Nigeria: Government to Prosecute over 500 Oil Thieves

Oil stealing otherwise known as "bunkering" or 'illegal bunkering' in some quarters in Nigeria is very prominent in the Niger-Delta region. Gangs most times destroy and tap into pipelines in the creeks and swamps of the Niger-Delta, siphoning off hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil a day in operations.

Some are always running out of luck and get arrested. Those already arrested are to be prosecuted by Nigeria's government. About 500 people have been detained on allegations of stealing oil, officials said on Thursday in a crackdown on a criminal enterprise that drains up to a fifth of the country's oil output.

The governor of Delta state, Emmanuel Uduaghan, told reporters after a meeting at President Goodluck Jonathan's house that the government was preparing cases for oil theft, which carries a prison sentence of 21 years.

"The resolutions included that a legal task force ... be set up immediately to commence prosecution of proven cases, using relevant laws," Uduaghan said. Finance Minister Okonjo Iweala had earlier siad that an estimated 400,000 barrels a day was lost to theft, or about a fifth of the output of Africa's leading energy producer.

About 90 percent of the stolen fuel is sold onto international markets, to criminal networks in the Balkans or refiners in Singapore, analysts say. The rest is refined for local consumption, filling a gap left by Nigeria's defunct legitimate refineries.

Security forces said on Sunday they had impounded three barges laden with 600,000 litres of illegally refined fuel in the Delta. But enforcement has proven difficult because Nigeria's own žsecurity forces are complicit in the practice.

Residents of the Delta say the lack of development and environmental devastation in the region of mangrove swamps has given many a feeling that they are entitled to help themselves to a share of Nigeria's vast oil wealth.

President Goodluck Jonathan had earlier in the year appealed to foreign buyers to shun stolen oil from Nigeria. His appeal tilted towards labelling stolen oil as 'blood oil' just like in the case of diamond from Sierra Leone. The volatility of the Niger-Delta region is having its effect on the Gulf of Guinea where piracy is on the rise.

Jailbreak in Nigeria; 175 Prisoners Freed

Gunmen have reportedly shot dead two civilians and then used explosives to free 175 inmates from a prison in Nigeria's southern town of Akure overnight, a prison official said on Sunday.

This is relatively uncommon in the Southwest of the country where the incident occurred though jailbreaks have been common in the country. The Islamic sect, Boko Haram has been behind most of the jailbreaks with some coming from the South and East like in Delta.

"The unknown gunmen numbering over 20 came at about midnight into the Olokuta prison through the main gate after using dynamite," Prison Comptroller Tunde Olayiwola told Reuters.

"The gunmen shot and killed two people while trying to get in ... Some of the escaped prisoners have been re-arrested," Olayiwola said, adding that some prison staff were injured in a gun battle and were receiving treatment.

Violence by Islamist groups is mostly confined to Nigeria's majority Muslim north but there have been attacks as far south as Kogi state, which borders Ondo. Kidnapping and robbery are the most common and prominent phenomena in the states bordering Ondo as west generally in the South.

James Ibori says his Lekki House is no Secret

Tony Eluemunor, spokesman for James Ibori speaking on behalf of his boss says James Ibori's Lekki house was never a secret as it was listed down in Asset declaration forms he filled in 1999, 2003 and 2007. The EFCC had one January 24 made it public that the jailed former Delta State Governor has a discovered mansion at Lekki. The property was discovered at 5, Alpha Beach Road, Lekki in Lagos.

The statement reads:  
"Despite EFCC’s insinuations to the contrary, the Alpha Beach Road house was built as far back as 1994, and so could not have, by any leap of the imagination, been built with proceeds, corrupt or not corrupt, from my office as State Governor because I began to live in that house five good years before I was voted into office”.

"Also, if the stories published about the house were actually based on EFCC’s statement, it means that the EFCC has accepted that Ibori was actually enormously rich at least half a decade before he became Governor of Delta State- after all, EFCC and the media called the house a “mansion”. 

"So, perhaps trying to hide this fact that Ibori was a man of means before he became governor, the EFCC and their agents are using all infernal tricks to cast doubts about when Ibori actually built that house.

"For the records, Chief Ibori reiterates that the house was not only built in 1994 before he became governor, it has featured in his asset declarations.

"Also, Chief Ibori has been cooperating fully with the Crown Prosecution since the preliminary stages of the confiscation process began, in line with the United Kingdom Criminal Justice Act (CJA) of 1988, so he does not see why the house has become an issue – especially as Nigeria has surrendered her jurisdictional sovereignty to Britain," the statement said. 

Nigerians continue to destroy their countries with greed. Funds meant to be used for public use as well as uplift millions out of poverty are used for personal purposes yet these leaders will still have the guts to deny and insult the intelligence of people. A nation of stealing comedians called leaders.

Nigeria and Religion Again!!! Fall of France and Nigeria Predicted in Mali

“No Nation Can Fight Islam And Succeed” (Sheik Gumi)
Islamic cleric Sheik Ahmad Mahmoud Gumi has raised an opposing view to the decision by the Nigerian government to send troops to fight on the side of France against so-called “Islamic terrorists” in Mali.

In a post on his website, the cleric argued that there was no justifiable reason to send troops.

He wrote:

“Today Nigerian troops are committed in Mali to fight ‘Islamic terrorists’ without intellectually looking at the repercussion of such an adventure. We all know that the ‘War against terror’ which Islam also fights can easily be turned into war against Islam. There is a thin line between the two. And if caution is not taken, the situation can seriously be dangerous for the nation and more so for the government.

“One thing is very clear. No nation on earth can fight Islam and succeed. A Russian General was interviewed just before the illegal Bush Jr's attack on Iraq to oust Saddam Hussein and he urged Bush to tap into Russia's experiences in Afghanistan. The General said: “I advise the US not to attack Iraq, because if it does that, then it will be fighting the whole Muslim community and whoever fights the whole Muslim community will not succeed”.

"When I heard those words, I was amused. First I knew that Saddam Hussein was not a favorite of many Muslims, I therefore wondered who will fight for him if Iraq is attacked. Secondly, what weapons do the Muslims have that the superpowers cannot defeat in warfare?

“I now see what he means. The Soviet Union fought the Mujahideen for almost 13 years in Afghanistan and ended up disintegrated. Now, the USA is facing a similar challenge that made the Soviet Union unmanageable and finally fall. The USA has been a free country where money flows in and out, where business flourishes with little hindrance. But the moment Bush lied and tried to attack Iraq, a sovereign nation, all the Muslim states - even those that are moderate – were frightened by his recklessness.

“Americans were also frightened of a possible backlash from such an adventure, inflaming an already volatile situation. The end result has been stringent monitoring and restriction of the flow of money in and out of the country. A self-imposed umbilical stenosis, a self-imposed strangulation. Nobody will again trust the USA, therefore people now prefer Asia for their business, medical care and even education.

“All this was started by an idiot who caused untold hardship for his citizens and others alike. Today, Bush Jr and his defense secretary ‘Hamana’ Rumsfeld are nonentities even in their own country. They are not respected and they will forever be tormented with the sights of so many American youth that were maimed and had limbs amputated from the deceptive war against ‘terror’ they manipulated.

“As for Nigeria, we can see a parallel when in the late 60’s Maj. Nzeogwu assassinated the Northern premier and the Biafran War ensued. Ojukwu, in his declaration of war,said bluntly that he was fighting Islam and the menace of Arabs which he claimed. The end results were that he destroyed lives, went into exile and to date Biafra ceases to exist except of course in the mind of its proponents.

“And worse still for him, Islam has reached the shores of the Delta. This brief description of a chain of events should be a clear counsel to people leading Nigeria today; no one can fight Islam or the Muslims and succeed. It is futile to attempt it. They will only destroy their own lives and cause untold hardship to others. They will be cursed not only by people they injured but by their own people as Bush Jr is regarded now in America. Therefore if the government has such plans or are deceived by some Islamaphobes in their circles they should reverse their policies immediately.

“There is no border sharing between Nigeria and Mali. There is Niger republic, Burkina Faso and Togo in between. All these nations did not report terrorism and yet suddenly we read in the news that ‘the Army Chief of Staff (COAS) Azubuike Ihejirika, who did not offer evidence, claimed that terrorists trained in Mali had already arrived on Nigerian shores. See: http://saharareporters.com/news-page/‘terrorists’-mali-seen-nigeria-..., Posted: January 17, 2013 - 22:19.

“If what he said is true, then Nigeria is unnecessarily plunging itself into a War that will have a grievous consequence on our security without any foreseen benefit.

"Let us encourage the Malians to tackle their insurgency peacefully, and not by taking sides. If however, the SS&SE (COAS) wants to use the volatile situation to build on what his predecessor Azazi implanted, then we leave him to posterity. Time will tell. All we do is to urge Muslims to be calm, prayerful and watchful.”