Fight Bribery with Knowledge - Know Your Traffic Laws

Many motorists hardly have an idea, what road signs, markings and even general laws are or mean. So most of the the times when pulled-over by an officer of the law (LASTMA or Police), we get jittery and immediately look for ways to quickly get out of the situation. Most times therefore we resort to bribing our way out, even at times when we haven't broken any laws.

Knowledge as we all know is power. Therefore, once again you are reminded of the laws and regulations for  road users that have been made available to help avoid situations that will push you to make the wrong decisions.

Download, print and share here http://tinyurl.com/p5nuxf6 

Have a great day!

Bribe-demanding cop and the rest thieves

It has been ‘all hail the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar’ for a couple of days now. With exceptional promptitude, the Lagos State Police Command on the orders of the IGP dismissed an extortionist police sergeant, Chris Omeleze, who was caught on video camera demanding a bribe from an unnamed motorist. Greedy Omeleze with Force Number 192954 and 21 years on the job reportedly refused to accept N2,000 for an alleged traffic offence committed by the motorist, but salivated for N25,000 from his victim. He ended up squandering his 21 years in police service on the temple of bribe; and dragging his family’s name in the mud. There are, however, countless Chris Omelezes still in the Nigeria Police Force that may never be caught. But the quick intervention of the police high command by subjecting the cop to immediate orderly room trial and sack could deter some of his colleagues or slacken the long hands of others for whom bribe-taking and ‘long throat’ have become a way of life just for some time. This, however, is on an aside note.

The critical point worth elaborating on is that Omeleze has joined scores of ‘small thieves’ whose hands were ‘chopped off’ for ‘inconsequential stealing’, while the big time marauders in and out of government walk tall on the nation’s streets with the dangerous grimace of ravenous wolves, looking for what next to steal or bribe to take. One agrees to a great extent with former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s last week ‘yabis’, when he said: “It is sad that after 53 years of independence, we have no leader we can commend. Then we are jinxed and cursed…”. This is because had public officers who have decreed the cumulative shame of treasury looting, fraud and bribe taking on the nation been earning the Omeleze treatment, the country would probably not have come this far in leadership impropriety and moral decadence.

Still jostling for power even presently are leaders in and out of government indicted for corrupt practices; that deserve condemnation to death or life imprisonment for the misery their itchy fingers on the nation’s treasury, frauds, bribery and kick-back syndrome have plunged Nigeria and Nigerians into. Where is that nation, if it is not cursed, that will generously tolerate such infractions of the system, refuse to allocate commensurate punishment to the perpetrators, and even grant ‘state pardon’ to convicted and wanted criminals? Can the harsh judgement of the police leadership on Omeleze serve as enough a lesson to a nation that parades largely condemnable leaders; leaders who bend, twist and undermine the law such that grave crimes even against the state go unpunished?
As we speak, for instance, no head or tail has been made of many past governors docked for corruption by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). In the National Assembly, lawmakers indulge in self-preservation and cover-up of their self-inflicted odious reputation. So far, as yet another example, the nation is still being regaled with fairy tales about the prosecution of House of Representatives member, Farouk Lawan, docked for a $3 million oil subsidy bribe scandal involving oil magnate, Mr. Femi Otedola, last year. The same goes for the trial of two of Lawan’s colleagues, Herman Hembe and Azubuogu Ifeanyi, arraigned for alleged diversion of public funds in the popular Capital Market scam of last year. Instead of showing remorse, rebuking and possibly punishing their members for their dishonourable conduct, the federal legislature had busied itself with plots to stifle life out of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) whose Director-General, Arunma Oteh, stirred the Capital Market scandal.

Compare the trend with the treatment James Anthony Traficant, Jr., a former Democratic Party (DP) politician and member of the United States’ House of Representatives from Ohio, got on being convicted of taking bribes, filing false tax returns, racketeering, etc. On April 12, 2002, after a two-month federal trial, Traficant was found guilty of bribery and other charges and sentenced to a seven-year jail term by a federal jury. He served out the prison term before regaining his freedom. On July 24, the lawmakers voted 420 to 1 to expel him. The only vote against Traficant’s expulsion was cast by Rep. Gary Condit, who himself was battling with a scandal.

Michael Joseph “Ozzie” Myers, also a Democrat US House of Representatives’ member, had been expelled earlier in 1980 in connection with the ‘Abscam scandal’. Myers was videotaped accepting a bribe of $50,000 from undercover FBI agents on August 22, 1979. He was expelled from the House of Representatives on October 2, 1980, by a vote of 376 to 30. Down here, on the contrary, the executive arm of government is reputed for unconscionable looting; while the legislature revels in protecting its members who have refused to leave bribe-taking alone, despite their fat and outof- this-world remunerations. Now corrupted by the first two, the judiciary was also desperately competing to outdo its sister arms of government in the despicable act until the ongoing efforts by the relevant authorities to save the bench. When a country’s leadership fights shy of the resolute application of the law to stem grievous harm to its soul, injustices as well as the control of immoral behaviour in public life, what remains of that nation? Nothing! Such a country, if not already doomed, has a very grim and unpredictable future.

Source:  nationalmirror

Police Commissioner Disciplines 108 Policemen Over Alleged Corruption

Kano State commissioner of police, Alhaji Musa Daura, has revealed that he has disciplined 108 policemen over corruption, misconduct, misfiring and incivility to members of the public.

In a press release issued to newsmen, the police commissioner stated that out of the figure, “20 policemen were outrightly dismissed, 20 demoted in rank, 33 received punishment of major entries, two were reprimanded, while 33 were issued with warning letters”.

Alhaji Daura hinted that he had recorded these successes with the support of good policemen around him, since his assumption of duty in the state in February 2013.

He said the state police command would not condone any form of indiscipline and corruption among police personnel, and therefore advised the general public to report to the command any negative conduct of policemen at any duty post through the public complaint bureau phone numbers; 08057959393, 08031803555, 08032419754, 080123821575, 08099831808 and 08066628450.

Source: leadership

‘Corrupt officials should pay more than they stole’

A SENIOR Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Dr. Abiodun Layonu, has advised the Federal Government and anti-corruption agencies to consider punishing graft not only with jail terms, but also by making sure that individuals who are found guilty pay more than they have stolen.

  In his opinion, this will go a long way to reduce graft and its tendencies.

  Layonu gave this advice on Wednesday while giving the keynote address at the public presentation of the maiden edition of the ICPC Law Report in Abuja.

  “The only way to make them desist from corruption is to hit their pockets. Let them pay more than they stole because some people are ready to spend time in jail and come out to enjoy the loot”, he said, while stating that the option of plea-bargain is good but care must be taken to avoid its abuse.

  While noting also that adequate funding of the anti-graft agencies was paramount, he suggested a novel idea on alternative funding for graft fighters.

  According to him, instead of waiting for government allocations every year, anti-corruption would be better funded if all current account holders are charged say N500 once a year. The funds got could then be channeled towards fighting corruption.

Source: Guardian

How to tame corruption, by IGP, Akanbi, Agabi, others

Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Abubakar; pioneer Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Justice Mustapha Akanbi and two others have suggested ways the nation can effectively tackle corruption.

Abubakar and a senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Abiodun Layonu, advocated an increase in the funding of anti-graft and related agencies.

Justice Akanbi and a former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Mr Kanu Agabi (SAN), said the anti-graft fight required the support of all for the nation to succeed in stopping impunity.

They spoke in Abuja at the public presentation of the maiden edition of the ICPC Law Report, a compilation of 21 cases (criminal and civil) which the commission prosecuted and won in court.

Abubakar said for the nation to succeed in its anti-corruption fight, the agencies saddled with the responsibility must be well funded.

“How do you fight corruption when you are not well paid, not well trained and not well motivated?” he queried.

The IGP said the fight against corruption was difficult because it require the commitment of all.

He stressed that to succeed in the anti-graft war, the anti-graft agencies’ personnel must be committed.

The police chief said such workers were faced daily with temptation in the course of their duties.

To succeed, Abubakar said such workers should be well motivated, well trained and well paid.

He called for enhanced collaboration among agencies involved in the fight against malfeasance and other vices to boost their performance.

Justice Akanbi urged public officers to operate with the fear of God and be committed to their duties.

The former President of the Court of Appeal, who recalled the challenges he encountered in ICPC‘s said early days, the commission’s major problem was funding.

“You cannot run an anti-corruption body if you are not well funded,” he said.

Justice Akanbi, who headed the ICPC between 2000 and 2005, attributed the successes he recorded to the non-interference in the commission’s activities by the three Attorneys-General of the Federation under who he served.

He frowned at the reported insistence of the incumbent AGF to oversee ICPC‘s activities. Justice Mustapha said the decision could cost the commission its independence.

He praised the ICPC leadership for the Law Report, which he said would serve as a legacy for future generation.

Justice Agabi, who reviewed the Law Report, published by ICPC and a private organisation, argued that a few people were leading the nation corruption war.

He called for coordinated efforts to end acts of malfeasance and impunity in the country.

“No effort was too much to fight corruption. Unless we, as a nation resolve that we are guilty and change our ways, we are going nowhere.

“The problem we are having is just from a few people. And they will not prevail. Evil will not prevail. In this country, we behave as if we do not have ears. But on the last day, when God calls you to either His right or left hand side, would you not hear?” he said.

The Nation

N100 bribe: Policewoman caught in video arrested

The Lagos State Police Command on Wednesday said it had arrested a policewoman caught in a video footage demanding a bribe of N100 from a commercial bus driver.

Public Relations Officer of the command, Ngozi Braide, told our correspondent on the telephone that the arrest followed a probe of the video which has been circulating on the social media.

 “We have arrested her and she is presently in custody. She will be made to undergo an orderly room trial and the outcome will be made public,’’ Braide said.

When asked to provide the name and the station the female cop was attached, Braide said she could not immediately provide the details and told our correspondent to call back.

Subsequent calls placed to her phone were not answered. A text message sent to her phone on the matter was also not replied.

In the last 24 hours, the one-minute 25 seconds video, which first appeared on YouTube, has attracted double the amount of views, moving from 23,000 to over 46, 000 as at the time of this report.

In the footage, the policewoman was heard insisting on collecting the N100 bribe from a driver who she apprehended for violating a traffic rule at a yet-to-be identified location in Lagos.

The driver who had passengers in the bus was heard appealing to her that he should be allowed to proceed on his journey. But the driver’s pleas fell on deaf ears as the policewoman insisted on collecting the bribe.

The policewoman was heard saying, “E no concern me. Pay me my own money.”

PUNCH

How Abuja administration officials extort bribes from petty traders

Various petty traders narrate their experiences.
Officials of the Abuja Environmental and Protection Board, under the guise of keeping the city clean, routinely extort money from street traders; forcing the helpless victims to either part with their meagre income or lose their wares, a PREMIUM TIMES investigation reveals.
These officials, who go around the Nigerian capital in marked buses, harass the traders in the presence of gun wielding security officials usually police men.
The officials do not only commit their atrocities within the city centre, they also regularly extort money from street traders in the satellite towns. Sometimes, the environment officials, whose agency is saddled with protecting and maintaining the environment, carry out their nefarious activities close to government buildings.
In trying to execute part of their mandate of stopping street trading in the Nigerian capital, the officials also make illegal money for themselves.
The Abuja secretariat incidence
On June 12, hawkers in front of the Federal Secretariat in Abuja were harassed by officials of the AEPB who arrived in a marked white bus with the number 50 printed on it.

Abuja Environmental Protection Board Bus 50 after the operation

A PREMIUM TIMES reporter, who witnessed how the hawkers, mostly women selling perishables ranging from carrots, groundnuts, fruits, and corn ran away clutching their goods as the task force officials arrived.
Speaking to PREMIUM TIMES after the task force had left, many of the hawkers said similar incidents occurred everyday with the officials giving them two condition: either give them bribe or have their goods confiscated.
“They used to collect bribe here, every blessed day different faces come, we will give them money and the next day another set will come and say if we don’t give them they’ll pursue us. After sometime you’ll see another set of people with different faces. If you stay here small their motor will still come with different set of people,” Happiness a groundnut seller, said
Another banana hawker, who identified herself as Grace, also narrated her ordeals in the hands of the officials.
She said the hawkers at the secretariat contribute money which is given to the task force officials for them to allow the hawkers sell their product.
“I sell Banana. This people (AEPB officials) come here every day. It’s been happening for long and we are told they are the Abuja task force,” Grace said in Pidgin English.
The middle aged banana seller said the traders usually contribute money for the officials.
“After we’ve given them the money, another set of officials would come in a similar bus to seize our goods into their vehicle; or demand their own bribe,” she added.
Another trader, Esther, told PREMIUM TIMES that most times the traders contribute between N100 and N1, 000 to pay as bribe to the officials.
“All of us here contribute N100 each for each set that comes here. One time, one particular set came and said we will give N1, 000 each before we can stay here for our business, we gave them; and before you know it another set came with a different bus and different faces. Sometimes they come three times in a day and we ‘settle’ them on each occasion,” she said.
When a PREMIUM TIMES reporter approached the AEPB officials at the secretariat to ask questions on their activities as well as the bribery allegations, they became aggressive and almost started a fight.
The officials queried the reporter’s reason for asking questions and taking photographs of their activities. They eventually drove off in their mini bus.

Witnessing bribery
A witness also narrated a similar incident by AEPB officials at Bisso Street in Wuse Zone 6.
“I was parked in a corner in Bisso Street, Wuse Zone 6 when a Toyota Hilux AEPB van with six men: some dressed in a black AEPB polo T-shirt while others wore an AEPB crested vest drove towards some hawkers, harassed a corn seller and carried her goods,” the witness, who identified himself as Sani, said.
“Then there was this other man selling provision in a wheel barrow all on the same street that walked towards the passenger’s side of the AEPB marked Hilux van. I watched him closely as he gave some money to the passenger in the van and they drove off, sparing him from the same ordeal the corn seller faced,” he narrated.
Several similar incidences involving extortion and harassment by the AEPB officials were narrated by witnesses and hawkers in various Abuja satellite towns including Lugbe and Gwarinpa.
While the illegal activities of its officials continue, the AEPB management claims its officials are not involved in illegality.
AEPB reacts
When contacted, the spokesperson for the AEPB, Sam Musa, said all the allegations are false.
“How can you say they harass hawkers to give them money, they don’t! What’s the name of the person, and what type of task force, they are many task forces in town, there is task force from AEPB and there is task force from Abuja Municipal Council and our own task force always goes with a team leader with numbered uniforms and police officers too,” Mr. Musa said
When told that the White Hilux bus of the secretariat incident had number 50 inscribed on it, while the Toyota Hilux van of the Wuse incident had the AEPB boldly written on it, Mr. Musa still insisted that officials involved were not part of the AEPB.
“That particular task force is not AEPB task force, please don’t quote AEPB, it’s not AEPB, our task force are tagged with their numbers and they move around with their supervisors,” he said.
Mr. Musa also said although the AEPB had the responsibility of keeping the Abuja environment clean, there were other task force that operate in the Nigerian capital. He claimed the other officials hide under the umbrella of AEPB to extort money from hawkers instead of making sure that they stop doing business as usual in prohibited areas.
“Yes, we are in charge of Abuja; it is not only AEPB that has task force, we have task force from municipal (Abuja Municipal Area Council,” he said
Efforts to get the reaction of the Abuja police on why police officers assist the environment officials to perpetrate the extortion and harassment were unsuccessful.
The Abuja police spokesperson, Atine Daniel, did not pick her calls and asked that PREMIUM TIMES send its questions by SMS. Over a week after the message was sent, the police spokesperson is yet to respond to our enquiry.

Age falsification and bribery: A tale of two judges

AT the end of one of its periodical meetings on July 17 and 18, the National Judicial Council (NJC) recommended, among other things, that the Chief Judge of Abia State, Justice Shadrack O. E. Nwanosike, should proceed on compulsory retirement over his alleged complicity in age falsification. This piece of news incidentally broke out on the same date (Monday, 29th July, 2013) that it was reported that Justice Joseph Wowo, a Nigerian Judge on secondment to the Gambian Judiciary, was relieved of his position for demanding a bribe of about N12.5 million from a litigant in The Gambia in order to pervert  justice.

 The act of these two judges is a blot on the escutcheon and manifests how deep-rooted corruption has become ingrained in the Nigerian judiciary vis-à-vis the Nigerian society. Falsification of age is one of the most rampant misdemeanours committed in the civil or public service in Nigeria. It has even taken root in our football sector such that we have age-cheats in all competitions where age has become a factor in the choice of participants. Civil servants in ministries swear to affidavits regularly to reduce their ages in order to prolong their stay in their positions and stave off retirements. This act of consistent and persistent lying under oath has made the offence of perjury as ridiculous as the offence of bigamy in Nigeria.

Notwithstanding the rampancy of this infamous conduct of age falsification, one would have thought that a judge, like Caesar’s wife, will be above board in that respect. Perhaps, Justice Shadrack might have forgotten the eminent place of a judge in a society. A judge is firstly a lawyer. Charles Philips, a British academician had described the prime position of the law profession thus:
 “Of all that God empowered man to achieve as an academic discipline and pursuit on this planet earth, none has a heavenlier aspect than the law profession: that at abroad it is an introduction, in the society an ornament, in solace a comforter; without it what is a man”
Besides being a lawyer, Justice Shadrack, as a judge, has the key of santus sanctorium of justice. He has the power of life and death. He is a mirror to the society. His calling is far more beyond that of mere mortals. A judge operates on a code and his life is regulated by a code of conduct as follows:
Rule 1: Avoidance of impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all the activities of a judicial officer.

Rule 2: Administrative and adjudicative duties of a judicial officer.
Rule 3: Guidelines that regulate the extra-judicial activities of a judicial officer in order to minimize the risk of conflict with the duties of his office.
It is evident that Justice Shadrack falsified his age so as to remain in office to exercise more power and make more money to the detriment of the State, litigants, and citizens of Abia State! This is corruption simplicita and it is one of the forms of corruption that section 15 (5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) has enjoined the Nigerian State to eradicate or abolish.

 On the other hand, Justice Joseph Wowo, the Nigerian judge serving in Gambia, seems to have exported our culture of bribery to Gambia by demanding a whopping sum of N12.5 million from a litigant. This act of Justice Joseph is infra dignitatem (below his dignity) to say the least. If only this judge had remembered the lesson in “The Incorruptible Judge”, he might have behaved differently and saved Nigeria this opprobrium. Justice Wowo forgot that he was not only a judge but an “ambassador” of Nigeria in The Gambia, a country with a population of about 1.776 million. Justice Wowo could have taken a cue from the incorruptibility of many Nigerian jurists who have served meritoriously in The Gambia such as the Late Justice Akinola Aguda and Justice Moronkeji Onalaja. If these ones had desecrated the temple of justice in The Gambia, the door opened for the accommodation of more Nigerian jurists in that country’s judiciary would have been closed long ago. The resultant sack of Justice Joseph Wowo is, therefore, a welcome (although a sad) development.
 The reprehensible act of Justices Shadrack and Joseph confirms the Biblical handwriting on the wall: mene mene tekel uphasin (meaning that they have been weighed and found wanting). The conduct of these two judges will increase the pressure on the judiciary to engage in further saponification of the hallowed temple of justice in order to smoke out its black legs. To enthrone sanity, this writer recommends that the Nigerian Judiciary should open a Black Book where names of the likes of Justice Shadrack and Justice Joseph would be written for posterity to note.

 In my humble opinion, I consider the punishment meted out to the two judges as insufficient and non-deterrent. The appropriate authorities should proceed to deny them the use of the word “Justice” against their names; also, the two judges should be charged to court for the various offences they have been alleged to have committed. If convicted, they should be sentenced to terms of imprisonment in accordance with the legal maxim of fiat justitia, ruat coelum (meaning let justice be done though the heavens may fall). The current “punishment” of merely relieving them of their positions is a slap on the wrist and unacceptable. Time has come to end impunity of corrupt judges.

Source: Guardian

Re: Top PHCN official in ICPC net

IT really pained me to hear that a principal manager of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), Abuja Distribution Company, Wuse Zone 4, could demand for a sum of N100, 000 as a bribe before he could perform his constitutional duty to install transformers for his customers. If he knew that the action would backfire on him, he wouldn’t have demanded for the bribe. If this is the case, then all other PHCN officials should be very careful and desist from soliciting for money from their customers for the installation of transformers.

The Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) will continue to expose the faces of some corrupt PHCN officials. It should be noted that some of them usually demand for bribe before installing the new prepaid meter for customers. It is, therefore, so unfortunate that a whole manager could be part of this corrupt practice. Most people don’t care about their reputation when it comes to money. This act of indecency has caused the manager great humiliation and pain amongst his colleagues and family members. He has soiled his hands just because of money. This is a big lesson to all bribe takers. Everybody must know that the ICPC and EFCC are on ground.

Therefore, we must shun corruption, and join hands in bringing about sanity to this nation. Bribery and corruption should be stopped.

Jimoh  Mumin,
Ibadan.     

‘Ineffectual’ Justice System Is Responsible For Corruption In Nigeria- Akaraiwe

A former vice president of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) Mr. IKeazo Akaraiwe has blamed the “ineffectual” nature of the Nigerian laws as the main cause of corruption in the country.
He added that the reason why the country still remains in the battle to fight the scourge is because “there is a culture of impunity majorly because the law is ineffectual’’
The entire infrastructure, architecture of justice delivery in Nigeria..the cases take much too long “ he said on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Wednesday.
He advocated for the increase in the number of judges and the quick dispensation of judgment especially in corruption related cases.
He further said “the major thing the NBA can do is to advocate and to engage all level of governance, we have spoken with the Attorney General of the Federation”.
He also blamed the executive arm of government of not seeing the link between the rule of law and economic development, claiming that “if they did, they will even be in the driver’s seat trying to push for an increase in the appointment of judges”.

Corruption: Akinola Tasks Nigerians

Abeokuta - Most Rev. Peter Akinola, the former Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), has stressed the need for Nigerians to eschew corruption to ensure a better future for the country.
The cleric said this in Abeokuta at a media round table on “Breaking the Corruption Jinx in Nigeria.”
Reports say that the programme was the concluding part of the ‘Wake-Up-Call’ series of discussions organised by the Peter Akinola Foundation.
“If there must be hope of a better country, Nigerians must break the corruption jinx,” he said.
The former President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) noted that from the beginning of Nigeria’s tortuous journey to Nationhood, corruption had been “an accompanying baggage.’’
“For Nigeria, endemic corruption constitutes a huge challenge and remains the biggest obstacle to her development.
“Its overall harmful effect is the reason why Nigeria, a country that is so endowed, has become a crawling beggar- Nation with millions of poor, miserable and unhappy citizens,” he said.
Akinola said that urgent measures must be taken to strengthen the fight against corruption in order to ensure a bright future for the Nation.
He said that an honest, relentless and redemptive war on corruption was necessary for the country to have a new lease of life.
The cleric also stressed the need for strong political will as well as a courageous and sincere leadership to confront the endemic and systemic nature of corruption in Nigeria.

Source: Babsol Newspaper

Policewoman caught on video demanding N100 bribe

Barely two weeks after a police sergeant, Chris Omeleze, was dismissed after being caught on video demanding a bribe of N25,000, another footage showing a policewoman negotiating a bribe of N100 has surfaced on YouTube.

The video footage, which circulated on the video-sharing website on Monday, showed the policewoman sitting in a commercial bus which she had apprehended at a yet-to-be identified location in Lagos.

The driver and the conductor, who had passengers in their bus, were seen making efforts to pacify the policewoman so that they could be allowed to continue with their journey; but their pleas went unheeded.

Soon, the driver got infuriated and slammed the policewoman, saying, “Don’t abuse me because of N100. How much is N100? Me I don pass N100.” The policewoman replied, “E no concern me. Pay me my own money.”

When the driver realised that she was hell-bent on collecting the bribe, he asked his bus conductor to give her the money.

“Give her N100. I will return it to you later,” the driver said in Yoruba language. As soon as the driver handed down the instruction, the policewoman alighted from the bus and walked towards the conductor.

Just as the two were moving towards the back of the bus, a voice from the background lamented, “You pay for police, you pay for agbero.”  The policewoman was then seen with another female colleague of hers walking away from the scene.

The video was shot by someone sitting in the bus but it was uploaded on YouTube by one Afro Finlandia.

Meanwhile, a social media outrage has trailed the development, just as the video has become a sensation on various social networking sites.  Those who watched it on a popular online forum, nairaland.com, where it was shared, described the scene as ridiculous.

The respondents said it was unfortunate that the bad eggs in the police had yet to learn some lessons despite the fact that one of them was summarily dismissed recently.

A member of the forum, Chisom, lamented, “This is bad! Our police force again? Na wa o! Make them change na!”

Another respondent urged Nigerians who took the bold step of filming the video to do more so as to restore sanity to the Nigeria Police. “I’m impressed. Bribery and corruption must be eradicated. We have to help the government in eradicating this crime,” one Chingydaboss stated.

One Olucheye also noted, “Great! It’s technology against corrupt police officers. Hopefully, we’ll help the police authorities (to) fish out a large number of bad eggs in the system. Video-enabled phones is a tool every Nigerian should have now.”

“Nice one. These usel… police. Camera phone is their undoing. People should also get hidden cameras in their cars too. These police go dey shake when time to collect money come. Most of them will just start staying at home instead of creating illegal roadblocks to extort money from people,” another member of the forum with the name Baby, said.

However, the thought that a policewoman could insist on collecting N100 bribe from a motorist further unsettled some viewers. This, they argued, showed the rot in the police system, and many of them advocated drastic change.

Commenting on the forum, a Nigerian with the name Jkendy observed, “What a policeman can do, a policewoman can do worse. Thank goodness, they were caught by civilians.”

Those who saw the video also shared their various experiences with police officers in their various communities. They posited that since the policewomen’s faces were captured in the video, the police authorities should take necessary action.

The development has also made Nigerians to call for appropriate remuneration for the rank and file of the police, as well as adequate funding of the institution.

“If she is sacked, how will she earn a living? This might have a negative impact on those who depend on her. Why don’t we people also put as much pressure on government to increase the  pay of policemen and women as they are putting on the campaign of exposing the corrupt officers?” one Litmus noted.

 

Source: PUNCH

Complaints commission backs fight against corruption, injustice

The Commissioner, Public Complaints Commission, Osun State, Prof. Razaq Abubakre, has pledged the commission’s readiness to join others in the war against corruption and injustice in the country.

He said despite the level of corruption in Nigeria and the fight against the truth, the country could still be sanitised through the commission’s renewed commitment to truth and fairness.

He commended Punch Newspapers for what he described as its exemplary media practice and consistent pursuit of excellent journalism, which he said had been unequaled in the last 10 years in the country.

The commissioner made the remarks while on a courtesy visit to Punch Place, in Magboro, Ogun State, on Tuesday.

According to Abubakre, who is also the Chairman of the Publicity, Public Enlightenment Committee of the Commission, the agency faces a Herculean task, like journalists in the country, who are constantly persecuted because of their roles as the watchdog of society.

He said, “Who likes the watchdog? It is only someone who is doing what is right. Whoever is doing what is wrong, will not like the watchdog. That is the reason some people try to frustrate the watchdog, while some go as far as shooting and killing the watchdog.

“Essentially, what journalists are doing, apart from educating, informing and entertaining, is the pursuit of the truth. You pursue the truth, find the truth, speak the truth, stand by the truth and defend the truth. People don’t like the watchdog, and that is why they threaten, kill and imprison journalists.

“We are here to serve everybody and use our official position to do what is right, investigate and restore justice to Nigeria.”

He said despite that the commission was established in 1975 by the Murtala Muhammed administration, it had been inactive, which he said became more pronounced from 1999 to 2012, when its service was most needed.

Source: PUNCH

UNIBEN lecturer arraigned over alleged bribe

A former Assistant Dean in the Faculty of Law, University of Benin, Isu-Ochiora Okogeri, has been arraigned in court for allegedly taking bribe to facilitate change of course of a female student to the Faculty of Law of the institution.

Okogeri is standing trial on a one-count charge of corrupting himself as a public officer by receiving N100,000 from one a student (name withheld), with a promise to effect her course change to the Faculty of Law, an offence punishable under section 98(b)(11) of the criminal code.

Giving evidence in the case with Charge No MCK/94C/2013, the first prosecution witness, (PW1), Edoseghe Oghogho Idahosa, who is the Head of the Intelligence Unit in the Security Department of the University, led by the state counsel, Kenneth Ugiagbe, said the accused person committed the offence on December 31, 2012.

Source: TRIBUNE

HURIWA urges commission to expose corrupt officers

The Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has challenged the Fiscal Responsibility Commission chairman Aliyu Jibril Yelwa to disclose the identities of public office holders involved in “high-profile corrupt practices”.

The group made the call against the recent interview Yelwa granted to Daily Trust in which he said a certain government revenue-generating agency was paying revenue to a politician, without naming the agency and the politician involved.

HURIWA, in a statement in Abuja, gave Yelwa seven days within which he must declare the identities of such public officers or face legal action to compel compliance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act.

Source: dailytrust