Wednesday, 12 December 2007
Tuesday, 18 September 2007
The Defender of Corruption in Nigeira
Behold the Chief Priest of Corruption in Nigeria he is sometimes refrred to as the Attorney General
Sunday, 2 September 2007
JP Clark Fingers People behind Niger Delta Militants
As reported by Vanguard.
NOTWITHSTANDING that there was, in point of fact, a breakdown of law and order in Port-Harcourt, a development that constrained Rivers state government to beg the Federal Government to deploy military men in the state, not a few persons believe that the Niger-Delta Ijaw Elders Forum, led by Chief Edwin Clark, went too far, 20 August, by calling for emergency rule in the state when the killings in Port-Harcourt had noticeably been checkmated by the soldiers. But Clark in this interview asserts that accusing the elders of premeditation in their call for emergency rule would be standing logic on the head.
He also discloses why the Ijaw elders were not in a hurry to change their position even though he notes that “the governor, Sir Celestine Omehia may not be a cultist but surrounded by cultists”. His contention is that because Omehia was allegedly entangled by cultists, he cannot, consequently, be a judge in his own matter. He dismisses the charge that the elders group led by him was simply interloping in the affairs of Rivers State, citing his previous interventions in the past on behalf of the Ijaw nation. He also replied those condemning him for not settling the crisis in his home state, Delta, before coming to Rivers State, which is talking about the Warri war, and he adumbrates facts to show that he was in touch with the major combatants in the battle for Rivers State in his search for peace as the leader of the Ijaw nation. Excerpts:
AS at Monday, August 20, when the Niger-Delta Ijaw Elders and Leaders Forum called for a declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, it is believed the situation in Port-Harcourt had been brought under control, the army having intervened. So, the worry is whether the elders call was not a premeditated stand on the issues even before the meeting?
There was no peace returning. That was the very time the caucus of the Rivers State assembly men made their statement. It was after and they still believed…they still stated that the situation was irretrievable in the Niger-Delta and the struggle for control of power in Rivers State was on. That was the time we made our statement, it was not after our statement that the curfew was extended and the curfew is still there. It was after our statement that people are being made to put their hands up and do all sorts of things as we described in our document.
So, there was no premeditation there, we know, as a matter of fact, that in 2004, what is going on now was the same situation that was in Rivers State and it has come and we now feel that if this thing has come, let the Federal Government appoint an independent person of the rank of general or its equivalent to govern that state for six months during which a Judicial Commission of Inquiry will be set up by the government to find out what is the root cause of cultism in Rivers State. Rivers State is the only state where cultism reigns, they may be in other places, I do not agree with Omehia who said that there are more criminals in Bayelsa State or Delta State where I come from, there are not.
Rivers crisis different from Ijaw/Itsekiri/Urhobo ethnic war
What happened in Delta State was that, at that time, there was a communal fight among three ethnic groups, the Ijaws, Urhobos and Itsekiris. That was why the forces were brought here, the forces are no longer fighting in Delta State, and they are now in Rivers State. That is one.
Number 2, we agree, we don’t condemn people for nothing, Omehia may not be a cultist but he is a victim of circumstance, he is not in a position to handle the situation, which his master could not handle in 2004 and he said that he would not do anything outside Odili’s direction and Odiili was the one who allegedly used Asari-Dokubo in 1999 when the young man wanted to become the president of the Izon Youth Council and the boy helped him to win election in 1999 and before 2003, Asari-Dokubo was almost a member of Odili’s government but after the election in 2003, the boy had conscience, he told Odili, ‘I am no longer going to support you because you did not win any election, either for yourself or for Obasanjo, I am going away’.
So the boy left, it was at that juncture that a senator (name withheld) went to Okirika to recruit Ateke Tom who was the second-in-command to Asari. So he got him and equipped him to destroy Asari-Dokubo. They went to Buguma where the boy was burying his father to fight him; the Amanayabo of Kalabari was attacked. One of his principal officers was killed. Some of the destructions in Buguma are still there till today. That one happened at a time. Places like Tombia, Bakana, Kola and Abuwa were destroyed. These boys were fighting themselves there.
“Ijaw elders are in touch with these boys”
So, at the end, the Federal Government had to step in. I contacted these two boys and I invited them to my country home, they were ready to come but I had to clear with the Federal Government and I contacted Colonel Are who was the director general of the SSS, which is what happened. Are told me that he would consult with Mr. President. It was as a result of this that Mr. President dropped the issue of launching an attack on the boys and invited them. When he invited them to Abuja, Odili was still pretending, calling these boys criminals as Omehia is doing today.
I drove to Port-Harcourt, not once, not twice and told him what to do: ‘Please, call a truce, reconcile everybody, give relief materials to people who were displaced and rebuild the areas’, which are today still causing trouble. He did not listen. What happened thereafter was the arrest and incarceration of Asari-Dokubo in the interest of Odili. Ateke Tom ran away and the two were now enemies of Odili. Now, Odili went and recruited Soboma George. Soboma George was the number two in command to Ateke Tom together with Dagogo Farah, Phillip. We know all these boys, we have been asking our boys… they have been invited to the creeks to discuss with our boys how to bring peace into the Niger-Delta and our boys have held meeting with Mr. President on how to bring peace to the region.
So for anybody to say that the Ijaw leaders were doing nothing, that they were just making noise… let me explain to you today, Soboma George was declared dead on a particular day. The following morning, my telephone rang, who was that? Soboma George. I was in Kiagbodo, and what happened. The boy said, “I am not dead, I am alive. “Later the inspector general of police confirmed it.
So, we are in touch with these boys to see that nobody uses them… drop your arms and you saw Ateke Tom accusing Soboma George of getting contract from Odili. In fact, they call him the unofficial chief of security to Omehia. So, it is not a premeditated thing we are talking about, we now realized that the trouble, which started in 1999 till this date, has claimed the lives of very big politicians like Marshal Harry, A.K. Dikibo and many others. Over 100, 000 people have died. So, we have responsibility as Ijaw leaders, wherever Ijaw people are affected, to intervene. That is why we intervened in the case of Asari-Dokubo when he was incarcerated.
He was to come to Kiagbodo to see me but I have not had time to receive him. As far as I am concerned, our calling for a state of emergency is not for fun, we have done our homework. You may be surprised that I was in Rivers State for three days gathering information, I am not a coward. So what we are saying is that Omehia may not be a cultist but he is surrounded by cultists. A top official of the government who had been declared a cultist in the past is fighting in Ogoni land with another cultist for supremacy.
Since you have said that Omehia may not be a cultist, why should Ijaw elders, which you are leading, not back him to flush out the cultists you are complaining about in Rivers State?
I said he may not be a cultist but he is not a free man. The man cannot be a judge in his own case. He had told you he was a senior special assistant to Odili and he was a commissioner to Odili and he has told you that he would never do anything contrary to the wishes of Odili. I support him, I would be supporting Odili because these are the legacies which he inherited from Odili and there will be no peace … there may be peace today, tomorrow, it will come up again.
Have you not heard that the commander of the JTF has been changed? Shall we allow the army to maintain Omehia in power? That will be wrong. Or between now and December, Omehia decides to demolish all the houses in the waterfront and already, he is saying that the upland people occupy 80 per cent of Port-Harcourt, so he wants to complete it.
Are we going to sit down and allow such a thing to happen? There will be crisis again, isn’t it? So, what we are saying, for the next six months, bring a neutral person. Omehia, if he has been properly elected, should step aside. Six months after, the Federal Government must have probed everybody, and those to be jailed should have been jailed. So that monster has been destroyed, who is sponsoring discovered, you can then… Omehia, come now, the place is clean, come and rule, and we will support him at that time.
What really transpired between you and Soboma George when he called you?I asked him who gave him my telephone. He said “you are our father, you are our leader, and I am not dead.” I said “can we settle, can I bring you and Ateke Tom together?” He said “yes sir, if you can do that but tell the Federal Government not to shoot us again,” that they came to their village where they were hiding to shoot all of them and he told me how the hotel where he was staying was bombarded. So I told him, “you are a small boy, what are you gaining? I hear you” and ehmn, then, he told me the story.
That Ateke Tom thought that he was benefitting from the mega station, so he went to bomb it. So, I said “well, I will bring two of you together, please, don’t fight again. I will tell the Federal Government not to…” So that is the thing and I have spoken to Ateke Tom. So I am in contact with them, I have spoken to Farah’s boys, I have spoken to most of them, I have spoken to Alele Horsfall. I have been in contact with these boys in the interest of peace. What is in my interest in trying to organize these boys in order to go and fight people? What am I looking for? I have a duty to bring peace and the boys who are dying are our boys.
Odili hails from a small village called Ndoni. So why is he causing all these? It was not until the seventies that he became a Rivers man, he was a Delta man. Do you not know that, Odili was a Delta man under Aboh? So now, you want to turn the whole of Rivers State... since 1999, Rivers State has known no peace. If Asari-Dokubo is saying Odili sponsored us, if Ateke Tom says Odili is sponsoring us, if Soboma George is saying the same thing… Recently Prince Igodo, one of the anti-Odili boys was killed in Tombia, did you not hear that?
That is part of this fight which is going on. These people are behind the whole thing and between Rotimi Amaechi and Omehia, they are fighting in the court, they are also fighting on the streets of Port-Harcourt. It is a very dangerous situation, the peace may go down today, and tomorrow, it will come again. So that is why we are asking for a neutral person to come and probe the area. After that, everywhere will be peaceful. Do you know from one of the papers a certain lawmaker (name withheld) from the state talking that he was declared a cultist by the SSS? None of them has denied. So that is the position.
Some people in Rivers State, including the government, are accusing some elders in leaders in Delta state, with obvious reference to you, as masterminding crisis in their state, how do you react to this?
The governor is doing that because he is jittery. He should tell Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan that there are more criminals in Delta state than in Rivers state. They are friends, he should tell him.
What happens if the Federal Government failed to adhere to your call for a state of emergency in Rivers state?
(Interview took place before President Yar’Adua ruled out imposition of emergency rule on Rivers State).
Am I in government? It will be on record that we have spoken, we have done our part. That is all.
NOTWITHSTANDING that there was, in point of fact, a breakdown of law and order in Port-Harcourt, a development that constrained Rivers state government to beg the Federal Government to deploy military men in the state, not a few persons believe that the Niger-Delta Ijaw Elders Forum, led by Chief Edwin Clark, went too far, 20 August, by calling for emergency rule in the state when the killings in Port-Harcourt had noticeably been checkmated by the soldiers. But Clark in this interview asserts that accusing the elders of premeditation in their call for emergency rule would be standing logic on the head.
He also discloses why the Ijaw elders were not in a hurry to change their position even though he notes that “the governor, Sir Celestine Omehia may not be a cultist but surrounded by cultists”. His contention is that because Omehia was allegedly entangled by cultists, he cannot, consequently, be a judge in his own matter. He dismisses the charge that the elders group led by him was simply interloping in the affairs of Rivers State, citing his previous interventions in the past on behalf of the Ijaw nation. He also replied those condemning him for not settling the crisis in his home state, Delta, before coming to Rivers State, which is talking about the Warri war, and he adumbrates facts to show that he was in touch with the major combatants in the battle for Rivers State in his search for peace as the leader of the Ijaw nation. Excerpts:
AS at Monday, August 20, when the Niger-Delta Ijaw Elders and Leaders Forum called for a declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, it is believed the situation in Port-Harcourt had been brought under control, the army having intervened. So, the worry is whether the elders call was not a premeditated stand on the issues even before the meeting?
There was no peace returning. That was the very time the caucus of the Rivers State assembly men made their statement. It was after and they still believed…they still stated that the situation was irretrievable in the Niger-Delta and the struggle for control of power in Rivers State was on. That was the time we made our statement, it was not after our statement that the curfew was extended and the curfew is still there. It was after our statement that people are being made to put their hands up and do all sorts of things as we described in our document.
So, there was no premeditation there, we know, as a matter of fact, that in 2004, what is going on now was the same situation that was in Rivers State and it has come and we now feel that if this thing has come, let the Federal Government appoint an independent person of the rank of general or its equivalent to govern that state for six months during which a Judicial Commission of Inquiry will be set up by the government to find out what is the root cause of cultism in Rivers State. Rivers State is the only state where cultism reigns, they may be in other places, I do not agree with Omehia who said that there are more criminals in Bayelsa State or Delta State where I come from, there are not.
Rivers crisis different from Ijaw/Itsekiri/Urhobo ethnic war
What happened in Delta State was that, at that time, there was a communal fight among three ethnic groups, the Ijaws, Urhobos and Itsekiris. That was why the forces were brought here, the forces are no longer fighting in Delta State, and they are now in Rivers State. That is one.
Number 2, we agree, we don’t condemn people for nothing, Omehia may not be a cultist but he is a victim of circumstance, he is not in a position to handle the situation, which his master could not handle in 2004 and he said that he would not do anything outside Odili’s direction and Odiili was the one who allegedly used Asari-Dokubo in 1999 when the young man wanted to become the president of the Izon Youth Council and the boy helped him to win election in 1999 and before 2003, Asari-Dokubo was almost a member of Odili’s government but after the election in 2003, the boy had conscience, he told Odili, ‘I am no longer going to support you because you did not win any election, either for yourself or for Obasanjo, I am going away’.
So the boy left, it was at that juncture that a senator (name withheld) went to Okirika to recruit Ateke Tom who was the second-in-command to Asari. So he got him and equipped him to destroy Asari-Dokubo. They went to Buguma where the boy was burying his father to fight him; the Amanayabo of Kalabari was attacked. One of his principal officers was killed. Some of the destructions in Buguma are still there till today. That one happened at a time. Places like Tombia, Bakana, Kola and Abuwa were destroyed. These boys were fighting themselves there.
“Ijaw elders are in touch with these boys”
So, at the end, the Federal Government had to step in. I contacted these two boys and I invited them to my country home, they were ready to come but I had to clear with the Federal Government and I contacted Colonel Are who was the director general of the SSS, which is what happened. Are told me that he would consult with Mr. President. It was as a result of this that Mr. President dropped the issue of launching an attack on the boys and invited them. When he invited them to Abuja, Odili was still pretending, calling these boys criminals as Omehia is doing today.
I drove to Port-Harcourt, not once, not twice and told him what to do: ‘Please, call a truce, reconcile everybody, give relief materials to people who were displaced and rebuild the areas’, which are today still causing trouble. He did not listen. What happened thereafter was the arrest and incarceration of Asari-Dokubo in the interest of Odili. Ateke Tom ran away and the two were now enemies of Odili. Now, Odili went and recruited Soboma George. Soboma George was the number two in command to Ateke Tom together with Dagogo Farah, Phillip. We know all these boys, we have been asking our boys… they have been invited to the creeks to discuss with our boys how to bring peace into the Niger-Delta and our boys have held meeting with Mr. President on how to bring peace to the region.
So for anybody to say that the Ijaw leaders were doing nothing, that they were just making noise… let me explain to you today, Soboma George was declared dead on a particular day. The following morning, my telephone rang, who was that? Soboma George. I was in Kiagbodo, and what happened. The boy said, “I am not dead, I am alive. “Later the inspector general of police confirmed it.
So, we are in touch with these boys to see that nobody uses them… drop your arms and you saw Ateke Tom accusing Soboma George of getting contract from Odili. In fact, they call him the unofficial chief of security to Omehia. So, it is not a premeditated thing we are talking about, we now realized that the trouble, which started in 1999 till this date, has claimed the lives of very big politicians like Marshal Harry, A.K. Dikibo and many others. Over 100, 000 people have died. So, we have responsibility as Ijaw leaders, wherever Ijaw people are affected, to intervene. That is why we intervened in the case of Asari-Dokubo when he was incarcerated.
He was to come to Kiagbodo to see me but I have not had time to receive him. As far as I am concerned, our calling for a state of emergency is not for fun, we have done our homework. You may be surprised that I was in Rivers State for three days gathering information, I am not a coward. So what we are saying is that Omehia may not be a cultist but he is surrounded by cultists. A top official of the government who had been declared a cultist in the past is fighting in Ogoni land with another cultist for supremacy.
Since you have said that Omehia may not be a cultist, why should Ijaw elders, which you are leading, not back him to flush out the cultists you are complaining about in Rivers State?
I said he may not be a cultist but he is not a free man. The man cannot be a judge in his own case. He had told you he was a senior special assistant to Odili and he was a commissioner to Odili and he has told you that he would never do anything contrary to the wishes of Odili. I support him, I would be supporting Odili because these are the legacies which he inherited from Odili and there will be no peace … there may be peace today, tomorrow, it will come up again.
Have you not heard that the commander of the JTF has been changed? Shall we allow the army to maintain Omehia in power? That will be wrong. Or between now and December, Omehia decides to demolish all the houses in the waterfront and already, he is saying that the upland people occupy 80 per cent of Port-Harcourt, so he wants to complete it.
Are we going to sit down and allow such a thing to happen? There will be crisis again, isn’t it? So, what we are saying, for the next six months, bring a neutral person. Omehia, if he has been properly elected, should step aside. Six months after, the Federal Government must have probed everybody, and those to be jailed should have been jailed. So that monster has been destroyed, who is sponsoring discovered, you can then… Omehia, come now, the place is clean, come and rule, and we will support him at that time.
What really transpired between you and Soboma George when he called you?I asked him who gave him my telephone. He said “you are our father, you are our leader, and I am not dead.” I said “can we settle, can I bring you and Ateke Tom together?” He said “yes sir, if you can do that but tell the Federal Government not to shoot us again,” that they came to their village where they were hiding to shoot all of them and he told me how the hotel where he was staying was bombarded. So I told him, “you are a small boy, what are you gaining? I hear you” and ehmn, then, he told me the story.
That Ateke Tom thought that he was benefitting from the mega station, so he went to bomb it. So, I said “well, I will bring two of you together, please, don’t fight again. I will tell the Federal Government not to…” So that is the thing and I have spoken to Ateke Tom. So I am in contact with them, I have spoken to Farah’s boys, I have spoken to most of them, I have spoken to Alele Horsfall. I have been in contact with these boys in the interest of peace. What is in my interest in trying to organize these boys in order to go and fight people? What am I looking for? I have a duty to bring peace and the boys who are dying are our boys.
Odili hails from a small village called Ndoni. So why is he causing all these? It was not until the seventies that he became a Rivers man, he was a Delta man. Do you not know that, Odili was a Delta man under Aboh? So now, you want to turn the whole of Rivers State... since 1999, Rivers State has known no peace. If Asari-Dokubo is saying Odili sponsored us, if Ateke Tom says Odili is sponsoring us, if Soboma George is saying the same thing… Recently Prince Igodo, one of the anti-Odili boys was killed in Tombia, did you not hear that?
That is part of this fight which is going on. These people are behind the whole thing and between Rotimi Amaechi and Omehia, they are fighting in the court, they are also fighting on the streets of Port-Harcourt. It is a very dangerous situation, the peace may go down today, and tomorrow, it will come again. So that is why we are asking for a neutral person to come and probe the area. After that, everywhere will be peaceful. Do you know from one of the papers a certain lawmaker (name withheld) from the state talking that he was declared a cultist by the SSS? None of them has denied. So that is the position.
Some people in Rivers State, including the government, are accusing some elders in leaders in Delta state, with obvious reference to you, as masterminding crisis in their state, how do you react to this?
The governor is doing that because he is jittery. He should tell Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan that there are more criminals in Delta state than in Rivers state. They are friends, he should tell him.
What happens if the Federal Government failed to adhere to your call for a state of emergency in Rivers state?
(Interview took place before President Yar’Adua ruled out imposition of emergency rule on Rivers State).
Am I in government? It will be on record that we have spoken, we have done our part. That is all.
Monday, 27 August 2007
Julius Agwu Beaten in London
Julius Agwu got more than he bargained for during the second edition of Crack Ya Ribs in London. Before Julius mounted the stage on 26th August 2007, to thrill his fans, his ribs were almost cracked by blows from some Naija guys in London the night before.
Julius Agwu and others had gone to Club NTYCE to attend the launch of Ruggedman’s new albulm. Unknown to Jullius, some Naija guys who derive pleasure from beating up Nigerian celebrities were waiting for him. Outside the club, the guys surrounded Julius and in moves that will shame Lagos Area Boys, they descended on Julius with blows and slaps, Julius tried fighting back but what can one short man do in the midst of 7 demented London area boys? They took his wallet and mobile phone and warned him to watch his steps and that they were out to get all the “yeye Naija celebrities’ wey think say them be something”. They also bragged that Julius was not the first and that they had “messed” up Jim Iyke also.
We can only attribute this attack to nothing but bad belle and nothing else. It is no secret that girls practically throw themselves at these starts anytime they go out in London. Julius was not fussed by the attack as he was his usual self and was surrounded by a bevy of beauties at the after party at Finch Club on Camberwell Road. Naija celebrities you have been warned, watch how you move in London especially in the Woolwich area.
Julius Agwu and others had gone to Club NTYCE to attend the launch of Ruggedman’s new albulm. Unknown to Jullius, some Naija guys who derive pleasure from beating up Nigerian celebrities were waiting for him. Outside the club, the guys surrounded Julius and in moves that will shame Lagos Area Boys, they descended on Julius with blows and slaps, Julius tried fighting back but what can one short man do in the midst of 7 demented London area boys? They took his wallet and mobile phone and warned him to watch his steps and that they were out to get all the “yeye Naija celebrities’ wey think say them be something”. They also bragged that Julius was not the first and that they had “messed” up Jim Iyke also.
We can only attribute this attack to nothing but bad belle and nothing else. It is no secret that girls practically throw themselves at these starts anytime they go out in London. Julius was not fussed by the attack as he was his usual self and was surrounded by a bevy of beauties at the after party at Finch Club on Camberwell Road. Naija celebrities you have been warned, watch how you move in London especially in the Woolwich area.
Wednesday, 22 August 2007
Camel Molests Woman
This na True Story!
A woman in Australia has been killed by her pet camel after the animal apparently tried to have sex with her.
The woman was found dead at the family's sheep and cattle ranch near the town of Mitchell in Queensland.
The woman had been given the camel as a 60th birthday present earlier this year because of her love of exotic pets.
The camel was just 10 months old but already weighed 152kg (336lbs) and had come close to suffocating the family's pet goat on a number of occasions.
On Saturday the woman apparently became the object of the male camel's desire.
It knocked her to the ground, lay on top of her and displayed what the police delicately described as mating behaviour.
Young camels are not normally aggressive but can become more threatening if treated and raised as pets.
A woman in Australia has been killed by her pet camel after the animal apparently tried to have sex with her.
The woman was found dead at the family's sheep and cattle ranch near the town of Mitchell in Queensland.
The woman had been given the camel as a 60th birthday present earlier this year because of her love of exotic pets.
The camel was just 10 months old but already weighed 152kg (336lbs) and had come close to suffocating the family's pet goat on a number of occasions.
On Saturday the woman apparently became the object of the male camel's desire.
It knocked her to the ground, lay on top of her and displayed what the police delicately described as mating behaviour.
Young camels are not normally aggressive but can become more threatening if treated and raised as pets.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
