Ajimobi declares assets publicly ... has N292.4m in banks, owns houses in US, UK

Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi on Sunday made public the assets declaration form which he deposed to shortly before his inauguration as governor on May 29.

Making the content of the form public on behalf of his boss, the governor’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications, Dr. Festus Adedayo, said the step was in line with Ajimobi’s promise to commence a government that lays store by transparency and accountability in the administration of the state.

Adedayo said the governor deposed to the Assets Declaration Form for Public Officers at the Registry of the State High Court, Ibadan, before Justice Ladiran Akintola, on May 27, 2011, two days before assuming office.

The assets declared, according to him, include cash in local banks, buildings, vehicles, business enterprises and household items.

According to the form filled by the governor, the total amount of cash he has in banks in the country is N292, 432, 107.00 while he has none in any foreign account.

The governor also declared that he had a mansion in Ibadan worth N250m, a building in the same city worth N150m, another one with the value of N300m in Lagos, as well as a detached house worth N300m in Abuja.

He added that he had a flat purchased through mortgage financing worth £450,000 in the United Kingdom, another worth £1.95m, purchased through mortgage in the UK and another house worth $1.5m in the United States of America.

Ajimobi also declared that he owned 131 acres of farm land in a village at the Ido Local Government area of Ibadan worth N150m, two Lagos-based companies, Viz Grandex Nigeria Limited, worth N200m and Network Petroleum Nigeria Limited, worth N260m.

The governor put the worth of all his vehicles at N94.25m and household furniture, which include generating sets and electronics at N25m.

The governor also declared that his wife, Mrs. Florence Ajimobi, possesses a house in Ibadan that is worth N15m and another in Lagos that is worth N250m.

Adedayo said the new government of Oyo State laid great store by probity and accountability, and was of the belief that the patrimony of the people must be guarded jealously as the governor would give account of all that was entrusted in his care, not only to the people of the state who voted for him in the April elections, but to God “the ultimate judge” who would request for an account whenever the governor finishes his assignment on earth.

Ajimobi is the first governor of the state to publicly declare his assets.

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Boko Haram: Police foil plot to bomb NNPC HQ

Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation in Abuja is the next target of the Boko Haram fundamentalists, intelligence reports gathered by security agencies indicated. 

Already, security operatives in large numbers have been deployed to guard the national oil corporation head office, NNPC Towers, located in the Central Business District, Garki, Abuja. 

A lone bomber suspected to be a member of the Boko Haram on June 16 attacked the Nigeria Police Headquarters, Louis Edet House, in the Federal Capital City. One policeman and the lone bomber died in the attack in which 33 vehicles were burnt and 20 others destroyed. 

Our correspondent who visited the NNPC Towers, located on Phase 2, Herbert Macaulay Way in the CBD, observed a police armoured tank deployed at the front of the building while armed riot policemen and soldiers were seen surrounding the building. 

A top security source confided in our correspondent that the police authorities got a hint of a plan by the group to bomb the building as part of its violent campaign against the Federal Government.

The group followed the attack on the police headquarters with another on a drinking joint in Maiduguri, Borno State capital, two weks ago. Twenty-five people were killed in the attack.

A riot policeman on duty at the NNPC Towers (name withheld) told our correspondent that the security personnel at the building were hurriedly deployed.

“We (policemen) were asked to report to the NNPC Towers by our DPO because Boko Haram people are planning to bomb the building.

“The intelligence just came in, so we had to hurriedly come down here,” the policeman said.

He bemoaned the incessant threat posed by the Boko Haram members and the seeming ease with which they had been carrying out their attacks. 

President Goodluck Jonathan, during a recent visit to the bombed police building in Abuja, said if the Boko Harams had had their way they would bomb even him.

The planned bombing of the NNPC building came as the re-appointed Minister of Petroleum, Alison-Madueke, returned to her seat today, having been sworn in last Saturday along with 13 others by the President.

Alison-Madueke and 11 other ministers who were sworn in were asked by Jonathan to go back to their former offices.

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, had vowed that the Army would crush Boko Haram in line with a directive from the president. 

The lone bomber launched the attack on the Louis Edet House barely three days after the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Afiz Ringim, had threatened to crush the sect.

Ihejirika described the attackers as cowards, stressing that the fact that they succeeded in igniting some explosives in some parts of the country did not make them invincible.

The COAS therefore called on Nigerians to be security conscious and to give security agencies information that would assist them combat the group.

He spoke at the Second Quarter Chief of Army Staff Conference in Abuja last Monday.

“Nigerian Army having studied the method of operation (in collaboration with other security agencies), very soon the country will notice improvement and new security agreements,” the Army chief had said.

Not less that 3000 soldiers had been dispatched in the last two weeks to Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, to fortify military formations in the state. The deployment of the soldiers for internal security, our correspondent gathered, had led to the depletion in the rank of soldiers needed for peace-keeping operations abroad.

Also, the FCT pedestrians and motorists had also been subjected to serious security checks at security stop-and-search operations jointly set up by policemen and soldiers.

The Islamic sect had earlier threatened further attacks in the northern part of the country as well as the Federal Capital Territory.

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Governor’s wife orderly kills armed robbery suspects

The police orderly attached to the wife of the Lagos State governor, Mr. Oladimeji Adewunmi, on Saturday night single-handedly killed two armed robbery suspects in the Ketu area of the state.

A police source, who craved anonymity on Sunday told PUNCH METRO that Adewunmi, a Sergeant, was on Olutufese Street, Alapere, Ketu, around 11pm to visit a sick friend when three armed men came down from a motorcycle and threatened to kill him if he did not heed their demands.

The source said,“The Sergeant was accosted by three armed men who came on an okada. They hit his head with the butt of a gun and pushed him into his car.

“One of the robbers drove the car while Adewunmi and another one were at the back seat. The third gunman followed them behind on the okada.” 

PUNCH METRO learnt that the suspects were not aware that Adewunmi was a policeman and was thus armed. 

According to our source, Adewunmi decided to attack immediately he had the slightest opportunity.

He said, “The policeman observed that the robbers were distracted, he brought out his pistol from his holster and shot the robber seated next to him, and he died instantly.

“Immediately the robber that was driving the car noticed what had happened, he wanted to shoot Adewunmi but being a well trained policeman, he was able to dodge just in time and the bullet shattered the windscreen.

“Before the robber was able to gather himself together, Adewunmi shot him twice from behind and he lost control of the steering and hit a median next to MRS filling station, Obanlearo Street, Ketu. Unfortunately, the robber on the okada was able to escape along with the injured one.

PUNCH METRO gathered that the injured robber, who escaped, died a few hours later as his corpse was discovered in the early hours of Sunday morning and identified by Adewunmi who had gone to Alapere Police Station to make a report.

Our source added that the corpses of the robbers had been deposited at Ikorodu General Hospital’s mortuary. The police were able to recover two double-barrelled locally-made pistols and a machine gun used by the suspects.

A member of a vigilance group in the area, who spoke to PUNCH METRO on condition of anonymity, commended Adewunmi for his bravery. He however, urged the police to beef up security in the area as the incident of armed robbery in Ketu and its environs had increased tremendously.

All efforts to speak with Adewunmi proved abortive but a source told our correspondent that he had gone to hospital for medical checkup as his ear was affected by the sound of the gun shot at close range.

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Disengaged NITEL staff sue Transcorp, BPE, others

The disengaged workers of the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited have asked a Federal High Court in Abuja to stop the planned liquidation of the company by the Bureau of Public Enterprises pending the full implementation of a judgment secured by them in the same court in 2008.

In 2006, NITEL sacked many of its workers to pave way for its liquidation by the BPE, in line with the privatisation agenda of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo. 

The workers stated that the disengagement violated a valid court order, which had restrained the company from laying them off.

The November 6, 2008 judgment by Justice S. E. Oladetoyinbo, had stated that all casual workers were permanent staff of the NITEL.

It had also ordered that upon disengagement, the staff be paid the full benefits and entitlements as permanent staff of the company.

The workers expressed their position in a motion of notice filed on their behalf by their counsel, Chief Mike Ahamba (SAN), pursuant to Order 7 Rule 1 and Order 31 Rule 1 FCT High Court (Civil Procedure rule).

The Transnational Corporation, NITEL and BPE are listed as 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendants/respondents in the suit, which processes were obtained by journalists on Sunday. 

The embattled workers in an affidavit deposed to by their representative, Mr. Tijani Aminu, insisted that the court order was not carried out.

The affidavit further states that sequel to a meeting held between them and the 2nd and 3rd respondents, it was agreed that what was due to them by the judgment was without any discrimination on items and figures, as it related to other permanent staff. 

Regrettably, they were paid without regard to the band/step they belonged and which would have affected other computations for individual payment.

They stated, “The three months arrears of salary in lieu of notice in respect of a worker adjudged to be on band/step B1/15 is not N28, 815 howsoever calculated.

“Salary arrears and several other items of entitlement have not been paid to us. These include, basic salaries with proper reflection of grade levels/bands as applicable to our counterparts in the service at the material time, monthly allowances, annual leave allowances, rent subsidy, furniture grants received by others every October, and benefit of career enhancement by promotion of eligible individuals.”

The workers said the BPE was bent on proceeding with the liquidation exercise in breach of the judgment, despite a letter dated May 24 written by their counsel to the 2nd respondent, to draw attention to the deliberate omission.

They drew attention to a document prepared by Giant Consultants Limited entitled, ‘Report on NITEL/MTEL Labour Restructuring & Outstanding Employees Entitlements.’ 

They pleaded with the court to make a definite order, for full compliance with its earlier judgment, before the liquidation of the company.

As at the time of this report, it was not certain if the case had been assigned to any judge.

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Oyo explains suspension of road managers

The Oyo State government on Sunday said it decided to suspend members of the Oyo State Road and Traffic Management Authority (OTMA), because their appointments were not properly made and the last government did not put the "round pegs in the round holes." The government said although it recognized the need to have the institution in the state, the OTMA was not properly constituted by the last administration.

In a statement made available to journalists in ibadan on Sunday, Festus Adedayo, senior special assistant to Governor Abiola Ajimobi on public communication, alleged that there was "massive irregularities, cronyism and favouritism" in the employment of members of the authority.

He said the immediate past government of Adebayo Alao-Akala made the appointment of the staff in a hurried manner and filled the body with their party and family members, adding that the process was "in flagrant disregard for the requirements of such appointments."

"It would be recollected that the Adebayo Alao-Akala-led government, at the twilight of its administration, hurriedly put together OTMA which it staffed with all manners of persons, without regard for due process," Mr Adedayo said.

The government stated that it was in the process of setting up a similar body, but that it will be done in compliance with strict adherence to the norms and practices of employment as it is done worldwide. It called on those who have the requisite qualifications among the disengaged members to re-apply, saying they would be given top priorities for the job.

Mr Adedayo however explained the readiness of the state government to pay the salary of the sacked workers till June 30 when they were officially disengaged in consonance with its respect for "equity and due process."

The new OTMA, the government official said, would encompass its vision of traffic management, security and environment management to improve the lot of the people of the state.

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Sanusi warns Muslims against joining issues with Christians

 The Central Bank Governor, Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has cautioned Muslim faithful not to join issues with Christians over their opposition to the proposed introduction of Islamic Banking System in the country, saying the idea for the new system was rooted in the 1999 Constitution.

Sanusi who addressed Muslim clerics in Kano, weekend, in Hausa language at a lecture organised by Tijjaniya Islamic Enlightenment Initiative stressed that the new banking system was initiated by his predecessor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, a Christian, and challenged those opposed to the new system which he said was already operational in some banks to go to court.

Said he: ‘’Muslims should resist the temptation of engaging in war of words with our brothers (Christians) to avoid over heating the polity.

‘’We must not take the law into our hand because of this controversy, it is simply a matter of understanding of the law and I believe we will come to terms with the aggrieved party.

‘’I am only trying to fulfil the provision of the law as enshrined in the Nigerian constitution.”

Sanusi, however, lamented that the leadership of Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, turned down his request for a meeting that would have given him the opportunity to allay their (Christians) fears on the new banking system.

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Boko Haram kills 10 in bloody weekend

IN yet another bloody weekend, suspected Boko Haram members have killed 10 persons in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

The victims include a local government chairman. Many were injured in three attacks at different places in the city.

Government at the weekend took a major step to stem the activities of the Islamic Fundamentalist Group with President Goodluck Jonathan raising a panel to review the security situation in the country.

The panel may also probe the whereabouts of the N1.8billion released to a former Inspector-General of Police for the installation of CCTV cameras in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and some other cities.

The fear of Boko Haram gripped Abuja last night.

There was an unusual presence of heavy security around the headquarters of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) following the fear of attack by the group.

Attempts to clartify the cause of the security beef up from corporation spokesman Livi Ajuonuma last night were unsuccessful.

The President has, according to sources, ruled out the removal of Inspector-General of Police Hafiz Ringim, the service chiefs and heads of security agencies over the spate of bombings in the North.

The panel is made up of some former National Security Advisers and some past and present officers from the intelligence service.

Although the list of members was kept secret, it was gathered that the panel will operate “covertly”.

It was also learnt that the panel may exchange information and compare notes with intelligence units of some countries since terrorism is a global issue.

Chairman of Ijere Local government Area, Alhaji Mustapha Baale was yesterday shot dead by gunmen believed to be members of the Boko Haram.

He was killed around 3.30pm on his way home on Old Maiduguri Road within his local government area.

Baale, a three-time chairman of the local government, was reappointed to the post barely three weeks ago by Governor Kashim Shetima. He was also a member of the sixth House of Assembly which ended its tenure last month. He contested for a House of Representatives seat but lost.

Chief of Staff to Governor Shetima, Alhaji Abua Kyari described Baale’s killing as unfortunate.

Barely two hours after the killing of the LGA boss, the Boko Haram men struck again at Wulari Police station Mammy market around 5.30 pm yesterday. They reportedly rained bullets and threw a bomb at the people drinking at the market. Five people lay dead after the attack. Many others were injured.

Sunday’s twin attacks were preceded by the killings on Saturday.

Among those killed in the Saturday attacks were two brothers – Isa Umar and Apagu Umar.

In the Sunday attacks at the Mammy market, a father of 10 was among those shot dead. There was also a retired soldier among the wounded.

Head of the Joint Police Military Task Force in Maiduguri, Maj. Gen. Jack Nwachukwu Nwaogbo confirmed the killings.

A source, who spoke in confidence on the presidential action on Boko Haram said: “Contrary to the insinuations that Mr. President’s approach to the security challenges facing the country has been weak, he has been doing a lot.

“A panel has been set up to review the security situation, what has gone wrong, stock-taking of the level of sophistication to cope with the latest challenges facing Nigeria, and how the system can be overhauled for maximum efficiency.

“The panel is mandated to complete its assignment as soon as possible. So, the team should be done in a few weeks. It comprises some former National Security Advisers, crack intelligence chiefs and other security chiefs.”

The source added: “Following reports coming up on the N1.8billion, the President asked the panel to find out if the money was spent, inspect the installed CCTV cameras in the FCT and other cities and review their impact.

“But if nothing was done, the panel is to find out the whereabouts of the money that was approved and released. The panel will speak with all those involved in the project.

“I think the outcome of investigation into the bomb explosion at the Force Headquarters where it was difficult to get the footage of the bomber might have informed a review of the N1.8billion project by the police.

“After the panel has submitted its report, the President will determine whether the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission should step in or not.”

On the alleged plans to remove Ringim, and service chiefs over the Boko Haram menace, the source added: “The President has ruled out such a step because terrorism is a global challenge and it requires a global reaction.

“Jonathan has said he does not want to play to the gallery through mere grandstanding to remove security chiefs. He believes that recourse to bombing by Boko Haram is a challenge to all Nigerians, including himself as the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces.

“Instead, the President has given these security chiefs a major task to arrest the insurgency and they are on top of the situation.”

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El-Rufai defiant, I’ll not stop talking

FORMER Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, was defiant yesterday after his release, insisting that he will not stop talking.

He was arrested, Saturday evening and released  by men of the Directorate of State Security, SSS, Saturday, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, but released about 16 hours later talked tough, yesterday, saying his ordeal will not stop him from criticising the government.

El-Rufai who recounted his ordeals in the hands of security agents said he will not stop speaking on what is wrong when the need arises.

El-Rufai

He said he has just started his critical assessment of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration adding that he was not in any way inciting the people through his writings.

The former Minister who was arrested at the Abuja airport on arrival from London aboard a British Airways flight, told Vanguard yesterday that he was left to go home by the SSS at 9.00 am yesterday. He has, however, been instructed to report to the Directorate today.

Vanguard was told that Mallam el-Rufai was specifically asked why he chose to publish budget figures that were in all material details wrong.

In addition, Vanguard learnt that Rufai was remindedthat “he had been known to make some statements that were considered inflamatory in the past but had almost always been ignored.”

A source told Vanguard: “This time he was told in very clear and specific terms that the figures he gave out in his article were not only wrong but were intended to bring the Federal Government of Nigeria and, indeed, the intelligence community to disrepute by causing both disaffection in the estimation of members of the public.

Intelligence community

“The published figure for the intelligence community as published by Mallam el-Rufai was N208billion. He was asked why he did it”.

Mallam el-Rufai, in his response was said to have told security agents that he had been out of the country and was yet to get the complete volume of the budget.

Vanguard further understood that Rufai was informed that he could have got the complete volumes of the budget from the National Assembly, Supreme Court, Federal Ministry of Finance; and The Presidency.

He was then given a breakdown of the  figures as appropriated by the National Assembly on May 25, 2011, and signed into law by President Goodluck Jonathan on May 26 – Vanguard published the breakdown yesterday.

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Jonathan asks Niboro to handover

IN what appears to be a confirmation of media reports that the Chairman of the Editorial Board of the Guardian Newspapers, Mr Reuben Abati,is to replace the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Ima Niboro, President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday asked his spokesman to prepare for a handover to another appointee yet to be named.

A highly placed Presidency source said the president invited Niboro, who was part of the presidential entourage to just concluded African Union, AU, Summit to Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, to inform him of the  decision.

An online platform and some dailies had ,Thursday, reported that  Abati has been informed that he will be a likely replacement for Niboro, a report that a Presidency source, who was not in Malabo with Mr President denied.

Niboro was appointed as Senior Special Assistant to then Vice President Jonathan, a position he held even when his principal was elevated to the office Acting President. And when the last cabinet was formed about a year ago, Niboro was also promoted to the office of Special Adviser, a position of a cabinet member.

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Nyako to NLC: ‘Don’t be in a hurry to go on strike’

Governor Murtala Nya ko yesterday told the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) not to be in a hurry to go on strike, as it is counter-productive.
While reminding  labour about the  first article in the international labour law which is ‘no work, no pay’, the governor urged them to team up with the government to work out programmes that would in near future raise the minimum wage far higher than N18,000 per month.
Nyako who observed that even the N18000 is small to meet the needs of the families, assured that government was in support of decent standard of living for all.
“My feeling is that N18,000 a month is too small. A man with his wife and two children depending on N18,000 per month that is just about less than $1 per person. 
“This is not the type of standard of living we want Nigerians to have, Nigerians should have much higher standard of living. 
“But, my contention here is that the labour and the state government should sit down to work out action that will make us earn much more money so that we can pay them comfortably.
“We are all brothers and sisters whether you are in labour or not we are in the same country. We want to please one another, we want to make sure everybody has a decent standards of living and threatening to go on strike is counter-productive.
“So, let’s not threaten one another. Let’s agree to work out our programmes that will allow us in the very near future to raise the minimum wage far higher than N18,000 per month,” he said.
On subsidy removal, the governor said, “It is because some of us from rural states have not benefited from subsidy for donkey year’s. For many years, it is hijacked and right now we are paying N165 per litre and you say you have subsidy, what subsidy? Let it be off and let’s have the money for development.”

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Group lauds Tambuwal over salary cut

A group, the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL) has commended the proposed plan by the Speaker of the House of Representatives to reduce the jumbo pay of members as a good step with utmost interest of Nigerians.

Speaking through its executive chairman, Debo Adeniran, the Coalition urged the 7th House of Representative members to be focused and transparent while carrying out their constitutional assignments.

“We hope the Senate will join the House of Representatives in aligning with the expectations of Nigerians in their bid to slashing the jumbo pay by 40 percent as proposed by the Speaker. This move will go a long way in redeeming the image of lawmakers by regaining the trust and confidence reposed in them by their respective constituents.

“The National Assembly this time is expected to be more vibrant and proactive by making better laws that will positively affect Nigerians; not wasting time and resources on issues that have little or no impact on the people.

“Imagine a nation where political office holders are super rich through no other means but stealing public funds at the expense of millions of Nigerians who go to bed daily on empty stomach. Several youths are on the streets without jobs. Millions of pupils drop out of schools due to inability to pay school fees.

“Tambuwal should learn from the short comings of the sixth Assembly under the leadership of the erstwhile Speaker, Dimeji Bankole who is currently standing trial for giving more priority to personal interest than that of the nation.” He said

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Robbers attack police station, kill 2, cart away rifles

AT least two policemen were killed last night and several others wounded when a gang of armed robbers launched an attack on the police station at Kwale, Delta State.

Details of the attack were still sketchy but security has been beefed up at the station.

Apart from the killing of the policemen during the bloody raid, some unspecified number rifles and ammunition were carted away by the hoodlums.

Also commercial banks in the town have remained closed to their customers for fear of being attacked again.

Some residents of the community have also fled due to high insecurity in the town as the banks complained that the robbers had allegedly written them, threatening to unleash another attack reminiscent of the 18th of May raid.

It will be recalled that on May 18, this year, about N84 million was carted away during the robbery attacks on some of the banks in the town in which police were able to recover N4.65 million cash out of the stolen money.

During that raid, the robbers, numbering over 25, used dynamites and other sophisticated weapons to break into the banks.

At a press conference addressed by the Delta State Commissioner of Police, Mamman Ibrahim Tsafe the following day, he listed other items recovered as “three AK 47 rifles, 20 AK 47 live ammunition, 38 empty magazines, expended explosives and dynamites, among others.

He said that “a notorious vicious gang of bank robbers numbering over 25 armed with dynamites and other sophisticated weapons audaciously and simultaneously besieged Kwale branches of Unity Bank, Oceanic Bank and Zenith Bank. The robbers also attacked Skye Bank Amai”.

At the time to filing in this report, the State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), MR. Charles Muka, was said to be attending a security meeting over the matter.

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SSS arrests el-Rufai over incitement

Former Minister of Federal Capital Territory, FCT, and chieftain of Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, has been arrested by the State Security Service, SSS over alleged “inciting, inflammatory and grossly misleading” claims.

el-Rufai was arrested in the early hours of yesterday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on arrival from the United Kingdom, UK.

He was said to have returned from a trip undertaken with the CPC presidential candidate in the April polls, Maj. General Muhammad Buhari, and his running mate, Pastor Tunde Bakare, who were at the Chattam House in London, to make a formal presentation about the polls which result they have rejected and are contesting at the presidential election tribunal.

el-Rufai has, of recent, become very critical of the Federal Government.

In a statement, the SSS linked the arrest to “recent articles in the cyber and print media which have been considered by well-meaning Nigerians to be inciting, inflammatory and grossly misleading”. El-Rufai’s media aide corroborated the claim when he hinted that his principal may have been held over his allegation in the media that the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) was allocated N208 billion in the 2011 budget.

Sunday Vanguard security sources, however, punctured the former minister’s allegation on the N208 billion budgetary allocation to the NSA office, saying it was a lie. The sources said el-Rufai had explanations to make on the matter. It was gathered that the former minister may be charged to court tomorrow. It was not clear what he may be charged with, although a source said he may face incitement charge.

Buhari was swift in his condemnation of the arrest which he described as a flagrant violation of the former minister’s right and demanded his release.

Former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, also described el-Rufai’s arrest as “a disgrace and monumental error” on the part of the Federal Government.

Why he was arrested – SSS

In a statement by the SSS, signed by Marilyn Ogar, Assistant Director, Public Relations, it was discovered that the operatives who arrested el-Rufai were acting on instructions.

The statement read:

“At 0500 hours of 2nd July, 2011, Mallam Nasiru el-Rufai, the former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), was intercepted on arrival at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

“This became necessary following Mallam el-Rufai’s recent articles in the cyber and print media which have been considered by well meaning Nigerians to be inciting, inflammatory and grossly misleading. For instance, his column on the back page of 1st July, 2011 edition of Thisday newspaper titled “What Nigeria Pays FG” clearly attests to this.

“It is pertinent to note that the Freedom of Information Bill (FOI Bill has been passed into law, yet he refused to cross check his facts before publishing. He rather chose to misinform the public with mischievously orchestrated data with the intent of causing disaffection among the populace thereby subverting Government.

“It is expected that the Former Minister should have been more circumspect against the backdrop of current security challenges in the country.

“Nigeria belongs to all of us and no one should take laws into their hands as no one is above the law”.

How they held el-Rufai – aide

Detailing how the former minister was arrested, his media aide, Muyiwa Adekeye, in a statement, said el-Rufai was, yesterday morning, arrested at Abuja airport as he arrived from London aboard a British Airways flight. SSS operatives later whisked him to their headquarters where he was hauled before their Director-General, the statement.

According to the statement, ‘’feelers indicate that the immediate trigger for his arrest is his disclosure in his Thisday column of Friday, 01 July 2011 that the National Security Adviser (NSA) was allocated N208 billion in the 2011 budget. This figure is in the 2011 Appropriation Act which is a public document.

“Bringing an information in the public domain to the people cannot by any stretch of the imagination be a crime even if it embarrasses security chiefs who, on the evidence of insecurity in the land, are not delivering value despite securing tidy budgetary allocations!

“If the facts in el Rufai’s article, ‘What Nigerians pay FG’, are wrong in fact or context, that cannot be remedied by a denial of liberty. The government should simply publish its alternative narrative, and let the public decide. All efforts to establish contact with him have since proved abortive and the SSS has given no word to his family and lawyers who have kept vigil.

“el Rufai was returning from a week-long trip to the UK where he attended the Chatham House presentation by General Muhammadu Buhari, the presidential candidate of the CPC, who discussed recent events in Nigeria. He also visited his kids schooling there.

“Mallam el Rufai has not done anything illegal by encouraging discourse about what our government costs us. He has been outspoken about his concerns regarding the direction the current government is taking this country, and he has written critical pieces on this matter on Nigerian and international media platforms. Free speech is a constitutional right, and it implies the obligation by the state to defend even those whose views are not congruent with the powers that be.

“el Rufai’s views have been opposed by commentators more sympathetic to the Jonathan government. That is the way civilized discourse ought to go in a democratic country, not an illegal resort to arm-twisting and harassment.”

el-Rufai’s SMS message made available to our correspondent immediately he was picked read, “good morning. I have been detained at the airport on arrival by the SSS. Thanks.’’

Case to answer

But giving some insight into the reason el-Rufai was arrested, a top placed security source told Sunday Vanguard: “We picked him up because he wrote (alleged) lies”. He went on: “In the Appropriation (Amendment) Bill 2011 passed by both the Senate and the House of Representatives on May 25 and signed into law by President Goodluck Jonathan on May 26, 2011, the intelligence community got a total allocation of N109,855,099,466 (approximated to N109.855bilion) which splits as follows: the Office of the National Security Adviser – N40,846,937,023; Directorate of State Security (that is the SSS) – N23,452,705,993; National Intelligence Agency – N27,720,580,338; and the Presidential Air Fleet –N17,834,876,113. So where did El-Rufai get his N208billion? Even then, all the funds due to intelligence community are controlled by the Permanent Secretary (Social Services) in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF)”.

The source further said: “When did Amnesty Programme become part of intelligence community whose votes are being managed by the National Security Adviser? It is very wrong and inciting to manufacture figures and present them as truth because you lost out somewhere and suddenly realised you should become relevant by writing a column in a newspaper. He is certainly appearing in court on Monday.”

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