Gunmen abduct newspaper distributor in Ogun

A four-man gang of kidnappers has abducted a major newspaper distributor, Mrs Funlayo Ajayi, in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State.

It was gathered that the woman, who is in her late 50s, was reportedly travelling in her Nissan salon car to collect the day’s consignment of newspapers at the distribution point along Ejinrin Road, in Ijebu Ode, when the four gunmen blocked her car and abducted her.

She operates her business under the name of Joke Agency in Lagos garage area and was popularly known as Mama Joke.

She was said to be in company of one her aides at the time of the incident.

The kidnappers were said to have reached out to Ajayi’s family members and demanded N40 million ransom.

The victim was said to have been allowed to speak with family members and associates.

It was learned that she told one of the associates: “I do not know where I am. All they are telling is that they want something from me.”

It was gathered that the case had been reported to the police at Ijebu Ode Area Headquarters, Igbeba.

Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Muyiwa Adejobi, could not be reached at press time for comments.

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I’ll ban importation of rice, tomato –Buhari

The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Maj.-Gen. Muhammad Buhari (retd), on Monday said if elected on February 14, he would ban the importation of basic items like rice and tomato in order to enhance local production of the products.

He also said his administration would focus on agriculture, mining, infrastructure and job provision at the top of its economic agenda.

Buhari, who gave a summary of how he intended to revive the economy in a meeting with the Organised Private Sector in Lagos, said his government would place emphasis on three key issues of security, tackling corruption and reviving the ailing economy.

The meeting, which had all the key members of the APC in attendance, was hosted by the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola.

“How can Nigeria be importing virtually everything? How can we be importing even tomatoes? If I am elected, basic items like rice and tomatoes, which we have the capacity to produce, will be banned from being imported,” Buhari said.

The APC presidential candidate said his commitment to the Nigerian people would be governed by the highest consideration for how his policies would create jobs.

He also said he would focus on the provision of infrastructure such as power and roads.

Buhari, who said he agreed with the current administration on the privatisation of the power utilities, however, said there would be a need to also privatise the transmission segment.

According to him, the privatisation of the power sector has yet to achieve the desired result because after the handing over of the assets to private investors, the hard work to connect the various parts of the power chain, supply gas, install transformers and complete substations has not been done.

He added, “Our studies show that we will require no less than 200,000 trained personnel to support the initiative to provide power and light up Nigeria.

“Apart from the inherent direct employment that this will give, the reduction in the cost of production, the savings from self-generation by Nigerians, who currently spend a lot of their income on purchase of diesel and petrol to generate their own electricity, will reduce the burden on their disposable income.”

An existing plan to build a refinery in Lagos will be supported by the Federal Government, according to Buhari.

Another area of infrastructure investment that will receive attention, according to him, is road and highway construction from one end of the country to the other.

He said his administration would concentrate on roads and highways that linked the states, while state governments would be expected to connect their respective areas to the highways.

Buhari said, “Road construction alone will unlock value chain of opportunities for construction companies, builders, engineers, architects, quarry operators, cement and iron rod producers and suppliers.

“The successful opening up of Nigeria by the construction of new roads and highways will revive road transport, truck manufacture, tyre manufacture as well as engine oil and brake pad production on one hand. It will also create a demand for job for mechanics, drivers and those engaged in transport support businesses.

“We expect a revival of all the interstate economies to thrive across Nigeria, providing support to travellers by way of canteens, restaurants, farm produce etc.”

He, however, said because corruption was affecting the performance of the economy, he would tackle it headlong if elected into office.

According to him, the alleged $20bn missing crude oil proceeds, which was estimated to be equal to about N4.2tn, were nearly a year’s budget.

He said with N5m per vehicle, the amount could provide 840,000 patrol vehicles to help improve on the security of towns and villages across the country.

The APC presidential candidate also noted that the amount could provide 311,000 buses that could revolutionise the transport sector of the economy.

He said, “If the average cost of generating one megawatt of power is about $1.5m (excluding gas and distribution costs), $20bn would have brought us over 13,333MW of power. What a difference that will make in the country!

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N1.5bn fraud: Omatseye has case to answer, says court

A Federal High Court in Lagos has dismissed the no-case application filed by a former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Mr. Raymond Omatseye, charged with N1.5bn contract fraud.

Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia dismissed Omatseye’s application on Monday on the grounds that it lacked merit.

The judge held that the charges against Omatseye were properly drafted according to the law and that it had become necessary for him to canvass arguments in defence of himself.

She therefore slated February 18, 2015 for him to proceed into the dock to absolve himself of the allegations.

Omatseye had been charged with an amended 27-count bordering on contract scam and money laundering by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The EFCC had alleged that while in office as the NIMASA DG, Omatseye engaged in contract splitting and bid rigging estimated at over N1.5bn.

The offence, according to the anti-graft agency, contravened Section 58(4) (d) of the Public Procurement Act, 2007.

The accused was also said to have violated section 14(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004.

But upon his re-arraignment before Ofii-Ajumogobia on January 21, 2013, Omatseye had pleaded not guilty to the alleged crime.

The court consequently called upon the prosecution, represented by Chief Godwin Obla (SAN), to substantiate its allegations.

At the end of its submissions, however, Omatseye, through his lawyer, Mr. Olusina Sofola (SAN), submitted a no-case application, wherein he urged the court to quash the charges for want of competence.

Sofola, while adopting the no-case application, had argued that since the charge against his client bordered on award of contract in sums above N4m, contrary to the Public Procurement Act, 2007, it was incumbent on the prosecution to state what the valid monetary threshold was at the time that Omatseye allegedly awarded the said contracts.

He submitted, “The definition of monetary threshold states that it is the value limit in Naira set by the bureau, outside of which an approving authority may not award a procurement contract.

“Even though the accused had admitted that his threshold was N5m for works and N2.5m for goods, the prosecution is duty-bound to establish what the valid threshold was at the time of the award of the contract.

“Since the counts in the charge refer to monetary threshold and not only threshold, then the court must look at the definition of monetary threshold and not threshold.

“We also invite the court to look again at section 16 (2) of the Public Procurement Act, which provides that the council shall consider, approve and amend the monetary threshold for the application of the provisions of this act, by procuring entities.

Sofola maintained that the prosecution had failed to adduce sufficient evidence in support of its case to warrant Omatseye to enter the dock in defence of himself. He therefore urged the court to dismiss the charges in totality.

But in response, Obla had submitted that, “Assuming but not conceding that there is an error in the counts as contended, we submit that the alleged error, if any, cannot render the counts invalid having regards to sections 166 of the Criminal Procedure Law.”

Ruling on the application on Monday, Ofili-Ajumogobia said she did not find any difficulty in agreeing with the prosecution that the counts in question were properly drafted in accordance with the provision of the Public Procurement Act.

She held, “It is an abject misconception for the applicant to contend that the offence is committed when the award is actually made; this would go against the spirit and letters of the criminalizing section.

“On the whole, I find this application to be lacking in merit; the applicant has failed woefully in his attempt to discredit the evidence adduced by prosecution in this case.

“At this stage of a trial, all that the court is required to do, is to satisfy itself that there is some tenable quantum of evidence before it linking the accused to the offence.

“Having stated this much, the proper order which I think this court should make in the circumstance, is to dismiss this application in its entirety, and I so do.

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Don’t threaten Danjuma, ACF warns Tompolo, Dokubo

The northern socio-political organisation, Arewa Consultative Forum, has warned Niger Delta ex-militants not to threaten a former Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (retd.).

The northern group said neither Danjuma nor any citizen of the country for that matter should be threatened with attacks by the ex-militants, who have been threatening fire and brimstone should President Goodluck Jonathan loses the February 14 presidential poll.

The ex-militants had threatened to attack Danjuma’s business interest in the Niger Delta for daring to ask that security agencies should arrest leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, Mujahid Dokubo-Asari;and other ex-militants.

Dokubo-Asari, Victor Ben Ebikabowei a.k.a Boy Loaf;   Government Ekpudomenowei, a.k.a Tompolo and other militants had, during a meeting at the Bayelse State Government House, vowed to unleash violence on Nigerians if Jonathan failed in his re-election bid.

They said any attempt to unseat the President would be seen as a direct affront to the Ijaw nation.

The ACF said it viewed the threat by the ex-militants as not only a direct affront on Danjuma but on the President Goodluck Jonathan-led Federal Government.

National Publicity Secretary of the ACF, Muhammadu Ibrahim, in a statement in Kaduna on Monday, said, “ACF and indeed all Nigerians hold Gen T.Y. Danjuma, former Chief of Army Staff and Defence Minister in high esteem, as a revered patriot, elder statesman and a philanthropist of repute who fought for the unity of Nigeria and has continued to play this fatherly role even in his old age.

“ACF will therefore not accept any threat to his person or business assets or to any law-abiding citizen by any group or individuals in the name of militancy.”

The northern body therefore asked security operatives to take urgent steps to avert what it described as “ugly consequences” of war threats by the ex-militants.

Danjuma had penultimate Wednesday asked the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency arrest the Niger Delta ex-militants who threatened war in the country if Nigerians failed to re-elect Jonathan.

Danjuma spoke at the inauguration of Kwakwasiya City in Kano.

He had said, “You should arrest Dokubo-Asari, Tompolo, Boyloaf and other Niger Delta militants for making reckless statements, which in any way does not mean keeping Nigeria as one entity and creating war situation.

“Those were reckless statements coming from irresponsible individuals; they should be condemned and be arrested immediately.”

Neither President Jonathan nor the Federal Government has reacted to the threat by the former militants.

The ACF warned that nothing must tamper with the business empire of Danjuma because there was nothing wrong with his call for the arrest of ex-militants that had been threatening the peace of the entire country.

The ACF reminded the ex-militants that the President was not elected by Nigerians in 2011 based on threat or intimidation from any section of the country.

It stressed, “ACF wishes to remind the Niger Delta militants that President Jonathan did not ascend to his present position through threats and intimidation, but rather through democratic means of canvassing for votes without any form of molestation throughout the length and breadth of Nigeria in 2011.

“The same process the President and other candidates vying for the office shall go through to emerge as Nigeria’s President in 2015 and not through intimidation, threats and ultimatum.

“ACF therefore views such threats and intimidation by the ex-militants as an affront not only to Gen. Danjuma but an attack on a democratically elected Federal Government of Nigeria, over which President Jonathan presides.

“It is also an open challenge to the nation’s security agencies, especially the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Security and even the Nigerian military that are responsible for maintaining law and order and any form of internal and external aggression against Nigeria.

“ACF hereby calls upon the Federal Government to urgently take necessary steps and contain this emerging threat to national security by Niger Delta ex- militants to avert any ugly consequences.”

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Egypt court sentences 183 Muslim Brotherhood supporters to death

An Egyptian court sentenced 183 supporters of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood to death on Monday on charges of killing police officers, part of a sustained crackdown by authorities on Islamists.

The men were convicted of playing a role in the killings of 16 policemen in the town of Kardasa in August, 2013 during the upheaval that followed the army's ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Mursi. Thirty-four were sentenced in absentia.

Egypt has mounted one of the biggest crackdowns in its modern history on the Brotherhood since the political demise of Mursi, the country's first democratically-elected president.

Thousands of Brotherhood supporters have been arrested and put on mass trials in a campaign which human rights groups say shows the government is systematically repressing opponents.

"Today’s death sentences are yet another example of the bias of the Egyptian criminal justice system," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Middle East and North Africa Programme Director at Amnesty International.

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Members of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi shout sl …

"These verdicts and sentences must be quashed and all of those convicted should be given a trial that meets international standards of fairness and excludes the death penalty."

Monday's sentences came a day after Al Jazeera journalist Peter Greste was freed after serving 400 days in Egyptian jail on charges that included aiding a terrorist group - a reference to the Brotherhood. Two of his Al Jazeera colleagues are still detained. [ID:nL6N0VB0M5]

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who as army chief toppled Mursi, describes the Brotherhood as a major security threat.

The movement says it is committed to peaceful activism.

The death sentences followed one of the bloodiest attacks on Egyptian security forces in years. Islamic State's Egypt wing claimed responsibility for a series of coordinated operations that killed at least 27 people last week.

Sisi blamed the Brotherhood for the violence and told Egyptians in a televised address that the war against militancy will be a long and tough.

Egyptian authorities make no distinction between the Brotherhood, Islamic State and al Qaeda, arguing that they have a shared ideology and are equally dangerous.

Security forces killed hundreds of Brotherhood supporters and arrested thousands of others after Mursi's ouster.

After the death sentences were read out on Monday, Brotherhood supporters held in metal cages shouted profanities at policemen. A defence lawyer looked at the Islamists and said "You have God."

The Egyptian government's human rights record has come under closer scrutiny since woman activist Shaimaa Sabbagh was shot dead during a Cairo protest on January 24, a day before the anniversary of the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak.

The Interior Ministry promised an investigation.

Separately, an Egyptian police officer has been detained on suspicion of killing a suspected member of the Brotherhood in hospital, the Interior Ministry has said.

The suspect was being treated in custody for wounds suffered while he was allegedly planting explosives. The ministry said that the man had provoked the policeman by insulting him. "Then the policeman lost control of his feelings," it said.

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Nigeria elections: Blast hits presidential rally in Gombe

Officials used containers of water to try and put out the flames

A female suicide bomber has blown up herself in northern Nigeria's Gombe city, minutes after President Goodluck Jonathan left a campaign rally there.

At least one person was killed and 18 others were wounded in the blast, police and hospital sources said.

Mr Jonathan is standing for re-election on 14 February against former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari.

Militant Islamist group Boko Haram has stepped up its attacks in the run-up to the contest.

It has not commented on the blast.

Explosions have also ripped through court buildings in three towns in oil-rich southern Nigeria in what police described as co-ordinated attacks.

Dynamite was suspected to have been used in the attacks in Port Harcourt city and the towns of Isiokpo and Degema in oil-rich Rivers State, regional police spokesman Ahmad Muhammed said.

There were no casualties, but the court building in Degema was "razed down and documents burnt", he is quoted by Nigeria's privately owned Daily Trust newspaper as saying.

Boko Haram is not known to be active in the oil-producing region, where militants demanding a greater share of Nigeria's oil wealth have carried out attacks in the past.

'Angry youth'

In the blast in Gombe, the bomber blew herself up near a car, Gombe state police spokesman Fwaje Atajiri told the BBC.

He said a female passerby had been killed, contradicting earlier reports that three people had been killed in the blast.

President Jonathan addressed his supporters shortly before the blast

Explosions also ripped through the city on Sunday

Residents have set up checkpoints to defend Gombe

Mohammed Bolari, who was at the rally in Gombe, said the explosion occurred some three minutes after Mr Jonathan's departure, AFP news agency reports.

"The president had just passed the parking lot and we were trailing behind his convoy when the explosion happened," he was quoted as saying.

Mr Jonathan addressed a rally in the north-eastern city a day after it was hit by two blasts that killed at least five people.

A local journalist told AFP the latest blast had led to unrest in Gombe, with angry youths attacking supporters of Mr Jonathan's People's Democratic Party (PDP).

"They were shouting and denouncing the president's visit which they blamed for the attack," he added.

A report in the Nigerian paper The Vanguard says the president and Mr Buhari have cancelled scheduled election rallies in Damaturu in Yobe state and Maiduguri in Borno state respectively.

Analysis by Will Ross, BBC News, Nigeria

It may not have been as large as other bombings in Nigeria but the timing of the latest attack will have shocked the security forces. The violence is escalating in the run-up to elections due in less than two weeks.

The attacks are blamed on Boko Haram which is against democracy and says it wants to set up a caliphate.

As well as the bombings the military is facing a huge challenge as the Boko Haram fighters try to capture more territory in the north-east.

On Sunday, the military and local vigilantes prevented the jihadists from penetrating Maiduguri city in Borno state for the second time in a week.

Eyewitnesses said Chadian jets and helicopters hit targets in the town of Gamboru, just across the border from Cameroon. Military aircraft from Chad have meanwhile continued their attacks on Boko Haram positions in north-east Nigeria for a third day.

Chad sent forces into northern Cameroon in January, driving Boko Haram out of the area but stopping short of advancing on the militants' strongholds deeper inside Nigeria.

Chadian forces are reported to have been massing in the Cameroonian border town of Fotokol since Sunday.

The election is expected to be the most tightly contested since military rule ended in 1999 but there are growing fears that voters in areas controlled by Boko Haram will not be able to vote.

Last week, the African Union (AU) backed plans for the deployment of a 7,500-strong regional force to fight Boko Haram.

Mr Jonathan declared a state of emergency in Nigeria's north-eastern states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa in May 2013, but it has not stopped the Boko Haram offensive.

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Made In Africa: Three Cars Designed And Manufactured In Africa

According to the World Bank, Sub-Saharan Africa is projected to remain one of the fastest growing regions in the world. While Africa’s economy is soaring past most regions with an annual growth of about 5% due mainly to increased agriculture production, infrastructure investment including

transportation, ports and energy as well as buoyant services led by tourism, telecommunications and financial services, the continent’s middle class is expected to swell to approximately 300 million people. Additionally, the World Bank projects private consumption in the region to remain strong in 2015-17; particularly with the continent’s burgeoning middle class looking to splurge on new passenger vehicles and for most, their first such purchase.

Last year, Africa was projected to see sales of new 2 million cars with major auto players such as Toyota, Tata Motors and General Motors GM -1.63% looking at the continent for growth opportunities. According to Zawya, there are approximately 21.6 million passenger vehicles operating in Africa; making the continent’s nearly 1.2 billion population a very attractive prospect for global automobile manufacturers to penetrate. Not to be left out of the lucrative market, African entrepreneurs are now entering the automobile industry; designing and developing vehicles specifically geared for the local market and local consumers but with global aspirations.

Kantanka SUV models – Ghana

Below are three African automobile manufacturing companies that are developing “made in Africa” vehicles that look the most promising for the African consumer market;

Kiira Motors Corporation, Uganda

Originally developed by students from Uganda’s Makerere University for a project headed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the sedan hybrid electric vehicle called the Kiira EV SMACK was designed for the region, local terrain and consumers’ ability to afford the car. The five-seater sedan is powered by a rechargeable battery and also has an internal combustion engine-based generator which charges the battery. The first commercial vehicle from this line is expected to rollout in 2018

Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company, Nigeria

The domestic vehicle maker Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company has built on its success of manufacturing buses and trucks to launch a passenger car line comprised of a truck (IVM 1021A) and a Sports Utility Vehicle (IVM 6490A). According to the company website, the automobile company was commissioned by President Goodluck Jonathan and founded by Mr. Innocent Chukwuma.

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