Google Speech-to-Text API Automatic Transcription (Chirp). Treat it as a searchable index of what was broadcast, not a quotation record.
00:00:06of
00:00:10of
00:00:25of
00:00:28in of of
00:00:39National of chairman of a cord party says
00:00:46of of osum state has been under of of siege by persons it describes as anti-democratic forces who are
00:00:50in determined to harass, intimidate,
00:00:53of destabilize and disenfranchise the electorate in oursian
00:00:57state.
00:01:03and victims
00:01:05of of abduction during the deadly attack on the world community of
00:01:08quara state have
00:01:10of now been received by families and government of kara state
00:01:14and getting medical
00:01:15of attention.
00:01:16of
00:01:25hello
00:01:26of everyone, welcome to the program and thank you for joining in. this is politics.
00:01:30Today live on China's television, I'm Shuakimale live for you here in
00:01:34our Bujo
00:01:36of of of studio. Let's begin by letting you know he was an emotional
00:01:40of reunion for those victims abducted during the daily attack on the world
00:01:44community in the kama local government area of
00:01:46karate. We have now arrived in Loring,
00:01:50the capital
00:01:51of the state
00:01:52in following the rescue have suspending several months in captivity. The
00:01:56of victims arrived in the state capital uh
00:02:00Yesterday night, after regaining their
00:02:03of freedom through sustained military operations and coordinated efforts by
00:02:07security agencies. They were reportedly transported from Niger state to
00:02:11I Loren where they were received at the Nigerian
00:02:14of army
00:02:15of uh to division Sobs. The rescued victims were
00:02:19subsequently moved to undisclosed location where they spend
00:02:22of the night. Some
00:02:24of the victims were taken to the hospital for medical treatment and the victims
00:02:27were among residents ofducted. after armed attackers
00:02:31invaded wuro
00:02:33of earlier of this
00:02:34of year,
00:02:34of killing scores of
00:02:35of people and taking several others into the
00:02:38surrounding
00:02:41in of forest.
00:02:45of of of
00:02:56of these of community.
00:03:03"this is indeed indeed very sad situation,
00:03:07um, we've not yet
00:03:08of complicated with it, we're still assessing the situation, as
00:03:12you can
00:03:12of see of um, it's just kids, children and
00:03:16of women that are here today, some
00:03:18of them, we have about 46
00:03:19of them in the hospital, and um, it's
00:03:23truly a shame
00:03:28of of that this has happened, continue to do
00:03:32in it best of to the life and property
00:03:35of the citizens within the state, we will
00:03:39come back to address further, but just say we
00:03:42in start of this inter process, because um we don't have all
00:03:46the facts yet, the victims are still going through processing,
00:03:51of secration,
00:03:52in health screening and all other
00:03:55processes, today i'm
00:03:57happy to... you or to
00:04:01introduce to you the people whom through
00:04:05the combined efforts
00:04:06of the security agencies we have
00:04:09been able to
00:04:10rescue. again,
00:04:14of i want to use this opportunity to thank and to say thank you to the
00:04:17other security
00:04:19of agencies whom have been very
00:04:22of helpful in all the efforts we making. this today is an
00:04:26example
00:04:27of the synergy that exists within. security agencies
00:04:30in the
00:04:31of
00:04:34of country, a was
00:04:34what an emotional reunion for them and freedom at
00:04:38last after several months, weeks
00:04:42spent
00:04:43of uh in the watch of bandits and
00:04:46terrorists in the forest. there's so much
00:04:50of to of talk about, we will be dwelling more tonight on the
00:04:54situation in Aushen State and the
00:04:56of explanation in by the EFCC and of course what, This means
00:05:00for our democracy, but before we get
00:05:02of into all of that tonight, let's serve you with some of your political round of
00:05:06of stories.
00:05:17The presidential candidate the Social Democratic Party, SDP, prince Adeole
00:05:21Adebayo, has called for strict adherance to the rule of law in handling
00:05:25issues involving the economic and financial crimes commission, EFCC.
00:05:29Speaking on reports that the ocean state government's bank accounts were frozen
00:05:32during news conference in Apuja. President says he does not support calls for
00:05:36the resignation the EFCC chairman.
00:05:40He said the EFCC should be allowed. to carry out its constitutional responsibilities
00:05:44independently without political interference. Adebayo explained that
00:05:48EFCC operates within the law and other judicial supervision, adding
00:05:52that affected parties have the right to challenge the agency's actions
00:05:56in court. Ahead theshun governorship elections, the inspector general of police,
00:05:59Mr. Disu has read the riot acts to political actors in the
00:06:03state, warning that the force will deal decisively with perpetrators of
00:06:07election violence. At a meeting with members of civil society organizations in Abuja,
00:06:11Mr. Adisu says the police. is determined to ensure a peaceful
00:06:14governorship election in the state. He assures residents the state and all Nigerians
00:06:18that the Nigeria police force remains non-partisant and will
00:06:22deploy massively for the election. As preparations intensify for the
00:06:26August 15 governorship election in Aushen state civil society organizations
00:06:30under the ages of pulling units ambassadors say it will deploy technology to
00:06:34strengthen election monitoring and promote transparency throughout the electoral
00:06:37process. The group says the initiative is aimed at ensuring that developments across
00:06:41pooling units are. tered and reported in real time. addressing
00:06:45journalists in Abuja, the secretary general the organization, Mr. Osa OSA
00:06:49says, technology will be deployed to monitor activities across polling
00:06:52units, document incidents and provide timely information
00:06:56to stakeholders, which will improve the speed of information gathering and
00:07:00verification while helping to counter misinformation and
00:07:03disinformation that may arise during another voting. the
00:07:07governorship candidate the African Democratic Congress in Benray state, Heman
00:07:11Hembe is committing to a single tenure of four years to
00:07:15support the emergence of a governor from benway south senatorial candidate
00:07:19in 2031. the former house of representatives member
00:07:22explains that the gesture is aimed addressing the 50 years marginalization
00:07:26the zone in the state. Mr. Hembe made the declaration at the presentation of his
00:07:30running mate, Mr. John Abba in Macodi, the state capital.
00:07:34Outgoing President the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Affam Osigwe has
00:07:38dismissed allegations of rigging and corruption that trailed the
00:07:42just included election the association, he stated this after the
00:07:45inauguration the executive the FCT Chapter the Association in
00:07:49Abuja. Mr. Sigwe explains that though there were technical glitches during the
00:07:52exercise, it did not affect the outcome the election. Meanwhile, the ST
00:07:56chapter the Nigerian bar association has set up task force to counter the activities of
00:08:00fake lawyers in the nation's capital. The chairman the chapter, Mr. Yakubu Filamon
00:08:04says the Association will be partnering with regulatory
00:08:07agencies to ensure that no document is filed without the
00:08:11seal of an authentic. lawyer, governor Maymala Buni of UB
00:08:15state has sworn in Dr. Mohammed GoJ as the secretary to the state governments
00:08:18alongside some permanent secretaries, special advisers, the executive
00:08:22chairman the state's independent electoral commission and the chairman the state rural
00:08:26electrification commission. Shortly after taking oath of office, governor Buni
00:08:30charges the new appointees on competence and productivity,
00:08:34especially in the digital world where technology is at the forefront of
00:08:37governance. He further revealed that the government has come up with
00:08:40deliberate policy of blend. young individuals with
00:08:44competent hands for better service
00:08:46delivery,
00:08:57there you have it, you've been served with your political rand up stories,
00:09:01well as part of efforts to ensure a peaceful governorship election
00:09:05aus said, the national chairman of accord party mr
00:09:08mag them, heis calling on president
00:09:13and the independent national electoral commission and to ensure a
00:09:17level playing ground for all parties at the news
00:09:20conference today in Abuja, the party's national secretariat
00:09:24in the national secretariat the party
00:09:27Mr. good says the political tension in the state
00:09:31and the actions the economic and financial crimes commission
00:09:34(EFCC) is deliberate attempt to frustrate the
00:09:38administration of governor Ademala Adeleke. He says:
00:09:42state has been under siege by persons it
00:09:45describes as anti-democratic forces who are
00:09:49determined to harrast, intimidate, destabilize and
00:09:53disinfranchise the electorate in state. take a listen
00:09:56to Arcot party national
00:09:58chairman. one
00:10:02after the other, the grand plot to stabilize the accord government ashu state
00:10:06failed worfully and we continue to fail as the
00:10:10people stand with their performing compassion. and visionary
00:10:13governor, the integrity the election is essential for sustainable
00:10:17democracy in Nigeria, as the last circle governorship pool before the
00:10:21critical 2027 general election, according to
00:10:25"and should be its best in conducting a free,
00:10:29fair, credible and inclusive governorship
00:10:32election. the commission should put h together and ensure
00:10:36that all electoral materials are adequately testron to avoid
00:10:40glitches and hitches. there should be no excuse
00:10:44whatsoever for poor performance. bearing in
00:10:47mind the political tension in the state, expectations the people
00:10:51and activities of anti-democratic elements that want to first and
00:10:55unpopular candidate on the people, accord calls on the international
00:10:58community, civil society organizations, election
00:11:02observers missions, the Nigeria Association, the media,
00:11:06development partners, well meaning Nigerias, opposition political parties
00:11:10and all citizens of fortune state to rise in defense of
00:11:13democracy by speaking out against any conduct capable of
00:11:16undermining the credibility the forcoming governorship
00:11:19election, all right, just
00:11:23days before the votes 'and state head to the
00:11:27post about to over money, law and political powers
00:11:31opened another front in an already charged
00:11:34election where we seeing killings,
00:11:38violence in the state ahead of next
00:11:42upper week election, president Bolatinobu directed
00:11:46EFCC to return to court and seek the
00:11:49unfreezing of an Aushen state government bank account saying
00:11:53that why you respects the'. commission's mandate is deeply
00:11:56embarrassed by the timing of his action and the impression it
00:12:00could create of federal interference in the election,
00:12:04the FCC insists it acted to protect public
00:12:07funds after detecting suspicious transactions and
00:12:11says investigation involving about 11 billion
00:12:15nara has been on the way since March this year.
00:12:19governor Adelike however calls the restriction
00:12:22unconstitutional and has taken the commission. to court de manding
00:12:25a two billionaire in damages, but beyond the
00:12:29politics lies a significant constitutional question, how far can the
00:12:33ESCC go in restricting the finances of federating
00:12:37state, what due process must it follow, and if
00:12:40anti-graft agencies are supposed to operate
00:12:44independently, how far can a president go in
00:12:48directing their
00:12:48actions.
00:12:57"We've been here in civil society organization and different
00:13:01opinion moders and interest go speaking on this
00:13:04matter, Sislak is one them, and today
00:13:08they were speaking to the press about this matter that is raising lot
00:13:12of concerns and not only in Nigeria, it's getting some
00:13:15international attention, take a listen to sixlak on this
00:13:18one, we
00:13:22have it on good authority that..." EFCC obtained an
00:13:26order of federal high court to free ocean state
00:13:30account. The law empowers EFCC
00:13:34under the laws as in the law
00:13:37provision. Section 7, Section 6
00:13:41the Money laundry prohibition (prevention and Prohibition
00:13:45Act 2022) and Section
00:13:4834 the EFCC establishment
00:13:51act 204. What is
00:13:55particularly troubling is the precedent
00:13:59created when president can publicly direct
00:14:03an anti-corruption agency regarding specific
00:14:06ongoing enforcement action, even where the
00:14:09president's intention may have been to prevent political
00:14:13abuse or protect essential government operation, such
00:14:17intervention can create
00:14:20perception that anti-corruption
00:14:23investigation are subject. to the presidential
00:14:26control, the president should not be seen to
00:14:29be acting individual or directing
00:14:33individual investigation or enforcement
00:14:37decision, otherwise it will create perception that the
00:14:41government is controlling, dictating, manipulating,
00:14:45undermining the independent the anti-corruption, that is why it
00:14:49is very dangerous thing. All right,
00:14:53then there are so many aspects. angles to this story, on
00:14:57one hand is the power of a state the federating unit in
00:15:00federal system of government, and what a federal agencies of
00:15:04government, no matter what the agency does, whether it's an
00:15:07anti-graft agency or regulating, whatever they do,
00:15:11and their independence in the face of what the president said to the
00:15:15ESCC, stop it, go to court, remove your
00:15:18order, and also the constitutionality of all the
00:15:22actions, if there is any infractions on the state account what
00:15:26should be done and elections that is in the mix
00:15:30of it, the ruling party APC is also on
00:15:33the ballot, could this mean in some kind of political interference?
00:15:37is the APC hoping to w the election through this
00:15:41means is accord party also inv or the ruling the
00:15:45government in the state involved in in fraudlent
00:15:48activities. Let's get some insight on this one. I'm being joined
00:15:52by famous Nigerian in human rights lawyer and the
00:15:56senior advocate of Nigeria Mr. Fermy Falano with life
00:16:00for
00:16:10is getting lot of interpretation, there a lot of
00:16:13debate over this matter and is concerning because an election
00:16:17is involved and the the government the day and the accord
00:16:21party is saying the state is under siege, the
00:16:25government, the are those who are asking the question, should the government or the
00:16:28president give a direct order to an agency of
00:16:32government, you can like into inec, that means the
00:16:36president can also... to register
00:16:40on those who are giving different interpretation to what has
00:16:43happened uh yesterday, but give us an
00:16:47understanding, mr. falan, under the law,
00:16:51did the EFCC have the right to do what it did, freezing the
00:16:54account of a state government to a court order, the
00:16:58process that EFCC went through, is it legal, is it
00:17:01constitutional?
00:17:05well, as far as the law is concerned, uh,
00:17:09the EFCC has not acted
00:17:13illegally, as matter of fact, that came out
00:17:17in the statement the president, that we are, I'm not
00:17:20questioning your mandate and the exercise of
00:17:24your power, however, I'm
00:17:26embarrassed, we'll come to that a
00:17:30moment, under the
00:17:32law, EFCC has
00:17:36power. to freeze the
00:17:39account the federal government or of
00:17:43any state or local government in Nigeria, this
00:17:47matter was settled
00:17:49in the case of attorney general of
00:17:53Bernu estate and
00:17:56FCC in 2022, we arised in
00:18:002019, the federal high court in that state, in
00:18:04ben state, I drew, the
00:18:07ESCC lac the power to freeze the account
00:18:11the state and awarded 50 million damages
00:18:15against the EFCC, the EFCC went to court and
00:18:19a judgement delivered, I think in September 2022, the
00:18:23court of appeal held that the
00:18:26ESCC has the power to freeze the
00:18:30account of that state and place
00:18:34PMD of not not more than 72
00:18:38hours before obtaining a court order, that
00:18:42remains the law in Nigeria today, in
00:18:442024, the cogi state
00:18:48government, joined by many state government
00:18:51challenged
00:18:55the
00:18:56investigation probin of
00:18:59state accounts by GSC,
00:19:03ICC or NF
00:19:05IU.
00:19:07and a historic
00:19:11judgement, the supreme court
00:19:14examine all the relevant
00:19:17laws and came to the conclusion
00:19:21that these agencies have the
00:19:23power to pr the accounts
00:19:27of any the
00:19:29federal,
00:19:35if Nigerians.
00:19:41When the law changed, you can go to the national
00:19:44assembly, but for now, as of
00:19:46today, EFCC
00:19:50has the power to freeze the
00:19:54account of any state, and in not more than
00:19:5772 hours has to go to court in
00:20:01the instance, the EFCC went to
00:20:04court and the federal. high
00:20:08court, federal high court
00:20:11interven based on information provided by the
00:20:15state gover by the EFCC,
00:20:19the president refer to the order obtained by the
00:20:22EFCC, and as
00:20:26it should be done, you should state
00:20:29government has
00:20:32challenged the
00:20:35legality, the validity. the other, not the
00:20:39timing, because we must also be very
00:20:42careful that we don't give a dangerous impression that
00:20:46when elections are 10 days away, 20 days away, 30 days
00:20:50there a way, the anti-grant agencies
00:20:54must turn the other eye, don't look at the state or the federal
00:20:58government, and so if funds are being moved
00:21:02to
00:21:02the t of billions of n, don't look at them, mean
00:21:06don't look at those fun, because elections are coming, it's a
00:21:10very dangerous impression that is being created,
00:21:14but in this particular instant,
00:21:17again we engage a lot of divers.
00:21:22actionary measures all over the place, very simple and straight
00:21:26forward matter, the embarrassment alluded
00:21:30to by the president will be
00:21:32handled by the attorney general the
00:21:36federation, because what the president said is that you have not
00:21:40exercised your power legally, you have a
00:21:43court order, however, I'm
00:21:47being accused or... of
00:21:50manipulating federal agencies
00:21:53in state,
00:21:55therefore go to
00:21:58call and see how you can
00:22:02have the other vacated again, that is the duty the attorney
00:22:06general of forcing, and in this case
00:22:10the president of Nigeria will have advice
00:22:13advice, advice the attorney general the federation, I'm
00:22:17disturbed by the development in
00:22:19please kind. you take over the case and the attorney general
00:22:23will have exercised his powers under section 174 the
00:22:27constitution of Nigeria by taking over the case and
00:22:30upon taking over the case the attorney general will either
00:22:34announce to the court, my lord, i
00:22:37have taken over this g, i want to withdraw this k,
00:22:40or my lord we have had the
00:22:44second look at this case based on representation
00:22:48made by shin. we want to
00:22:51withdraw this case or since the state
00:22:55government has challenged the order, my
00:22:59lord, we are consideding that this order should
00:23:03be vacated, but again
00:23:06again the attorney general will tell the EFCC, what
00:23:10i have done is to vacate the order, but go on and
00:23:14ensure that you monitor and do your work, because
00:23:18again the court has said: because have
00:23:20failed neither the ESCC or the ICPC or the
00:23:24NFIU can be prevented from
00:23:28investigating allegations
00:23:31of corruption, money laundering,
00:23:35looting the treasury in this
00:23:37country, if I may jump in
00:23:41quickly, let me, you alluded to the
00:23:44role of President Bolatinoubu, and there those who have
00:23:47said President Bolatunobu. simply made a
00:23:51political blunder in interfering or
00:23:55ordering the ESCC to stand down and go to court, you have
00:23:58said that instead of president bolatinu that the attorney
00:24:02general should have done the role, but would that really solve the
00:24:06interference problem, and I like to ask you, you
00:24:10argue that instead of uh directing them directly
00:24:13uh the AGF to take over the matter under section
00:24:17174 the constitution after which the could have
00:24:20seek to vacate the order or withdraw proceeding, but if the
00:24:24president tells the AGF to take over an anti-corruption case,
00:24:28specifically to terminate it, haven't we
00:24:32simply changed the route of presidential intervention
00:24:36rather than eliminating, because the fear here and the
00:24:40concern here, just moment sir, section 174
00:24:43concerns criminal proceedings, precisely what
00:24:47proceeding exist here that the AGF could...
00:25:20even on the order of a court, I mean, I don't know where the court got the
00:25:23order, now the point I'm making is
00:25:26this, and this is not the first time, in many
00:25:29instances, the attorney general the
00:25:33federation has intervened either to take a case being prosecuted
00:25:37by DFCC or the ICPC, and he has the last say, buse
00:25:41that's what the constitution says, and what i'm
00:25:45insisting, what i'm saying is that we must
00:25:48learn, you say your country
00:25:51operates under the rule of law, every action of
00:25:55government, every action the president or DFCC chairman
00:25:59or ICPC chairman, a governor of a state.
00:26:03chairman of local government, a chairman must be in accordance
00:26:06with the rule of law, what does the law say? we are talking
00:26:10of ESCC, did you observe the provisions the law? it didn't go
00:26:14beyond 72 hours, the ESCC got a court
00:26:17order, now the president wanted
00:26:21to intervene, all I'm saying that it has to be
00:26:24done legally, and the only legal known
00:26:28to the rule of law, is through the office the attorney
00:26:32general. because there's no legal
00:26:35nexus, no legal nexus between the
00:26:38presidency and the office the chairman of
00:26:42DSCC, but there is one
00:26:46under section 174 the constitution, whereby the
00:26:50attorney general can intervene any case, whether it's
00:26:54a corruption case or not, it is now left for the
00:26:58public to challenge the attorney general, should you have
00:27:01exercised? powers, you
00:27:05grass, the circumstances of case,
00:27:08so very rare that the
00:27:12power the attorney general to fire nall prosecute to
00:27:16terminate a case can be challenged, only the members the public can do,
00:27:20not even the president, but the point of media, the
00:27:23president can advise, that's why i use the word
00:27:27advised, the president can advise the
00:27:31attorney general, another has been obtained by
00:27:34DFCC, can you work with the chairman the DFC to
00:27:38see what can be done, because I am embarrassed,
00:27:42people are alleging that I'm using federal
00:27:45agencies to manipulate the
00:27:48election system, and that is issue, but for
00:27:52me, the most serious issue as a
00:27:56humanized person that is not being addressed by
00:27:59Nigerians and I almost shouted my: the for
00:28:02us on is that in the last few weeks, not
00:28:06less than 30 people, human beings have be killed
00:28:10in oshin state, politically motivated
00:28:14killing, i am not aware that any the
00:28:18criminal elements involved
00:28:22in killing people have been charged before the court, and if
00:28:26you don't arrest them within the next few days
00:28:29and put them behind back. they are
00:28:33going to be on the pr to kill more
00:28:36people before or even during the
00:28:40elector so so yeah yeah the bigger
00:28:44question here is whether federal agency
00:28:48of government at the federal level at the national level can
00:28:51cripple the activity financial activity of a
00:28:55state government uh the question why freeze the source the
00:28:58account rather than trace the alleged suspicious
00:29:02transferred, identify the corporate recipients and seek
00:29:06targeted orders against those destination accounts. These
00:29:10are some the issues, because the state government has gone
00:29:13to,
00:29:18nobody can support any
00:29:22agency, whether or the federal government of a state, to
00:29:25cripple the functions of any state government,
00:29:29but mind you, mind you, from the information.
00:29:33at the disposal the public, only one
00:29:36account was involved, not all
00:29:40the accounts the state government, mind you,
00:29:44any case, once the court has
00:29:47ruled that
00:29:51the the EFCC has the power to
00:29:55stop the criminal diversion of public
00:29:57funds, whether elections are
00:30:01going to take place to... tomorrow or in in 10 days time, that's what
00:30:05nigeans may have to review now, at what
00:30:09stage can DACC and ICPC or even the
00:30:12police, stop making arrest,
00:30:16stop, stopping, I mean, stop,
00:30:19you know, investigating allegations of
00:30:23criminal diversion of public for, so and that is what has not
00:30:27been stated, but then nobody can say, go and
00:30:30criple any... government, no agency the government
00:30:34has the power to do it, but mind you,
00:30:38again, this is where I blame state government, the
00:30:41EFCC, according to the Supreme
00:30:45Court is not an agency
00:30:49the federal government, it's an agency the
00:30:52federation and...