Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Monday 8th March 2021
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 08/03/21
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Oyo Police Detain OPC Members Who Arrested Fulani Warlord, Wakili, Take Alleged Criminal To Hospital
The Oyo State Police Command on Sunday arrested and detained three members of the Odua People’s Congress (OPC) who arrested one Iskilu Wakili, said to be a notorious Fulani man known for causing violence in the Ibarapa area of the state.
The police in a statement by the police public relations officer, Olugbenga Fadeyi said the house of Wakili was burnt and that a woman, whose identity has yet to be ascertained, was burnt in the fire.
The statement read, “Police would like to inform the general public that at about 0900 hrs of date (7th March 2021), information was received that a group of persons, (later found out to be members of the Odua Peoples Congress- OPC), had invaded Kajola community in Ibarapa axis of the state.
“The invasion was reportedly aimed at arresting one Wakili, a Fulani by tribe, who is alleged to be the sponsor and mastermind of various criminal attacks against the people/farmers of Yoruba origin in the community.
“The State Commissioner of Police has quickly moved into action and preliminary findings revealed that some OPC members went to Kajola community in Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State.
“While there, the house of the Wakili in question was set ablaze, while a female (the identity of whom has yet to be ascertained) was burnt in the fire and Wakili (about 75 years old and blind) with two (2) other persons were picked up. The three (3) of them are presently in the custody of the police. The Commissioner of Police has directed that Wakili (due to his frail appearance and state of health), be moved to the hospital, while others are being interrogated. Others being interrogated are the OPC members involved in arson and murder.
“Meanwhile, the Oyo State Police Command wishes to inform the general public that any person or group of persons from any region or tribe that has been found culpable to have committed any criminal act(s) in the state would not be spared, but would be arrested and dealt with according to extant laws.
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Oyo OPC Arrests Fulani Warlord, Isikilu Wakili Accused Of Terrorising Ibarapaland
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“Therefore, it is worthy of note that the good people of Oyo State and the general public should rest assured that the officers and men in the Command would not derelict in their duty to bring to book criminal elements arrested for any infringement on the laws of the land, as adequate security measures have been emplaced against anything untoward while soliciting credible information from members of the public to enable the police and other security agencies clamp down on crime and criminality in the state. In conclusion, anybody that has any case against Iskilu Wakili should report it to the State Criminal Investigation Department, (CID) Iyaganku Ibadan for discreet Investigation.”
SaharaReporters had reported how members of the OPC arrested the dreaded Fulani warlord accused of terrorising the people of the Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State and its environs.
Oyo OPC Arrests Fulani Warlord, Isikilu Wakili Accused Of Terrorising Ibarapaland | Sahara Reporters Our correspondent gathered that Wakili was arrested on Sunday morning, barely a week after the same OPC (faction of the Aare Ona Kakanfo…READ MORE: pic.twitter.com/kiNF0F3UvG— Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) March 7, 2021
Our correspondent gathered that Wakili was arrested on Sunday morning, barely a week after the same OPC (a faction belonging to the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Oba Gani Adams) arrested his deputy and some other members of his gang.
A series of videos posted by the OPC on Sunday showed Wakili, dressed in a green outfit, at the back of a vehicle being driven into Ayete, the headquarters of the local government area.
Wakili was said to have been arrested with four of his children, who were accused of shooting at the OPC men.
The Coordinator of the OPC in Oyo State, Mr Rotimi Olumo, confirmed the arrest to our correspondent on the telephone.
He said, “Our men arrested him today (Sunday) at around 7am.”
According to reports, Wakili, whose origin the residents of Ibarapa don’t know, is said to be more infamous than the Seriki Fulani of Igangan, Abdulkadir Saliu, who was ejected from the area recently. He also reportedly works with dozens of herders, described as his disciples. He and his disciples have allegedly seized hectares of farmlands at Ayete, raped women in the town, and kidnapped people for ransom.
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E2%80%94oluwo Yoruba Leaders Sponsoring Crisis In South-West Over 2023 Polls Won’t End Well —Oluwo
The Oluwo of Iwo town in Osun State, Oba AbdulRasheed Akanbi, has advised Fulani people not to live inside bushes but rather stay in the town, so that all of them could be known.
Akanbi urged Fulani settlers to fish out the criminals among them in the interest of peaceful co-existence.
The monarch, in a statement he posted on his Facebook page, on Sunday, alleged that all the hues and cries on the security challenge in the South-West region was about the 2023 presidential election.
He said, “This thing is not about Fulani or Yoruba. It is political. Some people are sponsoring crimes to destroy Nigeria. Crime doesn’t have a tribe. Prosecute criminals and try them in court, not a tribe.
“We want the Fulani also to fish out the criminals among them. You Fulani people should also come and live in the town, don’t live in the bush again. Let us know all of you.
“The Fulani community should talk more to the government to teach you modern ways of ranching. Open grazing is no longer fashionable in the 21st century. We know you are used to it but you have to change to the modern ways.
“There must be an intervention programme from the government to educate Fulani on modern way of ranching. Some of you should engage in pastoral business for herders to buy feeds from you. This is how you will not be having problems with farmers.”
Oluwo said the Yoruba leaders sponsoring crisis in the region will not end well.
According to him, “Those who are singing discordant tunes are doing so because of personal aggrandisement. We know some Yoruba leaders who are calling for war for political reason. It is all about 2023 presidency. Because they feel someone wants to become (the) President and they don’t want him.
“It is because they know that the next president of this country will be Yoruba and they don’t want that to happen. The person they are accusing has not even come out to say that he wants to be President so why all hatred?”
The monarch warned the Yoruba leaders fanning the embers of discord to desist in the interest of national unity.
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E2%80%94borno-government Only 200 Doctors Attending To Six Million Population —Borno Government
Borno State Governor, Prof Babagana Zulum
The Borno State Government has said that with the state’s population of more than six million, there are only 200 doctors available to attend to people.
Prof Isah Marte, the Chief of Staff to the state governor, Prof Babagana Zulum, disclosed this in Abuja when he led a delegation to the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, in Abuja.
Borno State Governor, Prof Babagana Zulum
According to Daily Trust, the delegation met with the minister to seek the Nigerian government’s intervention in the state’s healthcare delivery system.
Prof Marte also said over 35,000 people had been killed and two million displaced as a result of the Boko Haram crisis in the state.
He said, “Before the insurgency, various governments of Borno State had invested a lot in healthcare by building hospitals and primary healthcare centres in virtually all the wards. But as a result of insurgency, most of these things have been destroyed.
“The total cost of destruction in the North-East is about N9 billion and Borno State took the lion’s share of six billion. So, we really need assistance, not only from development partners but also from the Federal Government.
“Just to recap some of the destructions, especially in the health sector, 11 hospitals were completely burnt. One was partially burnt, seven were vandalised, 185 primary healthcare centres were destroyed.
“So in the health sector, the total facility; hospital, primary healthcare centres destroyed as at 2015, was 248. But the government has done a lot. We have renovated or built almost half of those structures so far.
“Because of this insurgency, over two million people have been displaced and over 35,000 people have lost their lives.
“In Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, we used to have a population of about one million. But now, we have close to three million people congested in Maiduguri. In Borno State, we have less than 200 doctors, with a population of six million.
“We have less than 1,000 nurses and recently, we recruited over 360 nurses. We have only seven pharmacists and we are going to recruit 45 more. We have interviewed some and we are going to employ more.”
Responding, the Minister of Health said, “We know where it hurts and I must say that our hearts go out to Borno. We do worry about what is going on there and how we can help; how we can put our heads together and see how we can alleviate the suffering of the people.”
Borno is the worst hit state in the violent campaign launched by the Boko Haram sect.
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E2%80%93-presidency Fire Outbreak Around Aso Villa Probably Caused By Burning Cigarette – Presidency
The Presidency has denied that there was a fire incident in the Aso Villa on Saturday, saying the outbreak occurred around the fence surrounding the official residence of President Muhammadu Buhari.
SaharaReporters had reported on Saturday that there was a reported fire outbreak at the Presidential Villa in Aso Rock, Abuja, causing confusion among workers there.
It was learnt that the fire started around 4pm and that the fire service officials were there to put it out.
“The security men were chasing people not to cover the fire incident but I tried my best to capture the incident. The fire is still on,” a source told SaharaReporters around 9pm on Saturday.
FLASH: Fire Breaks Out In Aso Villa@NGRPresident @NigeriaGov pic.twitter.com/8EdfYGudbq— Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) March 6, 2021
However, a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President, Garba Shehu, titled ‘Bush Fire Incident Recorded Outside Villa Perimeter’ on Sunday said the fire might have been caused by a passerby dropping a burning cigarette on the ground.
“People in the country and even abroad have been expressing concerns over reports of a fire incident in Aso Rock Villa, the seat of the Nigerian government,” the statement said.
“I would like to clarify that there was no fire inside the Presidential Villa.
“In the evening of Saturday, March 6, a fire broke out burning shrubs between the outer wire fence and walls surrounding the Villa, precisely in the area between the Villa and the Barracks, towards Asokoro.
“The fire, as being speculated, might have started from a passerby dropping a burning cigarette. The Federal Fire Service will ascertain the reason for it when they complete their investigation.
“It suffices to say that this bush fire, which started and ended outside the perimeter walls of the Villa, was seamlessly contained by fire stations of the State House and the one nearby from the Federal Fire Service. No loss of life, no loss whatsoever to building and property was recorded.
“We thank well-meaning Nigerians for expressed concerns.”
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Buhari: Shooting Blindly At Sight? By Ozodinukwe Okenwa
SOC Okenwa
When I returned home some years ago during the Yuletide holiday my brother, Azuka, had come to the international airport in Lagos to welcome me. As we got set for the long journey to the east days after I was a bit surprised when Azuka brought out a ‘pump-action’ assault rifle he had bought and loaded it first inside the boot of the car. Upon inquiry, subdued by curiosity, he had told me grinning that banditry in the village had taken a turn for the worst so he needed to arm himself for any unforeseen circumstances.
Of course, despite the incessant military roadblocks (harassments and embarrasments) on the way we succeeded in transporting the weapon home. From Lagos to Benin down to Onitsha one could count scores of check-points, legal and illegal, where extortion and blackmail were the order of the day. It was not only ridiculous but provocative and nauseating an experience. Yet many ‘Biafrans’ still endure it even today!
Months prior to my arrival Azuka’s mother had been kidnapped in the village on her way to the farm! The young man had to shell out millions of Naira as ransom for her mother to be set free. He went to great lenght metaphysically to discover who the mastermind behind the kidnapping incident was.
Arriving in the village at dusk the first thing Azuka did was to release some rounds of bullets into the air as if to announce indirectly of our return. Again by so doing he must have sent a loud message to the bandits and kidnappers that violence or aggression would be answered with bloodshed.
Perhaps that was a fitting answer to the ordeal he went through when his beloved mother was abducted and he was made to pay a huge price for her freedom. For almost a month we spent in the village drinking fresh palm-wine and goat pepper-soup no effort was ever made by any undesirable element to intimidate or get near the compound.
In the village we attended a social event featuring a silver jubilee celebration of a blissful marriage. As we drove in armed vigilantes were keeping watch in different directions around the neighbourhood. They were armed with AK-47 assault rifles! I remember asking Azuka if the arms they were bearing were legally acquirred to which he answered in the affirmative.
SOC Okenwa
Recently President Muhammadu Buhari had issued a shoot-at-sight order to the security chiefs as he decorated them with their new ranks inside the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, told BBC Hausa Services in an interview last Wednesday that the embattled President had ordered the service chiefs to go inside the bushes and flush out the criminals terrorizing Nigerians shooting at sight anyone caught wielding AK-47 sophisticated weapon!
The problem here is not issuing orders but carrying them out without let or hindrance. The fear of selective implementation persists in the consciousness of discerning Nigerians. How are we sure that there would not be discrimination in the implementation process of this presidential diktat? If a Fulani cattle herder, in his ignorance, who is used to carrying AK-47 around thinking that it is within his right to possesss one is caught inside the jungle would a primitive Fulani soldier on patrol, for example, summon enough courage to shoot him to dead upon seeing him?
Now, with the Eastern Security Network (ESN) controversially (yet audaciously) formed by the fugitive Nnamdi Kanu of the IPOB fame clashing already violently with the Nigerian security forces in Orlu and elsewhere in the east it remains to be seen how they would evade the presidential shoot-at-sight edict. Besides, it is only hoped that the Buhari shooting order would not spare the Fulani herdsmen who possessed the weapon of war more than any other civilian or para-military group in Nigeria.
If the order concerns everyone then it could be a sure dissuasive desperate measure aimed at curbing generalised banditry and the proliferation of lethal weapons across the federation. But if it was aimed at intimidating or forcing ‘Amotekun’ or ESN or Niger Delta militants, for instance, to surrender their weapons then it would definitely fail.
When, prior to the general elections of 2019, President Buhari ordered the security forces to shoot ballot box snatchers at sight ballot boxes were still snatched and no one was shot. Thugs and hoodlums belonging to the ruling APC committed the electoral offense more than the opposition PDP. Perhaps that was why no one was ever ‘caught’ or shot at any polling booth.
President Buhari is always good at dictatorial tendencies. When he seized power in the early 80s overthrowing a democratically-elected federal government led by the late Shehu Shagari he had tyranically sought to enforce discipline by bringing a war against indiscipline (WAI) into place. Indisciplined and irresponsible Nigerians suddenly changed their attitudes towards civism and decency on the streets.
Examples and victims were made out of many folks as they were made to frog-jump or do rigorous press-ups. Others were subjected to lashes of ‘koboko’ (horse-whip). But between then and now there is a big difference in terms of governance structure and composition. Then, Buhari was an unrepentant dictator and now he is a reluctant democrat — if he could be described as such.
Ordering the security agents to go about shooting whoever they see in the bush with AK-47 rifle cannot be applauded under a democracy. It is abhorent! Constitutionally it remains an aberration. Under the law no one deserves to die unless tried and sentenced by a court of competent jurisdiction.
President Buhari has no right, therefore, to order the security chiefs to kill Nigerians bearing weapons in self-defense. It is high time the possession of firearms was legalised in Nigeria so that terrorism or criminality can no longer prosper in our land.
We have had cause to warn that our problems as a nation disunited and divided are exacerbated by the system of governance at the centre which does not take cognisance of the multinational nature of the country.
The presidential shoot-at-sight directive is dead on arrival; it is akin to shooting blindly at a target. Who shoots whom? What if the ‘hunter’ becomes the hunted? Let wisdom and smart decision prevail in a terrible national situation. Buhari should resign if he is bereft of ideas on how best to solve the increasing social and security problems bedeviling our nation.
Unless Nigeria is a jungle (or a zoo) and Nigerians glorified animals then opening fire upon sighting someone wielding an AK-47 inside the jungle or elsewhere around town could be said to be in order. Otherwise, the global best policing or law enforcement strategy must apply here.
When as a soldier or police you encounter a bearer of an assault rifle like AK-47 the normal thing to do is to immediately order the armed man to surrender himself and his weapon. If resistance or aggression is encountered in the process of trying to enforce the law then you can shoot in self-defense. Killing the aggressor becomes appropriate under the circumstance.
SOC Okenwasoco_abj_2006_rci@hotmail.fr
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E2%80%99s-shoot-sight-order-means-military-must-invade-all-bandits-forests-%E2%80%94cdhr Buhari’s Shoot-on-sight Order Means Military Must Invade All Bandits’ Forests —CDHR
The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights has said that the shoot-on-sight order given by President Muhammadu Buhari to security agencies against anyone bearing AK-47 rifles will be effective if the military begins to invade all the forests where bandits and criminal camp in the country.
The CDHR noted that since the AK-47 rifles were not found in “bus stops and shopping malls,” it meant the military should take the battle to the hideouts of the criminals.
The CDHR National President, Dr Osagie Obayuwana, stated this in a release on Sunday on the state of insecurity and the state of the nation.
He said, “The CDHR receives with mixed feelings the news about the charge by way of ultimatum given by President Muhammadu Buhari to the new set of Service Chiefs a few days ago.
“The President is reported to have directed the Service Chiefs to secure the country within the next five weeks before the raining season sets in. The President is reported to have given the directive on Friday, March 5, 2021, on the decoration of the newly promoted Service Chiefs at the State House in Abuja.
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BREAKING: Shoot Anyone Seen With AK-47, Buhari Directs Security Agents
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“It is however unsettling, even though the sentiment is understandable, that the President directed the Service Generals to restore and free the country from the current state of insecurity ‘before the raining season sets in, and this is intended to give the farmers the confidence to go back to their farms’.
“The CDHR calls for elaboration on this, especially given that in many parts of the country, the armed herdsman/farmer face-off continues to rage. How does the marching order fit into the existing deadlock? One would have expected a general call for the armed bandits posing as herdsmen, to be given an ultimatum, this time from the Presidency or Military Headquarters, to surrender their arms within a given period or face extinction.
“To the CDHR, the shoot on sight order reported to have been made by Mr. President, will only have meaning when the soldiers march into the forest. This is especially so as those with AK47 rifles are not at bus stops and shopping malls, they are in the bushes and forests. Besides, Mr. President needs to be reminded that it is not only farmers who are at risk; travellers on most highways in Nigeria are at the mercy of rifle wielders, who have made a sport out of pouncing on vehicles in between cities and towns.”
The CDHR also condemned the incessant kidnapping of schoolchildren, saying it would be happy to see “modalities being worked out between federal, state, and local governments to enhance the development of infrastructural facilities in all schools, a principal part of which ought to be fencing and security facilities.”
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Halt Planned Handover Of National Theatre To CBN, Firm Tells Nigerian Government
A concessionaire, Topwide Consortium, has asked the Nigerian government to halt its move to hand over the National Theatre to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) pending the determination of the matter in court.
Director, Topwide Consortium Project, Mr Chris Ogan, said this in a statement made available to journalists on Saturday, in Awka, Anambra State.
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) had on February 10 approved an agreement that will lead to the renovation of the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos for N21 billion.
Following that, the Bankers’ Committee, led by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, on February 15, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Nigerian government.
Though the Nigerian government has argued that the renovation project will create thousands of jobs, among other benefits for Nigerians, Ogan said the suit his company initiated concerning the National Theatre, had not been concluded.
Nigeria Lawyer reported he said his firm had mobilised direct local and foreign investments in excess of $2 billion under the concession agreement.
He said, “We are using this opportunity to reiterate our answer that the suit is very much pending and for which we have retained two commercial law Senior Advocates of Nigeria.”
He said a motion for interlocutory injunction to restrain any interference with the subject of the suit filed by their lawyers was also pending before the courts.
According to him, the suit was filed in December 2019, with CBN, the Minister for Information, Tourism and Culture and Access Bank Plc as some of the defendants.Other defendants listed are Herbert Wigwe representing the Bankers Committee, the Board of the National Theatre, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) and Attorney-General of the Federation.
“The case was to come up on December 15, 2020, but the Federal High Court, Lagos, which is hearing the case did not sit and it later adjourned the case to March 18, 2021,” he said.
Ogan said his firm was contracted to develop the fallow lands, an eco-friendly grand mini-city housing two five star hotels, theme park, arts arcades, office complexes and shopping malls.
He said, “We were also contracted to develop a high rise car park and provide appropriate connections to the Lagos light rail Metro Blue Line station planned for the National Theatre Complex.
“The agreement is that upon completion of the rehabilitation, the upgraded National Theatre would be handed over to the Federal Government for the continued management by the Board of the Complex.”He said the Attorney-General of the Federation signed off finally on the concession agreement on May 3, 2017 and road shows were organised in Lagos; Abuja; Johannesburg, South Africa; Dubai, UAE; London, UK and New York, US, to woo investors.
However, he said the news of a planned takeover of the National Complex and adjoining fallow lands by the CBN and the Bankers’ Committee came as a surprise.
“Our lawyers, on our instructions, wrote letters-dated October 24, 2019, to all the concerned Federal Government agencies/agents to desist from tampering with our concession contract.
“None of the officers/agencies ever replied the letters and shunned our entreaties for meetings to clear whatever misunderstanding that informed their actions,” he said.
Ogan, therefore, called for strict compliance with due process and rule of law, over the handling of the matter.
He said forging ahead with the handover would not only result in contempt of the court, but also an embarrassment for Nigeria before international investors.
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E2%80%99s-power-minister-wakil-abuja-over-alleged-phcn-fraud EFCC Arrests Jonathan’s Power Minister, Wakil In Abuja Over Alleged PHCN Fraud
Mohammed Wakil, ex-Minister of States for Power.
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have arrested a former Minister of State for Power, Mohammed Wakil, in his residence in Abuja over financial mismanagement involving the Power Holding Company of Nigeria.
According to the news outlet, PRNigeria, the former minister “will be arraigned in the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory on Monday” over some alleged fraudulent payments involving the PHCN.
Mohammed Wakil, ex-Minister of States for Power.
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The anti-corruption agency had in 2018 arraigned Wakil, and four others at the Federal High Court, Maiduguri, Borno State, for another case of an alleged collection of $115 million from a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, to prosecute the 2015 general elections.
Wakil, a native of Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State and a law graduate from the University of Maiduguri, was the Minister of State for Power in Nigeria during Jonathan’s administration.
He was also a member of the National Assembly and vice chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party.
During former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s administrations from 1999 to 2003, Wakil was the Majority Leader in the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
However, the EFCC spokesperson, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, could not be reached for comment on the development as his mobile line was not reachable.
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Oyo PDP Group Accuses Governor Makinde, NWC Team Of Manipulating Process Of Primaries
Seyi Makinde
A group within Oyo State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the Senator Abdul Ahmed Ningi-led committee saddled with the responsibility of conducting chairmanship and councillorship primaries for the state PDP of bias.
The group, known as Oyo PDP like-minds, in a press statement on Sunday claimed that the electoral and monitoring committee led by Senator Ningi from Bauchi State had shown it was acting a script written for them by the state governor, Seyi Makinde, and his cabal.
Seyi Makinde
The group also accused Makinde of imposing his choice of candidates on the 33 local government areas of the state.
While expressing their disappointment in the committee, the group said Ningi and his committee members have not executed a single task given to them by the National Working Committee of the party but rather enjoying at Carlton Gate Hotel in Ibadan, where they are lodged.
The statement reads, “It is very disappointing that the members of the approved Oyo State local government council elections’ electoral monitoring committee, led by Senator Abdul Ahmed Ningi, are nothing but paid agents, who are in Oyo State to further escalate the internal crisis of our party.
“It was pathetic that the Ningi-led committee that was expected to conduct free, fair, and credible primary elections within our party here in Oyo State, has done nothing since its members landed in Ibadan. None of the committee members has seen elsewhere in the state except Carlton Gate Hotel, in Ibadan where they are lodged.
“As of today, the crisis emanated from party primaries is at its peak but, the committee sent by National Working Committee, are only busy rectifying selected names of chairmen and councillors given to them by Governor Seyi Makinde and his cabals.
“As of today, Sunday, March 7th, we have clear evidence that the Ningi-led committee has colluded with the said cabals and already approved the names of some selected aspirants as candidates for upcoming local government elections without considering the outcry of party members for primaries.
“Thou, it is not surprising, as Senator Ningi and his committee members are busy drinking, eating, and catching fun at Carlton Gate Hotel, in Ibadan because Governor Seyi Makinde has once said, he knows that PDP chieftains and leaders, even NWC hse price tags. It is just unfortunate that questionable party chieftains like Senator Ningi and others were the ones sent to Oyo State to further deepen the crisis in Oyo PDP through their incredible process of producing chairmanship and councillorship.
“Immediately Ningi was approved as the chairman of Oyo State local government elections electoral monitoring committee, our group concluded that the party primaries in our state would never be free, fair, and credible. The said Senator Ningi, who has no good profile in his state, Bauchi, and values within his state PDP was chosen to lead a political committee in Oyo State.
“We are not surprised because Governor Makinde paid for submissive agents like Ningi and others at the national level because he already knew that people like them would easily act his written script for Oyo PDP local government primaries.
“Knowing that 147 chairmanship and 808 councilorship aspirants purchased nomination forms, the Ningi-led committee never considered the pain and conditions of the aspirants because they already collected their own share of the money. All they are trying to do is to execute the job they had been paid to do by Governor Seyi Makinde and his cabals.”
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E2%80%99-case-against-shell Oil Pollution: UK Supreme Court Upholds Niger Delta Communities’ Case Against Shell Company
The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom Parliament Square in London has upheld the appeal of Okpabi and others, representatives of the Niger Delta communities in Nigeria, against the Royal Dutch Shell PLC over oil pollution and spillage in the region.
The court stated that the appeal was allowed, which means that the case was legal and could be resolved by a competent High Court.
In the court papers obtained by SaharaReporters, the Supreme Court upheld that the appeal of the communities stands. The judgment was delivered by Lord Hodge as the Deputy President, and other justices; Lady Black, Lord Briggs, Lord Kitchin and Lord Hamblen.
It will be recalled that on January 26, 2017, a UK High Court held that although the court had jurisdiction to try the claims against Shell, the claims did not have a real prospect of success.
As a consequence, the court had given orders, setting aside service of the claim forms on Shell company and striking out the appellants’ statements of case insofar as they related to Royal Dutch Shell, the parent company of Shell.
However, an appeal was made to the Supreme Court, and it ruled that the appeal of the communities should stand.
The court judgment papers read, “The appeal concerns two sets of proceedings, the Ogale proceedings and the Bille proceedings. In both proceedings, it is alleged that numerous oil spills have occurred from oil pipelines and associated infrastructure operated in the vicinity of the appellants’ communities in Nigeria, causing widespread environmental damage including serious water and ground contamination.
“The appellants’ case is that the oil spills were caused by the negligence of a Nigerian registered company named The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd, the second respondent in these proceedings, which operates the pipeline and infrastructure under a joint venture.
“SPDC is a subsidiary of the first respondent, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, a UK domiciled company and the parent company of the multinational Shell group. The appellants contend that that RDS owed them a common law duty of care because it exercised significant control over material aspects of SPDC’s operations and/or assumed responsibility for SPDC’s operations, which allegedly failed to protect the appellants against the risk of foreseeable harm arising from SPDC’s operations.
“The appellants’ application for permission to appeal was deferred by the Supreme Court until after its judgment in Vedanta. Following that judgment, permission was granted. This appeal raises two principal issues: (i) whether the Court of Appeal materially erred in law; and (ii) if so, whether the majority was wrong to decide that there was no real issue to be tried.
“The judgment is that the Supreme Court allows the appeal.”
The Supreme Court said the “Court of Appeal materially erred in law in that it was drawn into conducting a mini-trial which led it to the adoption of an inappropriate approach to the contested factual issues and to the documentary evidence.”
“The conclusion is that the appeal is allowed. If the respondents intend to pursue the other challenges to jurisdiction which were not resolved by the High Court judge, the matter will have to be remitted to the High Court,” the court ruled.
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