Saturday, 15 January 2000

From Emmaunel Onwubiko and Kate Da Costa, Abuja

Saturday, 15 January 2000

From Tony Eluemunor and Adamu Abuh, Abuja; Tolu Olarenwaju and Iyabo Sotunde, Ibadan

STEPS taken so far by the President Olusegun Obasanjo administration in ending violent clashes in Nigeria are commendable, according to Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Chibudom Nwuche.

Condemning members of the militia group, Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) for undermining the nations security, Nwuche in a statement yesterday also urged Governor Bola Tinubu of Lagos State to live up to his responsibilities of protecting the lives and property of residents.

Signed by his Special Assistant, Media Relations Yinka Oduwole, the statement said OPC's actions were subversive and inimical to national unity, and urged law enforcement agents to arrest the situation before it degenerates further.

According to him, the legislative would be shirking its responsibilities if it looked on while militia groups held the country hostage.

He added: It is inconceivable that any group will continually sponsor mindless violence and banditry in total defiance of the lawfully constituted authorities in the country.

No arm of government in Nigeria will sit back and allow this country to be taken hostage by any group.

For the sustenance of the nascent democracy, law enforcement agencies must re-double their efforts and arrest the situation quickly, he said.

Oyo State chapter of the OPC has however decried public misconception of the groups motives, and renewed its call for the convocation of a Sovereign National Conference (SNC).

The group led by the co-ordinator and secretary, Messrs. Dauda Alaka and Kazeem Lawal respectively, spoke during a two-hour meeting with the state Governor, Alhaji Lam Adesina. It said the group was concerned about the emancipation of the Yoruba race which some notable freedom fighters had fought for.

According to Alaka: OPC is fighting for the advancement of the Yoruba race just like the NADECO committed itself for the freedom of our people from political oppressors in the land.

Accusing the press of bias, he threatened that the group would deal decisively with any journalist found to be portraying it as a body of hoodlums and miscreants.

He solicited the support of the governors of the South-West so that the group could achieve its goals.

He specifically implored the inspector-General Musiliu Smith to thoroughly investigate the face-off between the police and OPC in Lagos State, alleging that a commander in charge of the state security outfit, was behind most of the robbery operations in the state.

He also accused men of the Oyo State Police Command of indiscriminate arrest of OPC members over last weeks bloody clash in the state, alleging that police officers were extorting money from suspects.

Responding, Adesina commended the group for its sense of patriotism and maturity in handling issues.

He however urged it to continue to make peace so as not to court the wrath of President Olusegun Obasanjo. He also promised to liaise with his colleagues in the South West to avert further Police-OPC clashes.

In another development, Nwuche described the late Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) boss, Justice Ephaim Akpata as a patriot whose contributions to national development would be missed by the nation.

He spoke when he led a delegation of legislators to pay a condolence visit to the bereaved family.

Nwuche, who represented the speaker Ghali Umar Naabba, said the visit was in recognition of the deceased selfless service and sacrifice to the nation. He was accompanied by Nduka Irabo, Chidi Duru, Segun Damiro, Idris Yakubu and Linda Ikpeazu.

Responding on behalf of the family, Mrs. Efe Etomi, first daughter of the deceased, thanked the legislators for the visit. She said that the family had been drawing a lot of strength and comfort from all the good things the public had been saying about the late electoral boss.

Friday, 14 January 2000

From Emeka Nwankpa, Abuja

NIGERIA'S external reserves now stand at $5.1 billion, from $3.7 billion inherited in May last year, when the Olusegun Obasanjo Administration took office.

Vice President Atiku Abubakar also said yesterday that deficit spending which stood at some N250 billion by May, last year, had been eliminated, while inflation rate, according to him, fell to 8.0 per cent last month from 12.1 per cent in June, last year.

He also cited a three per cent increase in industrial capacity utilisation, among rewards of the economic reforms pursued in the first six months of the current administration's tenure.

But there seems no going back on the government's controversial plan to deregulate the petroleum sector, which is sure to induce products price increases. The Vice- President yesterday insisted that the proposed policy is in the national interest.

In an address titled Better Days Are Ahead which he delivered at his monthly news conference with State House correspondents in Abuja, he said the government had no intention to dump the policy, despite recognising that there is widespread opposition ñ especially from Labour.

While Vice-President Abubakar was silent on when the deregulation policy would take effect, he said the government took adequate care to ensure that all factors were taken into account. The factors, according to him, included the social, economic and human implications, and the likelihood of economic hardships to which vulnerable groups may be subjected, especially in the short term.

That the government is finally proceeding with the policy is informed by its desire to build a concrete foundation for sustainable economic growth and development without which the whole country would be imperilled, .he said yesterday, adding: The hard realities must, of course, be faced. We must realise that petroleum is a wasting asset, and as a nation, we have been wasteful in the utilisation of the proceeds from petroleum. If we pay the real value of petroleum products, it would go a long way in enhancing more efficient utilisation of the resource.

The Vice-President further said: The deregulation of petroleum product's prices will also allow government to improve its reserves which will be channelled to areas in dire need of resuscitation. Our covenant with Nigerian's is that the gains from deregulation would be used judiciously to improve the welfare of the citizenry.

He cited poverty alleviation as one of the areas to which proceeds from the deregulation would be channelled, as earlier pronounced by President Obasanjo in his year 2000 budget proposal.

The Presidential Committee on Poverty Alleviation and the Rationalisation of Poverty Alleviation Programmes and Institutions, according to the Vice-President, has submitted its report. He said it was being envisaged that the programme would mark a departure from those conceived in the past, with its clear identification of beneficiaries and grassroots orientation.

To this end, state governments and councils will be fully involved in the design and implementation of the programmes which are best suited to their environment.

Vice-President Abubakar said another area the government plans to invest the proceeds from petroleum sector deregulation is in providing adequate security for citizens. According to him, N2.5 billion has already been released to the police for emergency procurement of vehicles and communication equipment.

He said the minimum price of a litre of petrol in countries neighbouring Nigeria is N50. But he assured that even if petroleum products prices were deregulated, it would not be up to that level.

Speaking on what he called the grave economic conditions inherited by the Obasanjo Administration, Vice-President Abubakar said realities were such that the situation was near hopeless.

Our troubled economy was characterised by double digit inflation, volatile exchange rate, massive unemployment, huge fiscal deficit, low agricultural production, low capacity utilisation by industries, plummeting external reserves, unsustainable high interest rates, scarcity of petroleum products and frequent power outages.

In fact, the economy had declined in real terms by about 13.5 per cent in 1998 and virtually all indicators of the economy had signalled serious deterioration in the country's economic performance by the second quarter of 1999. Fuel scarcity had persisted, causing unquantifiable social, economic and human costs. The budget deficits went out of hand, rising up to about eight per cent of Gross Domestic Product. Poverty and squalor were on the increase, pushing Nigeria to slide unjustifiably downwards on the scale of human development.

He explained that it was against the background of problems and obvious weaknesses of the economy that the current administration took certain emergency measures to reverse the trends, adding that fuel supply which was made persistently scarce by an intricate network of high level corruption was restored to normalcy within two weeks in office.

From Emeka Nwankpa, Emmanuel Onwubiko (Abuja) and Ben Akparanta (Lagos)

MILITANT groups fomenting trouble and perpetrating acts of lawlessness in parts of the country were yesterday warned in strong terms by the Federal Government to desist or face reprisals.

For the avoidance of doubt, let me on behalf of the Federal Government warn that we are running out of patience with these groups and their sponsors ... Those responsible for the perpetuation of these acts of violence and their sponsors are better warned that the full weight of the law would be brought to bear on them. They should be ready to face the consequences of their actions. Enough is enough, Vice President Atiku Abubakar said.

Speaking yesterday in Abuja while addressing a news conference entitled Better Days Are Ahead, the Vice President said government would not hesitate to declare a state of emergency in any trouble area in the country.

This administration now has more than its fair share of acts of lawlessness being perpetrated in some parts of the country by some militant groups under the guise of protecting ethnic interests on advancing human rights, he said against the backdrop of accusation against the Oodua People's Congress (OPC) of fomenting trouble in Lagos.

He spoke just as the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Prof. Alphonsus Nwosu, hinted on the possibility of the government banning the OPC.

The adviser who said government was worried by the resurgence of ethnic militancy and the activities of the group in Lagos and Ibadan, however, said due process of law would be applied when the measure is to be taken.

At the briefing which held at the State House, the vice president explained that in some of these acts, law enforcement agents have been attacked, killed or maimed with these groups allocating to themselves responsibilities which are clearly outside their authority.

According to him, it was the constitutional responsibility of the government to maintain law and order in any part of the country, stressing that no one should be in doubt of its ability to fulfil that role.

Vice President Abubakars riot act yesterday coincided with President Olusegun Obasanjos crucial meeting with the Inspector-General of Police, state police commissioners, Police Affairs Minister, Maj.-Gen. David Jemibewon (rtd) and his permanent secretary, Mr. Robert Audu.

The meeting, according to a statement by the Presidents Special Assistant on Media and Publicity Dr. Doyin Okupe, was summoned as part of governments continued efforts at stemming the rising tide of criminal activities, wanton destruction of lives and property, murders and assassinations in some parts of the country.

Commending the efforts made by the police so far, the president drew their attention to areas in which government expected urgent improvements while reiterating his administrations commitment to improving the welfare of members of the force and equipping its officers and men with sophisticated arms and ammunition in view of the fact that the criminals have also become sophisticated.

He urged them to remain conscious that their performance in protecting lives and property of citizens was one of the critical indicators by which any administrations effectiveness and seriousness was judged.

The police officers spoke of inadequate mobility, poor communications facilities and general low morale in the force which they described as the cumulative effect of social and political trauma inflicted on the police over the years.

On the possibility of a declaration of state of emergency, the vice president said it is better to isolate any state with high level of disturbances than to allow such disturbances to spread to other parts of the country.

He said before a state of emergency could be declared, certain conditions should dictate such a decision which could only be taken in collaboration with the National Assembly.

But he did not foreclose dialogue in resolving the lingering face-off between the militant groups and the authorities but noted that government would not hold such dialogue under any form of blackmail or threat.

If any group is ready for dialogue, government will dialogue with them; it will not, however, do that with those who take law into their hands to maim, kill or attack people and destroy their property, he said.

On the reported OPCs demand for a Sovereign National Conference, the Vice President said the Presidency was not aware of any formal request, adding, however, that the need for such demand does not rise.

According to him, any group that desires reform or amendment to the constitution should channel it through the appropriate quarters, which is the National Assembly or the Constitution Review Committee already instituted by the government.

On the creation of more local governments by state governments, the vice president acknowledged that it was the constitutional right of the states to do so but cautioned that they should be ready to shoulder the attendant responsibilities as the Federal Government would not fund such desires.

On the possibility of proscribing OPC, Nwosu said: The Federal Government absolutely abhors the organisation called Oodua Peoples Congress and what it stands for. But the Federal Government is building national consensus on OPC activities, especially the recent orchestrated ethnic-motivated clashes and violence in Lagos and Ibadan.

According to him, the President has held a meeting with the nations security chiefs with a view to drafting lasting security strategies to contain the current upsurge in ethnic-motivated clashes.

Nwosu maintained that the due process of law would be followed before the government could impose a ban on the OPC.

Emphasising that the government deplored the recent killing of the Divisional Police Officer in-charge of the Bariga Police Station in Lagos, Mr. Afolabi Amao, and other violent attacks on police officers, the presidential aide said: The Federal Government is in total control of the security situation in the South-West and indeed every part of the country. Let it be known that nobody, no matter how highly placed, can threaten the corporate existence of the political entity called Nigeria. OPC, APC or whatever militant groups must know that the Federal Government will not fold its arms and watch some groups drag the country to a total state of chaos and anarchy. But Federal Government will observe the due process of the law before taking stringent security action.

On other security measures being adopted by the government to check the rising trend of organised social unrests in Lagos and Ibadan, Prof. Nwosu noted that the decision taken by the police to declare Mr. Ganiyu Adams wanted had received the Federal Governments blessing. He added that the government was not resting on its oars to ensure that violence was curbed in the major flashpoints of the country.

On whether the Federal Government would declare a state of emergency in Lagos and Ibadan in the wake of the rising incidence of unrest, the presidential aide said:

I have been as clear and categorical as I can be. Federal Government is very sad and depressed about the emergence of these militant groups. Government has declared OPCs Ganiyu Adams wanted. It has declared shoot on sight order against suspected arsonists, but some Nigerians opposed the action because of their concern for the need to respect human rights. Government will nevertheless do all it can to restore total social peace, inter-ethnic harmony, and the respect for the sacredness of human life.

Four days of frantic but fruitless under water search for the body of the police chief have not yielded any result, heightening fears that the police officers body may have been tied to a weight before it was thrown into the lagoon.

Police are continuing their house-to-house search in the Bariga area to apprehend all those connected with the killing of the DPO while the Lagos State Government yesterday initiated a high profile security meeting which involved all the local councils of the state.

The council chairmen were directed to hold similar meetings with DPOs in their areas.

It was gathered that the meetings were organised and financed by the state government in an effort to assist police to effectively crush activities of the militant group.

Mr. Mike Okiro, the state commissioner of police, had threatened that the police were prepared to turn Lagos upside down and inside out to find and arrest those behind the killing.

From Emeka Nwankpa, Abuja

FROM the president came an ominous warning yesterday for Lagos State Governor Ahmed Bola Tinubu whom he accused of inaction over the security situation in the state.

Mr. Governor, I regret that I have not seen any action on your part in the recent past to suggest that you are in control of the security situation in Lagos State. On the contrary, there is evidence of increasing disorder, loss of lives and property and a general sense of fear among the citizens of Lagos State. This is an intolerable situation, President Olusegun Obasanjo said in a letter to Tinubu in which he hinted at a likely declaration of a state of emergency if the situation persists.

The letter came in the wake of rising tension between the police and members of the militant Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), led by Mr. Ganiyu Adams who has been declared wanted for the offences of murder, arson, acid bath on police officers, etc.

The latest victim of the police ñ OPC face-off was Mr. Afolabi Amao, the Bariga, Lagos Divisional Police Officer (DPO) who was allegedly abducted and killed by the militants. His body was reportedly thrown into the Lagoon which divers are currently combing in the hope of its retrieval.

Obasanjo's January 13 letter to Tinubu, who had blamed the insecurity in the state on the Federal Government, reads:

I write to you, once again, on the very disturbing and increasingly worsening security situation in Lagos State, which situation, I must say, is not helped by your seemingly unguarded utterances in support of the dastardly acts of brigandage and banditry of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) as reported in the newspaper.

You would recall that on, at least, four occasions, in writing and verbally, I drew your attention to your constitutional responsibility to take concrete action to stop the wanton destruction of lives and property, looting and other forms of criminal actions being perpetrated by the illegal organisation that calls itself OPC.

For your information, I have given fresh and stronger orders to the Lagos State police Command to do everything in its power to seek out, arrest and bring to justice any lawless and criminal person who parades himself as a member of the OPC or any similar body.

I need not remind you of the Oath of Office to which you swore in May 1999 as the Executive Governor of Lagos State. As Chief Executive Officer of the State, the onus of the protection of the lives and property of the citizens of your state rests squarely on your shoulders. Indeed, the raison detre of your office is the maintenance of law and order in Lagos State and the provision of good quality of life for people living in the state.

For me, every life is sacred and must be treated as such no matter what position we are. Normally, outside the establishment of federal law enforcement agents, the Federal Government has no reason to interfere with the matter of law and order in any state. This is primarily the responsibility of the governor. However, when, either by this utterance, action, or indeed inaction, a Chief Executive shows a loss of control in the maintenance of law and order in his state, it becomes incumbent on the Federal Government to take appropriate action to arrest the situation, usually in the form of the imposition of a State of Emergency.

Mr. Governor, I regret that I have not seen any action on your part in the recent past to suggest that you are in control of the security situation in Lagos State. On the contrary, there is evidence of increasing disorder, loss of lives and property and a general sense of fear among the citizens of Lagos State. This is an intolerable situation.

I seize this opportunity to appeal to you, once again, to do all that is in your power to arrest the worsening security situation. I believe that the perpetrators of these condemnable acts of criminality are known or should be known to you, as many of them are known to claim to be under your protection.

I consider this issue to be an important national one. More so, as it reflects badly on the actions and responsibilities of the Executive Governor of a state. I am sending a copy of this letter to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, for the information of the Distinguished and Honourable Members.

I count on your full cooperation on this all-important national matter, a matter that, if not nipped in the bud, has the potential to derail our young democracy. I trust that you would act now to avoid a further escalation of an already bad situation.

Reacting to the Presidents letter, Governor Tinubu rejected the allegations and insinuations contained in it.

He said that as the Chief Security Officer of Lagos State, he could not encourage or condone lawlessness, adding that he had been attacked thrice in recent times by hoodlums.

The full text of Senator Tinubu's letter to the Presidents letter runs as follows:

I received with mixed feelings Your Excellency's letter dated January 13, 2000, on the above subject. On the one hand I am relieved that the deteriorating and absolutely unacceptable security situation in Lagos State, to which I have endlessly drawn your attention and that of the general public, is at last being accorded the necessary seriousness by Mr. President.

But I am appalled, on the other hand, that you have offhandedly accused me of unguarded utterances in support of the dastardly acts of brigandage and banditry of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC). And this without the slightest iota of evidence to prove such a grave allegation coming from an office as exalted as that which you occupy.

Your Excellency referred vaguely to a newspaper which allegedly reported these fictional utterances falsely and maliciously ascribed to me but surprisingly failed to name the publication in question. When, I must ask, has it become consistent with the tenets of democracy for an individual to be adjudged guilty, in this arbitrary way on the basis of unspecified, obviously imaginary utterances made in unidentified publications?

It is important for Mr. President to know that I am fully conversant with the constitutional responsibilities attendant on my Oath of Office as Executive Governor of Lagos State. Afterall no one took that solemn and sacred oath on my behalf on May 29, 1999. As Governor, I am the Chief Security Officer of the state responsible for safety of lives and property under my jurisdiction. And it is as a result of this consciousness that I have consistently led the way in condemning the dangerous constitutional lacuna which confers on a state governor the empty status of chief security officer but effectively denies him the wherewithal to function as such. I am glad that many of my colleagues in various states have followed my example by calling for either state or regional police formations. Mr. President has unfortunately maintained a baffling silence on this all important constitutional matter that borders so crucially on the sanctity of lives and property which you apparently value very much.

I find it very interesting, for instance, that I am just being so casually informed, possibly as an afterthought, of fresh and stronger orders to the Lagos State Police Command that border on the security of the state. Till date I am entirely oblivious of the content of these orders. With respect Mr. President, I must say with every sense of sobriety that if I had this kind of control over the police, the security situation in this state would not have degenerated so badly.

What we have on our hands in Lagos, Mr. President, is not as you insinuate a loss of control in the maintenance of law and order due to the utterance, action, or indeed inaction of a Chief Executive. No, it is the helplessness of the relevant security agencies, particularly the police, in coping with its statutory responsibilities. The reasons for this I have reiterated over and over again. The police is undermanned, ill-equipped, poorly motivated and demoralised.

If there is evidence of increasing disorder, loss of lives and property and a general sense of fear among the citizens of Lagos State, as Mr. President rightly observes, the requisite arm of government in control of the relevant security agencies should simply wake up to its responsibilities. The ball is clearly in the court of the Federal Government. She should either more ably bear the constitutional burden of maintaining security in the country or allow for the necessary constitutional amendment to allow the states bear their own cross.

Mr. President, I simply find it difficult to understand the strange assertion that certain perpetrators of condemnable acts of criminality are known or should be known to you, as many of them are known to claim to be under your protection. If anybody has indeed made any such claim, is it necessarily true? Why should perpetrators of criminality be known to me? I really do not think there is any point replying to this kind of baseless insinuation. You must be aware that I have personally been the subject of attack by these lawless groups thrice in recent times. Does this suggest I have an interest in encouraging violence as you insinuate?

I am aware, Mr. President, of the constitutional requirements for the imposition of a State of Emergency in any state. Those conditions do not exist in Lagos and they will not exist if all of us faithfully live up to our responsibilities. But I know that there are some members of your party and government who desperately wanted to govern this state but were rejected at the polls by the people.

It is very tempting for them to try to get through a State of Emergency what they failed to win through the ballot box. After all, this was an experiment that was tried in the Western Region in the First Republic. But we know where it landed us. As a good student of history, sir, I trust that you are too wise to be led down a blind alley.

Thursday, January 13, 2000

From Emmanuel Onwubiko, Abuja

WORRIED by what the “high rate of organised crime” in the country, President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday ordered the recruitment of 40,000 policemen every year for the next four years.

  Speaking at a meeting with state police commissioners and commandants of police training institutions across the country, the Inspector-General of Police Mr. Musiliu Smith noted that the presidential directive was made because of the “Federal Government’s determination to boost the depleted manpower in the force and to meet the United Nations approved ratio of one policeman to four hundred Nigerians (1:400).”

  Smith directed the police chiefs to work vigorously towards the implementation of a comprehensive programme of expansion, rehabilitation and standardization of facilities of all training institutions to cope with what he called the “planned increase of trainees.”

   The Inspector-General urged the commandants of police training institutions to commence a nation-wide massive recruitment enlightenment programme to attract qualified candidates to enlist.

Thursday, January 13, 2000

Thursday, January 13, 2000

THE 13 crew members of the Nigeria Airways Air Bus A310, hijacked in 1993, have protested to President Olusegun Obasanjo, alleging neglect by the airline management and the Federal Government. They claimed in a letter dated January 5, that the Federal Government had failed to endow them with National Merit Award, as promised by the authorities in the heat of the hijack episode. The Air Bus A310 was hijacked mid-air while on a flight from Lagos to Abuja in 1993. It was later forced to land in the Nigerien capital, Niamey, where the hostages were eventually rescued. One of the crew members, however, died in the incident. The protest letter, which was signed by Capt. A.O. Makpo, on behalf of the 13 crew members, said that they deserved to be compensated for their efforts during the hijack incident, which ensured the safety of all the149 passengers on board. “It is only normal, ethical, and justified, that we should be compensated both by the airline and the nation, as obtains in other countries, where hijacking had taken place due to political reasons,” the letter said. They also claimed that neither the airline, nor the Federal Government had given them a formal letter of commendation or promotion. According to them, it was in recognition of the genuineness of their sacrifice that made the then Interim Government of Chief Ernest Shonekan to approve national honours for them in October 1993. The letter added that in 1997, the Presidency sent forms to them, which they claimed was completed, yet no award took place that year. “In 1998, Nigeria Airways management renominated us for the national honours in January 1999, still we were not honoured,” the protest letter added.

01/12/2000
Obasanjo to Focus on Masses-Oriented Projects

PRESIDENT Olusegun Obasanjo said on Monday in Abuja that his administration would not waste its energy and resources on projects which will only benefit the rich in Nigeria at the expense of the long-suffering citizens of the country.
President Obasanjo told a delegation from the Owerri Municipal/Owerri North/West Federal Constituency which called on him that rather than committing more funds to such elitist projects, the Federal Government was giving needed attention to the urgent rehabilitation and expansion of the country's road network.
Observing that the improvement and expansion of country's road network will have a more positive and direct impact on the lives of the generality of Nigerians, as well as promote the cause of national unity and integration, President Obasanjo said that his administration would strive to steadily dualise the five south - north roads and three east-west roads which carried the heaviest volume of traffic in the country.
He told the delegation that his administration would also implement a policy of building ring-roads round the country's major cities to ease the flow of traffic within them.
Responding to a request from the delegation for the establishment of an oil-gas industry in Imo State in recognition of its status as an oil-producing state, President Obasanjo reiterated that his administration was irrevocably committed to ending the Federal Government's involvement in direct economic production. The government, he said, will henceforth, limit itself to providing conditions necessary for economic activities to thrive.
Advising the people of Imo to seek other investors who could help in the industrialisation of their state, President Obasanjo said that in exception cases where it found it necessary to do in order to encourage development, the Federal Government might consider minority participation in feasible and viable industrial projects, but that it would never seek majority share-holding or managerial control in such ventures again.

01/12/2000
OPC Scares Govs in Ibadan
Dele Ogunyemi, Ibadan

THE presence of about 500 militant Oodua People's Congress (OPC) members at St. Peters Anglican Church, Aremo, Ibadan, venue of the 90th birthday thanksgiving service of Pa Emmanuel Alayande, a renowned educationist and chieftain of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), Monday sent jitters down to the spines of the governors of the South-western states and other dignitaries on the occasion.
Most of the dignitaries, apparently out of fear of possible attack by the OPC men, shunned the N100 million fund launch and foundation laying ceremony of Emmanuel Alayande (Teachers) Library and Resource Centre at Somonda, Ibadan, organised by the Oyo State wing of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT).
The OPC men, who were however, prevented from gaining access into the church, had demanded to see the Oyo State Governor, Alhaji Lam Adesina, and his other AD colleagues, present at the service, for talks.
They claimed that Adesina had shunned them seven times when their representatives called on him in his office.
Despite the strong representation made by the OPC men to have audience with the AD governors, their security aides barred them from entering the church premises.
The Minister of Police Affairs, Major General David Jemibewon, who was also in attendance, later addressed the OPC members, pleading with them not to disrupt the service organised in honour of the nonagenarian Pa Alayande.
Notable among the dignitaries, who attended the church service but who were conspicuously absent at the fund launch were Afenifere chieftains, including Senator Abraham Adesanya, Pa Solanke Onasanya, Chief Olu Falae, Chief (Mrs.) H.I.D Awolowo, and all the AD governors.
The dignitaries also included royal fathers such as the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, the Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Jimoh Ajagunbade, the aseyin of Iseyin and the apetumode of Ipetumodu.
An NUT official told journalists that the AD governors had kept away from the launch in view of the actions of the OPC members at the church earlier in the day, explaining that security reports did not favour their convergence at the launch venue.
However, a government official, who reacted to the NUT claim, attributed the governors non-attendance at the launch to "a clash of events," saying it was not possible for them to be at two places at the same time.
Meanwhile, as members of the Oodua Peoples Congress engaged men of the Nigeria Police in a protracted gun duel in Lagos, operatives of the force appear to be closing in on the leader of the militant group, Mr. Ganiyu Adams, following the arrest of his close aide by the Ogun State command of the force.
Investigations by The Post Express revealed that the Adams aides had stormed Ogun State apparently to deliver a special message from the OPC leader to his wife, following his inability to reach his family since he was declared wanted.
It was gathered that as the aide, whose name was not mentioned, arrived Abeokuta, he was promptly arrested, but his colleague escaped.
The two OPC men arrived the state capital in a volvo car with registration number DM 971 KJA at 2 a.m. and were stopped by security operatives on patrol in the state.
The Post Express reliably gathered that routine check of the vehicle and the occupants however, revealed their identities as top ranking members of the Gani Adams-led Oodua People's Congress.
As at the time of this report, the arrested OPC member was being detained at the Eleweran police headquarters where he was said to have made confessions described as "useful" by the police.

 Lagos militants abduct DPO in fresh communal violence

By Ben Akparanta and  Bertram Nwannykanma

A Divisional Police Officer (DPO) was abducted at dawn yesterday in a gang attack on the Bariga police station, on the outskirts of Lagos. He was later reported murdered and his body thrown into the Lagoon.

  The abduction followed fresh communal violence at Ilaje area of Bariga, Somolu Council, that left some four persons dead. The violence involved militants suspected to be from a faction of the controversial Oodua People’s Congress (OPC).

  Official accounts yesterday said the militants stormed the Bariga police post and abducted Mr. Afolabi Amao, a Superintendent of Police who was the DPO. They allegedly struck with the intent to free an armed robbery suspect who they claimed to be one of their members.

  Lagos State Police Commissioner Mike Okiro said trouble started last Sunday when a man reported a case of theft at the police station. The complainant took the Investigating Police Officer (IPO) to identify the suspect who was promptly arrested.

  He explained yesterday: “The suspect was holding a large black nylon bag and when he was arrested, he tried to give the bag to somebody else but the policeman insisted that he should carry the bag along to the police station.

  “At the station, the bag was opened to reveal a loaded American-made automatic pistol, a double barrel gun cut to size and a hunting rifle also cut to size. The suspect confessed he was a member of a robbery syndicate whose colleagues were waiting for him in readiness for an operation.

 “The DPO at this point took over the case and organised his men to follow him to apprehend the robbers. As they boarded a civilian bus to move to the scene, a group of about 300 men stormed the station, claiming they were members of the OPC and were there to effect the release of the member who was arrested by the police. The DPO tried to explain that the suspect was arrested for alleged theft and suspected armed robbery, but he (DPO) was immediately attacked and thoroughly beaten and was taken away in the bus.”

  The police said they promptly mobilised manpower to rescue the abducted officer, but the bid was unsuccessful.

  Persons arrested thereafter in connection with the abduction said the DPO had been murdered and his body thrown into the Bariga end of the Lagos Lagoon.

  The incident has incurred a security siege on the area.

  The entire Bariga area adjoining Somolu to the north and Oworonshoki to the south, was yesterday under tight police security cordon as heavily armed anti-riot policemen hunted for the culprits.

  Vehicular traffic thinned considerably in the troubled area, with residents yet to leave for work when the trouble began, confined to their homes by squads of policemen.

  Unofficial sources, however, linked the violence which began  barely a week after another communal rage in Mushin, Lagos Mainland, involving OPC factions, to the police’s disruption of a meeting of the militant activists.

  One source on the street where the Bariga police post is located told The Guardian that tempers flared about 10 p.m. on Sunday when members of the state security outfit, the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) stumbled on a meeting of the OPC militants at the Olushi area and shot one person dead.

  The intrusion and subsequent death of a militant, as alleged, reportedly provoked the others to violence. They wielded dangerous weapons and charms, as they invaded the police post where two vehicles were damaged and the DPO abducted.

  According to the source, the tension threw the entire neighbourhood into panic, especially before more RRS men were deployed to reinforce the police power.

  The violence reportedly lasted till yesterday morning, in the course of which the militants harassed motorists and commuters.

  When The Guardian called at the scene yesterday, two bodies suspected to be of the militants were lying close to the police post.

  The police also deployed its Marine Department staff and other rescue workers yesterday to search for the slain DPO’s body.

  But as at late afternoon, it was yet to be found.

  Mr. Tunde Sobulo, a superintendent of police who is Squadron Commander of the Police Mobile Force (PMF) 20, Ikeja, and also co-ordinator of the RRS is supervising a search of OPC members at the Bariga area. RRS men have mounted stop-and-search points at every strategic junction in the area to forestall external reinforcement of the militants.

  Some suspects already arrested by the police are being held at Bariga post and the Area “H” Command, Ogudu, Ojota.

  The Lagos State Police Command spokesman, Mr. Fabulous Enyaosah, an Assistant Superintendent  (ASP) said one of the arrested suspects had confessed under interrogation that the DPO had been killed and the body thrown into the Lagos Lagoon. The suspect also reportedly made confessions indicting some other persons who police have gone after.

Tuesday, January 11, 2000

NO fewer than 15 people have died in a fresh cholera outbreak in Okpokwu and Apa  council areas of Benue State.

  The Guardian learnt that about 100 people were affected by the epidemic in the two councils which commuters have declared “no-go” areas, as fares from the capital, Makurdi to the areas have also increased by hundred per cent.

  The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Innocent Okama, who confirmed the report, told The Guardian in an interview that the government had sent vaccines to the affected areas and that victims were responding to treatment.

  Okama advised residents to take preventive measures so as to control the spread of the epidemic, adding that aggressive campaign on the eradication of the disease would soon be embarked upon.

Tuesday, January 11, 2000

ALL activities in the national campaign against HIV/AIDS have been brought under the direct control of the Presidency, with Chief Olusegun Obasanjo as chairman.

  Vice President Atiku Abubakar is to serve as deputy chairman while ministers of Health, Education, Information, Defence and Culture are members.

  Others are ministers of Women Affairs and Youth Development, as well as Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

  A statement by Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Doyin Okupe, yesterday said the decision was to give vent to President Obasanjo’s pledge to raise public awareness on the scourge.

  The President had pledged to personally head the campaign on the occasion of the World AIDS Day December, last year.

  The President also approved the creation of a working panel on the disease which will report to the action programme committee.

  The working panel is to be headed by Prof. Ibironke Akinsete. The members include Dr. Mohammed Sani Gwarzo, Dr. C. Lar, Dr. Jordan Lamejo Bako, Dr. Udoh. Senator H. AbdulRasaq Gwadabe and Mrs. Eulir Ajayi. Others are a director each from the federal ministries of Education, Information, Women Affairs, Culture and Tourism, a medical director from the Defence Ministry and the Director of Army in the ministry.

  The President is expected to formally inaugurate both committees and chair their joint meeting on Thursday, at the Council Chambers of the State House, Abuja.

  The President also yesterday said projects which benefit only the affluent would not enjoy his administration’s patronage.

  He stated this while receiving a delegation from Owerri Municipal/Owerri North West Federal Constituency, which was at the Presidential Villa to express gratitude to the president for appointing Dr. Kema Chikwe as minister.

  The president said attention would be focused on alleviating the problems of the masses, saying this rather explained his administration’s attention on roads rehabilitation.

  He expressed the hope that this would have a positive and direct impact on Nigerians, pledged to dualise the five South-North and three East-West roads which record the heaviest traffic in the country.

  The administration would also build ringroads round the country’s major cities to ease traffic flow, he added.

  Responding to a request from the delegation for the establishment of an oil-gas firm in Imo State, owing to its status as an oil-producing state, the president reiterated his administration’s commitment to withdrawing involvement in direct economic activities.

  The government, would, henceforth, limit itself to providing conditions necessary for businesses to thrive, he said.

Tuesday, January 11, 2000

NIGERIA has been lauded for what the visiting British Foreign Office Minister Mr. Peter Hain, yesterday described as its “leading and heroic role” in helping to end Sierra Leone’s civil war.

  Hain said: “I am visiting Nigeria first on this trip because of its influential and pivotal role in Africa and on the world stage... I look forward to Nigeria becoming the African superpower that it should be, and taking its place in the African renaissance.”

  A statement from the British High Commission said Hain told President Olusegun Obasanjo that: “Nigeria’s leading and heroic role in (the West African intervention force) ECOMOG to bring peace to Sierra Leone is widely responsible for ending the eight years of bestial conflict.”

  Nigerian troops formed the bulk of the ECOMOG force that restored Sierra Leone’s elected President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah to power in March 1998 and have stayed on to ensure security, pending implementation of a peace deal reached in July, 1999.

  Hain, a minister of state, said Prime Minister Tony Blair had formally invited President Obasanjo to visit Britain. The visit is to afford both leaders opportunities to work out plans for a Britain-Nigeria bilateral forum.

  “I would envisage that our governments get together formally at least once a year at senior ministerial level, to discuss issues such as foreign policy and conflict prevention, defence, industry, trade and health. I see this as a partnership of equals,” the minister said.

  Hain also met Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Foreign Minister Sule Lamido to discuss issues of debt, economic reform and Sierra Leone. A British delegation of financial experts is expected in the country today.

  “This is make-or-break times for Nigeria. Britain backs success in Africa and we stand ready to provide technical and practical assistance to help Nigeria achieve its goals,” Hain said.

  The minister said Nigeria would be the second after South Africa, with which Britain was working out a bilateral forum, stressing that the country was fast achieving results in its anti-corruption crusade.

  Hain added that the forum, which should meet once every year at senior ministerial level, would discuss issues such as foreign policy, conflict prevention, defence, industry, trade and health.

  Under a new policy on cooperation with African countries, Hain said Britain would only support nations that showed readiness to succeed, adding: “We stand ready to provide technical and practical assistance to Nigeria and all other countries that show a willingness to succeed.”

  On his visit to the Niger Delta today, Hain said it was necessitated by the British Government’s desire to “encourage greater company/community relations.”

  Besides, the British Government has concluded arrangements to assist in carrying out environmental assessment as well as training of the local people to make them more useful to the society, the minister said.

01/11/2000
America to Immortalise Two Pilots

THIRTY years after the end of the Nigerian civil war, a mausoleum is to be built to immortalise the two American aircraft pilots who died while on mercy flights to deliver relief materials to then break-away Biafra, Chief Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu has said. He said mausoleum is to be located in Amorka/Uli, near Ihiala in Anambra.
An airstrip and the headquarters of the defunct Biafran Airforce were located in the area which also was the last stronghold of the Biafran forces. Speaking with newsmen at the weekend on the 30th anniversary of the end of the Nigeria civil war, Odumegwu-Ojukwu said he had been approached by some people to erect the memorial.
" I am involved in a memorial for the mercy pilots. Two Americans who flew in relief supplies but died," he said, pointing out that the cemetery where they were buried was destroyed at the end of the war.
"We are trying at Uli to gather their bones and build a mausoleum that will stand for ever and remind the people of the sacrifice by the pilots," the Biafran leader said. Elaborating on the plans to immortalise those who died during the 30th-month long civil war, he said, "passion have cooled sufficiently and people will not see this as an anti-Nigeria project."
Odumegwu-Ojukwu who was the Biafran head of state and commander-in-chief estimated that 1 million people died during that war.
Reflecting on the loss of the airstrip, he said, "with the loss of Uli Airport we were totally surrounded and cut off and my cabinet knew that as Uli was lost, the war was over."
Assessing the seven-month old Olusegun Obasanjo Presidency, Ojukwu, the Ikemba Nnewi, said Nigerians needed to see the actual practice of democracy, adding that it was wrong to use military language in governance.
"There is need to explain issues more to the people," Ojukwu added.