Military Coup In Mali… EU, US, AU, France Condemn Uprising

Rebel soldiers announced early today that they have seized control of Mali after a palace attack, the Associated Press reported. The whereabouts of the President, Amadou Toumani Toure, were unknown at press time.

The soldiers, in a brief statement read on national television, said they seized power in protest at the government’s failure to quell a nomad-led rebellion in the north of the country that have claimed many lives and left hundreds of thousands homeless in recent months. The coup has been fronted by soldiers of the rank of captain or lower, Reuters said.

It was learnt that the army has for weeks appealed to the government for better weapons to fight the northern Tuareg rebels, now bolstered by heavily-armed ethnic allies who fought on Gaddafi’s side last year but have returned to Mali.

On national television, a group of around 20 soldiers in military fatigues were shown crowding around a desk, facing the camera. They announced that the country is under the control of the military’s National Committee for the Reestablishment of Democracy and the Restoration of the State, or CNRDR. They said they were suspending Mali’s constitution and dissolving its institutions, AP said.

“The CNRDR representing all the elements of the armed forces, defensive forces and security forces has decided to assume its responsibilities and end the incompetent and disavowed regime of Amadou Toumani Toure,” they said, reading from a statement.

“The objective of the CNRDR does not in any way aim to confiscate power, and we solemnly swear to return power to a democratically elected president as soon as national unity and territorial integrity are established.”

The coup is a major setback for one of the region’s few established democracies. It came one month before Mali’s presidential election. Toure, 63, was due to step down after those elections.

Gunfire could be heard from the direction of the presidential palace early today, the Associated Press reported. A soldier at the palace said that the president’s bodyguards had failed to fight the renegade soldiers, who forced their way in. They searched the grounds but could not find Toure, whose whereabouts are unknown, AP said.

The events that culminated in the coup began yesterday morning at a military camp in the capital, where Defence Minister Gen. Sadio Gassama came for an official visit. In his speech to the troops, the minister failed to address the grievances of the rank-and-file soldiers. The rebellion has claimed the lives of numerous soldiers, and those sent to fight say they are not given sufficient supplies, including arms or food.

Recruits started firing into the air yesterday morning. By afternoon, troops had surrounded the state television station in central Bamako, located in southwest Mali, yanking both the television and radio signals off the air for the rest of the day. By yesterday evening, troops had started rioting at a military garrison located in the northern town of Gao, some 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) away.

A freelance journalist from Sweden who was driving to her hotel near the TV station around 4 p.m. yesterday said that trucks full of soldiers had surrounded the state broadcaster, AP reported.

“They came and started setting up checkpoints. There were military in the streets, stopping people,” said Katarina Hoije. “When we reached our hotel which is just in front of the TV station, there were lots of military outside, and more cars kept arriving – pickup trucks with soldiers on them.”

President Touré had promised to step down in advance of elections set for April 29. The Malian leader is a former soldier who overthrew the then president-for-life, Moussa Traore, in 1991 before handing power back to civilians. He came to office in elections in 2002 and was returned to office in 2007, the New York Times reported.

Meanwhile, the West Africa regional bloc ECOWAS has condemned actions by renegade Mali soldiers who claimed they had seized power from an “incompetent regime.

“ECOWAS strongly condemns the misguided actions of the mutineers and warns that it will not condone any recourse to violence as a means of seeking redress,” said a statement by the Economic Community of West African States bloc.

What began as a mutiny over the government’s response to the rekindled Tuareg insurrection in the north on Wednesday afternoon turned into a full-blown coup as soldiers seized control of the presidential palace and the government broadcaster.

Putschists, calling themselves the National Committee for the Establishment of Democracy, went on television early Thursday to announce they had taken over power in the west African country.

ECOWAS said it had followed with “dismay and mounting concern” events in Bamako, the capital of its member state Mali. It said the action by the military was “all the more reprehensible” coming amid regional and international peace efforts to end the Tuareg-led rebellion in the north of the country.

The European Union also called Thursday for constitutional rule to return to Mali “as soon as possible” after mutinous soldiers claimed to have seized power in a coup.

“We condemn the military takeover of power and the suspension of the constitution. Constitutional rule should be restored as soon as possible,” said Michael Mann, spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

“The safety and liberty of the people of Mali must be preserved in all circumstances,” he said in a statement. Renegade soldiers claimed Thursday they had seized power from an “incompetent regime,” announcing on television they had suspended the constitution and dissolved state institutions.

The putschists, calling themselves the National Committee for the Establishment of Democracy, said they had acted due to government’s “inability” to handle a Tuareg-led insurrection in the north of the country.

The group’s spokesman, identified on-screen as Lieutenant Amadou Konare said the takeover was a result of a “lack of adequate material to defend the nation” as well as government’s inability to combat terrorism. Claiming to represent the nation’s defence forces, Konare said the junta “solemnly commits to restore power to a democratically-elected president as soon as national unity and territorial integrity are re-established.”

Mali was to hold the first round of a presidential election on April 29. In Washington, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said: “The situation is currently unclear and unfolding quickly … There are reports of military forces surrounding the presidential palace and movement of vehicles between the palace and the military barracks.”

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for calm and for grievances to be settled democratically in a statement hours before the soldiers said they had seized power. The commission of the African Union said it was “deeply concerned by the reprehensible acts currently being perpetrated by some elements of the Malian army”.

France called for elections “as soon as possible” in its former colony of Mali early today after mutinous troops were reported to have overturned the government, chased the president from his hilltop palace, imposed a curfew and suspended the constitution, the New York Times reported.

The French foreign minister, Alain Juppé, told Europe 1 radio that France condemns the mutineers’ actions and “demands the re-establishment of constitutional order, and elections, which were scheduled for April, must take place as soon as possible.”

Algeria voiced deep concern Thursday over the military coup in neighbouring Mali and firmly condemned the seizure of power by a group of renegade soldiers.

“Algeria is monitoring the situation in Mali with great concern,” foreign ministry spokesman Amar Belani told the APS news agency.

EFCC Witness Testifies Against el-Rufai

Mr. Sunday Idowu, a prosecution witness in the trial of former Minister of the FCT, Nasir el-Rufai, told an Abuja High Court that el-Rufai did not declare all his assets to the Code of Conduct Bureau.

Idowu, an EFCC officer who led the investigations for the arraignment of el-Rufai and two others, said that the accused only declared one instead of the nine plots of land after he left office in 2007.
Arraigned with el-Rufai are Altine Jibrin, former Director-General of the Abuja Geographical Information System (AGIS) and former General Manager, Ismail Iro.

The EFCC is charging the trio for abuse of public office and illegal conversion of a land meant for the construction of transmitting/injection sub-stations of the PHCN at Plot 1201 of Asokoro.
el-Rufai is accused of allocating 10 plots of land in Asokoro District in various sizes to his family members, including his two wives, Hadiza and Hasiya.

The EFCC claimed that he committed the offence between 2003 and 2007. At the resumed hearing presided over by Justice Abubakar Umar, the EFCC said that investigations also revealed that el-Rufai was on the Board of the Directors of four firms that benefited from the Asokoro land allocation.

Led in evidence by EFCC counsel, Adebayo Adelodun (SAN), Idowu told the court that investigations at the Corporate Affairs Commission, also linked el-Rufai to the ownership of System Property Development Company. Other companies owned by the accused, according to Idowu, are Micro-duct Nigeria Ltd, Pure Environmental Services Ltd and Express Procurement Nigeria Ltd.

“These companies got some choice land scattered in the highbrow area of Asokoro district where the PHCN sub-station was supposed to be built,’’ Idowu added. Another EFCC witness, Mohammed Alhassan, a former Executive Secretary of the FCDA, while being cross-examined by el-Rufai’s counsel, Chief Akin Olujimi (SAN), maintained that el-Rufai ignored his advice.

Alhassan told the court that he advised el-Rufai against diverting the plot of land allocated to the PHCN to other purpose. “But the former Minister ignored my advice,” he added. The court through Alhassan, admitted a letter written by Julius Berger Plc to the FCDA, dated Jan. 26, 2007. The letter was a reminder that the plot of land in dispute in Asokoro District, Abuja, was earmarked for PHCN.

The second document tendered was a letter written by the Engineering Department of FCDA, to the Secretary, Planning Department, FCDA, dated April 28, 2007. Alhassan also presented to the court a memo he wrote to el-Rufai, dated Feb. 6, 2007, advising him not to alter the Master Plan.

Reading the memo in the court, Alhassan said: “Mr Minister may wish to consider reversing the approval granted to redesign the area and return the land to status quo.” Also during cross examination by Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), counsel to the second accused (Jibrin) and third accused (Iro), Alhassan agreed that the power to allocate and revoke land in the FCT was vested in the minister.

Umar adjourned the case to April 25 and April 26 at the instance of Agabi and ordered the Legal Department of the FCDA to produce the certified true copies of the two memos written to el Rufai by Alhassan.

The judge also ordered the Department of Land and Planning to produce the original site plan for the PHCN sub-station in Asokoro.

Player Dies On Pitch

The first class pitchside treatment received by Fabrice Muamba was thrown into sharp relief yesterday by the death of a footballer who collapsed while playing in India.

In a shocking incident that again brought to light the poor medical facilities provided for local football tournaments, a 27-year-old player died on Wednesday after he collapsed at the Bangalore Football Stadium during a league match.

Times of India reports that Venkatesh, a midfielder for A-division side Bangalore Mars, came in as substitute in the 73rd minute before collapsing in the dying minutes of the match. The Bangalore District Football Association, which annually organises the Super, ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ divisions, allegedly did not have a doctor present on the field. A physio and players rushed in and tried standard medical procedures on Venkatesh, who by now was having fits, teammate Janardhan said.

Then came the crunch – no ambulance. Though some BDFA members denied the allegation, team manager Shiva, who is also a BDFA member, said there was a tempo on standby at the eastern wing of the stadium. “The only reason we couldn’t get it out in time was that there were many two wheelers parked around it,” he said.

Players and officials carried Venkatesh in their arms off the field, hired an auto rickshaw and rushed him to Hosmat Hospital, where he was declared dead. “There was no pulse or respiration. We gave him CPR and defibrillator shocks, but it was too late,” Hosmat vice-president Dr Ajith Benedict Royan said.

Preliminary post-mortem reports agreed with Dr Royan’s suggestion that Venkatesh died of cardiac arrest. “There were no external injuries. This is also known as Sudden Death Syndrome, which is common among footballers. Maybe if he had been given oxygen or proper medical care at the time of the incident, he could have stood a chance,” Dr Royan added.

Venkatesh has represented Karnataka at the junior and sub-junior levels and has been with Mars for the last five years.

ECOWAS condemns coup in Mali

The ECOWAS Commission on Thursday condemned the coup by some renegade soldiers, who announced the overthrow of the government of Amodou Toure of Mali.

A statement issued in Abuja and signed by the Commission’s President Désiré Ouedraogo warned that the commission would not condone any recourse to violence as a means of seeking redress.

“The disturbances sparked by elements within the armed forces are all the more reprehensible, coming amidst the on-going regional and international efforts to seek a peaceful solution to the rebellion in the north of the country,” ECOWAS noted.

It noted that the soldiers’ action also came just a day after a special ministerial session of the AU Peace and Security Council on the matter ended in Bamako.

“ECOWAS strongly condemns the misguided actions of the mutineers and warns that it will not condone any recourse to violence as a means of seeking redress.

“The commission wishes to remind the military of its responsibility under the Constitution, and to reiterate ECOWAS’ policy of ‘Zero Tolerance’ for any attempt to obtain or maintain power by unconstitutional means,” it said.

The statement said the commission was closely monitoring developments in the country and would respond “appropriately to any attempts to further disturb the precarious security situation.”

My husband is not the father of my three children, woman tells court

A housewife, Mrs. Seinab Adebayo, on Thursday told an Ijebu-Ode Customary Court Grade ‘A’ that her husband, Adewale, was not the biological father of their three children.

Adebayo who is pregnant with the fourth child, also told the court that her husband was also not responsible for the pregnancy, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.

Adewale, who is the plaintiff, had early this month dragged his wife to court for packing out of the house with the three children without his consent.

He urged the court to order his wife to return his three children back to him. But the wife said she packed out of the house because her husband, whom she said got married to her 12 years ago, was not the biological father of the children and was not responsible for the pregnancy.

Adebayo told the court that she was made to swore an oath to keep the secret that her husband was not the biological father of the children, adding that it was a deal between the two of them.

She said her husband had been married for 10 years without an issue before she got married to him.
“When I got married to my husband 12 years ago, we both swore an oath not to reveal the secret that my husband is not the biological father of the children.

“And for the past 12 years, we have been keeping that secret by not allowing anybody to know that my husband is not the biological father of the three children and the pregnancy that I am carrying,” she said.
Adebayo, however, told the court that she could not reveal the details of the secret until the husband brought the oracle with which they swore the oath to court to release her from it.

“I cannot give the details of the secret of who the real father of the children is until I am released from the oath.

“I will urge the court to order my husband to bring the oracle with which we swore the oath to court and release me from it before I can reveal the secret,” she said.

The husband, who did not deny the allegation, insisted that he was the biological father of the children.
In his ruling, the court’s President, Mr. Olatunji Kanimodo, ordered the husband to bring the oracle with which they swore to an oath to the court in the next adjourned date.

Kanimodo said the order was imperative for the court to get the full details of the case, and adjourned the case till April 27.

Fire breaks out in National Assembly annex

Fire broke out Thursday afternoon on the second floor of the National Assembly annex building.
The fire started in the legal department and accounts departments of the National Assembly Service Commission.

Newsmen  reports that the FCT Fire Service deployed two fire engines to bring the fire under control before it could spread to other offices.

Panic-stricken staffers, who had vacated the building, gathered some distance away to discuss the incident.
The Director of FCT Fire Service, Mr. Sani Saidu, who confirmed the incident, told journalists that the fire incident was caused by power outage as a result of power fluctuation.

He said the situation had been brought under control and no damage was done
“It was caused by electrical fault as a result of power fluctuation. It was brought under control. No damage was done,” he said.

There was a similar fire incident at the National Assembly Annex on February 21, 2011, on the ground floor which was also said to have been caused by an electrical fault.

There was also a fire at the same annex building two months ago. The fire began in the office of the Secretary to the Clerk of the National Assembly on the third floor of the main building around 1p.m.
The National Assembly is currently on a one-week recess.

REPS/SEC BRIBERY Latest: How N5m request sparked trouble

The war of  attrition  between the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC and the House of Representatives Committee on Capital Markets got messier yesterday  following revelations that a demand for N5 million cash may have ruptured the relationship  between the two parties.

Rep. Herman Hembe, the chairman of the House committee on Capital Markets has meanwhile instructed his lawyers to file legal action against Ms Arummah Oteh, the Director General of the SEC  for allegedly injuring   his character.

Newsmen learnt yesterday that Hembe has already briefed a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN from the Northcentral zone to pursue his case in the courts immediately after he would have appeared before the House committee on Ethics and Privileges next week.

SEC sources yesterday disclosed that the House Committee on Capital Markets had officially requested for assistance from the commission through a proxy officially delegated as the committee’s alleged consultant (names withheld)

Appointment letter for  Committee’s consultant
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The letter appointing  the committee’s consultant was signed by the committee’s assistant secretary, Abama Thomas and dated March 14, 2012. In the letter the DG was requested to give the consultant “all necessary assistance.”

The letter of appointment of the consultant was preceded by a demand for assistance supposedly from the committee amounting to N39.844 million for the purpose of covering the expenses of the public hearing on the collapse of the capital market. That request which was detached on what SEC sources described  as the committee shopping list was allegedly received by the commission on February 29, 2012.

A breakdown of the total amount requested showed that N5.605 million for two advertisement slots in five print media organizations; N2.245 million for advertisement in three broadcast media; N4.215 million for secretariat needs and N1.575 million for refreshment for three days.

According to SEC sources yesterday, the consultant visited the commission in company  with a representative  of the committee with a ‘shopping list’, detailing a large number of ‘specific areas’ for which the SEC’s support was being sought by the House Committee.

SEC further affirmed that the request was subjected to its decision making procedure and was considering a N30 million support, based on its belief that the hearing is in the interest of the public and investors.

The commission, however, noted yesterday that it grew suspicious of a dirty deal when agents of the committee visited the commission requesting for N5 million in cash against the institutionalized process of transferring money through the banks.

“The SEC smelt a rat that rather than wait for the payment to be made through electronic transfer, in line with extant public service policy, to an institutional account, the man was seeking undocumented payment by cash. This was why the transfer was suspended.

“Even the least cursory look at the memo will see stapler marks on the top left hand corner of its cover page, evidence that its accompaniments had been detached,” SEC sources claimed yesterday.