dogs which he deserves because we could not  understand why he should kill a young man for asking why the state of his wife   whom he was treating was worsening   rather than improving”.

Mr. Luis Samba, the Divisional Police Officer for Akpabuyo, said the matter had been transferred to the homicide unit of the Cross River State Police Command  in Calabar. Mr Hogan Bassey, the spokesman  for the Command, said  the matter was being investigated.

Credit: Vanguard

Armed robbery suspect arrested on wedding day

Oyo State Police Command  arrested a suspected  member of a robbery gang on his wedding day.
Olumide Asiyanbi, 42,  told newsmen that nemesis caught up with him when he was at the registry to sign the dotted lines.

The police alleged he was a member of  a six-man-robbery gang who had  terrorised residents of Challenge area of Ibadan, the state capital.
The state Commissioner of Police, Muhammed Katsina, said the suspects included  a 62-year-old Ghanaian.

Asiyanbi  confessed that he had been involved in 10 different robbery attacks before he was arrested.
He said, “I was arrested on my wedding day. I met the gang leader, James Agba, last year. He told me  he knew how we could be getting regular money. He then initiated me into the gang. I have taken part in at least 10 operations since I joined them.

“We  used gun but I don’t know where James was buying them. Sulaimon and Alhaji, who are also in the gang, knew how the guns were bought for our operations. I have fired shots at our targets but nobody was killed.”

Credit: Vanguard

Jonathan, Sambo, others to declare assets within 30 days

With five days to the end of President Goodluck Jonathan’s tenure, the President, Vice-President Namadi Sambo, 29 governors and 42 ministers have been asked by the Code of Conduct Bureau to declare their assets, SUNDAY PUNCH authoritatively reports.

Also on the list of public officials who must declare their assets before leaving office are the country’s 109 senators and 360 members of the House of Representatives.

The bureau, last week, issued the Completed Assets Declaration Forms to them with a 30-day deadline to return the completed forms. The deadline countdown starts from the day of the receipt of the forms.

Apart from the outgoing government officials, the forms have also been made available to incoming public officers, particularly members of the states and National Assembly.

The officers that will be assuming office in the incoming dispensation also have to return the completed forms within 30 days of receiving it.

The CCB, in an advertorial by its Acting Secretary, Kolade Omoyola, in some newspapers last Tuesday, had reminded “political office holders to declare their assets on assumption and vacation of office in accordance with Paragraph II of the 5th Schedule of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.”

According to the law quoted by the CCB, failure of a public officer to declare his or her assets in line with law “shall attract on conviction any or all of the following: (a) Removal from office (b) Disqualification from holding any public office, (c) Forfeiture to the state any property acquired in abuse of office or dishonesty.”

Jonathan had, last year, rejected calls on public office holders to declare their assets openly, before and after office. According to the President, public declaration of assets is “playing to the gallery.”

The President said this during his third presidential media chat in Aso Villa, Abuja. The President emphasised that no amount of pressure would make him declare what he owned. He argued that making his assets public knowledge would not change the economy or solve the challenges in the security, power and agriculture sectors.

He added that as Vice-President to the late President Musa Yar’Adua, he declared his assets then because Yar’Adua forced him to.

Yar’Adua is the only Nigerian President known to have declared his assets.

Jonathan had said, “The issue of public assets declaration is a matter of personal principle. That is the way I see it, and I don’t give a damn about it, even if you criticise me from heaven. When I was the vice-president, that matter came up, and I told the former President (late Musa Yar’Adua) that let’s not start something that would make us play into the hands of people and create an anomalous situation in the country.

“The law is clear. A public officer should declare his assets, and if there are issues, then the relevant agencies would have a basis to assess whether you have amassed wealth or not. When it is said that people should declare their assets in public, it is not only the president or the vice-president; it includes everybody, including ministers.

“When I was a governor in Bayelsa State for about a year before becoming vice-president, I was investigated thoroughly. I have nothing to hide. But because I was under somebody and it was becoming an issue, because of the media, and because my boss had declared, it was said that the vice-president must. I declared, not because I wanted to.”

“Initially, I said they can talk about it from morning to night, I will not. It is not proper. If one amends the law to say that only the president and the vice-president should declare assets publicly, fine. But, presently, everybody who is holding political office is expected to and I say it is not right.”

SUNDAY PUNCH further gathered that so far, only seven senators and 40 House of Representatives members in the outgoing 7th National Assembly have submitted their forms to the bureau as required of them under the law.

Our correspondent also learnt that two of the 42 ministers have also completed and submitted their forms.

It could not be confirmed on Friday whether President Jonathan, Sambo and the governors had submitted their completed forms.

Identities of those who had complied with the provisions of the law under Paragraph II of the 5th Schedule of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria could not be ascertained as of press time.

The Governors of Rivers and Kogi states, however, confirmed receipt of the declaration forms.

The Chief of Staff, Government House, Port Harcourt, Mr. Tony Okocha, told SUNDAY PUNCH that Governor Rotimi Amaechi would soon submit his assets declaration form to the Code of Conduct Bureau.

Okocha said he was aware that his boss received the form.

“The Governor Rotimi Amaechi that I know will submit his form to the bureau very soon. He has no skeleton in his cupboard and has nothing to hide anywhere in Nigeria and anywhere in the world,” Okocha stressed.

The Special Adviser to the Kogi State Governor, Capt. Idris Wada, on Media and Strategy, Mr. Jacob Edi, also said the governor, his deputy, commissioners and all political appointees in the state had submitted the forms they collected to the bureau.

In a telephone interview with our correspondent in Ilorin on Saturday, he said, “Regarding the submission of the assets declaration form, the governor is not at fault; the commissioners and all other relevant political office holders are not at fault.”

In the same vein, Special Adviser to Governor Abiola Ajimobi on Media, Dr. Festus Adedayo, told our correspondent that Ajimobi had no intention of hiding his assets from the CCB. He said the governor had demonstrated uprightness and honesty as a public servant and that having declared his asset before he became a governor, he would not shy away from doing it again.

He said, “He certainly will. Don’t forget that Ajimobi was one of the few public office holders who declared his assets publicly in 2011.”

The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, Peter Okhiria, said the form had been submitted by the governor prior to his swearing in, as stipulated by law.

“In fact, before the governor was sworn in, he submitted the form,” Okhiria told one of our correspondents on the telephone.

In Akwa Ibom, Governor Godswill Akpabio’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Anietie Ukpe, refused to disclose if the governor had collected the form.

He said, “If my boss filled the assets declaration form, is it supposed to be made public?”

Credit: PUNCH

US behind Kashamu’s house arrest—FG

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke (SAN), said on Saturday that the house arrest which the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency placed on the Ogun-East Senator-elect, Buruji Kashamu, was informed by a recent extradition request by the United States of America.

Adoke told one of our correspondents on the telephone on Saturday that the request came last week.

On May 6, the minister had disclosed to one of our correspondents that there was no extradition request for Buruji by the US.

Adoke said this while responding to a suit filed by Kashamu to restrain the NDLEA and 13 others from extraditing him to the US.

“The request came shortly after I spoke with you. It came last week,” he said.

He said immediately his office received the request it was passed to the appropriate organ of government for implementation.

The implementation process involves filing an extradition request before the appropriate division of the Federal High Court.

Responding to further inquiry, he confirmed that he was referring to the NDLEA as the appropriate organ of government to take up the extradition request.

“Of course, it is a drug-related offence and the appropriate government agency that handles such cases is the NDLEA,” Adoke said.

The NDLEA confirmed the confinement of the movement of Kashamu to his Lagos residence on Oladipo Street, Lekki Phase 1 pending his appearance in court on Monday (tomorrow).

The spokesperson for the NDLEA, Michael Ofoyeju, said the action was to perfect his extradition to the US for drug-related charges.

In a statement sent via email to one of our correspondents by the spokesperson for the agency, Michael Ofoyeju, the Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade, was quoted as saying the operation was in line with the legal process of extradition.

The statement further quoted Giade thus, “The agency has commenced extradition procedures against Senator-elect, Buruji Kashamu in line with the laws of country. He has been in contact with his attorneys and will appear in court on Monday.”

He also confirmed that the residence of Kashamu was raided by the operatives of the agency at about 5am on Saturday.

No fewer than 10 operatives of the agency were said to have invaded the Lagos residence of Kashamu, around 5am on Saturday to effect his arrest following a purported extradition request from the United States on drug- related charges.

They were said to be heavily armed and were ruthless.

As soon as they stormed his residence, SUNDAY PUNCH gathered that some of the NDLEA operatives brought out a yellow tape and cordoned off the area, while others went straight to the gate.

After they (operatives) reportedly knocked on Kashamu’s gate, his security men were alerted about their mission.

Kashamu’s security men at this point demanded the arrest warrant from the NDLEA men but they could not produce any.

Based on this, they were prevented from entering the residence.

However, this action was said to have infuriated the NDLEA officials who stormed the compound after destroying the gate.

The media aide to Kashamu, Austin Oniyokor, in a statement made available to our correspondent on Saturday, explained that the NDLEA operatives after they had forcibly entered the compound, headed for the living rooms and began to destroy all the doors one after other, in a desperate move to arrest Kashamu.

An NDLEA source said they (operatives) closed in on the bedroom of the PDP chief who was said to have threatened to commit suicide if the agency tried to extradite him to the US forcibly.

Oniyokor described the latest onslaught on his principal as a confirmation of the alleged plot to illegally abduct him despite the pending suit against his abduction.

Oniyokor, however, accused a Peoples Democratic Party leader, Chief Bode George, as being behind the onslaught against his boss, “in a bid to score cheap political points.”

He said he is doing this through his wife who is the Director-General of the agency.

“We urge all well meaning Nigerians to prevail on NDLEA, Chief George and his wife to toe the path of the rule of law and follow due process.

“Nigeria is not a Banana republic. The United States being the bastion of democracy, the rule of law and due process, should not lend itself to this kind of illegality.”

However, George, who spoke to one of our correspondents from the United Kingdom On Saturday, described the allegation as a ‘huge joke.’

The PDP leader said he did not have the power to give his wife orders because she was not the chairman of the NDLEA and the agency adheres to due process.

He said no right thinking Nigerian would believe that he was behind Kashamu’s ordeal because his name had never been mentioned before now. He added that he had never been involved in Ogun State politics before and wondered how Kashamu’s detention could benefit him (George).

He said, “I don’t understand what this is all about. How does Kashamu’s arrest affect the price of milk? My wife is not the chairman of the NDLEA, so how can I give her orders when she has a boss? Also, that agency always follows due process.

“I am happy that the NDLEA has issued a statement to the effect that Kashamu’s arrest has nothing to do with me or politics. I do not dabble into Ogun State politics.

“Kashamu is like a younger brother to me and he is not known to speak in such a manner. I am sure it is his media adviser that concocted this falsehood.”

Credit: PUNCH

I fight my wife “Iya Hafusa” a lot –Reminisce “Baba Hafusa”

Nigerian rapper, Reminisce has opened up on his relationship with his wife of 13 years saying they fight a lot but she remains his friend and only love.

Speaking with The Punch, Reminisce said, ‘My wife and I fight a lot, we argue every time but she is my friend and I love her a lot.

She acts like a man and she is my best friend. We don’t see ourselves as husband and wife. I believe she is the only person I can live with and she is the only one that can look out for me.’

Speaking further, the 34 year old rapper, whose album, Baba Hafusa has found itself on Billboard World Album Chart and iTunes World Album chart, said ‘I value her opinion because she had been with me before I became popular and she really knows me.

She is a nice person and everybody is always comfortable around her.

‘Not many people know that I have been married for over 13 years because I do not announce it.

I choose to let people know whatever I feel they should know at whatever time I feel it is appropriate.

She understands my job and knows that I have to do certain things in order to make money.’ he said.

He forced me to abort 5 Pregnacies –Wife

A 51-year old tricyclist, Adetunji Adedoyin on Friday pleaded with a Lagos Island Customary Court to dissolve his 13-year-old marriage to his wife, one Yetunde Adedoyin, citing infidelity and threat to his life.

The petitioner who lives at 147, Tokunbo Street, Lagos Island, also alleged before the court that his wife was pregnant for another man while she was still living in his house.

“My wife was on admission at the hospital and I was visiting her there every day.

“But during one of my visits, one of the hospital cleaners told me that my wife was pregnant and that a particular man was always coming to see her also.

“I got annoyed because my wife told me she was suffering from malaria attack.

“After confirming the truth, I fought with the doctor for colluding with my wife. However the police arrested me but later released me same day.

“My wife aborted the pregnancy so that peace could return to our family as it were before. However, my wife kept visiting her man-friend,” he said.

Adetunji also told the court that his wife had had a son for another man before they were married and she was always going to the child’s father to collect his school fees.

“One day, she did not return home till 1:00 a.m., under the pretext that she had gone to collect her son’s school fees.

“Few weeks later, she felt sick and a test carried out at a medical laboratory confirmed that she was pregnant. I know that I am not responsible for the pregnancy which is now four months’ old.

“Also, I would not be the father of the unborn child because I have not had sexual intercourse with her since December 2014. She has only a two-year old child for me. I want the court to dissolve the marriage because I cannot condole her wayward life again,” he said.

Adetunji also told the court that his wife had threatened to pour acid into his tea.

While responding, the wife, Yetunde Adedoyin, 35, a trader, told the court that her husband wanted the marriage dissolved because she stopped giving him money she got from her previous marriage.

“My husband and I used to spend the money that I was collecting from the father of my first child.

“On some occasions, he would ask me to tell the man that his child needed to buy some things which were not true.

“But when the man stopped giving me money, problems started at home,” she said.

Yetunde told the court that she had aborted five times for her present husband alleging that he was always using the blood for his personal sanctification.

“Whenever I am pregnant, he would bring a nurse to the house to abort my pregnancy, and he would use the blood to rub his head after he had done some incisions.

“He has been begging me to abort this pregnancy but I refused. So, I am surprised to hear from him that he is not responsible for it and will not accept his responsibility as the father when the child is born.

“We made love two days ago and we still live together so it is not true for him to have said that it was last year we last made love,” she said.

She said that she still loved her husband because of the pregnancy she was carrying and denied ever threatening to pour acid on him.

The President, Chief Awos Awosola, told the couple to maintain the peace and adjourned the case to June 8 for further hearing.