A veteran Nigerian journalist based in the United States of America and former Director of Strategy and Communications to President Goodluck Jonathan, Mr. Jackson Ude, has taken exception to the seemingly official negligence of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration to the killings of innocent Igbo citizens in the South East.

The communication expert in a series of tweets on Tuesday faulted the sit-at-home policy being implemented in the region by the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) describing it as unhelpful.

He wrote, “The continuous killing of Igbos by Igbos under the guise of enforcing a “sit-at-home” order to press a Biafra State, is highly irresponsible and condemned. All well meaning and patriotic Igbos must rise up in unison and condemn the wanton killing of Igbos in the South East Nigeria.

“Our people have not done any wrong going about in search of their daily bread at a time poverty and hunger has enveloped the country.

“How does it make a sense to continue denying the people you seek to protect their daily means of livelihood by enforcing a “sit-at-home” order, turn around and kill them and then claim to be protecting them from “Fulanis” or “terrorist government?”

He called on agitators for the realization of Biafra to set up a political platform rather than resorting to violence.

“The most civil way to achieve this Biafra State is to use a political party platform, elect people into the State Houses of Assembly in the South and have them all sign a referendum for a Biafra State.

“The idea that a Biafra state can be achieved through a “sit-at-home” order and the continuous killing of our people is not only childish but criminal, “he said even as he chided Tinubu for doing little or nothing to address the situation.

“And to have the Federal Government watch and allow citizens from the South East denied their rights to freedom and killed without appropriate measures to protect them is despicable, irresponsible and dangerous.

“I am also thoroughly disappointed in the lackluster attitude and the silence of Ohaneze Ndi Igbo while our people are killed by a few armed individuals.

“The bloodshed is too much and the suffering of the people who are in double jeopardy must be halted.

We must intensify the call for the immediate release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. This is one way the shenanigans of the “sit-at-home” enforcers would end, ” he added.

“If this does not stop, another insurgent group might begin the protection of our people from the “sit-at-home” enforcers, a situation that might throw the whole region in serious chaos!

Igbos have suffered enough!

Justice Ayokunle Faji of the Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered an accelerated trial of the four bloggers charged with defaming and cyberstalking the management of GTCO (Guaranty Trust Holding Company), including its Group CEO, Mr. Segun Agbaje.

The four accused—Precious Eze, Olawale Rotimi, Rowland Olonishuwa, and Seun Odunlami—are facing 10 amended charges for allegedly publishing false information about the company through various social media platforms.

At the resumed hearing of the matter on the 13th and 14th of November, Justice Faji also dismissed the bail applications, citing the serious nature of the alleged offences, which include charges that could lead to up to 14 years in prison.

The judge also held that one of the defendants – Precious Eze has shown the tendency to commit a similar offence again if let out as he is currently charged with a similar offence in another court and was only on bail when he went ahead to commit the alleged offence for which he is now standing trial.

Justice Faaji also highlighted the potentially destabilizing impact such actions could have on the banking sector, particularly since some of the charges involve cross-border activities on the Internet.

The defense counsel, Afolabi Adeniyi, had at the last hearing of the matter while moving an application for bail for the accused persons argued that the defendants should be granted bail on liberal terms, emphasizing that the charges were bailable and that the accused were willing to face trial.

Opposing the application, the prosecution Counsel, Chief Aribisala, SAN, urged the court to reject the bail request, highlighting the risk of the defendants absconding and stressing the need for an expedited trial.

In delivering his ruling, Justice Faji not only denied bail but also ordered an accelerated trial, underlining the gravity of the charges.

He also noted that the defendants’ actions challenged the authority of regulatory bodies, including the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which had approved GTCO’s audited statements.

The matter has been adjourned until the 10th and 12th of December for continuation of the trial.

A former Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Simbi Wabote, says all the 17 strategic investments undertaken by the board of the agency under his leadership are very successful and progressing except one, contrary to what he described as the deliberate disinformation being fed to the public by some persons he described as disgruntled.

Engr. Wabote, who spoke to THEWILL on Wednesday morning, dismissed reports of his purported arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), saying he honoured the anti-graft agency’s invitation on its investigation into the $35 million equity contribution of the NCDMB into the Energy Infrastructure Park project promoted by Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited, whose CEO, Mr Akintoye Adeoye Akindele, is also behind the completed and ready to commission Duport Midstream refinery project in Edo State, where NCDMB is also invested. The Atlantic International Refinery project, which is located in Okpoama Community in Brass LGA of Bayelsa state, is currently stalled because of funding issues on Akindele’s part.

Speaking again on Wednesday afternoon, Wabote, who led the NCDMB between 2016 and 2023, dismissed claims of any misappropriation of funds during his term at the NCDMB.

THEWILL checks revealed that 16 of the 17 projects of the board under his leadership as Executive Secretary are running efficiently with some awaiting official commissioning except the Atlantic International refinery project which currently has financial issues. NCDMB owns 40% of the business. Despite successfully fabricating and completing the refinery in Dubai, Atlantic’s plan to ship it to Bayelsa and complete the project had been hampered by issues between Akindele and his partners in the Duport Midstream refinery, where he had hoped to raise cash from their daily turnover to fund his financial obligation in the project. Akindele and his partners in Dupont are currently in court over their dispute, THEWILL can report.

Though further checks showed that the site for the refinery project including the staff facility, is ready, Atlantic International has been unable to raise more funds to pay off about $700,000 balance owed by the Dubai-based fabricator to facilitate the shipment of the refinery to the site. THEWILL checks also showed that NCDMB and Atlantic International are in talks on the best way to move the project forward.

Wabote, who spoke glowingly of his achievements at the helm of affairs at the agency, declined to comment on our findings on the Atlantic International refinery project because it is now a subject of investigation.

The NCDMB under me got involved in 17 different investments ranging from gas projects to refineries. Out of this 17,16 are progressing and some have been completed. An example is the Watersmith Refinery which made a profit after tax of N23bn in 2023. 30% of this belongs to the NCDMB as a dividend. The refinery is also expanding from 5,000 to 10,000bpd. Hopefully, it will be commissioned by the first quarter of 2025”, he said.

Wabote insists that the NCDMB investments in the business ventures under his tenure are very lucrative and would yield great returns for the agency and the country. “We designed all the projects we invested in, in a way that allows us to cash out in 5 years because our role at the NCDMB is to catalyse these businesses”, he added.

Below are some of the partner projects of the NCDMB.

THE WILL