3 feared dead, 7 rescued as boat capsizes

Three persons were feared dead after the  motor boat on which they were riding from Tincan Island Port to Ojo area of Lagos  capsized Thursday at about 8.30 pm while returning from work.
A passenger who identified himself as Peter, told Saturday Vanguard that the incident occurred when the operator  of the boat tried to maneuver his boat  from  another oncoming boat but eventually lost control. Peter who claimed to be in another boat when the incident happened, explained that they had to go and assist the 10 passengers in the small boat.
According to him, they were only able to rescue seven of the passengers while they could not see the other three. As at yesterday morning when Saturday Vanguard visited the area, the boat operators refused to comment on the issue but confirmed that the incident actually occurred.
One of the operators said they were expecting the corpses of the  passengers to come afloat yesterday.
Efforts to get the reaction of the Managing Director of the Lagos State Water Transport Authority, LASTWA, Yinka Morinho, on the issue proved abortive as he  did not pick his call or respond to text message sent to him.
Boat rides between Apapa and Ojo axes have  improved among people living around Ojo area but work at Apapa.
A freight forwarder, Okey Ibeawuchi, who spoke with Saturday Vanguard on the issue said he has not seen Mile2 for about two months because he prefers to go by boat as it saves his time. According to Ibeawuchi, at the height of the traffic jam on that route, he spent between five and six hours to and from work every day and that was not good for his health.
He noted that although he knows the risk involved in traveling by boat, he still preferred it as the journey by boat takes between 20 and 45 minutes depending on the boat by which one is traveling. The freight forwarder explained that while the boat with 150 horse power takes between 15 and 25 minutes, the 75 horse power boat takes between 35 to 45 minutes.
While he acknowledged that passengers are mandated to wear live jackets as security measure , he said it is not enough as the boats do not have cover. He called on the Lagos state government to come to the aid of the operators by providing them soft loan with which to acquire better boats to ply the route.

Naira Appreciates Against Dollar At Official Market, BDCs

The naira appreciated against the dollar at the official and parallel markets on Friday.
The naira was traded at N155.24 at the official market on Friday from N155.70 that obtained last week and N169 to the dollar at the Bureau De Change (BDCs) from N174.
The currency has been N174 to the dollar at the black market since last week.\
It, however, depreciated against the pound sterling at the official market, selling at N275 to the pound against N273 last week.
The naira also depreciated against the pound sterling at the BDCs, trading at N275 to the pound, a loss of N3 from the N272 it was offered at the BDCs last week.
The naira was also traded at N275 to the pound sterling at the black market on Friday.

SSS Invites El-Rufai for Interrogation

The State Security Service (SSS) Thursday warned politicians against provocative statements capable of causing violence ahead of the 2015 general election.
The warning came as sources close to the SSS last night informed THISDAY that a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam  Nasir el-Rufai, had been invited by the agency to clarify his statement in THISDAY Newspaper Thursday.
El-Rufai, who is also the Deputy National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), had stated that unless certain things were put in place, 2015 general election would be marred with violence.
He warned that the elections would be marred by riots and other forms of violence that may lead to loss of lives and property, except the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies were ready to hold free and fair elections.

The former minister had accused INEC of incompetence, arguing that if it was not able to organise credible elections in Anambra and Delta States, it would be almost impossible to expect free and fair elections from the electoral umpire in 2015.
Specifically, he said: “The next election is likely to be violent and many people are likely going to die. And the only alternative left to get power is to take it by force, this is the reality on ground.”
THISDAY, investigation revealed that el-Rufai is expected to appear at the headquarters of the service today by 10a.m.
It was gathered that when the invitation from the DSS got to the former minister, he urged the service to get an arrest warrant from a court before he would honour it.
A source close to the SSS told THISDAY that: “We assured him that he was only invited and not arrested. If he wants to be arrested, we are entitled by law to do so. He wants to sensationalise a simple invitation. No  twitting or sensation can stop us from doing our work. He has to explain his statement yesterday.”
Meanwhile, the SSS, in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Ms. Marilyn Ogar, called for caution on the part of the politician.
“The attention of the DSS has been drawn to incessant provocative statements by some Nigerians, threatening violence ahead of the 2015 general election. Such comments are offensive, misguided, and directed at stirring hate amongst Nigerians.
“This service and other law enforcement agencies have the mandate to protect the country and its citizens. We, therefore ,warn all subversive elements that are bent on promoting divisive and disruptive agenda to desist from such, as the full weight of the law shall henceforth be brought to bear accordingly.
“We call on all Nigerians to remain law-abiding and assist security agencies in ensuring a safe society for all,” the statement reads.

Source: THISDAY

India deports five more Nigerians as it steps up the clampdown on immigrants

NDIA deported five Nigerians yesterday as part of its ongoing clampdown that has seen as many as 22 people arrested for over-staying in the country and locked up in special immigration centres.   Over the last two months, Indian authorities have stepped up the arrest of Nigerian illegal immigrants across the country and has been deporting them. Of late, the relationship between the Nigerian Indian community and their local Indian hosts has soured following the murder of a Nigerian at Parra in northern Goa on October 30.   In response, local Nigerians staged several protests, which the authorities responded to with a series of arrests and those found without papers are being deported. Last week, seven Nigerians were deported from India and the second batch of five out of the 20 housed at the Tiruchi special camp situated in the city’s Central Prison have been deported too now.   Under tight police escort, they were taken to Chennai on Tuesday and flown to Abu Dhabi on an Etihad Airways flight from where they would fly to Nigeria. Arrested by the Tiruppur police for overstay and brought to the camp in batches in December, the Nigerians protested recently, locking the inner gate with the police and revenue officials inside demanding their early deportation.
In October last year, over 100 Nigerians attacked a police van in Goa, which was carrying the body of their fellow national found stabbed to death in the Mapusa area. His body was being taken for a post-mortem when the mob dragged the body out of the van and formed a blockade at the site demanding the police arrest the culprits.   An irate mob of Nigerians, who live in Parra village, also beat up some villagers, alleging that they killed their Nigerian colleague. Goa’s chief minister Manohar Parrikar, said the crime resulted from a feud between gangs of drug dealers and ordered the police to identify and deport all Nigerians who were living in the state illegally.   Nigerians spend a total of $500m a year on health trips abroad, with India being the main beneficiary of such health tourism. According to the Nigerian Medical Association, in 2012, India earned realise between $1bn and $2bn from medical tourism. – See more at:

British officials say Ibori will not be released under prisoner exchange programme

BRITISH high commission officials in Nigeria have indicated that they will not allow Chief James Ibori to be released to serve the remainder of his prison term back in the country despite the recent signing of a prisoner exchange programme.   On January 9, Nigeria and Britain signed a prisoner exchange agreement that will allow their citizens who are incarcerated to go and serve their terms in their home country. Immediately the agreement was signed, it led to speculation that Chief Ibori, the former Delta State governor would be one of the main beneficiaries of the programme.   After a five-year legal battle, Chief Ibori was jailed for 13 years in
April 2012 but it is expected that he will only spend about four-and-a-half years in prison. Although the official figure alleged to have been laundered by Chief Ibori was put at £50m, British officials believe the real amount could be as high as could be up to £250m.   Due to the severity of Chief Ibori’s offences and the negative message it would send out, British officials have taken the unprecedented step of announcing that he will not be allowed to benefit from the programme. There are fears that if allowed to return to Nigeria, Chief Ibori will be pardoned and released by the government.   One source in the UK high commission in Abuja said: “We are not planning to allow Ibori be a beneficiary of the exchange policy and it is not targeted at him. Our laws are very strong on money laundering; the exchange programme does not cover such people like Ibori.   “He will complete his prison terms in the UK as part of our own contribution to your anti-corruption agenda. If he is brought to Nigeria, we are not sure if he would not be pardoned as a result of pressure from some people.”   According to the British high commission, the Nigerian government has not made any request for the repatriation of Chief Ibori home to complete his jail term. However, last year, the government pardoned former Bayelsa State governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha and there are fears that President Goodluck Jonathan may do the same with Chief Ibori in the run-up to elections next year.   In April last year, the a presidential spokesman said Nigeria would not accede to requests from Britain to hand over Chief Alamieyeseigha despite him being wanted in London to face money laundering charges.  Chief Alamieyeseigha was arrested by the Metropolitan Police on charges of money laundering in September 2005 but jumped bail and fled the country to Nigeria disguised as a woman.   One Nigerian government source said: “There is no plan to bring Ibori home under any guise and we will not do so. We will be sending a wrong signal if we do so.   “This is an example of consequence of graft in public office and we want others to learn from Ibori’s experience. His conviction has strengthened our anti-corruption campaign.”   During a three-week confiscation hearing last year, prosecutors sought a court order for the confiscation of £90m in assets that were said to be the proceeds of Chief Ibori’s crimes. However, the hearing ended inconclusively and will restart this year. – See more at: