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Train Attack: El-Rufai Carpets Military, ACF Laments, DHQ Fails To Deploy Tucano In N’West

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Nasir El-Rufai on Wednesday, said he was frustrated and helpless, adding that the military knew the location of the bandits wreaking havoc in the state, but was refusing to bomb their hideouts.

It was gathered that five months after a Federal High Court designated bandits as terrorists, the Nigerian military had yet to deploy the Super Tucano aircraft in the North-West.

Recall that the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), had on November 25, 2021, obtained a judgment designating all gunmen in the North-West as terrorists. This was said to be a condition by the United States government for the deployment of the aircraft outside of the North-East.

However, top sources confirmed that the Super Tucano had not yet been deployed in the North-West.

Addressing journalists on Wednesday when the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, visited the state to assess the situation following a terrorist attack on an Abuja-Kaduna train that left at least eight persons dead, El-Rufai said the terrorists’ hideouts should be bombed.

He said the location of the terrorists was public knowledge and even the Department of State Services usually monitors their telephone lines.

The governor stated, “We have enough intelligence for us to take action. The Air Force undertakes enough ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance); and the DSS has informants all over the place.

“We know what they (terrorists) are planning. We get the reports. The problem is for the agencies to take action. Don’t wait until they attack before you respond. The Army should go after their enclaves to wipe them out. Let the Air Force bomb them.

“Before, they were categorized as bandits and if you bombed them, you would have issues with human rights organizations and international criminal courts and so on. But, now that they have been declared terrorists by the court, they can be legally killed without any consequences from international human rights organizations.”

The governor insisted that the camps and phone numbers of the terrorists were known by the military agencies, stressing that Kaduna State was currently in a state of war.

“We know where their camps are, we know where they are; the SSS have their phone numbers, they listen to them, and they give me the report. We know what they are planning. We shouldn’t be waiting for them to attack; why can’t we go after them?” El-Rufai asked.

The governor said the bandit areas should be declared a warzone, adding that he was ready to allow a few innocent people to lose their lives in the process.

“We are in a state of war; this place should be declared a warzone. The Army, Air Force, and the police should go in there and kill them. Will there be innocent casualties? Yes! In every war situation, there are casualties,” he added.

The governor stated that train services should stop at 4 pm as nighttime had become too dangerous.

El-Rufai stated, “We have written to the Nigerian Railway Corporation twice to stop the evening service. The last train from Kaduna to Abuja should leave by 4 pm so that it will get to Abuja in daylight.

“If anything is to happen, the response time will be quick, maybe in 30 minutes. When something happens, the response time will be faster in the daytime. We were lucky the military response was just within an hour because it (attack) was dead in the night.”

The governor expressed his frustration about the situation, saying, “I’m angry, frustrated, and feel helpless. Let us establish military bases within Katari and Rijana (in Kaduna).”

On his part, Amaechi said the Nigerian Air Force would start escorting trains, adding that repair works on the bombed rail track would commence immediately as efforts were now on to install security sensors on the tracks.

He said, “I will speak with the President. He is already giving directives. I’m sure by the time we finish the repair of the rail tracks, we would have got approval for the security equipment and we would possibly have installed it.

“But even if it hasn’t been installed yet, we have spoken with the management of the Nigerian Air Force to escort the trains. They were previously escorting the trains, but recently the weather has been very bad and visibility dropped to below 500 meters, so they couldn’t fly.

“So, they’ve not been flying and this is why this (the attack) was successful. They have resumed flying and will escort the trains when we resume.”

The minister said the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), had approved that the ministry should employ people who would work on rail tracks for the next six to seven months until the security equipment was installed.

“We intend to employ villagers on the corridor so that they can report any suspicious movement to us and the security agencies,” he stated.

Amaechi said the Army had given maximum medical care to the patients, who were brought to the 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital, Kaduna.

He stated, “They treated the patients with bomb wounds and for the lady with gun wounds in her heart, they are bringing in a specialist, a cardiologist, to attend to her.

“They have just seven patients left; the rest have been discharged. The Federal Government is grateful to the military for the assistance. We will liaise with the hospital to see how much money we can contribute to the victim’s medical bills.”

On when the repairs of the bombed tracks would be fixed, Amaechi said, “We will commence work immediately and the military has promised us security as we work. It is less than 2km of rail tracks. We will complete the work as soon as possible.

“If the Ministry of Finance releases the funds, then we can know the number of those to employ. But we will involve the DSS in screening the people we will employ.”

On passengers and other persons on the ill-fated train, who had yet to be accounted for, the minister said, “We are still contact-tracing to establish those missing.”

The Chief Medical Director, 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital, Kaduna, Col Stephen Onochukwu, said the patients received by the hospital from the incident were all stable.

“We had 25 of them that were admitted. We discharged some of them that are stable but we are still following them up. Currently, we have seven of them left in the hospital,” he stated.

Attempts to get a reaction from the military proved abortive as the Director of Defence Information, Major General Ohwonigho Akpor, did not respond to calls or text messages.

Reps slam Amaechi, Sirika, service chiefs

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives investigation of terrorist attacks on the Kaduna International Airport and an Abuja-Kaduna rail line and train suffered a setback over the failure of the ministers and leaders of the security and intelligence community to show up at a meeting called for Wednesday.

The House had at the plenary on Tuesday resolved to invite the relevant ministers and those in charge of the nation’s security to an emergency meeting over the attacks.

Those to appear before the House were the National Security Adviser, Maj-Gen Babagana Monguno (retd.); Minister of Defence, Maj-Gen Bashir Magashi (retd.); Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Leo Irabor; Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen Farouk Yahaya; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Isiaka Amao; Director-General, Department of State Services, Yusuf Bichi; and the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba.

Other is Amaechi; the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika; the Director-General, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Musa Nuhu; Managing Director, Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, Rabiu Yadudu; Managing Director, Nigerian Airspace Management Authority, Matthew Pwajok; and General Manager, Nigerian Railway Corporation, Fidget Okhiria.

However, all the ministers, security chiefs, and other officials sent representatives except the NAMA boss, who appeared in person, a development that miffed the lawmakers led by the Deputy Speaker, Ahmed Wase.

Earlier in his opening remarks, Wase noted that the meeting was called a sequel to the motion adopted in plenary on Tuesday, adding, “This became a matter of urgent importance for us to tackle because Nigerians no longer have respite in terms of means of movement, ease of communication and many losses of lives.”

While also noting that the lawmakers did not have any doubts about the capacity of the representatives, Wase stated, “But as a House, I am constrained as a Deputy Speaker to continue the meeting because the accounting officers that were supposed to be here, while you give them the necessary support, are not here.

“So, we cannot proceed. And I am saying with a heavy heart that no matter the assignment that our generals are handling, I believe the parliament deserves a listening ear. This is the House of the people. I am saddened; I am not happy. I am expressing my disappointment.”

Responding, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Aviation, Abel Enitan, said, “My minister is out of town on official assignment as approved by Mr. President before this incident.”

Wase, however, interjected, dismissing the excuse for Amaechi’s absence.

“Please, do not use the name of the President. If he is out of the country, he is out of the country. This institution is not under the Presidency. It is an institution of its own,” he said.

Also, the Chief of Operations, Nigerian Army, Maj-Gen Oti Akinjobi, said the service chiefs were in a meeting based on the directive of the President.

“The express nature of the assignment demanded that they hold a meeting immediately and they have been in session since last night up to this time,” Akinjobi added.

Not satisfied, the Deputy Speaker said while the lawmakers appreciated the directive given by Buhari to sort out the matter, he noted, “We also believe that their being here, even for 10 or 20 minutes, would not have reduced anything in terms of what should have been done.”

Wase also dismissed the excuse given by the Deputy Inspector-General of Police (Operations), Sanusi Lemu, for representing the IG.

The lawmakers consequently dismissed the representatives, asking those directly invited to appear in person today (Thursday).

Buhari orders speedy resumption, NRC workers kick

In a related development, the President has ordered that the bombed rail track be immediately repaired so that operations can resume even as he said security should also be improved along the affected corridor.

This is according to a post by the President’s Assistant, Bashir Ahmad.

The post titled, ‘FGN response to Monday terrorist attack’, outlined seven responses by the President.

“The Nigerian Railway Corporation management is to speedily repair the damaged lines and resume normal service without delay,” it read in part.

However, the Nigeria Union of Railway Workers said it would be demanding improved security on the route as part of the conditions for the workers to resume work.

The NRC had on Tuesday suspended the Abuja-Kaduna train operations following an attack by terrorists on Monday night.

However, speaking with one of our correspondents, the President-General, NURW, Innocent Ajiji, said the workers were worried about the attack on the train, adding that they would not be resuming except the security structure on that axis improved.

Ajijic said, “We are going to be demanding an improved security structure before going back to work. Our workers are concerned about the attack on the train. Everybody knows how bad the security is in the country.

“You’re aware that on Saturday the airport was attacked in Kaduna. Of course, you’re also aware that roads are not secure to pass again despite the number of security spots on them. So, we will equally demand that our rail lines are beefed up.

“Build a security post on every section of our rail lines so that we can have the presence of security just like we have checkpoints on the roads. If we have that in place on our rail lines, I am sure it’s going to reduce attacks.”

FEC honors victims with a minute of silence

At the Federal Executive Council, attendees observed a minute’s silence at the meeting presided over by Buhari to honor the victims of the Abuja-Kaduna train attack.

At the start of the meeting, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, called for a minute of silence for the eight departed souls, including a medical doctor, Ms. Chinelo Megafu; Secretary-General of the Trade Union Congress, Musa-Lawal Ozigi; and the Kwara State Chairman of the TUC, Akin Akinsola, among others.

Present at the meeting were Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, who was in Kaduna on Tuesday to visit survivors recovering at the 44 Army Reference Hospital; the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof Ibrahim Gambari; the National Security Adviser, Maj Gen, Babagana Monguno (retd.), and many ministers.

BIG STORY

UPDATE: EFCC Grants Former Delta Governor Okowa Bail Over Alleged N1.3trn Fraud

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The Port Harcourt zonal command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has granted administrative bail to Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, a former governor of Delta State, over allegations of diverting N1.3 trillion in 13% derivation funds from the federation account between 2015 and 2023.

Okowa was arrested on Monday, November 4, 2024, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, after reporting to the Port Harcourt Directorate of the EFCC at the invitation of investigators handling his case.

Sources confirmed that the former governor left the EFCC facility around 9 pm on Wednesday night.

A source under anonymity stated: “He left the facility at about 9 pm yesterday (Wednesday).”

“Okowa is expected to return soon to provide documents and answer more questions before the matter will be charged to court.”

The former governor is accused of failing to account for the 13% derivation funds, as well as an additional N40 billion, which he allegedly claimed to have used to acquire shares in UTM Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).

Specifically, Okowa is said to have purchased N40 billion worth of shares in one of the country’s major banks, representing an 8% equity stake in the offshore LNG venture.

The funds are also alleged to have been diverted for other purposes, including acquiring properties in Abuja and Asaba, Delta State.

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BIG STORY

Oil Marketers Respond To Dangote Refinery Claims, Say SON, NMDPRA Certify Imported Petrol

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The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) certify the imported Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, that is imported into Nigeria, oil marketers have said.

They disclosed this on Thursday in response to claims by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery that off-spec petroleum products were imported into the country by dealers.

On Tuesday, the refinery informed Pinnacle Oil and Gas Limited and other oil marketers that the deregulation of the downstream oil sector should not be used as a justification for the importation of off-spec petroleum products or the undermining of Nigeria’s national interests.

Oil marketers denied this claim on Thursday, with the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Pinnacle Oil and Gas Limited, Robert Dickerman, revealing that his firm signed a 13-year agreement with the Dangote refinery to distribute the refinery’s petroleum products through pipelines.

Dickerman pointed out that independent inspectors, NMDPRA, and SON, among others, “inspect our products, so we can’t bring in off-spec products into this country.”

His position was confirmed by SON, as an impeccable source at the agency told one of our correspondents that the Standards Organisation of Nigeria was involved in the testing of imported petroleum products.

The official added that the organisation operates its own laboratory facility to check if the commodities are off-spec or not.

“Yes, We are involved in the testing of petroleum products when they come into the country. We are involved in that. We have our laboratory facility where these tests are conducted. It’s to ensure if the commodities meet regulatory standards or off-spec,” the official said.

A major marketer also kicked against the claim that dealers import off-spec products into the country, particularly since the downstream oil sector was deregulated by the Federal Government.

“I once told you what we went through when we brought in our imported cargo of petrol. The product underwent a lot of laboratory tests. I know the NMDPRA carries out tests on imported products. They took a sample of our recent import when it was still in the mother vessel at Atlas Cove before it was moved to Apapa.

“At the point of discharge, they took the sample again before allowing us to put it in our tanks. The NMDPRA has certified laboratories that they use. We have our laboratory, but the NMDPRA will not allow you to do your test without them certifying the product by themselves.

“The testing is in three stages, the one in Atlas Cove when the vessel lands in Nigeria. When the product moves to your point of discharge, they will do another test before they allow it into your tanks and aside from that, the day you want to start loading they will carry another test,” the marketer, who spoke in confidence due to lack of authorisation to speak on the matter, stated.

Addressing newsmen in Lagos on Thursday, Dickerman said the clarification became necessary to debunk the statement from the Dangote refinery, which accused Pinnacle of plans to blend substandard petrol in Nigeria.

The Dangote refinery had also said the Pinnacle MD approached it, pleading with the refinery to extend pipelines to its tank farms in order to blend substandard imported petroleum products with its ‘high-quality’ ones.

Reacting, Dickerman described the statement as defamatory, inaccurate, and intentionally misleading.

The managing director said it proposed and invested in pipelines to distribute petroleum products from the Dangote Refinery, saying pipeline transfer is far less costly than distribution by ship or trucking across the country.

According to him, when the project was proposed to Dangote, it wholeheartedly agreed and signed a 13-year interconnection agreement with Pinnacle Oil.

“On November 5, Dangote issued a Press Release titled, ’Pinnacle Oil and Gas FZE: Our Stand’. It is unfortunate and deeply concerning that this release contained several statements that are defamatory, inaccurate and intentionally misleading. Further, it advocated a national policy that would cause severe economic damage to Nigerians by raising the cost of petrol above global market prices and higher than they are today.

“In our effort to further enhance distribution efficiency, we proposed and invested in pipelines to distribute petroleum products from the Dangote Refinery, as pipeline transfer is far less costly than distribution by ship or trucking across the country. When we proposed this project to Dangote, they wholeheartedly agreed and signed a 13-year interconnection agreement with us.

“In addition, Dangote facilitated our process of achieving regulatory approval by writing two Letters of No Objection to the regulator to enable our project to proceed. The agreement to allow us to interconnect our pipeline to them was agreed actually in 2022 and I think it was signed in early 2023. So it was about two years ago that we actually reached this agreement, and it was done very comprehensively, from a commercial and a legal standpoint,” Dickerman stated.

He narrated that a lot of processes had gone into the project since it was signed, including the engineering design for the pipelines, surveying, getting the right of way, and letters of no objections from anyone who could be affected by the pipeline.

“There’s a whole bunch of stages to a project. This is not unlike any other construction project. It’s a very simple and straightforward process. This was done first. There was never a hint that this was not a good deal for both parties ever. So, it’s just not true that they opposed it. It’s simply not true that they opposed it. They supported it,“ the Pinnacle boss stated.

This came as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited denied a video clip that claimed the oil firm was selling dirty fuel from an NNPC Retail outlet at Keffi Flyover.

“We have carried out spot checks at all our outlets and found this claim to be false. The product was not, and could not have been bought from any NNPC Retail outlet as the company does not dispense petroleum products into bottles or jerrycans as displayed in the video,” it said in a statement issued by its spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye.

It added, “NNPC Retail Ltd does not deal in adulterated products as it adheres to rigorous standards and quality control measures at every stage in its operations to ensure that only high quality, safe, and reliable petroleum products are available at its stations nationwide.

“Members of the public should discountenance the spurious claims made in the video and be wary of selfish and unpatriotic elements pushing such a narrative as they do not mean well for the country.”

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BIG STORY

Assaulted Abuja Bolt Driver Makes U-Turn, Apologizes To Abia Rep Ikwechegh

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A Bolt driver, Stephen Abuwatseya, who was assaulted by the House of Representatives member representing Aba North/South of Abia State in the National Assembly, Alex Ikwechegh, during a package delivery, has apologized for his actions.

In a video statement on Thursday and seen by The Nation, Abuwatseya expressed regret for provoking Ikwechegh and asked Nigerians for forgiveness.

He said: “Good day, Nigerians. My name is Stephen Abuwatseya. I had a misunderstanding with Rt. Hon. Alex Mascot Ikwechegh a few days ago.

“I actually want to apologise to him for whatever I must have said or done to provoke him to that level of anger.

“I want to tell Nigerians that it’s not time for us to start dividing ourselves based on religion, tribes, or regions. We should actually come together, see how we can unite this nation, and move it forward.

“Please, Nigerians, let’s forgive and forget, as it’s even contained in our Lord’s Prayer, that ‘Lord, please forgive us, as we forgive those who trespass against us.’ For there is no justice without forgiveness. Thank you very much.”

Abuwatseya also thanked family and well-wishers for their support over the issue, “I want to use this medium to thank my family members, my parents, my brothers, my uncles and everybody that stood by me.

“I want to thank all of you. I love you all. Thank you. God bless Nigeria.”

On October 28, a viral video showed Ikwechegh slapping the Bolt driver in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

Going by the conversation recorded in the viral video, the lawmaker had ordered some snails from a vendor who engaged the services of the e-hailing app driver to deliver the goods.

According to Abuwatseya, tensions escalated when he requested that Ikwechegh come outside to receive his delivery personally and asked to be paid.

In the video, the lawmaker repeatedly insisted that the request was disrespectful given his social status.

A furious Ikwechegh was heard speaking with the vendor on the phone. “How can this stupid idiot come to me and tell me that I am supposed to come and meet him in his car and pick up a snail I am buying from you? I can make this man disappear in the whole of Nigeria and nothing will happen,” the lawmaker blurted to the speaker on the other side.

“I am not going to call my policemen to beat you up. I will do that myself. I will show you that I am a big brother. I will tie you up, lie you down and put you in my generator house. Do you know where you are? Because you saw me sitting outside here. Look at this monkey,” he said.

When alerted that the episode was recorded, the lawmaker told the driver: “My name is Honourable Alexander Mascot Ikwechegh, I am a member of the House of Reps, tell them. Call the Inspector General of Police, let him come.”

However, a few days after the incident, Ikwechegh issued a public apology, acknowledging his actions and expressing regret over his behaviour during the altercation.

In a message posted on Instagram, the lawmaker apologised to the Bolt driver, the Nigerian Police Force, and the National Assembly, admitting that his actions did not meet the standards expected of a public official, regardless of the provocation involved.

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