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Monday, October 31, 2016
$2.1bn Arms Deal: Dasuki Intends To Call Former President Goodluck Jonathan As Witness

Former National Security Adviser (NSA) Sambo Dasuki, who is currently on trial for alleged mismanagement of $2.1 billion arms funds, says he intends to invite former President Goodluck Jonathan as his witness.

Jonathan has in the past condemned the charges against Dasuki, claiming that there is no way the ex-NSA could have stolen about $2.2billion funds for arms.

Dr. Jonathan said:

“We bought warships, we bought aircraft, we bought lots of weapons for the army,” he said in a recent interview at the Oxford Union in the United Kingdom.

Speaking with The Nation correspondent, Mr. Ahmed Raji (SAN), the ex-NSA’s counsel, said Dasuki wanted Jonathan to testify in court on his behalf.
Raji said:

“It will be desirable for Jonathan to testify for the ex-NSA. It will throw greater light into grey areas. And it will serve the interest of Justice. It will be fantastic for him to go to court to testify. Dasuki is an agent of a disclosed and known principal.”

Another member of Dasuki's legal team said:

“With what Jonathan said in London, the only logical thing for him to do is to see it through.

“We want Jonathan to follow-through. If he backs out, it will be bad.” But, in Raji’s view, a political solution will be better than trial because of the “characters involved”. He said: “But, frankly speaking, I pray for a political solution to the problem because of the characters involved.

“Both the accused and the government should embrace a political solution to the problem.

”When asked if Dasuki was ready to proffer a political solution, he answered:

“Why not? He is. He added:

”I believe the President is very sincere. He wants to reorganise Nigeria and he deserves the support of all.

“With a political solution, Mr. President will be in good stead to overcome unnecessary distractions in order to succeed. “I pray that everybody will key into his vision and the economic challenges facing the nation.” Those point of advising a political solution is that it will not be “tidy” for Dasuki to mention all those who got money from his office. Among them, said a source, are a prominent traditional ruler in the North, who reportedly got N500 million and a former Head of State. A source, who spoke in confidence, said Dasuki’s defence team was banking on Jonathan’s testimony. The source said: “All is set for the defence of Dasuki, who is still insisting on an open trial to let Nigerians know the beneficiaries of the arms cash.

“One of those who may testify is ex-President Goodluck Jonathan whose remarks in London appeared to be the first phase of the war chest of the ex-NSA.

“You know the ex-NSA said he acted on Jonathan’s instructions in disbursing some of the cash. And from the look of things, the ex-President is now ready to accept responsibility for whatever Dasuki did.

“We believe it has reached a level that Nigerians must know what really happened, how funds were disbursed and who got what. “This is why a secret trial is not a viable option, with the way things are going.”

“So far, we have secured the consent of Jonathan to appear in court for Dasuki. This will make the trial worth it.

”Dasuki had on December 13, 2015 said he disbursed the funds on Jonathan’s instructions.

The ex-NSA said:

“I wish to state as follows: That I have been publicly indicted and any statement may jeopardise my defence. Having been briefed by the EFCC investigators on why I was invited, I will answer the charges in court. As such, I do not wish to make any further statement on the matter.

“That I am aware in November (I cannot remember the exact date), my office requested the CBN to exchange N10billion from the account of the Office of National Security Adviser domiciled in CBN. The money was exchanged at $47m and some Euros which I cannot remember. The exact amount was delivered at my residence.

“The money was for delegates that attended the nomination convention for the PDP. Presidential nomination. The money was paid and sent to Hon. (Waripamowei) Dudafa (SSAP Household) and ADC(C-I-C) for distribution on the instruction of the President.

“Based on the statement of Director of Finance and Administration (Salisu), Ibrahim Wambai, and Yazidu Ibrahim, all the cash (both foreign and local) are usually given to them for official use. “I also noted the statement of Sagir Bafarawa whose company is Dalhatu Investment in which he stated that he received the sum of N4,633,000,000 from the account of the Office of the NSA. I authorised the payment . The money was for vehicles, motorcycles for youth empowerment and women sent to Saudi Arabia. I got the proposal from the President. I do not have the proposal; it should be at the office in the Villa.”

Source: The Nation

Monday, October 31, 2016
Buhari Set To Sack 2 Cabinet Members Indicted By Arms Deal Probe

New Telegraph is reporting that President Muhammadu Buhari may have concluded plans to sack two of his top aides who have been indicted by the presidential arms deal probe panel.

The 13-man Presidential Committee on the Audit of Defence Equipment Procurement in the Nigerian Armed Forces (2007-2015) submitted its final report to Buhari on Sunday, October 23, and it indicted several army chiefs and Nigerians in top government positions.

“To say the least, the final report is too weighty and indicting, and those in the know are furious about startling discoveries,” someone familiar with the matter said.

The arms panel report established that there were irregularities and fraud in some of the arms procurement under the watch of the aides.

However, there are fears that the panel report will be suppressed because of those indicted in the latest report.

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Monday, October 31, 2016
Five Soldiers, 3 Others Killed In Boko Haram Ambush In Borno

Five soldiers of the Operation LAFIYA DOLE were on Sunday killed while carrying out clearance operations on suspected Boko Haram terrorists’ hideouts in Talala and Ajigin, southern part of Borno State.

Three vigilantes and 1 Civilian JTF lost their lives during the ambush, while 19 soldiers and 1 Civilian JTF sustained various degrees of injuries.

Confirming the incident, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, the Acting Director Army Public Relations, said the bodies of the late soldiers and civilians had been evacuated to Maiduguri, while the injured were currently receiving treatment in an undisclosed hospital.

Usman said the troops destroyed the terrorists’ Gun truck and recovered 2 Anti-Aircraft guns, 2 spare Gun barrels, 1 General Purpose Machine Gun, 1 Rocket Propelled Grenade, 1 AK-47 Rifle and 320 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition.

He recalled that another set of troops had earlier cleared Zira, Abulam, Dusula, and Buk villages before returning to base in Bulabulin.

He said, “in a related development, based on information received about gathering of some suspected Boko Haram terrorists around Bori village, which is 16 kilometres away from Mainok, outskirts of Maiduguri, troops swung into action and neutralized them.

“The troops recovered 3 Motorcycles, 1 hand Grenade, 1 round of 7.62mm ammunition, Solar panel, a pair of Niger Republic military camouflage uniform, 1 Gionee mobile telephone handset, 1 Wet Cell battery and half bag of groundnut.”

Meanwhile, Vigilant soldiers on Sunday shot dead a suspected Boko Haram suicide bomber in Maiduguri after he was spotted trying to creep into the Bakassi Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs camp.

Monday, October 31, 2016
Saraki Hails Army For Buying 50,000 'Made In Aba' Shoes

President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has commended the Nigerian Army for its decision to purchase 50,000 pairs of shoes from local manufacturers in Aba, Abia State, for use by its officers.

He said the move showed that the military was living up to its billing as an institution that could play vital roles in boosting the economy.

In a statement by the Special Adviser to the Senate President on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, Saraki said the Army’s decision to patronise made-in-Nigeria footwear was a good example, which showed the force as a pacesetter and a truly national institution ready to contribute its quota in ending the present economic recession in the country.

The Senate President urged other military and paramilitary forces to emulate the Army by immediately banning the purchase of all imported footwear in preference to locally-produced ones.

He also urged the military and paramilitary agencies not to limit their patronage and promotion of made-in-Nigeria goods to only shoes but to other items that could be sourced locally.

Saraki also praised the Nigerian Air Force for cooperating with Innoson Motor Group towards the manufacturing of some aircraft parts.

He said, “This is the essence of the amendment of the Public Procurement Act by the Senate since June. The new law compels all ministries, departments and agencies of government to compulsorily give preference to goods and services, which can be sourced locally.

“We believe one of the gains that our country will derive from this recession is to make our people look inward and patronise locally-made goods.

“Patronage of Made-in-Nigeria goods is an obvious panacea for our economic problems.

“We will by doing that increase our Gross Domestic Product, empower our youths, challenge their creativity, increase revenue generation ability of state governments and improve on the sense of self pride and patriotism of Nigerians.”

Monday, October 31, 2016
Emirates Airlines Officially Shuts Down Abuja Operations

Emirates Airlines on Sunday officially shut down its operations in Abuja, the nation’s capital though temporarily.

The airline had announced that it would suspend its four flights per week from Abuja to Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), with effect from October 30, 2016.

“The decision was made after a review of the airline’s operations to ensure the best utilisation of its aircraft fleet for its overall business objectives. The airline continues to serve Nigeria with a daily flight to and from Lagos,” the airline said in a statement.

It was learnt that though the suspension commenced yesterday based on the notification letter sent to the ministry of transportation by the airline, reservation from Abuja had since closed.

However, a source in Emirates told Dailytrust that the suspension was temporary and may soon reopen operation.

Monday, October 31, 2016
BOMBSHELL: Buhari's Minister Says Biafra Agitators Do Not Have Mandate Of Ndigbo

The minister of foreign affairs Geofrey Onyeama has given his advice to all agitators for a Biafran state.

Onyeama who spoke over the weekend in Enugu state said all groups agitating for the independence of Biafra must adhere to the constitution and the diplomatic rules in achieving the demand.

He urged the group to desist from disorderliness and disruptive agitation as a means of justifying their emotion.

The minister also said the Biafra agitators are yet to establish a mandate of the Igbo nation as was the case in the United Kingdom where the Scottish separa­tists group have the man­date of their representatives at the parliament.

“I strongly believe the ag­itators are not speaking for Ndigbo as they do not have the mandate of the Igbo race to do so. My advice is for them to embrace dia­logue rather than violence at all times,”Onyeama said.

Onyeama also advised the people of South East and other tribes in Nigeria to continue their support for the All Progressives Congress-led government.

He said this support will help stir Nigeria out of the present socio-economic and politi­cal doldrums occasioned by endemic corruption from the previous administration in the country.

Onyeama also said that Pres­ident Muhammadu Buhari has put necessary mechanism in place to address the present economic crisis ravaging the country.

Also speaking, the Enugu State Chairman of the APC Ben Nwoye assured the national leadership of the party that the state chapter is high­ly committed in wrestling power from the Peoples Democratic party (PDP) in 2019.

Nwoye said the existing political structures are currently been oiled and strengthened at all levels in the state.

Meanwhile, some Igbo leader have called on President Buhari to release the incarcerated leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPO Nnamdi Kanu.

The leaders during a World Igbo Summit Group led by a former senator Ike Nwachukwu said the Igbo race in committed to work for one Nigeria.

The group also released a 10-point communique calling for the release of Kanu and other detainees “since they do not constitute a threat to national security.”