Abacha's Thieving Spree Honoured by The Economists of London

IN THE months after the “Arab spring”, rumours swirled in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia that every household would gain a slice of looted public funds prised from the grasp of their former leaders and the cronies who surrounded them. Hossam Issa, a prominent academic and at the time deputy head of the Nasserist Party, said the deposed President Hosni Mubarak’s ill-gotten gains had been “a daily insult for 30 years…now I have hope.” International anti-corruption campaigners looked forward to a promising new front opening in the global war on graft.

Estimates of the loot range widely, reflecting the murkiness of offshore finance, but the talk is of tens of billions of dollars. Sani Abacha of Nigeria, often taken to epitomise venality, pilfered between $5 billion and $8 billion. But sometimes optimism overtakes reality: the upper, $70 billion, estimate of the amount siphoned off by Egypt’s Mubarak clan may just be on the high side.

What is clear is that the value of assets identified and frozen by foreign governments is disappointingly small: two years after the Arab spring, they are worth a little over $1 billion, more than three-quarters of it in Switzerland. Assets actually repatriated are even paltrier: to Egypt, nothing; to Libya, a London house linked to Muammar Qaddafi’s son, Saadi; to Tunisia, some planes and, earlier this month, $29m from a Lebanese bank account belonging to the wife of Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, the ousted dictator (his family and cronies are thought to have plundered $3 billion). Add a comment

Northern Youths Warn Asari to "Apologize" Over "Derogatory" Comments

Youths from the northern part of the country have warned the leader of the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force, NDPVF, Alhaji Mujaheed Asari-Dokubo, to desist from fanning the embers of discord among the South-South and the North or face the anger of the region.

Making reference to recent comments credited to him on the 2015 presidential election, the northern youths, under the auspices of Amintacciyar Arewa Youth Movement, AAYM, threatened to take it up with Asari-Dokubo should he not apologise to for the several statements credited to him, which they described as ‘derogatory and embarrassing to the north.’

“We are calling on Asari- Dokubo to withdraw and apologise to Nigerians for his lousy utterances against the north, because this is a slap on the Niger-Delta people who have mutual understanding with the northern people and the north will continue to stay in harmony with non-indigenes of the Niger-Delta,” the group said. Add a comment

Dele Momodu Comes Down Hard on Unrepentant Opposition Critics

Fellow Nigerians, after several years of prevarication, dilly-dallying and apparent confusion about how to tackle the dangerously volatile menace of Boko Haram, as well as other terrorist groups the chickens finally came home to roost last Tuesday, May 14, 2013. The government of President Goodluck Jonathan had been largely seen as a lame duck and criticised for its inability to curtail the spread of violence in the country and by the manner he seemed to have handled the issue of general insecurity with kids’ gloves. He was accused and summarily convicted by most citizens of timidity. They hinged their decision on the fact that the President had announced to the whole world that he knew those who were behind the ferocious spate of bombings and killings but had done nothing to hunt down, arrest and prosecute the culprits. That was not all.

The President had seemingly summoned the courage to visit Borno State, one of the affected States, when criticism became so deafening that he had shied away from visiting the badly stricken areas of terrorist attacks to solidarise with the victims. His visit was considered too little and too late considering the fact that it came shortly after some opposition leaders had found the uncommon bravery to visit the long-suffering States. When asked if he would negotiate a deal with the terrorists to lay down their arms, in the manner former President Umaru Yar’Adua granted amnesty to the militants from the Niger Delta, the President had waved off such a possibility and came up with his now infamous quote, “we can’t negotiate with ghosts.” And to further compound the situation, that statement was perceived by some analysts as a direct attack on the position of His Eminence, Sa’ad Abubakar, Sultan of Sokoto, who had canvassed amnesty for the terror groups.

However, in a most classic example of volte-face, our President and Commander-in-Chief suddenly changed his mind and position on the amnesty issue and went on to announce his intention to actually negotiate with the terrorist groups. It instantly caused an expected uproar and many prominent Nigerians protested the ill-conceived attempt to resolve the menace without any thought being given to the fact that it was liable to have the effect of encouraging and legitimising crime and brigandage in the country. Add a comment

The General Officer Commanding (GOC), 1 Division Nigerian Army, Kaduna, Major-General Garba Wahab, at the weekend said the media should not eulogize criminals as the Division has arrested a suspected orange seller who spied for terrorists and over N600 million was found in his bank account within three months. Add a comment

Jonathan to Boko Haram-Surrender Even Now and I will Give You Amnesty

(Reuters) - Nigeria offered an amnesty on Sunday to Islamist militants who surrender and said 17 people had been killed on the fifth day of a military operation to try to crush the Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast.

In their biggest offensive since the insurgency began in 2009, Nigerian forces are trying to chase well-armed militants out of territory they control in remote semi-deserts around Lake Chad, along the borders with Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

They are also pursuing Boko Haram in northeastern cities such as Maiduguri, Borno state, where the sect has cells. A heavy military presence patrolled Maiduguri on Sunday, with checkpoints choking what little traffic there was.

Nigeria's defense spokesman Brigadier General Chris Olukolade said the operation was continuing on Sunday, with patrols sent out to secure towns and villages, and that special forces had killed 14 insurgents in battles that left three Nigerian soldiers dead and seven wounded. Add a comment

We won’t arrest Asari-Dokubo – Police

The Nigeria Police Force has said there is no cause for any action on threats by the Leader of the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force, Mujahid Asari-Dokubo, over President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election in 2015.

It says it has no cause to arrest or issue any warning to the ex-militant.

Speaking to our correspondent in a telephone interview on Friday, the Deputy Force Public Relations Officer, Mr. Frank Mba, said those making inciting statements about 2015 could only be arrested when they had carried out their threats. He however did not state if they had been warned.

Asari-Dokubo had said there would be no peace in Nigeria, if Jonathan was not re-elected in 2015. Add a comment