Friday, 26 September 2014
what do we stand to gain from all of this?
The immediate cause of the violent protest is unclear, but the city has been on the edge since Monday when thugs believed to be sympathetic to the PDP stormed a court and attacked the judge, O. Ogunyemi, who was hearing a case concerning the eligibility of Governor-elect, Ayodele Fayose, for the recent governorship election in the state.
The court sitting was disrupted, litigants were beaten while the judge was ferried to safety by police after he was threatened by the militants, the state chief judge explained on Thursday.
On Thursday, another set of political thugs backing Mr. Fayose descended on another court, attacking a judge and other staff.
The assailants attacked Justice John Adeyeye, beating him up and ripping his clothes for being allegedly rude to Mr. Fayose.
By Thursday night, a former chairman of the Ekiti state chapter of the NURTW and a core loyalist of Mr. Fayose, Omolafe Aderiye, was reportedly killed.
Mr. Aderiye is believed to have led the thugs who assaulted the judges on Monday and Thursday.
Ekiti Crisis: Governor Fayemi imposes curfew on state
THE PEACE OF OUR LAND IS NOT NEGOTIABLE
State Broadcast By
His Excellency
Dr. Kayode FAYEMI
Governor, Ekiti State, Nigeria
Following the Breach of Peace in the State
Friday, September 26, 2014
Protocols
In o kun o Ekiti Kete.
It has become expedient that I address you today on account of dire happenings in the land of honour, Ekiti State. With tension mounting across the state, Ekiti has been the subject of alarming headlines in the news, following the tragic assault on the judiciary.
On Monday, September 22, thugs acting on the incitement of an interested party, were involved in the sacrilegious sacking of the court while hearing on a political case was in progress. This happened in full glare of the law enforcement agents with inappropriate response. Clearly, these brigands exceeded the limits of acceptable behavior, even in the most liberal of democracies, and ventured into the realm of blatant criminality with this desecration of the hallowed chambers of the law.
The fact that this assault did not meet with any strong deterring repercussions from the appropriate authorities further emboldened the miscreants. They subsequently attempted to prevent the Ekiti State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal from sitting, yesterday, Thursday, September 25. I am advised incontrovertibly that thugs acting on the command of Mr. Ayo Fayose, who was also present to lend his clout to the travesty, brazenly assaulted a senior judge and urged his thugs to beat him up and tear his clothes.
The court premises was thrown into confusion and those present scurried away in search of safety and security. This was on the back of his specious allegation that the judiciary in the state is compromised and biased against him. And the answer to that was to resort to jungle justice and take the laws into his hands. This has led to the closure of the courts indefinitely due to the inability of the security agencies to guarantee the safety of lives and property in our temples of justice. With the entrenched atmosphere of impunity, violence in the state has escalated with the unfortunate loss of one life and the willful damage to several properties to arson by rampaging thugs.
Since the beginning of this development on Monday, which is unprecedented in the recent history of our state, I have been in touch with the Heads of all Security Agencies at the State and Federal levels, urging them to act quickly and firmly in the interest of public law and order. It is worrisome that the slow and inadequate response has occasioned the avoidable escalation of violence in our dear state.
Against this backdrop, it is understandable that not a few stakeholders have expressed concern about what the development portends for our dear state. The brazen contempt of our hallowed law courts and the use of violence and intimidation to obstruct the course of justice is a clear invitation to anarchy of the scale and texture that characterized Ekiti State some years ago. Ekiti Kete, are those years upon us again?
Already, there is widespread anxiety about this development coming at a time the state is going through the transitioning out of one administration and the ushering in of a new one. This is a very delicate period that all stakeholders must work together to ensure Ekiti State comes out stronger for it.
During periods of transition, vital partners in progress adopt a cautious posture, watching for the slightest portents of the possible discontinuity of the regime of peace and tranquility, amongst other factors that have made our state conducive for investors and development partners. We must not disrupt our very bright prospects for sustained development in our state.
Considering the cases that have triggered the recent spate of violence are politically related, the political elite in our state from all disparate quarters must exercise caution. We must rescue our state from the precarious slippery slope that some have desperately pushed us to. We should not imperil the very people we seek to serve by resorting to violence and brigandage. One does not burn down his homestead to establish his claim of ownership or leadership.
Most assuredly, the course of Justice can only be delayed, but can never be truncated. The independence of the Judiciary is an inviolable tenet of any democracy. Accordingly, I have this morning directed the Attorney General of the state to issue a legal advisory to the Chief Judge of the state and all the parties to the existing cases in the State High Court and the Ekiti State Governorship Elections Petitions Tribunal, on the desirability of seeking an alternative venue for the hearing of these cases outside Ekiti State. The State can no longer afford to witness the bizarre spectacle of the beating up of judicial officers and wanton intimidation of lawyers and court personnel.
Now that the security agencies appear to be fully seized of the situation, I call on them not to relent in performing their constitutional role of protecting lives and property in our state. Administrations come and go; politics can be frenetic when the stakes are high; but by the grace of the Almighty God, our state remains for all time, therefore THE PEACE OF OUR LAND IS NOT NEGOTIABLE.
Ekiti Kete, consistent with our history of unity and love, let us work together to make our state a garden of concord where our children and their children will dwell in peace and safety. Even in the pursuit of politics and justice, let us conduct ourselves as kinsmen, bound by a shared love for Ekitiland but differing only in the choice of instruments by which to accomplish the same goal.
Let us then temper our competitive zeal with civility and empathy. Let us deal truthfully with our youth, who are so liable to be led astray by unbridled political fervour, by seeing them as our children rather than as conscripts or fodder for our objectives.
Ekiti Kete, in order to forestall further descent into anarchy in our state, I am taking the very difficult decision to suspend the ‘Thank You’ tour which I’m undertaking as part of our transitioning-out formalities. Also, I have taken the decision to institute a dusk to dawn curfew in the state immediately. Accordingly, there would be no movement between the hours of 7.00 p.m. and 7.00 a.m. everyday till further notice. We urge the citizenry to be vigilant and provide the security agencies with details of suspicious activities that can undermine the peace in our state.
Let us work together to stop the violence and brigandage that has brought about serious embarrassment to our state in the last few days.
Let Peace Reign in the land of honour, Ekiti State.
God bless Ekiti State.
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Dr. Kayode Fayemi
Governor, Ekiti State
Friday, September 26, 2014
Tuesday, 23 September 2014
‘’We
are ready to stand solidly behind the leader of the PDP in the nation.
Mr. President, we have never failed in supporting any president in
power. We always respect and support any president in power. When our
late President Yar’Adua was in power, there was no single PDP governor
that challenged him, either on the pages of newspaper or at any meeting.
We even went to the extent of organising prayers for him and we
supported all his policies; yours cannot be different. Leadership comes
from God and He gives it to whom He pleases.’’ -AHMED MU'AZU, National
PDP Chairman.
Friday, 19 September 2014
Ekiti mourns music legend, Chief Elemure Ogunyemi, the Elejoka of Egbe Oba Land
A leading Ekiti traditional musician, Chief Peter Ogunyemi, popularly known as “Elemure Ogunyemi’ is dead.
Ogunyemi, aged 70 years, who died in the early hours of yesterday at his Ekute, Ado Ekiti residence was said to have fallen sick a couple of weeks ago.
The ace musician, a native of Isaba in the Ikole Council area of Ekiti State, was delivered of at Emure Ekiti from where he got the appellation of Elemure after the monarch of Emure community.
While alive, Ogunyemi, who was said to have at least 46 music albums to his credit, traversed the length and breadth of the country, thrilling his fans with his music usual laced with Ekiti dialect.
He was also famous for his leading role in the promotion of Yoruba language, a feat that made his fans in the diaspora organise his recent musical tour of America and Britain.
Residents of Ado-Ekiti, the state capital and base of his musical group and his Ekute, Ado Ekiti residence, have been inconsolable since news of his death broke out.
Similarly, residents of Isaba, the home town of the multiple award-winning musician, was in sad mood yesterday on learning of his demise.
Ekiti State governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, while expressing his condolence in a statement said he received the news of the death of Ogunyemi with shock on a day the state was celebrating the transition of another illustrious son and former Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof. Jacob Ade-Ajayi.
According to the Governor, the death of the music star who positively projected the image of the state and was the first musician of Ekiti genre to acquire a global recognition, is a great loss to the state.
Fayemi described the death of Ogunyemi as a great loss to Ekiti people whose dialect and culture the deceased promoted through his music all over the world.
He added that Ogunyemi mentored other musicians who have promoted the Ekiti dialect and popularized the Ekiti music genre.
Fayemi pointed out that Ogunyemi’s music brought joy to music enthusiasts and lifted the spirits of many through his philosophical sayings and wisecracks.
The Governor described Ogunyemi as a music legend, cultural ambassador, entertainer and great artiste of immense talent.
Fayemi noted that Ogunyemi’s giant strides in his chosen profession made him to receive honours from far and wide including a honorary doctorate degree from the University of Ilorin and the prestigious traditional title of the Elejoka of Isaba-Ekiti.
He promised the readiness of his administration to immortalize the deceased as a mark of honour for being a worthy Ekiti ambassador in his lifetime.
The Governor said the people of Ekiti State and music lovers all over the world are mourning the passage of Ogunyemi.
He urged the family and associates of the deceased to take heart and be consoled by his positive contributions to the development of the state.
Thursday, 18 September 2014
POLITICS: Seized $9.3million Controversy: APC raises 15 que...
POLITICS: Seized $9.3million Controversy: APC raises 15 que...: Seized $9.3million Controver sy: APC raises 15 questions for President Jonathan Seized $9.3million Controversy: APC raises 15 question...
Seized $9.3million Controversy: APC raises 15 questions for President Jonathan
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to come clean on the circumstances surrounding the 9.3 million US dollars that was impounded in South Africa, which has become the latest in a series of global ridicule to which the scandal-prone Jonathan administration has subjected Nigeria and her people.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, the party also called on the National Assembly to launch an urgent investigation into the issue, saying the silence of the peoples’ representatives on the issue is deafening, unfathomable and unacceptable.
It said there is no doubt that the President is at the centre of the whole issue, considering the presidential treatment given to the plane and its cargo, since the plane departed from the Presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, away from the reach of the Nigerian Customs Service which could not therefore have cleared the plane and its passengers.
”It is absolutely urgent for President Jonathan to clear the air on this alleged off-the-shelf equipment or arms purchase, which runs against all known protocol for such purchases anywhere in the world. Military equipment and weapons are not bean cakes to be purchased by the road side. There are globally-acceptable protocols for such purchases by governments, otherwise what differentiates a government from an insurgent group that is shopping for arms?
Questions for the President:
1. ”Is the Jonathan Administration not aware that the UN General Assembly on April 2nd 2013 adopted a landmark Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) precisely to regulate the international trade in conventional weapons by avoiding the kind of road-side purchase that the Nigerian government is said to have been involved in? Though the ATT has not come into effect, the fact that Nigeria is among the few countries to have signed and ratified the treaty shows that the country is concerned by unregulated arms trade,’’ the APC said.
The party said the resort to ”procedural error” to explain away the whole issue cannot work, because Nigerian authorities cannot pretend not to be aware that currency brought into or taken from South Africa is monitored by law, and that anyone bringing into that country more than R25,000 in South African currency or U$10,000 or the equivalent thereof in foreign currency must declared such.
2. It said that in any case, those who are using ”procedural error” as an alibi are being too clever by half. This is because if entering or leaving a country with undeclared $9.3 million is mere ”procedural error”, why was Sule Lamido’s son convicted for not declaring a mere $50,000 dollars at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport?
The APC said in the spirit of fairness, it has however decided to give President Jonathan and the government he heads the opportunity to make urgently-needed clarifications by answering a number of questions relating to the $9.3 million scandal.
3. “Is the money indeed meant to purchase a helicopter as has been reported?
4. “To which arm of the government or security force does the money belong?
5. “Who appropriated it and for what purpose?
6. “Why was the money being ferried in cash by the same government that has been spending huge time and money to promote a cashless policy? Is the resort to cash to avoid a paper trail for the transaction, in which case it is illegal?
7. ”Mr. President, we are aware that each arm of security has an account with the CBN for the purpose of arms purchase and such transactions are properly documented, so why was this not the case in this instance?
8. “Mr. President, why did it take your government all of 10 days to admit its involvement in this scandal, considering that the embarrassing incident happened since Sept. 5th and was not known until Sept. 15th?
9. “Does this saga not give credence to the widely held view that you are indeed benefitting from the the Boko Haram insurgency and that you have deliberately allowed it to escalate to this level?
10. ”Mr. President, has this saga not confirmed the suspicion that your 2015 reelection bid has been factored into your handling of the Boko Haram insurgency?
11. “Has this saga not given more credence to revelations that the sponsors of Boko Haram are those closest to the President?
12. Has this saga not finally confirmed that the President knows more than he is telling the nation about the sudden escalation of the Boko Haram insurgency, especially in the run up to the 2015 elections?
13. ”Mr. President, has this saga not confirmed that powerful forces in your administration are all working in concert to use the Boko Haram insurgency to secure tenure extension for President Jonathan?
14. “Is not clear now why the Senate President infamously declared two days ago that election is not on the table since the country is in a state of war?
15. “Have we not been proven right in our declaration at the panel discussion in the British House of Commons on Sept. 8th 2014 that the Jonathan administration will attempt to cash in on the Boko Haram insurgency to postpone elections?”
The party said the answers to the questions raised would go a long way in showing Nigerians that their government is not clandestinely buying equipment and weapons to fuel the Boko Haram insurgency and then profit from its own act of perfidy.
It said while the President is compiling his answers to the posers, he should ask his spokespersons to stop adding insult to injury by saying the CIA, FBI, Mossad etc also travel abroad with undeclared cash, in clear violation of the laws of their destination countries, to buy arms.
”Mr President only gangsters and terrorists conduct their businesses in this manner. Therefore, please call your spokespersons to order, while you are preparing to come clean to Nigerians on this latest scandal,” APC said.
Seized
$9.3million Controversy: APC raises 15 questions for President Jonathan
- See more at:
https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/168315-apc-challenges-jonathan-to-come-clean-on-us9-3million-controversy.html#sthash.OPZs20pc.dpuf
Seized
$9.3million Controversy: APC raises 15 questions for President Jonathan
- See more at:
https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/168315-apc-challenges-jonathan-to-come-clean-on-us9-3million-controversy.html#sthash.OPZs20pc.dpuf
Seized
$9.3million Controversy: APC raises 15 questions for President Jonathan
- See more at:
https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/168315-apc-challenges-jonathan-to-come-clean-on-us9-3million-controversy.html#sthash.OPZs20pc.dpuf
Seized
$9.3million Controversy: APC raises 15 questions for President Jonathan
- See more at:
https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/168315-apc-challenges-jonathan-to-come-clean-on-us9-3million-controversy.html#sthash.OPZs20pc.dpuf
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to come clean on the circumstances surrounding the 9.3 million US dollars that was impounded in South Africa, which has become the latest in a series of global ridicule to which the scandal-prone Jonathan administration has subjected Nigeria and her people.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, the party also called on the National Assembly to launch an urgent investigation into the issue, saying the silence of the peoples’ representatives on the issue is deafening, unfathomable and unacceptable.
It said there is no doubt that the President is at the centre of the whole issue, considering the presidential treatment given to the plane and its cargo, since the plane departed from the Presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, away from the reach of the Nigerian Customs Service which could not therefore have cleared the plane and its passengers.
”It is absolutely urgent for President Jonathan to clear the air on this alleged off-the-shelf equipment or arms purchase, which runs against all known protocol for such purchases anywhere in the world. Military equipment and weapons are not bean cakes to be purchased by the road side. There are globally-acceptable protocols for such purchases by governments, otherwise what differentiates a government from an insurgent group that is shopping for arms?
Questions for the President:
1. ”Is the Jonathan Administration not aware that the UN General Assembly on April 2nd 2013 adopted a landmark Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) precisely to regulate the international trade in conventional weapons by avoiding the kind of road-side purchase that the Nigerian government is said to have been involved in? Though the ATT has not come into effect, the fact that Nigeria is among the few countries to have signed and ratified the treaty shows that the country is concerned by unregulated arms trade,’’ the APC said.
The party said the resort to ”procedural error” to explain away the whole issue cannot work, because Nigerian authorities cannot pretend not to be aware that currency brought into or taken from South Africa is monitored by law, and that anyone bringing into that country more than R25,000 in South African currency or U$10,000 or the equivalent thereof in foreign currency must declared such.
2. It said that in any case, those who are using ”procedural error” as an alibi are being too clever by half. This is because if entering or leaving a country with undeclared $9.3 million is mere ”procedural error”, why was Sule Lamido’s son convicted for not declaring a mere $50,000 dollars at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport?
The APC said in the spirit of fairness, it has however decided to give President Jonathan and the government he heads the opportunity to make urgently-needed clarifications by answering a number of questions relating to the $9.3 million scandal.
3. “Is the money indeed meant to purchase a helicopter as has been reported?
4. “To which arm of the government or security force does the money belong?
5. “Who appropriated it and for what purpose?
6. “Why was the money being ferried in cash by the same government that has been spending huge time and money to promote a cashless policy? Is the resort to cash to avoid a paper trail for the transaction, in which case it is illegal?
7. ”Mr. President, we are aware that each arm of security has an account with the CBN for the purpose of arms purchase and such transactions are properly documented, so why was this not the case in this instance?
8. “Mr. President, why did it take your government all of 10 days to admit its involvement in this scandal, considering that the embarrassing incident happened since Sept. 5th and was not known until Sept. 15th?
9. “Does this saga not give credence to the widely held view that you are indeed benefitting from the the Boko Haram insurgency and that you have deliberately allowed it to escalate to this level?
10. ”Mr. President, has this saga not confirmed the suspicion that your 2015 reelection bid has been factored into your handling of the Boko Haram insurgency?
11. “Has this saga not given more credence to revelations that the sponsors of Boko Haram are those closest to the President?
12. Has this saga not finally confirmed that the President knows more than he is telling the nation about the sudden escalation of the Boko Haram insurgency, especially in the run up to the 2015 elections?
13. ”Mr. President, has this saga not confirmed that powerful forces in your administration are all working in concert to use the Boko Haram insurgency to secure tenure extension for President Jonathan?
14. “Is not clear now why the Senate President infamously declared two days ago that election is not on the table since the country is in a state of war?
15. “Have we not been proven right in our declaration at the panel discussion in the British House of Commons on Sept. 8th 2014 that the Jonathan administration will attempt to cash in on the Boko Haram insurgency to postpone elections?”
The party said the answers to the questions raised would go a long way in showing Nigerians that their government is not clandestinely buying equipment and weapons to fuel the Boko Haram insurgency and then profit from its own act of perfidy.
It said while the President is compiling his answers to the posers, he should ask his spokespersons to stop adding insult to injury by saying the CIA, FBI, Mossad etc also travel abroad with undeclared cash, in clear violation of the laws of their destination countries, to buy arms.
”Mr President only gangsters and terrorists conduct their businesses in this manner. Therefore, please call your spokespersons to order, while you are preparing to come clean to Nigerians on this latest scandal,” APC said.
Veteran Musician, Elemure Ogunyemi Dies At 67
Popular Ado Ekiti-based traditional musician, Chief Elemure Ogunyemi is dead. Though the cause of his death is yet to be disclosed,more details here soon.
Wednesday, 17 September 2014
Breaking News: 15 killed in Kano College’s blast
The Nation gathered that some people suspected to be terrorists had scaled the fence into the institution and started shooting randomly before two suicide bombers entered one of the classrooms in the college.
One of the suicide bombers detonated the bomb which consumed him and killed the students.
The other bomber went into the premises of the school and set himself ablaze, but nobody was killed or injured as the students had already scampered to safety.
The state’s Commissioner of Police, Mr. Aderenle Shinaba, who was at the scene of the incident, confirmed that 15 student were killed, while 34 others were seriously injured.
He said, “At about 1:30pm on Wednesday, some unidentified people climbed the fence of the Federal College of Education, Kano, and jumped into the school premises, where they started shooting sporadically to scare the students. Eventually one of the two suicide bombers gained entrance into one of the classrooms and set himself ablaze, killing 15 of the students and wounded 34 of them.
“The other suicide bomber went to an open space where he set himself ablaze, but most of the students have scampered to safety and nobody was injured. Only the suicide bomber died. “
He disclosed that two AK 47 rifles were recovered from the scene.
Friday, 12 September 2014
Here is what has been heard so far:
10.20am: Defence lawyer Barry Roux and prosecutor Gerrie Nel are putting forward their arguments for whether or not Pistorius should be given bail. Roux says his client's existing bail agreement should be valid until the sentence is imposed. The athlete has complied with all his bail conditions and detaining him would make it difficult for the defence team to prepare its submissions for sentencing, he says.
Nel points out that Pistorius has now been convicted of causing "the death of an innocent woman". He suggests that "lengthy imprisonment" is probable and the athlete now knows for a fact that he has been convicted. The prosecutor says Pistorius has sold his house and, although he has no evidence to prove it, he can "draw an inference" that Pistorius sold it so he did not have to stay in South Africa. Nel also mentions the incident at a nightclub in which Pistorius was allegedly involved and says that Pistorius is a suicide risk.
Roux says Pistorius's appearance at the nightclub was a mistake and that his client now accepts he cannot go to such public places. He says that the athlete sold his property to pay for legal costs and is not planning to go abroad. In a controversial move, the lawyer reads out the address of Pistorius's Uncle Arnold, with whom the athlete has been staying for 18 months.
Judge Masipa adjourns the court to consider her decision, with Pistorius taken to the cells for the duration of the break.
9.20am: Masipa recaps the four counts against Pistorius and her findings. She repeats again that the state did not prove beyond reasonable doubt that Pistorius was guilty of premeditated murder or murder. Today, she is giving a detailed legal explanation of why she acquitted Pistorius of murder dolus eventualis – a decision which received some criticism from legal experts yesterday. Finally, Masipa asks Pistorius to stand and announces:
9.10am: Pistorius's final firearms charge is the illegal possession of .38 ammunition in his Pretoria home. The athlete did not have a gun that takes that ammunition, but neither did he have a permit to be in possession of the ammunition. Pistorius told the court the bullets belonged to his father and he had them for safe-keeping, although his estranged father declined to sign an affidavit to confirm that the ammunition was his own. Masipa says the accused must have the "necessary mental intention to possess a firearm or ammunition before there can be a conviction". The state failed to prove that Pistorius had the necessary mental intention to possess the ammunition, she says. Therefore, he cannot be found guilty on this count.
9am: The second firearms charge faced by Pistorius relates to an incident in January, before Steenkamp's death, when a Glock pistol went off while in his possession in a Johannesburg restaurant called Tashas. Masipa says Pistorius may not have intended to fire the gun, but this "does not absolve" him from the crime of negligence. Masipa says she accepts in full the evidence of state witness Kevin Lerena. Pistorius was trained in firearms, she says. "He should not have asked for a firearm in a restaurant full of patrons." The state has proved beyond reasonable doubt that he is guilty on this count, says the judge.
8.50am: Masipa begins with Pistorius's two charges of discharging firearms in public. The athlete is accused of firing a gun out of an open car sunroof in September 2012 while in the car with his girlfriend at the time, Samantha Taylor, and his friend Darren Fresco. Fresco was "not an impressive witness at all", in fact he was proved to be a "dishonest witness", says the judge. For example, Fresco claimed Pistorius had driven at 260km an hour, but it later emerged that it was Fresco driving at the time. Masipa says this does not always mean a witness's whole evidence is tainted, but caution is warranted. The relationship between Taylor and Pistorius did not "end amicably" and it was clear that she had been "hurt". Masipa says this does not necessarily mean she was out to implicate the accused, but again her evidence must be taken with "a certain degree of caution". As Pistorius denied the incident, it is up to the prosecution to prove that it happened. Masipa announces that the state has failed to establish that the accused is guilty beyond reasonable doubt on this count and therefore has to be acquitted on one charge of discharging firearms in public.
10.20am: Defence lawyer Barry Roux and prosecutor Gerrie Nel are putting forward their arguments for whether or not Pistorius should be given bail. Roux says his client's existing bail agreement should be valid until the sentence is imposed. The athlete has complied with all his bail conditions and detaining him would make it difficult for the defence team to prepare its submissions for sentencing, he says.
Nel points out that Pistorius has now been convicted of causing "the death of an innocent woman". He suggests that "lengthy imprisonment" is probable and the athlete now knows for a fact that he has been convicted. The prosecutor says Pistorius has sold his house and, although he has no evidence to prove it, he can "draw an inference" that Pistorius sold it so he did not have to stay in South Africa. Nel also mentions the incident at a nightclub in which Pistorius was allegedly involved and says that Pistorius is a suicide risk.
Roux says Pistorius's appearance at the nightclub was a mistake and that his client now accepts he cannot go to such public places. He says that the athlete sold his property to pay for legal costs and is not planning to go abroad. In a controversial move, the lawyer reads out the address of Pistorius's Uncle Arnold, with whom the athlete has been staying for 18 months.
Judge Masipa adjourns the court to consider her decision, with Pistorius taken to the cells for the duration of the break.
9.20am: Masipa recaps the four counts against Pistorius and her findings. She repeats again that the state did not prove beyond reasonable doubt that Pistorius was guilty of premeditated murder or murder. Today, she is giving a detailed legal explanation of why she acquitted Pistorius of murder dolus eventualis – a decision which received some criticism from legal experts yesterday. Finally, Masipa asks Pistorius to stand and announces:
- Count one: not guilty of murdering Reeva Steenkamp, but guilty of culpable homicide
- Count two: not guilty of firearms charge relating to sunroof incident
- Count three: guilty of negligence in regards to firearms charge relating to Tashas restaurant
- Count four: not guilty of firearms charge relating to possession of illegal ammunition
9.10am: Pistorius's final firearms charge is the illegal possession of .38 ammunition in his Pretoria home. The athlete did not have a gun that takes that ammunition, but neither did he have a permit to be in possession of the ammunition. Pistorius told the court the bullets belonged to his father and he had them for safe-keeping, although his estranged father declined to sign an affidavit to confirm that the ammunition was his own. Masipa says the accused must have the "necessary mental intention to possess a firearm or ammunition before there can be a conviction". The state failed to prove that Pistorius had the necessary mental intention to possess the ammunition, she says. Therefore, he cannot be found guilty on this count.
9am: The second firearms charge faced by Pistorius relates to an incident in January, before Steenkamp's death, when a Glock pistol went off while in his possession in a Johannesburg restaurant called Tashas. Masipa says Pistorius may not have intended to fire the gun, but this "does not absolve" him from the crime of negligence. Masipa says she accepts in full the evidence of state witness Kevin Lerena. Pistorius was trained in firearms, she says. "He should not have asked for a firearm in a restaurant full of patrons." The state has proved beyond reasonable doubt that he is guilty on this count, says the judge.
8.50am: Masipa begins with Pistorius's two charges of discharging firearms in public. The athlete is accused of firing a gun out of an open car sunroof in September 2012 while in the car with his girlfriend at the time, Samantha Taylor, and his friend Darren Fresco. Fresco was "not an impressive witness at all", in fact he was proved to be a "dishonest witness", says the judge. For example, Fresco claimed Pistorius had driven at 260km an hour, but it later emerged that it was Fresco driving at the time. Masipa says this does not always mean a witness's whole evidence is tainted, but caution is warranted. The relationship between Taylor and Pistorius did not "end amicably" and it was clear that she had been "hurt". Masipa says this does not necessarily mean she was out to implicate the accused, but again her evidence must be taken with "a certain degree of caution". As Pistorius denied the incident, it is up to the prosecution to prove that it happened. Masipa announces that the state has failed to establish that the accused is guilty beyond reasonable doubt on this count and therefore has to be acquitted on one charge of discharging firearms in public.
Culpable homicide
Of the three possible convictions, this is the least serious.A verdict of culpable homicide would suggest negligence and not malice, if the judge decides that anxious Pistorius reacted because he was terrified of a potential burglar and wanted to protect himself and Reeva.
This would suggest that not only did Pistorius not intend to kill Steenkamp, he also didn’t realize that she was the one behind the door.
Neighbur Charl Johnson who went to Oscar's house after hearing screams told the court he found Oscar on his knees with his dying girlfriend.
He said Oscar told him: "I shot her. I thought she was a burglar and I shot her."
The court heard Oscar was terrified of crime and even went into "full combat" mode at the sound of a washing machine.
Wednesday, 10 September 2014
stephuric #BringBackGoodluck2015: Rapists of The Gods – By @Obajeun
Freaking enraged! This is not the time to exchange pleasantries with me. This is not the time to engage me in any frivolous gist like Oyhakilome’s marriage funeral. This is the time to look straight into my eyes and tell me that I’m mad! Yes, I am off the rail. The gallivanting shoeless followers have rubbished our collective docility again. If you ever had the thought that Jonathan would win an election in Nigeria again, then you must be suffering from an undiscovered infection. If you are reading this and you are nursing the thought, you should be immersed in your own fury, stop reading this!You ask, take a look at the theme picture of this post. Can you see presidential insensitivity in full wings? Can you see the mockery of the girls’ abduction in an unequal measure? Can you see leadership definition in inverted themes? Can you see the colour of pains of the girls’ parents? Can you see leadership unwillingness defined in a hash-tag? Can you see the diminution of our collective agony? Can you see the molestation of our aggregated tears? Can you see the manifestation of zero core value? Can you see the veneration of rapists of voices, rapists of gods?
If you are still normal after looking, take a bow and respectfully call yourself names. You need a re-christening. Something f**cking needs to be added to your middle name and you can go and die. Unlike Oshiomhole, I won’t be back here with any apology.
That the security of the country had been traded for politics is no longer a gist. What we have only been debating is the sustained branding of the clueless idea that Boko Haram is the creation of anti-Jonathan elements, a viewpoint advocated by louts in the Niger Delta and bizarrely sanctioned by some elements in the West. In the process, the North had been divisively demonized as a wholesale titleholder of Boko Haram, which has acquired terrifying streak. It apparently suits the Goodluck Jonathan presidency that that repugnant opinion is reverenced by precarious and malevolent reiteration. This was perhaps why the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls from a secondary school in Chibok, was politicised not by the opposition, but by the Jonathan government, which first waved off the abductions, and has approached the matter since then with undisguised, shameless and enervating impotence.
Boko Haram had declared its caliphate and the sect seems set to build its territorial affront in the face of shambolic and feeble military response with disgraceful military desertion, the worst disgrace Nigeria has ever faced in its 54-year chequered history. On their own, however, military officers, presuming Nigerians to be incoherent, have described the embarrassment dubiously as either tactical manoeuvre or tactical retreat. Nothing makes the danger of destabilisation and fragmentation more pressing for Nigeria than the continuing threat posed by the Boko Haram Islamist sect.
The ignominy of the past few months has been unprecedented. Instead of situating the Boko Haram war within the global context of the war being waged by borderless or asymmetric warriors, such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the Jonathanians are busy frolicking gods, playing the blame game, defending military corruption and clouding security challenges in kill-joy signatories gathering for his re-election campaigns, ungodly defined in the pictured hash-tag. What is at play here is not the contest of ideas and philosophies of government, nor the push and pull between liberalism and theocracy, nor arguments as to how the almost total alienation in the polity can be addressed, what is at play rather, is leadership unwillingness to accept responsibility and define pathways to Eldorado.
It is very urgent that the country must be anchored on profound values and principles, among which are constitutional rule shorn of any abridgement or perversion, justice in all ramifications, and the fostering of unity around those great values. Nigerian rulers have for a long time been complicit in the destruction of these values and principles, and consequently there is no lodestar around which to build a country every Nigerian would be proud of. For want of hope, it is super important now than ever for the president to appreciate the harm the absence of a national spirit or national identity is causing Nigeria. Unfortunately, the reality is, Jonathan doesn’t have this talent. We might be in this doom beyond this time.
Jonah Ayodele Obajeun is a professional. He blogs @www.obajeun.com. He can be reached on twitter via @Obajeun.
President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has directed that the #Bring Back Jonathan 2015 signs and banners around Abuja which he and many Nigerians find offensive and repugnant be brought down immediately.
President Jonathan wholly shares the widely expressed view that the signs which were put up without his knowledge or approval are a highly insensitive parody of the #Bring Back Our Girls hash tag.
While President Jonathan appreciates the enthusiastic show of support for his administration by a broad range of stakeholders, he condemns the #Bring Back Jonathan 2015 signs which appear to make light of the very serious national and global concern for the abducted Chibok girls.
The President assures all Nigerians and the international community that his administration remains fully engaged with efforts to rescue the abducted girls and that he will not knowingly promote any actions that will fly in the face of the seriousness of their plight and the anguish of their families.
Reuben Abati
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
September 10, 2014
President Jonathan wholly shares the widely expressed view that the signs which were put up without his knowledge or approval are a highly insensitive parody of the #Bring Back Our Girls hash tag.
While President Jonathan appreciates the enthusiastic show of support for his administration by a broad range of stakeholders, he condemns the #Bring Back Jonathan 2015 signs which appear to make light of the very serious national and global concern for the abducted Chibok girls.
The President assures all Nigerians and the international community that his administration remains fully engaged with efforts to rescue the abducted girls and that he will not knowingly promote any actions that will fly in the face of the seriousness of their plight and the anguish of their families.
Reuben Abati
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
September 10, 2014
Tuesday, 9 September 2014
Let me reiterate here that, I, Ogunshola Stephen Adeshina-ayomi
,is not a card carrying member of any of the nigerian political
parties, as i dont know what they stand for, because of my own
ideological position, social democracy - freedom, equity, justice and
solidarity. Not being a member of any of the political parties, does
that mean I cannot discuss issues that plague my State of origin, Ekiti
State, and my country Nigeria. I will reiterate here that, I will
continue to advocate for TRUE CHANGE, NOT COSMETIC CHANGE and I will
continue to be involved in the social, political and public affairs
debate bothering on Ekiti State and Nigeria as a whole. We desire
change, even my little girls do cry for it, change can not come by
itself, we should all desire it and i can bet you, 2015 will Nigeria
turning point of leadership.
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