IPOB will be more dangerous if they go underground -Ikeji

IPOB will be more dangerous if they go underground -Ikeji

— 5th October 2017

By Chukwudi Nweje

Ikechukwu Ikeji is a lawyer, based in Lagos. In this interview, he faults the proscription of IPOB by a federal High Court and the proposed law on hate speech among other issues.

The Federal High Court in Abuja recently declared the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) a terrorist organisation. This was after Justice Binta Nyako also of a Federal High Court Abuja dismissed the terrorism charge against IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu. Is this not a conflict in judgement by two courts of concurrent jurisdiction?

It is a contraction. The only grounds on which IPOB could have been declared a terrorist organisation is if the federal government presented fresh facts that were not available the first time Nnamdi Kanu was arraigned. That is facts that happened after the first time Kanu was arraigned and later acquitted by Justice Binta Nyako. That is the only grounds on which the federal government can present new evidence and now say that IPOB has degenerated into a terrorist group and then based on that evidence the federal government can now present its petition before the court. Perhaps it was based on those new facts that Justice Abdul Adamu Kafarati granted the application. But if there are no new facts to show that IPOB has engaged in terrorist activities, then it is an aberration to rather than go on appeal, approach a court of concurrent jurisdiction to declare IPOB a terrorist organisation.

What do you suggest then?

We can actually approach it from two fronts, one that there are fresh facts and two there are no fresh facts. If there are fresh facts, IPOB could be entitled to approach Justice Kafarati, who made the order to present a counter affidavit to show that the evidences presented by the Attorney General of the Federation does not support the declaration that IPOB is a terrorist organisation.  Where the honourable Justice does not agree with IPOB, it has another option to go to the Court of Appeal after the Court of Appeal; it can go to the Supreme Court.

Now if the federal government is saying that there are fresh facts, what IPOB can do is to show that those fresh facts do not amount to terrorism. If the judge disagrees with them, they also have the opportunity of going on appeal, because they have the right to fair hearing. The right to fair hearing is an inalienable right of every body under the constitution.

Can the security agencies, based on intelligence reports declare an organisation a terrorist group?   

The security agencies have absolutely no power to declare IPOB or any other group a terrorist organisation. The only way you can classify an organisation a terrorist group is if they have violent inclination or activity aimed at taking some kind of advantage. For example, if you have political views and use violence to push others towards your views, that is terrorism. You can see this in Section 1 of the Terrorism Prevention Act 2011 as amended in 2013 that is where you can see the list of activities that constitute terrorism.

Boko Haram initially started out building Islamic schools and doing charity works. It turned a terrorist group after the founder; Mohammed Yusuf was killed in 2009. Do you also nurse the fear that IPOB may turn the same way?

I have the concern, may be not fears. I don’t know any member of IPOB, but I know that when a group is so determined even if it means using some violence, they may go underground and use the opportunity of the underground to carry out heinous activities. So it is more dangerous having them underground than discussing with them. You cannot defeat the argument that discussion and dialogue is the only way forward.

President Muhammadu Buhari was at the United Nations General Assembly to agitate for restructuring of the Security Council. How do you reconcile that with his stance on restructuring of Nigeria?

He is speaking from both sides of his mouth, he is being hypocritical and I will cite instances. He is speaking on the self-determination rights of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and Palestine, but in his own country he does not believe in the self-determination rights of the people. He is not saying the truth, he is only playing politics and negative diplomacy, and it is unacceptable.

How do we dowse the tension?

The way to douse the tension is to call everybody to dialogue. Agitation is a human right recognised by Article 20 (1) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, which has been domesticated in Nigerian law by the African Charter Ratification Act 1993 and given judicial recognition by the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure Rule 2009. We must accept the fact that a group of people have the right to agitate and the language they use to agitate should not be a problem. People are deceived by the language of Nnamdi Kanu and they use it to blackmail the real purpose of his agitation. In any case, hate speech is not an offence; it is only an offence if it leads to defamation of character. The law of sedition is no longer part of Nigerian Criminal Justice System. So we should not allow the content of Nnamdi Kanu’s speech to overwhelm the self-determination content.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo may disagree with you on hate speech. He has said the federal government will make a law so that hate speech becomes an act of terror. What is your take on that?

He said the federal government will soon criminalise hate speech. He didn’t cite any law because there is no such law. The only law that relates to what somebody says is the Criminal Defamation Law, which has to do with what you say that destroys the character of another person and it has nothing to do with hate speech. Hate speech is wrong morally and socially but legally, there is no provision against it. Even in the United States, the Supreme Court has severally held that there is no way you can legislate against hate speech. So the Vice President never quoted any law, he only said the federal government will criminalise hate speech. But as soon as that law comes out is as soon as it will be shut down because it will infringe on the fundamental right to free speech.

Cristiano Ronaldo sells his Ballon d'Or trophy to raise £530,000 for charity  

Cristiano Ronaldo has once again extended his generosity to a charity organization by selling off a prized Ballon d'Or trophy to raise over £530,000 for Make-A-Wish Foundation.

According to Spanish daily Marca, the Real Madrid star donated a replica of his 2013 award to a London auction at the weekend which was bought by Idan Ofer, Israel's richest person, for €600,000.

The Portuguese star specifically asked for the replica of his 2013 award to be donated to the charity auction, to raise funds for the UK charity, which grants wishes for children with life-threatening medical conditions or who are terminally ill.

The Ballon d'Or trophy is recognised as one of the highest personal accolades a player can receive in the game. Cristiano Ronaldo has won the award four times '2008, 2013, 2014 and 2016' in all. 

Dr. Chris Okafor explodes, declares ''Biafra is a spirit, you can't kill it with guns''

The General Overseer of the Mountain of Liberation and Miracle Ministries a.k.a Liberation City has broken his silence over the on going Biafra agitation in the South East of Nigeria and the military exercise code named “Python Dance 2” or “Egwu Eke 2”. The renowned man of God who is today regarded as one of Africa’s most accurate and revered prophets is known to always bare his mind whenever he senses a leading of the Holy Spirit. He spoke from the headquarters of his thriving ministry in the Ojodu area of Lagos.

At the grande finale of an annual worldwide program of the church known as “Not My Head, Not My Blood” on Sunday, October the 1st, 2017, the man of God felicitated with Nigeria on her Independence Day Celebration and prayed for Peace and Unity. But he warned that no one ever achieves lasting peace and unity through the barrels of the gun.

On the on going Operation “Egwu Eke 2” in the South East of Nigeria, the fiery man of God known always for his unrivaled prophetic accuracy and point blankness on national issues declared that it’s unfair for the Nigerian government to deploy the full weight of the military in the manner they did, to quell the secessionist agitations of the IPOB members and in fact the people of that region. According to Dr. Okafor “our Government needs to learn how to resolve issues with dialogue. No amount of time or resources expended towards dialogue is a waste. This is not 1967. Anybody who thinks that they can kill an agitation like Biafra with force is truly living in fools’ paradise. It can never happen! Biafra is a spirit. Wasn’t it Ojukwu who started it? He’s gone but Biafra is still here. You can’t kill a spirit with guns and arrows, not even with a nuclear bomb. If Ojukwu’s exit did not kill the agitation, how can any human being think or believe that Nnamdi Kanu’s exit will kill the agitation. As a matter of fact, more people have now joined the agitation and mark my words, worst people than Nnamdi Kanu will soon emerge-they are already there and nobody knows how peaceful those ones will be. We should behave like a 21st century constitutional entity and stop using force to do everything. Dialogue is the only way out and the Government of the day must take advantage now!” he declared.

Continuing he said “for instance, when I heard that ipob was proscribed, classified as a terrorist organization, I had a big gasp. What terrorist organization?! They were duly registered, they haven’t beheaded anybody, they haven’t gone about killing people everywhere, they are known largely as a peaceful movement. I couldn’t just reconcile that proscription with what all of us have known ipob to be over the years. These kinds of things are the reason there are agitations in the first place. Today we have the Kurds in Iraq pushing for referendum, the English speaking area of cameroun pushing as well, the Catalonians, etc. Nigeria is not the only place where people have ever agitated or are agitating for self rule. It’s going on all over the world. Non of those organizations that are leading the agitations have been labeled terrorist organizations. Even the United States, the European Union, etc have also been shocked by this bizarre proscription. What is wrong with us? I think they should start talks immediately for Restructuring and Referendum if possible to lay all these to rest before it is too late.”

Going further he says, “i’m in no way advocating for the dismemberment of Nigeria and everyone who knows me knows my position on that, but I repeat, if Nigeria does not put its acts together, this thing will blow up in her face and no amount of force can stop the outcome.

According to the man of God “I see a situation where there was an escalation and there was bloodshed everywhere. I’m talking about the kind of bloodshed that even the Government couldn’t handle and everyone was involved. It’s going to be a nationwide thing, not just for the people in the South East or South South. See, i’m not a prophet of doom, but when God speaks, we must speak out also, no matter how people feel about it. I see a very black day for Nigeria if the government doesn’t immediately arrest this ugly situation that has led to agitations here and there. And I hope those concerned are listening.”

In closing, the fiery preacher declared, “let us keep praying for the country, because if we don’t pray, we will all share from what is to come. We must pray in particular that God should give our leaders the wisdom to steer the ship of State in the right direction. Wisdom, the bible says, is profitable to direct.

Over 400 unknown armed men camp in Benue Community, Benue journalists forum alleges

Members of Benue Journalists’ Forum Nigeria (BJFN), an association of professional journalists of Benue State extraction are calling on the Inspector General of Police and Benue State Government to investigate an allegation that more than 400 unknown armed men have been camping in the mountainous community of Turan, Kwande Local Government Area of the state since early September, 2017.

In a statement released by Comrade Joseph Saater Undu, the National President of BJFN, he said the men suspected to be herders and nonresidents of the community, are alleged to have entered the unoccupied terrain through Cameroun border and Kashimbila, a border town between Taraba and Benue states, and are gradually moving towards the inhabited areas of the community.

Read the full statement below....

'We are compelled to make this disclosure based on the highly commendable whistleblowing policy of the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration and the recent groundbreaking discovery of a fake military base in Okpokwu area of the state by the Nigerian Army on Tuesday 26th September, 2017, where the fake soldiers in the base were alleged to have been operating a criminal enterprise and training high profile criminals.' 

'From the information available to us, these herdsmen came with cattle laden with loads suspected to be arms and ammunition.'

'A young Tiv hunter who discovered the unknown men in the mountainous region of the community said, some of them look like people from Niger. When they heard his gunshot while chasing an antelope, they responded with over 100 gunshots; the sound of guns he has never heard before.'

'It could be recalled that herdsmen and their alleged sponsors had in recent time vowed to take over Benue valley by attacking it from six fronts namely, Kwande, Guma, Konshisha, Vande-Ikyaa and Gwer respectively.'

'These herdsmen and their alleged sponsors have threatened legal action against Benue State Government over Anti- Grazing Law and have even protested against the anti-grazing bill in Taraba state.'

'We suspect a grand plot to destabilize the Benue Valley taking cognizance of the claim by Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) at a recent press conference in Abuja that they were the first settlers in the Valley and that it belongs to them'.

'We are not sure if they are fleeing members of the dreaded Boko Haram terrorist group who want to open a new camp in the region.It will be recalled that a similar incident occurred in Bali and Gembu local government areas of Taraba State recently.'

'BJFN therefore, calls on the Federal Government to collaborate with Benue State Government to ensure that the lives and property of our people are secured as they cannot continue to live in fear in their fatherland.'

'The reprehensible activities of herdsmen over the past years have caused our people serious damage.'

'Benue people are predominantly farmers and because the government has failed in its responsibility to provide us with the basic needs of life, the only thing we have, land, should not be taken away from us.'

'In addition, we want to reiterate our unflinching support for the Anti Grazing Law in the state and call on the state government to make sure the law is fully implemented and enforced to the latter.'

Putin: Construction of World Cup venues on track

Putin: Construction of World Cup venues on track

— 5th October 2017

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that some construction work on the venues for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in the country remains behind schedule, but he insists the delays are not yet “critical”.

Next year’s edition of football’s quadrennial international tournament is due to take place from June 14 to July 15, using 12 venues spread across 11 cities.

Speaking at a meeting with Regional Governors, senior sports officials and prominent athletes to discuss preparations, Putin stated that while work was “entirely satisfactory” overall, “there are nevertheless some delays”.

“These delays are not critical, there is nothing terrible there, but as I have always said…it is the most difficult thing to resolve tasks at a final stage,” he was reported as saying by Reuters.

“If we relax, we will not fully accomplish the work.”

Russian Sports Minister Pavel Kolobkov claimed preparations to stage the 2018 World Cup were in full swing but they had not been without problems and setbacks.

Kolobkov said the 45,000-capacity Samara Arena, which will host several games, remains behind schedule and that the company building the venue had been fined.

“There are some delays at different stages of construction at the stadium in Samara,” he was reported as saying by Reuters.

“A timetable for making up for the delays and [a system] for the daily monitoring of the venue’s completion have been established.”

The contractor of the venue announced in August that the stadium had fallen 30 days behind its construction schedule.

Sergei Ponomaryov, the deputy head of general contractor PSO Kazan, insisted, however, that major construction work would be complete by the agreed deadline of later this year.

In June, Russia showcased four venues as it hosted the Confederations Cup in a dress rehearsal for the World Cup.

Most of the other venues, however, are still under construction and have yet to be tested.

In an attempt to make stadiums safer, Russia will issue special identity cards.

The country has also relaxed visa regulations for travelling fans.

Alexey Sorokin, the chief executive of the Russia 2018 Organising Committee, claimed at the meeting that FIFA has spoken highly of preparations for the World Cup.

“Inspection visits [to the host cities] are held regularly together with FIFA experts,” he was reported as saying by Russian news agency TASS.

“The sixth, last but one visit, is being held now.

“FIFA experts assess the level of preparedness of stadiums and major World Cup facilities.

“The inspectors have already visited Yekaterinburg, Samara, Nizhny Novgorod, Saransk and Rostov-on-Don.”

Sorokin added: “To date, FIFA, as a whole, has had a favourable view of the degree of the host cities’ readiness for the tournament.”

A stand has bizarrely been added outside the Yekaterinburg Arena, which, with a capacity of 27,000, was deemed too small to meet FIFA standards.

APC mourns Mukhtar Muhammed

APC mourns Mukhtar Muhammed

— 4th October 2017

The APC has condoled with the family of late Air Vice Marshall Mukhtar Muhammed (rtd), a former military governor of old Kaduna State.

According to a statement issued by Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, APC National Publicity Secretary on Wednesday in Abuja, the deceased died at the age of 73 in London.

The party also condoled with the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and the government and people of Kaduna and Jigawa states over the death of the elder statesman.

The party described the deceased as a patriot and a leading progressive voice in the country, who spoke passionately for the unity and development of the North and the entire country.

According to the APC, Muhammed also spoke on the need to salvage the country and the Northern region from problems of insecurity and poverty.

“He was one of the country’s finest and principled military officer who distinguished himself in the various commands and assignments he held and undertook in the Nigerian Air-force.

“While the death of AVM Muhammed is a sad and painful loss, we should take solace in the fact that he lived an impactful life.”

It prayed Almighty Allah (SWT) to grant his soul eternal rest.

The deceased was the Wazirin Dutse, and Chairman of the first private FM Radio station in Kano State, Freedom Radio and ACF Board of Trustees Deputy Chairman.