GUN VIOLENCE IN AMERICA: FOR WHO THE BELL TOLLS NEXT.

Just five people shy of Sandy Hook elementary school mass shooting incident that claimed 26 lives, the Uvalde Texas Robb elementary school mass shooting at 21 victims, now ranks among the highest grossing gun carnage in America. It is sad that such frequent blood spilling has tragically become part of our culture as a society. May the souls of the killed now rest.

25th AMENDMENT: ITS NOW ALL CRICKET.

Madam Speaker Nancy Pelosi once questioned former President Donald John Trump's fitness to remain in office due to what she claimed was his declining mental capacity. Does anyone know what Madam Speaker presently thinks about the incontrovertible case which America is now saddled with? Just curious!

WHO WILL REBUILD UKRAINE?

The West should convert frozen Russian assets, both state's and oligarchs' owned, into a full seizure and set them aside for the future rebuilding of Ukraine. Like the Marshal Plan, call it the Putin Plan.

A HERO IS BORN.

I am staying put. I will not run away and abandon my people. The fight is here in Ukraine. What I need are weapons and ammunitions, not a ride out of town like former Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani - President Volodymyr Zelensky.

IT IS WHAT IT IS.

"There is too much hate in America because there is too much anger in America." - Trevor Noah.

WORD!

A life without challenges is not a life lived at all. A life lived is a life that has problems, confronts problems, solves problems and then learns from problems. - Tunde Fashola.

NOW, YOU KNOW.

When fishing for love, bait with your heart and not your brain, because you cannot rationalize love. - Mark Twain.

JUST THE FACT.

In our country, you can shoot and kill a nigger, but you better not hurt a gay person’s feelings - Dave Chappelle

DO YOU?.

“What you believe in can only be defined by what you’re willing to risk for it." - Stuart Scheller.

HEDGE YOUR CRISIS.

Never get in bed with a woman whose problems are worse than yours. - Chicago PD.

PROBLEM SOLVED.

'The best way to keep peace is to be ready to destroy evil. If you Pearl Harbor me, I Nagasaki you.' - Ted Nugent.

OUR SHARED HUMANITY.

Empathy is at the heart of who we are as human beings. - Cardinal Matthew Kukah.

WORDS ON MARBLE.

"Birth is agony. Life is hard. Death is cruel." - Japanese pithy.

REPENT OR PERISH - POPE.

Homosexuality is a sin. It is not ordained by God, therefore same sex marriage cannot be blessed by the church - Pope Francis.

CANCEL CULTURE IS CORROSIVE.


FOR SAKE OF COUNTRY.


MAGA LIVES ON: NO RETREAT, NO SURRENDER!

TWITTER IS BORING WITHOUT HIS TWEETS. #RestorePresidentTrump'sTwitterHandle.


WORD.

"If you cannot speak the truth when it matters, then nothing else you says matters.” - Tucker Carlson.

#MeToo MOVEMENT: A BAD NEWS GONE CRAZY.

"To all the women who testified, we may have different truth, but I have a great remorse for all of you. I have great remorse for all of the men and women going through this crisis right now in our country. You know, the movement started basically with me, and I think what happened, you know, I was the first example, and now there are thousands of men who are being accused and a regeneration of things that I think none of us understood. I’m not going to say these aren’t great people. I had wonderful times with these people. I’m just genuinely confused. Men are confused about this issue. We are going through this #MeToo movement crisis right now in this country." - Harvey Weinstein.


RON DELLUMS: UNAPOLOGETICALLY RADICAL.

"If it’s radical to oppose the insanity and cruelty of the Vietnam War, if it’s radical to oppose racism and sexism and all other forms of oppression, if it’s radical to want to alleviate poverty, hunger, disease, homelessness, and other forms of human misery, then I’m proud to be called a radical.” - Ron Vernie Dellums.


WHAT REALLY MATTERS IN LIFE - STEVE JOBS

“I reached the pinnacle of success in the business world. In others’ eyes, my life is an epitome of success. However, aside from work, I have little joy. Non-stop pursuing of wealth will only turn a person into a twisted being, just like me. God gave us the senses to let us feel the love in everyone’s heart, not the illusions brought about by wealth. Memories precipitated by love is the only true riches which will follow you, accompany you, giving you strength and light to go on. The most expensive bed in the world is the sick bed. You can employ someone to drive the car for you, make money for you but you cannot have someone to bear sickness for you. Material things lost can be found. But there is one thing that can never be found when it is lost – Life. Treasure Love for your family, love for your spouse, love for your friends. Treat yourself well. Cherish others.” - SJ

EVIL CANNOT BE TRULY DESTROYED.

"The threat of evil is ever present. We can contain it as long as we stay vigilant, but it can never truly be destroyed. - Lorraine Warren (Annabelle, the movie)


ONLY THE POOR WISH THEY HAD STUFF?

“I’m not that interested in material things. As long as I find a good bed that I can sleep in, that’s enough.” - Nicolas Berggruem, the homeless billionaire.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

NUHU RIBADU'S VOLTE-FACE, ANOTHER BLACK-EYE FOR PRESIDENT JONATHAN?

It is with utmost regret and sadness that Icheoku received the news that President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has successfully twisted the arms of the Police Service Commission (PSC) into swallowing back its vomit by reversing itself on the matter of previously sacked former anti corruption czar, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu? According to sourced information, the PSC was forced into this about-turn by the government of President Jonathan which has been bending over backwards at every turn to accommodate a retinue of unending United States of America requests, wishes and interests; including the rehabilitation of a man they felt helped give Nigeria's war on corruption some teeth? However it is on record that the same United States has never condemned Olusegun Obasanjo for all the atrocities he committed in Nigeria while in office including using Mallam Nuhu Ribadu to hound his opponents in a failed attempt to force his third term agenda on Nigerians? So why, Jonathan?
Icheoku is not necessarily against Nuhu Ribadu or his soon to be, newly found re-emergence into reckoning in Nigeria, no, we even stood up for him when he was dismissed; admitted we had then questioned his selective war on corruption? But what we have beef with is the apparent interference of the Jonathan's presidency into a purely judicial, albeit a police administrative matter; against an action taken by a duly empowered police service commission thereby greatly weakening the morals of the men and women who are expected to be motivated enough into putting their lives on the line to secure lives and properties of Nigerians? This sudden about-face is capable of drastically impacting everything uniting and coalescing the police force and tempting the remaining rank and file into become very political, knowing that someday, they will probably find themselves in similar situation as the policeman turned politician Nuhu Ribadu?
The action of President Jonathan has the propensity to yield some undesired results, some of which ramifications cannot now be fathomed; including adversely affecting the body-fiber of the structure of the police force disciplinary cohesiveness? If Icheoku recalls correctly, the July 2008 decision which reverted unjustly promoted officers, including Nuhu Ribadu, to their previous meritorious ranks, affected 139 other officers; - men and women who were speed-promoted by the infra-dignitious Obasanjo against every police code regarding promotion? Now, Icheoku wants to know what behoves of these other officers who saluted and bowed out to their order of reversal in accordance with existing police rules of service? Did President Jonathan, by his action ordering the reinstatement of radical Nuhu Ribadu, open the flood-gates of recalcitrance and insubordination within the police rank and file of the police? What type of precedent is being set by this particular order that a duly dismissed police officer, whose penchant for hounding down only known Obasanjo critics, should be reinstated and allowed his unmerited rank? If this is not the end of police law and order in Nigeria, and an un-contradicted evidence of undue interference by the presidency in a purely administrative concern of the PSC, then Icheoku sees nothing else good beyond the horizon.
Icheoku in the strongest term, condemns the order to reinstate Mallam Nuhu Ribadu to the police, following his lawful procedural administrative dismissal; and as an added insult, sustaining his unearned AIG rank which is above and beyond his pay-grade? What about his colleagues who had played by the books without playing to the gallery of partisan politics or unscrupulously allowed themselves to be used by a vicious President Olusegun Obasanjo in prosecuting his failed third term agenda? Icheoku declares that this action is capable of becoming a death-nail on the coffin of a disciplined Nigeria police force; and may be the beginning of the end of a cohesive and disciplined police that would not ordinarily have allowed itself to be used in the manner Obasanjo used and applied Nuhu Ribadu in hunting down his enemies both real and imagined? Mallam Ribadu did what is expected of any aggrieved person by heading to court to challenge his rank-reversal and subsequent dismissal; but the matter should have been allowed to resolve itself within the court system and not by this flagrant executive interference.
It is equally important to recall that Nuhu Ribadu was dismissed for ignoring a lawful order to appear before a police panel of investigation, just in a similar manner as Ibrahim Babangida snubbed Justice Oputa panel; and now President Jonathan is impliedly saying by his action, that insubordination is an ok thing in the police rank and file? It also does not matter to President Jonathan that Nuhu Ribadu was a wanted man in Nigeria or that he is on the lam for evading justice on a corruption allegation which is being pursued by the EFCC or that he was lopsided while then prosecuting alleged corrupt public officials who were anti-Obasanjo's third term? It also does not matter to President Jonathan that those people who sat over Ribadu in judgment, acted on the prompting of some authorities which included then vice president Jonathan Goodluck based on a collective responsibility of that government, which he now heads? So Icheoku is at sea on this sudden populist policies and pursuits as well as the 'holier-than-Yar'Adua' actions being taken by President Jonathan, who was complicit in the Yar'Adua government as its vice president and acting president? This sudden volte-face is rather ridiculous and has seriously reduced Jonathan's credibility before the eyes of many unbiased fair-minded Nigerians, as he can no longer claim to be an impartial good-intentioned completion of term president. Simply stated, President Jonathan Ebele Goodluck has lost all justification as an impartial, goal-directed and focused president; and Nigerians better watch out for more surprises?
According to available information, as part of Ribadu's remission of sins agreement, "he will become President Jonathan's adviser on anti-corruption, with supervisory role over anti-corruption agencies in the country including his former agency, the EFCC; the ICPC; the Code of Conduct Bureau as well as other related agencies. Icheoku asks, how can Ribadu now be made to supervise the EFCC which has been itching to prosecute him all these months of his forced exile to answer for his alleged misdeeds; just like all those cases Ribadu was prosecuting and for which he became popular, are also based on "alleged misdeeds," yet to be proven? Icheoku really does not get the rationale behind this sudden "Saint Ribadu" attitude of the government of President Jonathan after what Olusegun Obasanjo used him to do, hounding all and any and every person who ever criticized Obasanjos' heinous policies while his regime lasted.
A smart presidency would have persuaded the judiciary to order Nuhu Ribadu's reinstatement but not to so brazenly ridicule the PSC by forcing their hands into shamefully reversing course and thereby weakening their moral authority and making them loose face in the process? Imagine a now newly empowered and haughty Nuhu Ribadu, breathing down on his newly created subordinates including those who sat in judgment over him and those EFCC operatives who were merely doing their job, trying to investigate an accused Ribadu? This is the reason why Nigeria is not moving forward and can never move forward until succeeding governments start seeing themselves as a continuum and/or off-shoot of the preceding government; and not necessarily in competition or rabid rivalry with them, trying to outdo them and over-rule every previous preceding policies and actions? If only Nigeria have men and women with some resolve and convictions, there would have been series of resignations among the high-ups in the PSC as well as the police itself, in protestation of this wanton interference of the Jonathan's presidency?
Icheoku does not begrudge the presidency and the executive arm of the government of its power of 'nolle prosequi'; but we strongly reject the idea of diluting and undermining the powers of the police service commission by selectively forgiving Nuhu Ribadu's of all his alleged intransigence, just because they can and now beatifying him a "Saint Ribadu?" The merit of his case is not Icheoku's concern but suffice it to say, we would rather it was judiciously and judiciary concluded at the courts and what is done ought to have remained done; and the matter should have been left alone in the tier of government charged with redressing wrongs? The good news however is that the presidency of Jonathan Goodluck will not last forever and will surely someday come to an end; - gone the way of all past leaderships of Nigeria, including the notorious Babangida regime, Obasanjo's nefarious autocracy, Abacha's murderous vice-hold of Nigeria etc. One day a king who does not know Joseph will ascend the throne and call for rendering of accounts, including a 're-sacking of Nuhu Ribadu' if he so chooses?
What a travesty of justice and overbearing presidential arm-twisting of an organ of the government charged with police discipline and day to day administrative over-sight? A government that preaches the rule of law should not have pulled the rug from under the law in this fashion, and should have allowed whatever wrong and grievances Nuhu Ribadu had with the police authorities to be settled by the established arbiter - the judiciary! Once again, President Jonathan Ebele Goodluck has shown that he is not any different from the rest of the pack and sooner than later, Nigerians will come to realize the dud check that was written to them in the taciturn zoology PhD, whose type William Shakespeare by extension, had warned the world against when he penned 'He thinks too much: such men are dangerous!" The good news however is that unbeknownst to this gullible Jonathan, by his action, he is ringing himself with Obasanjo's hatchet-men; and the deity of Otta, Olusegun Aremu Obasanjo would have succeeded in weaving a black-widow spider's web around him and his government; and soon and very soon, the choke-hold will become a complete death-choke of a government that has been fledgling since its inception. As a good policy, Nuhu Ribadu should not have been forced back on the police service commission since such humiliating action is capable of undermining their authority, and not by the presidency; his retirement notwithstanding!

32 comments:

  1. Ribadu abused Office says Petitioner, faults clean Bill of Health


    A legal practitioner, Mr Ugo Illechukwu Wednesday faulted the clean bill of health granted Malam Nuhu Ribadu on the orders of President Goodluck Jonathan, contending that it would encourage godfatherism and widespread abuse of office

    Illechukwu who petitioned President Jonathan alleging sundry abuse of office against Ribadu is counsel to Mr. Emmanuel Nwude who was convicted during the tenure of Ribadu as chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

    He spoke to thetimesofnigeria.com in an interview, excerpts:

    Q: On behalf of your client, Mr Emmanuel Nwude, you recently petitioned President Jonathan alleging sundry abuse of office against Malam Nuhu Ribadu while he served as chairman of the EFCC?

    A: yes we did, we are accusing him of fee-sharing and other violations of the EFCC Act.

    Q: Malam Ribadu has just been granted a clean bill by President Jonathan, how does this affect your petition?

    A: It shows that law and order have no place in the administration of President Goodluck Jonthan. That a man who ordinarily should be standing trial for abuse office is being shielded. This best description for what has taken place is criminality, it shows that godfatherism will be the order of the day in this administration. Ribadu should have gone to court to clear himself, but he is being protected by the Executive, which is a clear breach of the principles of separation of powers.

    If the executive is sincere, they should have gone to extra lengths to clear him through due process. Nonetheless, we will continue with our petition, Ribadu used his office to abuse the system and his now colluding with the powers that be to get away with it, therefore we will fight on.

    Q: what exactly are the allegations you have against Ribadu?

    A: It started between 2001/2002, when my client, Emmanuel Nwude was arrested and charged to court under section 419/519 0f the Criminal Code law of Lagos State, as the matter progressed in court, the EFCC Act was enacted in 2002, and Ogundipe of Sofunde, Osakwe, Ogubndipe and Belgore approached Ribadu that he has a foreign judgment to execute and that he needs EFCC’s assistance.

    Ribadu agreed to assist him based on their reaching a fee-sharing agreement. Ogundipe on the promptings of Ribadu subsequently reached a fee-sharing arrangement with Rotimi Jacobs, counsel to EFCC and Nwude was re-arrested by the EFCC, who stopped the trial at Lagos High Court and transferred it to Abuja High Court.

    Fee-sharing is alien to our judicial system and the EFCC Act does not empower it to act retroactively, matters already in court were to continue its normal course. We are also accusing Ribadu of violation of section 27 of the EFCC Act, which states that properties forfeited to the Federal Government should be handed over to the secretary of EFCC and the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation who now find managers for it.

    In the case of my client, after the Abuja High Court ruled that his properties be forfeited to the Federal Government, Ribadu directed that that the properties be handed over to Ogundipe of Sofunde, Osakwe, Ogundipe and Belgore.

    We also accuse Ribadu of colluding with former counsel to my client, Mr Ricky Tarfa to get judgment against my client.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Q: can you expantiate further on this last point?

    A: What I am telling you is in public domain. If you remember, Ricky Tarfa was charged to court by the EFCC in 2006 on allegations of obtaining funds by false pretences, but the real truth as all parties later confessed under oath was that Tarfa obtained N75 million from Fredrick Akinrutan, the buyer of one of the forfeited properties. He called it his professional fees, but the truth is that EFCC and Ogundipe promised to share proceeds from the sale of the property with him if he could use his influence as my client’s counsel to perfect the papers for the sale to avoid future litigation. Based on his deal with Ribadu, Tarfa misled my client, and also rendered services to parties in conflict with my client, while he still posed as my client’s counsel. This is clearly unprofessional. When he refused to return to Ogundipe the N75 million he obtained from Akinrutan, he was charged to court.

    Q: You are also alleging that the execution of the judgment against your client was in violation of certain laws. Can you explain?

    A: after his conviction, my client appealed against Justice Oyewole’s judgment, and in our legal system, once there is an appeal against a judgment, especially affecting properties, matter have to wait till the Appeal and Supreme Courts respectively rules on the appeal, this is the Doctrine of Liss Pedens Section 263(A) sub-section 4 of Criminal Procedure Act states that the property in contention should be preserved pending the time the appeal lapses, but Ribadu and co disregarded this provision and hurriedly disposed of the properties on power of Attorney purportedly issued by Leo Wallacfe Cochrane, who is not even a victim, the victim allegedly defrauded is Sakaguchi and Stanton Corporation, in order words, that power of Attorney was forged.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ribadu: ‘FG awaits petitions of other 139 officers’
    By Olusola Fabiyi, Abuja
    Friday, 28 May 2010

    Former Chairman of the EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu
    The Federal Government on Thursday said it was ready to look into the case of 139 police officers demoted with the former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, Mr. Nuhu Ribadu.

    It said that Ribadu’s case was singled out with his rank restored on Monday as he was the only one that appealed to the Police Service Commission, asking it to restore his rank.

    The PSC had restored Ribadu’s rank of Assistant Inspector General of Police and retired him after he challenged his demotion from the rank of an AIG to a deputy commissioner of police.

    Apart from Ribadu, others demoted from the rank of commissioners to deputy commissioners were Solomon Arase, Amodu Ali, Columbus Okaro, Olayinka Balogun, Adebayo Ajileye and the late Force Public Relations Officer and the Commissioner of Police, Kaduna State Command, Mr. Haz Iwendi.

    Iwendi’s rank was later restored following public outcry that greeted the government’s action which was taken on April 5, 2008.

    Speaking with journalists in his office, the Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Adamu Waziri, said there was no way government would have considered the remaining officers when they did not complain.

    He said it was also wrong to assume that the PSC took the action on Ribadu alone, adding that the office of the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ogbonna Onovo and his (Waziri’s) ministry were consulted.

    Waziri said, “In the case of the restoration of Ribadu’s rank, it was not a sole decision of the PSC, the office of the IG and this ministry were consulted.

    “Concerning the case of 139 others, government will not force them to make their own submissions.”

    ReplyDelete
  4. ON RIBADU: I beg to differ
    ViewpointsMay 29, 2010
    By Eziokwu B. Ndu

    Let me say from the onset that I am not a big fan of Mr. Nuhu Ribadu. The only reason being that he was not a law abiding Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). I must however give it to him that he was bold, fearless and a strong crime fighter but perhaps he is probably a believer in the doctrine that “the end justifies the means” for achieving a goal. Ribadu’s tenure at the EFCC was a catalogue of arbitrariness and abuse of power.
    He ran the EFCC as a sole proprietor and was not accountable to his board. You can easily count on the fingers of one hand how many board meetings he convened as chairman throughout his tenure at the helm of the EFCC. He therefore did not have the benefit of the plurality of ideas and statutory approval processes that come from issues being discussed properly before actions are taken. He virtually reported directly to the President and occasionally to the National Security Adviser (NSA). He was a lord to himself.
    Ribadu also allowed himself to be used by former President Olusegun Obasanjo to settle political scores and buy loyalty. He has denied this but everyone knows the truth. Some governors were untouchable while others were earmarked for big time persecution and disgrace. How can you be fair and claim to uphold justice when two people commit the same offence and one is prosecuted and the other is not even accused let alone prosecuted.
    Ribadu was also a media freak. Unlike the usual practice with seasoned law enforcement agencies, EFCC under Ribadu was more concerned with media shows than having the actual work being done correctly. Many innocent people have been ridiculed in public ahead of their being investigated by unnecessary media shows of arrests and being charged to court. How do you repair wrongly damaged reputations?
    There have been countless cases of the former EFCC boss allowing himself to be used to settle private scores or financial disputes. There was a known case of a controversy over the ownership of some oil company and Ribadu was used to hound a respected businessman into detention for almost a week only for it to be proven that the man was innocent. No compensation was paid for the wrongful arrest and detention.
    The EFCC under Ribadu was not particularly clean. Bribes were freely given and accepted from various people to the EFCC operatives. Some were given through lawyers that represented EFCC. One wonders how lawyers that represent EFCC will also be under the payroll of the so called accused persons.
    A major feature of the Ribadu era was arrests and detention before investigations are carried out.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This has continued even till today. The Farida Waziri era has also been characterized by the same arbitrary arrests and unlawful interrogation processes to hound people. Section 34(1) of the Nigerian constitution provides that “Every individual is entitled to respect for the dignity of his person and accordingly no person shall be subject to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment”.
    Many people who have had contact with EFCC tell of cases of inhuman and degrading treatment in the hands of the EFCC
    The constitution also provides in section 36(4) that “every person who is charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed to be innocent until he is proved guilty”. Mr. Nuhu Ribadu’s EFCC did not respect these constitutional provisions in a number of cases. Mrs Waziri has also continued in the same footsteps.
    There have also been cases where the EFCC invited people for questioning and instead of allowing the person to go, he is forced to sign a bail document when he was never arrested in the first place but simply invited for routine questioning.
    This is a clear evidence of intimidation. The reason why EFCC has failed woefully in court in the Ribadu era is that in order to win cheap popularity they make a show of arresting people without first investigating their cases painstakingly. They are usually too eager to score some cheap popularity and therefore fail to be painstaking in their work.
    This practice has continued with the EFCC till now. See what happened with NERC Commissioners. After charging the poor fellows to court, it became obvious that most of the charges were frivolous. NERC has therefore been for over one year, without a board of Commissioners. If a thorough job is done of investigating cases before charging people to court, obtaining justice would no doubt be swifter.
    So it is therefore easy to understand why I am not a fan of Mr. Ribadu. As the saying goes, he who comes to equity must come with clean hands. A new orientation is required at EFCC. Ribadu may need some explanations to do and possibly some re-orientation himself before being offered another high office in government as is now being muted

    ReplyDelete
  6. RIBADU: How International Pressure Forced President Jonathan’s Hand
    SUNDAY, 30 MAY 2010 00:00 FROM MARTINS OLOJA,

    FORMER EFCC boss, Malam Nuhu Ribadu’s two year old epic battle for the restoration of lost Assistant Inspector General (AIG) rank, removal of dismissal stigma, and possible return to the Police Force last Monday was made possible by a combined effect of arm-twisting and subtle pressure, nurtured by compromise from the power house in the nation’s capital, The Guardian has learnt.
    After an emergency meeting into the late hours last Monday 24 May, the Police Service Commission, Nigeria’s regulatory agency for the police, announced the restoration of AIG rank to Malam Nuhu Ribadu and committal of his dismissal to retirement but was not returned to the police force as demanded.
    The Guardian learnt how the battle was fought, lost and won by some key players from the West, and the nation’s capital, where some, hitherto adamant players, had to take a portion of a humble pie from Bill Clinton’s autobiography, My Life…where it is noted “…No one says ‘No’ to the President”.
    It was learnt last night from the seat of power in Abuja that the curtain raiser for the battle this time actually began on Tuesday, May 16 in Abuja when the Police Service Commission (PSC) was holding a plenary session of their regular meeting.

    A source at the meeting told us that on that fateful day, about 20 minutes into the meeting, there was an interruption when the Chairman of the Commission, a retired AIG, Parry Osanyade, received a telephone call from the office of the president for an urgent meeting with the president.
    It was said that the Chairman had to disclose to the meeting the source of the call while he left for someone else to preside over the meeting.
    It was gathered that when the chairman got to the office of the President, the Police Affairs Minister, Alhaji Adamu Maina Waziri, was already there, among other president’s men for the only item on that moment’s agenda: restoration time for Malam Nuhu Ribadu, who fled abroad barely two years ago when he alleged that apart from humiliating dismissal from the police, his life too was not safe inside Nigeria.
    It was reported then that there were attempts on his life, with the seeming evidence being the bulletproof car that shielded him when he was shot at close range around Abuja in 2008.
    The Guardian learnt that there was no waste of time on the business of the day as the President’s men appealed to the PSC Chairman to review the dismissal of Ribadu from the Police and his reinstatement as AIG.
    It was said that the jolted chairman, who had variously flayed the arbitrary promotion and alleged arrogance of the former EFCC boss even as the Commission too was answering to court charges on the issue said to the President and the Police Affairs Minister that the Ribadu case “is about two years old and would be difficult to review in his (Ribadu’s) favour.
    It was said that quite unlike his predecessors, the President in a soft tone told his modest audience, and more specifically, the PSC Chairman, a retired AIG, that he (President) was under some pressure from the international community to review the Ribadu case. He was said to have argued that “Ribadu should be given a soft landing of some sort”.
    One of the president’s men explained the position of the international community this way: “Really, what the development partners and the diplomatic community who continued the pressure have been saying is: Ribadu did more for Nigeria. His handling of the EFCC, as pioneer chairman, was outstanding and uniquely so.

    ReplyDelete
  7. “What happened in 2008 did not warrant a dismissal from the Police after all, the people of Nigeria appreciated his contribution, and his courage in dealing with politically exposed people and some big guns, including his IGP at a time….It is not because we want to give him a job…Our development partners are fully persuaded that Ribadu was victimised for some political reasons by some dominant figures in government then and the Vice President then saw all these things...”
    It was revealed that the first response of the PSC Chairman to the Presidential demand was shocking as the retired AIG was quoted to have said that “Really, there is no doubt that Malam Ribadu did well as EFCC boss but he did not finish well. He derailed as a police officer. As an officer, he was only on posting, as the IGP then was his boss. But he never engaged him from the panel set up to probe allegations against him (Ribadu).
    “Ribadu disrespected the IGP then, Mike Okiro. He knew his promotion was illegal, as the Police Service Commission was not involved and so no letter was given him…He was reportedly promoted AIG barely three months after he was promoted Commissioner…And so, this review is an impossible task.”
    It was said that, despite the Chairman’s alibi, the President-in-Council did not raise his voice to order him to carry out his ‘plea’. Instead the Chairman noticed some presidential body language that it was a battle he would not be able to win after all.
    But then, the Benin chief continued his rhetoric and rationalization, including the fact that he did not know how to plead with the Commissioners to accept this reality, and of course the serving officers, who were affected by the 2008 exercise that swept off 140 of them, including two in the office of the then President Umaru Yar’Adua.
    The Guardian was told that when the chips were down, the buckled PSC boss told the president’s men about the expediency of getting Ribadu to write a letter of appeal to the Commission. This was said to have been the highpoint of the deal that was struck in the presidency to restore Ribadu all the years that the locusts have eaten from his truncated career.
    That was how the tone for the penultimate Monday’s emergency meeting of the Commission was set where a letter of appeal from Ribadu’s lawyer, Chief Tayo Oytetibo, SAN, emerged. In it, Malam Ribadu was said to have reiterated his loyalty to the police, appealed for review of his cancelled rank, reinstatement to the police force.
    But at the end of the emergency meeting of the Commission last Monday, May 24, the Commission considered al, but one, the reliefs sought: reinstatement to continue serving in the Nigeria Police Force.
    Ribadu, who has been celebrated around the globe for his anti-graft crusade under former president Olusegun Obasanjo and briefly under the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, had his AIG rank restored, reinstated and retired with effect from December 22, 2008. Ribadu is a visiting Fellow, Centre for Global Development, Washington, D.C.
    It was also revealed that Ribadu, who is set to return home from the United States where he has been working, actually was not keen on returning to the Police Force, as he would have retired immediately if that prayer had been granted.
    His (Ribadu's) name has again emerged as possible nominee for the post of INEC Chairman, a development that will crystallise sooner or later. Apart from Olisa Agbakoba's, Ribadu's and Retired Justice Alpha Belgore's names are part of the most frequently touted in Abuja for the plum INEC job.

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  8. Who is Icheoku ???.
    You have a good point, but two wrongs do not make a right. A president may use his office in exceptional circumstances to correct a wrong, it has happened all over the world and it will continue to happen. Yes he was used by Obasanjo, but he did what no one will do, and this is why nigerians liked him. He is not perfect ,but was made a scapegoat by those who wanted to get at OBJ.
    I believe the right thing has been done. let us move forward.- CommonSense

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  9. I applaud your thoughts on this very troubling issue concerning the recycling, rebranding and refurbishing of Ribadu-However just as much as Saint Ribadu, needs some cleaning up to do for him to qualify to be knighted by the REAL NIGERIANS, it was the same selective Nigerians in diaspora, who filed the case at the Vetican, on the need for (Saint Ribadu) the political police-man to be granted the amnesty of the dark skin Saints in uniform by brother Jonah-Yes such acts, will help breed indiscipline of the HIGHEST order in the NPF-again we saw Orji Kalu, shake hands with our HOLY POPE--after confessing his sins -and presenting the Pope with his thesis on (how to reduce inflation by cutting papers into naira notes in africa)our zoologist also had a similar honor bestowed upon him by Obama-finally, the Pope enjoined Orji and the rest of the IBB team, to steal no more cause Saint Ribadu is back 4 OBJ-that is Nigeria 4 u-where we honor cats at night- Deri

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  10. Wells,Nigerians have started emerging from their coat with many colors, by re-aligning and questioning their own local vision of the word truth.When KEYAMO said no-we tried to cut him inot pieces right here on SR. Now, the same Police Service Commission,(PSC)that alleged Sir, Minister, ex-Czar, El, Al Alhaji Ribadu, never passed through THEM to obtain his promotion, therefore stands reduced in rank, are now singing a different tune. Now the blame game.It was brother Jonah, THAT arm twisted us. Let all those who have not sinned before, throw the first stone-then we saw Ribadu with his sling tied to the beholders of truth-d media. All the officers who were demoted alongside Ribadu, shld have their ranks restored PERIOD.I warned severally that Jonah shld stay clear of Ribadu-but Jonah will not.He listened to the pleas of the masses less of Keyamo-fine, so let us put the past behind us-4, che sara, sara. - Deri

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  11. he was treated shabbily and u knew they were just out to get him,they did not use due process to make him account for any wrong he had allegedly committed so icheoku go and eat cake. - Arole Oodua

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  12. Ribadu's removal was politically motivated; yes the man had his faults but he was doing a good job, never mind that it appeared selective. Somehow, what
    he did was serving a purpose - telling rogue and greedy governors that they
    could not continue what they were doing. So do not crucify him, even if you
    are paid to!! - I Mari

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  13. Icheoku my foot! - Kekedu

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  15. Icheoku
    Thank you very much for your wonderful piece.
    Like I wrote in another newspaper, the clock has started ticking concerning the administration of GEJ government.
    GEJ should remember that he's an Ijaw man and that signifies that only the truth will see him through.Izon/Ijaw means the truth.GEJ I beg you in the name of Jesus Christ that you do no follow the path of EVIL.GEJ seek for WISDOM from GOD ALMIGHTY and lead the people of Nigeria to a safe haven.According to the elder statesman Chief E K Clark, only thy works will speak for you.Please in the name of Jesus Christ if you have made any mistakes ask for grace and correct them asap.This is a wonderful opportunity for you to prove others wrong about governance.Do not allow USA/UK to dictate to you about how to givern Nigeria.IT IS ABSOLUTELY WRONG FOR NUHU RIBADU TO BE TREATED SELECTIVELY.HE SHOULD REMAIN SACKED.NUHU IS NOT ABOVE THE LAW. -Sundiata Keita

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  16. what relevances are in the northern nations in nations in nigeria: they engineer themselves to be having much more children and increasing illiteracy on their part: preparing war with almagerins?; They sited the army artillery to the kaduna and building "deserted" abuja at the detriment of other part;researching on the latest mystics to control the whole nations bcos their religion allows it and turning anyone to goat and sheeps at the detriment of the nations idealogy to grow;institutionized corruption for capital flight to their deserted regions...wake up if we are blind! - profet

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  17. Nuhu Ridadu is the best we have for now. Hopefully his re-emergence will bring forth ohther brave men like him who stand for justice.- Honest

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  18. Even if Jonah redeems the image of one million Ribadus, whose own clans men never added their voice before he regained his (born again status) under GEJ, this very set of anti-Patience herds-men, residing in Dubai and Lebanon in search of Gold, will still shout, wail and faint at the sight of Abama and Jonah drinking tea or coffee in the White House.Except their views no other Nigerian matters in their thoughts. Yet in the wee hrs of the morning, u hear them scream to their spouse-darling we need change in Naija-cause I wanna go back home.Naija we hail thee. 4 u dont get it-and u never will until u free yourself from the resource control hat of Jonah. D-Cat

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  19. What Icheoku has said is garbage, bonk and poppycock. All president Jonathan did was right the wrong and injustice that was meted out to a victim. The Police service Commission under YarAdua was simply carrying out the dictates of Ibori through Aondoakaa and Okiro. Did I hear you talk of indiscipline for disobeying the Police hierarchy? The first law of nature is self preservation. Ribadu's purported transfer to Benin city of all places during that rogue regime was nothing but a simple plan for him to assassinated by some paid hoodlums in Benin city, the criminal jungle of Lucky Igbinedion to whom Ribadu was a thorn in the flesh as EFCC Chairman. His disobedience was simply a step to protect his life.- Perry Romos

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  20. If Jonathan continues this way, his government is doomed. something about nigerians is that they are so stupid beyond imagination, now jonathan used his power now to favour Ribadu, they are praising him forgeting that he will use the same power tomorrow to pardon lbori and co, they will start barking like dog. l think he should have allowed Ribadu to face trial and if he is found not guilty,then be that as it may. it could have been better and more respectful if court cleared him. - Olu Freddie

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  21. It is clear that Yar'Adua through Aondoakaa wanted the head of Ribadu on a platter. Now, Icheoku, should Ribadu have cooperated with them to deliver his head? There are goings on that you and I are not privy to. i think all things considered GEJ has taken a good decision.- Sumanguru

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  22. Nigerians are indeed very dishonest people. Initially I thought your piece was a satire but then it dawned on me that it was not. The man who will give you freedom is also strong enough to take them away from you. I am amazed that Ribadu's lawyer Femi Falana agreed to this. They would have been better 'manipulating' this through the court system. Ribadu is a product of one of the elite corruption institute in the woorld, the Nigerian Police. OBJ's third term is real.- H Okoronkwo

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  23. People should stop talking about OBJ. What about babangida?.And more so, which of Ribadu,s mate or colleague have contributed to the development of Nigeria in a positive way. We dont face reality in Nigeria. - Olu Fagbohun

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  24. I really don't know what your fuss is about. If we have a precedent of honesty and integrity I would be concerned. Moreover, you so seem to hold such a brief for the Nigerian police. The whole institution should be scraped. It serves no purpose as it is presently constituted. Finally, in an environment of unbridled corruption, please do not cry over spilled milk. It is "gabbage in, gabbage out." Or in the case of Ribadu, "gabbage out, gabbage in." - Toldyou

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  25. Icheoku, Jonathan is not only the President of our Federation but also the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces. It is within his purview to reinstate Ribadu as C-I-C, there is no conflict to this and bidding the court's time is discretionary. He chose not to weigh down an already overburdened judiciary and to exercise powers lawfully granted to him under our constitution-to call it a brazen interference is laughable, if not ignorant.- Egoigwe

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  26. You have completely missed the drift. Yes, Ribadu was used by OBJ to advance his greed in some instances. But his travail was not about what he did wrong. It was all about what he did right. Can you mention any of those Ribadu went after who had no case to answer? Is the EFCC is still the same as in Ribadu days. If somebody is witch hunted, is there no remedy? Was the PSC not acting the script of another president? Where is the justice? Where is the PSC with all the stench in the police force. The system must be able to remedy those wrongly persecuted. This is what Jonathan has done. And Kudos to Jonathan on this!!! - Ese Ota

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  27. Icheoku is a blunder! Thanks anyway because i just printed out this piece of written rubbish to make a good bedding for my guniea pigs. - Ota Fox

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  28. i read only the first paragraph of mr Anigbo's article it was so annoying. Absoloute rubbish! - tonyeakimoni

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  29. Ah - please shut up. Go and get a life. GJ is the head of Police force in Nigeria including the PSC. And he has the authority to rescind any decision that tarnishes Nigeria's image before the int'l community. He was right to demonstrate courage by reversing the cruel injustice against Ribadu. It was a necessary good starting point if he was really serious about fighting corruption. Your article was just arrant nonsense...its shows you are not even conversant with the inner workings of Yaradua govt. - Olao

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  30. I disagree with you. Ribadu's case is a case were presidency[during Obasanjo's regime] exercises its powers to promote and after the administration's exit, some interest went against presidential powers through the Police Service Commission. What Jonathan did is to restore Presidential Powers to promote. Period!Is the police not a force, how come the Police Service Commission decided to go against the directives of the Commander in Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria? I don't think you case made sense at all. - Aku Collins Emmanuel

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  31. Carry on Nigeria!
    This is just the beginning of another round of Nigerianisation!! Soldier come, soldier go; democrazy come, democrazy go. Everybody on to himself and God for all. I doubt much in Nigeria if a person cannot serve the interest of the man that fed him. It is do-me-I-do-you, man no go vex and that has been how your country is for quite long time whether or not you want to hear the truth. May God save our faces!- Monday Segun

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  32. Rumble in Police over Ribadu
    WRITTEN BY MISBAHU BASHIR
    TUESDAY, 01 JUNE 2010 06:42

    Malam Nuhu Ribadu

    Senior officers and rank and file of the police at the force headquarters in Abuja are grumbling over the restoration of the rank of assistant inspector general to Malam Nuhu Ribadu, according to interviews conducted by Daily Trust.

    Police officers who spoke to our reporter yesterday said it was wrong for the authorities to reverse the demotion of Ribadu because his mates in the force are still on the ranks of assistant or deputy commissioner of police.

    They also said singling him out for reversal of the demotion that affected 139 other officers was capable of provoking discontent within the police force.

    The Police Service Commission (PSC) last week restored the AIG rank to Ribadu and also commuted his dismissal from the police force to retirement, reportedly under pressure from the presidency. He was demoted last year, alongside 139 other police personnel, because of alleged irregularities in his promotion and was later dismissed over accusations of insubordination.

    A senior police officer told Daily Trust yesterday that Ribadu was hastily promoted to AIG from the rank of assistant commissioner while he was chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) without following the proper procedure.

    "All his mates who were enlisted same time into the force are either assistants or deputy commissioners now," the officer said.

    Another top police offer said the decision by the police service commission was influenced by certain officials of the Federal Government and was not in line with expectations and conventions of the force.

    "The police force relies on government policies and its personnel belong to the public, so if the government decided to take such a decision, the public will judge. In the end any decision taken on the police will affect the entire people, so by this action definitely the entire security system will be affected," he said.

    Another officer said the best way to keep police officers motivated would be through credible promotions and if the processes of promotion were influenced by individuals or institutions, then the personnel would be demoralised.

    But spokesman for the police force ACP Emmanuel Ojukwu, when contacted for comments, said police authorities would abide by the decision of the PSC on Ribadu and any other decision for that matter.

    PSC commissioner in charge of media affairs Comfort Obi said apart from Ribadu, no other police officer requested their demotion to be reviewed. "But we shall treat complaints as they come," she said.

    Obi said many policemen who were demoted alongside Ribadu had their ranks restored because they attained their respective appropriate times for promotion and satisfied all requirements.

    She said at the time the late Haz Iwendi, former CP of Kaduna State, was promoted to commissioner after his demotion to deputy commissioner, it was confirmed it was his right time of promotion. "All his mates were promoted to the rank of commissioner at the same time," she added.

    Earlier last week, Police Affairs Minister Adamu Maina Waziri said only Ribadu appealed his demotion and this was why he was the only person whose case has been considered. He said the commission would review the case of any officer when an appeal is made

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