August 2019

A claim attributed to the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) has been made of how America has been frustrating El-Zakzaky's treatment in India. Such claim seems to have no basis. In fact, it reflects total ignorance about the international interest in the Nigerian Shiites problems. It further highlights the unfortunate predicament of the Nigerian Shiites. The IMN is spiritually allied to Iran just as the Nigerian Sunni Muslims are spiritually allied to Saudi Arabia. It is therefore expected that IMN would try to impress its master, Iran, by lashing out against America at a time of grave tension between America and Iran. It must be noted that when the Nigerian Government used the Military to suppress the Shiites last year, America led the world in condemning Nigeria and cutting off cooperation with the Nigerian Military. It was the pressure from countries like America that forced the Nigerian Government not to use the Military last month when the Shiites had their protest that led to the death of a Deputy Commissioner of Police, ultimately resulting in the release of El-Zakzaky. If American Government was against El-Zakzaky, Nigerian Government would not have relaxed its stance on his detention. It would have been easier to keep him in Nigeria and frustrate him where he is hated by the government than to wait for him to get to India. This raises an important point. The IMN should learn from its recent experience. Many people from different religious groups came out in support of El-Zakzaky. It will be unfortunate if the IMN reboxes itself back into old religious wars. There is no need to drag America into its problems except to impress Iran and get more favors from Iran.

DPA News earlier reported on the case of one soldier being fired from the Army for being among the soldiers that raped a female student at a military checkpoint. It was reported as a gang rape. Eye witnesses reported that the lady passenger of a public bus was ordered down from the vehicle by a group of soldiers for no reason except that she was a neat and good looking girl. The victim reported that after the bus was ordered to leave without her, the soldiers took her to a booth at the checkpoint and took turns to rape her. The Army investigated the matter after it appeared on social media. The Army fired only one of the officers, presumably the one that ordered her down from the vehicle. What happened to the other soldiers that participated in the rape? That question remains unanswered. After being fired, the single soldier was handed over to the police, and he will be arraigned in court today for rape.

For four years, the combined Federal Government of Nigeria and the Kaduna State Government persecuted Sheikh El-Zakzaky, his family and his followers, with the Army and Police teamed up to raze down their houses and settlement. They beat the Sheikh and his wife, seriously injuring them. They killed his three sons and estimated 1000 of his followers. For four Years, they detained the man and his wife and refused to release them. According to the followers of the Sheikh, the Nigerian Government severally tried to poison the Sheikh. Then all of a sudden, everything changed. The court granted the Sheikh and his wife leave to go for medical treatment in India. So any plan to kill him has been turned in the opposite direction. Nigerian Government even offered to provide private jet to fly them to India. But the Sheikh rightly rejected the offer and flew on his own terms. And once in India, he was received by the Indian doctors with much respect and professionalism. The contradiction did not end there. Sheikh El-Zakzaky was allowed to go overseas for treatment by a President that also goes overseas for treatment because Nigerian Government and the courts agreed there are no world standard hospital in Nigeria. For the Indian doctors, it must be a beautiful merging of medicine and International law and politics. They must have been well prepared to receive this man as an acknowledgement of the reputation of modern Indian medicine. They understand the world is watching and would like to save the Sheikh's life just to live up to their reputation. With the Sheikh out of Nigeria, he can easily refuse to come back if he wants not to come back. The last minute efforts of Kaduna State Government was useless. The degree of health challenges the Sheikh faces is such that it could take years for him to get well. And his Indian doctors will not discharge him until he is recovered. Apart from health reasons, he will easily succeed if he applies for asylum either in India or another country. But the Sheikh will like to come back to Nigeria. With millions of followers in Nigeria, that is his center of gravity. Nigerian Government will probably now treat with respect and deference a man they tried to kill.

It has been reported that Military Panel investigating the killing of three policemen in Taraba has arrested two policemen ‘who leaked operation’ to Taraba kidnap kingpin. The implications are dramatic. The military is saying to the police: You call us the bad guys, but let's see who the bad guys are. Throughout this crisis, the narrative has been how the hardworking police were betrayed by the corrupt military. Daily Trust reports that the two policemen working at Ibi police division “were arrested for allegedly leaking information to suspected kidnap kingpin Hamisu Wadume of plans to arrest him”. The details of this arrest is yet to be confirmed, as Onyema Nwachukwu, the Army spokesman, has not responded to enquiries made as at the time of filing this report. The following are the highlights of the Military investigation so far: 1) Apart from arrest of the two policemen, the investigative panel has also ordered the arrest of five soldiers who were at the Army checkpoint. 2) Employees of the suspected kidnap kingpin numbering up to hundred are on the run for fear of the persecution. 3) The Army has dismantled the two Army checkpoints along the road where the killings occurred while the bodies of those killed have been conveyed to Abuja. 4) Among those being hunted are drivers of commercial vehicles and motorcycles belonging to the kidnap kingpin suspect, which is why many of them are on the run for fear of vendetta and misdirected aggression. 5) The tension between the Military and the Police remains high. The Police accuse the Army of killing their men in cold blood, while presenting them as kidnappers. However, the Army said the Police was making “inciting and inflammatory” comments over the incident. And it warned of a possible escalation of the crisis. 6) The Defense Headquarters has directed the Army Battalion in Taraba to locate the suspected kidnapper. 7) The Army Captain that ordered the shooting of the police officers has been arrested. But by now arresting police officers that leaked the operational details of the Police, the Army is basically saying that the Police are the original sinners. This may be calculated to dampen the sanctimonious attitude the Police has displayed. The nation has not seen the last of this Military-Police standoff. But we must move beyond personal egos and figure out a way to tackle a major security crisis in Nigeria. It should not be about the Army or the Police. It should be about Nigeria.

The Nigerian born Khafi Kareem, a Constable in Metropolitan Police has been participating in the reality TV show known as the Big Brother Naija House. Her participation in the show has attracted the attention of her employers and she may face disciplinary proceedings in the UK. Information available shows that Ms. Kareem who joined the Metropolitan Police in 2015 took a leave of absence for a different purpose only to use the time to travel to Nigeria and join in the reality TV show. Apparently, she sought permission to participate in the show. But the request for permission was not granted. It is not clear when she sought the permission and whether her request was actually denied or just that it was not granted. That a request was not granted does not mean that it was denied. Maybe it was still being considered until Ms. Kareem was seen having sex with another participant in the show. Understandably the Met is concerned about the public attention which Ms. Kareem's conduct (ie, her detailed roles in the show such as open sexual intercourse) has attracted. Such concerns normally increase pressure for disciplinary measures to enforce professional standards in the police force. In any such disciplinary action, the standard of legal analysis will involve the question of whether her request to participate was denied or was just not granted as at the time her conduct came to light. In other words, could her request still had been granted had her conduct not come to light? Failure to grant a request does not necessarily amount to a denial of the request. The request could still have been under consideration. It is more egregious to proceed after a request for permission has been denied than to proceed while such request is pending a decision. According to the UK Evening Standard, the 29-year-old, who joined the UK Police as a Constable in 2015, is being probed after she was filmed having sex with 31-year-old housemate, Ekpata Gedoni on the show. The Met further explained that  Ms. Kareem was granted unpaid leave for an "unrelated reason" ahead of appearing on the show, but her request to take part in the programme was not granted. A spokesperson for the Met said, "A PC attached to the Met's transformation command requested permission to take part in a reality television entertainment show in Nigeria. Permission was not given. "The Directorate of Professional Standards has been informed and will be carrying out an investigation into the circumstances." A post on the website of Africa Magic says Ms. Kareem joined the show "to do societal good." The web post further reads, "Police officer Khafi Kareem believes that you can have it all if you believe in yourself. "She is not only hoping to win the prize money but she wants the exposure that being in the Big Brother Naija House brings, so that she can do societal good. "What people don't know about her is that she is secretly talented in spoken word, singing and dancing. She is an Ekiti native who resides in London." Ultimately Ms. Kareem will be choosing between being a celebrity and being a police officer. Many will go for the former. As a lowly placed constable, there is not much in remaining with the Met. In the contrast, fame and fortune will likely await her in the show business. She just needs to know how to offer more than sex romps on TV.

Immediately it became known that a man arrested by the police was released by the soldiers, after killing the arresting officers, the question on every lip has been: where is the man? The Army Headquarters finally got the question.  The top Army Commander has issued a directive to his men for them to produce the runaway kidnapper. The directive was given to the Army battalion in Takum, Taraba to produce the runaway kidnapper as evidence that its soldiers are not culpable. One of the senior Commanders was reported to have said that “The military will not hesitate to dismiss and court-martial any soldier found to be involved in shady business than allow the reputation of the Army to be toyed with.” Also, it is reported that the captain who ordered the killing of the policemen and the civilians was being cross-examined at the 93 Battalion of the Nigerian Army, in Taraba State. Nigeria needs to get to the bottom of the truth so the healing process can finally start. The country needs a clean closure to this horrible incident.

What the Kaduna State Government (KSG) did was so bizarre everybody is wondering why. After four years in detention without trial, marked by many riots by his followers, coupled with his failing health, the court granted El-Zakzakky and his wife leave to travel to India for critically needed medical treatment. The KSG was a party to the court proceeding. By a most unusual procedure, the KSG tried to stop El-Zakzakky from traveling to India for treatment. KSG filed at the Kaduna High Court an unknown process which it called terms for strict supervision of the medical leave, which contains the following conditionalities: 1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall confirm the appointments of the defendants/applicants with the Medanta Hospital, India, and undertake all necessary diplomatic arrangements and protocols to ensure compliance with the conditions of the medical leave. 2. Each of the defendants/applicants shall undertake to return to Nigeria to continue their trial as soon as they are discharged from the hospital, and shall also be responsible for the cost of their travel, treatment and living expenses while on their medical leave. 3. Each of the defendants/applicants shall produce two prominent and reliable persons as sureties, one being a first class chief/emir of national repute and the other a prominent person within Kaduna State who shall undertake to produce the defendants whenever they are needed. The sureties must also produce evidence of landed property within Kaduna State. 4. The Federal Government of Nigeria shall obtain from the Government of India an irrevocable guarantee that it will not entertain any application by the defendants/applicants or any third party seeking asylum under any guise or conferring the status of political prisoners or any other status aside from being medical patients on the defendants/applicants and shall also restrain the defendants/applicants from any act inimical to the corporate existence of Nigeria. 5. Each of the defendants/applicants shall undertake in writing, endorsed by their Counsel, that while on medical treatment in India, they shall do nothing to jeopardize the ongoing trial, the peace and security of Nigeria and the laws of the Republic of India in whatever form. 6. Security agents of the Federal Government of Nigeria shall escort the defendants/applicants and remain with them throughout the duration of their treatment in India and thereafter shall return with them after their discharge from the hospital. 7. The Nigerian High Commission in India shall undertake prior vetting and grant consent before any visitor has access to the defendants/applicants while in the Republic of India.” These conditions are not consistent with the law. Obviously the KSG is afraid that letting El-Zakzakky free in any degree might reopen the question of the atrocities committed against the Shiites, led by El-Zakzakky. His freedom may have serious repercussion for Governor El Rufai's ambition to become the President of Nigeria. Over a thousand Shiites were said to have been killed, including the three sons of El-Zakzakky in what was considered government sponsored attacks. The effort to silence El-Zakzakky may be connected to attempt to cover up the massacre. The President declined to tow the line being pursued by KSG. And KSG lacked the powers to impose its conditions. Now that El-Zakzakky is in India, his activities will be governed by the laws of India. If he wants, he can seek asylum either in India or any other country. The extra-judicial conditions sought by KSG would have been meaningless even if perfected in Nigeria before his trip.

Presidents are known to have their private lives. So, it is a common place to see pictures of a President playing golf, playing with a pet, singing in a concert. But almost everyone will admit that seeing a President sitting alone, not at dinner, picking his teeth with a toothpick is very odd.  It will be odd even for a private citizen. It should be expected that many would cringe upon seeing the President of Nigeria relaxing on a chair and picking his teeth so dutifully. There are many angles to view the picture and come to the same negative conclusions. First, the picture was taken in a private place and pictures of the President taken in such places are not placed in the public domain without scrutiny. So what this means is that a staff or family member of the President took that picture. It either means that there is no control over the private pictures of the President or that those in charge of such matters are so tasteless and careless they did not understand how the picture would be viewed. Secondly, the picture is very poor. It lacks context and perspective. It shows the President sitting alone. So, it implies the President was without his family, nor friends, nor staff. The person viewing the picture cannot see anything that the President was doing or looking at. The picture seems to show the viewer what the President does when he is alone - he enjoys himself with some dry beer,  meat and spends time picking his teeth. And he likes to do it alone. Where are his family? Where are his domestic staff? Where are his friends? The picture suggests that he has none of those. On the bigger question of the image of the President as a leader, the picture hurts him badly. It shows him as one who indulges in complacency, someone who eats and enjoys himself while the country is beset with countless problems. It does not show the President as a focused thinker concerned about the problems of the country. Instead, it shows him as a lazy fellow who has no problems in the world. Overall, the picture is a personal disaster for the president and quite a disappointment for the citizens of Nigeria. The moral of all this is that pictures matter. Appearances matters. The way the leader is perceived goes a long way in shaping the mood of the people.

Presidents are known to have their private lives. So, it is a common place to see pictures of a President playing golf, playing with a pet, singing in a concert. But almost everyone will admit that seeing a President sitting alone, not at dinner, picking his teeth with a toothpick is very odd.  It will be odd even for a private citizen. It should be expected that many would cringe upon seeing the President of Nigeria relaxing on a chair and picking his teeth so dutifully. There are many angles to view the picture and come to the same negative conclusions. First, the picture was taken in a private place and pictures of the President taken in such places are not placed in the public domain without scrutiny. So what this means is that a staff or family member of the President took that picture. It either means that there is no control over the private pictures of the President or that those in charge of such matters are so tasteless and careless they did not understand how the picture would be viewed. Secondly, the picture is very poor. It lacks context and perspective. It shows the President sitting alone. So, it implies the President was without his family, nor friends, nor staff. The person viewing the picture cannot see anything that the President was doing or looking at. The picture seems to show the viewer what the President does when he is alone - he enjoys himself with some dry beer,  meat and spends time picking his teeth. And he likes to do it alone. Where are his family? Where are his domestic staff? Where are his friends? The picture suggests that he has none of those. On the bigger question of the image of the President as a leader, the picture hurts him badly. It shows him as one who indulges in complacency, someone who eats and enjoys himself while the country is beset with countless problems. It does not show the President as a focused thinker concerned about the problems of the country. Instead, it shows him as a lazy fellow who has no problems in the world. Overall, the picture is a personal disaster for the president and quite a disappointment for the citizens of Nigeria. The moral of all this is that pictures matter. Appearances matters. The way the leader is perceived goes a long way in shaping the mood of the people.

The Shiites, under the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), led by El-Zakzaky, have been strategic of late. Their protest in Abuja three weeks ago was strategically successful. It brought pressure very close to the seat of power on Abuja. It showed that they possessed the key asset for social disruption; people in infinite supply, who they can put in the street at anytime, and they are not afraid to die. You can kill five hundred of them in Zaria, and hide it. But if you kill one hundred in Abuja, the location of the offices of foreign embassies, the world will take notice. And the world did when last year the Nigerian government brought in the army and there was much killing. That had serious repercussion diplomatically for Nigeria and it endangered well-established military cooperation between Nigeria and its foreign partners. That was a risk no President would like to take twice. So, three weeks ago, when the Shiites hit the street again, the government was careful not to bring in soldiers. And the police did a poor job of it, losing a Deputy Commissioner of Police in what was a friendly fire. The government finally got the message - that it had to change its approach. The successful protest in Abuja and the consequential change of attitude by the Federal Government forced a gap between the Federal Government and the Kaduna State Government on how to deal with the Shiites. While Governor El Rufai of Kaduna wanted to maintain the extremely repressive stance, President Buhari knew he had to think of his own legacy. In the court trial that followed in Kaduna shortly after the riot, the Federal Government, represented by the Department of State Service (DSS), were willing to leave the outcome of the proceedings up to the court. Even though, it was the State High Court, where the Governor could have exerted influence, the pattern of instigating the Federal Government and trusting it to do the job failed. That was why on the 6th of August ruling, the court granted El-Zakzaky leave to travel overseas for medical treatment. It was after the court ruling was made that the Kaduna State Government realized that the Federal Government had changed its stance. That was when Governor El Rufai tried to undo the order. In an usual development, the Governor tried to impose fresh conditions to that imposed by court on El-Zakzaky. In other words, the Governor of Kaduna State tried to modify a court order. The Kaduna State government came up with fresh conditions which include the confirmation of his appointment with the hospital by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; an undertaking by the defendants to produce two prominent and reliable persons as sureties, one being a first-class Chief/Emir of national repute and the other a prominent person within Kaduna State, who shall undertake to produce the defendants whenever they are needed. While the Kaduna State government respects the court’s ruling on medical leave, it disagrees with the premises on which it is based. But the state government had an uphill task in the absence of the support of the Federal Government. The agencies holding El-Zakzaky, and which was to carry out the order of the court were all agencies of the Federal Government. They take their orders from the President, not the Governor. It was therefore possible for them to ignore the rather obnoxious condition being imposed by the Kaduna State Government. El-Zakzaky left Nigeria on 12th of August 2019 for a court approved medical treatment in India. Though accompanied by Nigerian Government officials, once in India, much of his fate will be subject to Indian laws and International law. There is no doubt that the situation has changed for El-Zakzaky. There is one bad loser in this macabre game of  power - the Governor of Kaduna State.