The mosque committee of Apo legislative quarters, Abuja, has suspended its Chief Imam, Nuru Khalid, over a sermon he delivered on Friday according to a daily trust report.

Khalid in the sermon flayed the government over its failure to tame the escalating insecurity and killings in the country.

In the sermon, the imam hinted at some measures that electorate should devise should the authorities fail to protect their lives.

He said, “Nigerian masses should resort to only one term which is – protect our lives, we will come out to vote; let us be killed, we will not come out to vote, since it’s only elections that you people know,” he added.

In a statement, chairman of the mosque committee, Saidu Muhammed Dansadau sent to BBC Hausa Service, said the committee suspended the embattled imam over his sermon that it deemed ‘inciting public outrage’.

The statement read, “I am informing you that you have been suspended from leading prayers in the Apo Legislative Quarters Mosque from today being April 2nd, 2022 until further notice.

“The decision was taken out of the inciting Friday sermon you delivered on April 1st, 2022; where you advised people not to vote come 2023 general elections unless politicians respond to some critical questions.

“You should have advised them to vote out those that transgress the Almighty and breach people’s social contract as well as the state.”

The committee maintained that Khalid’s sermon negated tenets of Islam.

The committee has immediately appointed Malam Mohammad who will deliver Ramadan Tafsir while Malam Abdullahi will be leading Friday prayers.

However there’s no reaction from the suspended imam.

Khalid has been an avid critic of the government over the escalation of insecurity in Nigeria.

His latest sermon is coming a couple of days following terrorists’ devastating attack on Kaduna-bound train where a yet-to-be ascertained number of passengers were killed and others abducted.

Prior to the July 11, 2007 coordinated bombing of commuter trains in India’s largest city of Mumbai, Indians, like Nigerians, were wrapped in the shawls of their innocence and naivety. On that day, terrorists violently yanked off the terror purity shawls off India’s face. In a matter of minutes, multiple explosive devices were detonated in a near-simultaneity. The devices instantly killed at least 183 people, with hundreds of others sustaining varying degrees of injuries.

In a replay of this Mumbai attack in Nigeria last week, eight passengers were killed after gunmen attacked a busy train plying Nigeria's capital, Abuja and Kaduna. The terrorists were reported to have mined the track, ostensibly with IED explosives and subsequently forced the 840-capacity passenger train, with 362 validated passengers, to a halt. They then made a ring round the train’s coaches, opened fire on the defenceless passengers and abducted an unknown number of them from the train.

As worthwhile as a means of transportation as they are, train services in Africa came with resistance and revolt. While some African rulers like Emperor Menelik of Ethiopia and Abbas I of Egypt favoured its establishment, so many others disapproved of it, basing their resentment on the landscape of power and trade that it would tilt in favour of the colonialists.

A major opposition to it was mounted by the Damal of Cayor, Late Dior Diop of Senegal. While voicing his rejection to French Governor Servatius, he had said: "As long as I live, be assured, I shall oppose, with all my might, the construction of this railway." This notwithstanding, Africa's network of railways got started in 1852, in Alexandria, Egypt.

The eyes of terrorists first opened to the mass murder weapon that trains constitute when, on September 13, 1931, a bomber, Szilveszter Matuska, derailed the Vienna Express train by planting a bomb that killed 22 and wounded 120 others.

Since then, terrorists have targeted train services’ full infrastructure like ticket halls, railway bridges, trains, passenger stations, train depots, signaling and tracks. Indeed, urban commuter rail network and subways, otherwise known as mass rapid transit rail systems, have been the soft target of the majority of terrorist attacks. These have led to approximately 1,000 being killed, with over 5,000 injuries, as well as economic losses in billions of dollars.

In the March 11, 2004 Madrid bombings held to be one of the most sophisticated terrorist attacks on a rail target and which killed 191 people, for instance, there was a simultaneous detonation of 10 devices comprising Goma-2 Eco plastic explosive detonated by a mobile phone.

Like a water-dripping sore that naturally attracts a horde of flies, commuter trains have never been the same again after the 1931 Matuska attack. They have since been a special delicacy with which terrorists enjoy sumptuous a la carte meals of their victims’ flowing blood and mangled flesh. This is because train attacks come with high fatality, mass disruption, huge national alarm, paralysis of transport network and the national physiological and psychological trauma that go with it. This is not to talk of the economic loss and long-term dislocation the people face in its aftermath.

The attacks are coordinated by terrorist groups with various attack methods. The list is endless, ranging from Al-Qaeda and its ancillary groups, Algerian and Chechen militants, Kashmiri separatists, South America’s left wing guerrillas and Irish republican terrorists.

London Underground and British Railways were said to have attracted more than 6,500 bomb threats between 1991 and 1997. On August 23, 1973, for instance, the Provisional IRA (PIRA) had targeted mainland UK rail system by defusing a bomb at Central London’s Baker Street Underground station.

Terrorists’ major modus operandi, tactical spectrum and operational template contain the detonation of improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

Asked why he caused so much pain to his victims, Matuska had told his interrogators that he derived sexual pleasure from watching trains crash. Since then, the global statistics of train attacks have mounted unconscionably like Nigeria’s national debt.

Eight years after, on August 28, 1939, during the Nazi World War 11 German invasion of Poland, a German agent, Antoni Guzy also placed a suitcase bomb at a busy railway station which killed 20 and wounded 35.

According to the database of Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Centre, between the period of 1998 and July 2006, at least 74 separate terrorist attacks were unleashed on heavy rail, metro subway systems and light rail systems globally, as well as on trains and other rail infrastructure.

Since that last week’s attack, Nigerians have been wrapped up in the shroud of sadness. Newspaper features focusing on the victims made matters worse, evoking grim and tears in the people.

Sijuade Oyetoso, TUC Chairman, said to have been shot in the head inside the train, as well as Chinelo Megafu, the young medical doctor graduate of the University of Port Harcourt evoke sessions of tears. Just a few days before this attack, heavily armed terrorists had attacked the Kaduna airport, and by the time they finished the operation, a security guard was shot dead. This led to flights cancellations.

Only yesterday, a news report said that no fewer than 1,545 persons had been killed by terrorists in the first quarter of 2022. Quoting a joint report by the Community of Practice Against Mass Atrocities and the Joint Action Civil Society Committee, under the aegis of Nigeria Mourns, the report also said that at least 1,321 persons were abducted by these terrorists between January 1 and March 30, 2022, with Nigeria’s North-Western states of Kaduna, Zamfara, Katsina, Kebbi and North-Central state of Niger, coming under intense shelling by these cadaver-loving terrorists.

While kidnapping for ransom has become commonplace across Nigeria, this selfsame Abuja-Kaduna highway has acquired the notoriety of one of the most dangerous roads in Nigeria. Kidnappers string round it like ants make a ring round the pee of a diabetic, ambushing vehicles at several points on the expressway corridors, killing many and constituting selves to lords of the Manor on the road.

With the above unflattering statistics, it will appear that, by still being shocked by attacks from terrorists, Nigerians, like the proverbial ostrich, are in the first stage of psychological state of denial of the reality that their country is a terror corridor. In the architecture of terrorism, mass commuter rail transport is one of the most vulnerable weapons of terrorists and terrorism attacks.

Indeed, global graphs of terror attacks since Matuska’s have shown clearly that Islamist militant groups have a notorious interest in specifically targeting rail transport because of the mass casualties that often come from such attacks.

The question to then ask is, were Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, their Commander in Chief, Muhammadu Buhari and the coterie of so-called securocrats who surround the seat of power, so naïve about the pleasure that terrorists derive from attacking trains, so much that they didn’t know of this elementary fact?

Whether out of ignorance, the usual lackadaisical attitude of Nigerian leaders or their oft quest to always put financial interest ahead of the people’s welfare, when the train attack is reduced to its brass-tacks, it will be difficult not to ascribe the deaths of these innocent Nigerians to a deliberate wastage of citizens’ lives that is the familiar penchant of her leaders.

The logic is, since it is no longer news that Nigeria has become a notorious terrorism corridor, how does one explain why government had to be picking its tooth while train commuters plied the Abuja-Kaduna notorious route, or any other train route in Nigeria, without adequate security?

Apart from the fact that Kaduna State has become one of the most dangerous places to live in Nigeria, it is a known fact that the Abuja-Kaduna highway is one of the most dangerous roads in the country. It is full of a swarm of kidnappers who are known to ambush vehicles at several points on the expressway. Taken altogether, one can then safely say that the blood of these innocent citizens, shed violently midstream, bears government’s vicarious hands.

With the subsequent leakage of a memo said to have been presented by Amaechi to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) but which was rightly rejected, it becomes a necessary conclusion to say that this wastage of the people’s lives in that train attack must have been due to one of three probable reasons, or even all: Sabotage by those hungry to prove a point; government’s deliberately naive trivializing of the destructive powers of terrorists, and, third, the cruelty of government’s act of placing the cart before the horse.

By preferencing the publicity stunts inherent in rushing first to shore up sagging government’s public credential through launching of the train “revolution” in 2006, rather than putting in place a simultaneous installation of security gadgets for the protection and safeguard of people’s lives, the Nigerian government can logically be said to have blood of the people dripping from its hands.

Amaechi was said to have presented the wishy-washy memo to the FEC presided over by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on September 24, 2021. In it, he had requested FEC approval of N3.7bn for contract on surveillance systems along the Abuja-Kaduna rail track. In presenting the proposal, Amaechi, two-term governor of Rivers State and a 7-year minister, had recommended a firm, Mogjan Nigeria Limited, with a very manifest incapability and nil track record of previous handling of such contract, as his preference. The company, incorporated on August 6, 2019, less than three years ago and with a turnover of N84.9m, was Amaechi’s best for the execution of such a humongous job. To worsen matters, this leaked memo was said to have revealed so many more incongruities which, were it to be in a saner clime, Amaechi should have been fired for gross misconduct and laxity.

Upon the attack, however, while fielding questions from journalists, Amaechi had claimed that he predicted the imminence of the attack and, ostensibly gloatingly, condemned the rejection of his memo presented before the FEC.

A few questions arise from this macabre atilogwu dance that Amaechi and the federal government are making on the graves of Nigerian dead. The rail services “revolution” was commissioned in July, 2016 by Buhari and this selfsame Abuja-Kaduna train was the anchor. Speaking at the train’s main station at Idu, Abuja, Buhari promised that government would link all states and commercial centres of Nigeria with the rail lines. He later took a ceremonial train ride from Idu to Kubwa. This was at a time when terrorists’ bayonets were penetrating the nooks and crannies of Nigeria.

If Minister Amaechi was then presenting a memo for the procurement of security gadgets on that corridor in 2021, five years after the train services commissioning, it will mean one of three things: that Amaechi was totally naïve about the destructive powers of terrorists; that he was unapologetically simplistic about it or was grossly unmindful of the need to provide an ancillary security of the rail systems to go simultaneously with its commissioning. Or could it be that he just didn’t care? By presenting such an embarrassingly empty doggerel as memo to the highest decision-making body in Nigeria, it seems to point to the fact that such regime of laxity, rigourlessness and, I dare say, fakery must have marked previous presentations to FEC which their sponsors got away with and which strengthened him to present a similarly vacuous memo. The memo may just be pointing at a pedigree of maggot infestations in procurements and contracts at the highest level of governance in Nigeria.

It will appear that Nigerian government and its so-called securocrats are only excellent when it comes to filching budgets of security. For a Nigerian military that went to field operations across the world, garnering laurels and badges of honour for its performance, the only explanation for this feigning of counter-insurgency inability by the Nigerian military must be the gross national larceny sense that has infiltrated the high command of the Nigerian security. Like Eddy Iroh said in his Toads of War, Nigerian military generals have grown rotund bellies and cheeks, like toads, out of this terrorism calamity in Nigeria. It is why there is mutual suspicion, jealousies and efforts at cross-purposes across the forces.

Otherwise, in the rest of the world where terrorist attacks occurred, military Generals, working with the entire national security architecture, took time to study the psychology of the attacks, with a view to countering them. Russia, Germany, Pakistan, Angola, South Korea, Colombia, Japan, UK, France, Spain, Italy, India, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Venezuela, among others, have witnessed worse form of terror on their railway networks than Nigeria did. Immediately after terrorists attacked the World Trade Center on September 11 2001, the New York subway became a recipient of its disruption as almost a quarter of a mile of its tunnel got filled with debris from the bombed twin towers, in addition to structural damage to three stations. After these attacks, counter-insurgency experts went into spirited works to prevent further attacks. One, they found out that, aside the mass murder that trains pose to terrorists, the long-term economic loss, as well as massive scare on collective national and corporate psyche, are the garlands that terrorists are obsessed with, which make train attacks their most desirable option. The 2004 Madrid rail bombings, as well as the 2005 attacks on London's transport network are good examples here.

In Nigeria, however, knowing the ancient predilection of our leaders for being lax and greedy, train attacks like the one of last week are likely to intensify. Terrorists are far more committed to their craft than those paid to keep watch on the people. Security experts know that bombers don’t just strike without doing a reconnaissance and survey of targets. In the Abuja-Kaduna train attack, some of the terrorists were said to have been on board. Did our security know this?

With the soft target that bombing and attacking trains pose in terrorism corridors worldwide, chief of which Nigeria is, it will be gross criminal laxity or inexplicable compromise for the Buhari government not to have anticipated the Abuja-Kaduna train attack. By even seeking to install those security equipment in 2021, it showed that Amaechi had an awareness of the threat terrorists posed. So what has happened between then and now? Did he fold his arms? Those who claim that there is a dalliance between top government officials and terrorists may have had a corroboration material in this train attack. It reminds me of Willo Davis Roberts’ Blood on His Hands, the story of 16-year-old Marc and his bloody travails and confrontations. One thing that is not in doubt is that, the blood of the murdered is crying for vengeance from the Buhari government.

Lawyers of the Indigenous People of Biafra have begun moves to take legal action against President Muhammadu Buhari-led government over the re-arrest of a 21-year-old woman, Glory Okolie, who recently got out of the Suleja Correctional Centre in Niger State after more than eight months of incarceration, according to Sahara reporters.

Okolie was arrested by the Imo State Police Command acting through the Divisional Police Officer of Shell Police Station.

A source had said the young lady was arrested when she went to her bank branch in Owerri to withdraw some of her money.

“The NPF through the Imo State Police Command, through the DPO of Shell Police Station, rearrested Okolie, who was only granted bail out of Suleja Prison last week,” the source had said.

“When we reached the police spokesperson on phone, he said Okolie was arrested because she went to her Owerri bank to withdraw money, after it was flagged down by the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Unit before her arrest and eventual bail.”

On March 23, Sahara reporters had reported that Okolie perfected her bail conditions and got out of the Suleja Correctional Centre.

Okolie had been arrested and enslaved since June 17, 2021, by the operatives of the IGP IRT in Imo State.

Okolie was illegally detained and held in a cell by the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team unit of the Nigeria Police Force for months on allegations of spying for the Indigenous People of Biafra. 

It was reported on November 23, 2021, that a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja granted bail to Gloria Okolie in the sum of N150million with two sureties.

Ruling on the bail application, the presiding judge, Justice Taiwo Taiwo admitted her to bail with sureties one of whom must be at least a level 14 civil servant while the other must own landed property and must have lived at the present address for at least two years.

Okolie, who was accused of an offence bordering on terrorism was arrested by the Nigeria Police Force for allegedly being friends with a suspected member of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra.

She was later transferred to Abuja, despite efforts by her family members to secure her release.

While reacting to the bail conditions her lawyers, Ihensekhien Samuel commended the judge for admitting her to bail though the terms were stringent, they would apply for variation in due course. 

Okolie was later released on bail. 

Speaking to reporters, one of her lawyers said he and his team were making efforts to get the girl released.

Adeyinka Grandson, convener of the Young Yorubas for Freedom (YYF), has been sentenced to four and half years in prison for promoting racial hatred.

In August 2019, Grandson, a UK-based Nigerian of Yoruba descent, was arrested in London over his social media posts against some ethnic groups in Nigeria.

The UK-based Nigerian gained prominence on social media for his vituperation against people of Igbo extraction as well as criticism of the Hausa-Fulani.

He was later released on bail on the condition that he would not make any comments or posts to threaten or abuse any ethnic group.

In May 2020, he was charged with six counts of inciting racial hatred.

After being released on bail, he was said to have further made offending social media posts, which led to his re-arrest in October 2020 with an addition of two counts to his previous six-count charge.

In October 2020, a video wherein Grandson issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the Igbo to leave Yorubaland, appeared on the social media — a threat that was denounced by Wole Soyinka, Nobel laureate.

Weeks later, he was found guilty of inciting racial hatred after a trial at Southwark Crown court.

On Friday, the UK metropolitan police, in a statement, announced that Grandson was sentenced to imprisonment for four and a half years

“The Met’s Counter Terrorism Command launched an investigation in March 2019 as a direct result of members of the public raising concerns to police about online social media posts which contained comments aimed at particular ethnic groups based in Nigeria,” the statement reads.

“The posts were created by accounts under the name “Adeyinka Grandson” and were reported to police via the online reporting tool www.gov.uk/ACT.

“This material was assessed by specialist officers within the Met’s Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU). After assessing the posts, which contained commentary encouraging attacks against certain ethnic groups in Nigeria, officers determined these posts were potentially in breach of UK legislation and a formal investigation was launched. The activity was all found to be linked to Adeyinka Shoyemi.

“Shoyemi, 45 (12.04.76) of Powis Terrace, W11 was sentenced to four-and-a-half years’ imprisonment on Thursday, 31 March. He was found guilty on 30 November 2021 of eight counts of inciting racial hatred after a trial at Southwark Crown Court.”

No fewer than 1,545 persons have been killed by terrorists within the first quarter of 2022, a joint report by the Community of Practice Against Mass Atrocities and the Joint Action Civil Society Committee under the aegis of Nigeria Mourns has revealed.

The report also disclosed that at least 1,321 persons were abducted by the terrorists between January 1 and March 30, 2022.

North-Western states of Kaduna, Zamfara, Katsina, Kebbi and North-Central state of Niger, have come under intense attacks by the terrorists.

They have daringly attacked the Nigerian Defence Academy in Kaduna, killing two officers and abducting one senior officer. The terrorists, numbering about 200, also invaded the Kaduna Airport on March 26, killing a Nigerian Airspace Management Agency staff member patrolling the runway.

The exchange of gunshot between the criminals and soldiers at the airport also led to the delay in the takeoff of a scheduled aircraft.

Outlining the attacks across the country, the group noted that earlier in the year, some terrorists in Kebbi State killed more than 65 persons in a single attack.

The report stated that in Southern Kaduna, within the three months under review, over 100 deaths were recorded following repeated attacks on several communities in the area.

This is in spite of the fact that Kaduna State is home to several military bases and formations, including the Nigerian Defence Academy and 1 Division, Nigerian Army Barracks and Nigerian Police College, Kaduna, amongst others.

Other attacks in the report included the siege on communities in Niger State, the ‘takeover’ of the Suleja-Abuja Road by terrorists in the past month; the increase in cases of kidnapping in the past month; and the continued killings in the South-East, which claimed many lives.

On March 31, a former federal lawmaker, Shehu Sani, raised the alarm that bandits blocked the Abuja-Kaduna highway, preventing travellers and other road users from accessing the road. In a tweet on his official Twitter handle, @ShehuSani, he alleged that road users had begun turning back from the road to seek alternative routes and prevent a possible attack on them.

“I just got a distress call that bandits in large numbers have again blocked the Kaduna-Abuja Road this afternoon. Travellers are speedily turning backwards,” the tweet read.

Later in the evening, he wrote, “The kidnappers are freely making calls to the families of their hostages. What happened to the SIM card registration and the NIN (National Identification Number) hoopla?”

Sani had earlier in the day said that with Nigeria’s worsening security situation, Nigerians should be allowed to officially carry weapons to defend themselves.

In what has become a national tragedy, the terrorists attacked a train on the Abuja-Kaduna route at about 7:43pm. The Nigerian Railway Corporation said 398 tickets were bought but only 362 passengers were validated.

The groups however condemned the spate of insecurity across the country, while calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to take action to mitigate further attacks by the terrorist groups.

In a petition on change.org, which had since garnered over 30,000 signatures as of the time of filing this report, the groups wrote, “We are (also) alarmed by the brazenness with which these ‘technically defeated terrorists’ continue to compromise our individual and collective security as Nigerians. More importantly, we are concerned by the government’s apparent nonchalance evidenced by their actions.

“Since the Kaduna train attack, the government has failed to account for the number of persons rescued, the missing and the dead, failing in its primary purpose as provided for in Section 14(2)(b) of the Nigerian Constitution, which states that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government and   Section 17(2) (c): ‘governmental actions shall be humane’.

“We point out that the level of humaneness envisioned by our constitution is lacking in the actions of the government in each of these incidents, and that these actions rather suggest that the value for human life in Nigeria is now at its lowest and that the government is failing in its constitutional duties.”

The groups also accused the President of ignoring the tragedy that has resulted in the loss of valuable Nigerian lives, while faulting the circular by the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation that directed permanent secretaries to mobilise support for the World Cup qualifier match by closing their offices by 1pm.

They said the circular disregarded the trauma of millions of Nigerians and ignored the tragedy which had resulted in the loss of valuable lives.

The groups asked the government to conduct an independent inquiry into the incident, in the light of the statement credited to the Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, that the cabinet did not honour his proposal for the procurement of critical surveillance infrastructure for the rail tracks.

Terrorists kill over 927 in Kaduna, Zamfara, Niger

Meanwhile, the most hit states in the killings were Kaduna, Zamfara and Niger where at least 927 innocent people were reported to have been killed by terrorists within the first quarter of the year.

The figure is based only on a compilation of media reports and data obtained from the National Security Tracker, an initiative of the Council of Foreign Relations, a United States think tank. The casualty figure may however be higher.

It was also learnt that apart from Kaduna State which presents a quarterly report on insecurity, other states do not provide data on the deaths and abductions.

The calculations by Saturday PUNCH showed that in Kaduna State, at least 223 people were killed while in Niger State, 397 lives were lost. In Zamfara State, where the Federal Government imposed a ‘no fly’ order, at least 307 people were killed by the criminals.

The three states also witnessed a combined abduction of at least 904 persons.

In Niger State, Governor Sani Bello said on January 17 that at least 220 people were killed by the terrorists within the first two weeks of 2022.

It was observed that Shiroro was the most affected local government area in the state, with 34 persons killed on January 12, another 18 persons killed on January 29 and 20 persons killed on February 3.

On February 5, no less than 44 persons were killed while 31 persons were abducted, and on February 21, about 14 persons were murdered by the criminals in Galape, a community in the local government.

In Kaduna State, where the terrorists bombed a passenger train around Rijana inwards Rigasa on Monday, the most affected local government areas are Igbabi, Zaria, Giwa, Chikun, Kajuru and Zangon Kataf.

The biggest carnage was in Dilalai community, Giwa Local Government Area where at least 50 people were killed on March 20.

In Zamfara State, no fewer than 200 people in Anka and Bukkyum communities were killed on January 5, the biggest single attack so far this year.

Despite the rising insecurity, however, security experts have warned against the declaration of state of emergency in the North-West.

In separate interviews, the experts, Patrick Agbambu, Timothy Avele and a former Director of the Department of State Services, Mike Ejiofor, said a state of emergency did not achieve the desired result the last time it was declared.

Ejiofor warned against collapsing the democratic structure, adding that it did not achieve the desired result during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo when it was introduced in Plateau State.

He said, “My idea of declaration of state of emergency is prioritising our security architecture which the president has done, in terms of declaration of bandits and terrorists. Now that they have been declared as terrorists why don’t we use the Super Tucanos to go after these terrorists and bomb them instead of telling us 1,000 have been killed, 1,000 have surrendered and the problem keeps getting worse.”

“You remember in Zamfara State when telecommunications network was shut down, did it stop? Plateau State, the same thing, even in Borno State. I think we should base our strategy on tactical operations.”

On his part, Avele, who is the Managing Director, Agent-X Security Group, said state of emergency was not the solution to insecurity in the region.

He said, “The truth is that if our security agencies and the military continue reacting rather than being proactive, we will continue to face even deadlier attacks in the days to come.  We need political will from the President to end this menace once and for all.”

Avele said there was a need for all security agencies including the National Intelligence Agency and the Nigeria Customs Service to double their intelligence gathering capabilities.

“They should also go after the sponsors of these terrorists by simply tracking the money paid as ransom by victims,” he added, while advising security operatives to comb the forests and bandits’ escape routes day and night in Niger, Kastina, Zamfara, Sokoto and Kaduna states.

Also, Agbambu, who is the Chief Executive Officer, Security Watch Africa Initiatives, told Saturday PUNCH that a holistic approach should be adopted.

He added, “I think rather than focus on a certain region, why not extend it to other parts of the country? Insecurity has been a national problem. Rather than declare a state of emergency in the northern part of the country, the President should declare a state of emergency on national security.

“However, I must state that measures to address our insecurity should be holistic. But I don’t think that is the solution we have had during the Obasanjo administration in Plateau State; that didn’t solve the problem. It may seem to bring the temporary solution to what we think is the issue but it is not the best.”

Tension in Kaduna as police defuse second bomb in 24hrs

The Kaduna State Police Command has defused another bomb at the Rigasa community in Igabi Local Government Area of the state.

This was barely 24 hours after bomb experts from the command’s anti-bomb squad defused an object suspected to be an Improvised Explosive Device in the same community, a few kilometers away from Rigasa Train Station.

The development caused fears and confusion among residents of the area.

Our correspondent gathered that the object in a jerry can, covered with black nylon, was discovered by children along Shanono Road in the community on Friday.

A source in the community said, “Residents of Shanono area of Rigasa community in Igabi Local Government Area of the state discovered the IED on Friday, barely 24 hours after an IED concealed in a bucket was found in the community.

“Children in the community discovered the object in a jerry can covered with a black nylon on Friday. It was placed very close to a stream in the community. It was kept at the same spot where the Thursday IED was discovered. We don’t know what is happening in this community.

“It was my elder’s brother’s wife that rushed to inform me that the children found another bomb inside jerry can. Security agencies were deployed in the area.”

When contacted, the state Command’s Public Relations Officer, Mohammad Jalige, said men of the anti-bomb squad of the command had been deployed to the area and that the bomb had been successfully defused. “Be more vigilant wherever you are in the state,” Jalige added.

Federal Government borrowed N1.48tn from bond investors through Federal Government bonds between January and March 2022, according to an analysis of the FGN Bond Auction results available on the website of the Debt Management Office as reported by Punch.

Bond oversubscriptions hit N1.03tn within the period under review, indicating the investors’ increasing appetite for FGN bonds.

An analysis of the breakdown for each month showed that Federal Government bonds for January worth N150bn were oversubscribed by N175.24bn.

The total subscription received from investors for the bonds was N325.24bn, comprising N111.19bn for the 12.50 per cent FGN January 2026 bonds and N214.05bn for the 13 per cent FGN January 2042 bonds.

The auction result added that out of the 112 and 142 total bids for the tenures, 75 and 85 bids were successful.

The Federal Government bonds for February worth N150bn were also oversubscribed by N407.72bn. The total subscription received from investors for the bonds was N557.72bn, comprising N325.40bn for the 12.50 per cent FGN January 2026 bonds and N232.32bn for the 13 per cent FGN January 2042 bonds.

The auction result added that out of the 230 and 151 total bids for the tenures, 46 and 119 bids were successful.

The Federal Government bonds for March worth N150bn were equally oversubscribed by N448.42bn. The total subscription received from investors for the bonds was N598.42bn, comprising N231.02bn for the 12.50 per cent FGN January 2026 bonds and N367.40bn for the 13 per cent FGN January 2042 bonds. The auction result added that out of the 170 and 227 total bids for the tenures, 97 and 141 bids were successful.

In addition, bond oversubscriptions hit N1.61tn last year, which is slightly higher than the oversubscription reached in the first three months of 2022.

Experts have said that investors will likely go for FGN bonds over other bonds since the bonds qualify for tax exemption

In December 2011, the Federal Government issued the Companies Income Tax (Exemption of Bonds and Short-Term Government Securities) Order, 2011, and the Value Added Tax (Exemption of Proceeds of the Disposal of Government and Corporate Securities) Order, 2011.

The orders exempted the interests and proceeds from the disposal of short-term FG securities and bonds, from CIT and VAT respectively. These covered bonds issued by the federal, state, and local governments and their agencies, and by corporate and supranational entities.

According to the gazetted copies of the orders, the exemptions will be effective for a period of 10 years starting from January 2, 2012.

However, bonds issued by the FG will continue to enjoy the CIT and VAT exemptions after the expiration of the 10-year term, which expired on January 2, 2022. The tax exemptions make the FGN bonds more attractive to investors than other bonds.

...says female population too significant to be ignored 

Lauretta Fagbohun, Ogun 

Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun, on Friday, officially flagged off a women empowerment scheme with disbursement of individual livelihood grants to 2,094 women across the state.

The governor, who performed the flag-off ceremony at the relaunching of Okowo Dapo scheme in collaboration with Nigeria For Women Project (NFWP) at the MKO Abiola International Stadium, Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, said women empowerment and emancipation would continue to be at the front burner of his administration.

The event had the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari; Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development; Mrs. Pauline Tallen, wives of the Kwara and Osun State governors, the World Bank Country Director, Mr. Shubham Chaudhuri, among other dignitaries in attendance.

Abiodun noted that in the economic architecture of his government, the womenfolk form a vital economic bloc, hence, the placement of various schemes to empower them, not only financially but economically.

He said out of estimated 7,535,007  2021 population projection by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS), for Ogun State, females are put at 3,788,932, which is 50.28%, saying  the significant number of women cannot be overlooked, if the state truly desires sustainable development.

Abiodun, who added that his administration had observed women as mostly involved in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) but always find it difficult to access financial resources for the growth of their businesses from conventional financial institutions, said his government had since devised other approaches to empower the womenfolk.

These, according to him, include "capacity building of 500 female entrepreneurs across the state to enable them access finances and scale up their businesses; empowerment of 2,500 rural women across the state through provision of products worth ₦100m; empowerment of over 600 youths through vocational training while 400 women and youths are still undergoing training at the Vocation training centre under the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development; empowerment of 95 Women across the three senatorial districts and more than 100 widows were also empowered during the commemoration of year 2021 International Widows Day".

He emphasised that the empowerment programmes are targeted at alleviating poverty and increasing prosperity of women.

"Our womenfolk are integral part of our financial inclusiveness agenda. We are committed to providing avenues for our women to gain power and control over their own lives and acquire requisite skills and technical know-how to make strategic choices. It is a critical aspect of achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development (SDG) Goal 5 – Gender Equality. On its own, Gender Equality provides more socioeconomic and political wherewithal for our women. 

"At the macro level, it will go a long way in reducing poverty in the family; reduce gender-based violence and abuse in the society; and, further strengthen the economy. Therefore, empowering our women is not a favour to their gender, it is, in fact, one of the most viable approaches towards achieving sustainable economic development", the governor added.

While commending the Federal Government  for the initiative of the Nigeria for Women Projects (NFWP), the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development and the World Bank, Abiodun said the choice of Ogun as one of the six states in each of the six geo-political zones of Nigeria for the implementation of the NFWP programme is commendable.

He expressed optimism that the NFWP programme would be extended to other local government areas in Ogun, saying the FG's scheme is in tandem with Oko’wo Dapo Scheme.

Abiodun stated further that after disbursing  the individual grants to women beneficiaries across the three implementing Local Government Areas of Odeda; Ijebu North-East; and, Yewa North, his administration would soon re-launch Oko’wo Dapo scheme in the remaining 17 LGAs.

The governor, however, disclosed that some of the beneficiaries of the first phase of Oko'wo Dapo in Odeda LG were at an advanced stage of floating a micro finance bank, which according to him, would further provide for financial inclusiveness for more people and easier access to financial resources to boost their enterprises.

A gas explosion rocked Amuwo Odofin Industrial estate, Lagos on Thursday night, vanguard reports.

A man identified as Hassan Usman was reportedly burnt to death in the resultant fire, while three others who had varying degrees of burns were rushed to a hospital in Mushin area of the state.

Also, properties worth several millions of naira were destroyed in the inferno.

The explosion which occurred at Archers Gas limited, sent residents, most of whom were jostled from sleep scampering in different directions for safety, as they mistook it for an invasion by armed hoodlums.

A resident who identified himself simply as Alabi, said ” we heard a loud bang like the sound of a bomb and everybody ran for safety. We later discovered that it was from the gas company. One man who was burnt to death was taken to the mortuary”.

Police sources at Area ‘E’ command, Festac, explained that ” at about 11 pm, of March 31, 2022, Personal Assistant to Managing Director of Archers Gas Limited located on 19B Amuwo Odofin Industrial estate, Bode Adelu, came to the station accompanied by the factory Manager, Obatade Wasiu. ”

He said there was an explosion in the company.

They also confirmed that one person died while three others were injured and rushed to Awesome Hospital, Mushin.

”Immediately we got the report, our DPO, CSP Gboyega Balogun, led a team of policemen to the scene where necessary action was done and the body of Usman was evacuated and taken to the Mainland Hospital Mortuary for autopsy. ”

"The cause of the explosion is yet to be determined “

The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Thursday, discharged and acquitted Andrew Yakubu, a former Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) of fraud relating to $9.8 million seized from his home in 2017, says a Premium Times report.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), acting on a tip-off in 2017, stormed Yakubu’s residence at the Sabon Tasha area of Kaduna State and found $9,772,800 and £74,000 in a safe.

The commission arraigned him before Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on March 16, 2017, on six counts of money laundering and other offences.

But the Court of Appeal, ruling on a no-case submission filed by the former NNPC boss, struck down the charges to counts 3 and 4, which border on money laundering offences.

Judgement

In the court’s judgement, on Thursday, the judge, Mohammed, said the prosecution failed to establish the necessary ingredients of the charges to warrant Yakubu’s conviction.

“The evidence of the defendant (Yakubu) was not only credible but reliable,” the judge said, adding “The prosecution failed to contradict the evidence as required by law.”

Mohammed said the EFCC ought to have investigated Yakubu’s claims that the monetary gifts he claimed to have received came from his friends, “but unfortunately for reasons best known to it, the prosecution did not do that,” the judge said.

“To worsen the situation, the prosecution assumed that the money was accepted in one fell swoop as against the evidence of the defendant that he got the money in piecemeal as gifts from his friends when he retired from service in 2014.

“It is a huge error that the prosecution did not tender the money as Exhibit throughout the trial, but made futile efforts after it had closed its case,” the judge noted

“In all, Yakubu’s evidence cast a huge doubt on that of the EFCC and the doubt must be resolved in his favour,” Mohammed said.

The judge agreed with Yakubu’s defence that the funds were received as gifts in aggregate form and not as a “whole” that could have offended the Money Laundering Prohibition Act of 2011.

Mohammed dismissed the EFCC’s argument that the funds were proceeds of crime because they did not go through a financial institution.

As a result, the judge ordered the immediate refund of the confiscated sum of $9,772,800 and £74,000 to Yakubu.

Backstory

EFCC had on March 16, 2017, arraigned Yakubu on six counts of money laundering and other offences.

On October 17, 2018, the prosecution closed its case after calling its seventh prosecution witness, Suleiman Mohammed, an operative with the commission.

In its ruling on May 16, 2019, the trial court struck out two of the counts. Dissatisfied with the refusal of the court to dismiss all the counts, Yakubu had further appealed at the Court of Appeal.

Delivering judgement on the appeal, on April 24, 2020, the Court of Appeal in Abuja also struck out two additional counts, and asked the defendant to defend only the two remaining counts – Counts 3 and 4.

The two counts had to do with the defendant’s failure to make full disclosure of assets to EFCC upon his arrest, receiving cash without going through a financial institution in alleged violation of Section 1(1) of the Money Laundering Act, 2011 and punishable under Section 16(2)(b) of the Act.

After the Court of Appeal’s decision, the EFCC, on March 10, 2021, sought an amendment of the charges pending at the Federal High Court.

But, on June 17, 2021, the Federal High Court dismissed the request for the amendment of the charges, saying granting the application would amount to breaching the decision of the Court of Appeal that had specified the charges on which the defendant should be tried on.

Yakubu denied the charges in his testimony while testifying for himself as a defence witness in the case. He claimed that the money seized from him was an accumulation of gifts he received at different times after leaving office.

The trial court acquitted Yakubu on the two remaining charges on Thursday.

The United States will build a $537 million consulate in the Nigerian megacity Lagos, the country's commercial capital, as Washington strengthens economic and diplomatic relations with Africa's most populous country, Reuters has reported.

The U.S. is among the largest foreign investors and donors in Nigeria with annual trade between the two countries at over $10 billion, according to the State Department.

U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria Mary Leonard said the new consulate, to be built on land reclaimed from the Atlantic Ocean, would take five years to complete.

Like most countries, the U.S. has an embassy in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, and a consulate office in Lagos, a sprawling city of more than 20 million people and Nigeria's major economic hub.