The Federal Government on Thursday re-arraigned Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, and his co-defendant, Olawale Bakare, on amended charges of treasonable felony and conspiracy.

The prosecution accused them of planning a protest tagged #RevolutionNow aimed at toppling the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).

The amendment of the charges reduced the original seven counts to two.

Charges of money laundering and cyberstalking Buhari by abusing him contained in the old charges have been removed in the newly filed charges.

Both Sowore and Bakare again pleaded not guilty to the two counts of conspiracy and treasonable felony.

The prosecution has complied with an order of the court directing it to pay the sum of N200,000 to the defendants as the cost for delaying the trial on Wednesday.

Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu, who was displeased with the prosecution’s handling of the case on Wednesday, had made the payment of the money to the defendants as a precondition to entertain the case on Thursday.

Earlier, before the defendants were made to take their pleas on Thursday, the lead prosecuting counsel, Mr Aminu Alilu, confirmed that the payment had been paid to the defendants on Wednesday.

He also applied that the amended two counts newly filed against the defendants on February 10, 2020, be substituted with the old charges filed on September 20, 2019.

He said, “As a law-abiding officer of the Attorney-General of the Federation, we have complied with my lord’s order regarding the cost and supply of some materials to the defence.

“We have the evidence of payment before my lord and it can be confirmed by the defence.

“Having said that, we will be applying for the substitution of an earlier charge filed on September 20, 2019, but dated September 19, 2019, to be substituted with two counts amended information dated February 10, 2020, and filed on February 11, 2020.”

Responding, defence counsel, Mr Abdul Mahmud, confirmed that the N200,000 cost was paid to the defence through the bank account of a senior member of the team, Mr Olayinka Olumide-Fusika, SAN, on Wednesday.

The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, as well as some religious leaders on Wednesday called on the Federal Government to allow the South-East to establish their security outfit to be known as Operation Ogbunigwe.

This is just as the governors of the zone adopted the community policing programme of the Nigeria Police Force for the zone.

The two parties spoke at the end of South-East Security Summit held in Enugu with the theme, ‘Strategic Partnership for effective Community Policing in the South East Geo-Political Zone.’

The Chairman of the South-East Governors’ Forum and Governor of Ebonyi State, Chief David Umahi, who read the position of the governors at the end of the summit organised by the Nigeria Police, said that they were satisfied with the strategies for the implementation of the community policing programme in the zone.

Umahi said, “We reached a satisfactory and acceptable decision and agreement.

“The IG’s presentation was not different from “our neighbourhood watch, our vigilante operation and forests guard, the herdsmen and farmers peace community among others. “When we saw that this is totally in tandem with what we are doing, we decided as your governors to embrace the initiative of community policing.”

But the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo, appealed to the Federal Government to allow the South-East to establish their own security to take care of their challenges and peculiarities.

Nwodo said, “Mr IGP, our farms have been devastated and the herders that devastated our farms carry AK-47 rifles. You cannot be talking about community policing when the people you want to supervise, you do not understand their language.

“Your legal architecture doesn’t take into consideration that our governors, by the constitution, are the chief security officers of their various states, and this gives them the responsibility to protect the lives and property of their citizens.  So when you begin to talk about recruitment, with the commander and control, and you do not share with the governors and representatives at the local areas this command and control and recruitment, this exercise is dead on arrival.”

Addressing the stakeholders on community policing programme, the Inspector General Police, Adamu said, “The community policing model is one that will draw on the legal opportunities provided by the Police Act for the engagement of special constables who will be engaged as community policing officers under the coordination of the Nigeria Police Force toward evolving a community-focused policing architecture.”

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, said that about one billion barrels of crude oil have been discovered in the Northeastern part of Nigeria.

Mr Sylva made the disclosure at a news conference to end the 2020 Nigeria International Petroleum Summit, NIPS, in Abuja on Wednesday.

“The figure we are getting, the jury is not totally out yet but from the evaluation results, we are getting the reserve that has been discovered in the northeast is about a billion barrels.

“Those are the kind of figures we are seeing and we are beginning to understand the geological structure of the region,” he said.

According to him, a lot of oil is yet to be found in the country.

He added that there was a need for more exploration in the country as more oil would be discovered.

Commenting on the passing of the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, by June, he said that he was confident that it would be passed based on a cordial relationship between the legislature and the executive.

“We are banking on the fact today to make that promise on the fact that there is a very cordial relationship now between the legislature and executive.

“Today Nigerians all agree that there is a need for us to pass the PIB.

“For so long we have been quivering about the PIB, for more than 20 years. And for so long, we have not been able to attract a lot of investment into the oil sector.

“Let me give you an example, by the year 2002, our oil reserves stood at around 22 billion barrels. We were able to grow that reserve from 22 billion barrels to 37 billion barrels by 2007.

“From 2007 to now, we have only been able to grow our reserves from 37 billion barrels to 37.5 billion barrels, in more than 10 years. Why? Not much investment is coming into Nigeria,” he added.

He noted that investors could not invest in Nigeria if the fiscal framework was shaking or uncertain.

“If nobody knows when laws will be passed, nobody will want to invest new capital in Nigeria. And that is why you see that we have almost been stagnant in the Nigerian oil industry.

So, we believe today that there is a consensus among all of us – industry, Nigerians and government – that there is a need to stabilise the fiscal framework so that investors will be certain and move their money to Nigeria.

“There are very great opportunities in Nigeria, and I believe if we can only stabilise the fiscal framework and bring peace to Nigeria, investments will flow into Nigeria.

“That is really what gives me the confidence to say that there is a consensus now among all patriotic Nigerians that in six months the PIB will be passed,” he added.

On revamping of the refinery, he said that rehabilitation of Port Harcourt refinery would start in the first quarter of 2020.

“We are going to start the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery which is the biggest refinery in Nigeria, if we are able to finish the port Harcourt refinery we would have achieved a lot like a government.

“Meanwhile we are also continuing with studies around Warri refinery, we are also continuing discussions around Kaduna refineries,” he said.

Soldiers have reportedly blocked the entrance of the family residence of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), ahead of his parents’ burial.

Amnesty International (AI) quoted residents as saying the soldiers are also harassing residents in the area ahead of the funeral scheduled for Friday.

TheCable could not immediately verify claims about the blockade but gathered that there is indeed a heavy security presence in Afara Ukwu, Kanu’s community.

In a statement on Wednesday, AI said it gathered from some persons that “they saw soldiers harassing people at Bank road while another man said he was prevented from going to his house by soldiers who blocked the road entrance to Eze Kanu’s palace.”

Osai Ojigho, Amnesty director in Nigeria, called for caution and asked the security agencies to “deescalate the rising tension” in the Abia community.

“The Nigerian security forces must exercise restraint and prevent a repetition of the September 2017 events that left at least 20 people killed and some still missing, when the military attempted to arrest Nnamdi Kanu in his home in Afara Ukwu”, Ojigho said.

“While law enforcement officers are within their rights to carry out their lawful duties, the use of force should be proportional and strictly limited to those situations where it is absolutely necessary. Both IPOB supporters and security forces must at all times respect and protect human rights of all.

“Concerns about possible violence during the funeral must be addressed within the framework of human rights and the rule of law.”
Since the burial was announced, there has been a hot exchange between the police and IPOB, which was banned and declared a terrorist organisation last year.

While the group has insisted on attending the event, Ene Okon, Abia commissioner of police, has vowed that the funeral would not take place if IPOB members attempt to attend it.

Kanu, who has been on the run since 2017, is, not contemplating attending, but said the burial will be broadcast live.

The Federal Government on Thursday re-arraigned Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, and his co-defendant, Olawale Bakare, on amended charges of treasonable felony and conspiracy.

The prosecution accused them of planning a protest tagged #RevolutionNow aimed at toppling the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).

The amendment of the charges reduced the original seven counts to two.

Charges of money laundering and cyberstalking Buhari by abusing him contained in the old charges have been removed in the newly filed charges.

Both Sowore and Bakare again pleaded not guilty to the two counts of conspiracy and treasonable felony.

The prosecution has complied with an order of the court directing it to pay the sum of N200,000 to the defendants as the cost for delaying the trial on Wednesday.

Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu, who was displeased with the prosecution’s handling of the case on Wednesday, had made the payment of the money to the defendants as a precondition to entertain the case on Thursday.

Earlier, before the defendants were made to take their pleas on Thursday, the lead prosecuting counsel, Mr Aminu Alilu, confirmed that the payment had been paid to the defendants on Wednesday.

He also applied that the amended two counts newly filed against the defendants on February 10, 2020, be substituted with the old charges filed on September 20, 2019.

He said, “As a law-abiding officer of the Attorney-General of the Federation, we have complied with my lord’s order regarding the cost and supply of some materials to the defence.

“We have the evidence of payment before my lord and it can be confirmed by the defence.

“Having said that, we will be applying for the substitution of an earlier charge filed on September 20, 2019, but dated September 19, 2019, to be substituted with two counts amended information dated February 10, 2020, and filed on February 11, 2020.”

Responding, defence counsel, Mr Abdul Mahmud, confirmed that the N200,000 cost was paid to the defence through the bank account of a senior member of the team, Mr Olayinka Olumide-Fusika, SAN, on Wednesday.

The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, as well as some religious leaders on Wednesday called on the Federal Government to allow the South-East to establish their security outfit to be known as Operation Ogbunigwe.

This is just as the governors of the zone adopted the community policing programme of the Nigeria Police Force for the zone.

The two parties spoke at the end of South-East Security Summit held in Enugu with the theme, ‘Strategic Partnership for effective Community Policing in the South East Geo-Political Zone.’

The Chairman of the South-East Governors’ Forum and Governor of Ebonyi State, Chief David Umahi, who read the position of the governors at the end of the summit organised by the Nigeria Police, said that they were satisfied with the strategies for the implementation of the community policing programme in the zone.

Umahi said, “We reached a satisfactory and acceptable decision and agreement.

“The IG’s presentation was not different from “our neighbourhood watch, our vigilante operation and forests guard, the herdsmen and farmers peace community among others. “When we saw that this is totally in tandem with what we are doing, we decided as your governors to embrace the initiative of community policing.”

But the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo, appealed to the Federal Government to allow the South-East to establish their own security to take care of their challenges and peculiarities.

Nwodo said, “Mr IGP, our farms have been devastated and the herders that devastated our farms carry AK-47 rifles. You cannot be talking about community policing when the people you want to supervise, you do not understand their language.

“Your legal architecture doesn’t take into consideration that our governors, by the constitution, are the chief security officers of their various states, and this gives them the responsibility to protect the lives and property of their citizens.  So when you begin to talk about recruitment, with the commander and control, and you do not share with the governors and representatives at the local areas this command and control and recruitment, this exercise is dead on arrival.”

Addressing the stakeholders on community policing programme, the Inspector General Police, Adamu said, “The community policing model is one that will draw on the legal opportunities provided by the Police Act for the engagement of special constables who will be engaged as community policing officers under the coordination of the Nigeria Police Force toward evolving a community-focused policing architecture.”