A complainant, Michael Uzoagba has demanded a compensation of N115 million from Nigerian Police for his alleged unlawful arrest, detention and property seizure in 2018.

Uzoagba, made a plead for the compensation on Tuesday at the Independent Investigation Panel on Human Rights Violations by the defunct SARS and other units of the Nigerian Police sitting in Abuja.

The petitioner who was led in his testimonies by his counsel, Ohiovor Maria of the Legal Aids Council of Nigeria informed the panel that his wares including refrigerator, televisions sets, electric iron etc were on two occasions carted away by the Police in Bwari, Federal Capital Territory.

He said he wants compensation against the Police as follows; N100 million for general damages, N10 million for unlawful arrest and detention for three days and N5 million for malicious prosecution.

In his narration before the panel presided over by Dr.Garba Tetengi, who stood in for the Chairman, Justice Suleiman Galadima (rtd), Uzoagba told the panel that on the fateful day, while he was in his shop, he saw five policemen asking him the whereabouts of his son.

According to him, he replied the police team that he did not know where his son was at that time, only for them to start picking his electronics and electrical appliances he displayed in his shop for sale and packing them into their own standby vehicle.

Before moving the said items into the Police vehicle, he told the panel that Police team made a call presumably to the DPO of Bwari Police station and thereafter, they went ahead with the removal of the electrical appliances. He said he queried the operation and no answer was given to him to justify the action.

He said apparently not knowing what to do to recover the items from the Police, he informed the panel that he went to Radio House and lodged a complaint with respect to the said seizure of his properties by the Police.

He lamented that despite the intervention by the Radio House, the Police have allegedly refused to release the said goods but rather instituted a court case against him for daring to take the Police to the Radio House.

Asked by the Acting Chairman, Tetengi to state the value of the entire property allegedly taken by the Police and what he wants the panel to do for him in the circumstance, the petitioner put the value at over N10 million and that he wants the panel to help him and recover the said items from the Police.

In their response, the Police represented in the matter by Fidelis Ogwobe told the panel that he needed more time to contact the police officers listed as respondents in the case to enable him put up a defense for the Police.

Respondents in the petition are Makinde Ola, DPO Bwari Police station FCT, Shunku Terhermber, Bwari Police station FCT, Commissioner of Police FCT and Inspector General of Police.

The case was adjourned till 21st March, 2022 for cross-examination of the petitioner.

Reports on Monday indicated that Staff of the Nigerian Postal Service, NIPOST may be out for a showdown with the management over what some of the staff describes as tribal sentiment and blind interest under Dr. Adebayo Adewusi led management.

The staff also faulted the role of Bureau of Public Procurement, BPP in awarding a certificate to a staff of the organisation, which according to them did not have a background in procurement, adding that by the procurement act, he was not supposed to attend such a course or obtain a certificate to that effect.

“They (Management) have flouted the procurement acts by awarding procurement certification to staff without procurement background in the 2021 procurement conversion examination.” A source in the organisation told journalists.

Also the staff in a petition written to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of Federation insists that, the staff, a 54 year old Mr. Samuel Oluwasegun Sangotayo, which was on the BPP list number 118 with Examination number BPP/PCC/NOV/2021/142 was co-opted into the procurement department of NIPOST with fraudulent intention as he has no background in procurement before the NIPOST Management move against the procurement acts and rules of the civil service to appoint him as Director of Procurement.

The petition in part reads: “From all indications NIPOST has co-opted the BPP into its fold of agencies that abuse and flagrantly disregard extant rules, guidelines/procedures. This is manifested in the impunity by NIPOST management in planting a 54 years old substantive Deputy Director( Legal) on GL 16, by name Mr. Samuel Oluwasegun Sagontayo, in the procurement department, and allowing him to attend Procurement conversation course in 2021.

“This is against the procurement act. To Staff amazement the BPP went ahead to issue Certificate to this unworthy candidate despite petition. Mr. Samuel Oluwassegun is number 118 on the BPP Certification lists. This is contrary to a circular from the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, dated 14th June, 2017 with reference No. 59780/S.1/1.1/117 which states that Officers from other cadres in civil service are prohibited from procurement functions where career procurement Officers are available.

“Specifically, the BPP mandatory conversation training guidelines for 2021 as obtained from its website clearly indicated that; 2(b) Current cadre and grade level (Nominees should not be above GL 15 or equivalent). Why was Mr. S. O. Sagontayo, who has been on GL.16 since January 2018, allowed to take part in the November 2021 conversion exercise? Has the rules changed? 3(e) Nominees who are more than 50years of age or have less than 5years in service are not qualified to apply. Here the rule was violated because Mr. S.O Sagontayo is 54 year of age.”

According to staff of NIPOST the organization has moved from bad to worse since the coming on board of Dr. Ismail Adewusi, who took over the administration of NIPOST in December 2019.

“Under him (Dr. Ismail Adewusi) management have been operating with total disregard to the laid down rules and procedures obtainable in civil service. The provision of a circular from the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, dated 14th June, 2017 with reference No. 59780/S.1/1.1/117 states that Officers from other cadres in civil service are prohibited from procurement functions where career procurement Officers are available.

“On the contrary, a case in hand is the drafting of a non-career officer, a deputy director from the legal department to succeed the retired Director, while there are two (2) senior certified procurement officers with total disregard to the above cited circular.” The source said

Attempt to speak to the Director Corporate Communication; Mr. Frank Alao did not yield result as his phone is not reachable.

Wife of the Vice President, Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo, was in Maiduguri on Monday to visit the North East Children’s Learning Centre, which is a donor-funded school initiated by her husband on the 8th of March, 2017, during his 60th birthday.

The school is designed to provide accommodation, feeding, healthcare and education to about 1,500 children orphaned by Boko Haram across the six states in the North East.

Mrs Osinbajo was received at the Maiduguri International Airport, by Borno State Deputy Governor, Usman Kadafur and Borno’s First Lady, Dr Falmata Zulum, alongside top government officials and APC officials, especially women.

The VP’s wife visited the North East Children’s Learning Centre and interacted with students most of whom were drawn from internally displaced persons camps across the North East.

Mrs Osinbajo assessed the display of entrepreneurship skills by the children in different areas that included making of robots, tailoring and other facilities.

The Vice President’s wife was presented with a special birthday cake, celebrating the vice president’s 65th birthday.

Supported by the wife of Borno State governor and the children, Mrs Osinbajo cut the cake with gratitude to the children.

Mrs Osinbajo in her remark during a gathering at the centre, said the children are so special and precious to her husband and entire family.

Mrs Osinbajo also paid tribute to Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Zulum, for his massive developmental efforts towards the state’s restoration.

In her welcome address, Wife of Borno State Governor, Dr. Falmata Zulum, appreciated the Vice President’s wife for her visit and contributions to sustaining the objectives of the North East Children’s Learning Centre in the last five years.

Dr. Falmata thanked Mrs Osinbajo, her husband and donors who contributed towards the centre’s establishment, for their unquantifiable humanitarian support, noting that the education and general development of children cannot be left to government alone.

The Borno First Lady sent the goodwill of the people of the state to the Vice President on his 65th birthday.

-From Our Special CORRESPONDENT:

United Kingdom government has held training workshops for all 33 Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs) and their main stakeholders in Nigeria.

The workshops which held between 28 February and 4 March, were developed to offer critical support to SARCs who provide vital assistance and forensic and medical services to children, young people, women, and men who have been sexually abused, assaulted or raped. SARCs also support police and prosecution responses to crimes of sexual violence, abuse and exploitation.

A signed statement by the Press & Public Affairs Officer, Comms Lead, Prosperity and Economic Development, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, Ndidiamaka Eze said 33 SARC managers and stakeholders at both state and federal level participated in the workshops. This included officials from Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Women’s Affairs, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Ministry of Health, the Nigerian Police Force, as well as staff from hospitals. NGOs including Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC), International Federation of Women Lawyers, Nigeria (FIDA), Nigerian Civil Defence Corps, and UN Women also joined the workshops.

She said: “The workshops were organised by the Consular Section of the British High Commission in Abuja (BHC) and the British Deputy High Commission in Lagos (DBHC). They were paid for through the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development (FCDO’s) Consular Project Fund (CPF), in collaboration with the British Council, who supported the BHC in the preparation of these workshops. The workshops were delivered by visiting field experts, Alison Eaton, a senior retired UK Police Officer and International Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) expert, and Dr Isabelle Kerr, former Centre Manager of Glasgow & Clyde Rape Crisis in Scotland. The workshops complemented the work being done through the EU Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC) and Managing Conflict (MCN) programmes implemented by the British Council.”

She disclosed that during the workshops, Alison Eaton and Dr Isabelle Kerr shared outcomes from findings from their recently completed SARCs baseline assessments, coordinated by Consular Section to map SARC services across Nigeria with the aim of improving practice, increasing resources and ensuring improved access to SARCs for survivors across the country. The presenters facilitated the discussion and consultation among SARCs and stakeholders to identify areas of good practice, highlight challenges and gaps in service with a view to standardise practice across the country.

During the workshops, Dr Isabelle Kerr said: “The level of commitment and passion shown by managers and staff within SARCs is enormous and shows how the grit and determination of those who believe in survivor justice and wellbeing can achieve so much. State and government investment in policy and strategic direction for this work is crucial but we must not forget or ignore the frontline services that are being delivered by small, dedicated teams under sometimes challenging and under-resourced conditions. Both Alison and I were honoured to be asked to contribute our years of experience to this work.”

The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing who quoted to have said:
“It is incredibly encouraging to see how much work is being done to provide accessible services to survivors of rape and Sexual and Gender Based Violence in Nigeria. We were delighted to welcome Alison Eaton and Dr Kerr from the UK to build on this. Thank you to the British Council for the support they have offered to help to set up these workshops for us.

“Preventing sexual violence is a really important issue for me and for the UK government. The UK Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, has put this at the absolute top of her priorities. And I am mandated to really engage and lean in on this to support efforts to ensure that all women are given a genuine chance to realise their potential and gain the support they need to do so.”

These workshops organised by the BHC and funded by the FCDO will complement the current support that the British Council are providing to SARCs through their The Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC) programme and their Managing Conflict in Nigeria (MCN) programmes. RoLAC is concluding a 7-month intervention that will feed into the design of the European Union’s continued support to SARCs under RoLAC’s successor. To find out more about RoLAC and MGN please visit the Justice, conflict and security pages of the British Council

-From Our Special CORRESPONDENT:

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA on Monday arraigned the suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police Abba Kyari and six others before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court 8, Abuja, on an eight count criminal charge bordering on conspiracy and drug trafficking.

When the charge in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CR/57/2022, was read to the accused, DCP Abba Kyari; ACP Sunday Ubia; ASP James Bawa; Inspector Simon Agirigba; Inspector John Nuhu, who are all suspended police officers, pleaded not guilty while two other co-defendants Chibunna Umeibe and Emeka Ezenwanne pleaded guilty.

In the charge, NDLEA accused Kyari and the four other police officers of conspiracy, obstruction, and dealing in cocaine worth 17.55 kilogrammes. They were also accused of tampering with 21.25k kilogrammes of cocaine unlawfully.

The accused had arrived the Federal High Court premises under heavy security by NDLEA Strike Force officers. While the five-member prosecution team was led by the agency’s Director of Prosecution and Legal Services, Sunday Joseph, while Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN led 13 other lawyers to represent Kyari and Ubia. ASP James Bawa had Michael Mbanefo and Mariam Osene as defence counsel while M.Y Chiara and two others represented Agirigba and Nuhu, with EU Okenyi appearing for Umeibe and Ezenwanne.

After the accused took their pleas, Chief Agabi told the court that he had filed bail applications for the 1st and 2nd defendants since Tuesday 1st March 2022, a bid the prosecution opposed with a counter application. Justice Nwite in his remarks said he was yet to get the prosecution’s counter application and thereafter adjourned further hearing on bail to Monday 14th March.

The defence counsel urged the trial judge to remand the defendants in NDLEA custody instead of the Nigerian Correctional Centre, a request the prosecution said would not be objected on the ground that the defendants will be responsible for their own upkeep.

The defence counsel expressed fear that the review of facts against the 6th and 7th defendants who pleaded guilty will prejudice the case and therefore urged that the court put the review on hold pending the conclusion of the trial of the 1st to 5th defendants.

The NDLEA prosecution counsel however opposed the plea citing an existing judgment. He urged that the court should proceed with the sentencing of the 6th and 7th defendants since they had pleaded guilty adding that it will be totally unfair to keep them in prison pending the trial of the 1st to 5th defendants.

In all, five bail applications were filed for the 1st to the 5th defendants while the 8th defendant who is also a police officer is still at large. Justice Nwite adjourned the case to 28th of March 2022 for a review of facts and hearing of the case while all respondents are to be remanded in NDLEA facility pending the hearing of the bail application next Monday.

Qatar Airways has launched its first direct flight from Doha in Qatar to Kano in Nigeria.

Speaking at the event which held on Wednesday, the Nigerian Ambassador to the state of Qatar, Yakubu Abdullahi Ahmed, noted that the Qatar Airways has indeed made a wise decision by accepting his request to expand its operations to major commercial cities in Nigeria.

He noted that Kano is among the most densely populated cities in the country and the commercial capital of Northern Nigeria.

He further disclosed that, “As Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to the State of Qatar, it is part of my cardinal responsibilities to promote political, economic, and socio-cultural partnerships that will lead to the realisation of mutual benefits.

“I have no doubt, the milestone we are celebrating today will bring the people of Nigeria and Qatar closer. This will therefore give them the opportunity to interact and explore areas of common interests. With such interactions, strong bonds are bound to flourish”, he said.

The Ambassador also noted that since the beginning of his diplomatic assignment in Doha, he has received several enquiries from both Nigeria and Qatar about various fields of human endeavours, adding that such curiosity would certainly lead to only one thing – establishment of sustainable win-win cooperation.

He expresses readiness to provide the necessary support in any area of need, in order to ensure that the venture is sustained and has achieved the desired objective.

Nigerian government has assured it’s citizens in Ukraine of their safety, insisting that measures are being taking in that regard and to also evacuate them from that country.

The government statement followed an attack on Ukraine by Russian troops on Thursday after days of standoff.

A statement by the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Francisca Omayuli read: “The Federal Government of Nigeria has received with surprise, reports of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been reassured by the Nigerian Embassy in Ukraine of the safety of Nigerians in that country and measures being undertaken to keep them safe and facilitate the evacuation of those who wish to leave.”

The statement added that: “The Federal Government wishes to assure the families with loved ones in Ukraine that as soon as the airports in the country are opened, it would assist in facilitating the evacuation of Nigerians who are willing to leave.”

According to the statement, the Nigerian Mission in Ukraine has confirmed that military action by the Russians has been confined to military installations.