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JOHESU AND NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT VS NMA HEALTH BATTLE: THIS IS THE CONCLUSION OF THE MATTER

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6 years ago

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By: Fejiro Oliver

The equal right of all citizens to health, education, work, food, security, culture, science, and wellbeing – that is, the same rights we proclaimed when we began our struggle, in addition to those which emerge from our dreams of justice and equality for all inhabitants of our world – is what I wish for all.

Fidel Castro

This is a long write-up for intellectuals who can research and not those who dwell in shallow arguments.
For two years, I purposely stayed away from writing as an individual on issues that bothered about the health sector in Nigeria, to enable me research on the true international best practices and come out with an informed and none bias position.
Apart from education and defense, the most important aspect of a country is its health sector. Sadly enough, the sector in Nigeria has been bedeviled by animosity and fierce battle between the two prominent groups, namely; Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) and the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA).
JOHESU consists of all workers in the hospitals apart from Physicians and Dentists who make up NMA. I have decided to skip the word ‘doctor’ for a reason, which will be explained later. Nigeria is currently shut down with death toll rising every twenty four hours since JOHESU embarked on their strike last week. Despite the Federal Government refusal to pay them April salaries, they are bent on not going to work, until their demands are met.
The argument from both sides is reasonable, depending on the prism through which one views it. JOHESU is insisting that the FG honors all the agreement it reached with them, especially as it has to do with allowing their members to reach consultancy level, upward review of the CONHESS salary as agreed with FG, retirement age at 65 and few others. NMA on the other hand believes that the increment in salary for JOHESU will place them at par. They have also fought some JOHESU professionals from attaining consultancy status as well as using the prefix ‘Doctor’ before their name.
First of all, who is a Doctor? The word was never a medical word from origin. It is a Latin word from 1300, which means “Church father,” from Old French doctour, from Medieval Latin doctor “religious teacher, adviser, scholar,” in classical Latin “teacher,” agent noun from docere “to show, teach, cause to know,” originally “make to appear right,” causative of decere “be seemly, fitting,” from PIE root dek- “to take, accept”, as defined by etymonline. When the art of healing came into serious practice, the word ‘Doctor’ was used to replace the word ‘leech’, which they were initially called.
It therefore brings us to the argument on those entitled to use the suffix ‘Dr’ before their names in the health sector. First of all, it’s an acceptable fact that no one went to school to study ‘doctoring’. Unlike Engineers who derived their title from their course of study, this is not entirely so in the health sector. In the school of health or school of medicine, as it’s called in different universities, the courses are Medicine, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Nursing, Medical Rehabilitation or Physical Medicine, Radiography, Medical Laboratory and Optometry. None of these courses is called Doctoring.
The word Doctor came to be associated with the art of healing in the medieval period and were initially called Physician and still called so till date. With the advent of Doctor of Philosophy which is the highest level associated with teaching, it later became ascribed to those saddled with the art of healing. The question now bothers to who is a healer in the health profession and who is a paramedic; a degrading word that has been used many times by Nigerian Physicians to spite other medical workers, who retaliates by calling them Allopathic officers.
In line with international best practices, only the World Health Organisation (WHO) not World Medical Association and International Labor Organisation (ILO) can define the meaning of every profession. In listing structures for each worker, all professionals were listed as ‘Health Professionals’ and not ‘Medical Professionals’. They were divided into two health groups for easy recognition. The first group listed:
Medical Doctors (Generalist Medical Practitioners and Specialist Medical Practitioners), Nursing and Midwifery Professionals, Traditional and Complementary Medicine Professionals, ***Paramedical Practitioners and Veterinarians
The second group listed Dentists, Pharmacists, Environmental and Occupational Health and Hygiene Professionals, Physiotherapists, Dieticians and Nutritionists, Audiologists and Speech Therapists, Optometrists and Ophthalmic Opticians and Health Professionals Not Elsewhere Classified.
Note that Dentists which is a member of NMA is in the second category and Paramedics in the first category, according to International best practices that we like to flout.
Let us take a look at WHO definition of these core workers in the health sector.
According to WHO, ‘a Generalist medical doctors (including family and primary care doctors) diagnose, TREAT and prevent illness, disease, injury, and other physical and mental impairments and maintain general health in humans through application of the principles and procedures of modern medicine. They plan, supervise and evaluate the implementation of care and treatment plans by other health care providers. They do not limit their practice to certain disease categories or methods of treatment, and may assume responsibility for the provision of continuing and comprehensive medical care to individuals, families and communities’.
Same WHO notes that ‘Nursing professionals provide TREATMENT, support and care services for people who are in need of nursing care due to the effects of ageing, injury, illness or other physical or mental impairment, or potential risks to health, according to the practice and standards of modern nursing. They assume responsibility for the planning and management of the care of patients, including the supervision of other health care workers, working autonomously or in teams with medical doctors and others in the practical application of preventive and curative measures in clinical and community settings’.
Going down to traditional level, WHO was direct when it stated that ‘Traditional and complementary medicine professionals examine patients and prevent and TREAT illness, disease, injury and other physical, mental and psychosocial ailments by applying knowledge, skills and practices acquired through extensive study of the theories and experiences originating in specific cultures. They research, develop and implement treatment plans using applications such as acupuncture, ayurvedic, homoeopathic and herbal medicine’.
For Dentists, the world body noted that ‘Dentists (including dental surgeons and related) diagnose, TREAT and prevent diseases, injuries and abnormalities of the teeth, mouth, jaws and associated tissues by applying the principles and procedures of modern dentistry. They use a broad range of specialized diagnostic, surgical and other techniques to promote and restore oral health’.
According to its supreme definition, ‘Pharmacists store, preserve, compound and dispense medicinal products. They counsel on the proper use and adverse effects of drugs and medicines following prescriptions issued by medical doctors and other health professionals. They contribute to researching, testing, preparing, prescribing and monitoring medicinal therapies for optimizing human health’
For Physiotherapists, WHO didn’t mince word saying that ‘Physiotherapists assess, plan and implement rehabilitative programs that improve or restore human motor functions, maximize movement ability, relieve pain syndromes, and treat or prevent physical challenges associated with injuries, diseases and other impairments. They apply a broad range of physical therapies and techniques such as movement, ultrasound, heating, laser and other techniques. They may develop and implement programmes for screening and prevention of common physical ailments and disorders. ILO in classifying their job stated that “Physiotherapists and related associate professionals TREAT disorders of bones, muscles and parts of the circulatory or the nervous system by manipulative methods, and ultrasound, heating, laser or similar techniques, or apply physiotherapy and related therapies as part of the treatment for the physically disabled, mentally ill or unbalanced.

For Optometrists, the world body says Optometrists and ophthalmic opticians provide diagnosis, management and TREATMENT services for disorders of the eyes and visual system. They counsel and advise on eye care and safety, and prescribe optical aids or other therapies for visual disturbance.
While this may sound as a thesis, I will leave out what the sacred definition of WHO and ILO gave to the two eyes of medicine, notably Radiography and Medical Laboratory. The reader can Google it up.
By this definition, five professions TREAT sicknesses and disorders and one provides the drugs or body gel they prescribe, while two gives a clearer picture of the diagnosis through tests and imaging.
They are General Practitioner called Medical Doctor, Traditional or complimentary medicine practitioners/Homeopathy, Dentists, Nurses, Optometrists and Physiotherapists. Nursing being a unique and distinct profession cannot be called Doctors, but the rest whose primary duties is to diagnose treat and certify fit can be called Doctor if their regulatory body so wish.
On consultancy status, it is criminal for a profession to demand for such almighty position simply because of the years spent in service and not by merit. It’s akin to saying a lecturer can rise to the level of Professorship without studying to get PhD. This is where I disagree with JOHESU. Medical Doctors who are consultants didn’t jump the rope. They went through the rigors of residency training, became fellows and merited it.
Medical practice is not law that is determined by the years of practice. It is study, quest to break medical grounds and solve the everyday health challenges that the world faces. No amount of experience can totally give clinicians that except devotion to knowledge, which is gained through the appropriate postgraduate school or colleges.
It is however unjust for the current disparity in salaries of the two warring groups. Whoever separated the salary structure into CONMESS and CONHESS is the common enemy that we should be fighting today. It’s absurd and ridiculous that a House Officer will earn higher than a working class Nurse or any other core medical practitioners, when the difference in study is one year. Only a specialist GP should be allowed to earn more than any other clinician, who refuses to also specialize in his/her own field.
The FG should as a matter of urgency make all health workers one salary structure, and their wages determined by level of qualification and specialty. The Ministry of Health should be headed by hospitals administrators and not physicians, just as the hospitals should not also be headed by a Dentist or Nurse. For heaven sake, it’s a profit making venture and not a professional body that the Medical Doctors heading it have turned it to. Only the Chief Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC) head should be a Physician while the Deputy CMAC should be from other clinical department like Medical Laboratory or Pharmacy.
International best practices that we scream always have proven that the top countries in medical field do not have any health worker as their Minister or Head of health sector. Oh, what about the almighty WHO that defines health, the head is not also a medical doctor, but a biologist. If WHO was a Nigerian union, it’s crystal clear that there would have been strike if a Nurse is appointed the head. What then are we saying?
As for JOHESU, calling off the strike now will forever bring your union to doom. Let the government stop salaries till next year, but do not give in to threats and blackmail. Your requests apart from ‘consultancy by years of service’ are just, and Nigerians are solidly behind you, even though we are the ones that ultimately feel the pain. There’s unity in strength and this is the time to be united. The battle is not against NMA but the Federal Government who reserves the right to implement your demands. Every profession is independent of each other and this right to decency of work cannot be taken from you, not now, tomorrow or in the future.
To be continued…
These little things matter…
Fejiro Oliver, an Investigative Journalist, Media Consultant and Human Rights Activist is also the Co-Convener of Coalition of Human Rights Defender (CHORD) and can be reached on +2348022050733 (SMS ONLY) or secretsreporters@gmail.com. Engage him on twitter on @fejirooliver86.

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EFCC may prosecute 300 forex racketeers

Published

3 hours ago

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April 25, 2024

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•EFCC gets order to freeze 300 accounts, says one account transacted $15bn illegally

•Naira would have crashed massively if 300 accounts were not frozen – Chairman

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission may prosecute 300 forex racketeers trading on a peer-to-peer platform outside the financial regulations.

The EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, who gave this indication during an interactive programme with editors and bureau chiefs in Abuja on Tuesday, revealed that the accounts were frozen following a court order on Monday.

He disclosed that one of the accounts traded over $15bn in the past year.

Recently, the Federal Government through the Nigerian Communications Commission blocked the online platforms of Binance and other crypto firms to avert what it considered continuous manipulation of the forex market and illicit movement of funds.

It also detained two senior executives of Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange amidst efforts by the government to rein in speculation on the naira by cracking down on cryptocurrency exchanges.

The government also sent EFCC operatives to arrest Bureau De Change operators at the popular Wuse Zone 4 in Abuja.

While the websites of Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken have been inaccessible in the country, reports said crypto traders now use alternatives like Bybit, Bitget, Kucoin, and Coincola and messaging platforms like Telegram which comes with an in-app wallet to make transactions.

But highlighting the measures being taken to protect the naira and stimulate the economy, Olukoyede explained that the forex accounts were frozen to ensure the safety of the foreign exchange market and protect the economy.

He stated that the efforts had helped the value of the naira and the forex market.

He pointed out that the commission needed the support of Nigerians to succeed as he emphasised that if the agency failed, Nigeria had failed.

‘Worse than Binance’

Olukoyede stated, “We observe due process in whatever we do. Do you know that the Binance case we are currently handling now has helped us to bring down the madness in the forex market?

’Suddenly, we discovered that there are people in the system who are even doing worse than Binance. They called them P2P and all of that. We noticed in the last two days ago that dollars have started appreciating. There was stability for 24 hours, then the naira was devalued again by N20 and N25. I don’t know whether you noticed that.

“It was due to the activities of some of these guys on P2P platforms like coolcoin. Some of you must have seen them on social media. To shock you; just yesterday (Monday), I asked them to freeze over 300 accounts. We found that one of those guys (account owners), had traded over $15bn last year.’’

Continuing, the lawyer said 300 illicit accounts would have led to a crash of the naira in the next week if the EFCC hadn’t moved against them.

He added, ‘’Our job is serious. We work 18 hours per day. We are not saying that Nigerians should praise us because that was what we signed for but where we deserve, we should be given. We are humans like Nigerians.

“Over 300 accounts in illicit forex trading that would have led to another crash in the next one week if we didn’t move yesterday. Some people just want to see this country go from bad to worse. We must find a way to work together. We got an order to freeze those accounts; Imagine what would have happened if we didn’t seize those accounts.’’

The EFCC boss said his agency was focusing on illegal mining which he described as an economic crime.

‘Illegal miners’

He stated that EFCC operatives had recently intercepted 40 trucks of illegally mined lithium, promising to prosecute the perpetrators.

He also shed light on the current moves to arrest a former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, vowing to pursue the case to its logical conclusion.

Olukoyede vowed to resign as EFCC chairman if Bello was not prosecuted even as he declared that he would bring to book those who obstructed the arrest of the former governor.

The EFCC chairman vowed that everyone involved in obstructing Bello’s arrest from his Abuja residence would face the full wrath of the law.

He hinted that the incumbent Kogi State governor, Usman Ododo, accused of helping his predecessor to escape arrest, may be investigated for obstructing a lawful operation.

The EFCC is seeking to arraign Bello on 19 counts bordering on alleged money laundering, breach of trust and misappropriation of funds to the tune of N80.2bn.

Olukoyede said that no matter what anyone did or the amount of attack against the anti-graft agency, he and his men would not relent in helping to sanitise the country.

He revealed how he put a phone call across to Bello following the allegations of corruption brought against him.

Olukoyede said, “I called Yahaya Bello, as a serving governor, to come to my office to clear himself. I shouldn’t have done that. But he said because a certain senator had planted over 100 journalists in my office, he would not come.

“I told him that he would be allowed to use my private gate to give him a cover, but he said my men should come to his village to interrogate him.”

Olukoyede noted that the EFCC did not violate any law while trying to arrest the former governor from his residence.

“Rather, we have obeyed the law. I inherited the case and I didn’t create it. Why has he not submitted himself to the law?” he asked.

He added, “I have arraigned two past governors who have been granted bail now — Willie Obiano and Abdulfatah Ahmed.”

Speaking further, he said, “We would have gone after him since January but we waited for the court order. As early as 7 am, my men were there; over 50 of them. They mounted surveillance. We met over 30 armed policemen there. We would have exchanged fire and there would have been casualties.

“My men were about to move in when the governor of Kogi drove in and they later changed the narrative.”

He vowed that all those who had dipped their hands in the nation’s coffers would be investigated and prosecuted.

“If I can do (Ex-Anambra governor Willie) Obiano, (Ex-Kwara governor) Abdulfatah Ahmed and Chief Olu Agunloye, my kinsman, why not Yahaya Bello?” Olukoyede noted.

He further revealed how the former governor withdrew $720,000 from the state’s coffers to pay his child’s school fees in advance.

Olukoyede noted that Bello wired the $720,000 from the state’s coffers through a Bureau de Change operator.

The EFCC boss, while expressing his dissatisfaction with the ex-governor for failing to honour the EFCC summons, said, “A sitting governor, because he knew that he was going, he removed money directly from government’s account to bureau de change, and used it to pay his child’s school fee in advance. Dollars, $720,000 in advance, in anticipation that he was going to leave the government house.”

He expressed dismay over the activities of internet fraudsters which he said was enjoying the support of some unscrupulous Nigerians.

According to him, banks in the country lost over N8 billion to internet fraud in 2022.

He said more than 71 per cent of companies operating in Nigeria were victims of cybercrime in 2022, adding that the anti-graft agency’s fight against internet fraud is about saving the nation’s future.

Olukoyede disclosed that the commission has created a cybercrime research centre where convicted internet fraudsters, known in local parlance as Yahoo Yahoo boys, will be trained to channel their knowledge to positive aspects of society.

The EFCC chair also said the agency is prosecuting two of its operatives for violating the agency’s code of conduct.

He said the commission has implemented some reforms to enhance its fight against corruption, including creating a directorate of fraud risk assessment/control and ethics/integrity.

Meanwhile, ex-governor Bello was on Tuesday served his charges through his counsel, Abdulwahab Muhammad (SAN) after Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja, ruled that the defendant should be served through his counsel, especially as he failed to appear before the court, yet again.

This was contained in a statement on Tuesday by the EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale.

The EFCC is prosecuting Bello alongside his Ali Bello, Dauda Suleiman and Abdulsalam Hudu on 19-count charges bordering on money laundering to the tune of N80.2bn

The commission’s attempt to arrest him last Wednesday at his Abuja residence failed as Bello refused to grant the operatives access to his residence or give himself up, leading to a stand-off which lasted for several hours.

He subsequently managed to escape the dragnet as he was allegedly helped by Governor Ododo who took him away in his car.

The EFCC declared him wanted while the Nigeria Immigration Service put him on its watchlist.

At Tuesday’s sitting, Bello’s counsel, Adeola Adedipe (SAN) prayed the court to quash the arrest warrant granted the commission against Bello, arguing that Tuesday’s substituted service to the defendant through Muhammad has invalidated the arrest warrant.

“The court is expected to do justice at all times. A warrant of arrest cannot be hanging on Bello’s neck when we are in this court. It appears to us that the defendant will not get justice because the court granted a warrant of arrest before service,” he said.

However, prosecution counsel, Kemi Piniero (SAN) in response, urged the court to decline hearing on any motion from Bello’s legal team until the defendant is physically present in court for his arraignment.

“The stage we are in now is to determine the whereabouts of the defendant. He cannot be in his house while the trial proceeds without him coming here to take his plea. My Lord, this is a criminal matter not a civil matter, he must come and take his plea.

‘’It is a matter of over N80 billion. All these applications by the defendant are to prevent his arraignment and frustrate the commencement of trial,” he said.

After hearing both counsels, Justice Nwite adjourned ruling on the defence’s application, seeking a revocation of the arrest warrant on Bello till May 10.

 

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Lokpobiri: Nigeria Has Lost $34bn in Oil Output Decline from Delayed Seplat-ExxonMobil Deal

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4 hours ago

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April 25, 2024

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•Says production from assets fell to 120,000bpd, from 600,000bpd

•Insists country’s output could rise to 5mbpd in 18 months

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, has revealed that Nigeria lost $34 billion in the last two and a half years due to the fall in production from the assets being divested by ExxonMobil to Seplat Energy, a transaction still awaiting approval by the federal government.

Lokpobiri made the disclosure in Lagos, during his keynote speech at the Second Quarter Dinner of the Petroleum Club, with the theme, “Funding Our Way out of the Crisis: Looking up to the Oil and Gas Sector.”

The minister explained that output from the assets declined from 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) to current 120,000bpd, leaving a shortfall of 480,000bpd, which he said amounted to $34 billion loss at a conservative $80 per barrels, in the last two and a half years.

Lokpobiri insisted that Nigeria could ramp up oil production to five million barrels per day within the next 12 to 18 months. He said lack of required investment in the Nigerian oil and gas industry over the past 10 years contributed to the decline in production, and stressed that it was one of the major challenges he faced on assumption of office.

Lokpobiri explained that Nigeria was producing about 600,000bpd from the ExxonMobil assets that were now under divestment, pointing out that today, the production from the asset has dropped to about 120,000bpd.

He stated that if the problem hindering the divestment process was resolved and minimal investment made on the asset, the country would be able to restore the production to 600,000bpd with the addition of 480,000bpd.

With that, in addition to condensate, which is outside the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) computation, the minister maintained that the country was already delivering two million barrels.

Lokpobiri explained, “My own opinion is that, look, we are in short of 480,000 barrels a day from that ExxonMobil-Seplat transaction.

“For the past two and a half years, oil has been moving around $80 a barrel. Four hundred and eighty thousand barrels a day, multiply it by two and a half years, it will give you about $34 billion.

“When I was on this table, I was doing rough mathematics and I guess you have your phones. So, you can do the calculation. If one asset was doing about 600,000 barrels, because of certain problems, which we’re trying to resolve, production declined to 120,000 barrels, which means we’ve lost about 480,000 barrels a day.

“Multiply it by $80 a barrel. Every day, you’ll get about $34 million. Multiply it by two and a half years, you’re talking about over $30 billion. If $30 billion is injected into our economy today, I guess you guys will have to sell more of your dollars because dollar will naturally drop. This exchange rate is sometimes a question of demand and supply.”

As minister, with the mandate of the president, Lokpobiri said he would ensure that all problems hampering investment in the sector were resolved, beginning with the Seplat-ExxonMobil divestment issue.

“If from only that Seplat-ExxonMobil transaction, we have lost about $35 billion, imagine if that money was in Nigeria. Imagine if NNPC has about 70 per cent of that money. If they have that money to expand their investment, I believe that Nigeria will be in a better place,” he added.

Lokpobiri stated that the quickest way to the redemption of the Nigerian economic problems was through the oil and gas sector, arguing that no oil and gas producing country fails to prioritise investment in the sector.

He said President Bola Tinubu had given him a mandate to ramp up production, adding that achieving that needs engagement and collaboration with all the relevant industry stakeholders.

Lokpobiri admitted that the task of ramping up oil production could not be feasible without sustainable investment and without solving the problems in the industry.

He said one of the first problems that confronted him was the ExxonMobil-Seplat transaction, and said for the past two years, they’ve been struggling to resolve the problem.

He revealed that some agreements had been reached in the attempt to resolve the divestment bottleneck, assuring that in no distant time, the problem would be finally solved.

The minister stated, “When I came, what I did was to bring Seplat and NNPC to the table to say, ‘look, we must lock up ourselves in this room. We must find a solution to this problem.’

“What is the problem? They can attest to the fact that we are able to get some agreements. And I believe that in no distant time, we’ll be able to resolve that problem.”

He reiterated that his target was to ensure that production was ramped up by guaranteeing sustainable investments and by resolving the critical problems in the sector.

Lokpobiri stressed that production growth needed to happen on sustainable basis to increase the country ‘s revenue and enable the president to deliver the promises he made to Nigerians.

“That is my mandate. That is the mandate given to me by Mr. President. And I can assure you that this present administration is committed to ensuring that that happens,” he stated.

While the divestment was happening across the world, the minister clarified that in Nigeria, the international oil companies (IOCs) were not divesting and running away from the country. Rather, he said, the IOCs were divesting into deep offshore

Lokpobiri added that the development presented another opportunity for indigenous companies under the aegis of the Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG), who have grown capacity, to take over the divested assets, maximise their productivity in these assets and pull Nigerians out of suffering.

Lokpobiri encouraged indigenous firms to put money together and work to overcome their funding challenge.

He explained, “If a group of people come together to say, ‘look, if I have $10 million, you have $20 million, let’s pull our resources together and see how we can fund some assets in this sector,’ I think that would be an alternative solution to our issues.”

He announced that only Nigeria and Ghana were currently in the contest to host the upcoming African Energy Bank (AEB).

He said if headquartered in Abuja, the bank, which would have $5 billion initial capital, would in four or five years grow to about $120 billion, and Nigeria’s economy would benefit from it.

Lokpobiri stated, “But the summary of what I want to say today is that, as a government, our own policy is to ensure that we do everything that is globally possible that other countries don’t have and that other countries are doing to attract investment, so that we can attract the desired investment.

“We are willing to remove all bottlenecks in the industry because every country that has oil, prioritises investment in the oil and gas sector, and that is why as a government, the president has directed that we should resolve all problems we have in the industry.

“And that is why we are also trying to resolve the problem of OML 245, the popular Malabu oil field, because we want to attract all the investment because in my own opinion, if we don’t attract the investment, this resource we have will just be buried under the soil with no value addition.”

 

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Yahaya Bello and the EFCC Quandary: The Devil is in the Details – Ayoola Ajanaku

Published

22 hours ago

on

April 24, 2024

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The dust is yet to settle, following the efforts of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to arrest the immediate past governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello last week, on the heels of the anti-graft agency preparation to arraign him over corruption charges. This development is more than what meets the eye, as it’s laden with intricate details that are the kernel of this lucid treatise.

The attempt to arrest the ex-governor led to the gestapo like siege to his residence located in Wuse Zone 4, FCT earlier. Officials of the EFCC cordoned off the road and entrance to the residence of the former Kogi State governor for most of Wednesday.

Despite the heavy presence of EFCC operatives around Bello’s residence, his successor in office, Usman Ododo, paid him a solidarity visit. Ododo arrived the erstwhile helmsman’s residence in the afternoon and was cheered by the loyalists of the former governor who were present to give support to their embattled principal.

Also, while the siege on Bello’s residence was still on, two conflicting court rulings emerged in respect to the attempt to arrest of the former governor by the EFCC. One of the rulings, which came from a Kogi State High Court sitting in Lokoja, restrained the EFCC from arresting, detaining or prosecuting Bello.

Justice I.A Jamil, who gave the order in a ruling last week, stated that infringing on the fundamental human rights of the former Kogi helmsman is null and void except as authorised by the Court.

“By this order, the EFCC is hereby restrained from arresting, detaining and prosecuting the applicant except as authorised by the Court.

“This is a definite order following the earlier interim injunction given,” he averred.

In another twist in the yoyo-like locomotion of multiple judicial pronouncements, however, the EFCC obtained permission from the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja to arrest the ex-Kogi State governor in preparation to his arraignment on Thursday.

Justice Emeka Nwite granted the warrant this afternoon at the instance of the EFCC.

Love or hate Yahaya Bello, the pertinent questions begging for answers in this litigation are:

The EFCC had in March indicted Yahaya Bello, in an alleged diversion of about N100 billion, an offence said to have been committed months before he assumed office as governor in September 2015. If any third party dissects the budgetary appropriation of Kogi State and it’s IGR dispassionately then the numbers do not add up. The former helmsman meet a humongous liabilities and backlog of non-serviced facilities accruing to the Confluence State that had to be serviced. The pervasive prevarication that colossal funds found it’s into his pockets amount to ‘Alice in Wonderland’ tales.

The anti-graft agency had joined Yahaya Bello in the amended suit alongside the Chief of Staff to Kogi State Governor, Alli Bello, and one Daudu Suleiman, who was re-arraigned by the anti-graft agency before Justice James Omotoso of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

The ex-governor was not a defendant in the original suit, and was not in court on the said day.

Justice Omotoso had granted an accelerated hearing in the matter and had also ordered that all forms of objections must be kept in abeyance till the address stage and the charge were read to them.

In the first count, the former governor, and the two suspects were accused of conspiring with each other in September 2015 and converting N80, 246, 470, 089 to their personal use. For contextual and editorial alignment, the goalposts of allegations have witnessed shifting and amendments.

What court Order did the EFCC appeal against as well as the reason behind it?

It is a germane fact in public domain that the EFCC appealed against the Order granted on the 9th of February, 2024 by the High Court of Kogi State, the said order was an order restraining the EFCC from inviting, arresting or detaining the Applicant vide Notice of Appeal filed on 26th February, 2024.

Also, the EFCC further asked for a stay of Execution of the Interim Order at the Court of Appeal on 21st of March, 2024, which request was refused by the Court of Appeal.

However, on the 6th of March, 2024, in defiance of the interim Orders and their own pending appeal against the interim Order, the EFCC proceeded to prefer a 17 Count(s) Charge before Justice Nwite of the Federal High Court against Yahaya Bello.

The EFCC went further to resort to self help when on the 17th of March, 2024, it approached the same Federal High Court, Abuja, via an Ex-parte application and without informing the said court of the interim Order and their pending appeal against the interim order, to obtain an arrest warrant against the same person in respect of whose Order they had appealed to the court of appeal.

Akin to the above, if indeed the EFCC has nothing to conceal, why are they trying to muddle up the issues on account of the main judgement that was also subsequently delivered in the same High Court of Kogi State without recourse to the interim order that they appealed against and requested to be stayed, which request was refused?

The EFCC claims to have extended invitation to Yahaya Bello’s quarter immediately after his tenure elapsed on January 27th 2024. He has challenged the anti-graft agency to produce a copy of this invitation, including the delivery date and the recipient’s name and endorsement. There’s ample confidence on his part that they cannot provide ample evidence to this effect.

This sudden attempt at trying to confuse unsuspecting public with sentimental press statements and mug shot poster emblazoned with wanted message in capital letters. These actions intended to impugn and malign Yahaya Bello would not help them clear the infraction and abuse of the judicial process to give a dog a bag name to hang it. It’s a recurring decimal and standard MO of the anti-graft agency to embark on the route of smear campaign on suspects in a bid to gain an edge in the gallery of public opinion.

Again, by the admission of EFCC to the effect that they were at the Court of Appeal on the matter, and at the same time, approached a Federal High Court without informing the court of the subsisting order and appeal, is an admission of abuse of judicial process, and a fraudulent deceit of the court that has led it to granting conflicting Orders while appeal was pending.

This approach is a grave infraction of due process of law, subsequently, the statement issued by the learned counsel representing EFCC in the said matter amounts to trying to justify the infraction in a media trial which is unethical and not allowed or recognized in the legal profession.

The NJC should seriously investigate this matter as the conduct of the EFCC lawyer is clearly unethical and smirks of “Jankara” and “Boju Boju” practice of circumventing due course of the law.

The EFCC had appealed the order on March 11, 2024 and sought a stay of execution in Appeal No: CA/ABJ/CV/175/2024: Economic and Financial Crimes Commission v. Alhaji Yahaya Bello. The Court of Appeal did not grant the stay of execution, but fixed yesterday for hearing.

The appeal, however, failed to take place as the registrar told journalists that the appeal was not listed among the cases for the day.

The latest development in this jurisprudential tango, the embattled immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello said he was ready to appear before the Federal High Court in Abuja to answer to the 19-count charge the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, preferred against him.

Though Bello was absent for his arraignment, he briefed a team of lawyers who addressed the court on his behalf on Tuesday. A member of his legal team, Mr. Adeola Adedipe, SAN, told the court that his client would have made himself available for the proceedings, but all he clamours for is the strict adherence to the rule of law.

“The defendant wants to come to court but he is afraid that there is an order of arrest hanging on his head,” Adedipe, SAN, submitted.

Consequently, he urged the court to set aside the exparte order of arrest it earlier issued against the former governor.

Adedipe, SAN, contended that as at the time the order of arrest was made, the charge had not been served on his client as required by the law.

He noted that it was only at the resumed proceedings on Tuesday that the court okayed substituted service of the charge on the defendant, through his lawyer.

“As at the time the warrant was issued, the order for substituted service had not been made. That order was just made this morning.

“A warrant of arrest should not be hanging on his neck when we leave this court,” counsel to the defendant added.

Time will tell where the pendulum will swing, as Yahaya Bello is fighting a battle of his life to untangle himself from the charges filed by the Nigeria’s anti-graft agency earlier that has caught the attention of all and sundry.

In a nutshell, the pontification of prominent Lutheran pastor in Germany, Martin Niemoller rings a bell in this scenario. “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out -because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out – because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me.”

Regardless of his exact words, Niemöller’s message remained consistent: he declared that through silence, indifference, and inaction worse things happen. Alas, reverse is the case as in this part of the world an individual is not presumed innocent until proven guilty. The hounds and irate mob are out and baying for blood aided by apparatus of power with a predetermined ploy to have Yahaya Bello’s head on a plate via the guillotine.

Ayoola Ajanaku is a Communications and Advocacy Specialist based in Lagos, Nigeria.

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