Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Barack Obama Re-elected US President


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President Barack Obama
President Barack Obama of the United States of America has won the 2012 elections to pilot the affairs of the country for a second tenure. Obama defeated his opponent Mitt Romney by 303 to 206 electoral votes in the keenly contested nationwide elections. The incumbent president needed only 270 out of 538 votes to win.

Obama also defeated his opponent by 58,003,868 to 56,040,621 popular votes, winning out rightly in at least 26 of 50 states. The democrats won 51 seats in the Senate while the republicans won 45. However, the Republicans won the majority seats in the House with 231 seats as against democrats’ 186. 218 of 435 seats are needed to win the majority. The Democrats got 17 Governorship positions while The Republicans got 30.




President Barrack Obama’s Post Election Speech
“Thank you so much.
Tonight, more than 200 years after a former colony won the right to determine its own destiny, the task of perfecting our union moves forward.
It moves forward because of you. It moves forward because you reaffirmed the spirit that has triumphed over war and depression, the spirit that has lifted this country from the depths of despair to the great heights of hope, the belief that while each of us will pursue our own individual dreams, we are an American family and we rise or fall together as one nation and as one people.

Tonight, in this election, you, the American people, reminded us that while our road has been hard, while our journey has been long, we have picked ourselves up, we have fought our way back, and we know in our hearts that for the United States of America the best is yet to come.

I want to thank every American who participated in this election, whether you voted for the very first time or waited in line for a very long time. By the way, we have to fix that. Whether you pounded the pavement or picked up the phone, whether you held an Obama sign or a Romney sign, you made your voice heard and you made a difference.

I just spoke with Gov. Romney and I congratulated him and Paul Ryan on a hard-fought campaign. We may have battled fiercely, but it's only because we love this country deeply and we care so strongly about its future. From George to Lenore to their son Mitt, the Romney family has chosen to give back to America through public service and that is the legacy that we honor and applaud tonight. In the weeks ahead, I also look forward to sitting down with Gov. Romney to talk about where we can work together to move this country forward.
Mitt Romney image
Mitt Romney

I want to thank my friend and partner of the last four years, America's happy warrior, the best vice president anybody could ever hope for, Joe Biden.
And I wouldn't be the man I am today without the woman who agreed to marry me 20 years ago. Let me say this publicly: Michelle, I have never loved you more. I have never been prouder to watch the rest of America fall in love with you, too, as our nation's first lady. Sasha and Malia, before our very eyes you're growing up to become two strong, smart beautiful young women, just like your mom. And I'm so proud of you guys. But I will say that for now one dog's probably enough.

To the best campaign team and volunteers in the history of politics. The best. The best ever. Some of you were new this time around, and some of you have been at my side since the very beginning. But all of you are family. No matter what you do or where you go from here, you will carry the memory of the history we made together and you will have the lifelong appreciation of a grateful president. Thank you for believing all the way, through every hill, through every valley. You lifted me up the whole way and I will always be grateful for everything that you've done and all the incredible work that you put in.

I know that political campaigns can sometimes seem small, even silly. And that provides plenty of fodder for the cynics that tell us that politics is nothing more than a contest of egos or the domain of special interests. But if you ever get the chance to talk to folks who turned out at our rallies and crowded along a rope line in a high school gym, or saw folks working late in a campaign office in some tiny county far away from home, you'll discover something else.

You'll hear the determination in the voice of a young field organizer who's working his way through college and wants to make sure every child has that same opportunity. You'll hear the pride in the voice of a volunteer who's going door to door because her brother was finally hired when the local auto plant added another shift. You'll hear the deep patriotism in the voice of a military spouse who's working the phones late at night to make sure that no one who fights for this country ever has to fight for a job or a roof over their head when they come home.
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President Obama and Michelle

That's why we do this. That's what politics can be. That's why elections matter. It's not small, it's big. It's important. Democracy in a nation of 300 million can be noisy and messy and complicated. We have our own opinions. Each of us has deeply held beliefs. And when we go through tough times, when we make big decisions as a country, it necessarily stirs passions, stirs up controversy.

That won't change after tonight, and it shouldn't. These arguments we have are a mark of our liberty. We can never forget that as we speak people in distant nations are risking their lives right now just for a chance to argue about the issues that matter, the chance to cast their ballots like we did today.
But despite all our differences, most of us share certain hopes for America's future. We want our kids to grow up in a country where they have access to the best schools and the best teachers. A country that lives up to its legacy as the global leader in technology and discovery and innovation, with all the good jobs and new businesses that follow.

We want our children to live in an America that isn't burdened by debt, that isn't weakened by inequality, that isn't threatened by the destructive power of a warming planet. We want to pass on a country that's safe and respected and admired around the world, a nation that is defended by the strongest military on earth and the best troops this – this world has ever known. But also a country that moves with confidence beyond this time of war, to shape a peace that is built on the promise of freedom and dignity for every human being.

We believe in a generous America, in a compassionate America, in a tolerant America, open to the dreams of an immigrant's daughter who studies in our schools and pledges to our flag. To the young boy on the south side of Chicago who sees a life beyond the nearest street corner. To the furniture worker's child in North Carolina who wants to become a doctor or a scientist, an engineer or an entrepreneur, a diplomat or even a president – that's the future we hope for. That's the vision we share. That's where we need to go – forward. That's where we need to go.

Now, we will disagree, sometimes fiercely, about how to get there. As it has for more than two centuries, progress will come in fits and starts. It's not always a straight line. It's not always a smooth path. By itself, the recognition that we have common hopes and dreams won't end all the gridlock or solve all our problems or substitute for the painstaking work of building consensus and making the difficult compromises needed to move this country forward. But that common bond is where we must begin.

Our economy is recovering. A decade of war is ending. A long campaign is now over. And whether I earned your vote or not, I have listened to you, I have learned from you, and you've made me a better president. And with your stories and your struggles, I return to the White House more determined and more inspired than ever about the work there is to do and the future that lies ahead.
President Obama and family


Tonight you voted for action, not politics as usual. You elected us to focus on your jobs, not ours. And in the coming weeks and months, I am looking forward to reaching out and working with leaders of both parties to meet the challenges we can only solve together. Reducing our deficit. Reforming our tax code. Fixing our immigration system. Freeing ourselves from foreign oil. We've got more work to do.

But that doesn't mean your work is done. The role of citizen in our democracy does not end with your vote. America's never been about what can be done for us. It's about what can be done by us together through the hard and frustrating, but necessary work of self-government. That's the principle we were founded on.
This country has more wealth than any nation, but that's not what makes us rich. We have the most powerful military in history, but that's not what makes us strong. Our university, our culture are all the envy of the world, but that's not what keeps the world coming to our shores.

What makes America exceptional are the bonds that hold together the most diverse nation on earth. The belief that our destiny is shared; that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another and to future generations. The freedom which so many Americans have fought for and died for come with responsibilities as well as rights. And among those are love and charity and duty and patriotism. That's what makes America great.

I am hopeful tonight because I've seen the spirit at work in America. I've seen it in the family business whose owners would rather cut their own pay than lay off their neighbors, and in the workers who would rather cut back their hours than see a friend lose a job. I've seen it in the soldiers who reenlist after losing a limb and in those SEALs who charged up the stairs into darkness and danger because they knew there was a buddy behind them watching their back.

I've seen it on the shores of New Jersey and New York, where leaders from every party and level of government have swept aside their differences to help a community rebuild from the wreckage of a terrible storm. And I saw just the other day, in Mentor, Ohio, where a father told the story of his 8-year-old daughter, whose long battle with leukemia nearly cost their family everything had it not been for health care reform passing just a few months before the insurance company was about to stop paying for her care.
I had an opportunity to not just talk to the father, but meet this incredible daughter of his. And when he spoke to the crowd listening to that father's story, every parent in that room had tears in their eyes, because we knew that little girl could be our own. And I know that every American wants her future to be just as bright. That's who we are. That's the country I'm so proud to lead as your president.

And tonight, despite all the hardship we've been through, despite all the frustrations of Washington, I've never been more hopeful about our future. I have never been more hopeful about America. And I ask you to sustain that hope. I'm not talking about blind optimism, the kind of hope that just ignores the enormity of the tasks ahead or the roadblocks that stand in our path. I'm not talking about the wishful idealism that allows us to just sit on the sidelines or shirk from a fight.

I have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us so long as we have the courage to keep reaching, to keep working, to keep fighting.

America, I believe we can build on the progress we've made and continue to fight for new jobs and new opportunity and new security for the middle class. I believe we can keep the promise of our founders, the idea that if you're willing to work hard, it doesn't matter who you are or where you come from or what you look like or where you love. It doesn't matter whether you're black or white or Hispanic or Asian or Native American or young or old or rich or poor, able, disabled, gay or straight, you can make it here in America if you're willing to try.

I believe we can seize this future together because we are not as divided as our politics suggests. We're not as cynical as the pundits believe. We are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions, and we remain more than a collection of red states and blue states. We are and forever will be the United States of America.
And together with your help and God's grace we will continue our journey forward and remind the world just why it is that we live in the greatest nation on Earth.

Thank you, America. God bless you. God bless these United States.”

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Dame Patience Goodluck Jonathan Returns To Nigeria


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Nigerian first lady Dame Patience Goodluck Jonathan finally returned home on Wednesday 17th October 2012 after being away from the country for close to two months to receive medical treatment at the Horst Schmidt Klinik in Wiesbaden, Germany. The First Lady arrived at the country at about 3.50PM and was received by well-wishers who were all in cheering moods, (including the Bayelsan women, ministers, governors’ wives, NGOs and President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan) who had thronged to the presidential wing of theNnamdi Azikiwe International airport Abuja.

Weeks back when she left the country unannounced, several media ran different versions of what she was suffering from. While some said she had a ruptured appendix, others said she had food poisoning, Parkinson’s disease, uterine cancer, etc. Some even said she was in Germany for a liposuction. The Presidency did not help matters as they remained mute in the midst of the controversy surrounding her health.
Nigerians were eager to know what had befallen their First lady; but they were all kept in the dark. The people therefore resorted to their usual rumours as the people would always thrive on rumours where there is no free flow of information. While everyone remained curious, the Special Assistant on Media to the first lady, Mr. Ayo Osinlu told State House Correspondents that she was only “Resting abroad” after hectic schedules.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Adams Oshiomhole Wins Second Tenure as PDP Counts Losses


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Governor Adams Oshiomhole
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has officially declared Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, the incumbent governor of Edo state as the overall winner of Saturday’s gubernatorial election. Oshiomhole had an overwhelming victory over his closest rival, Gen. Charles Airhiavbere (Rtd) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP. The comrade governor polled a total of 477,478 votes (73.72%) of 647,698 total votes cast, winning convincingly in all 18 Local Government Areas of the state.

Charles Airhiavbere of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) polled a total of 144,235 votes (22.27 %) 647,698 votes, to emerge second. Solomon Edebiri of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) got 3,642 votes to place third while Izevbuwa Roland of the Congress for Political Change (CPC) polled a total of 2,792 votes (0.43%) of the total votes to emerge fourth.

Frank Ukonga of the Social Democratic Mega party (SDMP) got 807 votes (0.56 %) of total votes to place fifth. Andrew Igwemoh of the Labour Party (LP) got 604 (0.09 %) to place sixth and Paul Orumwense of the National Conscience Party (NCP) got 504 votes (0.08%) and occupied the last position.

Monday, April 9, 2012

Alhaji Kabir Sokoto's Escape: Is the Police Innocent?


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Article first published as Alhaji Kabir Sokoto's Escape: Are the Police Innocent? on Technorati.

The Nigerian state was Monday taken by surprise following the escape of a Boko Haran kingpin Alhaji Kabir Sokoto from police custody few hours after he was arrested at the Bornu Governor’s Lodge, Abuja.

According to The Vanguard Newspaper, Alhaji Kabir Sokoto who was the mastermind of the Christmas day bombing of the St. Theresa Catholic church in Madalla was arrested in his hide-out following a tip-off. After his arrest, he was said to have been handed over to Police Commissioner Zakari Biu for further investigation.



However, the suspect was said to have escaped after a group suspected to be Boko Haran members laid an ambush for the unsuspecting police team that was conveying the suspect to his operation base at Abaji for further investigation, and effected his release. While the nation was celebrating his arrest as a major milestone in solving the Boko Haran debacle, the news of his escape came as a rude shock, as it further portrayed the police as an incompetent security arm and also lent credence to the rumour making the rounds that the religious sect has infiltrated the Nigerian security outfits.

President Goodluck Jonathan has queried the Inspector General of Police (IG) Mr. Hafiz Ringim and has also ordered full scale investigation into circumstances that led to the escape of the Boko Haran kingpin. The IG has also been ordered to produce the suspect within 24 hours or face further sanction. The police commissioner, Zakari Biu, has since been placed on house arrest on the orders of the IG.

Now the questions that need to be answered include:
1. Was Alhaji Kabir Sokoto under Bornu state government protection? If not, why was he found and arrested at the Bornu state governor’s lodge?
2. Is the police truly infiltrated by Boko Haran? How did the members know that Kabir Sokoto was to be transferred to Abaji? And how did they know the exact time of his transfer?
3. Why did the police allow only four policemen to escort such a dangerous man?
4. While was no policeman hurt in the ambush since Boko Haran is known to be heartless in their attacks?

The way and manner the religious sect had coordinated attacks across the northern states of the country have actually given Nigerians cause to believe that the jobs were done by highly intelligent personnel. Besides, the inability of the security arms of government to prevent the dastardly acts or gather useful intelligence reports, or even arrest the key players have also made Nigerians to believe that both the police and the military may have been actually infiltrated by elements who were giving information to the hoodlums to carry out their criminal acts without being detected. This may have also been the reason investigations were not yielding any tangible fruits.


The police had remained helpless in the wake of the spate of bombing of churches, police posts, banks, UNO headquarters, etc. If the police has become so incompetent and cannot assure Nigerians of their safety then there is no need paying Hafiz Ringim fat salaries for doing nothing. He was there when even the car park of the Police headquarters Abuja was bombed; and several police posts have been destroyed in the northern part of the country and all he could do is to keep promising us that something would be done and that the culprits would be brought to book. There is no better time to reorganize the Nigerian security apparatuses than now.

The recent happenings in the country support the claim by Boko Haran that they were out to Islamize the country. The southerners never took them serious; but now their agenda is gradually being unveiled. Book Haran is no longer a sectarian issue but a tacit ploy by the North to Islamize the country. That they declared war on the Christians in the north and asked them to quit their region within 72 hours has invariably pitched the sect against the God of heaven, who would never keep quiet to see his children murdered in cold blood in the name of religious fanaticism.

The fact that Alhaji Kabir Sokoto was arrested at the Bornu governor’s Lodge also shows that there is more to it than meets the eyes. It is now a case of “Dog eats Dog”. The same government that has been pretending to be helpless and has been watching its citizenry murdered in their scores has also been hiding the mastermind of the massacres taking place under their nose. The truth is that mostly Christians have been victims of the attacks taking place in the north hence the financiers and sponsors of this barbaric sect have remained mute.

What is actually the offense of the southern Christians? The only offense they have committed is that they are Christians among overzealous, parochial, blood-thirsty people who have always advanced their religious course through blood shed and religious wars. The second offense they have committed is that the incumbent President is from their zone. The north has always believed that political power is their birth right and should never be ceded. Nigeria belongs to all Nigerians and everybody has the right to aspire to any political position without fear of intimidation.

Will the police ever be able to clean up its own mess? Will they ever earn the trust of Nigerians again? Should the current IG be allowed to stay in office or he should be retired? Should the presidency keep watching helplessly or there should be as a matter of urgency, a reshuffling and reorganization of the security apparatuses in the country?

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Why Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Must lead The World Bank


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There is no better time for Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria to ascend the throne of the President of the World Bank than now when there is a new awakening in world politics and the clamour for gender equality is very loud. Change is the only thing that is constant; and the wind of change must blow in favour of the developing economies this time around.

The two world financial institutions – The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had been managed all along by America and Europe, making every other continent to play the second fiddle. The status quo has been that while Europe takes care of the IMF, America manages the World Bank; then others sit and watch.

With the election of Barak Obama as the first Black President of the United States and the election of Christine Lagarde as the first female President of IMF, it would be nice to balance the equation by also giving other continents a chance because the world really needs that change now more than ever.

Speaking on Thisday Live, the Nigeria Minister of Finance highlighted reasons why she is qualified to be the next President of the Apex institution. Apart from working in the institution for over 25 years, she has also held the position of the Vice President. If experience counts, then she is the most qualified of the three candidates contesting for the post.

America’s candidate, Jim Yong Kim, does not really qualify to manage the World Bank, considering the fact that his professional experience as a medical doctor is not enough to steer a financial institution of such magnitude. Though the odds favour Kim as America, Europe and Japan have over 50% of the voting power. The fact Kim is a Korean-American may make Asia to sympathetically vote for him.

Jose Anthonio Ocampo of Columbia does not pose any threat because apart from being a South American, he does not also possess the necessary credentials to give Iweala sleepless nights. South America therefore needs to do the right thing by ensuring that they ask all their supporters to vote en masse for Okonjo-Iweala and hope to be reciprocated when the time comes for them to vie for other important positions in the future.

Iweala already enjoys overwhelming support here in Africa with the Presidents of South Africa, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Cote d’ivoire, and the AU and ECOWAS endorsing her for the job. The Economist and the Financial Times newspapers of London have already endorsed her ahead of Jim Yong Kim and Jose Anthonio Ocampo because of the credentials she parades. She has the requisite experience to take the financial institution to the next level.

It does not mean that the developed nations have monopoly of knowledge and experience. If the world does not want to endorse mediocrity, then it has to give support to the right and best candidate, putting politics aside.

If all important positions go to the developed countries then the emerging economies and the under-developed economies would live in fears and do business with the developed economies under mutual suspicion. If a French woman in the person of Christine Lagarde is qualified to lead the IMF, then an African woman with much more professional and practical experiences should be allowed to lead the World Bank.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Major Hamza Al-Mustapha and Lateef Shofolahan to Die by Hanging


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Article first published as Major Hamza Al-Mustapha and Lateef Shofolahan to Die by Hanging on Technorati.
The long trial of Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, former Chief Security Officer to the Late Nigerian Military Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha and Lateef Shofolahan finally came to an end yesterday at a Lagos High Court sitting at Igbosere where they were both sentenced to death by hanging, over the assassination of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, the wife of Late M.K.O Abiola the acclaimed winner of the 1993 Nigerian Presidential election.

The trial Judge, Justice Mojisola Dada found the duo guilty of three-count charge of conspiracy and murder and ordered that they should die ‘by hanging until pronounced dead.’ It took 13 years for Al-Mustapha to be convicted in what is arguably the longest trial case in the nation’s history.

According to The Vanguard, In a nine-hour judgment, Justice Dada chronicled the genesis of the case, analyzing it with evidence produced before the court by both prosecution and defense before arriving at the conclusion that evidence against the defense ‘is too strong.’

The Judge also stated further that gunmen sent by Major Al Mustapha killed Kudirat on the street of Lagos on June 4, 1996, while he was the CSO to Abacha.

On the part of Shofolahan, the judge held that overwhelming evidence against him also proved that he provided surveillance assistance to the killer squad as they trailed the outspoken wife of Abiola until she was murdered.

The court further held that Shofolahan connived and gave vital information concerning the itinerary of late Kudirat Abiola to the hitman Sergeant Barnabas Jabila, popularly known as Sergeant Rogers, leading to the death of Kudirat in June 1996.

Lateef Shofolahan was also said to have conspired with the other accused persons by giving a magazine, which had the picture of the late Mrs. Abiola to Rogers who then traced the car of the deceased to Lagos-Ibadan Expressway where she was killed.


Major Hamza Al-Mustapha was instrumental to the 5 years of tyrannical rule unleashed on Nigerians by Late general Sani Abacha. He was in charge of the Abacha ‘Strike Squad’ which ensured that all oppositions to the then military despot were perpetually silenced.

Several oppositions were sent to their early graves; notable among those silenced by the regime included Elder Alfred Rewane, Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, etc. Others who miraculously survived their assassination attempts included Isaac Porbeni, Late Alex Ibru and Late Pa Abraham Adesanya the then leader of NADECO (National Democratic Coalition).

While al-Mustapha held sway and helped to consolidate the wicked Military leader in office, he forgot that there would be a day of judgment either here on earth or hereafter. Yesterday was the Day of Judgment which he never anticipated. The judgment delivered by the court elicited reactions from numerous Nigerians. Nigerians believed that though the trial took too long a time, at least the judgment was welcome and seen as a plus for the judiciary.

The lawyer to the convicts, Mr. Olalekan Ojo stated emphatically before the court that the defense team would to file an appeal against the judgment of the court the following day, praying that copies of the judgment be made ready to commence the appeal immediately.

This judgment should serve as a reminder to those in position of authority that evil will never rule for ever. Power is transient; after vacating from the seat of power one would always be faced with the day of accountability.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Nigeria Police Re-arrest Boko Haran Man With Voodoo


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Article first published as Nigeria Police Re-arrest Boko Haran Man With Voodoo on Technorati.

The fleeing mastermind of the Christmas Day bombing of the St. Theresa Catholic Church, Madalla, Alhaji Kabir Sokoto has been rearrested by the police at the Nigeria-Chad border. Kabir Sokoto was said to have escaped while being conveyed to Abaji by the Police for further investigations on Monday.

According to Pointblank News Alhaji Kabir Sokoto was rearrested with the help of a voodoo man, Alhaji Ali Quran, who according to the news, is an expert in apprehending criminals. Weird as this unconfirmed news may sound, I do not believe the Police would further soil its reputation by telling Nigerians that they relied on voodoo to apprehend a criminal suspect.



The Police cannot make this public except they want us to believe that this source has been there all the while yet criminals go undetected for several years after committing crimes in the country. If the police ever told us that, it also means they now have a breakthrough in arresting criminal elements in the country and that they are assuring Nigerians that each time a serious crime is committed in the country, it would no longer take the police several years to look for the perpetrators since they now have a sure shortcut to getting those involved apprehended.

But why is this kind of solution coming on the heels of the 24 hours ultimatum given to the IG (Hafiz Ringim) to get the fleeing criminal or lose his job? Why is it that each time a policeman in killed by criminals it takes few days for them to apprehend the culprits but takes several years to do so when civilians are involved? Nigerians now know better. The police have never been trusted because of the shoddy ways they have always handled crimes in this country.

Is the inefficiency of the Nigerian police due to the fact they are ill-equipped or it’s simply because they do not want to work? Could it also be that the criminals pay their dues and get police cover and get away untouched because they are never truly investigated? Why are they able to act effectively when a senior police office gets hurt or when there is an ultimatum issued to them? Your guess is as good as mine.

Until something radical is done the Nigeria Police would continue to take the masses for granted. For years the police have been deeply involved in corruption – collecting of #20 from drivers at checkpoints under coercion, giving backup to political thugs, demanding illegal bail money, framing up innocent citizens, false witnessing in courts, etc. and now it is a case of giving protection to members of Boko Haran and aiding their escape from custody.

Now that the image of the force is badly battered, the best thing to do is for President Goodluck Jonathan to get a man who can be trusted to clean up the entire system. He should at least boycott the normal protocol of appointing an IG by rank since almost all the senior ranking officers are already corrupt. He should get someone who would be willing to die for his fatherland to do the internal cleansing. Until this is done Nigerians may never have faith in the police anymore.

Alhaji Kabir Sokoto's Escape: Is the Police Innocent?


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Article first published as Alhaji Kabir Sokoto's Escape: Are the Police Innocent? on Technorati.

The Nigerian state was Monday taken by surprise following the escape of a Boko Haran kingpin Alhaji Kabir Sokoto from police custody few hours after he was arrested at the Bornu Governor’s Lodge, Abuja.

According to The Vanguard Newspaper, Alhaji Kabir Sokoto who was the mastermind of the Christmas day bombing of the St. Theresa Catholic church in Madalla was arrested in his hide-out following a tip-off. After his arrest, he was said to have been handed over to Police Commissioner Zakari Biu for further investigation.


However, the suspect was said to have escaped after a group suspected to be Boko Haran members laid an ambush for the unsuspecting police team that was conveying the suspect to his operation base at Abaji for further investigation, and effected his release. While the nation was celebrating his arrest as a major milestone in solving the Boko Haran debacle, the news of his escape came as a rude shock, as it further portrayed the police as an incompetent security arm and also lent credence to the rumour making the rounds that the religious sect has infiltrated the Nigerian security outfits.

President Goodluck Jonathan has queried the Inspector General of Police (IG) Mr. Hafiz Ringim and has also ordered full scale investigation into circumstances that led to the escape of the Boko Haran kingpin. The IG has also been ordered to produce the suspect within 24 hours or face further sanction. The police commissioner, Zakari Biu, has since been placed on house arrest on the orders of the IG.

Now the questions that need to be answered include:
1. Was Alhaji Kabir Sokoto under Bornu state government protection? If not, why was he found and arrested at the Bornu state governor’s lodge?
2. Is the police truly infiltrated by Boko Haran? How did the members know that Kabir Sokoto was to be transferred to Abaji? And how did they know the exact time of his transfer?
3. Why did the police allow only four policemen to escort such a dangerous man?
4. While was no policeman hurt in the ambush since Boko Haran is known to be heartless in their attacks?

The way and manner the religious sect had coordinated attacks across the northern states of the country have actually given Nigerians cause to believe that the jobs were done by highly intelligent personnel. Besides, the inability of the security arms of government to prevent the dastardly acts or gather useful intelligence reports, or even arrest the key players have also made Nigerians to believe that both the police and the military may have been actually infiltrated by elements who were giving information to the hoodlums to carry out their criminal acts without being detected. This may have also been the reason investigations were not yielding any tangible fruits.



The police had remained helpless in the wake of the spate of bombing of churches, police posts, banks, UNO headquarters, etc. If the police has become so incompetent and cannot assure Nigerians of their safety then there is no need paying Hafiz Ringim fat salaries for doing nothing. He was there when even the car park of the Police headquarters Abuja was bombed; and several police posts have been destroyed in the northern part of the country and all he could do is to keep promising us that something would be done and that the culprits would be brought to book. There is no better time to reorganize the Nigerian security apparatuses than now.

The recent happenings in the country support the claim by Boko Haran that they were out to Islamize the country. The southerners never took them serious; but now their agenda is gradually being unveiled. Book Haran is no longer a sectarian issue but a tacit ploy by the North to Islamize the country. That they declared war on the Christians in the north and asked them to quit their region within 72 hours has invariably pitched the sect against the God of heaven, who would never keep quiet to see his children murdered in cold blood in the name of religious fanaticism.

The fact that Alhaji Kabir Sokoto was arrested at the Bornu governor’s Lodge also shows that there is more to it than meets the eyes. It is now a case of “Dog eats Dog”. The same government that has been pretending to be helpless and has been watching its citizenry murdered in their scores has also been hiding the mastermind of the massacres taking place under their nose. The truth is that mostly Christians have been victims of the attacks taking place in the north hence the financiers and sponsors of this barbaric sect have remained mute.

What is actually the offense of the southern Christians? The only offense they have committed is that they are Christians among overzealous, parochial, blood-thirsty people who have always advanced their religious course through blood shed and religious wars. The second offense they have committed is that the incumbent President is from their zone. The north has always believed that political power is their birth right and should never be ceded. Nigeria belongs to all Nigerians and everybody has the right to aspire to any political position without fear of intimidation.

Will the police ever be able to clean up its own mess? Will they ever earn the trust of Nigerians again? Should the current IG be allowed to stay in office or he should be retired? Should the presidency keep watching helplessly or there should be as a matter of urgency, a reshuffling and reorganization of the security apparatuses in the country?