Tragedy struck again in
Lagos, yesterday, when a four-storey building at 3, Massey Street, Lagos
Island, suddenly collapsed, with 14 persons rescued alive, while many
were still trapped at press time.
The incident was said to have occurred at about 3p.m., with
rescue operators battling to rescue the trapped victims among who were
children, from the debris.
Vanguard gathered that the affected building owned by Kafo
family , was initially a three storey building before an additional one
storey was added.
At press time, 14 victims according to the General Manager,
Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Mr Adesina Tiamiyu , were
rescued . Among them were children . Lekki building collapse [Photo: Daily Post]The
cause of the collapse could not be immediately ascertained as rescue
operators among who were officials of Lagos State Emergency Management
Agency, LASEMA; Lagos State Fire Service, National Emergency Management
Agency; NEMA Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, Red Cross; Lagos
State Ambulance Service, LASAMBUS and policemen, were seen rescuing
trapped victims.
There were reportedly telephone calls from under the rubble , with trapped victims begging for help.
Residents said that among those trapped was a pregnant woman.
The GM, LASEMA stated that heavy duty equipment was being
used to search through the rubble, adding that the operation was being
done with care in order not to endanger lives of trapped victims.
A woman, who gave her name as Mrs Adeosun Akinfisoye, who
resides on same street , said “ there was no sign of imminent collapse.
We heard an explosion which caused everyone to take to his heels, only
to discover later that it was a building that collapsed. People are
still buried inside. A pregnant woman is among those under the debris.
By Dennis Agbo & Ugochukwu Alaribe
ENUGU – THE Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has stated
that whether people boycott elections or not, winners must emerge in
any scheduled election.
The electoral body said that whatever number of people that
participated in an election, the conduct would obviously produce a
winner, adding that no matter the agitation anybody or group may have,
elections are crucial to governance since somebody must be a helmsman at
any point in time.
INEC also noted that even if there would be a referendum in
the country, INEC registers would be relied upon to determine legibility
for participation in the referendum.
INEC spoke as two pro-Biafra groups; Eastern Elders Forum
and Defenders of Truth, stated that only a referendum would resolve the
prevailing political turmoil in Nigeria and urged the Federal
Government to conduct one without further delay.
The groups further warned that the call for referendum by
the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB and Movement for the Actualization
of Sovereign States of Biafra, MASSOB and other agitating groups in
the country do not amount to declaration of war and urged the Federal
Government to do the needful.
Boycott or not, winner must emerge — INEC
INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, in Enugu State,
Mr. Emeka Ononamadu made the statements in Enugu in a press briefing on
the state of the on-going Continuous Voters Registration, CVR, in the
state.
Ononamadu noted that it would be wiser if eligible voters
are registered since greater participation of voters in elections help
discourage electoral malpractice.
He however said that so far, there has not been any challenge of pro-Biafra groups against the exercise in the state.
He disclosed that there is a wide gap between census figures
and the number of voters and urged people up to 18 years that have not
obtained voters cards to do so in order to close the wide margin.
Ononamadu further disclosed that 68, 672 voters have so far
registered in the the on-going CVR while 8 registration centres were
approved in addition to 17 statutory centres in the state.
He said that the state has so far distributed 3, 978 Permanent Voters Card, PVC, while 4000 cards were either lost or defaced.
He noted that the second quarter of the CVR will immediately
commence from July 31 2017, adding that “this is the first time we
are practicing what the law says and the continuous registration will
continue till close to election.”
The INEC chief said that display of voters registers have
commenced at the registration centres and urged people to check if their
names were either omitted or spelt wrongly.
Only referendum ‘ll resolve Nigeria’s problems
Briefing newsmen in Aba, chairmen of Eastern Elders Forum
and Defenders of Truth; Mazi Jude Chukwu and Mazi Ukaegbu O. Ukaegbu,
respectively, warned that the Federal Government would be playing with
fire if it continues to delay the conduct of a referendum to allow
component units in Nigeria to determine their future.
“We state that the only solution for the present political
imbroglio is for the Federal Government of Nigeria to conduct a
referendum in order to set free some component units of the country that
are seeking for self determination. We further state that the call
for referendum by the IPOB, MASSOB, EPC and other agitating groups in
the country doesn’t amount to war or violence, but peaceful and good
settlement of the present turmoil in the country.”
The groups expressed concern about the position of Ohanaeze
Ndigbo and its youth wing and warned them not to risk the lives and
property of Ndigbo through unguarded utterances.
“Some utterances from Ohanaeze Ndigbo and its youth wing led
by one Okechukwu Isiguzo, amount to outright desecration of Igbo
culture and tradition. We hereby use this medium to warn some self
acclaimed Igbo leaders to stop their antics. They should desist or face
the wrath of elders of Ndigbo in the country or Diaspora.”
CALABAR—EYEWITNESSES have
said about 30 persons died when an inferno from an explosion razed part
of the Calabar Free Trade Zone, CFTZ, in the early hours of yesterday.
However, Police have said nine persons died in the incident,
with others sustaining various degrees of burns. They added that the
cause of the explosion was yet unknown.
The CFTZ in Esuk Utan community is host to several tank
farms belonging to different companies, but yesterday’s fire incident
reportedly emanated from LINC Oil and Gas’ tank farm as a result of what
was termed negligence and sabotage by some of its staff.
An eyewitness, Mr. Ikenga Uti, disclosed that a worker, who
was trying to siphon petrol from a vessel opened one of the valves, but
unfortunately the gasket on the valve failed. So the pressure threw him
off, with fuel flowing into the gutter. Remains of containers used for scooping by the victims near one of the gutters.
He said people started scooping it with various containers—drums, plastic and steel buckets. The fire
According to Uti, “it was during the scooping of fuel from
the gutter that the fire started and flowed back to LINC Oil and Gas and
to Nigeria Ports Authority, NPA, where it entered a vessel loaded with
PMS.
“As I speak with you, we have brought out eight bodies from
LINC Oil and Gas and about six people, who were scooping fuel outside
the gate, also died.” Wife of one of the victim being consoled.
Another eyewitness revealed that “the people scooping fuel
said that the fire was ignited by somebody who was smoking cigarette
close to one of the gutters that the product was flowing through, while
some said it was a spark from one of the stainless steel buckets.
“For now, I can tell you that the Safety Manager and some
security personnel from the company are dead. This tragedy was caused
because someone got greedy; the person, who opened that valve, caused
this fire because they wanted to steal petrol.”
He added that the host community, Esuk Utan, was not spared as the fuel from the gutter flowed into the community.
He added, “due to the strong fumes of the petrol, some
members of the community woke up to realise that petrol was flowing
through their gutters and decided to scoop the product.” 7 die in fish village
A fishing settlement on the waterfront nearby was not
spared. The settlement, which also serves as a fish market, was razed
and seven people, who lived there, lost their lives also, according to
eyewitnesses.
Several wooden canoes and engine boats were caught in the inferno. ‘We were discharging old product’
Meanwhile, a staff of the depot, who spoke under the
condition of anonymity, said the fire outbreak occurred when staff of
the depot were discharging old products from the tanks to create space
for new consignment.
According to the staff, “as we speak right now, the vessel
that brought in our new product is just by the port here. Some of our
staff were discharging the old product from the tank with a view to
bringing in the new one when the fire outbreak occurred.” ‘30 died’
A staff of one of the oil and gas company, who pleaded
anonymity, said: “Almost 30 people have been confirmed dead. So many
have severe injuries and have been rushed to the hospital.
“I saw someone whose entire legs melted in the fire. It was
only his bones that were sticking out. I do not know if he will survive.
It was very horrible. There was fire everywhere.
“Nobody knew where they could run to. Many other companies
in this vicinity and even inside the NPA have had one equipment or the
other affected by the fire.
“The truth is that they were performing illegal business
there that is why there were no safety measures in place, making the
situation get out of hand. If it was a normal operation, I believe it
could have been contained easily. They have been doing this for long,
but today was bad luck for them.
“However, it is just fortunate that the tank farms
themselves did not blow up, thanks to the sophisticated fire fighting
equipment they have. Otherwise, the impact would have been like that of
an atomic bomb.” Police
When contacted, Cross River State’s Commissioner of Police, Mr. Hafiz Inuwa, however, said nine people died in the incident.
Mr. Inuwa added that several other persons, who sustained
injuries, were currently being treated in one of the hospitals in
Calabar.
According to him, the manager of the depot is yet to brief the Police on what led to the explosion.
He said: “Nobody has come out to tell us that this is what
caused the fire outbreak. We have gone round, we have done what we can,
but investigation will later reveal what actually led to the explosion.
“For now, nine people are confirmed dead and many others,
who sustained burns, are currently receiving treatment in one of the
hospitals around town.”
Officials of Cross State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA,
were on ground to assess the extent of damages caused by the explosion.
By Chioma Gabriel, Anayo Okoli, Omeiza Ajayi & Chinonso Alozie
ABUJA—Less than 75 days to the October 1 ”quit notice” issued by a
coalition of northern youths to Igbo living in the region, the Ohanaeze
Ndigbo Youth Council, weekend, met with the northern coalition with a
view to charting a common course for peaceful co-existence of various
groups in all parts of the country. Arewa Youths
Consequently, the northern coalition has said it has begun
the process of reviewing its earlier demands asking the Igbo to quit,
but said it would not back down on its petition to the United Nations
asking it to intervene in the affairs of the nation.
It also insisted that the leader of the Indigenous People
of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, be punished for the damage done to the
psyche of Nigerians.
On their side, the Ohanaeze youths dissociated themselves
from secessionist agitations, and asked Nigerians to consider such
agitations as perhaps a cry to redress noticeable imbalance in the
composition of the country.
The parent body of Ohanaeze, however, has disowned any
statement credited to the youth wing, saying the Okechukwu Isiguzoro
leaderhip was under suspension.
A release signed by National Deputy Publicity Secretary of
Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chuks Ibegbu, yesterday, said any statement credited to
any official of the suspended wing bears no authorisation from Ohanaeze
National Executive Committee.
It said: “It’s only the President General and the publicity
Unit/any other official authorised or mandated to do so that can speak
on behalf of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.”
This came as Igbo pressure group, Igbo Peoples Congress,
IPC, has condemned the Arewa youth coalition for threatening to write
the UN over IPOB and its leader, Nnamdi Kanu instead of feeling remorse
for their treasonable declaration of quit notice to Igbo in the north
some weeks ago.
The meeting of Ohanaeze and Arewa youths which held Saturday evening in Abuja lasted several hours We’re reviewing our earlier position — Arewa
Speaking with newsmen shortly after the meeting in Abuja,
chairman of the Coalition of Northern Youths, Yerima Shettima, who
commended the move, said the peace meeting between the two groups led to
the formation of a six-member committee, which will facilitate another
meeting in the South-East. Kanu should be punished
On the Kaduna declaration of the coalition, Shettima said,
“Leaving Nnamdi Kanu to go unpunished is totally unacceptable to us
because he has so far done much damage on our psyche and our nation.
“So, for us, we think the best we can do is to
internationalise this struggle. Behind the background of what we are
doing today, most likely in the event of anything falling short of what
we agreed, of course we are already in the UN reporting this same
character. That does not stop us from discussing to arrive at a
particular conclusion where we can have peace in the country.
“On our previous position, we have not officially withdrawn
the quit notice given to the Igbo in the North but we said it few days
ago that we will review our position and part of that steps is what we
are taking now.”
While commending the Ohanaeze Youth Council for a fruitful
discussion, Shettima said: “I thank God we are talking with a recognized
body of entire youths organisation in the South-East called Ohanaeze
Youth Council that is known everywhere. It means that this is a welcome
development and we are happy that they have actually sought to get our
audience to discuss the way forward out of all these uprisings.
“We are glad to get some words coming out from the
leadership of Ohanaeze Youth Council, specifically on the area of
seeking to see us to discuss issues. It means they realised that we are
very angry and a lot of things have fallen out of place as a result of
their shortcoming in the sense that if they had called the young man to
order from time past, we wouldn’t have gone to this extreme.
“The second one is the assurance from the president of the
council. If I quote him very well, he said: ‘Nnamdi Kanu is just looking
for self recognition’, and we became more relaxed and comfortable
getting that from him.
“The third one is him making efforts to bring MASSOB and
IPOB together for us to go into a roundtable discussion. I think it is a
welcome development.”
Also speaking, National President, Ohanaeze Youth Council,
Mazi Okechukwu Isigusoro, thanked the northern coalition for a fruitful
deliberation, adding that the council believes in one Nigeria.
He said: “We want to specially thank the coalition of
Northern groups for accepting to host us in Abuja. Our talks have been
very smooth beyond our expectations and we want to appreciate them,
knowing fully well that we thought this talks would have ended in fiasco
or taken a dangerous dimension but the way they have peacefully handled
it shows that they are a peaceful people.
“We commend them for that and also believe that through this
dialogue, we believe in the future that there will be no boycott of
these talks and if followed peacefully, we will bring an end to some of
our problems in this county.” OYC denies criticising Kanu
Meanwhile, Ohanaeze Youth Council, OYC, has denied a report
credited to its President, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, to the effect the
leader of IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, was seeking self recognition through
his struggle for Biafra, saying the council would never criticize the
activities of the IPOB in respect of the agitation.
In a statement, the council said the issue of Nnamdi Kanu
never came in the meeting they had in Abuja with some leaders of Arewa
youths, insisting that the meeting was strictly on how to resolve the
quit notice issued to the Igbo by some groups of Arewa youths.
“Our President was misquoted. The president of Ohanaeze
youths never said that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is seeking self recognition. The
issue of Nnamdi Kanu never came up. We will never condemn the self
determination clamour by IPOB and MASSOB.”
Former Petroleum
Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, who is being investigated for a series
of multi-billion dollar fraud and money laundering offences in Nigeria,
the United Kingdom and America has threatened to squeal on her
associates, Kola Aluko and Jide Omokore. *Diezani Alison-Madueke
She said after opening up on everything that transpired in
the controversial fraudulent transactions, she would be ready to be
thrown in jail along with her co-conspirators.
Mrs. Alison-Madueke’s explosive comment is contained in a
recorded conversation recovered by investigators probing the corruption
allegations against the former minister.
Details of the conversations, according to online portal, Premium Times,
have now been filed as part of a civil complaint by the United States
Department of Justice (DoJ) seeking the forfeiture of over $144 million
slush fund.
The trio of Mrs Alison-Madueke, Mr. Aluko and Mr. Omokore
were listed as persons of interest in the civil complaint filed at the
US District Court, Houston, Texas.
The complaint revealed how the three individuals laundered
millions of dollars on behalf of Mrs Alison-Madueke, which was used in
buying property in the US and the UK for her family in return for oil
contracts to Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Nigeria Ltd, AEDC, and
Atlantic Energy brass Development Ltd, AEBD, two Shell companies owned
by Mr Omokore.
In the conversation with Mr Aluko recorded by herself on May
14, 2014, a clearly angry Mrs Alison-Madueke admitted to helping her
associates secure the multi-billion dollars Strategic Alliance
Agreements, SAAs, deals.
In another conversation with another unknown recipient, the
former minister dared Aluko to reveal details of their dealings, and
then face the consequences.
She was, however, furious at how the ostentatious
acquisitions of Messrs Aluko and Omokore might have led law enforcement
agencies across the world to their shady dealings.
In the recorded conversation, Mrs Alison-Madueke, in
response to speculations that Mr Aluko was going to blackmail her,
threatened to spill the beans.
She said she was ready to reveal to Nigerians all that happened and was ready to follow Messrs Aluko and Omokore to jail.
She said: “I will tell him (Aluko) to bring everything out,
and then you know what will happen? No problem, I will be happy to
escort all of you to jail along with myself. I said, in fact, you’ll be
shocked by what I will do. Because when it comes to that, I will come
out and tell the Nigerian people this is what happened.
“Anything they want to say, I am happy to go. But I will
come out openly and say it so that they can judge me openly. And then
all of us go and sit on the gate. Let us see who survives, me or you.”
OABUJA – Less than 75 days to the October 1 “quit notice” issued by a
coalition of northern youths to Igbo leaving in the region, the Ohanaeze
Ndigbo Youth Council has met with the northern coalition with a view to
charting a common course for peaceful co-existence of various groups in
all parts of the country.
Igbo must go cartoon
The meeting which was held Saturday evening in Abuja lasted several hours.
Consequently, the northern coalition has said it has begun
the process of reviewing its earlier demands asking the Igbo to quit,
but said it would not back down on its petition to the United Nations
asking it to intervene in the affairs of the nation.
While the northern coalition asked that the leader of the
Indigenous People of Biafra IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu be punished for damage
done to the psyche of some Nigerians, the Ohanaeze youths dissociated
themselves from secessionist agitations, and asked Nigerians to consider
such agitations as perhaps a cry to redress noticeable imbalance in the
composition of the country.
Speaking with Newsmen shortly after the meeting in Abuja,
Chairman of the Coalition of Northern Youths, Yerima Shettima, who
commended the move, said the peace meeting between the two groups
however led to the formation of a six-member committee which will
facilitate another meeting in the South-east.
On the Kaduna declaration of the coalition, Shettima said;
“Leaving Nnamdi Kanu to go unpunished is totally unacceptable to us
because he has so far done much damage on our psyche and our nation. So,
for us we think the best we can do is to internationalize this
struggle. Behind the background of what we are doing today, most likely
in the event of anything falling short of what we agreed, of course we
are already in the UN reporting this same character. That does not stop
us discussing to arrive at a particular conclusion where we can have
peace for the country.
“On our previous position, we have not officially withdrawn
the quit notice given to the Igbos in the North but we said it few days
ago that we will review our position and part of that steps is what we
are taking now.”
While commending the Ohanaeze Youth Council for a fruitful
discussion, Shettima said: “I thank God we are talking with a recognized
body of entire youths organisation in the South-east called Ohanaeze
Youth Council that is known everywhere. It means that this is a welcome
development and we are happy that they have actually sought to get our
audience to discuss the way forward out of all these uprisings.
“We are glad to get some words coming out from the
leadership of Ohanaeze Youth Council specifically on the area of seeking
to see us to discuss issues; it means they realized that we are very
angry and a lot of things has falling out of place as a result of their
short coming in the sense that if they had called the young man to order
from time past we wouldn’t have gone to this extreme.
“The second one is the assurance gotten from the president
of the council. If I quote him very well, he said; ‘Nnamdi Kanu is just
looking for self recognition’, and we became more relaxed and
comfortable getting that from him and third one is him making efforts to
bring MASSOB and IPOB together for us to go into round table
discussion. I think it is a welcome development.”
Also speaking, National President Ohanaeze Youth Council,
Mazi Okechukwu Isigusoro, thanked the northern coalition for a fruitful
deliberation, adding that the council believes in one Nigeria.
“We want to specially thank the Coalition of Northern Groups
for accepting to host us in Abuja. Our talks have been very smooth
beyond our expectations and we want to appreciate them knowing full well
that we thought this talks would have ended in fiasco or taken a
dangerous dimension but the way they have peacefully handled it shows
that they are peaceful people. We commend them for that and also believe
that through this dialogue we believe in the future that there will be
no boycott of these talks and if followed peacefully, we will bring an
end to some of our problems in this county.”
US officials said Friday they plan to confiscate $144
million in corruption-tainted assets of Nigerian oil executives found in
the United States including an $80 million yacht the “Galactica Star.”
The yacht and a $50 million condominium overlooking New York’s famed
Central Park were among the riches tied to dirty contracts awarded by
Nigeria’s former oil minister between 2011 and 2015, the US Justice
Department said statement.
“The United States is not a safe haven for the proceeds of corruption,” acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Blanco said.
“Corrupt foreign officials and business executives should
make no mistake: if illicit funds are within the reach of the United
States, we will seek to forfeit them and to return them to the victims
from whom they were stolen.”
The assets were purchased using proceeds of oil sector
contracts awarded by Nigeria’s former minister for petroleum resources,
Diezani Alison-Madueke, who oversaw the state oil company, according to
the Justice Department.
Prosecutors allege she accepted bribes from oil executives
Kolawole Akanni Aluko and Olajide Omokore, who spent millions of dollars
buying and furnishing London-area homes with artwork, furniture and
other luxury items acquired in Texas.
The minister allegedly steered lucrative oil contracts to
companies owned by Aluko and Omokore, which sold $1.5 billion worth of
Nigerian crude.
They then used shell corporations and intermediaries to
launder the funds through US banks and buy the assets which the Justice
Department is now seeking to seize.
Under former President Barack Obama, the Justice Department
in 2010 launched a “kleptocracy” initiative to recover the ill-gotten
gains of corrupt foreign officials. The initiative has had mixed results
but in 2014 collected a $500 million once held by the former Nigerian
dictator Sani Abacha and his cronies
