Two American Carriers Add Nigeria Routes
TWO American airlines are set to commence operations on lucrative Nigeria - United States routes.
The visiting four-member team from the United States Federal Aviation Administration that arrived on Sunday for the initial technical assessment of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and three Nigerian carriers, said this in Lagos on Monday.
The leader of the team, Greg Michael, who spoke with our correspondent on Monday in Lagos, said that Delta Airlines and Continental Airlines would begin services into the country, after meeting all the requirements of the Nigerian aviation regulatory bodies.
Michael said that the team was pleased that the NCAA had worked very hard to make the airspace safe.
The commencement of flight operations by the two carriers will bring to three, the number of American airlines operating into Nigeria.
North American Airlines started operations into Nigeria, July last year under the ‘Open Skies’ Agreement between Nigeria and the US Airlines, with Nigeria designating three carriers, Bellview, Arik and Virgin Nigeria to fly to America.
Delta Airlines is a US-based airline headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. It operates a large domestic and international network that spans North America, South America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the Caribbean.
Delta Airlines currently flies to 463 destinations in 95 countries.
The Director-General, NCAA, Dr. Harold Demuren was confident that after the successful passing of the International Air Safety Assessment for the category one audit, Nigerian carriers would fly seamlessly to the US, from Lagos.
Demuren said, “This is the initial assessment of that, initial review if you like. We are happy that they are here. They will still come back to do the theory aspect, so that Nigeria can pass and be certified.
Asari Calls for Trial of Obasanjo
HEAD of the Niger Delta Volunteer Force (NDVF), Alhaji Mujaheed Dokubo-Asari, has said that the Niger Delta will not witness peace until former President Olusegun Obasanjo is tried in the International Court of Justice for crimes against humanity.
He maintained that a sovereign national conference was also needed to be convened by President Umaru Yar’Adua to discuss how justice would be done to the people of the area by the Federal Government.
Dokubo-Asari, while speaking with journalists in Ibadan on Monday at the burial of one of his guardians, said the former president’s eight-year tenure was characterised by injustice which he said demanded prosecution.
He disclosed that he had instituted a legal action against the former president for the alleged injustice meted out to him and for depriving him of his fundamental human rights.
He claimed that Chief Obasanjo did not have respect for the rule of law and humanity, this he said made him to deprive people of their fundamental human rights.
According to him, “a lot of people were murdered. He destroyed Odi and other communities, where he killed many people. There was no security of lives and property in all parts of the country, even in Ibadan here, nobody can move out freely.
“He facilitated crisis in the town. He took power from a democratically elected president and installed a stooge. He is a devil, he must be tried at the International Court of Justice and I can assure you that he will surely face the trial.”
The NDVF chieftain said, “I will not rest the struggle until Obasanjo is brought to book. He has committed crimes against humanity. A lot of people were killed during his tenure, but we shall let him know that he is not above God.”
Speaking on his detention which he said was just a mere threat to stop his fight against injustice, Dokubo-Asari said that though “it was a bad one, experienced in a positive way.”
According to him, “it was just a threat. That will not stop me from the struggle. The struggle has just begun. We shall not stop it until our prayers are answered in Ijaw land.
“Our land has been taken over. We are deprived of our rights in Ijaw land and in the entire Niger Delta. We must be liberated from the economic shambles, oppression and poverty,” he said.
Asked if the people had any hope in the Vice President Goodluck Jonathan as a saviour to fight for the cause of the land, Dokubo-Asari said: “He may try, but a tree does not make a forest. I don’t think that he can solve the problem alone,” he said.
A sovereign national government, he suggested, would provide a lasting solution to the crisis.
He maintained that such a conference should not be politically motivated, but should comprise various groups from all the Nigerian nations to discuss the sources of problems ravaging the country.
Speaking on kidnappings, especially of toddlers, in the area, he described them as “heinous acts that are evil and criminal in nature.”
According to him, “kidnapping is evil and nefarious. It is a sin against humanity which should be condemned by the entire Nigerians.”
He called on President Yar’Adua to ensure that the “sovereign national conference is convened to bring justice, equity, peace and tranquility to the country."
Dreams of Biafra Still Alive
"The struggle continues - it is not negotiable," Ngozi Uwazuruike told the BBC about the desire for independence for the south-eastern Igbo people.
Mr Uwazuruike's treason trial is due to resume on Monday in Abuja.
Mrs Uwazuruike, however, said the children had been affected by not seeing their father for two years.
"Our four children are out of school now and they miss their father," she told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
Mr Uwazuruike was arrested in October 2005 and has been in detention since then.
"The little one is emotionally sick now," Mrs Uwazuruike said.
"He needs to see his father. But I don't know how I could possibly take that little boy to prison to see his father."
The Movement for Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (Massob) says 37 years after the Biafran civil war ended, the Igbo people are still "marginalised" in Nigeria.
"We are not wanted," Mrs Uwazuruike said.
Recently, former Biafran leader, Emeka Ojukwu said the Igbo have more reason today to seek independence from Nigeria.
Mr Ojukwu's declaration of independence on 30 May 1967 led to a three-year civil war, in which more than 1m people died, mostly from hunger.
Mr Uwazuruike, a lawyer, abandoned his law practice to take up the Biafran campaign.
New Trend in Nigeria's Most Lucrative Illicit Industry (Daily Champion)
Michael Stewart was the first, Margret Hill, second and now it is Samuel Amadi all minors who have had a taste of the kidnap experience.
Michael Stewart is the son of a female house of assembly lawmaker, Margaret Hill, a daughter of a Briton and Samuel, a prince.
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What makes their abduction unique is that the three took place as the children were being taken to school respectively.
Another unifying factor is that their cases have only sharpened a sudden developing trend of child abduction in the volatile Niger Delta Region.
The most recent of them which calls for a lot of concern in the child abduction cases is that of Samuel Ovundah Amadi which happened barely four days after the release of Margaret Hill.
According to the driver of the Chief, identified as Knneth Akobezuko, the event took place at the East-West road at about 7am.
The act, he said was perpetrated by four armed men.
"I was taking the boy to school as I usually do. Then some people used a Volvo car to block me.; four of them carrying guns. All of a sudden, I heard a big sound on the glass door beside me.
I thought it was a gunshot because one of them had entered and pointed a gun at my head.
"After two of them had entered into the vehicle with me, they told me to drive on towards University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT). The brown volvo car was following me.
When we got to a bushy place, they took the boy and told me that I should go. They collected my phone so I could not make any call. So I came back here," he said.
Not long, the abductors called the Iriebe community chief, Francis Amadi.
According to him, they demanded N50 million ransom. He was also told to pay the said amount into a First Inland bank account with name, Dyke Otuonye and account number 301450821801.
Later the kidnappers called to say he should not pay the money into any account rather he should stack it in N1000 denominations and wait for further instructions.
According to Amadi, he tried negotiating with them adding saying that he told then he could pay only N5 million. The chief who is from Iriebe community. Obiakpor Local Government Area suspecting foul play in the accused his driven Kenneth of complicity.
Not long after, the abductors called Chief Amadi again saying that his driver was not involved in the abduction, when the local chief wanted to ascertain the driver's innocence in the kidnap. They also added that if Amadi did not heed to their instruction, they would chop off Samuel's hands and send to him in an envelope.
As the conversation was going on, a neighbour and Computer Science student, in Rivers State University (RSUST), Innocent Onokure eavesdropped into the conversation and it seemed to him that he recognized the voice of one of kidnappers speaking.
He alerted the traditional chief and when they called his friends number, he said he was in Lagos. Not satisfied with what was , Chief Amadi stated that he called in men of the police force to arrest the duo. His reason for arresting Onokure is that he had not seen him for over one year now and why must he come back to his village after over a year on a day his child was kidnapped.
Rivers State police spokesperson Ireju Barasu who confirmed the abduction said that the kidnappers have been in contact with the family of the boy.
At the end of the day, boy Samuel was released to his father. Though it is not clear how much was paid as ransome, it is an open secrete that ransom is paid for every kidnap though the family of the person will not disclose it.
The Obiakpor Local Government Area Chief confirmed the release of his son adding that he has since taken him to the hospital for medical examination.
Recall that this was exactly what happened in the case of baby Margaret and had also attracted a lot of attention.
For the mother of three, the experience was simply a nightmare.
Even the governor of the Rivers State, Sir Celestine Omehia did not mince words in condemning the act.
"What has happened is very unfortunate, criminal, inhuman and evil and we shall not tolerate it any more. We are no longer going to tolerate this type of criminal action." he said at the Government House, Port Harcourt when he received, Mr. and Mrs. Mike Oluchi Hill, parents of the three-year-old British girl that was abducted on Thursday, July 5,2007 on her way to school.
Hostage taking, kidnapping or abduction is now a daily occurrence in Rivers State and every other area of the Niger Delta region. Before now, it was limited to Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers states but now every part of the region has one tale of kidnapping or the other to tell.
Miss Margaret Hill was being taken to to school in the morning of Thursday, July 5 when some yet to be identified gunmen smashed the passenger's side of the vehicle she was traveling in and snatched her to a yet to be disclosed hideout.
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Margaret was released after four days due to an international outcry and pressure particularly put on the Nigerian government to secure her safe release by her home country, the British Government.
A week before Margaret was abducted, Master Micheal Stewart, a son of a member of the Rivers State House of Assembly was abducted by gunmen on Tuesday June 26 within his school premises when her nanny was taking him to his classroom few minutes after he alighted from the vehicle that brought him to school. Stewart is about three and a half years. He was released few days later after the family allegedly paid a ransom of N10 million. A news agency quoted Oluchi Hill as saying that her daughter kidnappers were ready to free the girl but had asked for an undisclosed amount as ransom.
Though security agents and government officials claimed that both Margaret and Stewart were released unconditionally without any payment of ransom. As the saying goes they can tell that to the Marines.
A day before Miss Hill was abducted, five expatriates working for Lone Star Drilling Nigeria, an oil servicing company working for Shell Development Company in the Soku oil field in Kalabari Kingdom of Rivers State were taken hostage by some unidentified gunmen who are yet to claim responsibility or state their demands.
Even Omehia has had a taste of the agony of kidnap victims' families. Few days after he was elected governor, his mother was taken hostage.
Alluding to this incident, Omehia empathized with the Hills thus: "I know how you feel since your daughter was taken some days ago and we share your agony. The government and people of Rivers State are with you in these agonizing moments of your life and we pray that it comes to an end soon."
Condemnation for the abduction of baby Hill came from far and wide even the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta [MEND] a militant group was irked by the abduction of Margaret and announced its decision to fish out the culprits and ensure safe release of the child. Nsirimovo lamented that the current trend of kidnapping is nothing short of a disastrous development in the region.
Condemning the kidnapping of children,Nsirimovu called on all those who have profited from kidnapping to recognize that this senseless industry cannot continue. Atake Tom, leader of the Niger Delta Vigilante Movement directed the immediate stoppage of all forms of kidnapping and hostage taking in RIVERS STATE. Ateke appealed to youths and youth groups in the state to sheate their sword.
Inspector general of Police, Mr. Mike Okiro on his part declared that those involved in hostage takings and other anti social activities in the Niger Delta should be regarded as criminals and treated as such. Okiro who disclosed that some of these criminals are non-indigenes of Niger Delta, declared that they are doing it for their selfish interest.
Some years back hostage taking was alien to the Niger Delta Region. It was a taboo among the people and can lead to communal or tribal war. While in some communities' culprits of this act and their families could be banished from their community as a punishment for abduction. Hostage taking was only tolerated during war or during the various boundary clashes among communities in the region. But times have change and things are no longer at ease.
Hostage taking took a center stage in the region when some groups resorted to it as a means of drawing attention to the plight of the robbed, neglected, oppressed and marginalized people of the oil rich Niger Delta who live on the bank of a river but wash their hand with spittle. Hostage taking was seen as a legitimate weapon that could be used in the struggle for the control of its oil and gas resources and emancipation of the region from an oppressive Nigerian Government.
Kidnapping in the region took a new dimension when the leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunterer Force, Alhaji Mujihad Dokubo Asari was arrested for alleged acts of treason. Most of the groups involved in hostage taking were claiming that they were doing this to press home their demand for the unconditional released of Asari. But last month Asari was given bail by a Federal High Court in Abuja. Regrettably, kidnapping has not abated. Infact, Asari himself is a victim of the criminal agents who now parade their region as freedom fighters: an SUV van belonging to his was snatched a fortnight ago at gunpoint. Speaking at a stakeholders meting in Port Harcourt, Omehia lamented "The truth is that kidnapping has become business and no more a fight for the emancipation of the NIGER Delta."
Though some schools of thought believe that kidnapping gangs proliferated when Asari was in detention and would reduce when he is free, the reverse has been the case. Even Asari wife, Alhaja Mujuhadeet held the opinion that the release of her husband would reduce hostage taking. Some are of the opinion the rising wave of kidnapping is to show that Asari is not really in charge of the entire so-called militant group in the region. Some of these groups and their various sponsors are angling to get the kind of relevance and attention that Asari receives from both the federal government of Nigeria and the international community. Asari has admitted that he has no control over the criminal gangs operating in the region and his release may not be an immediate antidote to kidnapping in violence in the Niger Delta.A wise man once said that wherever there is original there must be a counterfeit. Though there are genuine groups in the region that are agitating for improvement of the welfare of the region others have latched to this struggle to perpetuate crime and violence. Some people claimed that some of these criminal elements were originally part of the Niger struggle but greed overwhelmed their "patriotic" view and they decided to help themselves. Having been identified with the struggle the boys decided to go into hostage taking, bank robbery and other violence crimes. Like they say in Akwa Ibom, a dog that has tasted the entrails of an animal will not stay away from the bush. These boys have tasted fast money from these crimes and they are not ready to repent of it.
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A spokesperson for NDPVF, who claimed to be Asari second in command, General Gabriel Asabuja absolved members of the Asari group from the crime of kidnapping and other acts of terrorism. He disclosed that the boys involved in hostage taking cannot be controlled again because of the pecuniary gains inherent in the bisiness as "the monetary involment has opened the floodgate for formation of more militant groups in the state and until government establishes community police to checkmate them, there will be no end to this terrorist acts."
Asabuja regretted that kidnapping and hostage taking is yet to stop despite the release of Asari and blamed government for this development.
According to him, government officials who benefit from these activities have been the major hindrance stalling all sincere efforts to curb the activities of these criminal elements.
On Monday, July 2, 2007 Vice President Goodluck Jonathan on behalf of the Federal Government inaugurated a Peace and Conflict Resolution Committee. The committee is expected to coordinate similar committees set up by the various Niger Delta states to see how the current violence in the region can be brought under control. Before now, Rivers State Governor, Omehia has set up a Peace and Rehabilitation Committee for the state headed by Alhaji Hassan Douglas. Omehia promised a reward of a million naira for the first one hundred cultists and militants who would repent of their criminal activities. But this reward for repentance has drawn a lot of criticisms from the public. There is a story going roun that during former Governor Peter Odili administration, a self acclaimed repentant cultist collected money from the government and instead of using the money to set up a business he used it to buy guns, which he rents out to criminals.
Ledum Mitee, President of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People [MOSOP] described the offer of money for repentant cultists and militants as an incentive for violence. According to Mitee, there is every reason for people to go into violence to get millions overnight. We are against giving money to cultists and militants for them to renouce cultism. There has to be a comprehensive strategy to be sustained in ensuring that the money does not go into wrong hands," Mitee maintained. Chairman of the Niger delta Civil Society Coalition, MR. Anyakwee Nsirimovu recalled "In 2004 we saw the mistakes of careless distribution of cash for weapons and so-called rehablitation of youths which had little credibility and no follow up. Now we are seeing promises of one million naira to youths with absolutely no sign of a strategy." Rather than the rewarding of violence, Nsirimovu suggested a roadmap, which would address resource control, accountable government, self determination and the protection of the environment.
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