Politicians Machete Magistrate

Politicians Machete Magistrate in Court
• Former governor forcibly taken away
From Segun Awofadeji in Gombe, 03.21.2007

In a move reminiscent of James Bond's movie, thugs, popularly called Yan Kalare, and politicians loyal to the Democratic People’s Party (DPP) gubernatorial candidate in Gombe State, Alhaji Abubakar Hashidu, yesterday stormed the Pantami Magistrate Court where he was standing trial on criminal charges, and forcibly took him away after inflicting injuries on the presiding magistrate, Mr. Joseph Garba Shinga.
Hashidu was also a former governor of the state.
Shinga, who sustained deep cuts on his forehead, told reporters at the Federal Medical Center, Gombe where he was rushed to for treatment, that the court room situated at Kasuwar Shanu near Tashan Dukku, was attacked by hoodlums numbering about 20 with dangerous weapons.

According to him, the court was considering adjourning the case till today because there were several applications before it, as the defense counsel sought for bail while the prosecuting counsel objected on grounds that it has no jurisdiction to offer bail in a criminal case, when the thugs attacked.
Speaking to THISDAY, a staff of the court confirmed that supporters of Hashidu and some thugs armed with cutlasses, machetes and guns who objected to the ruling of the court that the accused be remanded in prison custody until the case comes up for hearing on a later date, allegedly went berserk.

He said the supporters who overwhelmed the staff, rushed into the court room in a Rambo-like manner inflicting injuries on the presiding magistrate and other security operatives before whisking away the former governor to an unknown destination.
Confirming the incident to newsmen in his office, the state police commissioner, Barrister Joseph Ahmed Ibi, said the command was awaiting a court order on whether to re-arrest Hashidu for escaping from lawful custody or for a contempt of court, stressing that the 'crowd' that stormed the court overwhelmed his men.
It would be recalled that following the violence perpetrated last Sunday allegedly by supporters and thugs in the campaign train of Hashidu, the state police command placed him behind bars and charged him for allegedly inciting public disturbance, arson and conspiracy.

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Drama in Senate, PTDF Committee Members Resign
• Atiku: Obasanjo should testify on oath
By Idowu Sowunmi in Lagos and Sufuyan Ojeifo in Abuja, 03.21.2007

Crisis yesterday night hit the Senate, as all members of the Review Committee set up to complete and fill the gaps in the report of the Ad-Hoc Committee on Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) resigned in a dramatic manner.
This happened on a day Vice President Atiku Abubakar described as "unfortunate" the statement credited to President Olusegun Obasanjo where he denied ever giving him (Atiku) approval to place $20 million PTDF investment in the Trans International Bank (TIB).

Chairman of the Committee, Senator Umaru Tsauri and the six other members of the Committee tendered a joint letter of resignation, dated March 20, 2007 to the President of the Senate, Senator Ken Nnamani.
The members who signed the letter were Senator Timothy Adudu, Senator Sa’ad Mohammed, Senator John Azuta Mbata, Senator Akin Olasunkanmi, Senator Chris Adighije and Senator Bello Maitama-Yusuf.
The one-page letter entitled: "Re: Resignation From Senate Review Committee on PTDF" reads: "We wish to inform the leadership that the Review Committee set up by the Senate to review the report of the Ad-Hoc Committee on the PTDF concluded its report as scheduled.
"However, considering the fact that the leadership is not certain about the time it would want the report to be presented, we, members of the Review Committee, hereby respectfully resign our membership. We remain grateful for the honour of consideration to serve."

The Senate yesterday gave the seven-member review committee an open cheque to determine when it would submit its report. But in a swift riposte yesterday night, Nnamani told THISDAY that "there is more to it than meets the eyes."
He said he would meet with his colleagues in the Senate leadership to articulate a more coherent response to the letter.
According to him, "Let me study it and I will come up with a coherent response to the letter. I am yet to sort it out with my colleagues."

The Senate President said so many things had gone wrong and that the Presidency had been degraded, adding "this whole thing is getting messier."
According to Nnamani, "it was only yesterday morning that the Chairman of the Committee came to the floor of the Senate to request for more time.
"The Committee Chairman said that because of the testimony of Otunba Johnson Fasawe and the fresh revelations, there was need to request for more time to do a thorough job."
He queried: "Does it mean that between morning and evening, the Committee has resolved the fresh issues raised and put together its report?
"It is important we get to the roots of the matter and resolve the matter as soon as possible."
The report was due for submission yesterday, but Chairman of the Review Committee, Senator Tsauri had while addressing the Senate in plenary under Order 43 (Personal Explanation), said he was compelled to ask for more time to tidy up the report against the backdrop of fresh pieces of information that have been filtering into the Committee.

He had specifically complained about the appearance of Fasawe and the fresh revelations from his presentations, which according to him completely altered the direction of the Committee’s assignment.
His words: "Mr. President, I am coming under Order 43 to explain that the Review Committee that was due to submit its report today (yesterday) cannot do it. We had thought that we would finish our report on Monday.
"We invited Otunba Fasewe and he came with information which completely changed the direction of our investigation.
"We need more time to do a comprehensive work. We appeal to our colleagues to allow us more time. We will submit our report anytime from now."
The Senate President, in granting the Committee’s request, had stressed the need for it to be allowed to do a thorough job "on the basis of the pieces of information filtering into the Committee."
He had stated that a specific time should have been indicated by the Committee Chairman, but that since he (the Committee Chairman) had said the Committee would submit its report "anytime from now", the Senate should grant the request.
He had thereafter put the question and the request for time extension without a definite time-line was rejected through a voice vote but since such request, according to the Senate President was not open to debate, he had granted the request of the Committee.

But THISDAY gathered last night that the Committee members decided to resign in order to forestall alleged moves by the Senate leadership to rubbish them and their report, which according to feelers indicted both Obasanjo and Atiku.
A member of the Committee, Senator Timothy Adudu, also confirmed to THISDAY that the Committee met till 2 a.m. yesterday at the White House in the National Assembly putting the report together.
He said the report was ready as early as that time, but claimed that the Senate leadership asked that it (report) be first submitted to it before the presentation on the floor.
Adudu hinted that there were moves by the leadership, apparently under some form of pressure from outside the legislature, to either amend or water down the report, a move he said was considered "dangerous" to their reputations.
He said the Committee membership had insisted that the report be presented yesterday so the Senate could either accept or reject it.

Meanwhile, Vice President Atiku Abubakar yesterday described as "unfortunate" the statement credited to President Olusegun Obasanjo denying that he ever gave him approval to place $20 million PTDF investment in the Trans International Bank (TIB).
A statement by the Atiku Campaign Organisation also argued that "the claims of the Vice President on oath cannot be vitiated by a letter from the President. Let the President come out and speak on oath.
"That is the only guarantee that he can say the truth. He knows the consequences of lying on oath and we believe that only when he speaks on oath would his submission have the weight to contradict what the Vice President said under oath.
"Nigerians are getting wise to the fact that rather than face up to the truth, the President and his handlers prefer to stumble from one lie to another, in a desperate bid to extricate themselves from the credibility crisis they found themselves in."
The statement added that "since the PTDF saga started, the Vice President has consistently maintained that both the Mofas account and Marine Float accounts were bank accounts placed at the disposal of both the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Obasanjo/Atiku Presidential Campaign to prosecute the 2003 elections."
The Vice President has also maintained that the $20 million placed in TIB was placed on the verbal approval of President Obasanjo. "On the other hand, the President has denied knowledge of the existence of Mofas account. Evidence offered by Otunba Oyewole Fasawe, supported with bank instruments, shows quite clearly that President Obasanjo paid N700 million into the Mofas account to remedy the over-drawn situation of the account, and thereby corroborates the Vice President’s view that Mofas account was used to fund the PDP and the 2003 elections," the statement said.
According to him, "the revelation has shown whose claims Nigerians should believe on the PTDF saga. Besides, the Vice President gave his evidence on oath and we expect that whatever he said should be contradicted by the Presidency on oath. If President Obasanjo is sure of himself, he should accept the invitation of the Senate and appear before the Review Committee of the PTDF investigation."

The Atiku Campaign Organisation said it is gratified that the new evidences coming before the Senate – both from Fasawe and from the banks – agree with the submissions earlier given by the Vice President. "PTDF continues to insist that it did not lose money through investment deposits in banks. PTDF officials who appeared before the Senate Review Panel, including Executive Secretary, Kabir Mohammed and the Assistant General Manager (AGM) Finance and Administration, Areyinka Jolomi, stated that Federal Executive Council approval was not required for placement of PTDF funds as term deposit.
"Jolomi said no money was lost through bank deposits and the money deposited in Trans International Bank, now Spring Bank is being recovered with a monthly re-payment of $2 million to the PTDF.
"According to him, out of the $23.75 million held in Spring Bank, PTDF had received $5.75 million refund by the bank. The only loss to PTDF, he claimed, was $315,000 being the forfeiture of the interest accruable to the fund from the deposit in the bank through restructuring and renegotiation of transactions, a waiver that was approved by President Obasanjo."

Meanwhile, the senate yesterday gave the seven-member review committee on the report of the ad-hoc committee looking into the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) an open cheque to determine when it would submit its report.
The report was due for submission yesterday. But chairman of the review committee, Senator Umaru Tsauri had hinted Monday that the committee might not be able to meet up with yesterday’s time-line for submission.
Addressing the senate in plenary yesterday under Order 43 (Personal Explanation), Tsauri said he was compelled to ask for more time to tidy up the report against the backdrop of fresh pieces of information that have been filtering into the committee.
He specifically complained about the appearance of Fasawe and the fresh revelations from his presentations, which, according
to him, completely altered the direction of the committee’s assignment.
“I am coming under Order 43 to explain that the Review Committee that was due to submit its report today (yesterday) cannot do it. We had thought that we would finish our report on Monday,” he said.
“We invited Otunba Fasawe and he came with information which completely changed the direction of our investigation. We need more time to do a comprehensive work. We appeal to our colleagues to allow us more time. We will submit our report anytime from now.”

The Senate President, Senator Ken Nnamani, in granting the committee’s request, stressed the need for it to be allowed to do a thorough job on the basis of the pieces of information filtering into the committee.
He stated that a specific time should have been indicated by the committee chairman, but that since he (the committee chairman) had said that the committee would submit its report “anytime from now”, the Senate should grant the request.
He thereafter put the question and the request for time extension was unanimously granted. This is the second time in a week from the time of its inauguration Tuesday last week that the review committee would seek for time extension.

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FCDA Issues Quit Notice to Court
From Funso Muraina in Abuja, 03.20.2007

Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), has given quit notice to the Federal High Court, Abuja, where Vice-President Atiku Abubakar's suit challenging his disqualification from the presidential race was being heard.
The quit notice was pasted at the entrance of the building housing many of the courtrooms and it contained threats by the authority to demolish the building serving as temporary headquarters of the Federal High Court in Abuja, if the court authorities refuse to move out immediately from the area.
FCDA authorities had insisted that the OAU quarters, in which the court is located was a residential area, and it is standing against regulation of the FCDA that no public office should stay in residential quarters.
Lawyers and litigants who besieged the court, were surprised by the notice and passed a lot of comments, saying government should complete the permanent building before issuing the notice.
The quit notice reads, “you are hereby ordered to vacate this site you are illegally occupying, and report to Development Control
Department at No 1, Asamara Street, Zone 6, Wuse District, Abuja.
“Failure to comply will lead to demolition of your structure and legal action will be taken against you. To avoid embarrassment, please, comply.”
The quit notice was jointly signed by Planning Officer in Charge and Chief Planning Officer of the FCDA.
Also on the quit notice written in bold, red ink were side comments by the FCDA to the court authorities that its activities were not permitted in residential areas of the Federal Capital Territory.
Permanent headquarters of the Federal High Court of Nigeria is presently under construction, but its temporary site located on Plot 480 of the OAU Quarters, Cadastral Zone A6, which FCDA is threatening to pull down was formally allocated to the court authorities during the tenure of former FCDA Chairman, General Jeremiah Useni.
The court moved into the premises sometimes in 2004.
The court’s Deputy Chief Registrar, Mr Ayoola, who was not willing to speak officially on the matter, said yesterday was the first time FCDA would issues such quit notice on the court authorities and that he could not adduce any reason for the development.

AND NOW....

FCDA Withdraws Quit Notice to Court
From Funso Muraina in Abuja, 03.23.2007

The Federal Capital Develo-pment Authourity (FCDA), yesterday, withdrew the quit notice it issued last Tuesday to the Federal High Court, Abuja with an apology over the manner adopted by its officials.
This is coming against public outcry that the notice was a calculated attempt by the government to frustrate various political litigations, especially the ones that have to do with vice president Abubakar Atiku. When the news of the issuance of quit notice hit the streets, many were quick to draw the conclusion that distrupting legal process could be an option to deal a devastating blows on the embattled number two citizen of the country.
The government agency responsible for the notice had a serious explanation to divorce its intention from the intrigues bedevilling the political landscape of the country.
In fact FCDA had to address a press conference to debunk the insinuation that the quit notice was aimed at frustrating the hearing of Abubakar's suit challenging his disqualification by INEC from contesting the presidential election.
A Director in the Department of Development Control, Isa Shuaibu said the officers of the agency were doing there normal job to restore the Abuja master plan.
He said the location of the court in the residential area was incompatible, especially each time there were high profile cases during which there were always heavy presence of security personnel, thereby creating anxiety for residents.

Shuaibu further clarified that his boss, the minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai was not teleguiding the agency as to who is issued with quit notice.
Shuaibu said that the residents have consistently complained about the presence of the court in their area and what the agency was doing was in the best interest of the people and not an action targetted at any individual.
According to him: "The presence of a court in that area negated the principle of compatibility. We had written to the authorities before and they appreciated the circumstances of our action.
"If you look around here you will see that we have also demolished our own fence in line with the resolve to plan the city. It is a mere coincidence that our officers had to visit the court when high profile cases were in progress. That does not mean that we have rescinded the decision, but we would give them more time so that they can finish up the permanent building and move into it.
The withdrawal notice pasted at the entrance of the court and which was signed by the Director Development Control, Isa Shuaibu, was addressed to the chief Judge of the court, maintaining that the department was doing its normal job when it issued the notice.
The letter reads: "While we appreciate the need for us to carry out our statutory responsibilities, we are also conscious of the need to execute such activities in a manner that will not be inimical to the existing relationship between us.
"It is against this background that I have to extend our sincerest apology to the content and manner of issuance of the said notice especially given the status of your office. It is sincerely hoped that you will accept our apology while you discountenance the notice please."
The notice attracted condemnation because of the fact that the court was handling
Vice-President Atiku Abubakar's suit challenging his disqualification from the presidential race.
The FCDA authorities insisted that the O.A.U quarters, in which the court is located was a
residential area and it is standing against the regulation of the FCDA that no public office should stay in the residential quarters.
Lawyers and litigants who bieseged the court that Tuesday for many political cases, were surprised by the notice and passed a lot of comments, saying government should
complete the permanent building before issuing the notice.
The quit notice reads: “you are hereby ordered to vacate this site you are illegally occupying developing and report to development control department at No 1, Asamara Street , Zone 6, Wuse District, Abuja .
“Failure to comply will lead to demolition of your structure and legal action will be taken against you. To avoid embarrassment, please, comply.”
The quit notice was jointly signed by Planning Officer in Charge and Chief Planning Officer of the FCDA.
Also on the quit notice written in bold, red ink were side comments by the FCDA to the court authourities to the effect the court activities were not permitted in residential areas of the Federal Capital Territory.
The permanent headquarters of the Federal high court of Nigeria is presently under construction but its temporary site located on Plot 480 of the OAU Quarters, Cadastral Zone A6, which FCDA is threatening to pull down was formally allocated to the court authourities during the tenure of former FCDA Chairman, Gen Jeremiah Useni. The high court moved into the premises sometimes in 2004.
The court’s Deputy Chief Registrar, Mr Ayoola who was not willing to speak officially on the matter said that yesterday was the first time FCDA would issue such quit notice on the court authourities and that he could not adduce any reason for the development.
He said, “The Chief Judge, Justice Roseline Ukeje is around. She is aware of this development. I have told her. It is better you see her for her reaction. Well, the residents had earlier complained about how police do harass them during hearing in all these high profile cases and we have always assured that very soon we would move when our headquarters is
completed.
“The quit notice was served on me yesterday. This place was allocated to us by the then Head of Service, then FCDA. You know, all these quarters were intitially under Head of Service. This place was allocated to us during the time of General Jeremiah Useni. He approved it. But I will want the Chief Judge to react officially,” he said.