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Army Chief Fails to Appear Before Reps, Says Nigeria in a Lot of Crisis

Published

3 years ago

March 13, 2021

Eric

The House of Representatives’ ad hoc committee set up to audit arms and ammunition procured by the Armed Forces has criticised the new Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, for failing to appear before it in person.

The House Ad Hoc Committee on the Need to Review the Purchase, Use and Control of Arms, Ammunition and Related Hardware by Military, Paramilitary and Other Law Enforcement Agencies in Nigeria held its first investigative hearing in Abuja on Friday, where the COAS was represented by the Commandant, Army War College Nigeria, Maj.-Gen. Charles Ofoche.

Ofoche, while pleading with the committee for Attahiru’s absence, noted that COAS and other service chiefs were in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, and Enugu earlier on Thursday.

He said, “The country is embroiled in a lot of crisis, so they are moving around. And he thought he could make it down here this morning for this meeting, so the notice was quite short for me to come and represent him because he would have loved to do it personally and that is why there is no written note.”

The COAS’ representative also said, “We are at your service, we are here to serve you as a people, to serve all Nigerians. And we cannot pretend that we do not know there is a crisis all over the country.

“The Chief of Army Staff cannot be at every location at every time. He is on the way trying to get to know his men. He took over barely a week ago. He is going around trying to get first-hand information as to the capability of the fighting force he is leading.”

One of the lawmakers, Aliyu Al-Mustapha alleged that criminals had been caught with arms and ammunition said to have been procured by the Armed Forces.

He said, “You can bear witness to the fact that Nigeria is embroiled in serious security issues and year in year out, appropriations were made and huge sums expended on procurement of arms and ammunition.

“Yet, in the whole of the arrests made, you find these arms and ammunition with some of these bandits and miscreants. Some of them can be traced back to the very military or police. It is a serious issue and the National Assembly is well-positioned to dig deep into the root of this issue and find a solution.”

Al-Mustapha stated that the lawmakers were not witch-hunting the COAS or the Army.

The lawmaker said, “This is a very serious and sensitive security matter; at least, let us see the man, being that this is the first meeting with the Nigerian Army. The accounting officer of the Army should have appeared to give us his account and position as far as the communications made to him.

“For the chairman and secretariat, there is no communication before that the COAS is having another schedule that may not allow him to be physically present here. That is a contravention to Section 88, Section 89 (1) (of the Constitution), and of course Section o1 of the Armed Forces Act 1994.

The Punch

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Airforce Confirms Nigeria’s Readiness to Acquire 24 Fighter Jets from Italy’s Leonardo

Published

51 mins ago

April 20, 2024

Eric

By Reuters

Nigeria plans to acquire 24 fighter jets from Italy’s Leonardo (LDOF.MI), opens new tab to modernize its fleet and bolster its air force, air force spokesperson Air Vice Marshal Edward Gabkwet said on Friday.

The aircraft will arrive the country in four batches of six jets each, the air force said. Africa’s most populous nation will receive the first six M-346 fighter aircraft before the end of the year, Gabkwet said in a statement.

The news followed a visit by Claudio Sabatino, Leonardo vice president, to Nigeria’s air force chief in Abuja on Wednesday.

Leonardo will provide a minimum of 25 years maintenance support, the air force statement said.

Nigeria is trying to boost its ability to combat insurgency especially in the northeast of the country where Boko Haram militants and the Islamic State regional affiliate is active. Also kidnapping and banditry is rife across the country.

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Stay Away from CBT Centres, JAMB Warns Parents, Threatens Arrest

Published

2 days ago

April 18, 2024

Eric

As this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) begins on Friday, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has vowed to arrest parents found near any Computer-Based Test (CBT) centre during the 2024 UTME exercise.

The directive was issued at the final briefing of the CBT centre owners, which was held virtually on Wednesday, 17th April, 2024.

The spokesman for JAMB, Fabian Benjamin, said this directive became necessary following the intrusive disposition of some parents during the Board’s previous exercises.

Benjamin, who quoted JAMB Registrar Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, said any parent, who disobeys the order would not only be arrested but his ward would also be disqualified from sitting for the examination.

Oloyede explained that this measure became necessary as it has been discovered over time that many of these intruding parents are facilitators of examination infractions while others have, by their actions, disrupted the Board’s examinations in the past.

He added that some miscreants also disguise as parents to infiltrate the centres to perpetrate all forms of infractions.

“The Board’s helmsman noted that going by the extant national policy on education, a candidate for the examination must have attained the age of 17 years.

“Therefore, it is evident that these parents had not allowed their wards to pass through the classes as defined in the document, hence the desperation to follow their wards to the examination venue with the aim of compromising examination officials.

“At any rate, it is clear to any discerning observer that these parents deserve to be sanctioned as they had obviously ‘smuggled’ underage children into the ranks of those scheduled to sit the examination,” the Board note through a statement.

Furthermore, the Registrar said all arrangements have been concluded for the conduct of the 2024 UTME, which will be held in over 700 CBT centres across the nation.

He disclosed that the Board expects a seamless exercise but it has nevertheless made adequate provision to tackle any technical glitch that might occur in the course of the examination.

He, however, warned that if a session experienced any technical challenge, candidates in subsequent sessions would be allowed to sit their examination as scheduled while the candidates in the challenged session would be rescheduled for the last session for the day or the following day or even further depending on the centre schedules.

Featured

Oyo Govt Demolishes Operational Base of Yoruba Nation Agitators

Published

2 days ago

April 18, 2024

Eric

The Oyo State government, on Wednesday, demolished a building serving as the operational base of the Yoruba Nation agitators led by Modupe Onitiri-Abiola, in Ibadan.

Onitiri-Abiola, one of the widows of late Bashorun M.KO Abiola, had declared the creation of the so-called Yoruba Nation in a video posted online, which has been widely condemned.

Last Saturday, some armed men in military uniforms invaded the Oyo State Secretariat, with the motive to forcefully take over the State House of Assembly, before they were dislodged by the combined efforts of police and troops for the Nigeria Army 2 Division..

Mr. Fatai Owoseni, Special Adviser on Security Matters to Governor Seyi Makinde, confirmed the demolition of the house located at Toye Oyesola Street in Ibadan South West Local Government Area.

Already, no fewer than 29 suspects – including a lecturer – arrested in connection with the foiled armed invasion were on Wednesday arraigned by the police before a Chief Magistrates’ Court in Ibadan.

In a case with charge number Mi/520c/2024 between the Commissioner of Police and the 29 suspects, they were accused of a seven-count charge of treasonable felony, unlawful society, illegal possession of firearms, and conduct likely to cause breach of peace.

Inspector Bakare Rasaq, the Investigative Police Officer (IPO) at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Iyaganku, Ibadan, said the offence contravenes, and is punishable under Section 516 of the Criminal Code, Cap 38, Vol. II, Laws of Oyo State of Nigeria, 2000.